Elemental Composition of PM2.5 and PM10 and Health Risks Assessment in the Industrial Districts of Chelyabinsk, South Ural Region, Russia

Air pollution impacts all populations globally, indiscriminately and has site-specific variation and characteristics. Airborne particulate matter (PM) levels were monitored in a typical industrial Russian city, Chelyabinsk in three destinations, one characterized by high traffic volumes and two by industrial zone emissions. The mass concentration and trace metal content of PM_2.5 and PM₁₀ were obtained from samples collected during four distinct seasons of 2020. The mean 24-h PM₁₀ ranged between 6 and 64 μg/m³. 24-h PM_2.5 levels were reported from 5 to 56 μg/m³. About half of the 24-h PM₁₀ and most of the PM_2.5 values in Chelyabinsk were higher than the WHO recommendations. The mean PM_2.5/PM₁₀ ratio was measured at 0.85, indicative of anthropogenic input. To evaluate the Al, Fe, As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb, and Zn concentration in PM_2.5 and PM₁₀, inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) was used. Fe (337–732 ng/m³) was the most abundant component in PM_2.5 and PM₁₀ samples while Zn (77–206 ng/m³), Mn (10–96 ng/m³), and Pb (11–41 ng/m³) had the highest concentrations among trace elements. Total non-carcinogenic risks for children were found higher than 1, indicating possible health hazards. This study also presents that the carcinogenic risk for As, Cr, Co, Cd, Ni, and Pb were observed higher than the acceptable limit (1 × 10⁻⁶).

Negative emissions technologies and carbon capture and storage to achieve the Paris Agreement commitments

How will the global atmosphere and climate be protected? Achieving net-zero CO₂ emissions will require carbon capture and storage (CCS) to reduce current GHG emission rates, and negative emissions technology (NET) to recapture previously emitted greenhouse gases. Delivering NET requires radical cost and regulatory innovation to impact on climate mitigation. Present NET exemplars are few, are at small-scale and not deployable within a decade, with the exception of rock weathering, or direct injection of CO₂ into selected ocean water masses. To keep warming less than 2°C, bioenergy with CCS (BECCS) has been modelled but does not yet exist at industrial scale. CCS already exists in many forms and at low cost. However, CCS has no political drivers to enforce its deployment. We make a new analysis of all global CCS projects and model the build rate out to 2050, deducing this is 100 times too slow. Our projection to 2050 captures just 700 Mt CO₂ yr^-1, not the minimum 6000 Mt CO₂ yr^-1 required to meet the 2°C target. Hence new policies are needed to incentivize commercial CCS. A first urgent action for all countries is to commercially assess their CO₂ storage. A second simple action is to assign a Certificate of CO₂ Storage onto producers of fossil carbon, mandating a progressively increasing proportion of CO₂ to be stored. No CCS means no 2°C.This article is part of the theme issue 'The Paris Agreement: understanding the physical and social challenges for a warming world of 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels'.

Negative emissions technologies and carbon capture and storage to achieve the Paris Agreement commitments

How will the global atmosphere and climate be protected? Achieving net-zero CO₂ emissions will require carbon capture and storage (CCS) to reduce current GHG emission rates, and negative emissions technology (NET) to recapture previously emitted greenhouse gases. Delivering NET requires radical cost and regulatory innovation to impact on climate mitigation. Present NET exemplars are few, are at small-scale and not deployable within a decade, with the exception of rock weathering, or direct injection of CO₂ into selected ocean water masses. To keep warming less than 2°C, bioenergy with CCS (BECCS) has been modelled but does not yet exist at industrial scale. CCS already exists in many forms and at low cost. However, CCS has no political drivers to enforce its deployment. We make a new analysis of all global CCS projects and model the build rate out to 2050, deducing this is 100 times too slow. Our projection to 2050 captures just 700 Mt CO₂ yr^-1, not the minimum 6000 Mt CO₂ yr^-1 required to meet the 2°C target. Hence new policies are needed to incentivize commercial CCS. A first urgent action for all countries is to commercially assess their CO₂ storage. A second simple action is to assign a Certificate of CO₂ Storage onto producers of fossil carbon, mandating a progressively increasing proportion of CO₂ to be stored. No CCS means no 2°C.This article is part of the theme issue 'The Paris Agreement: understanding the physical and social challenges for a warming world of 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels'.