GHG_byCommunity_PVPC_Final-2021
Community Green House Gas Emissions
Based on Vehicle Miles Traveled Estimates of the 2010 Base Year
Model
Technical Report
February 2021
PREPARED UNDER THE DIRECTION OF THE PIONEER VALLEY MPO BY: PIONEER VALLEY
PLANNING COMMISSION
Prepared in cooperation with the Massachusetts Department of Transportation and the U.S. Department
of Transportation. The views and opinions of the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission expressed herein
do not necessarily state or reflect those of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation or the U.S.
Department of Transportation.
This report calculates the Green House Gas Emissions based on the estimated Vehicles Miles Traveled
as modeled by the regional Travel Demand model for each of the 43 communities in the Pioneer Valley.
This task was identified as part of the 2021 Unified Planning Work Program.
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Table of Contents
A. Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 1
B. Vehicle Miles Traveled ........................................................................................................ 1
C. Green House Gas Emissions ................................................................................................ 1
D. Air Pollutants from Transportation Emission Sources ........................................................ 7
Table of Figures
Figure 1 – 2010 Estimated Average Weekday Traffic Volume. .................................................... 2
List of Tables
Table 1 – Average Daily Weekday Emissions by Community in Kilograms ................................ 3
Table 2 – Average Annual Weekday Emissions by Community in Kilograms ............................. 4
Table 3 – Average Annual Weekday CO2 Emissions per Registerd Vehicle in a Community ..... 5
Table 4 – Average Annual Weekday CO2 Emissions Density by Community ............................. 6
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A. Introduction
The Regional Travel Demand Model provides estimates of traffic flows along major roadways within the
Pioneer Valley. This estimate is used to calculate Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT). The Pioneer Valley
Planning Commission (PVPC) often receives requests from its member communities for VMT values
based on the most recent model year scenario. During the review period of the 2020 update of the
Regional Transportation Plan (RTP), PVPC received a recommendation to calculate GHG emissions
based on Total VMT for each of the member communities within the Pioneer Valley Region.
Subsequently, PVPC agreed to include this recommendation as a task in the FFY2021 Unified Planning
Work Program (UPWP). This technical memo explains the methodology and assumptions made in the
process of calculating community-level GHG emissions based on VMT estimates. The final document of
the 2020 update to the Regional Transportation Plan for the Pioneer Valley Metropolitan Planning
Organization (RTP) can be viewed at this link: http://www.pvpc.org/content/2020-regional-transportation-
plan-rtp
B. Vehicle Miles Traveled
The average daily traffic (ADT) volume estimates were obtained from the base year 2010 of the Pioneer
Valley's regional travel demand model (Figure 1). This traffic volume estimate for each modeled link was
multiplied by the length of that link to calculate the number of Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) for that
particular roadway link. The sum of VMT across all links in a community provided the total VMT for that
community.
C. Green House Gas Emissions
This report uses the average weekday vehicle miles traveled along major roadways included in the 2010
base-year of the regional transportation model for this analysis. The regional model is a macro-level
simulation of traffic volumes that does not include local roads. Therefore, several broad sweeping
assumptions were made while calculating GHG emissions for a community based on the regional travel
demand model output.
Assumptions:
1. Total Community VMT equals the sum of the VMT on all major roadway links in that community.
2. Vehicle travel speeds are based on the actual posted speed limit for the link.
3. The emission factors applied in this report were derived from the CMAQ analysis spreadsheets
provided by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) for analyzing GHG
emissions in Western Massachusetts
4. GHG emissions factors used are based on the July summer weekday factors in grams per mile
per pollutant type for moving commuter vehicles. These factors vary by vehicle speed and are
based on software runs of MOVES2014a conducted in 2015 for Middlesex County (MA) for an
Urban Unrestricted Roadway.
5. The vehicle mix in the Pioneer Valley is consistent with the assumptions used to develop
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MassDOT’s GHG emissions factors.
6. Emission factors used were for 25 mph to 65 mph speeds per 1 Mile stretch of a roadway
assuming zero grade, and each vehicle fuel source is Gasoline.
Figure 1 – 2010 Estimated Average Weekday Traffic Volume.
