Verification on Atmospheric Concentration Reduction using Published and Estimated Environmental Release Data of Chemicals in Tokyo

Abstract

This study compares and analyzes the long-term trends of the currently published emissions of chemical substances and environmental monitoring results, and evaluates the impact of changes in emissions on air concentrations using Tokyo as a case study. In this study, we first estimated the emissions to the atmosphere of estimated releases of outside notification, for which no data by emission media were available, and analyzed them in combination with reported emissions. As a result, it was found that the emission categories that contributed to the reduction of atmospheric concentrations differed depending on the substance, reflecting the results of various emission control measures that have been taken for each substance. The analysis using the data reported on the use of chemical substances in the metropolitan government ʼ s ordinances suggests that the reduction in emissions was not due to the promotion of exhaust gas treatment (introduction of treatment equipment, etc.), but rather to the reduction in the amount of chemical substances used. When the toxicity weighted emissions of the released chemical substances was calculated, it was also estimated that the risk of formaldehyde and acrolein was large, which was significantly different from the top-ranking substances in terms of emissions. These analyses using published data can be carried out by the administrative departments of each local government, and this study proposed a method for understanding the status of air quality improvement in the region that can be imple-mented by the government.