Do Urban Subway Openings Reduce PM2.5 Concentrations? Evidence from China

Hong-you, LU; Zhu, Yunchan; Yu, Qi; Yu, Jingsheng

doi:10.3390/su10114147

Cited by 28 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 65 publications

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“…Given the great potential for metropolitan subway systems to benefit urban communities, further growth in subway systems is anticipated. For example, studies in China have predicted opening new subway lines will decrease air pollution and provide substantial health benefits ( Lu et al. 2018 ; Li et al.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

PM2.5 Concentration and Composition in Subway Systems in the Northeastern United States

Luglio

Katsigeorgis

Hess

et al. 2021

Environ Health Perspect

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The goals of this study were to assess the air quality in subway systems in the northeastern United States and estimate the health risks for transit workers and commuters. METHODS: We report real-time and gravimetric PM 2:5 concentrations and particle composition from area samples collected in the subways of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Boston, Massachusetts; New York City, New York/New Jersey (NYC/NJ); and Washington, District of Columbia. A total of 71 stations across 12 transit lines were monitored during morning and evening rush hours. RESULTS: We observed variable and high PM 2:5 concentrations for on-train and on-platform measurements during morning (from 0600 hours to 1000 hours) and evening (from 1500 hours to 1900 hours) rush hour across cities.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

PM2.5 Concentration and Composition in Subway Systems in the Northeastern United States

Luglio

Katsigeorgis

Hess

et al. 2021

Environ Health Perspect

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show abstract

“…In metropolitan areas, subways have become an indispensable form of transport as they reduce traffic congestion and improve air quality by reducing emissions from gasoline and diesel engines [1]. Recently, Lu et al (2018) reported that adding new openings in the subway systems in Chinese cities between 2013 to 2017 reduced PM 2.5 concentrations by an average of 18 µg/m 3 and significantly improved air quality [2]. The Seoul Metropolitan subway is one of the largest metro traffic systems in the world.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Characteristics of PM2.5 and Black Carbon Exposure Among Subway Workers

Choi

Park

Kim

et al. 2019

IJERPH

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This study aimed to assess the characteristics of exposure to both PM2.5 and black carbon (BC) among subway workers. A total of 61 subway workers, including 26, 23, and 12 subway station managers, maintenance engineers, and train drivers, respectively, were investigated in 2018. Real-time measurements of airborne PM2.5 and BC were simultaneously conducted around the breathing zones of workers. Maintenance engineers had the highest average levels of exposure to both PM2.5 and BC (PM2.5, 76 µg/m3; BC, 9.3 µg/m3), followed by train drivers (63.2 µg/m3, 5.9 µg/m3) and subway station managers (39.7 µg/m3, 2.2 µg/m3). In terms of the relationship between mass concentrations of PM2.5 and BC, train drivers demonstrated the strongest correlation (R = 0.72), indicating that the proportion of BC contained in PM2.5 is relatively steady. The average proportion of BC in PM2.5 among maintenance engineers (13.0%) was higher than that among train drivers (9.4%) and subway station managers (6.4%). Univariate and mixed effect multiple analyses demonstrated the type of task and worksite to be significant factors affecting exposure levels in maintenance engineers and subway station managers. The use of diesel engine motorcars in tunnel maintenance was found to be a key contributor to PM2.5 and BC exposure levels among subway workers.

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“…We tested the substitution-of-driving effect by estimating both the short- and long-term effects of the subway openings on CO, which is a major pollutant emitted by motor vehicles. In 2016, the quantity of vehicle emissions in China was 44,725 million tons, of which 34.19 million tons were CO and 0.53 million tons were PM [ 53 ]. Therefore, we estimated the effect of the new subway openings on CO in order to test the alternatives to subway transit in the form of on-road transportation.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Can the New Subway Line Openings Mitigate PM10 Concentration? Evidence from Chinese Cities Based on the PSM-DID Method

Wang

Tao

Wang

et al. 2020

IJERPH

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The large-scale construction of subway systems, which is viewed as one of the potential measures to mitigate traffic congestion and its resulting air pollution and health impact, is taking place in major cities throughout China. However, the literature on the impact of the new subway line openings on particulate matter with a diameter less than 10 µm (PM10) at the city level is scarce. Employing the Propensity Score Matching–Difference-in-differences method, this paper examines the effect of the new subway line openings on air quality in terms of PM10 in China, using the daily PM10 concentration data from January 2014 to December 2017. Our finding shows that the short-term treatment effect on PM10 is more controversial. Furthermore, for different time windows, the result confirms an increase in PM10 pollution during the short term, while the subway line openings improve air quality in the longer term. In addition, we find that the treatment effect results in high PM10 pollution for cities with 1–2 million people, while it improves air quality for cities with over 2 million people. Moreover, for cities with varying levels of GDP, there is evidence of a reduction in PM10 after the subway line openings. Mechanism analysis supports the conclusion that the PM10 reduction originated from substituting the subway for driving.

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Do Urban Subway Openings Reduce PM2.5 Concentrations? Evidence from China

Cited by 28 publications

References 65 publications

PM2.5 Concentration and Composition in Subway Systems in the Northeastern United States

PM2.5 Concentration and Composition in Subway Systems in the Northeastern United States

Characteristics of PM2.5 and Black Carbon Exposure Among Subway Workers

Can the New Subway Line Openings Mitigate PM10 Concentration? Evidence from Chinese Cities Based on the PSM-DID Method

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