Air quality status and trends over the Metropolitan Area of Sao Paulo, Brazil as a result of emission control policies

Author(s)

Barreto Carvalho, Vanessa Silveira ^[1] ; Freitas, Edmilson Dias ^[2] ; Martins, Leila Droprinchinski ^[3] ; Martins, Jorge Alberto ^[3] ; Mazzoli, Caroline Rosario ^[2] ; Andrade, Maria de Fatima ^[2]

Affiliation

^[1] Univ Fed Itajuba, Inst Nat Resources, BR-37500903 Itajuba, MG - Brazil

^[2] Univ Sao Paulo, Dept Atmospher Sci, Inst Astron Geophys & Atmospher Sci, BR-05508090 Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[3] Fed Technol Univ Parana, BR-86036370 Londrina, Parana - Brazil

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & POLICY; v. 47, p. 68-79, MAR 2015.
• Web of Science Citations: 29

Abstract

Fourteen years of regulated air pollutants concentrations were analyzed in order to characterize the benefits of Brazil's emission control policies on air quality conditions and to evaluate the temporal patterns between 1996 and 2009 over the Metropolitan Area of Sao Paulo (MASP). MASP includes one of the largest cities in the world,(Sao Paulo) and its light-duty vehicular fleet has a very important characteristic in that it uses, on a large scale, fuels such as ethanol derived from sugar cane and compressed natural gas. Nowadays, ethanol makes up more than 50% of the fuel used in Brazil. The frequent episodes with high ozone and PM10 concentration values in the MASP are mostly associated with vehicular emissions - primary emission of particles and gases enrolled in ozone photochemical production and formation of secondary fine particles. Although the fleet has increased at a substantial rate, annual mean values show a diminishing tendency for all pollutants except for ozone, which presents no significant tendency. This diminishing tendency in the analyzed period is due to the vehicular emission control program established by the Brazilian Government in 1986, called PROCONVE (Program for the Control of Vehicular Emission). Monthly mean values, as expected, show higher concentrations of all pollutants except for ozone during wintertime. The diurnal cycle of the pollutants in most of the stations shows two peaks, associated with rush hours, except for ozone, whose peak follows the maximum radiation incidence. Secondary (nocturnal) ozone concentration maxima were sometimes verified around three and four LST. Average values for weekdays and weekends showed that the different air quality stations showed different patterns for the pollutants. For ozone the concentrations were higher during the weekend when compared to weekdays. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 06/59546-9 - Impact of megacities on the quality of air on local and regional scale: the cases of the metropolitan regions of São Paulo and of Rio de Janeiro
• Grantee: Vanessa Silveira Barreto Carvalho
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate