1
|
Torbatian S, Saleh M, Xu J, Minet L, Gamage SM, Yazgi D, Yamanouchi S, Roorda MJ, Hatzopoulou M. Societal Co-benefits of Zero-Emission Vehicles in the Freight Industry. Environ Sci Technol 2024; 58:7814-7825. [PMID: 38668733 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.3c08867] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/08/2024]
Abstract
This study was set in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA), where commercial vehicle movements were assigned across the road network. Implications for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, air quality, and health were examined through an environmental justice lens. Electrification of light-, medium-, and heavy-duty trucks was assessed to identify scenarios associated with the highest benefits for the most disadvantaged communities. Using spatially and temporally resolved commercial vehicle movements and a chemical transport model, changes in air pollutant concentrations under electric truck scenarios were estimated at 1-km2 resolution. Heavy-duty truck electrification reduces ambient black carbon and nitrogen dioxide on average by 10 and 14%, respectively, and GHG emissions by 10.5%. It achieves the highest reduction in premature mortality attributable to fine particulate matter chronic exposure (around 200 cases per year) compared with light- and medium-duty electrification (less than 150 cases each). The burden of all traffic in the GTHA was estimated to be around 600 cases per year. The benefits of electrification accrue primarily in neighborhoods with a high social disadvantage, measured by the Ontario Marginalization Indices, narrowing the disparity of exposure to traffic-related air pollution. Benefits related to heavy-duty truck electrification reflect the adverse impacts of diesel-fueled freight and highlight the co-benefits achieved by electrifying this sector.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sara Torbatian
- Department of Civil and Mineral Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario,Canada M5S 1A4
| | - Marc Saleh
- Department of Civil and Mineral Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario,Canada M5S 1A4
| | - Junshi Xu
- Department of Civil and Mineral Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario,Canada M5S 1A4
| | - Laura Minet
- Department of Civil Engineering, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada V8W 2Y2
| | | | - Daniel Yazgi
- Department of Research and Development, Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute, Norrköping 60176, Sweden
| | - Shoma Yamanouchi
- Department of Civil and Mineral Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario,Canada M5S 1A4
| | - Matthew J Roorda
- Department of Civil and Mineral Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario,Canada M5S 1A4
| | - Marianne Hatzopoulou
- Department of Civil and Mineral Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario,Canada M5S 1A4
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Pennington AF, Cornwell CR, Sircar KD, Mirabelli MC. Electric vehicles and health: A scoping review. Environ Res 2024; 251:118697. [PMID: 38499224 DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2024.118697] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2023] [Revised: 02/12/2024] [Accepted: 03/11/2024] [Indexed: 03/20/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The health impacts of the rapid transition to the use of electric vehicles are largely unexplored. We completed a scoping review to assess the state of the evidence on use of battery electric and hybrid electric vehicles and health. METHODS We conducted a literature search of MEDLINE, Embase, Global Health, CINAHL, Scopus, and Environmental Science Collection databases for articles published January 1990 to January 2024. We included articles if they presented observed or modeled data on the association between battery electric or hybrid electric cars, trucks, or buses and health-related outcomes. We abstracted data and summarized results. RESULTS Out of 897 reviewed articles, 52 met our inclusion criteria. The majority of included articles examined transitions to the use of electric vehicles (n = 49, 94%), with fewer studies examining hybrid electric vehicles (n = 11, 21%) or plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (n = 8, 15%). The most common outcomes examined were premature death (n = 41, 79%) and monetized health outcomes such as medical expenditures (n = 33, 63%). We identified only one observational study on the impact of electric vehicles on health; all other studies reported modeled data. Almost every study (n = 51, 98%) reported some evidence of a positive health impact of transitioning to electric or hybrid electric vehicles, although magnitudes of association varied. There was a paucity of information on the environmental justice implications of vehicle transitions. CONCLUSIONS The results of the current literature on electric vehicles and health suggest an overall positive health impact of transitioning to electric vehicles. Additional observational studies would help expand our understanding of the real-world health effects of electric vehicles. Future research focused on the environmental justice implications of vehicle fleet transitions could provide additional information about the extent to which the health benefits occur equitably across populations.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Audrey F Pennington
- Division of Environmental Health Science and Practice, National Center for Environmental Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA.
