Health Co-benefits of Traffic-related Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Mitigation Policies in Cities

摘要

The objective of this work is the investigation of the co-benefits in urban air quality and public health in the area of Thessaloniki, after the introduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction policies. The policies implemented include an underground rail network in the city centre and changes in the transportation mode and fleet composition. Hence, traffic pollution is estimated for the year 2010 and two future scenarios in year 2020, i.e., a business-as-usual and the GHG emission reduction scenario. The health impact is assessed, via an integrated methodological framework, incorporating a number of models i.e. a) SIBYL to project vehicle stock numbers, b) VISUM to compute traffic flows and velocities, c) COPERT Ⅳ, to compute pollutant emissions, d) OSPM, to model dispersion in traffic corridor, e) CAPLUFF to model the traffic dispersion from motorways and f) NMRB-2008 to compute noise from road transport. The computed health effects result from the exposure to Particulate Matter, NO2, benzene and noise to the same urban population. Results show significant benefits, especially for the municipality of Thessaloniki and its adjacent municipalities. For example, for the centre of Thessaloniki, the number of deaths attributed to PM, NO2, and Benzene exposure are reduced by 17%, 21% and 52% respectively, whereas for the adjacent municipalities, reductions range from 7% to 19%, 18% to 21% and 44% to 52% respectively. In addition, in the municipality of Thessaloniki, there is a 69% decrease in cases of myocardial infraction, due to the reduced noise level. These aforementioned policies are expected to further reduce health impact, especially due to the synergetic effect of the improved air quality and the reduced ambient noise. This is demonstrated, with the neurotoxic effects from the co-exposure of benzene and noise and cardiovascular disease caused by PM and noise.