Large-Scale Spraying of Roads with Water Contributes to, Rather Than Prevents, Air Pollution
Spraying roads with water on a large scale in Chinese cities is one of the supplementary precaution or mitigation actions implemented to control severe air pollution events or heavy haze-fog events in which the mechanisms causing them are not yet fully understood. These air pollution events were usu...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-05-01
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| Series: | Toxics |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2305-6304/9/6/122 |
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| author | Fengzhu Tan Yuming Guo Wei Zhang Xingyan Xu Ming Zhang Fan Meng Sicen Liu Shanshan Li Lidia Morawska |
| author_facet | Fengzhu Tan Yuming Guo Wei Zhang Xingyan Xu Ming Zhang Fan Meng Sicen Liu Shanshan Li Lidia Morawska |
| author_sort | Fengzhu Tan |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Spraying roads with water on a large scale in Chinese cities is one of the supplementary precaution or mitigation actions implemented to control severe air pollution events or heavy haze-fog events in which the mechanisms causing them are not yet fully understood. These air pollution events were usually characterized by higher air humidity. Therefore, there may be a link between this action and air pollution. In the present study, the impact of water spraying on the PM<sub>2.5</sub> concentration and humidity in air was assessed by measuring chemical composition of the water, undertaking a simulated water spraying experiment, measuring residues and analyzing relevant data. We discovered that spraying large quantities of tap or river water on the roads leads to increased PM<sub>2.5</sub> concentration and humidity, and that daily continuous spraying produces a cumulative effect on air pollution. Spraying the same amount of water produces greater increases in humidity and PM<sub>2.5</sub> concentration during cool autumn and winter than during hot summer. Our results demonstrate that spraying roads with water increases, rather than decreases, the concentration of PM<sub>2.5</sub> and thus is a new source of anthropogenic aerosol and air pollution. The higher vapor content and resultant humidity most likely create unfavorable meteorological conditions for the dispersion of air pollution in autumn and winter with low temperature. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T10:55:50Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-9e69e5969a8a4e98811fb9c635f3d059 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2305-6304 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T10:55:50Z |
| publishDate | 2021-05-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Toxics |
| spelling | doaj.art-9e69e5969a8a4e98811fb9c635f3d0592023-11-21T21:53:07ZengMDPI AGToxics2305-63042021-05-019612210.3390/toxics9060122Large-Scale Spraying of Roads with Water Contributes to, Rather Than Prevents, Air PollutionFengzhu Tan0Yuming Guo1Wei Zhang2Xingyan Xu3Ming Zhang4Fan Meng5Sicen Liu6Shanshan Li7Lidia Morawska8Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, School of Public Health, Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang 050017, ChinaClimate, Air Quality Research Unit, Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC 3004, AustraliaChongqing Institute of Green and Intelligent Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chongqing 400714, ChinaDepartment of Environmental and Occupational Health, School of Public Health, Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang 050017, ChinaDepartment of Environmental and Occupational Health, School of Public Health, Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang 050017, ChinaDepartment of Environmental and Occupational Health, School of Public Health, Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang 050017, ChinaDepartment of Environmental and Occupational Health, School of Public Health, Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang 050017, ChinaClimate, Air Quality Research Unit, Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC 3004, AustraliaInternational Laboratory for Air Quality and Health, Queensland University of Technology, 2 George Street, Brisbane, QLD 4000, AustraliaSpraying roads with water on a large scale in Chinese cities is one of the supplementary precaution or mitigation actions implemented to control severe air pollution events or heavy haze-fog events in which the mechanisms causing them are not yet fully understood. These air pollution events were usually characterized by higher air humidity. Therefore, there may be a link between this action and air pollution. In the present study, the impact of water spraying on the PM<sub>2.5</sub> concentration and humidity in air was assessed by measuring chemical composition of the water, undertaking a simulated water spraying experiment, measuring residues and analyzing relevant data. We discovered that spraying large quantities of tap or river water on the roads leads to increased PM<sub>2.5</sub> concentration and humidity, and that daily continuous spraying produces a cumulative effect on air pollution. Spraying the same amount of water produces greater increases in humidity and PM<sub>2.5</sub> concentration during cool autumn and winter than during hot summer. Our results demonstrate that spraying roads with water increases, rather than decreases, the concentration of PM<sub>2.5</sub> and thus is a new source of anthropogenic aerosol and air pollution. The higher vapor content and resultant humidity most likely create unfavorable meteorological conditions for the dispersion of air pollution in autumn and winter with low temperature.https://www.mdpi.com/2305-6304/9/6/122fine particlesaerosolsair pollutionrelative humidityair pollution eventsSNA |
| spellingShingle | Fengzhu Tan Yuming Guo Wei Zhang Xingyan Xu Ming Zhang Fan Meng Sicen Liu Shanshan Li Lidia Morawska Large-Scale Spraying of Roads with Water Contributes to, Rather Than Prevents, Air Pollution Toxics fine particles aerosols air pollution relative humidity air pollution events SNA |
| title | Large-Scale Spraying of Roads with Water Contributes to, Rather Than Prevents, Air Pollution |
| title_full | Large-Scale Spraying of Roads with Water Contributes to, Rather Than Prevents, Air Pollution |
| title_fullStr | Large-Scale Spraying of Roads with Water Contributes to, Rather Than Prevents, Air Pollution |
| title_full_unstemmed | Large-Scale Spraying of Roads with Water Contributes to, Rather Than Prevents, Air Pollution |
| title_short | Large-Scale Spraying of Roads with Water Contributes to, Rather Than Prevents, Air Pollution |
| title_sort | large scale spraying of roads with water contributes to rather than prevents air pollution |
| topic | fine particles aerosols air pollution relative humidity air pollution events SNA |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2305-6304/9/6/122 |
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