Air Quality Planning and Empirical Model to Evaluate SPM Concentrations

The state of air pollution in Japan, and in particular in Nagoya, has improved since the 1960s in terms of sulfur dioxide (SO2) and carbon monoxide (CO). However, suspended particulate matter (SPM), nitrogen oxides (NOx) emitted by automobiles, and photochemical oxidants (Ox), especially ozone (O3), have become major pollution problems in urban life. Nagoya has adopted a number of measures to improve air quality, such as air pollution monitoring, regulation and guidance for industries and businesses, and measures against automobile exhaust gases. This paper reviews the air quality measures in Nagoya and develops an empirical model for evaluating urban SPM concentration in problem areas. The model presented in this study is suitable for predicting long-term average SPM concentrations and can be utilized for analyzing the effects of various traffic emission reduction strategies. In addition, this model can be utilized for new urban development as an alternative to vigorous monitoring by predicting long-term SPM concentration from NOx monitoring data.