WorldWideScience

Sample records for air quality monitoring

  1. Air Quality Monitoring: Risk-Based Choices

    Science.gov (United States)

    James, John T.

    2009-01-01

    Air monitoring is secondary to rigid control of risks to air quality. Air quality monitoring requires us to target the credible residual risks. Constraints on monitoring devices are severe. Must transition from archival to real-time, on-board monitoring. Must provide data to crew in a way that they can interpret findings. Dust management and monitoring may be a major concern for exploration class missions.

  2. Improving and monitoring air quality.

    Science.gov (United States)

    DuPont, André

    2018-05-01

    Since the authorization of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990, the air quality in the USA has significantly improved because of strong public support. The lessons learned over the last 25 years are being shared with the policy analysts, technical professionals, and scientist who endeavor to improve air quality in their communities. This paper will review how the USA has achieved the "high" standard of air quality that was envisioned in the early 1990s. This document will describe SO 2 gas emission reduction technology and highlight operation of emission monitoring technology. This paper describes the basic process operation of an air pollution control scrubber. A technical review of measures required to operate and maintain a large-scale pollution control system will be described. Also, the author explains how quality assurance procedures in performance of continuous emission monitoring plays a significant role in reducing air pollution.

  3. Air Quality Monitoring Programme

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kemp, K.; Palmgren, F.

    The air quality in Danish cities has been monitored continuously since 1982 within the Danish Air Quality (LMP) network. The aim has been to follow the concentration levels of toxic pollutants in the urban atmosphere and to provide the necessary knowledge to assess the trends, to perform source...... apportionment, and to evaluate the chemical reactions and the dispersion of the pollutants in the atmosphere. In 2002 the air quality was measured in four Danish cities and at two background sites. NO2 and PM10 were at several stations found in concentrations above the new EU limit values, which the Member...

  4. Wireless Sensor Network for Indoor Air Quality Monitoring

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jun Li

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available Indoor air quality monitoring system consists of wireless sensor device, nRF24L01 wireless transceiver modules, C8051MCU, STM32103 remote monitoring platform, alarm device and data server. Distributed in the interior space of wireless sensors measure parameters of the local air quality, wireless transceiver module of the MCU to transmit data to the remote monitoring platform for analysis which displayed and stored field environment data or charts. The data collecting from wireless sensors to be send by wireless Access Point to the remote data server based on B/S architecture, intelligent terminals such as mobile phone, laptop, tablet PC on the Internet monitor indoor air quality in real-time. When site environment air quality index data exceeds the threshold in the monitoring device, the remote monitoring platform sends out the alarm SMS signal to inform user by GSM module. Indoor air quality monitoring system uses modular design method, has the portability and scalability has the low manufacture cost, real-time monitoring data and man-machine interaction.

  5. Air Quality Monitoring System and Benchmarking

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Liu, Xiufeng; Nielsen, Per Sieverts

    2017-01-01

    Air quality monitoring has become an integral part of smart city solutions. This paper presents an air quality monitoring system based on Internet of Things (IoT) technologies, and establishes a cloud-based platform to address the challenges related to IoT data management and processing capabilit...... capabilities, including data collection, storage, analysis, and visualization. In addition, this paper also benchmarks four state-of-the-art database systems to investigate the appropriate technologies for managing large-scale IoT datasets....

  6. The Danish Air Quality Monitoring Programme

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kemp, K.; Palmgren, F.; Manscher, O. H.

    The Danish Air Quality Monitoring Programme (LMP) was started in 1982 as the first nation-wide urban air pollution monitoring programme in Denmark. The programme has been adjusted to the pollution pattern by two revisions. The present phase (LMP III) was started in 1992. This report presents...... Copenhagen the same program is con-ducted as at the street stations with the inclusion of O3. Only NO, NO2 and O3 are reported from the other rural site. Air quality limit values have been implemented in Den-mark for NO2, SO2, TSP in order to protect human health. All limit values are based on EU limit...

  7. The Danish Air Quality Monitoring Programme

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kemp, K.; Palmgren, F.

    The Danish Air Quality Monitoring Programme (LMP) was started in 1982 as the first nation-wide urban air pollution monitoring programme in Denmark. The programme has been adjusted to the pollution pattern by two revisions. The present phase (LMP III) was started in 1992. From 2000 a new phase...... continuously in order to improve the knowledge about the NO, NO2 and O3 problem complex. At the rural site outside Copenhagen the same program is conducted as at the street stations with the inclusion of O3. Only NO, NO2 and O3 are reported from the other rural site. Air quality limit values have been...... and plants. The new EU Directives introduce revised standards for NO2, SO2, particles (PM10) and Pb. They are implemented through the first "daughter" Directive to the Air Quality Framework Directive. It was adopted by the EU council in April 1999. The new limit values shall be in force from January 2001 (18...

  8. Air Quality System (AQS) Monitoring Network, EPA OAR OAQPS

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — This GIS dataset contains points which depict air quality monitors within EPA's Air Quality System (AQS) monitoring network. This dataset is updated weekly to...

  9. Monitoring Indoor Air Quality for Enhanced Occupational Health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pitarma, Rui; Marques, Gonçalo; Ferreira, Bárbara Roque

    2017-02-01

    Indoor environments are characterized by several pollutant sources. Because people spend more than 90% of their time in indoor environments, several studies have pointed out the impact of indoor air quality on the etiopathogenesis of a wide number of non-specific symptoms which characterizes the "Sick Building Syndrome", involving the skin, the upper and lower respiratory tract, the eyes and the nervous system, as well as many building related diseases. Thus, indoor air quality (IAQ) is recognized as an important factor to be controlled for the occupants' health and comfort. The majority of the monitoring systems presently available is very expensive and only allow to collect random samples. This work describes the system (iAQ), a low-cost indoor air quality monitoring wireless sensor network system, developed using Arduino, XBee modules and micro sensors, for storage and availability of monitoring data on a web portal in real time. Five micro sensors of environmental parameters (air temperature, humidity, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and luminosity) were used. Other sensors can be added for monitoring specific pollutants. The results reveal that the system can provide an effective indoor air quality assessment to prevent exposure risk. In fact, the indoor air quality may be extremely different compared to what is expected for a quality living environment. Systems like this would have benefit as public health interventions to reduce the burden of symptoms and diseases related to "sick buildings".

  10. Air Quality Monitoring Programme

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kemp, K.; Palmgren, F.

    The Danish Air Quality Monitoring Programme (LMP IV) has been revised in accordance with the Framework Directive and the first three daughter directives of SO2, NOx/NO2, PM10, lead, benzene, CO and ozone. PM10 samplers are under installation and the installation will be completed during 2002...

  11. A new air quality monitoring and early warning system: Air quality assessment and air pollutant concentration prediction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Zhongshan; Wang, Jian

    2017-10-01

    Air pollution in many countries is worsening with industrialization and urbanization, resulting in climate change and affecting people's health, thus, making the work of policymakers more difficult. It is therefore both urgent and necessary to establish amore scientific air quality monitoring and early warning system to evaluate the degree of air pollution objectively, and predict pollutant concentrations accurately. However, the integration of air quality assessment and air pollutant concentration prediction to establish an air quality system is not common. In this paper, we propose a new air quality monitoring and early warning system, including an assessment module and forecasting module. In the air quality assessment module, fuzzy comprehensive evaluation is used to determine the main pollutants and evaluate the degree of air pollution more scientifically. In the air pollutant concentration prediction module, a novel hybridization model combining complementary ensemble empirical mode decomposition, a modified cuckoo search and differential evolution algorithm, and an Elman neural network, is proposed to improve the forecasting accuracy of six main air pollutant concentrations. To verify the effectiveness of this system, pollutant data for two cities in China are used. The result of the fuzzy comprehensive evaluation shows that the major air pollutants in Xi'an and Jinan are PM 10 and PM 2.5 respectively, and that the air quality of Xi'an is better than that of Jinan. The forecasting results indicate that the proposed hybrid model is remarkably superior to all benchmark models on account of its higher prediction accuracy and stability. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  12. Design and implementation air quality monitoring robot

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Yuanhua; Li, Jie; Qi, Chunxue

    2017-01-01

    Robot applied in environmental protection can break through the limitations in working environment, scope and mode of the existing environmental monitoring and pollution abatement equipments, which undertake the innovation and improvement in the basin, atmosphere, emergency and pollution treatment facilities. Actually, the relevant technology is backward with limited research and investment. Though the device companies have achieved some results in the study on the water quality monitoring, pipeline monitoring and sewage disposal, this technological progress on the whole is still much slow, and the mature product has not been formed. As a result, the market urges a demand of a new type of device which is more suitable for environmental protection on the basis of robot successfully applied in other fields. This paper designs and realizes a tracked mobile robot of air quality monitoring, which can be used to monitor air quality for the pollution accident in industrial parks and regular management.