The estimated vehicle GHG emissions on major roadways within a community were added together to
calculate the total GHG emissions for a community. Emission factors of 7 pollutants by gasoline vehicles
moving at the posted mph speed were multiplied by the VMT 2010 model estimate for each major
roadway link to calculate the level of pollutants. The resulting values in grams were then converted to
kilograms for an average weekday (Table 1). The Average Weekday GHG emissions were next multiplied
by 250 as the number of commuter days in a year. This resulting values represent the Average Annual
Weekday Emissions shown in Table 2. The following section explains in detail various air pollutants from
transportation sources and their impact on environment and health.
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Table 1 – Average Daily Weekday Emissions by Community in Kilograms
Town CO NOx SO2 VOC CO2 PM10 PM2.5
Agawam 1,645 295 2 40 336,858 10 9
Amherst 943 169 1 24 193,283 6 5
Belchertown 834 150 1 21 171,551 5 5
Blandford 517 88 1 10 95,693 3 2
Brimfield 729 128 1 17 143,902 4 4
Chester 84 15 0 2 17,443 1 0
Chesterfield 89 16 0 2 18,098 1 0
Chicopee 3,144 563 5 73 633,381 18 17
Cummington 140 26 0 3 29,102 1 1
East Longmeadow 778 138 1 20 158,867 5 4
Easthampton 626 110 1 15 125,458 4 3
Goshen 131 24 0 3 27,427 1 1
Granby 454 81 1 12 92,673 3 2
Granville 126 22 0 3 25,716 1 1
Hadley 1,040 186 2 26 213,172 6 6
Hampden 255 45 0 7 52,187 2 1
Hatfield 429 73 1 8 80,081 2 2
Holland 93 17 0 2 19,007 1 1
Holyoke 3,614 627 5 76 693,441 19 18
Huntington 107 19 0 3 21,984 1 1
Longmeadow 1,029 184 2 24 208,568 6 5
Ludlow 1,694 293 2 36 325,591 9 8
Middlefield 14 2 0 0 2,769 0 0
Monson 500 89 1 13 102,149 3 3
Montgomery 32 6 0 1 6,352 0 0
Northampton 2,347 413 3 54 463,651 13 12
Palmer 1,843 320 3 41 357,958 10 9
Pelham 155 28 0 4 31,724 1 1
Plainfield 64 11 0 2 12,977 0 0
Russell 350 61 0 7 67,389 2 2
South Hadley 524 94 1 13 107,456 3 3
Southampton 299 53 0 8 61,171 2 2
Southwick 628 112 1 16 129,019 4 3
Springfield 6,244 1,131 9 154 1,287,470 38 35
Tolland 46 8 0 1 9,299 0 0
Wales 72 13 0 2 14,782 0 0
Ware 390 70 1 10 80,432 2 2
West Springfield 2,868 505 4 64 566,397 16 15
Westfield 2,203 393 3 53 444,972 13 12
Westhampton 101 18 0 3 20,698 1 1
Wilbraham 908 160 1 22 182,329 5 5
Williamsburg 257 47 0 6 53,380 2 1
Worthington 40 7 0 1 8,160 0 0
Pioneer Valley 38,386 6,811 56 900 7,694,019 223 203
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Table 2 – Average Annual Weekday Emissions by Community in Kilograms
Town CO NOx SO2 VOC CO2 PM10 PM2.5
Agawam 411,209 73,863 618 10,044 84,214,585 2,441 2,225
Amherst 235,805 42,141 355 5,931 48,320,648 1,415 1,291
Belchertown 208,493 37,460 315 5,187 42,887,751 1,253 1,142
Blandford 129,303 21,937 175 2,481 23,923,316 641 584
Brimfield 182,239 31,999 264 4,128 35,975,488 1,019 928
Chester 20,956 3,832 32 501 4,360,817 126 115
Chesterfield 22,150 3,936 33 565 4,524,403 133 121
Chicopee 785,934 140,631 1,162 18,239 158,345,331 4,619 4,210
Cummington 35,014 6,391 53 839 7,275,595 210 191
East Longmeadow 194,397 34,553 292 4,961 39,716,825 1,169 1,067
Easthampton 156,597 27,581 230 3,780 31,364,589 906 826
Goshen 32,828 6,040 50 771 6,856,659 197 179
Granby 113,424 20,156 170 2,894 23,168,204 682 622
Granville 31,474 5,593 47 803 6,428,959 189 173
Hadley 259,897 46,579 391 6,444 53,293,013 1,551 1,415
Hampden 63,872 11,350 96 1,630 13,046,666 384 350
