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105 years Chiayi County air quality management development plan

Absrtact	Since its promulgation on May 22, 1975, the Air Pollution Control Act has achieved more comprehensive control of pollutant emissions as well as increasing environmental awareness among the public. In recent years, control standards have become tougher and are regulating more pollution sources. But due to complicated emission characteristics, it is still a work in progress. For example, the air quality of Chiayi County (hereinafter referred to as “the County”) has been deteriorating since 2003 with an increased ratio of Air Pollution Standards Index measurement days with values more than 100. Although air quality has become better over the past four years, yet O3 and the particulate matter of 10 micrometers (PM10) have been identified as the main pollutants. Among those pollutants, the concentration of fine particulate matter, PM2.5, is an issue of great concern that requires immediate improvement. This indicates that for the control of individual pollutants, the air quality has not improved significantly. Hence, to consider the holistic approach of air pollution control, the air quality management plan has been proposed. In order to effectively utilize environmental funds and conduct entrusted projects, the Environmental Protection Bureau of the County integrates SIP and has come out with the “Air Quality Management Plan.” This plan is proposed to assist the Bureau with the monitoring process and quality of each control task, while also collecting and analyzing data on the implementation effectiveness and air quality over the past years to study and enact measures to improve air quality, adapt to changes and promote air pollution control. Furthermore, for the purposes of effective monitoring and utilization of environmental fund and coordination with project management, with evaluations approved by the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA), maximizing the performance of air pollution control is required to apply for the maximum amount of air pollution fund allocated by the EPA. In short, the 2016 Air Pollution Management Plan was oriented to achieve three target indices: performance, environment, and public preference. The performance index indicates how comprehensively and effectively the control management has been performed. This is based on the evaluation methods of the EPA in order to assist the Bureau with the monitoring process and quality of each control. The environment index amends and updates the amount of emissions through the analyses of air pollution and emission amount of the County to enact targets and measures of air quality management, to set and review the objectives of pollutant reduction according to the characteristics of pollutants of the County. Additionally, short, middle, and long-term control measures are set up for the implementation of the following year and future air quality improvement plans. A timetable with systematic planning and reviews to improve air quality of the County is then submitted. This plan assists the Bureau to promote the overall air quality maintenance or improvement projects of the County, synergizes the implementation effectiveness and targets of different projects, and enacts short, middle, and long-term control measures for implementation of next year and future air quality improvement plans. A timetable with systematic planning and reviews to improve the air quality of the County can then be submitted. According to the tender documentation of the 2016 “Chiayi County Air Quality Control Plan,” six objectives of this plan are listed below: 1. To incorporate with amendment of air quality control policies of the EPA by analyzing the air quality of the County over the past years as the basis for proposing the air pollution and emission amount control plan, to analyze the characteristics of the pollution sources, and to enact short, middle, and long-term control measures to upgrade the class III control region into the class II control region. 2. To study the trends of PM2.5 concentration in the County and to enact control measures. 3. Regularly check and review the implementation number, quality, and progress of each control work related to air pollution control (management) and facilitate improvement for better evaluation result. 4. To conduct relevant operations of auditing for established air quality purification zones, clean and maintain the environment, maintain and manage facilities, inspect the carbon sink construction and report on the online platform. 5. To assist operations and other relevant administrative affairs of environmental pollution control (treatment) fund of the County to achieve the utilization fitness of fund amortization and utilization. 