  13. DANIDA; Air Quality Monitoring Programme. Mission 2 Report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sivertsen, B.

    1996-06-01

    The report deals with the EIMP (Environmental Information and Monitoring Programme for the Arab Republic of Egypt). The programme is funded by Danida which is a cooperation project between Norway and Denmark. The programme covers the monitoring of air pollution, coastal water monitoring, and the monitoring of pollution sources and emissions. This report pays the attention to the Norwegian part of the programme executed by NILU (Norwegian Institute for Air Research) which covers the development air quality monitoring network. 14 refs., 51 figs., 18 tabs.

  14. Quality assurance and quality control for Hydro-Quebec's ambient air monitoring networks

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lambert, M.; Varfalvy, L.

    1993-01-01

    Hydro Quebec has three ambient air monitoring networks to determine the contribution of some of its thermal plants to ambient air quality. They are located in Becancour (gas turbines), Iles-de-la-Madeleine (diesel), and Tracy (conventional oil-fired). To ensure good quality results and consistency between networks, a quality assurance/quality control program was set up. A description is presented of the ambient air quality monitoring network and the quality assurance/quality control program. A guide has been created for use by the network operators, discussing objectives of the individual network, a complete description of each network, field operation for each model of instrument in use, treatment of data for each data logger in use, global considerations regarding quality assurance and control, and reports. A brief overview is presented of the guide's purpose and contents, focusing on the field operation section and the sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide monitors. 6 figs., 1 tab

  15. Air quality: evolution of monitoring methods at its height

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Legros, E.J.

    1996-01-01

    In the context of the forthcoming enforcement of the new air law in France, the INERIS (the French National Institute for Industrial Environment and Risks) made a statement at the end of June 1996 about the problems of air quality monitoring and the evolution of measurement tools. This short paper recalls first the historical evolution of the French urban air quality monitoring and its legal aspects, and the recent studies about the cost of air pollution and the impact of diesel particulates, benzene and aromatic hydrocarbons on human health. Then it describes the INERIS works concerning the identification and characterization of pollutants (NOx, CO, CO 2 , SO 2 , lead, ozone, particulates, organic volatile compounds) and the modeling of their dispersion. The monitoring of air quality in France is performed by 31 associations, from which Airparif is devoted to Paris city. (J.S.)

  16. On development of system for environmental monitoring of atmospheric air quality

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    М. В. Волкодаева

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available The article suggests the directions for development of the system of environmental monitoring of atmospheric air quality in the Russian Federation, namely: an increase in the number of stationary control posts for atmospheric pollution in each specific city; expansion of the list of cities where constant measurements of pollutant concentrations are conducted; expansion of the list of controlled impurities through the introduction of automated air quality monitoring systems, the development of computational methods for monitoring air quality, including not only information on pollution levels in terms of compliance with hygienic standards, but also assessment of pollution levels from the perspective of environmental risk to the health of the population. There is a great sensitivity of plants to the low quality of atmospheric air in comparison with the sensitivity of animals and humans. The air quality standards for vegetation are given. It is proposed to evaluate the quality of atmospheric air not only from the point of view of the impact on human health, but taking into account the impact on vegetation, to include in the program route observations carried out by mobile atmospheric air monitoring laboratories, territories with public green areas, which will increase the information content of atmospheric air monitoring and the state of green spaces. In connection with the increasing noise level in large cities and the lack of a permanent noise monitoring system, it is proposed to equip existing and new monitoring stations with noise level meters to provide reliable information for the development of relevant environmental measures.

  17. SAMIRA - SAtellite based Monitoring Initiative for Regional Air quality

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schneider, Philipp; Stebel, Kerstin; Ajtai, Nicolae; Diamandi, Andrei; Horalek, Jan; Nicolae, Doina; Stachlewska, Iwona; Zehner, Claus

    2016-04-01

    Here, we present a new ESA-funded project entitled Satellite based Monitoring Initiative for Regional Air quality (SAMIRA), which aims at improving regional and local air quality monitoring through synergetic use of data from present and upcoming satellites, traditionally used in situ air quality monitoring networks and output from chemical transport models. Through collaborative efforts in four countries, namely Romania, Poland, the Czech Republic and Norway, all with existing air quality problems, SAMIRA intends to support the involved institutions and associated users in their national monitoring and reporting mandates as well as to generate novel research in this area. Despite considerable improvements in the past decades, Europe is still far from achieving levels of air quality that do not pose unacceptable hazards to humans and the environment. Main concerns in Europe are exceedances of particulate matter (PM), ground-level ozone, benzo(a)pyrene (BaP) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2). While overall sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions have decreased in recent years, regional concentrations can still be high in some areas. The objectives of SAMIRA are to improve algorithms for the retrieval of hourly aerosol optical depth (AOD) maps from SEVIRI, and to develop robust methods for deriving column- and near-surface PM maps for the study area by combining satellite AOD with information from regional models. The benefit to existing monitoring networks (in situ, models, satellite) by combining these datasets using data fusion methods will be tested for satellite-based NO2, SO2, and PM/AOD. Furthermore, SAMIRA will test and apply techniques for downscaling air quality-related EO products to a spatial resolution that is more in line with what is generally required for studying urban and regional scale air quality. This will be demonstrated for a set of study sites that include the capitals of the four countries and the highly polluted areas along the border of Poland and the

  18. New Brunswick air quality monitoring results for the year 2000

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hughes, R.

    2002-01-01

    Monitoring data for air quality in New Brunswick in 2000 is presented in this document. Designed for the general public, it summarizes the air quality results for 2000 and focuses on air quality assessment as it relates to existing air quality standards and objectives. The report also contains the long term trend data for representative sites. The New Brunswick Air Quality Regulation of the Clean Air Act specifies the air quality standards applicable for carbon monoxide, sulphur dioxide, hydrogen sulphide, nitrogen dioxide and total suspended particulate. The monitoring was conducted at 58 sites in 8 regional monitoring networks throughout the province. Thirteen additional sites were selected for the measurement of acid rain. Despite the fact that no standards were in effect in 2000 in New Brunswick for several substances, including inhalable particulate matter, ground-level ozone, volatile organic compounds, selected semi-volatile organic compounds, trace elements in particulate matter and mercury in air and precipitation, their levels were measured at some locations. The results indicate that emissions trends, variations in industrial output, changing process or emission control technologies, and weather conditions throughout the year explain most of the variations in results between regions. As a rule, compliance with standards is good. Acid rain continued to impact, especially in the southwestern districts of the province. Since 1996, the levels of mercury in precipitation has slightly declined. 39 refs., 43 figs

  19. DANIDA; Air Quality Monitoring Programme. Mission 3 Report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sivertsen, B.; Marsteen, L.

