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3.

12 Air pollution
Country City City population Total suspended particulates Sulfur dioxide Nitrogen dioxide About the data In many towns and cities exposure to air pollution is the main environmental threat to human health.
thousands 1995 micrograms per cu. m 1995a micrograms per cu. m 1995a micrograms per cu. m 1995a

Winter smogmade up of soot, dust, and sulfur dioxidehas long been associated with temporary spikes in the number of deaths. But long-term exposure to high levels of soot and small particles in the air contributes to a wide range of chronic respiratory diseases and exacerbates heart disease and other conditions. The burden of ill health caused by particulate pollution, either on its own or in combination with sulfur dioxide, is enormous, causing at least 500,000 premature deaths and 45 million new cases of chronic bronchitis each year (World Bank 1992). Summer smog is formed from small particles and ground-level ozone produced by the action of the sun on nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds. Exposure to ozone makes it difficult for people to breathe, causing particular problems for asthmatics. And many plants and trees are susceptible to damage from ozone exposure, which reduces yields or kills them off. Emissions of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides lead to the deposition of acid rain and other acidic compounds over long distancesoften more than 1,000 kilometers from their source. Such deposition changes the chemical balance of soils and can lead to the leaching of trace minerals and nutrients critical to trees and plants. The links between forest damage and acid deposition are complex. Direct exposure to high levels of sulfur dioxide or acid deposition can cause defoliation and dieback. Figure 3.12a Most environmental costs of fossil fuel use result from small sources
Power and district heating 4% Large industry 10%

Argentina Australia

Austria Belgium Brazil Bulgaria Canada

Chile China

Colombia Croatia Cuba Czech Republic Denmark Ecuador Egypt, Arab Rep. Finland France Germany

Ghana Greece Hungary Iceland India

Indonesia Iran, Islamic Rep. Ireland Italy

Japan

Kenya Korea, Rep.

Malaysia Mexico Netherlands New Zealand Norway Philippines Poland

Crdoba City Sydney Melbourne Perth Vienna Brussels So Paulo Rio de Janeiro Sofia Toronto Montreal Vancouver Santiago Shanghai Beijing Tianjin Bogot Zagreb Havana Prague Copenhagen Guayaquil Quito Cairo Helsinki Paris Frankfurt Berlin Munich Accra Athens Budapest Reykjavik Bombay Calcutta Delhi Jakarta Tehran Dublin Milan Rome Torino Tokyo Osaka Yokohama Nairobi Seoul Pusan Taegu Kuala Lumpur Mexico City Amsterdam Auckland Oslo Manila Katowice Warsaw

1,294 3,590 3,094 1,220 2,060 1,122 16,533 10,181 1,188 4,319 3,320 1,823 4,891 13,584 11,299 9,415 6,079 981 2,241 1,225 1,326 1,831 1,298 9,690 1,059 9,523 3,606 3,317 2,238 1,673 3,093 2,017 100 15,138 11,923 9,948 8,621 6,836 911 4,251 2,931 1,294 26,959 10,609 3,178 1,810 11,609 4,082 2,432 1,238 16,562 1,108 945 477 9,286 3,552 2,219

97 54 35 45 47 78 86 139 195 36 34 29 .. 246 377 306 120 71 .. 59 61 127 175 .. 40 14 36 50 45 137 178 63 24 240 375 415 271 248 .. 77 73 151 49 43 .. 69 84 94 72 85 279 40 26 15 200 .. ..

.. 28 0 5 14 20 43 129 39 17 10 14 29 53 90 82 .. 31 1 32 7 15 31 69 4 14 11 18 8 .. 34 39 5 33 49 24 .. 209 20 31 .. .. 18 19 100 .. 44 60 81 24 74 10 3 8 33 83 16

97 .. 30 19 42 48 83 .. 122 43 42 37 81 73 122 50 .. .. 5 23 54 .. .. .. 35 57 45 26 53 .. 64 51 42 39 34 41 .. .. .. 248 .. .. 68 63 13 .. 60 51 62 .. 130 58 20 43 .. 79 32

Small sources 53%

Motor vehicles 33% Note: Data are an average for five cities: Krakow, Poland; Manila, Philippines; Mumbai, India; Santiago, Chile; and Shanghai, China. Source: Lovei 1997. Fuel combustion accounts for most air pollution emissions. Although the composition of pollution sources and contribution of different fuels vary by city, motor vehicles and small, dispersed sourcesrefuse incinerators, small industrial, commercial, and household boilers and stovesusually do the most damage to air quality.

