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Statement by :
Ms. Paimaneh Hastaie
Tehran – IRAN
Air pollution countermeasures in Tehran page 2
Introduction
Iran with a current population of over 60 millions is located on the upland vast plateau
bounded by southest mountains borders Turkmenistan, the Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan and
Armenia in the north, Turkey and Iraq in the west, the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman in
the south and Pakistan and Afghanistan in the east.
Iranian plateau bounded by two large mountains, Alborz and Zagros, has an area of some
1,648,195 square kilometer, two thirds of which consist of mountains plateau and or
deserts.
The climate of Iran varies from region to region because of its topographical complexity.
The climate of most parts of the country belongs to the desert climate or steppe climate
except that of the northern district of the Alborz mountains facing the Caspian Sea
characterized by its mediterranean climate.
Tehran is located at latitude 35o 31?QRW
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is characterized by gentle upward slopes from the south to the north and from the west to
the east formed by 3500 – 4000 m high Alborz mountains in the north and east. The
difference of height between the southern area of Tehran central station and the Mehrabad
International Airport (1200m above the sea) and northern part of Tajrish district (1500 m
above the sea) is 300 m.
Tehran is located in the southern part of the Alborz mountains and its climate is the
steppe climate.
Tehran with a day time population of some 10 millions and with a metropolitan area of
over 2000 square kilometers is the center of the national government and of commercial,
financial, cultural and educational activities in Iran. Rapid urban expansion over the past
two decades in Tehran resulted from a high population growth rate and increased rural-
urban migration combined with a strong tradition of centralization in the capital.
Tehran is geographically similar to Los Angeles and Mexico City, situated at an altitude
of some 1,500 m and is surrounded to the east, north and west by a snow-capped mountain
range. There is little wind so pollution tends to congregate above the city, trapped by the
mountains and the warm air rising from the south.
Tehran’s air pollution problem is severe by world standards, and the government of
the Islamic Republic of Iran as a high priority environmental and health issue has identified
it. An important cause of air pollution is the exhaust from about 1.4 million motor vehicles,
including about 0.5 million motorcycles, operating in an extremely congested road space
(average vehicle speeds below 18 Km/h) and 70,000 industrial units.
It is known that between 65 to 70 percent of total emissions are related to urban transport
operations. Reported average concentrations of pollutants such as carbon monoxide (CO),
particulate matter less than 10 micron diameter (PM-10) and sulfur dioxide (SO2 ), in the
city center in 1998, were two to three times above average levels recommended by
WHO/USEPA. The growth in number of vehicles over the last two years has made the
situation even more severe (Table 2).
The problem is compounded by topographical (mountains to the north and the east) and
climatological factors (sunshine, frequent temperature inversions), which favour
photochemical transformation of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and nitrogen oxides
(NOx ) to produce smo g and tropospheric ozone. There are enough reasons to believe that
the city suffers from high ozone concentration levels.
Urban transport is of considerable concern from a global warming standpoint. Urban
transport operations consume an estimated 2.0 million tons of gasoline/diesel fuel per year,
releasing about 5 million tons of CO2 . Transport system alone generates about twice as
much carbon per capita as the overall average carbon per capita for developing countries.
Partly, this high level of CO2 emissions is due to a weak public transport system, causing an
excessive reliance on the private vehicle which accounts for about 60 percent of all
passenger trips in the city. By way of comparison, in Mexico City, which also suffers from
severe air pollution, the automobile accounts for less than 30 percent of passenger trips.
There are various factors that complicate the overall environmental situation. These
Air pollution countermeasures in Tehran page 4
factors include:
1- The climatological and geographical conditions of the city which is surrounded from
three sides by mountains, contributing to low winds and low rainfall,
2- Lack of adequate public transportation system,
3- Obsolete transport vehicle technology and high average life of vehicle fleet,
4- The large number of cars, minibuses, buses, vans, trucks, and motorcycles,
5- Low fuel prices subsidized by the government causing little incentive for fuel
conservation,
6- Low quality of fuels (leaded gasoline and high sulfur content of diesel fuel),
8- The public excessive use of private cars and heavy traffic due to not observing the traffic
rules by the public which has contributed to congested road space,
10- The economic and social problems caused in part by the population growth due to the
immigration to the capital, and unsatisfactory levels of public awareness on environmental
issues.
In response to the enhanced problems of urban transport and the associated air pollution,
the Municipality of Tehran has undertaken a number of initiatives, including improvement
of physical infrastructures and management of the urban transport operations. The
Municipality’s strategy to reduce carbon dioxide involves several elements listed below
with their relative contribution to the reduction target.
products and in view of the lower pollution levels emitted by gaseous fueled vehicles,
Tehran Municipality is planning to convert 4000 diesel fueled buses from the public
transportation fleet to Compressed Natural Gas (CNG). Also more than 30000 taxis have
been converted to LPG.
