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A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental Health".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 March 2020) | Viewed by 43427

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Dr. Yung-ho Chiu

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Guest Editor

Department of Economics, Soochow University, 56, Kueiyang, St., Sec. 1, Taipei 10048, Taiwan, R.O.C.
Interests: environmental and public health efficiency; energy efficiency; renewable energy efficiency; China economy research; operations research and green economics; financial management; banking analysis; risk management

Dr. Ying Li

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Guest Editor

Business School, Sichuan University, Wangjiang Road No. 29, Chengdu 610064, China
Interests: environmental pollution and public health efficiency; energy efficiency; renewable energy efficiency; air pollution and its economical/social impact; financial performance evaluation; industrial sector performance evaluation

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The Industrial Revolution made it possible to define modern lifestyle in the way we understand it today. On one hand, it graced humanity with daily life convenience, but at the same time, such rapid development caused a depletion of the Earth’s energy resources. In recent decades, the quickly increasing amount of energy consumption, environmental pollution, and the advancing global warming problem have had a serious impact on humans’ very existence, and what is more, they have possibly jeopardized the future of the Earth itself. In order to make environmental protection and energy conservation more sufficient, all countries are committed to improving efficiency of exploitation of existing energy sources and developing clean energy technologies that are “environmentally friendly”.

A number of studies have shown clearly that environmental pollution poses a serious threat to human health. Long-term exposure to a polluted environment can lead to cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, even death. The harm for children and the elderly is even more severe. All of which bring us to the conclusion that the impact of environmental changes affects not only health of particular people but also increases the summarized cost of healthcare and decreases the overall wellbeing of people. Working environment pollution on a vocational setting will not only directly harm the health of employees but also decrease their productivity and lead to the high cost for the respective organization.

Issues of public health and the natural environment change problem are objects of specialized studies, and we welcome reviews relevant to topics such as:

- Integration researches of environmental efficiency (productivity);

- Health efficiency (productivity);

- Research on factors which have impacts on public health;

- Pollutants (including air pollutants, waste water, solid waste and other environmental pollutants) and their impact on public health;

- Pollutants (air pollutants, waster, solid waste, and other environmental pollutants) and their impact on various groups of people (e.g., pregnant woman, children, the elderly, etc.)

- Vocational environmental pollution and its impact on the health or productivity of employees.

Remarkable for further research shall be issues of data forecast with environmental and public health balance models. Progress on studying this phenomenon will provide readers with up-to-date information on environmental and health interactions. A prospective result is linking forecasts of environmental pollution and public health stress assessment for early warning, improved prevention, adaptation, and policy to cope with environmental and public health challenges.

Dr. Yung-ho Chiu
Dr. Ying Li
Guest Editors

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Keywords

environmental efficiency
public health efficiency
vocational environment
employee’s health
environmental pollutants
public health
PM_2.5
SO₂
waste water
solid waste
respiratory diseases
cardiovascular diseases
chronic disease

Published Papers (13 papers)

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Research

15 pages, 3423 KiB

Open AccessArticle

How Much Is the Eco-Efficiency of Agricultural Production in West China? Evidence from the Village Level Data

by Hui Xiang, Ya Hui Wang, Qi Qi Huang and Qing Yuan Yang

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2020, 17(11), 4049; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17114049 - 5 Jun 2020

Cited by 23 | Viewed by 2802

Abstract

This study evaluates the eco-efficiency of agriculture in Pupiao Town, in the Yunnan province of China, through micro-level research. The term "eco-efficiency" refers to the efficiency with which ecological resources are used to meet human needs. Interviews and field research were conducted to collect the data of the 23 villages from 2016 to 2018. The Data Envelopment Analysis model (DEA) was used for data analysis. The results were as follows: (1) The eco-efficiency scores of Pupiao Town had considerable spatial heterogeneity, exhibiting a general trend of higher in the middle and lower in the east and west, which suggested eco-efficiency may be correlated with topography and transportation. (2) The value of eco-efficiency for the entire town had considerable areas for improvement and showed a slow-growth trend. (3) Fertilizers, pesticides, agricultural diesel, agricultural carbon emission, and non-point source pollution had a significant impact on eco-efficiency, followed by agricultural labor and arable land. (4) Agricultural chemicals were primary determinants affecting eco-efficiency. Most of the factors had a stronger effect on the eastern and western regions. The study suggests that transportation should be improved to promote the conveyance of market information and the application of more efficient and productive farm methods. The most important way is to improve effective utilization and to reduce the amount of agricultural chemicals. In addition, it is necessary to offer technical training and help to support farmers in upgrading their farm operations. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental and Health Efficiency Evaluation)