    1996-12-31

    In the development of the Environmental Information and Monitoring Programme for the Arab Republic of Egypt (EIMP), NILU is responsible for the establishment of an air pollution monitoring system. This report summarizes the third mission to Egypt and includes meetings and site visit reports. Air quality sites in Alexandria are described and comments are given to earlier selected sites in Cairo

  20. Enhanced data validation strategy of air quality monitoring network.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harkat, Mohamed-Faouzi; Mansouri, Majdi; Nounou, Mohamed; Nounou, Hazem

    2018-01-01

    Quick validation and detection of faults in measured air quality data is a crucial step towards achieving the objectives of air quality networks. Therefore, the objectives of this paper are threefold: (i) to develop a modeling technique that can be used to predict the normal behavior of air quality variables and help provide accurate reference for monitoring purposes; (ii) to develop fault detection method that can effectively and quickly detect any anomalies in measured air quality data. For this purpose, a new fault detection method that is based on the combination of generalized likelihood ratio test (GLRT) and exponentially weighted moving average (EWMA) will be developed. GLRT is a well-known statistical fault detection method that relies on maximizing the detection probability for a given false alarm rate. In this paper, we propose to develop GLRT-based EWMA fault detection method that will be able to detect the changes in the values of certain air quality variables; (iii) to develop fault isolation and identification method that allows defining the fault source(s) in order to properly apply appropriate corrective actions. In this paper, reconstruction approach that is based on Midpoint-Radii Principal Component Analysis (MRPCA) model will be developed to handle the types of data and models associated with air quality monitoring networks. All air quality modeling, fault detection, fault isolation and reconstruction methods developed in this paper will be validated using real air quality data (such as particulate matter, ozone, nitrogen and carbon oxides measurement). Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  1. DANIDA; Air Quality Monitoring Programme. Mission 4 Report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sivertsen, B.

    1997-12-31

    In the development of the Environmental Information and Monitoring Programme for the Arab Republic of Egypt (EIMP), NILU is responsible for the establishment of an air pollution monitoring system. This report summarizes the fourth mission to Egypt, including planning of the second phase meetings and site visits. Additional air quality sites in Cairo have been described. A project group meeting and a visit to Egypt Meteorological Service have been reported

  2. Interpretation of PAMZ air quality data and assessment of the PAMZ air quality monitoring program January 2000 to December 2001

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2002-01-01

    Since December 1999, passive monitors have been in use to support the Air Quality Monitoring Program begun that year. It currently includes 33 passive stations throughout the zone, which measure nitrogen dioxide, sulphur dioxide and ozone. There are also four continuous monitoring stations, two stations operated by Parkland Airshed Management Zone (PAMZ) (Caroline and portable), one operated by Alberta Environment at Red Deer, as well as one station operated by West Central Airshed Society at Hightower Ridge. In 2000 and 2001, the portable station was operated at seven locations within the zone. There were four objectives to this study: (1) provide a summary of the PAMZ air quality monitoring data for the period January 2000 to December 2001, (2) provide an interpretation of that data with regard to emission sources and PAMZ's high priority issues, (3) provide an assessment of the PAMZ Air Quality Monitoring Program performance with respect to the primary objective of the program, and (4) make recommendations on improving or expanding the Air Quality Program. It was found that the ambient concentrations of the different compounds and parameters were below the guidelines established by the Alberta Ambient Air Quality Guidelines (AAAQG) and Canada-wide Standards, with some exceptions which were listed. Ozone concentrations proved to be higher in the Foothills, rather than in an east-west pattern, and lower in the vicinity of transportation corridors (Highway 2). Nitrogen dioxide concentrations were also high in the transportation corridor. The eastern half of the zone was exposed to higher concentrations of sulphur dioxide due to the more dense population and the presence of industries and major highways. Most of the terms of reference of the Technical Working Group appear to be met by the PAMZ Air Quality Monitoring Program. Some recommendations were included in the report, such as the addition of a fifth continuous Air Quality Monitoring station that is portable

  3. Air Qualitymonitoring and modelling

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marius DEACONU

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available Air pollution is a major concern for all nations, regardless of their development. The rapid growth of the industrial sector and urban development have lead to significant quantities of substances and toxic materials, mostly discharged into the atmosphere and having adverse effects both on human health and environment in general. Human society has to recognize that environment has only a limited capacity to process all of its waste without major changes. Each of us is a pollutant but also a victim of pollution. If monitoring of air pollutants is particularly important for assessing the air quality at any moment, by modelling the monitoring data spectacular results are obtained both through the factor analysis and identification of potential pollution mitigation measures. Latest equipment and techniques come and support these problems giving medium and long term solutions.

  4. Air quality monitoring Edson and Hinton area September 1999 to June 2000 : Final report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2002-01-01

    The Edson and Hinton areas of Alberta were the subject of a mobile, ambient air quality monitoring survey. The monitoring involved four surveys of a week each, over four seasons, for one year. This area had been selected for monitoring to meet three major objectives: the determination of concentrations of air pollutants representative of the monitored locations in the survey area, to establish a comparison of air pollutant levels to data from other locations in the province of Alberta, and to provide a comparison of air pollutant levels to Alberta's air quality guidelines. These surveys formed an integral part of the air quality monitoring program of Alberta Environment. Using the Mobile Air Monitoring Laboratory (MAML), personnel from Alberta Environment appear on location unannounced. Carbon monoxide, oxides of nitrogen, ozone, particulates, hydrocarbons, sulphur dioxide, hydrogen sulphide, total reduced sulphur and ammonia are the substances measured and monitored. Eighteen sites in the Edson and Hinton area were selected, as well as downwind of industrial facilities in the Edson area, and air quality was monitored using the mobile lab for twenty days. To allow comparison to the air quality guidelines, monitoring was conducted for a minimum of one hour at each location. As a result, approximately 152 hours of air quality monitoring information was obtained, providing data in the vicinity of both populated and industrial areas. The periods comprised September 13-16, 1999 (Fall), February 7-9, 2000 (Winter), April 18-19, 25-27, 2000 (Spring), and June 4-5, 13-16, 2000 (Summer). The results were provided in this report. Most results were below the Alberta Ambient Air Quality Guidelines. refs., 16 tabs., 18 figs

  5. New Brunswick air quality monitoring results for the year 2007 : executive summary

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2009-01-01

    Air quality has been monitored in New Brunswick since the 1960s. This report summarized air quality results for general public information, with emphasis on air quality assessment in relation to existing air quality standards and objectives. Long-term trend data were also presented for representative sites. Air contaminants currently covered by provincial objectives were measured at 59 sites across the province during 2007. Acid rain was measured at 13 additional sites. Some locations were monitored for volatile organic compounds and mercury in air. Quality assurance procedures used in the provincial air quality system were also described. The report revealed that there were no exceedances of New Brunswick air quality objectives for nitrogen dioxide or carbon monoxide at any of the provincial monitoring sites in 2007. In many instances, exceedances for ozone, total reduced sulphur, fine particulate matter and total volatile organic compound concentrations were lower in 2007 than in 2006. Air quality trends indicate that since the late 1970s and 1980s, air quality has improved for all pollutants currently being measured, with the possible exception of ground level ozone. Annual average levels of sulphur dioxide have decreased significantly over the past 15-20 years. The long term levels of carbon monoxide and nitrogen dioxide have also decreased. Acid deposition has declined since the early 1990s, but its effects continue to be of concern in the province. In 2007, sulphate in precipitation was moderately lower than in 2006.

  6. Air quality monitoring using mobile microscopy and machine learning

    KAUST Repository

    Wu, Yi-Chen; Shiledar, Ashutosh; Li, Yi-Cheng; Wong, Jeffrey; Feng, Steve; Chen, Xuan; Chen, Christine; Jin, Kevin; Janamian, Saba; Yang, Zhe; Ballard, Zachary Scott; Gö rö cs, Zoltá n; Feizi, Alborz; Ozcan, Aydogan

    2017-01-01

    Rapid, accurate and high-throughput sizing and quantification of particulate matter (PM) in air is crucial for monitoring and improving air quality. In fact, particles in air with a diameter of ≤2.5 μm have been classified as carcinogenic by the World Health Organization. Here we present a field-portable cost-effective platform for high-throughput quantification of particulate matter using computational lens-free microscopy and machine-learning. This platform, termed c-Air, is also integrated with a smartphone application for device control and display of results. This mobile device rapidly screens 6.5 L of air in 30 s and generates microscopic images of the aerosols in air. It provides statistics of the particle size and density distribution with a sizing accuracy of ~93%. We tested this mobile platform by measuring the air quality at different indoor and outdoor environments and measurement times, and compared our results to those of an Environmental Protection Agency–approved device based on beta-attenuation monitoring, which showed strong correlation to c-Air measurements. Furthermore, we used c-Air to map the air quality around Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) over 24 h to confirm that the impact of LAX on increased PM concentration was present even at >7 km away from the airport, especially along the direction of landing flights. With its machine-learning-based computational microscopy interface, c-Air can be adaptively tailored to detect specific particles in air, for example, various types of pollen and mold and provide a cost-effective mobile solution for highly accurate and distributed sensing of air quality.

