AIR QUALITY and AIR POLLUTION PROJECTS –
CNR/INSTITUTE FOR ATMOSPHERIC POLLUTION
AQM is still a new policy area in many Asian countries and the Sino Italian Cooperation is aiming at its improvement, starting from the recognition of the importance for decision makers to have reliable data by reliable monitoring systems as a necessary premise for their interpretation to choose the right policy instruments to tackle the sources of pollution.
The Sino Italian Cooperation Program for Environmental Protection (SICP) was established in 2000 between the Italian Ministry for the Environment and Territory (IMET) and the China State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA) and identified air quality monitoring systems (AQMS) as one of the initial and strategic thematic cooperation areas, together with other important initiatives such as renewable energies and energy efficiency, low emission transportation systems and technologies.
The assistance of the Italian comprehensive know how and technologies expertise in the field of air pollution has been widely offered and sought to help the national governmental bodies, such as SEPA itself, and local entities, such as Municipalities and local Environmental agencies, also contributing to major events that mark the Country’s history, such as the Beijing Olympics and the Shanghai World Expo.
Up to now, 4 projects are already under implementation in the cities of Suzhou, Lanzhou , Shanghai and Beijing, and 2 new projects have been proposed, in Suzhou and Wulumuqi.
The cooperation activities related to these project are widely acknowledged as successful cases of fruitful cooperation with Chinese counterparts and are encouraging the cooperation with several international bodies, such as World Bank, Asian Development Bank, US EPA, etc…, with the common will of improving the air quality and life quality of China.
The short term challenge is understanding the interface between air pollution, health, and poverty in Asia in order to plan proper interventions especially in areas where large populations of lowest socioeconomic status are exposed to air pollution, as clearly indicated in the latest 11th Five Years Plan of P.R. of China.
The Italian Ministry of the Environment has entrusted the Institute of Atmospheric Pollution of the National Research Council (CNR-IIA) the implementation and management of these projects.
The CNR-IIA, founded in 1968, is one of the main Italian Scientific Bodies carrying out scientific research in many fields and environments including urban areas, industrial sites, remote and polar regions, and in all the environments where the evaluation of air pollution phenomena and processes requires advanced methods and instruments.
The CNR-IIA supports local, national and international authorities in drawing up laws and regulations, provides environmental impact assessments, contributes to the solution of problems and emergencies determined by air pollution events and certifies monitoring systems, networks, transfer standards and environmental data. Fundamental scientific research and advancement in air pollution processes and technologies is the main mandate of the Institute.
1. Suzhou Air Quality Monitoring System (AQMS)
Early at the first stage of the Sino-Italian Cooperation Programme on Environmental Protection (Year2001), the Italian Ministry of Environment and Territory (IMET) and the Chinese State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA) signed an agreement for a pilot project in Suzhou for establishing an Air Quality Monitoring System characterized by the most up-to-date, reliable and cost-effective technology.
The project started in 2002 and has been implemented in two phases focusing on technology transfer and capacity building, training programs, technical assistance and maintenance and research activities.
The first phase involved the supply of nine fixed stations, twenty saturation stations and one data quality-control centre, where all data collected are gathered, analysed and interpreted.
The objectives and deliverables of the project to be achieved in the second phase, which will be completed by the end of 2006, include the supply of six unconventional mobile units, the supply of an emergency monitoring unit, the construction of a preliminary emission inventory of air emissions, which represents an important tool for policy making in air quality control. In addition, the improvement of the chemical laboratory with the supplying and implementation of instruments to manage PM10 and PM2,5 samples collected throughout the network system, and the supplying of new instrumentation as a wet & dry deposition sampler to monitor acid rain phenomena are also included.
2. Lanzhou Air Quality Monitoring System (AQMS) and Greenhouse gases emission inventory (GHG EI)
The project in the Municipality of Lanzhou, started in October 2004 and represents the first achievement of the diffusion of the Suzhou pilot project.
Funding by the Italian Ministry of the Environment brings Italian technology and know how in one of biggest citiy of the northern-west area of the Republic of China, where the combined effects of a low income and significant impact on pollution might be evaluated.
In Lanzhou the pollution conditions are highly worsened by lack of consistent financial resources, by lack of proper know-how on AQMS and by difficulties due to climatic conditions. Therefore, the local environmental protection agencies are willing to learn from the Italian experience how to improve their ability in monitoring the air quality and manage the best practices for the reduction of pollution in a non ideal economic and technical conditions.
The project in Lanzhou, implemented in partnership with private Italian companies, aims at the supply of an AQMS network, including diffusion samplers, and it has been broadened with the development of a Greenhouse Gases Emission Inventory (GHGI), with the main goal of high lightening potential areas for CDM projects implementation.
3. CHEMICAL LABORATORY AND OLYMPIC VILLAGE MONITORING PROJECT
In 2002 the Italian Ministry for Environment and Territory signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Municipality of Beijing for the cooperation on the environmental field and, within this framework, the parts signed a technical agreement concerning environmental monitoring of the Olympic Games Village.