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26 pages, 3711 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Who Drives Green Innovation? A Game Theoretical Analysis of a Closed-Loop Supply Chain under Different Power Structures

by Dooho Lee

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2020, 17(7), 2274; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17072274 - 27 Mar 2020

Cited by 21 | Viewed by 2994

Abstract

As awareness of environmental protection increases worldwide, enterprises have been building their supply chains in ways that conserve natural resources and minimize the creation of pollutants. One of the practical ways to make supply chains more sustainable is for enterprises to utilize green innovation strategies and to increase resource reuse. In this work, we focus on a closed-loop supply chain (CLSC) consisting of a manufacturer, a retailer, and a collector. In the investigated CLSC, the manufacturer and the retailer drive the green innovation strategy either individually or simultaneously to boost market demand. In the reverse flow of the CLSC, the collector is responsible for collecting consumers’ used products and transferring them to the manufacturer for remanufacturing. By combining two types of the market leadership and three types of green innovation strategies, we establish six different Stackelberg game models and solve them analytically. Through an extensive comparative analysis, we show who should have market leadership and who should drive the green innovation strategy in the CLSC. Various numerical examples are also given to support our major findings. One of our key findings suggests that the supply chain members must participate in green innovation activities at the same time to achieve a win-win scenario in the CLSC. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental and Health Efficiency Evaluation)

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14 pages, 5738 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Vertical Distribution and Controlling Factors Exploration of Sc, V, Co, Ni, Mo and Ba in Six Soil Profiles of The Mun River Basin, Northeast Thailand

by Wenxiang Zhou, Guilin Han, Man Liu, Chao Song, Xiaoqiang Li and Fairda Malem

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2020, 17(5), 1745; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17051745 - 7 Mar 2020

Cited by 11 | Viewed by 2734

Abstract

Exploring the enrichment and controlling factors of heavy metals in soils is essential because heavy metals can cause severe soil contamination and threaten human health when they are excessively enriched in soils. Soil samples (total 103) from six soil profiles (T1 to T6) in the Mun River Basin, Northeast Thailand, were collected for the analyses of the content of heavy metals, including Sc, V, Co, Ni, Mo, Ba. The average contents of soil heavy metals decrease in the following order: Ba, V, Ni, Sc, Co, and Mo (T1, T3, T4 and T5); Ni, V, Ba, Co, Sc, Mo, and Ba (T2); Ba, V, Sc, Ni, Mo, and Co (T6). An enrichment factor (EF) and geoaccumulation index were calculated to assess the degree of heavy metal contamination in the soils. The EFs of these heavy metals in most samples range from 0 to 1.5, which reveals that most heavy metals are slightly enriched. Geoaccumulation indexes show that only the topsoil of T1 and T2 is slightly contaminated by Ba, Sc, Ni, and V. Soil organic carbon (SOC), soil pH and soil texture are significantly positively correlated with most heavy metals, except for a negative correlation between soil pH and Mo content. In conclusion, the influence of heavy metals on soils in the study area is slight and SOC, soil pH, soil texture dominate the behavior of heavy metals. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental and Health Efficiency Evaluation)

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21 pages, 806 KiB

Open AccessArticle

New Fixed Assets Investment Project Environmental Performance and Influencing Factors—An Empirical Analysis in China’s Optics Valley

by Fumin Deng, Yanan Jin, Meng Ye and Shuangyi Zheng

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2019, 16(24), 4891; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16244891 - 4 Dec 2019

