Intra-urban variability of the intake fraction from multiple emission sources

Ambient air pollution and associated adverse health effects are among most acute environmental problems in many cities worldwide. The intake fraction (iF) approach can be applied for evaluating the health benefits of reducing emissions, especially when rapid decisions are needed. Intake fraction is a metric that represents emission-to-intake relationship and characterizes abatement of exposure potential attributed to specific emission sources.

In this study, the spatial variability of iF in Warsaw agglomeration, Poland, is discussed.

The iF analysis is based on the earlier air quality modeling results, that include the main pollutants characterizing an urban atmospheric environment (SO₂, NOx, PM₁₀, PM_2.5, CO, C₆H₆, B(a)P, heavy metals). The annual mean concentrations were computed by the CALPUFF modeling system (spatial resolution 0.5 × 0.5 km²) on the basis of the emission and meteorological data from year 2012. The emission field comprised 24 high (power generation) and 3880 low (industry) point sources, 7285 mobile (transport) sources, and 6962 area (housing) sources.

The aggregated iFs values are computed for each emission class and the related polluting compounds. Intra-urban variability maps of iFs are attributed to an emission sources by emission category and pollutant.

Intake fraction is shown as a decision support tool for implementing the cost-effective emission policy and reducing the health risk of air pollution.