  7. Air quality monitoring using mobile microscopy and machine learning

    KAUST Repository

    Wu, Yi-Chen

    2017-09-08

    Rapid, accurate and high-throughput sizing and quantification of particulate matter (PM) in air is crucial for monitoring and improving air quality. In fact, particles in air with a diameter of ≤2.5 μm have been classified as carcinogenic by the World Health Organization. Here we present a field-portable cost-effective platform for high-throughput quantification of particulate matter using computational lens-free microscopy and machine-learning. This platform, termed c-Air, is also integrated with a smartphone application for device control and display of results. This mobile device rapidly screens 6.5 L of air in 30 s and generates microscopic images of the aerosols in air. It provides statistics of the particle size and density distribution with a sizing accuracy of ~93%. We tested this mobile platform by measuring the air quality at different indoor and outdoor environments and measurement times, and compared our results to those of an Environmental Protection Agency–approved device based on beta-attenuation monitoring, which showed strong correlation to c-Air measurements. Furthermore, we used c-Air to map the air quality around Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) over 24 h to confirm that the impact of LAX on increased PM concentration was present even at >7 km away from the airport, especially along the direction of landing flights. With its machine-learning-based computational microscopy interface, c-Air can be adaptively tailored to detect specific particles in air, for example, various types of pollen and mold and provide a cost-effective mobile solution for highly accurate and distributed sensing of air quality.

  8. The Danish air quality monitoring programme. Annual Summary for 2006

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kemp, K.; Ellemann, T.; Brandt, J.; Christensen, Jesper; Ketzel, M.

    2007-06-15

    The air quality in Danish cities has been monitored continuously since 1982 within the Danish Air Quality Monitoring (LMP) network. The aim has been to monitor the levels of toxic pollutants in the urban atmosphere and to provide the necessary knowledge to assess the concentration trends, to perform source apportionment, and to evaluate the chemical reactions and the dispersion of the pollutants in the atmosphere. In 2006 the air quality was measured in four Danish cities and at two background sites. Besides this model calculations were carried out to supplement the measurements. NO{sub 2} and PM{sub 10} were at several stations found in concentrations above EU limit values, which the Member States have to comply 2005 and in 2010. While the concentrations for most other pollutants have been strongly decreasing since 1982, only a minor decrease has been observed for NO{sub 2} and O{sub 3}. (au)

  9. A New Era of Air Quality Monitoring from Space in East Asia: Korea's Geostationary Environmental Monitoring Spectrometer (GEMS) and an Integrated Korea-US Air Quality (KORUS-AQ) Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hong, J.; Hong, Y.; Song, C. K.; Kim, S. K.; Chang, L. S.; Lim, J.; Ahn, J.; Park, J. H.; Kim, J. Y.; Han, Y. J.; Kim, J.; Park, R.; Lee, G.; Lefer, B. L.; Al-Saadi, J. A.; Crawford, J. H.

    2015-12-01

    Due to remarkable economic growth over the last two decades, East Asia has become a region experiencing some of the poorest air quality in the world. In addition to local sources of pollution, the Korea peninsula is downwind of the largest emission sources in East Asia, complicating the understanding of air quality over Korea. Thus, knowing the factors controlling changes in air pollution across urban-rural and marine-continental interfaces, in addition to the contributions from local emissions and transboundary transport, is important for building effective management strategies and improving air quality in East Asia. GEMS (Geostationary Environmental Monitoring Spectrometer) is a satellite instrument planned for launch in 2019 by the Republic of Korea. The instrument will observe East Asia and the western Pacific region, providing real-time monitoring of air quality (e.g. O3, NO2, SO2, HCHO, AOD, etc.) and enabling better scientific understanding of the transboundary transport of air pollutants. The KORUS-AQ (the Korea and U.S. Air Quality) field campaign will take place in May - June 2016 and will employ an integrated observing strategy including multiplatform observations (i.e. ground stations, aircraft, ships, and satellites) and chemical transport models. This mission aims to not only strengthen our knowledge of atmospheric chemistry but also provide important data sets for validating GEMS retrieval algorithms. In preparation for KORUS-AQ, a pre-campaign has been successfully conducted in Korea during early summer 2015 with observations from multiple ground sites and a small aircraft. A brief summary of pre-field campaign results will be presented. Moving forward, the GEMS mission and KORUS-AQ study will lead to a new era of air quality monitoring in East Asia. GEMS will also make critical contributions to the global air quality perspective working in concert with geostationary missions launched by the U.S. (TEMPO: Tropospheric Emissions: Monitoring of

  10. Performance assessment of air quality monitoring networks using principal component analysis and cluster analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lu, Wei-Zhen; He, Hong-Di; Dong, Li-yun

    2011-01-01

    This study aims to evaluate the performance of two statistical methods, principal component analysis and cluster analysis, for the management of air quality monitoring network of Hong Kong and the reduction of associated expenses. The specific objectives include: (i) to identify city areas with similar air pollution behavior; and (ii) to locate emission sources. The statistical methods were applied to the mass concentrations of sulphur dioxide (SO 2 ), respirable suspended particulates (RSP) and nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ), collected in monitoring network of Hong Kong from January 2001 to December 2007. The results demonstrate that, for each pollutant, the monitoring stations are grouped into different classes based on their air pollution behaviors. The monitoring stations located in nearby area are characterized by the same specific air pollution characteristics and suggested with an effective management of air quality monitoring system. The redundant equipments should be transferred to other monitoring stations for allowing further enlargement of the monitored area. Additionally, the existence of different air pollution behaviors in the monitoring network is explained by the variability of wind directions across the region. The results imply that the air quality problem in Hong Kong is not only a local problem mainly from street-level pollutions, but also a region problem from the Pearl River Delta region. (author)

  11. The Danish air quality monitoring programme. Annual Summary for 2007

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kemp, K.; Ellemann, T.; Brandt, J.; Christensen, Jesper; Ketzel, M.; Solvang Jensen, S.

    2008-07-15

    The air quality in Danish cities has been monitored continuously since 1982 within the Danish Air Quality Monitoring (LMP) network. The aim has been to follow the concentration levels of toxic pollutants in the urban atmosphere and to provide the necessary knowledge to assess the trends, to perform source apportionment, and to evaluate the chemical reactions and the dispersion of the pollutants in the atmosphere. In 2007 the air quality was measured in four Danish cities and at two background sites. Model calculations were also carried out to supplement the measurements. At several stations NO{sub 2} and PM{sub 10} were found in concentrations above EU limit values, which the Member States have to comply with in 2005 and 2010. The concentrations for most pollutants have been strongly decreasing since 1982, however, only a slight decrease has been observed for NO{sub 2} and O{sub 3}. (au)

  12. The Danish air quality monitoring programme. Annual summary for 2008

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kemp, K.; Ellemann, T.; Brandt, J.; Christensen, Jesper; Ketzel, M.; Solvang Jensen, S.

    2010-06-15

    The air quality in Danish cities has been monitored continuously since 1982 within the Danish Air Quality Monitoring (LMP) network. The aim has been to follow the concentration levels of toxic pollutants in the urban atmosphere and to provide the necessary knowledge to assess the trends, to perform source apportionment, and to evaluate the chemical reactions and the dispersion of the pollutants in the atmosphere. In 2007 the air quality was measured in four Danish cities and at two background sites. Model calculations were also carried out to supplement the measurements. At several stations NO{sub 2} and PM{sub 10} were found in concentrations above EU limit values, which the Member States have to comply with in 2005 and 2010. The concentrations for most pollutants have been strongly decreasing since 1982, however, only a slight decrease has been observed for NO{sub 2} and O{sub 3}. (author)

  13. The Danish air quality monitoring programme. Annual summary for 2012

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ellermann, T.; Klenoe Noejgaard, J.; Nordstroem, C.; Brandt, J.; Christensen, Jesper; Ketzel, M.; Jansen, S.; Massling, A.; Solvang Jensen, S.