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 3044

Abstract

Civilization prospers when the ecology prospers, and civilization decays when the ecology decays. As an effective indicator of sustainable development of economy and resource environment, environmental performance can comprehensively reflect the actual level of coordinated development of the economy and environment system. This paper exemplifies China’s Optics Valley to evaluate its environmental performances and research the influencing factors of new fixed assets investment projects, for which a new fixed assets investment project environmental performance assessment system was constructed. The measurement model for the system was constructed using a generalized data envelopment analysis (DEA) with undesirable output to evaluate the environmental performances of the new fixed assets investment projects in China’s Optical Valley from 2011 to 2016. The multi-regression model with eight environmental performance hypotheses was established to determine the key influencing factors and to propose targeted countermeasures to enhance low-carbon innovation and promote low-carbon economic development. The results indicated that implementing new fixed assets investment project energy conservation assessments and reviews in high-tech areas could assist companies and the government in achieving better management. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental and Health Efficiency Evaluation)

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30 pages, 1778 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Comparing Economics, Environmental Pollution and Health Efficiency in China

by Zhen Shi, Fengping Wu, Huinan Huang, Xinrui Sun and Lina Zhang

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2019, 16(23), 4827; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16234827 - 1 Dec 2019

Cited by 16 | Viewed by 3196

Abstract

As the modern economy develops rapidly, environmental pollution and human health have also been threatened. In recent years, relevant research has focused on subjects such as energy and economic, environmental pollution and health issues. Yet this has not considered the use of water resources and the impact of wastewater pollutant emissions on the economy and health. This article has combined the following factors like water consumption with wastewater discharge, pollutant concentration in sewage and local medical care expenditure and put them into the model of water resources, energy and health measurement, and a two-stage dynamic data envelopment analysis (DEA) model considering undesirable outputs is applied to 30 provinces (including autonomous regions and municipalities) to calculate the total efficiency, production efficiency and health efficiency in 2014–2017.The results show that the total efficiency values of most provinces are between 0.2 and 0.4, providing large room for improvement. Production efficiency and health efficiency have increased in recent years, but the health efficiency values of most provinces are still so low that they have dragged back the overall efficiency. The key impact indicators of different provinces are different, and each province should formulate different policies according to its own specific conditions so as to purposefully to deepen the energy, economic and medical reforms in each province, and also to promote sustainable economic development while improving health efficiency. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental and Health Efficiency Evaluation)

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23 pages, 2529 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Spatial-Temporal Effects of PM_2.5 on Health Burden: Evidence from China

by Ming Zeng, Jiang Du and Weike Zhang

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2019, 16(23), 4695; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16234695 - 25 Nov 2019

Cited by 21 | Viewed by 2777

Abstract

By collecting the panel data of 29 regions in China from 2008 to 2017, this study used the spatial Durbin model (SDM) to explore the spatial effect of PM_2.5 exposure on the health burden of residents. The most obvious findings to emerge from this study are that: health burden and PM_2.5 exposure are not randomly distributed over different regions in China, but have obvious spatial correlation and spatial clustering characteristics. The maximum PM_2.5 concentrations have a significant positive effect on outpatient expense and outpatient visits of residents in the current period, and the impact of PM_2.5 pollution has a significant temporal lag effect on residents’ health burden. PM_2.5 exposure has a spatial spillover effect on the health burden of residents, and the PM_2.5 concentrations in the surrounding regions or geographically close regions have a positive influence on the health burden in the particular region. The impact of PM_2.5 exposure is divided into the direct effect and the indirect effect (the spatial spillover effect), and the spatial spillover effect is greater than that of the direct effect. Therefore, we conclude that PM_2.5 exposure has a spatial spillover effect and temporal lag effect on the health burden of residents, and strict regulatory policies are needed to mitigate the health burden caused by air pollution. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental and Health Efficiency Evaluation)

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15 pages, 3215 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Evaluating the Highway Tunnel Construction in Western Sichuan Plateau Considering Vocational Health and Environment

by Peng Wu, Feng Yang, Jinlong Zheng and Yanqing Wei

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2019, 16(23), 4671; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16234671 - 23 Nov 2019