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1998 World Development Indicators

ENVIRONMENT

Air pollution 3.12


Country City City population Total suspended particulates Sulfur dioxide Nitrogen dioxide Definitions City population is the number of residents of the city as defined by national authorities and reported to the
thousands 1995 micrograms per cu. m 1995a micrograms per cu. m 1995a micrograms per cu. m 1995a

United Nations. Total suspended particulates refer to smoke, soot, dust, and liquid droplets from combustion that are in the air. Particulate levels indicate the quality of the air people are breathing and the state of a countrys technology and pollution controls. Sulfur dioxide (SO2) is an air pollutant produced when fossil fuels containing sulfur are burned. It contributes to acid rain and can damage human health, particularly that of the young and the elderly. Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) is a poisonous, pungent gas formed when nitric oxide combines with hydrocarbons and sunlight, producing a photochemical reaction. These conditions occur in both natural and anthropogenic activities. NO2 is emitted by bacteria, nitrogenous fertilizers, aerobic decomposition of organic matter in oceans and soils, combustion of fuels and biomass, and motor vehicles and industrial activities. Data sources

Portugal Romania Russian Federation Singapore Slovak Republic South Africa

Spain Sweden Switzerland Thailand Turkey

Ukraine United Kingdom

United States

Venezuela

Lodz Lisbon Bucharest Moscow Omsk Singapore Bratislava Capetown Johannesburg Durban Madrid Barcelona Stockholm Zurich Bangkok Istanbul Ankara Izmir Kiev London Manchester Birmingham New York Los Angeles Chicago Caracas

1,063 1,863 2,100 9,269 1,199 2,848 651 2,671 1,849 1,149 4,072 2,819 1,545 897 6,547 7,911 2,826 2,031 2,809 7,640 2,434 2,271 16,332 12,410 6,844 3,007

.. 61 82 100 100 .. 62 .. .. .. 42 117 9 31 223 .. 57 .. 100 .. .. .. .. .. .. 53

21 8 10 109 9 20 21 21 19 31 11 11 5 11 11 120 55 .. 14 25 26 9 26 9 14 33

43 52 71 .. 30 30 27 72 31 .. 25 43 29 39 23 .. 46 .. 51 77 49 45 79 74 57 57

The data in the table are from WHOs Healthy Cities Air Management System and Information the World

Resources Institute, which


a. Data are most recent available for 199095. Most are for 1995.

relies on various national sources as well as, among others, the United Nations

Where coal is the primary fuel for power plants, steel mills, industrial boilers, and domestic heating, the result is usually high levels of urban air pollution especially particulates and sometimes sulfur dioxideand widespread acid deposition if the sulfur content of the coal is high. Countries such as China, India, Poland, and Turkey fit this pattern today, as many high-income countries once did. Where coal is not an important primary fuel or is used by plants with effective dust controls, the worst air pollutant emissions are caused by the combustion of petroleum productsdiesel oil, heating oil, and heavy fuel oil. Industrial plants and motor vehiclesespecially those with two-stroke engines, which do not fully process their fuelare usually the worst offenders. Data on air pollution are based on reports from urban monitoring sites. Annual means (measured in

micrograms per cubic meter) are average concentrations observed at these sites. Coverage is not comprehensive because, due to lack of resources or different priorities, not all cities have monitoring systems. For example, data are reported for just 3 cities in Africa but for more than 87 cities in China. Pollutant concentrations are sensitive to local conditions, and even in the same city different monitoring sites may register different concentrations. Thus these data should be considered only a general indication of air quality in each city, and cross-country comparisons should be made with caution. World Health

Environment Programme (UNEP) and WHOs Urban Air

Pollution in Megacities of the World, the OECDs Compendiums of Environmental Data, the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agencys National Air

Quality and Emissions Trends Report 1995 and AIRS


Executive International database, the

China

Environmental Yearbook 1996, and the Korea Statistical Yearbook 1995.

Organization (WHO) annual mean guidelines for air quality standards are 90 micrograms per cubic meter for total suspended particulates, 50 micrograms per cubic meter for sulfur dioxide, and 50 micrograms per cubic meter for nitrogen dioxide.

1998 World Development Indicators

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