    2013-10-15

    The air quality in Danish cities has been monitored continuously since 1982 within the Danish Air Quality Monitoring network. The aim is to follow the concentration levels of toxic pollutants in the urban atmosphere and to provide the necessary knowledge to assess the trends, to perform source apportionment, and to understand the governing processes that determine the level of air pollution in Denmark. In 2012 the air quality was measured in four Danish cities and at two background sites. In addition model calculations were carried out to supplement the measurements. At one street station (H.C. Andersens Boulevard) in Copenhagen NO{sub 2} was found in concentrations above EU limit values while NO{sub 2} levels in Odense, Aarhus and Aalborg were below the limit value. Model calculations indicate exceedances of NO{sub 2} limit values at several streets in Copenhagen. Annual averages of PM{sub 10} and PM{sub 2.5} were below limit values at all stations. The concentrations for most pollutants have been decreasing during the last decades. (Author)

  14. Air quality monitoring programme. Annual summary for 2004

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kemp, K.; Ellermann, T.; Palmgren, F.; Waehlin, P.; Berkowicz, R. Brandt. j.

    2005-07-15

    The air quality in Danish cities has been monitored continuously since 1982 within the Danish Air Quality (LMP) network. The aim has been to follow the concentration levels of toxic pollutants in the urban atmosphere and to provide the necessary knowledge to assess the trends, to perform source apportionment, and to evaluate the chemical reactions and the dispersion of the pollutants in the atmosphere. In 2004 the air quality was measured in four Danish cities and at two background sites. NO{sup 2} and PM10 were at several stations found in concentrations above EU limit values, which the Member States have to comply with in 2005 and 2010. While the concentrations for most other pollutants have been strongly decreasing since 1982, only a slight decrease has been observed for NO{sup 2}. The measurement has been supplemented with dispersion models for a number of streets in Copenhagen and Aalborg. (au)

  15. A Low-Cost Sensing System for Cooperative Air Quality Monitoring in Urban Areas

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Simone Brienza

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available Air quality in urban areas is a very important topic as it closely affects the health of citizens. Recent studies highlight that the exposure to polluted air can increase the incidence of diseases and deteriorate the quality of life. Hence, it is necessary to develop tools for real-time air quality monitoring, so as to allow appropriate and timely decisions. In this paper, we present uSense, a low-cost cooperative monitoring tool that allows knowing, in real-time, the concentrations of polluting gases in various areas of the city. Specifically, users monitor the areas of their interest by deploying low-cost and low-power sensor nodes. In addition, they can share the collected data following a social networking approach. uSense has been tested through an in-field experimentation performed in different areas of a city. The obtained results are in line with those provided by the local environmental control authority and show that uSense can be profitably used for air quality monitoring.

  16. Air Pollution Monitoring | Air Quality Planning & Standards ...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2016-06-08

    The basic mission of the Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards is to preserve and improve the quality of our nation's air. To accomplish this, OAQPS must be able to evaluate the status of the atmosphere as compared to clean air standards and historical information.

  17. Construction and application of an intelligent air quality monitoring system for healthcare environment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Chao-Tung; Liao, Chi-Jui; Liu, Jung-Chun; Den, Walter; Chou, Ying-Chyi; Tsai, Jaw-Ji

    2014-02-01

    Indoor air quality monitoring in healthcare environment has become a critical part of hospital management and policy. Manual air sampling and analysis are cost-inhibitive and do not provide real-time air quality data and response measures. In this month-long study over 14 sampling locations in a public hospital in Taiwan, we observed a positive correlation between CO(2) concentration and population, total bacteria, and particulate matter concentrations, thus monitoring CO(2) concentration as a general indicator for air quality could be a viable option. Consequently, an intelligent environmental monitoring system consisting of a CO(2)/temperature/humidity sensor, a digital plug, and a ZigBee Router and Coordinator was developed and tested. The system also included a backend server that received and analyzed data, as well as activating ventilation and air purifiers when CO(2) concentration exceeded a pre-set value. Alert messages can also be delivered to offsite users through mobile devices.

  18. Method, system and apparatus for monitoring and adjusting the quality of indoor air

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hartenstein, Steven D.; Tremblay, Paul L.; Fryer, Michael O.; Hohorst, Frederick A.

    2004-03-23

    A system, method and apparatus is provided for monitoring and adjusting the quality of indoor air. A sensor array senses an air sample from the indoor air and analyzes the air sample to obtain signatures representative of contaminants in the air sample. When the level or type of contaminant poses a threat or hazard to the occupants, the present invention takes corrective actions which may include introducing additional fresh air. The corrective actions taken are intended to promote overall health of personnel, prevent personnel from being overexposed to hazardous contaminants and minimize the cost of operating the HVAC system. The identification of the contaminants is performed by comparing the signatures provided by the sensor array with a database of known signatures. Upon identification, the system takes corrective actions based on the level of contaminant present. The present invention is capable of learning the identity of previously unknown contaminants, which increases its ability to identify contaminants in the future. Indoor air quality is assured by monitoring the contaminants not only in the indoor air, but also in the outdoor air and the air which is to be recirculated. The present invention is easily adaptable to new and existing HVAC systems. In sum, the present invention is able to monitor and adjust the quality of indoor air in real time by sensing the level and type of contaminants present in indoor air, outdoor and recirculated air, providing an intelligent decision about the quality of the air, and minimizing the cost of operating an HVAC system.

  19. Air pollution assessment in the Slovak Republic in 2005. Measurement stations of air quality monitoring network

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon

    2006-05-01

    In this Appendix to the report 'Air pollution assessment in the Slovak Republic in 2005' the main characteristics of measurement stations of air quality monitoring network of the Slovak Republic are presented

  20. Air pollution assessment in the Slovak Republic in 2004. Measurement stations of air quality monitoring network

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon

    2005-07-01

    In this Appendix to the report 'Air pollution assessment in the Slovak Republic in 2004' the main characteristics of measurement stations of air quality monitoring network of the Slovak Republic are presented

  1. Monitoring air quality in Southeast Alaska’s National Parks and Forests: Linking atmospheric pollutants with ecological effects

    Science.gov (United States)

    D. Schirokauer; L. Geiser; A. Bytnerowicz; M. Fenn; K. Dillman

    2014-01-01

    Air quality and air quality related values are important resources to the National Park Service (NPS) units and Wilderness areas in northern Southeast Alaska. Air quality monitoring was prioritized as a high-priority Vital Sign at the Southeast Alaska Network’s (SEAN) Inventory and Monitoring Program’s terrestrial scoping workshop (Derr and Fastie 2006). Air quality...

  2. Air quality monitoring in the Canadian oil sands. Tests of new technology

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Platt, Ulrich; Seitz, Katja; Buxmann, Joelle [Heidelberg Univ. (Germany). Inst. of Environmental Physics; Thimm, Harald F. [Thimm Petroleum Technologies Inc., Calgary (Canada)

    2012-12-15

    Modern bitumen recovery processes, such as Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD), minimize the environmental footprint of oil recovery in terms of land disturbance and water demands. However, as a corollary, air monitoring becomes more difficult. In particular air quality monitoring for sulphur and nitrogen oxides, as currently practiced, suffers from significant limitations in remote regions, such as the Canadian Oil Sands Areas. Current techniques require the placement of monitoring trailers in accessible locations, but the electrical power or even access for optimal location for trailers is not always given. In addition, the trailers are capable of monitoring air quality only at the location of their deployment. There would be an advantage in deploying monitoring techniques that require minimal power (e.g. car battery, solar cell) and are capable of measuring air quality at a distance from the place of deployment. In the autumn of 2008, a trial of DOAS (Differential Optical Absorption Spectroscopy) was undertaken in Northern Alberta and Northern Saskatchewan, at four SAGD plants in various stages of development. Results of this study, and a discussion of the technology, will be given. Advantages and limitations of DOAS for deployment in Athabasca will be discussed. In general it was found that SO{sub 2} results showed remarkably low degrees of contamination, while NO{sub 2} concentrations were more noticeable. (orig.)