As host of the 2008 Olympic Games, Beijing Municipality has the responsibility to improve the city air quality to a sufficiently good level for that deadline.
In order to achieve this goal and to provide a support for government decision-making, the local Environmental Monitoring Center has been provided with tolls to accurately monitor and evaluate environmental pollutants, environment quality and to effectively manage possible environmental emergencies: the Italian know-how was asked for the engineering and supply of an advanced environmental monitoring system in the Olympic village. It is composed of advanced chemical laboratory, several analyzers, an emergency mobile unit and a fixed station equipped with the most sophisticated equipment.
4. SHANGHAI AIR POLLUTANT EMISSIONS MONITORING – APEM
As one of the biggest and most rapidly developing metropolis in Greater China, Shanghai is facing the problem of severe urban pollution and is quite determined to take all the possible measures to reduce it in order to accomplish to the 2010 World Expo motto: “Better city, better life”.
That is also the aim which is driving the cooperation between the Shanghai Municipality and the Italian Ministry of the Environment, acknowledged in 2004 with the signature of a Memorandum of Understanding that established a Joint Program Management Office to coordinate and monitor the activities related to each of the projects agreed in the field of air quality, sustainable agriculture, promotion of renewable energies, urban planning, sustainable mobility.
The “Air pollutant emission monitoring” project (APEM) aims at establishing an effective decision support system to control air pollution and to improve air quality in the Municipality of Shanghai, addressing in particular atmospheric emissions generated by traffic, construction activities and large coal-fired boilers.
The Italian scientific expertise has been requested to assist the Municipality of Shanghai in understanding the contribution to the pollution in the urban area of Shanghai from this three important sources and in suggesting the best technological and methodological approach to measure the effectiveness of control measures.
The project has started in March 2006 and the parties are jointly setting up a comprehensive system for the evaluation of fugitive emissions of particulate matter from construction sites. Then they are developing a prototype system to detect polluting cars and establishing a complete set of QA/QC procedures for the continuous monitoring of emissions from large industrial boilers. The working team is composed of experts from the Environmental Monitoring Center of the Shanghai Municipality and of Italian experts, permanently based in Shanghai for the specific purpose and for an effective and fast progress of the project.
5. Atmospheric Mercury in the City of Suzhou - Its emission sources, transport and deposition at urban and province scale – (AMSUCY)
In view of a global approach of the pollution problem, and in the view of strengthening the cooperation with international bodies in scientific research and in the aim of improving the air quality worldwide, the Italian Ministry of the Environment and Territory and the US Environmental Protection Agency are supporting the project in cooperation with the Chinese State Environmental Protection Agency.
Mercury is emitted to the atmosphere and released to surface waters from a variety of point and diffuse sources, it is dispersed and transported in the air and water, deposited to the earth and stored in or redistributed between water, soil and atmospheric compartments to finally reach the food chain where most of human exposition is experienced.
The project aims at the measurement of atmospheric mercury in the gas and particulate phase at urban and background locations. In addition, the integration of additional strategic atmospheric measurements to the existing AQMS in Suzhou to support atmospheric modelling; modelling of major chemical and physical processes affecting the transport, deposition and re-emission of mercury within the urban area and at province level is also included.
The project is a follow up of an already established agreement between the parties involved and has the potential to evolve into a mercury global fate and transport partnership under a United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP) framework.
6. AIR QUALITY MONITORING IMPROVEMENT (AQMI) IN THE CITY OF WULUMUQI (Xinjiang Province)
Wulumuqi is the political, economic and cultural centre of Xingjian Uighur Autonomous Region and it has a strategic importance for western China given its huge mineral resources and its being the contact area with Russian and Middle Eastern developing regions. Moreover the Municipality is representative of an area, the North-Western part of China, where lots of efforts and energies are going to be addresses in the near future by the central Government according to the developing agenda outlined in the recent years strategic plan.
CNR-I.I.A. has been requested to give recommendations to the city of Wulumuqi for improving air quality management through capacity building activities and training in China and in leading Italian Institutes addressed in particular to policy makers and to the technical cadres.
IMET is funding the project in view of the strategic impact of the project itself in terms of opportunity for Italian technology transfer and of cooperation in this peculiar geo-political context, as stressed also by SEPA, that is supporting the project from the Chinese side.
The first step will be a broad assessment of both emission sources and air quality through means of low- cost and highly effective passive samplers for several atmospheric pollutants (Analyst ®) deployed in the urban area.
In fact air quality management requires a solid basis of understanding of the pollution phenomena and situation and for this purpose the optimisation of the existing AQMS, assistance in procurement and network design are the main deliverables of the project. The collaboration is expected to have long duration in terms of added scientific values, to bring benefits also in terms of sustainable mobility and traffic related pollution in a very special and important region of China.
This project represents the ultimate follow up of the Suzhou experience and the last achievement in the diffusion plan of Italian technology, know-how and expertise.
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