(a) Evaluating present and future contributions of motor vehicles in Tehran to air
pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, by analyzing the existing motor vehicle emissions
data and preparing an emission inventory;
(b) Establishing an air pollution monitoring system for collection of data on present
levels of air pollutants, and development of appropriate dispersion models for predicting air
quality levels under various scenarios;
(c) Reviewing existing and proposed standards and policies to control vehicle
emissions and fuels, recommending appropriate standards, tests and certification
procedures, and R&D strategies for each class of motor vehicle and fuel type, and assessing
cost impacts, lead-times, and air quality benefits. Recommendations were to consider
current air pollution levels, future increases, and the timing of emission reductions needed
for a phased program of air quality improvement;
(d) Evaluating the feasibility, costs, and effectiveness of other measures such as fuel
pricing, traffic planning, transport pricing, land use, transportation demand management,
and use of alternative fuels; and
Project Tasks
The project is defined in the terms of reference, and the main parts of the work have been
identified as follows:
Task l - Problem definition: This task involves a review of available data in order to form a
baseline for the vehicle fleet in Tehran, a comprehensive emission inventory, an assessment
of the quality of emission laboratories, and a summary of health effects;
Task 3 - projection of future problems under currently planned controls: On the basis of
projections of economic change, Population, and vehicle population, projection of future
emissions and air quality will be made assuming “Business- as- usual”;
Air pollution countermeasures in Tehran page 8
Task 4-Identification of alternative strategies for emissions control on the basis of the
previous tasks: A set of feasible strategies for emissions control will be identified, including
new vehicle standards, inspection/maintenance improvements, improve ments in
conventional and alternative fuels, and transportation management (traffic and land use);
A list of the measures is proposed to reduce air pollution caused by the transportation
system, which is shown in the table-3.
Period
Action/Measure 1997 2001 2006
2000 2005 2015
Light-duty vehicles (LDV, and LDT)
ECE R-83 B App. For imported ??? ???
LDV and LDT ?? ??
Retrofit of Paykans less than 10 ???
years and improved standard on ??
new Paykans
Exclusion of petrol in LPG taxis and ???
introduction catalyst ??
ECE R-83 B app. for all new LDV ??? ??????
and LDT ?? ????
Emission regulation according to ??? ??????
proposed EU standard for year 2000 ?? ????
LPG High Quality conversion and ??? ??????
service for LDV and LDT ?? ????
Motorcycles and mopeds
EU-97 limits for motorcycles and ???
mopeds ??
Catalysts for motorcycles non EU-97 ??? ???
standards ?? ??
Air pollution countermeasures in Tehran page 9
Minibuses
ECE R49 “Euro2” standard for all ??? ???
locally minibuses ?? ??
???
Particulate traps for all minibuses ??
ECE R49 “Euro2” standard for all ??? ??????
locally produced minibuses ?? ????
including particulate traps
ECE R49 ‘Euro3” standard for all ??? ??????
minibuses ?? ????
Full-size buses
Installation of particulate traps in all ???
full-size buses ??
ECE R49 ‘Euro2’ for imported ??? ???
buses ??
???
Catalysts for CNG converted buses ??
??? ???????
Catalysts for high quality converted CNG
buses ???
???????
ECE R49 ‘Euro2” for locally produced buses ???
??? ???????
ECE R49 ‘Euro3” for all buses plus catalyst ?? ???
ECE R49 ‘Euro3” for bi-articulated buses for ??? ??? ???????
trunk bus network ?? ?? ???
Trucks
ECE R49 ‘Euro2” standard for all imported ??? ???
trucks ?? ??
ECE R49 ‘Euro2’ standard and particulate ??? ???????
traps in all locally produced trucks ?? ???
??? ??? ???????
Conversion to DME plus catalyst ?? ???
Inspection and maintenance
???
Improved I&M for LDV ??
Introduction of an l&M program for light ???
duty trucks ??
I&M, smoke measurements, and sealing of ??? ???
injection pump in heave duty vehicles ?? ??
???
Training of vehicle inspectors ??
Improvement of fuels
Air pollution countermeasures in Tehran page 10
???
Unleaded petrol ??
??? ???
Reformulated Petrol +15% MTBE ?? ??
Import of low sulfur diesel (S= 0.05%) to be ???
used minibuses and full-size buses ??
Production of low sulfur diesel (S=0.05%) in ??? ???
Iran ?? ??
Introduction of DME as a fuel for diesel ??? ?????
engines ??
???
Oil mixing equipment at petrol stations ??
Vehicle traffic and parking
???
Parking policies ??
???
Traffic signals ??
???
Construction of Park and Ride parking areas ??
? The study on an Integrated Master Plan for Air Pollution Control in (GTA)
The Municipality of Tehran also initiated the study on an Integrated Master Plan for Air
Pollution Control. The objective of the study is to formulate an integrated master plan for
air pollution control based on the research, survey and analysis on socioeconomic activities
and the situation of air pollution in Greater Tehran Area (GTA) which is the area within the
administrative boundary of Tehran. The study was funded by JICA (Japan International
Cooperation Agency) and carried out in cooperation between Japanese Joint Venture and its
Iranian counterpart. The study started in April 1995 and finished in November 1997.