6. To carry out operations related to the implementation of air pollution control (prevention) to increase public environmental awareness of county residents and to coordinate with policy promotion. The 2016 annual plan was carried out from April 10, 2016 to April 9, 2017 and the implementation and progress of relevant works of this plan are being completed as scheduled. The work progress and current achievements are described below: 1. Pollutant emission list and current air quality conditions The TEDs9.0 (using 2013 as the base year) emission amount shows that the TSP emission rate is mostly contributed by construction /roadside dust (83.5%), followed by vehicles (7.4%). Likely, the PM10 emission rate mainly comes from construction/roadside dust (69.7%) followed by vehicle emission (13.2%). Construction/roadside dust also accounts for the highest PM2.5 emission rate (48.5%) followed by vehicle emission (24.6%). The industrial sector has the highest rate of SOX emission (70.1%) while off-highway transportation accounts for 23.3%; NOX emission rate mostly comes from vehicle emission (51.7%) followed by industrial emission (34.8%). The industry emits the highest NMHC emission (33.2%) and vehicles emit the second largest emission (24.2%). In 2016, Chiayi County had 50 poor air quality measurement days with values of more than 150 (AQI>150) and among these days, 38 and 12 adverse pollution days of PM2.5 and O3 were identified, respectively (The sub-indices of O3 and O3-8h are both included to acquire the maximum value as the Air Quality Index (AQI) of the day). There were no adverse pollution days of PM10, with the adverse pollution rate of 6.8%, lower than that of the average negative air quality rate of Yunlin Chiayi Tainan region (8.2%). According to the statistics from April to September, 2016, there were 10 days measured with AQI>150; among these days, there were no negative pollution days of PM10 and 6 and 4 negative pollution days of PM2.5 and O3, respectively. 2. Handling air pollution events and negative air quality notifications This plan, at present, issued 82 negative air quality day notifications, 2 of O3 and 80 of PM2.5. Among these notifications, 2 times that of PSI>100 and 42 times of AQI>100, indicating that control and management construction projects, dusty roads, stationary emission source and open burning can effectively reduce the contribution of pollutants within the County. 3. Follow-ups of project implementation effectiveness The plan included two meetings of the promotion team for air pollutant reduction, four reviews, and three project view meetings with commissioners. There were one horizontal pollution notification and one pollution improvement notification. They were both improved within 24 hours. 4. Establishment, maintenance and management operations of air quality This plan was evaluated on site two times in May and October, and in June and November, two follow-ups were completed for 29 zones; two sessions (11 zones) were conducted with on-site consultation and auditing by commissioners in August and follow-ups were completed in September. At the same time, information on the relevant contact person of the responsible office was updated in May, August, November, and February, 2017. The Bureau was in charge of maintenance of two purification zones; maintenance was conducted on a monthly basis. At present, 12 times of environmental cleaning and maintenance operation both in “Puzi City Chia Pu Section Land #274 Waste Repository Construction” and “Shuishang Township Shiyizhi Cuo Longde Xiao Section Waste Repository Construction,” each per month, were completed and one sign of Air Quality Purification Zone was put with the “Shuishang Township Shiyizhi Cuo Longde Xiao Section Waste Repository Construction,” and ten zones were completed with plantation carbon sink checks to confirm the CO2 absorption as 258,377.770 Kg per year, indicating an increase of 107,945.68 Kg of CO2 compared to that of 2012. 5. Assistance to air pollution control (treatment) fund operations Under the plan, four meetings of fund management commission were convened, one seminar on environmental pollution fund was organized, and the budget for the 2017 air pollution control fund was planned. Meanwhile, four continuous plans of 2017 were submitted to the EPA for subsidies: “the Inspection and Control of Permitted Stationary Air Pollution Source and Volatile Organic Compounds,” “the Functional Inspection and Auditing Control of Continuous Emission Monitoring System (CEMS) and Jhongyang Environmental Protection Network Management Plan” and “the Diesel Vehicle Exhaust Smoke Test and A Li Mountain Air Quality Purification Zone Control Plan,” and “the Prevention of Open Burning of Agricultural Waste Plan.” 6. Others This plan, with the promotion of the Bureau for better air quality, incorporates LINE, the communication app; the “Air Quality Notification Platform of Chiayi County” has been constructed to send notifications to the Education Department, the Bureau of Social Welfare, and the Department of Health of Chiayi County horizontally. At 8:30 in the morning and 1:30 in the afternoon, updated information of PM2.5 and PSI as well as air quality alert color code warnings are updated for the convenience to notify 123 elementary schools, 33 junior and senior high schools, 157 kindergartens, and 51 medical and nursing institutions. Now the system is initiated to automatically send emails to replace the manual work to send messages through LINE, when the main pollutants have the immediate concentrations exceeding the default values. Emails are automatically sent out, so that the Department of Education, the Bureau of Social Welfare, and Department of Health, township offices, and the general public will receive real-time information on air quality conditions. Free online information is also available. The handbook and pamphlet “How to Protect Yourself from Air Pollution” are jointly complied with the Department of Health; 500 and 3,000 copies of the handbook and pamphlets, respectively, are distributed to schools and the public for promotion.