| | - Cheryl R Cornwell
- Division of Environmental Health Science and Practice, National Center for Environmental Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Kanta Devi Sircar
- Division of Environmental Health Science and Practice, National Center for Environmental Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA; Commissioned Corps, United States Public Health Service, Rockville, MD, USA
| | - Maria C Mirabelli
- Division of Environmental Health Science and Practice, National Center for Environmental Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Cheng S, Zhang B, Peng P, Lu F. Health and economic benefits of heavy-duty diesel truck emission control policies in Beijing. Environ Int 2023; 179:108152. [PMID: 37598595 DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2023.108152] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/19/2023] [Revised: 08/03/2023] [Accepted: 08/14/2023] [Indexed: 08/22/2023]
Abstract
PM2.5 emissions from heavy-duty diesel trucks (HDDTs) have a significant impact on air quality, human health, and climate change, and seriously threaten the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Globally, a series of emission control measures have been implemented to reduce pollution emissions from HDDTs. Current studies assessing the impact of these measures on air quality and human health have mainly used coarse-grained emission data as input to dispersion model, resulting in the inability to capture the spatiotemporal variability of pollutant concentrations and tending to increase the uncertainty of health impact assessment results. In this study, we quantified the impact of pollution control policies for HDDTs in Beijing on PM2.5 concentrations, human health, and economic losses by integrating policy scenario analysis, pollution dispersion simulation, public health impact and economic benefit assessment models, supported by high spatiotemporal resolution emission data from HDDTs. The results show that PM2.5 concentrations from HDDTs exhibit significant spatial aggregation characteristics, with the intensity of aggregation at night being about twice as high as that during the day. The emission hotspots are mainly concentrated in the sixth, fifth and fourth rings and major highways. Compared to the "business as usual" scenario in 2018, the current policy of updating the fuel standard to China VI and the emission standard to China 6 can reduce PM2.5 concentrations by 96.72%, thereby avoiding 612 premature deaths, which is equivalent to obtaining economic benefits of 1.65 billion CNY. This study further emphasizes the importance of high spatiotemporal resolution emission data during traffic dispersion modeling. The results can help improve the understanding of the effectiveness of emission reduction measures for HDDTs from a health benefit perspective.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Shifen Cheng
- State Key Laboratory of Resources and Environmental Information Systems, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Beibei Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Resources and Environmental Information Systems, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Peng Peng
- State Key Laboratory of Resources and Environmental Information Systems, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Feng Lu
- State Key Laboratory of Resources and Environmental Information Systems, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China; The Academy of Digital China, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou, China; Jiangsu Center for Collaborative Innovation in Geographical Information Resource Development and Application, Nanjing 210023, China.
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Wang A, Weichenthal S, Lloyd M, Hong K, Saxe S, Hatzopoulou M. Personal Mobility Choices and Disparities in Carbon Emissions. Environ Sci Technol 2023. [PMID: 37262367 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.2c06993] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
The promotion of sustainable mobility choices is a crucial element of transport decarbonization. It requires a fundamental understanding of the choices available to urban dwellers and of the equity and justice implications of green mobility solutions. In this study, we quantified personal mobility-related greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA) and their associations with various land use, built environment, and socioeconomic factors. Our study captured personal, household, and neighborhood-level characteristics that are related to high emissions and disparities in emissions across the study region. We observed that the top 30% of emitters generated 70% of all transportation GHG emissions. Household income, family size, and vehicle ownership were associated with increased mobility emissions, while increased population density was associated with lower emissions. The percentage of visible minorities in a neighborhood was associated with lower emissions, but this effect was small. We further contrasted the spatial distribution of traffic-related air pollution with mobility GHG emissions. The results suggest that individuals who emit less GHG live in areas with higher air pollution. A computer vision-based model was used to predict GHG emissions from aerial images of neighborhoods, demonstrating that areas with high land use mixture were linked to a lower generation of mobility-based GHG emissions.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- An Wang
- Senseable City Lab, Department of Urban Studies and Planning, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
| | - Scott Weichenthal
- Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Occupational Health, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec H3A 1Y7, Canada
| | - Marshall Lloyd
- Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Occupational Health, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec H3A 1Y7, Canada
| | - Kris Hong
- Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Occupational Health, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec H3A 1Y7, Canada
| | - Shoshanna Saxe
- Department of Civil and Mineral Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5S 1A4, Canada
| | - Marianne Hatzopoulou
- Department of Civil and Mineral Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5S 1A4, Canada
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Zalzal J, Hatzopoulou M. Fifteen Years of Community Exposure to Heavy-Duty Emissions: Capturing Disparities over Space and Time. Environ Sci Technol 2022; 56:16621-16632. [PMID: 36417703 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.2c04320] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Disparities in exposure to traffic-related air pollution have been widely reported. However, little work has been done to simultaneously assess the impact of various vehicle types on populations of different socioeconomic/ethnic backgrounds. In this study, we employed an extreme gradient-boosting approach to spatially distribute light-duty vehicle (LDV) and heavy-duty truck emissions across the city of Toronto from 2006 to 2020. We examined associations between these emissions and different marginalization indices across this time span. Despite a large decrease in traffic emissions, disparities in exposure to traffic-related air pollution persisted over time. Populations with high residential instability, high ethnic concentration, and high material deprivation were found to reside in regions with significantly higher truck and LDV emissions. In fact, the gap in exposure to traffic emissions between the most residentially unstable populations and the least residentially unstable populations worsened over time, with trucks being the larger contributor to these disparities. Our data also indicate that the number of trucks and truck emissions increased substantially between 2019 and 2020 whilst LDVs decreased. Our results suggest that improvements in vehicle emission technologies are not sufficient to tackle disparities in exposure to traffic-related air pollution.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jad Zalzal
- Department of Civil & Mineral Engineering, University of Toronto, 35 St. George Street, Toronto, OntarioM5S1A4, Canada
| | - Marianne Hatzopoulou
- Department of Civil & Mineral Engineering, University of Toronto, 35 St. George Street, Toronto, OntarioM5S1A4, Canada
| |
Collapse
|