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 2977

Abstract

Oxygen deficiency and coldness are the main challenges for highway tunnel construction in high-altitude areas such as western Sichuan plateau. The artificial oxygen supply and anti-freezing structure in the tunnel construction process has a significant impact on vocational health and the environment. Thus, the conditions of tunnels need to be carefully evaluated before construction. However, the current design code for tunnel construction contains few instructions about these aspects. This paper attempts to establish a simple evaluation method to guide the construction design by analyzing the oxygen partial pressure of trachea, the mean temperature of the coldest month, and the maximum freezing depth for tunnel projects in western Sichuan plateau. Based on the on-site meteorological monitoring at different altitudes of three typical tunnels in the western Sichuan plateau and the comparative analysis of the existing meteorological data, the corresponding relationships between the three parameters and the altitude were investigated. The thresholds by altitude for grading the tunnels are identified as 2100 m and 4200 m, respectively. The highway tunnels in the western Sichuan plateau are graded in three categories, namely, general-altitude tunnels, high-altitude tunnels, and ultra-high-altitude tunnels. The corresponding measures of oxygen supply and freezing prevention for different graded tunnels are recommended. The results would provide a basis for the design and construction of new tunnels and enhance the service life and operations safety of the tunnels in western Sichuan plateau and other similar high-altitude areas. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental and Health Efficiency Evaluation)

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20 pages, 2244 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Energy and Health Efficiencies in China with the Inclusion of Technological Innovation

by Qian Wang, Duo Li and Tzu-Han Chang

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2019, 16(21), 4225; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16214225 - 31 Oct 2019

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2292

Abstract

The price people pay for low energy efficiency includes not only high manufacturing costs, but also public health. With technological innovation as the driving factor for improving energy efficiency, this study uses two-stage dynamic undesirable data envelopment analysis (TDU-DEA) under variable return to scale to evaluate energy and health efficiencies with inclusion of technological innovation in 30 provinces of China over the period 2013–2016. The results show that the mean overall efficiencies and ranks in the eastern region are significantly higher than those in the non-eastern region, with or without the inclusion of technological innovations, and that energy efficiency in most provinces is higher than health efficiency. The average technological innovation efficiencies for energy conservation are higher than those for respiratory medical treatment. The former gap between the eastern region and non-east region is also smaller than the latter. Lastly, regions with the best technological innovation efficiencies are Beijing, Shanghai, Guangdong, Fujian, Hainan, Hebei, Inner Mongolia, Ningxia, Qinghai, Shandong, Shanxi, Tianjin, Xinjiang, and Yunnan. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental and Health Efficiency Evaluation)

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24 pages, 2437 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Pricing Strategy of Construction and Demolition Waste Considering Retailer Fairness Concerns under a Governmental Regulation Environment

by Deng Li, Ying Peng, Chunxiang Guo and Ruwen Tan

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2019, 16(20), 3896; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16203896 - 14 Oct 2019

Cited by 19 | Viewed by 3191

Abstract

In order to investigate the issues of the recycling and remanufacturing of construction and demolition waste (C&D waste), this paper develops a closed-loop supply chain (CLSC) consisting of a manufacturer, a retailer, and a recycler, considering both the retailer’s fairness concern psychology and governmental regulations. Four mathematical models are developed for the calculations, and the models are solved through game theory. In both the decentralized and centralized scenarios, the members’ strategies are discussed and the optimal values of decision variables are determined. A numerical study is carried out for sensitivity analyses to verify the accuracy of the theoretical conclusions. The results reveal that retailer fairness concerns lead to a decrease in the wholesale price of building materials and negatively affect manufacturers’ profits. Additionally, governmental regulations can effectively increase the recycling amount and improve the utilization rate of C&D waste, and promote a virtuous cycle of the recycling and remanufacturing of C&D waste. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental and Health Efficiency Evaluation)

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17 pages, 864 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Relationship among Government, Enterprise, and Public in Environmental Governance from the Perspective of Multi-Player Evolutionary Game

by Yingxin Chen, Jing Zhang, Pandu R. Tadikamalla and Xutong Gao

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2019, 16(18), 3351; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16183351 - 11 Sep 2019

Cited by 57 | Viewed by 4880

Abstract

Environmental governance is an important component of the national governance system. China’s current environmental problems are particularly complex. How to let the government, enterprises, and the public participate in environmental governance is the key to enhance the ability of environmental governance. Based on the evolutionary game theory, the interaction and influencing factors among enterprise pollution control, government supervision, and public participation are analyzed, and the empirical analysis is carried out based on China’s 30 provincial panel data from 2009 to 2018. The research results show that government supervision has a positive effect on the environmental governance and can urge enterprises to actively perform pollution control. The effect of government supervision is constrained by the income and cost of enterprises, and the penalties for passive pollution control should be raised. At the same time, improving the government’s reputation loss can effectively stimulate the government’s environmental supervision behavior. Public participation significantly promotes the governance effect of three industrial wastes, and the enthusiasm of public participation is closely related to participation cost and psychological benefits. Public participation can replace government supervision to a certain extent. The interaction between government and public has a positive effect on environmental governance. The research results will help to build an effective environmental governance system and improve environmental governance performance and public satisfaction. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental and Health Efficiency Evaluation)

