Spatiotemporal characteristics and health effects of air pollutants in Shenzhen

doi:10.1016/j.apr.2015.07.005

Atmospheric Pollution Research

Volume 7, Issue 1, January 2016, Pages 58-65

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apr.2015.07.005 Get rights and content

Abstract

In this study, spatiotemporal patterns and health effects in all-cause mortality of air pollutants (CO, NO₂, and SO₂) during 2013 in Shenzhen were investigated. Spatiotemporal characteristics of air quality index (AQI) and air quality are also addressed. The results show that daily averages were 10.9 μg/m³ for SO₂, 39.6 μg/m³ for NO₂, and 1.2 mg/m³ for CO. Daily AQI ranged from 24 to 179. There were approximately 39 days of air pollution in Shenzhen. NO₂ was the third major air pollutant. Monthly/hourly average AQI and concentrations of NO₂ and SO₂ in the city center area were higher than in tourist areas. Annual AQI and NO₂ concentration were higher in western parts of Shenzhen, whereas SO₂ was higher in eastern portions. The lowest CO concentration was in the Luohu District. Relative risks of mortality number increased with SO₂/NO₂ levels. When SO₂/NO₂ concentration changed, female individuals were more sensitive than male individuals, and people aged older than 65 years were more affected than younger people.

Introduction

China has undergone very rapid economic growth since economic reforms in 1978. This growth has increased energy consumption, air pollution, and associated health effects (Wong et al., 2008, Hellgren et al., 2010, Cai et al., 2014, Li and Zhang, 2014). To improve air quality, protect the environment, and reduce the health burden of air pollution, the Chinese Government issued a new ambient air quality standard (GB3095-2012) (Ministry of Environmental Protection of the People's Republic of China and Administration of Quality Supervision Inspection and Quarantine (2012)) in 2012, replacing the old standard (GB3095-1996) (Ministry of Environmental Protection of the People's Republic of China and Administration of Quality Supervision Inspection and Quarantine (1996)). The new standard will be implemented incrementally nationwide by 1 January 2016. Selected cities including Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, the Yangtze River Delta, Pearl River Delta and provincial capitals began compliance with the GB3095-2012 on 1 January 2013.

Shenzhen is in southern China, spanning 113°46ʹ–114°37ʹE and 22°27ʹ–22°52ʹN, with a city area of 1991.64 km² (Simons, 2003). There is a subtropical oceanic climate, with warm weather and abundant rainfall, and annual average temperature is 22.4 °C. Shenzhen is a rapidly developing city in Guangdong Province, and is located at the mouth of the Pearl River Delta adjacent to Hong Kong. It is one of the original “Special Economic Zones” that was designed to attract foreign investment, promote exports, and evaluate various economic policies. Shenzhen is exemplary of China's urban revolution and shares many environmental and social equity concerns with numerous rapidly developing cities around the world (Skoner, 2001). From 1996 to 2006, the real gross domestic product of Shenzhen increased by nearly 400%, and the city is now the fourth richest in China (Simons, 2003). The rapid economic development and urbanization have also given rise to a number of environmental concerns and demands on natural resources, most notably the conversion of land and accompanying impacts on air and water quality (Maziak et al., 2003, Liu et al., 2007, Chen and Jiao, 2008). As one of the first-stage cities complying with GB3095-2012 since 2013, Shenzhen has released real-time hourly monitoring concentration data of six air pollutants to the general public since 1 January 2013. Annual SO₂ and NO₂ concentrations were 9 and 42 ug/m³ in 2012; and the air quality met the Grade II standard of GB3095-1996; relative to other cities in China, air quality in Shenzhen was good. Compared with previous years, however, the city is experiencing increasing air pollution (Ministry of Environmental Protection of the People's Republic of China, 2000–2013). However, there has been no comprehensive study of air pollutants (SO₂, NO₂, and CO) in Shenzhen, therefore studies on spatiotemporal patterns and health effects of those pollutants are needed.

We carried out a time-series analysis of daily/hourly air pollutant concentrations and daily number of all-cause (non-accidental) mortality during the first year (2013) of GB3095-2012 implementation in Shenzhen. Daily patterns of air quality index (AQI) and the three aforementioned air pollutants were determined, and their hourly patterns in different urban functional areas of the city were examined. Spatial distributions of the four variables were also investigated. Health effects of air pollutants on all-cause mortality were analyzed, considering various age and sex groups. The results of our analysis will help us to implement a control strategy for SO₂, NO₂, and other major pollutants in urban areas.

Section snippets

Mortality data

All mortality data for the calendar year 2013 were obtained from death certificates recorded at the Shenzhen Center for Disease Control and Prevention. In the death registry, causes are coded by the International Classification of Disease, revision 10 (ICD10) (World Health Organization, 2010).

Air pollutant monitoring data

Air quality monitoring data were provided by the China National Environmental Monitoring Center (CNEMC). Daily AQI and SO₂, NO₂, and CO concentrations were provided as daily mean values measured at 11

Statistical results

Table 1 summarizes annual means and percentages of daily all-cause mortality number, AQI, and concentrations of air pollutants in Shenzhen during 2013.

During the study period, annual temperature and humidity were 23.1 °C and 74.8%, respectively. Mean daily temperature ranged from 9.8 to 31.2 °C, and mean daily humidity from 24% to 100%, reflecting the subtropical oceanic climate.

The daily range of SO₂ was 4–51 μg/m³, with an average of 10.9 μg/m³. NO₂ concentration was 14–111 μg/m³, with an

Discussion

The objective of this study was to provide air quality status and environmental monitoring information to the general public and scientific research community, determine spatiotemporal characteristics of AQI, CO, NO₂, and SO₂, evaluate Shenzhen air quality during 2013, and ascertain any health effects of air pollutants on human health.

NO₂ has been used as a marker for a cocktail of combustion-related pollutants. In particular, air pollutants emitted by road traffic or indoor combustion sources

Conclusions

During 2013, annual concentrations in Shenzhen were 10.9 μg/m³ for SO₂, 39.6 μg/m³ for NO₂, and 1.2 mg/m³ for CO. The daily AQI was 24–179. Approximately 39 days had air pollution, largely in December. Monthly NO₂/SO₂ concentrations at site HQC were higher than at NA. All hourly average AQI and SO₂/NO₂ concentrations were higher in the city center than in the tourist area. Annual AQI and NO₂ concentrations were higher in western Shenzhen. SO₂ had higher concentrations in eastern portions. The

Conflicts of interest

All authors declare they have no conflict of interest to disclose in the context of this study.

Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank all the staff members at the Shenzhen Centre for Disease Control and Prevention for their strong support of this study. We thank the Meteorological Bureau of Shenzhen Municipality for providing data. The present study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NO. 41401101 & NO.41371118).

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: Peer review under responsibility of Turkish National Committee for Air Pollution Research and Control.

¹: These authors contributed equally to this work.

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Original articleSpatiotemporal characteristics and health effects of air pollutants in Shenzhen

Abstract

Introduction

Section snippets

Mortality data

Air pollutant monitoring data

Statistical results

Discussion

Conclusions

Conflicts of interest

Acknowledgments

Environ. Pollut.

Environ. Pollut.

Sci. Total Environ.

Atmos. Environ.

Lancet

Lancet

Environ. Res.

Environ. Pollut.

Ecol. Econ.

J. Allergy Clin. Immunol.

Atmos. Environ.

Environ. Int.

J. Allergy Clin. Immunol.

Sci. Total Environ.

Sci. Total Environ.

Original article
Spatiotemporal characteristics and health effects of air pollutants in Shenzhen