Hatfield 107,292 18,279 146 2,113 20,020,225 542 493
Holland 23,262 4,134 35 593 4,751,629 140 128
Holyoke 903,529 156,753 1,270 18,946 173,360,338 4,864 4,429
Huntington 26,688 4,804 40 661 5,496,063 160 146
Longmeadow 257,340 46,064 382 6,032 52,142,022 1,483 1,353
Ludlow 423,610 73,166 596 9,112 81,397,828 2,270 2,068
Middlefield 3,389 602 5 86 692,329 20 19
Monson 125,023 22,217 188 3,190 25,537,351 751 685
Montgomery 7,930 1,396 12 192 1,588,093 46 42
Northampton 586,792 103,230 851 13,450 115,912,819 3,368 3,069
Palmer 460,758 80,041 656 10,177 89,489,451 2,518 2,295
Pelham 38,814 6,901 58 989 7,931,097 233 213
Plainfield 15,883 2,822 24 405 3,244,250 95 87
Russell 87,387 15,251 123 1,786 16,847,216 462 421
South Hadley 131,017 23,400 197 3,323 26,864,103 791 722
Southampton 74,869 13,304 112 1,910 15,292,826 450 410
Southwick 156,984 28,121 237 3,944 32,254,674 944 861
Springfield 1,561,102 282,760 2,364 38,580 321,867,469 9,621 8,773
Tolland 11,381 2,022 17 290 2,324,768 68 62
Wales 18,092 3,215 27 462 3,695,453 109 99
Ware 97,618 17,561 148 2,432 20,107,875 588 536
West Springfield 716,883 126,368 1,038 16,042 141,599,161 4,032 3,674
Westfield 550,736 98,252 817 13,227 111,243,028 3,300 3,008
Westhampton 25,332 4,502 38 646 5,174,517 152 139
Wilbraham 226,918 40,113 334 5,445 45,582,307 1,315 1,199
Williamsburg 64,215 11,716 98 1,542 13,345,089 386 351
Worthington 9,987 1,775 15 255 2,040,031 60 55
Pioneer Valley 9,596,425 1,702,808 14,113 225,029 1,923,504,861 55,705 50,775
The CO2 burden per registered vehicle varied between communities within the Pioneer Valley (Table 3).
The highest rate of CO2 emissions per registered vehicle was in the Town of Blandford. This attributed to
the added emissions from vehicular traffic along I-90 that runs through this community.
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Table 3 – Average Annual Weekday CO2 Emissions per Registerd Vehicle in a Community
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Another way to look at variations in emission impacts by community is to calculate the density of an
emission (Table 4). Springfield experienced the highest CO2 emissions per acre due to high volume of
traffic from several highways that run through this community such as I-91, I-291, Route 20 and Route 5.
Table 4 – Average Annual Weekday CO2 Emissions Density by Community
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D. Air Pollutants from Transportation Emission Sources
Greenhouse gases trap heat and make the planet warmer. Human activities are responsible for almost all
of the increase in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere over the last 150 years. The largest source of
greenhouse gas emissions from human activities in the United States is from burning fossil fuels for
electricity, heat, and transportation. In addition, several vehicular emission pollutants also impact health
and environment. The following is a description of these pollutants identified by the Environmental
Protection Agency for monitoring, Information provided in this section of the report was garnered from the
EPA website: https://www.epa.gov/report-environment/outdoor-air-quality
Commonly Measured Pollutants and Green House Gases:
Pollutants common in outdoor air that can harm human health and the environment include carbon
monoxide, lead, nitrogen dioxide, ozone, particulate matter of different size fractions, and sulfur dioxide.
