HEALTH AND
ENVIRONMENTAL
BENEFITS OF LOW
SULFUR FUELS
BIRHANU GENET
July 22, 2008

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Introduction
Definition
• Pollution:
– Is the undesirable change in the physical, chemical or biological
characteristics of air, water, and soil that may;
• harmfully affect life or
• create a potential health hazard of any living organism
• Pollutant:
– Any substance which causes pollution
– Any solid, liquid or gaseous substances present in such
concentrations as may be or tend to be injuries to health and the
environment
• Air pollution:
– Is the presence of pollutants in air in sufficient quantity and
duration to cause injury to human health and the environment

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Introduction cont’d
• Air pollution, both indoor and outdoors, is the
major health and environmental problem both
in developed and developing countries
•
vehicle pollution is distinguished from other
sources of air pollution in that emissions are
released in close proximity to those exposed
– For example, vehicles are 300 times more
effective in contributing to human
exposure than emissions from 200-meter
smokestack (Katherine et al., 2006)
• Urban areas and surroundings are most
seriously affected by vehicle pollution:
– With human health impacts,
Emissions are released in
– Decreased visibility and
close proximity (UNEP & PCFV----)
– Material and environmental damage

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Urban air quality issues in developing Countries
• More than 2 million people are estimated to die each
year due to indoor and outdoor air pollution (UNEP,
2007)
– Indoor air pollution (burning of biomass,
kerosene or coal for cooking), particularly
affects women and children
– Each year as many as 1.6 million deaths are
attributed due indoor pollution, nearly all of them are
in developing countries (UNEP, 2007)
– WHO estimates that almost 800,000 people die
each year from outdoor urban air pollution and most
of these deaths occur in developing countries
(UNEP, 2007;WHO 2002)
Impact of indoor air
pollution on women
and children
• Vehicle emission is one of contributing factors to
outdoor urban poor air quality

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Urban air quality issues cont’d
• Estimates of motor vehicles’ contribution to urban air
pollution worldwide is between 25 – 75% (UNEP and
PCFV, 2007)
• In developing countries,
– vehicle numbers are increasing exponentially (Figure
1)
– high-sulfur fuels (Figure 4) continue to be the norm
– inhibit the introduction of new vehicle technologies.
• Given the present poor quality of fuels and
vehicles often found in these countries, Urban
air pollution problems needs urgent solution

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Urban air quality issues cont’d
• Key pollutants of vehicle emissions are (Figure
3):
– Carbon monoxide (CO)
– Hydrocarbons (HC)
– ozone (O3)
– Nitrogen oxides (NOx)
– Particulate matter (PM)
– Sulfur oxides (SOx)
• However, the amount of these pollutants in the
atmosphere depend on;
– the quality of fuels used,
– age of the vehicle and
– the design of the vehicles

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Major impacts of motor vehicle emissions
• From public health perspective, the main concern
are the following pollutants;
1. Carbon Monoxide (CO):
– It is a colourless, odourless gas produced through the
incomplete combustion of carbon-based fuels
– In developed countries transportation is the major source,
accounting for up to 95% of emissions (USEPA, 2001)
– In developing countries, transportation sources are less
important but growing rapidly, with emissions of 9%
(EDGAR,2001)

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Major impacts cont’d
– Its health impacts are:
• CO enters the blood stream through the lungs and reduces
the delivery of oxygen to the body’s organs and tissues
– Impairing the blood’s oxygen carrying capacity- it bonds
strongly with haemoglobin in red blood cells
• At higher level, CO exposure can impair;
– visual perception,
– work capacity
– manual dexterity
– Learning ability and
– Performance of complex tasks
• The health impact of CO is more serious for those who suffer
from cardiovascular diseases
• At sufficient concentrations, CO poisoning can cause death

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Major impacts cont’d
2. Hydrocarbon (HC)
• It is also known as volatile organic compounds (VOC)
• Vehicle emissions are responsible for approximately 25% of human-
caused HC emissions globally (EDGAR 2001; EPA 2001)
• Vehicle emissions are the major sources due to incomplete combustion
process
•
hydrocarbons are problematic both because;
– They are essential precursor for ground level ozone and
– Many HC species are themselves toxic or carcinogenic
• According to USEPA (2000), vehicle emissions are responsible for 50 –
75% of the HC species. which are known carcinogens:
– Benzene
– Acetaldehyde
– 1,3 Butadiene and
– Formaldehyde

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Major impacts cont’d
– Generally, the impact of elevated exposure of
HC emissions can be summarized as:
• Neurological,
• Reproductive effects,
• Respiratory impacts,
• Cancer and
• Other serious impacts on pregnancy and infant
health

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Document Outline

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