Long-Term Ambient Air Pollution Levels in Four Chinese Cities: Inter-City and Intra-City Concentration Gradients for Epidemiological Studies
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Journal of Exposure Analysis and Environmental Epidemiology (2001) 11, 341 – 351 # 2001 Nature Publishing Group All rights reserved 1053-4245/01/$17.00 www.nature.com/jea Long-term ambient air pollution levels in four Chinese cities: inter-city and intra-city concentration gradients for epidemiological studies ZHENGMIN QIAN,a JUNFENG ZHANG,b FUSHENG WEI,c WILLIAM E. WILSONd AND ROBERT S. CHAPMANd aJoint Graduate Program in Exposure Measurement and Assessment, Rutgers University and University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, Piscataway, New Jersey, 08854 bEnvironmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey and Rutgers University, Piscataway, New Jersey, 08854 cChina National Environmental Monitoring Center, Beijing, People’s Republic of China dNational Center for Environmental Assessment, US Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, 27711 The field data collection of an air pollution epidemiologic study was carried out from 1993 to 1996 in four Chinese cities of Lanzhou, Chongqing, Wuhan, and Guangzhou. In each city, an urban district and a suburban district were selected. Ambient concentrations of total suspended particles (TSP), size-fractionated particulate matter including PM2.5,PM2.5 – 10, and PM10, sulfur dioxide (SO2 ), and oxides of nitrogen (NOx ) were measured in these districts. The results indicate the presence of wide inter-city and intra-city gradients in long-term ambient levels of these measured pollutants. Across the eight districts, the 1993– 3 3 3 1996 4-year means of TSP, SO2, and NOx ranged from 198 to 659 g/m , from 14.6 to 331 g/m , and from 31.5 to 239 g/m , respectively, and the 1995– 3 3 3 1996 2-year means of PM2.5,PM2.5 – 10, and PM10 ranged from 51.5 to 142 g/m , from 29.2 to 107 g/m , and from 80.7 to 232 g/m , respectively. These pollution ranges substantially extended the upper end of the pollution ranges of previous air pollution epidemiologic studies conducted in North America and Europe. In each district, significant correlations among the measured pollutants were observed for daily concentrations. However, the gradient patterns in long- term means of different pollutants were different across the eight districts. (e.g., PM2.5 – 10 and TSP were highest in the Lanzhou urban district, PM2.5 and PM10 were highest in the Guangzhou urban district, SO2 was highest in the Chongqing urban district, and NOx was highest in the Guangzhou urban district). In general, seasonal variations were present in the ambient concentrations with high levels often occurring in winter months. The eight districts may be classified into four district clusters based on integrated levels of all measured pollutants. These features of the ambient air pollution have important implications for epidemiological studies and may provide unique opportunities to study exposure–effects relationships in the four Chinese cities. Journal of Exposure Analysis and Environmental Epidemiology (2001) 11, 341–351. Keywords: air pollution, China, exposure assessment, oxides of nitrogen, particulate matter, sulfur dioxide. Introduction to air pollution effects. Resolution of these and other uncertainties is essential to achieve an adequate under- Health effects of exposure to ambient air pollution have standing of the public health effects of ambient air pollution been extensively investigated in epidemiological studies in for setting appropriate air quality standards. North American and European cities (Chapman et al., 1985; Over the last two decades, China’s success in economic Ware et al., 1986; Dockery et al., 1993, 1996; Pope et al., development has been accompanied by some harmful side 1995; Peters et al., 1999a,b; Pikhart et al., 2000). Although effects, including heavy urban air pollution. In many these studies have found, more or less, evidence of adverse Chinese cities, levels of ambient air pollutants much higher health effects of air pollution exposure, the available results than WHO standards have been often observed (Huang et remain subject to significant uncertainties in several key al., 1990; Lin et al., 1990; Zhou et al., 1990; Waldman et al., areas including: (1) the community health effects of long- 1991; Chen et al., 1992; Wei et al., 1999). These ambient air term exposure; (2) the relative health importance of pollutants included sulfur dioxide (SO2), oxides of nitro- different air pollutants and different size fractions and gen (NOx =NO+NO2 ), total suspended particles (TSP), constituents of atmospheric particles; (3) the ethnic, and size-fractionated particles (PM10 and PM2.5 ). How- demographic, and other factors that influence susceptibility ever, health impacts of air pollution at these levels in Chinese children and adults are poorly understood (Zhang et al., 1999; Qian et al., 2000). 