  3. Near-Port Air Quality Assessment Utilizing a Mobile Monitoring Approach

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — Near-Port Air Quality Assessment Utilizing a Mobile Monitoring Approach. This dataset is associated with the following publication: Steffens, J., S. Kimbrough, R....

  4. The Satellite based Monitoring Initiative for Regional Air quality (SAMIRA): Project summary and first results

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schneider, Philipp; Stebel, Kerstin; Ajtai, Nicolae; Diamandi, Andrei; Horalek, Jan; Nemuc, Anca; Stachlewska, Iwona; Zehner, Claus

    2017-04-01

    We present a summary and some first results of a new ESA-funded project entitled Satellite based Monitoring Initiative for Regional Air quality (SAMIRA), which aims at improving regional and local air quality monitoring through synergetic use of data from present and upcoming satellite instruments, traditionally used in situ air quality monitoring networks and output from chemical transport models. Through collaborative efforts in four countries, namely Romania, Poland, the Czech Republic and Norway, all with existing air quality problems, SAMIRA intends to support the involved institutions and associated users in their national monitoring and reporting mandates as well as to generate novel research in this area. The primary goal of SAMIRA is to demonstrate the usefulness of existing and future satellite products of air quality for improving monitoring and mapping of air pollution at the regional scale. A total of six core activities are being carried out in order to achieve this goal: Firstly, the project is developing and optimizing algorithms for the retrieval of hourly aerosol optical depth (AOD) maps from the Spinning Enhanced Visible and InfraRed Imager (SEVIRI) onboard of Meteosat Second Generation. As a second activity, SAMIRA aims to derive particulate matter (PM2.5) estimates from AOD data by developing robust algorithms for AOD-to-PM conversion with the support from model- and Lidar data. In a third activity, we evaluate the added value of satellite products of atmospheric composition for operational European-scale air quality mapping using geostatistics and auxiliary datasets. The additional benefit of satellite-based monitoring over existing monitoring techniques (in situ, models) is tested by combining these datasets using geostatistical methods and demonstrated for nitrogen dioxide (NO2), sulphur dioxide (SO2), and aerosol optical depth/particulate matter. As a fourth activity, the project is developing novel algorithms for downscaling coarse

  5. Development and Application of a Next Generation Air Sensor Network for the Hong Kong Marathon 2015 Air Quality Monitoring.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Li; Wong, Ka Chun; Wei, Peng; Ye, Sheng; Huang, Hao; Yang, Fenhuan; Westerdahl, Dane; Louie, Peter K K; Luk, Connie W Y; Ning, Zhi

    2016-02-05

    This study presents the development and evaluation of a next generation air monitoring system with both laboratory and field tests. A multi-parameter algorithm was used to correct for the impact of environmental conditions on the electrochemical sensors for carbon monoxide (CO) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) pollutants. The field evaluation in an urban roadside environment in comparison to designated monitors showed good agreement with measurement error within 5% of the pollutant concentrations. Multiple sets of the developed system were then deployed in the Hong Kong Marathon 2015 forming a sensor-based network along the marathon route. Real-time air pollution concentration data were wirelessly transmitted and the Air Quality Health Index (AQHI) for the Green Marathon was calculated, which were broadcast to the public on an hourly basis. The route-specific sensor network showed somewhat different pollutant patterns than routine air monitoring, indicating the immediate impact of traffic control during the marathon on the roadside air quality. The study is one of the first applications of a next generation sensor network in international sport events, and it demonstrated the usefulness of the emerging sensor-based air monitoring technology in rapid network deployment to supplement existing air monitoring.

  6. The Danish air quality monitoring programme. Annual summary for 2005

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kemp, K.; Ellermann, T.; Palmgren, F.; Waehlin, P.

    2006-06-01

    The air quality in Danish cities has been monitored continuously since 1982 within the Danish Air Quality (LMP) network. The aim has been to follow the concentration levels of toxic pollutants in the urban atmosphere and to provide the necessary knowledge to assess the trends, to perform source apportionment, and to evaluate the chemical reactions and the dispersion of the pollutants in the atmosphere. In 2005 the air quality was measured in four Danish cities and at two background sites. NO 2 and PM 10 were at several stations found in concentrations above EU limit values, which the Member States have to comply with in 2005 and 2010. While the concentrations for most other pollutants have been strongly decreasing since 1982, only a slight decrease has been observed for NO 2 . (au)

  7. The Danish air quality monitoring programme. Annual summary for 2005

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kemp, K.; Ellermann, T.; Palmgren, F.; Waehlin, P.

    2006-06-15

    The air quality in Danish cities has been monitored continuously since 1982 within the Danish Air Quality (LMP) network. The aim has been to follow the concentration levels of toxic pollutants in the urban atmosphere and to provide the necessary knowledge to assess the trends, to perform source apportionment, and to evaluate the chemical reactions and the dispersion of the pollutants in the atmosphere. In 2005 the air quality was measured in four Danish cities and at two background sites. NO{sub 2} and PM{sub 10} were at several stations found in concentrations above EU limit values, which the Member States have to comply with in 2005 and 2010. While the concentrations for most other pollutants have been strongly decreasing since 1982, only a slight decrease has been observed for NO{sub 2}. (au)

  8. Amperometric Gas Sensors as a Low Cost Emerging Technology Platform for Air Quality Monitoring Applications: A Review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baron, Ronan; Saffell, John

    2017-11-22

    This review examines the use of amperometric electrochemical gas sensors for monitoring inorganic gases that affect urban air quality. First, we consider amperometric gas sensor technology including its development toward specifically designed air quality sensors. We then review recent academic and research organizations' studies where this technology has been trialed for air quality monitoring applications: early studies showed the potential of electrochemical gas sensors when colocated with reference Air Quality Monitoring (AQM) stations. Spatially dense networks with fast temporal resolution provide information not available from sparse AQMs with longer recording intervals. We review how this technology is being offered as commercial urban air quality networks and consider the remaining challenges. Sensors must be sensitive, selective, and stable; air quality monitors/nodes must be electronically and mechanically well designed. Data correction is required and models with differing levels of sophistication are being designed. Data analysis and validation is possibly the biggest remaining hurdle needed to deliver reliable concentration readings. Finally, this review also considers the roles of companies, urban infrastructure requirements, and public research in the development of this technology.

  9. The Danish air quality monitoring programme. Annual summary for 2011

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ellemann, T.; Klenoe Noejgaard, J.; Nordstroem, C.; Brandt, J.; Christensen, Jesper; Ketzel, M.; Solvang Jensen, S.

