Adjoint Modeling of Spatially-Specific Health Benefits of PM2.5-related Controls and Linked Co-benefits from Greenhouse Gas Controls

Amir Hakami, Shunliu Zhao, Marjan Soltanzadeh, Petros Vasilakos, Burak Oztaner, Neal Fann, Howard Chang, Alan Krupnick, Anas Alhusban, ARMISTEAD G. RUSSELL, Georgia Institute of Technology

     Abstract Number: 432
     Working Group: Health-Related Aerosols

Abstract
Adjoint modeling, using CMAQ, is performed to develop location-specific benefits from controls of primary PM_2.5 and PM_2.5 precursors across North America. Source-to-health benefit relationships are quantified using a benefit-per-ton (BPT) metric. BPTs are the valuations of premature mortality counts due to exposure to fine particulate matter resulting from emissions of one tonne of a pollutant (primary PM_2.5, NO_x, SO₂, and NH₃). Adjoint-calculated BPTs provide the differences and disparities in source impacts leading to a direct means for prioritizing and targeting emissions that are most damaging. Primary PM_2.5 and NH₃ emissions are found to have the largest BPTs, followed by SO₂, and NO_x. BPTs also can provide location-specific and sectoral estimates for co-benefits of reducing CO₂ emissions from a range of combustion sources. Calculations for various subsectors such as on-road transportation, thermal electricity generation, and off-road engines find that off-road engines and various heavy duty diesel vehicles exhibit the largest co-benefits in most urban locations, exceeding estimates of the social cost of carbon in those locations.