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16 pages, 822 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Spatial Effects of Environmental Regulation and Green Credits on Green Technology Innovation under Low-Carbon Economy Background Conditions

by Quan Guo, Min Zhou, Nana Liu and Yaoyu Wang

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2019, 16(17), 3027; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16173027 - 21 Aug 2019

Cited by 75 | Viewed by 4647

Abstract

Based on the data of green credit (GC), environmental regulation (ER) and green technology innovation (GTI) in 30 provinces and cities of China from 2007 to 2016, this study investigated the relationship between green credit and green technology innovation development and analyzed the adjustment effect of ER on GC to promote GTI using Geoda and Matlab2016 software, so as to further guide and encourage GC. The results show that GTI in 30 provinces and municipalities in China has a significant spatial agglomeration effect. Single GC plays a certain role in promoting local technology innovation, but it fails to influences the surrounding areas. Environmental regulation has a certain regulatory effect on the relationship between green credit and green technology innovation in the province but also fails to influences the surrounding areas. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental and Health Efficiency Evaluation)

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20 pages, 1070 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Social Organization Participation, Government Governance and the Equalization of Basic Public Services: Evidence from China

by Gangqiang Yang, Yongyu Xue and Yuxi Ma

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2019, 16(16), 2996; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16162996 - 20 Aug 2019

Cited by 13 | Viewed by 3926

Abstract

This paper uses the methods of System Generalized method of moments (SYS-GMM), mediation effect and linkage effect to investigate the relationship among social organization participation, government governance and the equalization of basic public services from 2007 to 2017 in China. The empirical results show that the participation of social organizations and improvement in the government governance can promote the equalization of basic public services. The government has a greater capacity to drive the equalization of basic public services, but the density of social organizations can serve as a mediator in the equalization of basic public services. The government governance and social organization density have a strong linkage effect, but the link with social organization quality is weak. Furthermore, a linkage effect is evident in medical and health care, public education, environmental protection, and public culture but not in public science and social welfare. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental and Health Efficiency Evaluation)

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16 pages, 2626 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Estimation of Health Effects and Economic Losses from Ambient Air Pollution in Undeveloped Areas: Evidence from Guangxi, China

by Feng Han, Xingcheng Lu, Cuicui Xiao, Miao Chang and Ke Huang

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2019, 16(15), 2707; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16152707 - 29 Jul 2019

Cited by 22 | Viewed by 3420

Abstract

Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, located in the southwest of China, has rapidly developed since the late 2000s. Similar to other regions, economic development has been accompanied by environmental problems, especially air pollution, which can adversely affect the health of residents in the area. In this study, we estimated the negative health effects of three major ambient pollutants, Particulate Matter with a diameter of 10 μm or less (PM10), Sulfur Dioxide (SO₂) and Nitrogen Dioxide (NO₂) in Guangxi from 2011 to 2016 using a log-linear exposure–response function. We monetarized the economic loss using the value of statistical life (VSL) and the cost of illness (COI) methods. The results show that the total possible short-term all-cause mortality values due to PM10, SO₂, and NO₂ were 28,396, with the confidence intervals from 14,664 to 42,014 (14,664–42,014), 24,618 (15,480–33,371), and 46,365 (31,158–61,423), respectively. The mortality from the three pollutants was 48,098 (19,972–75,973). The economic loss of the health burden from the three pollutants was 40,555 (24,172–57,585), which was 2.86% (1.70–4.06%) of the regional gross domestic product. The result of the comparative analysis among different cities showed that urbanization, industrialization, and residents’ income are important factors in air-pollution-caused health damage and subsequent economic loss. We conclude that the health burden caused by ambient pollutants in developing regions, accompanied by its rapid socio-economic growth, is significant and tighter regulation is needed in the future to alleviate air pollution and mitigate the related health damage. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental and Health Efficiency Evaluation)

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