    2012-10-15

    The air quality in Danish cities has been monitored continuously since 1982 within the Danish Air Quality Monitoring network. The aim is to follow the concentration levels of toxic pollutants in the urban atmosphere and to provide the necessary knowledge to assess the trends, to perform source apportionment, and to understand the governing processes that determine the level of air pollution in Denmark. In 2011 the air quality was measured in four Danish cities and at two background sites. In addition model calculations were carried out to supplement the measurements. At one street station (H.C. Andersens Boulevard) in Copenhagen NO{sub 2} was found in concentrations above EU limit values while NO{sub 2} levels in Odense, Aarhus and Aalborg were below the limit value. Model calculations indicate exceedances of NO{sub 2} limit values at several streets in Copenhagen. Annual averages of PM{sub 10} and PM{sub 2.5} were below limit values at all stations. However, concentrations levels in Copenhagen exceeded the daily limit value for PM{sub 10}. Winter salting of roads was one of the main reasons for this exceedance. The concentrations for most pollutants have been strongly decreasing during the last decades, however, only a slight decrease has been observed for NO{sub 2} and O{sub 3}. (Author)

  10. Toward the next generation of air quality monitoring: Persistent organic pollutants

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hung, Hayley; MacLeod, Matthew; Guardans, Ramon; Scheringer, Martin; Barra, Ricardo; Harner, Tom; Zhang, Gan

    2013-12-01

    Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) are global pollutants that can migrate over long distances and bioaccumulate through food webs, posing health risks to wildlife and humans. Multilateral environmental agreements, such as the Stockholm Convention on POPs, were enacted to identify POPs and establish the conditions to control their release, production and use. A Global Monitoring Plan was initiated under the Stockholm Convention calling for POP monitoring in air as a core medium; however long temporal trends (>10 years) of atmospheric POPs are only available at a few selected sites. Spatial coverage of air monitoring for POPs has recently significantly improved with the introduction and advancement of passive air samplers. Here, we review the status of air monitoring and modeling activities and note major uncertainties in data comparability, deficiencies of air monitoring and modeling in urban and alpine areas, and lack of emission inventories for most POPs. A vision for an internationally-integrated strategic monitoring plan is proposed which could provide consistent and comparable monitoring data for POPs supported and supplemented by global and regional transport models. Key recommendations include developing expertise in all aspects of air monitoring to ensure data comparability and consistency; partnering with existing air quality and meteorological networks to leverage synergies; facilitating data sharing with international data archives; and expanding spatial coverage with passive air samplers. Enhancing research on the stability of particle-bound chemicals is needed to assess exposure and deposition in urban areas, and to elucidate long-range transport. Conducting targeted measurement campaigns in specific source areas would enhance regional models which can be extrapolated to similar regions to estimate emissions. Ultimately, reverse-modeling combined with air measurements can be used to derive “emission” as an indicator to assess environmental

  11. Real-time monitoring of emissions with traffic data, simulation and air quality measurements

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Klunder, G.A.; Wilmink, I.R.

    2009-01-01

    This paper investigates the possibility to decide when to apply a (dynamic) traffic management measure to improve the air quality or reduce CO2 emissions, based on a limited set of (measured) data. It is expected that a combination of monitoring and modeling is needed for reliable air quality

  12. Allegheny County Air Quality

    Data.gov (United States)

    Allegheny County / City of Pittsburgh / Western PA Regional Data Center — Air quality data from Allegheny County Health Department monitors throughout the county. Air quality monitored data must be verified by qualified individuals before...

  13. Development and Application of a Next Generation Air Sensor Network for the Hong Kong Marathon 2015 Air Quality Monitoring

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Li Sun

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available This study presents the development and evaluation of a next generation air monitoring system with both laboratory and field tests. A multi-parameter algorithm was used to correct for the impact of environmental conditions on the electrochemical sensors for carbon monoxide (CO and nitrogen dioxide (NO2 pollutants. The field evaluation in an urban roadside environment in comparison to designated monitors showed good agreement with measurement error within 5% of the pollutant concentrations. Multiple sets of the developed system were then deployed in the Hong Kong Marathon 2015 forming a sensor-based network along the marathon route. Real-time air pollution concentration data were wirelessly transmitted and the Air Quality Health Index (AQHI for the Green Marathon was calculated, which were broadcast to the public on an hourly basis. The route-specific sensor network showed somewhat different pollutant patterns than routine air monitoring, indicating the immediate impact of traffic control during the marathon on the roadside air quality. The study is one of the first applications of a next generation sensor network in international sport events, and it demonstrated the usefulness of the emerging sensor-based air monitoring technology in rapid network deployment to supplement existing air monitoring.

  14. Development and Application of a Next Generation Air Sensor Network for the Hong Kong Marathon 2015 Air Quality Monitoring

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Li; Wong, Ka Chun; Wei, Peng; Ye, Sheng; Huang, Hao; Yang, Fenhuan; Westerdahl, Dane; Louie, Peter K.K.; Luk, Connie W.Y.; Ning, Zhi

    2016-01-01

    This study presents the development and evaluation of a next generation air monitoring system with both laboratory and field tests. A multi-parameter algorithm was used to correct for the impact of environmental conditions on the electrochemical sensors for carbon monoxide (CO) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) pollutants. The field evaluation in an urban roadside environment in comparison to designated monitors showed good agreement with measurement error within 5% of the pollutant concentrations. Multiple sets of the developed system were then deployed in the Hong Kong Marathon 2015 forming a sensor-based network along the marathon route. Real-time air pollution concentration data were wirelessly transmitted and the Air Quality Health Index (AQHI) for the Green Marathon was calculated, which were broadcast to the public on an hourly basis. The route-specific sensor network showed somewhat different pollutant patterns than routine air monitoring, indicating the immediate impact of traffic control during the marathon on the roadside air quality. The study is one of the first applications of a next generation sensor network in international sport events, and it demonstrated the usefulness of the emerging sensor-based air monitoring technology in rapid network deployment to supplement existing air monitoring. PMID:26861336

  15. Representativeness of air quality monitoring networks

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Duyzer, J.; Hout, D. van den; Zandveld, P.; Ratingen, S. van

    2015-01-01

    The suitability of European networks to check compliance with air quality standards and to assess exposure of the population was investigated. An air quality model (URBIS) was applied to estimate and compare the spatial distribution of the concentration of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) in ambient air in

  16. Data Quality Objectives Supporting Radiological Air Emissions Monitoring for the PNNL Site

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Barnett, J. Matthew; Meier, Kirsten M.; Snyder, Sandra F.; Fritz, Brad G.; Poston, Ted M.; Rhoads, Kathleen

    2010-05-25

    This document of Data Quality Objectives (DQOs) was prepared based on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Guidance on Systematic Planning Using the Data Quality Objectives Process, EPA, QA/G4, 2/2006 (EPA 2006) as well as several other published DQOs. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) is in the process of developing a radiological air monitoring program for the PNNL Site that is distinct from that of the nearby Hanford Site. Radiological emissions at the PNNL Site result from Physical Sciences Facility (PSF) major emissions units. A team was established to determine how the PNNL Site would meet federal regulations and address guidelines developed to monitor and estimate offsite air emissions of radioactive materials. The result is a program that monitors the impact to the public from the PNNL Site.

  17. Ambient air quality monitoring at Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR) Kampar campus

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jie, Lim Jun; Xinxin, Guo; Ke, Wang

    2017-04-01

    Air Pollutant includes any substance in solid, liquid or gaseous form present in the atmosphere in concentrations which may tend to be injurious to all living creatures, property and environment. In this study, automatic continuous monitoring station was used to monitor concentration of carbon monoxide (CO), non-methane hydrocarbon (NMHC), and carbon dioxide (CO2) in the ambient air of Kampar Campus, Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman. High-volume air sampler was also used to monitor the concentration of PM2.5 and the collected PM2.5 was further analysed for the heavy metal concentration such as Zinc (Zn), Cadmium (Cd), Copper (Cu), Arsenic (As), Aluminium (Al), and Lead (Pb) in PM2.5 using inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometer (ICP-MS). The overall ambient air quality in the campus area is consider unhealthy as the non-methane hydrocarbon (NMHC) and carbon dioxide (CO2) average concentration obtained were far exceeding the recommended limit concentration set by United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA). Meteorological data was found that it does not show much relationship with the air quality data in this study. The concentration of Zn and Al were found the dominant heavy metal in the ambient air. The enrichment factor analysis also shows that the heavy metals contained in PM2.5 mainly origin from the natural source except for the Zn which it is highly contaminated by human activities.

  18. Local Air Quality Conditions and Forecasts

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... Monitor Location Archived Maps by Region Canada Air Quality Air Quality on Google Earth Links A-Z About AirNow AirNow International Air Quality Action Days / Alerts AirCompare Air Quality Index (AQI) ...

  19. Air quality monitoring at Seoul, Korea as a part of East-Asian air surveillance network

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hashimoto, Y.; Sekine, Y.; Kim, H.K.; Otoshi, T.