Project Description
The projects were the efforts to study options for future improvement of the air in an
environmentally sustainable manner.
Measures for air pollution reduction in the GTA will be classified into three categories,
e.g.:
1. Establishment of environmental management systems in Tehran city,
2. Management of vehicular sources and
3. Management of stationary sources.
As the management system for vehicle emission reduction needs a wide range activities
to be conducted by the central government and Municipality, therefore roles of the parties
of these activities is required to be defined. It is recommended for future development of
vehicular sources to implement following activities:
At this moment in GTA, relocation of factories is being promoted on the basis of the
Clean City 80 Program. Though only a few polluting emission sources have been found in
GTA, in view of future economic development, light industries such as agrobased food
processing, plastic and packaging as well as mechatronic industries are predicted to expand.
It is therefore recommended for future development of stationary emission sources to
implement following activities:
Presently the results obtained from the implemented projects are combined and given
in order to be executed. In this junction, the section of results gained from projects which is
related to the mobile sources are extracted, for their share in polluting the air is
approximately 70% and in planning priority is given to them.
The outcome to this junction is comprehensive plan to reduce air pollution. It contains 7
major areas, which are:
1- New vehicles,
2- Old vehicles,
3- Public transportation,
4- Fuel,
5- Inspection and Maintenance,
6- Traffic management and
7- Training
1) New vehicles
Implementing project is time-consuming, since there is a need for the proper fuel and the
observation of standards by motor vehicle manufacturers. For every one million dollars
being invested in this way, there will be a reduction of 1235 tons in air pollution. The high
level of pollutant reduction is achieved by this means. The implementation of this task is
the responsibility of the Ministry of industries, and vehicle manufacturing factories.
2) Old vehicles
The second project of the Comprehensive plan is the changing of old vehicles for newer
ones. In this way, for every one million dollars being spent, there will he a reduction of 391
tons in air pollution. The Ministry of industries and the Municipality of Tehran are
responsible for the implementation of this project.
Air pollution countermeasures in Tehran page 15
3) Public Transportation
For every one million dollars being spent on public transportation, there will be as much as
186 tons reduction in pollutants. The Municipality of Tehran and the Ministry of Interior
are responsible for the implementation of this project.
4) Fuel
Fuel optimization is the fourth project of the comprehensive plan. In this project, for every
one million dollars spent, there will be a reduction of 233 tons in air pollution. Fuel
optimization is essential as a basic measure in the observation of environmental standards.
Moreover, using catalysts in private cars to reduce pollutants, particularly NOx , requires
permanent consumption of unleaded gasoline. Otherwise the catalyst used will have no
effect once ordinary gasoline is used. The Ministry of Oil is responsible for the
implementation of this project.
6) Traffic Management
By implementing the programs of this project, for every one million dollars being spent,
there will be 18621 tons reduction in air pollution. Only two programs have been seen in
the Comprehensive plan: Parking policies (parkingmeters) and intelligent traffic lights. The
Municipality of Tehran is responsible for the execution of this project.
7) Training
Promotion of the public awareness has important effects on the reduction of air pollutants.
Experiences in other countries testify to this. We can probably say that the effect of
educational programs on the reduction of air pollution is at least as much as 20%. The
Municipality of Tehran, Traffic Department of (GTA), Department of Environment,
Ministry of Education, Ministry of Sciences, Research and Technology, and the mass
media are responsible for the implementation of this project.
The required period of time to implement these programs is considered to be 10 years,
which is according to implementation abilities of each action.
In each area the sum of activities which must take place are designated, and for each action
that will take place a necessary time is assigned the effectiveness in reducing air pollution
and required investment due to its responsible executing body are all determined.
Following motor vehicles (mobile sources), industries are the most important sources of
air pollution in Tehran, they cause 25% of pollution. In implementing a set of measures to
secure a safe environment, the Municipality of Tehran has put the management of pollutant
industries and workshops on its agenda Since 1990, about 7900 workplaces of different
sizes have been moved out of Tehran by the Municipality. Among the most important
factors for achieving this goal is the participation of people designing and projecting proper
spaces for complexes, and designing suitable working places for productive units. Also,
construction of 5 industrial complexes with and area of 711 hectares is underway.
Air pollution countermeasures in Tehran page 16
It should be mentioned that it is necessary to use control strategies in general, and proper
hardware technologies and to implement environmental management systems such ad ISO
14000 as a basic solution in the case of stationary sources of air pollution.
Figure 1a shows the current condition, regarding CO ambient air concentration. Utilizing
computer modeling it is predicted that if nothing is done (see figure 1b) the simulated CO
concentration will cover a large area, and if the measures proposed in action plan are
implemented, the simulated CO concentration will be greatly reduced (see figure 1c).
Figure 2a, 2b, and 2c depicts same conditions for PM-10 ambient air concentrations.