Keyword	Air Pollution Control

Absrtact

Since its promulgation on May 22, 1975, the Air Pollution Control Act has achieved more comprehensive control of pollutant emissions as well as increasing environmental awareness among the public. In recent years, control standards have become tougher and are regulating more pollution sources. But due to complicated emission characteristics, it is still a work in progress. For example, the air quality of Chiayi County (hereinafter referred to as “the County”) has been deteriorating since 2003 with an increased ratio of Air Pollution Standards Index measurement days with values more than 100. Although air quality has become better over the past four years, yet O3 and the particulate matter of 10 micrometers (PM10) have been identified as the main pollutants. Among those pollutants, the concentration of fine particulate matter, PM2.5, is an issue of great concern that requires immediate improvement. This indicates that for the control of individual pollutants, the air quality has not improved significantly. Hence, to consider the holistic approach of air pollution control, the air quality management plan has been proposed. In order to effectively utilize environmental funds and conduct entrusted projects, the Environmental Protection Bureau of the County integrates SIP and has come out with the “Air Quality Management Plan.” This plan is proposed to assist the Bureau with the monitoring process and quality of each control task, while also collecting and analyzing data on the implementation effectiveness and air quality over the past years to study and enact measures to improve air quality, adapt to changes and promote air pollution control. Furthermore, for the purposes of effective monitoring and utilization of environmental fund and coordination with project management, with evaluations approved by the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA), maximizing the performance of air pollution control is required to apply for the maximum amount of air pollution fund allocated by the EPA. In short, the 2016 Air Pollution Management Plan was oriented to achieve three target indices: performance, environment, and public preference. The performance index indicates how comprehensively and effectively the control management has been performed. This is based on the evaluation methods of the EPA in order to assist the Bureau with the monitoring process and quality of each control. The environment index amends and updates the amount of emissions through the analyses of air pollution and emission amount of the County to enact targets and measures of air quality management, to set and review the objectives of pollutant reduction according to the characteristics of pollutants of the County. Additionally, short, middle, and long-term control measures are set up for the implementation of the following year and future air quality improvement plans. A timetable with systematic planning and reviews to improve air quality of the County is then submitted. This plan assists the Bureau to promote the overall air quality maintenance or improvement projects of the County, synergizes the implementation effectiveness and targets of different projects, and enacts short, middle, and long-term control measures for implementation of next year and future air quality improvement plans. A timetable with systematic planning and reviews to improve the air quality of the County can then be submitted. According to the tender documentation of the 2016 “Chiayi County Air Quality Control Plan,” six objectives of this plan are listed below: 1. To incorporate with amendment of air quality control policies of the EPA by analyzing the air quality of the County over the past years as the basis for proposing the air pollution and emission amount control plan, to analyze the characteristics of the pollution sources, and to enact short, middle, and long-term control measures to upgrade the class III control region into the class II control region. 2. To study the trends of PM2.5 concentration in the County and to enact control measures. 3. Regularly check and review the implementation number, quality, and progress of each control work related to air pollution control (management) and facilitate improvement for better evaluation result. 4. To conduct relevant operations of auditing for established air quality purification zones, clean and maintain the environment, maintain and manage facilities, inspect the carbon sink construction and report on the online platform. 5. To assist operations and other relevant administrative affairs of environmental pollution control (treatment) fund of the County to achieve the utilization fitness of fund amortization and utilization. 