These six air pollutants are referred to as “criteria pollutants” because EPA regulates them by developing
human health-based or environmentally based criteria for setting permissible levels. The Clean Air Act
requires EPA to set National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for these pollutants. In addition to
the list of Criteria Pollutants mentioned, two other pollutant precursors are of interest when estimating
GHG emissions. These are Carbon Dioxide and Volatile Organic Compounds. Source:
List of Air Pollutants:
CO Carbon Monoxide
NOx Nitrogen Oxides
SO2 Sulphur Dioxide
VOC Volatile Organic Compounds
CO2 Carbon Dioxide
PM 10 Particulate Matter Size ≤ 10 Micrometers
PM 2.5 Particulate Matter Size ≤ 2.5 Micrometers
Exposure to Outdoor Air Pollution
Human exposure to outdoor air pollution is a function of the composition and magnitude of air pollution,
combined with human activity patterns. Whether people are harmed by poor air quality depends on the
level and mixture of pollutants in the air, exposure doses and durations, individuals' susceptibilities to
diseases, and other factors. Similarly, air pollutants' interactions with ecosystems determine whether air
pollution causes harmful environmental effects.
For a complete understanding of a given air pollution issue, information is typically sought on emissions
sources, ambient air concentrations, exposures, and effects on exposed populations. The question on
Diseases and Conditions in Human Exposure and Health presents several indicators of diseases and
conditions for which outdoor air is a risk factor, including Cancer, Asthma, Cardiovascular Disease, and
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. However, since there are many other risk factors for these
diseases, the contribution of outdoor air to these trends cannot be determined. The following is a
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description of transportation related emission pollutants and their environment and health impacts:
Carbon Monoxide CO: CO is a colorless, odorless gas that can be harmful when inhaled in large
amounts. CO is released when something is burned. The greatest sources of CO to outdoor air are cars,
trucks and other vehicles or machinery that burn fossil fuels. Breathing air with a high concentration of CO
reduces the amount of oxygen that can be transported in the blood stream to critical organs like the heart
and brain. Very high levels of CO are not likely to occur outdoors. However, when CO levels are elevated
outdoors, they can be of particular concern for people with some types of heart disease. These people
already have a reduced ability for getting oxygenated blood to their hearts in situations where the heart
needs more oxygen than usual. They are especially vulnerable to the effects of CO when exercising or
under increased stress. In these situations, short-term exposure to elevated CO may result in reduced
oxygen to the heart accompanied by chest pain also known as angina. https://www.epa.gov/co-
pollution/basic-information-about-carbon-monoxide-co-outdoor-air-pollution#What%20is%20CO
Nitrogen Oxides NOx: NO2 is of greater concern. Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) is one of a group of highly
reactive gases known as oxides of nitrogen or nitrogen oxides (NOx). Other nitrogen oxides include
nitrous acid and nitric acid. NO2 is used as the indicator for the larger group of nitrogen oxides. All of
these gases are harmful to human health and the environment. NO2 primarily gets in the air from the
burning of fuel. NO2 forms from emissions from cars, trucks and buses, power plants, and off-road
equipment. NO2 along with other NOx reacts with other chemicals in the air to form both particulate
matter and ozone. Both of these are also harmful when inhaled due to effects on the respiratory system.
Health effects: Breathing air with a high concentration of NO2 can irritate airways in the human
respiratory system. Such exposures over short periods can aggravate respiratory diseases, particularly
asthma, leading to respiratory symptoms (such as coughing, wheezing or difficulty breathing), hospital
admissions and visits to emergency rooms. Longer exposures to elevated concentrations of NO2 may
contribute to the development of asthma and potentially increase susceptibility to respiratory infections.
People with asthma, as well as children and the elderly are generally at greater risk for the health effects
of NO2.
Environmental effects: NO2 and other NOx interact with water, oxygen and other chemicals in the
atmosphere to form acid rain. Acid rain harms sensitive ecosystems such as lakes and forests. The
nitrate particles that result from NOx make the air hazy and difficult to see though. This affects the many
national parks that we visit for the view. NOx in the atmosphere contributes to nutrient pollution in coastal
waters. https://www.epa.gov/no2-pollution/basic-information-about-no2#What%20is%20NO2
Sulphur Dioxide SO2: Emissions that lead to high concentrations of SO2 generally also lead to the
formation of other SOx. The largest sources of SO2 emissions are from fossil fuel combustion at power
plants and other industrial facilities. Smaller sources of SO2 emissions include: industrial processes such
as extracting metal from ore; natural sources such as volcanoes; and locomotives, ships and other
vehicles and heavy equipment that burn fuel with a high sulfur content.
