About

Professor Viney Aneja is a faculty member in the Department of Marine, Earth, and Atmospheric Sciences at NC State University, specializing in air quality research. His work involves studying reactive nitrogen emissions, biogeochemical cycles, and atmospheric pollutants such as ammonia and PM2.5, with applications in agricultural emissions, turfgrass environments, urban air quality, and climate change mitigation. He has been involved in research projects supported by NASA, NOAA, Chesapeake Bay Foundation, the Royal Thai Government, and the Kenan Institute, focusing on understanding and addressing environmental challenges related to nitrogen emissions and air pollution. His academic contributions include teaching courses on weather, climate, and air pollution fundamentals, and he has authored peer-reviewed papers, reports, and book chapters. His research aims to understand the patterns and impacts of atmospheric pollutants, with a focus on informing policy and promoting environmental sustainability. Professor Aneja's work reflects a commitment to advancing knowledge in air quality and environmental health through rigorous scientific investigation.

Research topics

• Environmental science
• Meteorology
• Geography
• Cartography
• Chemistry
• Physics
• Climatology
• Atmospheric sciences
• Ecology
• Soil science
• Geology
• Statistics
• Environmental chemistry
• Medicine
• Virology
• Mathematics

Selected publications

• From pollution to resource: advancing swine waste treatment in the USA

  Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems · 2024-09-10 · 4 citations

  articleOpen access1st author

  Concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) have led to environmental challenges, specifically waste management. Swine CAFOs generate large amounts of waste, requiring proper treatment to avoid air and water pollution. Conventional waste management technologies, such as lagoon and spray field systems, do not prevent air and water pollution impacts. Research for the past few decades led to recommendations for waste treatment technologies superior to lagoons and spray fields. Private environmental sustainability initiatives focused on reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the food supply chain have implemented biogas digester projects for capturing methane in covered swine lagoons to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. However, research indicates that methane capture alone does not solve the broader pollution issues associated with lagoon and spray field systems still in use at these CAFOs to dispose of digested effluents. The Environmentally Superior Technologies (EST) initiative in North Carolina set public standards to eliminate waste discharge, reduce atmospheric emissions, and control odors and pathogens. Research has confirmed that technologies coupling solids separation with water treatments to remove volatile organic carbon, pathogens, and reactive forms of nitrogen can meet EST standards. A designated EST—the Super Soil System—substantially reduced odor by 99.9%; pathogens by 99.99%, nutrients (phosphorus and nitrogen) by >90%, and heavy metals (cooper and zinc) by 99%. The ammonia emissions were reduced by 94.4% for the warm and 99.0% for the cool season with respect to a conventional lagoon system. Corresponding greenhouse gas emission reductions were 96.7%. Components of designated EST can be applied to retrofit covered lagoons and anaerobic digestion systems with significant environmental benefits. Recommendations are proposed, based on the collective experience with EST and current trends in animal production concentration, for environmentally safe technologies to handle excess manure produced in the USA.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Wildfire Pollution Emissions, Exposure, and Human Health: A Growing Air Quality Control Issue

  2023-11-08

  articleOpen access

  Wildfires emit large quantities of air pollutants into the atmosphere. As wildfires increase in frequency, intensity, duration, and coverage area, the emissions from these fires have become a significant control issue and health hazard for residential populations, especially vulnerable groups. A critical barrier to addressing the health impacts of air pollution caused by wildfires lies in our limited understanding of its true extent. This problem is expected to be exacerbated by additional factors such as the anticipated increase in wildfire intensity due to climate change, and the associated rise in fine particulate matter (PM2.5) in wildfire smoke, which, according to recent toxicological studies, could be more harmful than typical ambient PM2.5. The primary goal of our study is to develop a novel statistical framework that enables the forecasting of future emissions from active wildfires. This research aims to address the unquantified impacts of wildfire emissions and is a priority research area for many US federal agencies, e.g., NIEHS, US EPA, and NOAA. The framework integrates physicochemical models of emissions and satellite observations with forecasting models based on spatial statistics and machine learning models. Through the incorporation of these diverse datasets, we aim to improve the accuracy and reliability of our predictions regarding the spatio-temporal distribution of wildfire emissions. The potential human health impacts resulting from poor air quality during wildfires are also explored. By modeling the relationship between environmental exposures and disease risk, the burden of disease attributed to both short- and long-term impacts of exposure to wildfire events will be assessed.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Modeling and Analysis of Air Pollution and Environmental Justice: The Case for North Carolina’s Hog Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations

  Environmental Health Perspectives · 2023-08-01 · 18 citations

  articleOpen access

  Background: Concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) emit pollutants that can cause negative impacts on human health. The concentration of hog production in North Carolina raises concerns regarding the disproportionate exposure of vulnerable communities to air pollution from CAFOs. Objectives: We investigated whether exposure to gaseous ammonia (NH3) and hydrogen sulfide (H2S) (in 2019) differs between subpopulations by examining demographics, including race/ethnicity, age, educational attainment, language proficiency, and socioeconomic status. Methods: We used an Air Monitoring Station (AMS)/Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Regulatory Model (AERMOD)–based Human Exposure Model (version 3) to estimate ambient concentrations of NH3 and H2S from hog farms in Duplin County and its surrounding counties in North Carolina and estimate subsequent exposures of communities within 50km of Duplin County, North Carolina, or the Duplin County Region. We combined estimated exposures with 2016 American Community Summary Census data, at the block group level, using spatial analysis to investigate whether exposures to these pollutants differ by race and ethnicity, age, income, education, and language proficiency. Based on these estimations, we assessed associated exposure risks to the impacted communities and used multivariable regression modeling to evaluate the relationship between average ammonia exposures from Duplin regional hog farms and the presence of vulnerable populations. Results: The average [±standard deviation (SD)] annual estimated concentration of NH3 and H2S in the Duplin County Region is 1.75±2.81 μg/m3 and 0.0087±0.014 μg/m3, respectively. The maximum average annual ambient concentrations are estimated at 54.27±4.12 μg/m3 and 0.54±0.041 μg/m3 for NH3 and H2S, respectively. Our descriptive analysis reveals that people of low income, people of color, people with low educational attainment, and the linguistically isolated in the Duplin Region are disproportionately exposed to higher levels of pollutants than the average exposure for residents. Alternatively, our statistical results suggests that after adjusting for covariates, communities of color are associated with 1.70% (95% CI: −3.79, 0.44) lower NH3 concentrations per 1-SD increase. One-standard deviation increases in the adults with low educational attainment and children <19 years of age is associated with 1.26% (95% CI: −0.77, 3.33) and 1.20% (95% CI: −0.62, 3.05) higher NH3 exposure per 1-SD increase, respectively. Discussion: Exposures to NH3 and H2S differed by race and ethnicity, educational attainment, language proficiency, and socioeconomic status. The observed associations between exposure to CAFO-generated pollutants and sociodemographic indicators differed among demographics. The disproportionate distribution of hog facilities and resulting pollutant exposures among communities may have adverse environmental and human health impacts, raising environmental justice concerns. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP11344

  PublisherDOI

• Ozone Impacts and Climate Forcing: Thailand as a Case Study

  2022-01-01

  book-chapter
  PublisherDOI

• Wildfire Pollution Exposure and Human Health: A Growing Air Quality and Public Health Issue

  2022-07-14

  articleOpen access

  Wildfires emit large quantities of air pollutants into the atmosphere. As wildfires increase in frequency, intensity, duration, and coverage area, such emissions have become a significant health hazard for residential populations, particularly vulnerable groups. This health hazard is exacerbated by two factors: first, wildfires are expected to increase in frequency as a result of climate change and, second, human health is adversely impacted by fine particulate matter produced from wildfires. Recent toxicological studies suggest that wildfire particulate matter may be more toxic than equal doses of ambient PM2.5. The role of ammonia emissions from wildfires on PM2.5 is examined. The impact of poor air quality on human health is examined and some strategies are discussed to forecast the burden of diseases associated with exposures to wildfire events, both short and long term, and help develop mitigation strategies.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Correction: Estimating NH₃ and PM_2.5 emissions from the Australia mega wildfires and the impact of plume transport on air quality in Australia and New Zealand

  Environmental Science Atmospheres · 2022-01-01

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  Correction for ‘Estimating NH 3 and PM 2.5 emissions from the Australia mega wildfires and the impact of plume transport on air quality in Australia and New Zealand’ by Ece Ari Akdemir et al. , Environ. Sci.: Atmos. , 2022, https://doi.org/10.1039/d1ea00100k.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Particulate Matter and Ammonia Pollution in the Animal Agricultural-Producing Regions of North Carolina: Integrated Ground-Based Measurements and Satellite Analysis

  Atmosphere · 2022-05-17 · 10 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior authorCorresponding