6. To carry out operations related to the implementation of air pollution control (prevention) to increase public environmental awareness of county residents and to coordinate with policy promotion. The 2016 annual plan was carried out from April 10, 2016 to April 9, 2017 and the implementation and progress of relevant works of this plan are being completed as scheduled. The work progress and current achievements are described below: 1. Pollutant emission list and current air quality conditions The TEDs9.0 (using 2013 as the base year) emission amount shows that the TSP emission rate is mostly contributed by construction /roadside dust (83.5%), followed by vehicles (7.4%). Likely, the PM10 emission rate mainly comes from construction/roadside dust (69.7%) followed by vehicle emission (13.2%). Construction/roadside dust also accounts for the highest PM2.5 emission rate (48.5%) followed by vehicle emission (24.6%). The industrial sector has the highest rate of SOX emission (70.1%) while off-highway transportation accounts for 23.3%; NOX emission rate mostly comes from vehicle emission (51.7%) followed by industrial emission (34.8%). The industry emits the highest NMHC emission (33.2%) and vehicles emit the second largest emission (24.2%). In 2016, Chiayi County had 50 poor air quality measurement days with values of more than 150 (AQI>150) and among these days, 38 and 12 adverse pollution days of PM2.5 and O3 were identified, respectively (The sub-indices of O3 and O3-8h are both included to acquire the maximum value as the Air Quality Index (AQI) of the day). There were no adverse pollution days of PM10, with the adverse pollution rate of 6.8%, lower than that of the average negative air quality rate of Yunlin Chiayi Tainan region (8.2%). According to the statistics from April to September, 2016, there were 10 days measured with AQI>150; among these days, there were no negative pollution days of PM10 and 6 and 4 negative pollution days of PM2.5 and O3, respectively. 2. Handling air pollution events and negative air quality notifications This plan, at present, issued 82 negative air quality day notifications, 2 of O3 and 80 of PM2.5. Among these notifications, 2 times that of PSI>100 and 42 times of AQI>100, indicating that control and management construction projects, dusty roads, stationary emission source and open burning can effectively reduce the contribution of pollutants within the County. 3. Follow-ups of project implementation effectiveness The plan included two meetings of the promotion team for air pollutant reduction, four reviews, and three project view meetings with commissioners. There were one horizontal pollution notification and one pollution improvement notification. They were both improved within 24 hours. 4. Establishment, maintenance and management operations of air quality This plan was evaluated on site two times in May and October, and in June and November, two follow-ups were completed for 29 zones; two sessions (11 zones) were conducted with on-site consultation and auditing by commissioners in August and follow-ups were completed in September. At the same time, information on the relevant contact person of the responsible office was updated in May, August, November, and February, 2017. The Bureau was in charge of maintenance of two purification zones; maintenance was conducted on a monthly basis. At present, 12 times of environmental cleaning and maintenance operation both in “Puzi City Chia Pu Section Land #274 Waste Repository Construction” and “Shuishang Township Shiyizhi Cuo Longde Xiao Section Waste Repository Construction,” each per month, were completed and one sign of Air Quality Purification Zone was put with the “Shuishang Township Shiyizhi Cuo Longde Xiao Section Waste Repository Construction,” and ten zones were completed with plantation carbon sink checks to confirm the CO2 absorption as 258,377.770 Kg per year, indicating an increase of 107,945.68 Kg of CO2 compared to that of 2012. 5. Assistance to air pollution control (treatment) fund operations Under the plan, four meetings of fund management commission were convened, one seminar on environmental pollution fund was organized, and the budget for the 2017 air pollution control fund was planned. Meanwhile, four continuous plans of 2017 were submitted to the EPA for subsidies: “the Inspection and Control of Permitted Stationary Air Pollution Source and Volatile Organic Compounds,” “the Functional Inspection and Auditing Control of Continuous Emission Monitoring System (CEMS) and Jhongyang Environmental Protection Network Management Plan” and “the Diesel Vehicle Exhaust Smoke Test and A Li Mountain Air Quality Purification Zone Control Plan,” and “the Prevention of Open Burning of Agricultural Waste Plan.” 6. Others This plan, with the promotion of the Bureau for better air quality, incorporates LINE, the communication app; the “Air Quality Notification Platform of Chiayi County” has been constructed to send notifications to the Education Department, the Bureau of Social Welfare, and the Department of Health of Chiayi County horizontally. At 8:30 in the morning and 1:30 in the afternoon, updated information of PM2.5 and PSI as well as air quality alert color code warnings are updated for the convenience to notify 123 elementary schools, 33 junior and senior high schools, 157 kindergartens, and 51 medical and nursing institutions. Now the system is initiated to automatically send emails to replace the manual work to send messages through LINE, when the main pollutants have the immediate concentrations exceeding the default values. Emails are automatically sent out, so that the Department of Education, the Bureau of Social Welfare, and Department of Health, township offices, and the general public will receive real-time information on air quality conditions. Free online information is also available. The handbook and pamphlet “How to Protect Yourself from Air Pollution” are jointly complied with the Department of Health; 500 and 3,000 copies of the handbook and pamphlets, respectively, are distributed to schools and the public for promotion.

Keyword

Air Pollution Control