Health effects: Short-term exposures to SO2 can harm the human respiratory system and make breathing
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difficult. People with asthma, particularly children, are sensitive to these effects of SO2. SO2 emissions
that lead to high concentrations of SO2 in the air generally also lead to the formation of other sulfur
oxides (SOx). SOx can react with other compounds in the atmosphere to form small particles. These
particles contribute to particulate matter (PM) pollution. Small particles may penetrate deeply into the
lungs and in sufficient quantity can contribute to health problems.
Environment effects: At high concentrations, gaseous SOx can harm trees and plants by damaging
foliage and decreasing growth. SO2 and other sulfur oxides can contribute to acid rain which can harm
sensitive ecosystems.
Visibility effects: SO2 and other sulfur oxides can react with other compounds in the atmosphere to form
fine particles that reduce visibility (haze) in parts of the United States, including many of our treasured
national parks and wilderness areas. Deposition of particles can also stain and damage stone and other
materials, including culturally important objects such as statues and monuments.
https://www.epa.gov/so2-pollution/sulfur-dioxide-basics#what%20is%20so2
Volatile Organic Compounds VOC: Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are a large group of organic
chemicals that include any compound of carbon (excluding carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, carbonic
acid, metallic carbides or carbonates, and ammonium carbonate). VOCs are of interest in part because
they participate in atmospheric photochemical reactions that contribute to ozone formation. Ozone (the
Ozone Concentrations indicator) is formed from chemical reactions involving airborne VOCs, airborne
nitrogen oxides, and sunlight. VOCs are also of interest because they play a role in formation of
secondary organic aerosols, which are found in airborne particulate matter (the Particulate Matter
Concentrations indicator). Finally, VOCs are of interest because many individual VOCs are known to be
harmful to human health (the Air Toxics Concentrations indicator; the Air Toxics Emissions indicator).
Health effects vary by pollutant. VOCs are emitted from a variety of sources, including motor vehicles
https://cfpub.epa.gov/roe/indicator.cfm?i=23#2
Carbon Dioxide CO2: Carbon dioxide (CO2) is the primary greenhouse gas emitted through human
activities. In 2018, CO2 accounted for about 81.3 percent of all U.S. greenhouse gas emissions from
human activities. The main human activity that emits CO2 is the combustion of fossil fuels (coal, natural
gas, and oil) for energy and transportation. The combustion of fossil fuels such as gasoline and diesel to
transport people and goods was the largest source of CO2 emissions in 2018, accounting for about 33.6
percent of total U.S. CO2 emissions and 27.3 percent of total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. This
category includes transportation sources such as highway and passenger vehicles, air travel, marine
transportation, and rail. Carbon dioxide is removed from the atmosphere (or "sequestered") when it is
absorbed by plants as part of the biological carbon cycle. https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/overview-
greenhouse-gases
Particulate Matter (PM10, PM2.5): PM stands for particulate matter (also called particle pollution): the
term for a mixture of solid particles and liquid droplets found in the air. Some particles, such as dust, dirt,
soot, or smoke, are large or dark enough to be seen with the naked eye. Others are so small they can
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only be detected using an electron microscope. Particle pollution are measured for two size categories.
PM10 are inhalable particles, with diameters that are generally 10 micrometers and smaller. Whereas,
PM2.5 are fine inhalable particles, with diameters that are generally 2.5 micrometers and smaller.
Sources of PM: These particles come in many sizes and shapes and can be made up of hundreds of
different chemicals. Some are emitted directly from a source, such as construction sites, unpaved roads,
fields, smokestacks or fires. Most particles form in the atmosphere as a result of complex reactions of
chemicals such as sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides, which are pollutants emitted from power plants,
industries and automobiles.
Health effects: Particulate matter contains microscopic solids or liquid droplets that are so small that they
can be inhaled and cause serious health problems. Some particles less than 10 micrometers in diameter
can get deep into your lungs and some may even get into your bloodstream. Of these, particles less than
2.5 micrometers in diameter, also known as fine particles or PM2.5, pose the greatest risk to health.
Visibility effects: Fine particles are also the main cause of reduced visibility (haze) in parts of the United
States, including many of our treasured national parks and wilderness areas. https://www.epa.gov/pm-
pollution/particulate-matter-pm-basics#PM