  Intensive animal agriculture is an important part of the US and North Carolina’s (NC’s) economy. Large emissions of ammonia (NH3) gas emanate from the handling of animal wastes at these operations contributing to the formation of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) around the state causing a variety of human health and environmental effects. The objective of this research is to provide the relationship between ammonia, aerosol optical depth and meteorology and its effect on PM2.5 concentrations using satellite observations (column ammonia and aerosol optical depth (AOD)) and ground-based meteorological observations. An observational-based multiple linear regression model was derived to predict ground-level PM2.5 during the summer months (JJA) from 2008–2017 in New Hanover County, Catawba County and Sampson County. A combination of the Cumberland and Johnston County models for the summer was chosen and validated for Duplin County, NC, then used to predict Sampson County, NC, PM2.5 concentrations. The model predicted a total of six 24 h exceedances over the nine-year period. This indicates that there are rural areas of the state that may have air quality issues that are not captured for a lack of measurements. Moreover, PM2.5 chemical composition analysis suggests that ammonium is a major component of the PM2.5 aerosol.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Estimating NH₃ and PM_2.5 emissions from the Australia mega wildfires and the impact of plume transport on air quality in Australia and New Zealand

  Environmental Science Atmospheres · 2022-01-01 · 8 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  HYSPLIT modeling analysis. Long-range transport of PM 2.5 . Emissions of ammonia and PM 2.5 from biomass burning.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Breadth of Un-Fresh Air: Comprehensively Studying Winter Air Pollution Maxima Out West

  Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society · 2022-12-01

  article
  PublisherDOI

• Coupled Air Quality and Boundary-Layer Meteorology in Western U.S. Basins during Winter: Design and Rationale for a Comprehensive Study

  Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society · 2021 · 31 citations

  • Environmental science
  • Meteorology
  • Climatology

  Wintertime episodes of high aerosol concentrations occur frequently in urban and agricultural basins and valleys worldwide. These episodes often arise following development of persistent cold-air pools (PCAPs) that limit mixing and modify chemistry. While field campaigns targeting either basin meteorology or wintertime pollution chemistry have been conducted, coupling between interconnected chemical and meteorological processes remains an insufficiently studied research area. Gaps in understanding the coupled chemical-meteorological interactions that drive high pollution events make identification of the most effective air-basin specific emission control strategies challenging. To address this, a September 2019 workshop occurred with the goal of planning a future research campaign to investigate air quality in Western U.S. basins. Approximately 120 people participated, representing 50 institutions and 5 countries. Workshop participants outlined the rationale and design for a comprehensive wintertime study that would couple atmospheric chemistry and boundary-layer and complex-terrain meteorology within western U.S. basins. Participants concluded the study should focus on two regions with contrasting aerosol chemistry: three populated valleys within Utah (Salt Lake, Utah, and Cache Valleys) and the San Joaquin Valley in California. This paper describes the scientific rationale for a campaign that will acquire chemical and meteorological datasets using airborne platforms with extensive range, coupled to surface-based measurements focusing on sampling within the near-surface boundary layer, and transport and mixing processes within this layer, with high vertical resolution at a number of representative sites. No prior wintertime basin-focused campaign has provided the breadth of observations necessary to characterize the meteorological-chemical linkages outlined here, nor to validate complex processes within coupled atmosphere-chemistry models.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Recent grants

• International Workshop on Agriculture Impacts of Air Quality; Washington, District of Columbia; During 2006

  NSF · $30k · 2005–2009

Frequent coauthors

• Menachem Luria

  49 shared

• Joe F. Boatman

  49 shared

• J. T. Sigmon

  The University of Texas at Austin

  49 shared

• Charles C. Van Valin

  49 shared

• Michael Rodgers

  Jet Propulsion Laboratory

  49 shared

• D. R. Blake

  University of California, Irvine

  49 shared

• Daniel Tong

  George Mason University

  34 shared

• William Battye

  North Carolina State University

  29 shared

Labs

• Air Quality Research GroupPI

Education

• Ph.D., Atmospheric Chemistry

  University of California, Santa Barbara

  1995

• M.S., Atmospheric Chemistry

  University of California, Santa Barbara

  1991

• B.S., Chemistry

  University of California, Santa Barbara

  1988

Awards & honors

• Noryl Division Proprietary Innovation Award from General Ele…
• Air Pollution Control Association Award for Distinguished Se…
• General Electric Managerial Innovation Award (1986)
• Outstanding Extension Service Award at North Carolina State…
• Frank A. Chambers Award from the Air and Waste Management As…