| en |
Risk assessment of traffic-related air pollution in a world heritage city
Sheng, N. & Tang, U.W.
Abstract
To support environmental risk management in a world heritage city, this paper presents high spatial-resolution maps of air pollutants for the Macao Peninsula. In particular, the risk of exposure to traffic-related nitrogen dioxide pollution for the 22 world heritage monuments in the Historic Center of Macao was assessed. The air-pollution mapping was performed by a building-based air quality model system, in which the traffic-related air pollutions at 5,965 receptor points in the Macao Peninsula were modeled and the average spatial resolution was 727 receptors/km2. The results indicate that under the conditions of the evening peak hour and the north wind direction sector 0–20°, air quality in the Macao Peninsula is the worst. About 14.1% of the modeled nitrogen dioxide concentrations at the 5,965 receptor points exceed the national ambient air quality standard for scenic spot of 120 μg/m3 in China. Two world heritage monuments, i.e., the “Leal Senado” Building and the Cathedral, are exposed to excessively high nitrogen dioxide concentrations of 135.9 and 121.1 μg/m3, respectively. The results in this paper could help decision makers to develop effective strategies to protect the world cultural heritages in Macao for future human generations to appreciate and enjoy.
Keywords
Air quality modeling; Cultural heritage; Environmental risk management; Geographical information system
|