1. Address all correspondence to: Prof. Junfeng Zhang, EOHSI, 170 Frelinghuysen Road, Piscataway, NJ 08854. Tel.: +1-732-445-0158. From 1993 to 1996, data were collected in four Chinese Fax: +1-732-445-0116. E-mail: [email protected] cities with one of the major objectives being to examine Received 2 January 2001; accepted 3 May 2001. relationships between a set of children’s and adults’ Qian et al. Air pollution in four Chinese cities respiratory health outcomes and ambient pollution levels. city gradients in ambient pollution levels also existed in the The four Chinese cities, Lanzhou, Wuhan, Chongqing, and four cities. Therefore, the data collected in these eight study Guangzhou (see Figure 1), were chosen because they were districts nested in the four cities would enable examinations expected to exhibit a substantial gradient in ambient levels of both inter-city and intra-city relationships between of several important air pollutants due to variations in health outcomes and pollution levels. In this paper, we pollution sources and geographic and climatic conditions. present ambient concentrations of the following pollutants Lanzhou, with a population of 1.34 million at the time of the measured in the eight districts: PM2.5,PM2.5 – 10,PM10, TSP, study, lies in the northwestern China. The city is located in SO2, and NOx. We performed a series of data analyses to an east–west basin approximately 35 km long, with a examine: (1) inter-city and intra-city spatial distributions maximum north–south width of approximately 8 km. This of the measured pollutants; (2) seasonal variations and topography results in a long-term inversion for about 310 temporal distributions of the pollutants over the measure- days each year. The inversion layer can reach about 700 m ment period; (3) relationships among different pollutants; in depth (Zhou et al., 1990). Major pollution sources in and (4) potentials for the classification of the eight study Lanzhou include coal burning for industrial and domestic district based upon their ambient pollution levels. These heating purposes and an oil refinery. Wuhan is located in the analyses will help the construction of analytical frameworks middle of the Yangzi River Delta. It has a population of for subsequent investigations of pollution–health relation- about 7 million, of which 3.4 million reside in the central ships. area of the city during the period of the study. Coal is commonly used for domestic cooking and heating and industrial processes (Lin et al., 1990; Qian et al., 1992). Measurement methods Chongqing, with a population of over 10 million, is a major industrial base in southwest China. The climate is very hot in As TSP, SO2, and NOx were regulated pollutants in China the summer with a high frequency of windless and inversion and routinely measured in the eight study districts, the days, resulting in poor dispersion of ambient pollutants concentrations of these pollutants during the study period (Chen et al., 1992). Acid precipitation is common, partly were obtained from the municipal air pollution monitoring due to combustion of sulfur-rich coals produced in the stations in these districts. However, size-fractionated PM region. Guangzhou is located in the southern coastline of measurements were not available at these stations and thus China and has a population of about 5.6 million. Motor were specifically measured in the present study. Since an vehicle exhaust and fossil fuel combustion are the major elementary school in each study district was chosen to sources of anthropogenic air pollution there. provide the human subject pool, the PM measurements were In each of the four cities, two districts (one urban and made in the yards of these schools instead of at the one suburban) were selected with an expectation that intra- municipal monitoring stations. One of the criteria for choosing the elementary schools was that the schools had to be reasonably close to the districts’ monitoring stations (within 8 km for the Lanzhou suburban school and the Guangzhou suburban school and within 1.5 km for all the other six schools). Size-fractionated PM measured in these Beijing schoolyards include PM2.5,PM2.5 –10, and PM10. TSP concentrations were measured as well in the schoolyards N Lanzhou for comparison purposes. Since data on health outcomes and other relevant NWuhan ChongqingN parameters were collected from 1993 to 1996, we obtained data on SO2, NOx, and TSP measurements for these 4 years N from the municipal monitoring stations. The schoolyards Guangzhou measurements, however, were only made for 2 years (1995 and 1996) due to financial and logistic limitations. The TSP, SO2, and NOx measurements at the municipal monitoring stations strictly followed the standard methods set by the State Environmental Protection Administration of China (SEPA, 1992). Briefly, all the TSP measurements were made using SEPA-certified TSP samplers. The models (KB-120E) used in Guangzhou and Lanzhou had Figure 1. Map of China showing the four study cities. (Beijing is an operating flow rate of 100 l/min, and the models (SH- shown for orientation purposes.) 1) used in Chongqing and Wuhan had an operating flow 342 Journal of Exposure Analysis and Environmental Epidemiology (2001) 11(5) Air pollution in four Chinese cities Qian et al.