Along with its rapid urban development, Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) in recent years has suffered a high concentration of air pollutants, especially fine particulate matters or PM_2.5. A comprehensive study is required to evaluate the air quality conditions and their health impact in this city. Given the lack of adequate air quality monitoring data over a large area of the size of HCMC, an air quality modeling methodology is adopted to address the requirement. Here, by utilizing a corresponding emission inventory in combination with The Air Pollution Model-Chemical Transport Model (TAPM-CTM), the predicted concentration of air pollutants is first obtained for PM_2.5, NOx, and SO₂. Then by associating the pollutants exposed with the mortality rate from three causes, namely Ischemic Heart Disease (IHD), cardiopulmonary, and lung cancer, the impact of air pollution on human health is obtained for this purpose. Spatial distribution has shown a high amount of pollutants concentrated in the central city with a high density of combustion vehicles (motorcycles and automobiles). In addition, a significant amount of emissions can be observed from stevedoring and harbor activities, including ferries and cargo handling equipment located along the river. Other sources such as household activities also contribute to an even distribution of emission across the city. The results of air quality modeling showed that the annual average concentrations of NO₂ were higher than the standard of Vietnam National Technical Regulation on Ambient Air Quality (QCVN 05: 2013 40 µg/m³) and World Health Organization (WHO) (40 µg/m³). The annual average concentrations of PM_2.5 were 23 µg/m³ and were also much higher than the WHO (10 µg/m³) standard by about 2.3 times. In terms of public health impacts, PM_2.5 was found to be responsible for about 1136 deaths, while the number of mortalities from exposure to NO₂ and SO₂ was 172 and 89 deaths, respectively. These figures demand some stringent measures from the authorities to potentially remedy the alarming situation of air pollution in HCM City.

Vietnam’s urban areas have faced with serious environmental pollution issues, including: water pollution, municipal waste and air pollution. Air in Ho Chi Minh city is polluted by PM_2.5 (particle matter with the diameter is less than 2.5 μm, so-called PM_2.5), O3, CO, NO2 and TSP which greatly affects public health. In 2017, Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) had 8,640,000 inhabitants with a total of 7,339,552 motorcycles and 637,323 automobiles. There are about 2,500 factories, 2,061,957 household and 5,096 restaurants in the city. The aim of this study is to (i) conduct a detailed air pollution emission inventory for PM_2.5; (ii) stimulate PM_2.5’s dispersion in HCMC and (iii) propose mitigation measures for PM_2.5 in the city. Simulations of air pollution were conducted in HCMC by using TAPM-CTM system model. The model performance was evaluated using observed meteorological data at Tan Son Hoa station and air quality data at the Ho Chi Minh City University of Science. The result states that the sum of air pollutants from main sources of disposal in HCMC is 3,978.32 ton of PM_2.5 in 2017. Average maximum 1 hours, 24 hours and annual of PM_2.5 concentration in 2017 does not exceed QCVN 05:2013/BTNMT, but it is 1.3 to 2.3 times higher than the WHO’s guideline. Therefore, the PM_2.5 in HCMC impacts on public health of HCMC. To control and manage the air’s quality and minimize the generation of PM_2.5 in HCMC there are possible solutions such as the control of air pollutants from the main source, the creation of encouraging policy, the regulation of air pollutants in HCMC and the raising people’s awareness of environmental protection.

The port system of Ho Chi Minh City including 34 ports, serves as the gateway to the South (including the South East and the Mekong Delta) in export and import activities. In which contribute a huge amount of pollutants to the atmosphere in Ho Chi Minh City. The objective of this study is to: (i) Calculating air emissions from ports system in Ho Chi Minh city using the SPDGIZ model which emits a large amount of air pollutants such as sulfur oxide (SOX), nitrogen oxide (NOX), fine dust (PM2.5, PM10), volatile organic compounds (VOC), carbon monoxide (CO) from large ships (Ocean going vessels - OGVs), towing ships (Harbor Crafts - HCs), cargo handling equipment (Cargo handling equipment - CHE) and other vehicles (Heavy trucks – HVs); (ii) Using dispersion model TAPM-AERMOD to assess the impact of port operations to air quality in surouding port area; (iii) Proposing abatement measures based on the results of simulation to reduce emissions/ air pollution levels. The results of emission inventory show that the total port emissions are largely NOX and SOX mainly from large ships (OGVs) and cargo handling equipment (CHE) due to the use of heavy oil and diesel which have high sulfur content. The results show that the time at which a mooring boat is the most time consuming (accounting for over 90% of total emissions from OGVs).

Health impact due to population exposure to PM2.5 shows that the densely populated suburbs surrounding the urban core have the largest impact in terms of mortality. Health impact due to air pollution is higher in January (dry season) with estimated 625 deaths and 124 cardiovascular diseases (cvd) hospitalization as compared with estimated 94 deaths and 18 cvd hospitalization in July (wet season). One of the research questions posed by the city authority is whether converting diesel buses to electric buses can yield environmental and health benefits. Our work shows that the scenario of replacing 50% of fossil fuel combustion buses with electric buses does not yield perceptible change in mortality health effect. This is due to emission from buses is small as compared to those from the whole transport sector and other sectors. This study emphasizes the need for integrated, targeted emission control strategies to address spatial and temporal variability in pollution. The findings offer valuable insights for policymakers to develop effective measures in urban planning for improving air quality and protecting the health of people in Hanoi.

Nghiên cứu quản lý chất lượng không khí bằng công cụ mô hình tại khu công nghiệp Phú Mỹ 2 và Phú Mỹ 2 mở rộng, tỉnh Bà Rịa - Vũng Tàu

The actual status of air pollution in HCM City is alarming and causing many impacts on human health. The sources of air pollution are classified into four main sources: industrial (point source), transport (line source), area and biological source. The study focused on emission inventory for the area source, including domestic cooking activities, restaurants, cafeterias, petrol stations, photocopy, construction materials stores, construction works, garages, pagodas, straw burning… Emissions inventory method make accurate, reliable and well-defined assessment decisions that show that the use of large amounts of coal and charcoal produces large amounts of gaseous pollutants: TSP, NO2, SO2, CO, CH4 and NMVOC… in which household activities account for about 90% of total emissions and 38% TSP amount of total emissions in the source. Application of GIS tools to develop emission maps for identifying high emission areas. The aim of the study was to point out the main cause of emissions in the source area and areas with high emissions (such as District 3, District 4, District 8, Binh Chanh and Cu Chi) so that solutions created to minimize emissions from the burning of fossil fuel for cooking activities of Ho Chi Minh City’s people would be economical and highly effective.