    1989-01-01

    Global scale air pollution study is a recent trend due to a perception that air pollution is changing climate and other essential earth's conditions that could seriously affect our lives. One of the important tasks which can contribute to protect our natural environment must be to know about the present and changing air quality. For this purpose, a regional air monitoring plan was designed by a research group and has proceeded to set up stations in the eastern Asia including Japan, Korea and China to get continuous data which can contribute to world wide data base of air quality. This project was initiated at Seoul, Korea in April, 1986 by the method of National Air Surveillance Network, Japan. Airborne particles were collected by so-called Hi-vol and Lo-vol, and their components were analyzed by neutron activation analysis and others. The results of Seoul sampling as a first step of this network plan are presented

  20. Air quality monitoring in the Bow Corridor : final report December 1999 to August 2001. On-line ed.

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2001-01-01

    Alberta Environment monitored the air quality of the Bow Corridor and the Cochrane area from December 1999 to August 2001 in an effort to address recent concerns about particulate emissions from industrial, natural and domestic sources as well as concerns about air pollution from traffic along Highway 1 and in communities in the corridor. The Mobile Air Monitoring Laboratory (MAML) monitored air quality at 22 sites in the Cochrane, Exshaw, Canmore and Banff areas. The work included monitoring for sulphur dioxide, particulates, oxides of nitrogen, ozone, hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, hydrogen sulphide and ammonia using continuous analyzers. In addition, a stationary particulate sampler was used to monitor very small, respirable particulates (PM2.5) as well as larger, inhalable particulates (PM10). Weather parameters such as wind, temperature and relative humidity were also monitored. A passive (no power required) air quality monitoring network was also set up to collect monthly samples of sulphur dioxide at 7 sites and nitrogen dioxide and ozone at 11 different sites. The pollutant levels were compared with air quality levels to Alberta's Ambient Air Quality Guidelines which are some of the most stringent in North America. Maximum one-hour concentrations were : 53 per cent of the one-hour guideline for sulphur dioxide; 15 per cent of the one-hour guideline for nitrogen dioxide; 68 per cent of the one-hour guideline for ozone; 8 per cent of the one-hour guideline for carbon monoxide; 20 per cent of the one-hour guideline for hydrogen sulphide; and 2 per cent of the one-hour guideline for ammonia. These air quality levels were compared to other locations in Alberta. The sources of airborne particulates were wind-blown dust from natural sources, limestone mining operations, manufacturing plants (cement, lime and magnesia), vehicle exhaust from local traffic and Highway 1, and smoke from recreational burning and forest fires. The sources of oxides of nitrogen are

  1. Monitoring urban air quality using a high-density network of low-cost sensor nodes in Oslo, Norway.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Castell, Nuria; Schneider, Philipp; Vogt, Matthias; Dauge, Franck R.; Lahoz, William; Bartonova, Alena

    2017-04-01

    Urban air quality represents a major public health burden and is a long-standing concern to citizens. Air pollution is associated with a range of diseases, symptoms and conditions that impair health and quality of life. In Oslo, traffic, especially exhaust from heavy-duty and private diesel vehicles and dust resuspension from studded tyres, together with wood burning in winter, are the main sources of pollution. Norway, as part of the European Economic Area, is obliged to comply with the European air quality regulations and ensure clean air. Despite this, Oslo has exceeded both the NO2 and PM10 thresholds for health protection defined in the Directive 2008/50/EC. The air quality in the Oslo area is continuously monitored in 12 compliance monitoring stations. These stations provide reliable and accurate data but their density is too low to provide a detailed spatial distribution of air quality. The emergence of low-cost nodes enables observations at high spatial resolution, providing the opportunity to enhance existing monitoring systems. However, the data generated by these nodes is significantly less accurate and precise than the data provided by reference equipment. We have conducted an evaluation of low-cost nodes to monitor NO2 and PM10, comparing the data collected with low-cost nodes against CEN (European Standardization Organization) reference analysers. During January and March 2016, a network of 24 nodes was deployed in Oslo. During January, high NO2 levels were observed for several days in a row coinciding with the formation of a thermal inversion. During March, we observed an episode with high PM10 levels due to road dust resuspension. Our results show that there is a major technical challenge associated with current commercial low-cost sensors, regarding the sensor robustness and measurement repeatability. Despite this, low-cost sensor nodes are able to reproduce the NO2 and PM10 variability. The data from the sensors was employed to generate detailed

  2. James Bay air quality study : report on the results of field monitoring in 2007

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2008-02-08

    An air quality study in James Bay was conducted, in order to establish general levels of pollutants in outdoor air in the James Bay area of Victoria, British Columbia. The primary sources of air pollution in the area include light duty and heavy duty vehicle traffic, helicopters, floatplanes, and marine vessels such as cruise ships, passenger ferries, commercial fishing and whale watching boats, and recreation motorboats. Air quality monitoring represented the first phase of the project. The second phase involved a detailed pollutant dispersion model including all emission sources. This report described the use of sampling equipment and the measurement of nitric oxide, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, fine particulate matter and contributing sources, and volatile organic compounds, specifically benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene/xylene and naphthalene. Supporting data, including traffic counts, wind speed and direction, precipitation, and cruise ship schedules were collected to assist in the interpretation of the field monitoring results. For each of these pollutants, the report provided responses to several questions, such as defining each pollutant; describing the sources of each pollutant in the James Bay neighbourhood; presenting the results of the field monitoring; discussing the limitations of the monitoring equipment and sampling design; interpreting the results; comparing monitored levels to those measured at other times or locations; and comparing monitored levels to air quality standards or guidelines. Conclusions about each pollutant were presented. It was concluded that phase 2 pollutant dispersion modelling should include estimates of 1-hour, 24-hour, and seasonal average pollutant levels at varying elevations above ground level, with a focus on residential apartment buildings in the study area. 5 tabs., 52 figs., 7 appendices.

  3. Air Quality of Beijing and Impacts of the New Ambient Air Quality Standard

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wei Chen

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available Beijing has been publishing daily reports on its air quality since 2000, and while the air pollution index (API shows that the air quality has improved greatly since 2000, this is not the perception of Beijing’s residents. The new national ambient air quality standard (NAAQS-2012, which includes the monitoring of PM2.5, has posed stricter standards for evaluating air quality. With the new national standard, the air quality in Beijing is calculated using both NAAQS-2012 and the previous standard. The annual attainment rate has dropped from 75.5% to 50.7%. The spatial analysis of air quality shows that only a background station could attain the national standard, while urban and suburban stations exceed the national standard. Among the six pollutants included in the NAAQS-2012, PM2.5 is the major contributor to the air quality index (AQI comparing with the five other pollutants. The results indicate that under previous NAAQS without PM2.5 monitoring, the air quality has improved greatly in the past decade.  By considering PM2.5, the air quality attainment has dropped greatly. Furthermore, a great effort is needed for local government to bring down the PM2.5 concentration.

  4. Use of the Operational Air Quality Monitor (AQM) for In-Flight Water Testing Project

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Aeronautics and Space Administration — Currently, the Air Quality Monitor (AQM) on-board ISS provides specific information for a number of target compounds in the air. However, there is a significant...

  5. Data Quality Objectives Summary Report Supporting Radiological Air Surveillance Monitoring for the INL Site

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Haney, Thomas Jay [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)

    2015-05-01

    This report documents the Data Quality Objectives (DQOs) developed for the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) Site ambient air surveillance program. The development of the DQOs was based on the seven-step process recommended “for systematic planning to generate performance and acceptance criteria for collecting environmental data” (EPA 2006). The process helped to determine the type, quantity, and quality of data needed to meet current regulatory requirements and to follow U.S. Department of Energy guidance for environmental surveillance air monitoring design. It also considered the current air monitoring program that has existed at INL Site since the 1950s. The development of the DQOs involved the application of the atmospheric dispersion model CALPUFF to identify likely contamination dispersion patterns at and around the INL Site using site-specific meteorological data. Model simulations were used to quantitatively assess the probable frequency of detection of airborne radionuclides released by INL Site facilities using existing and proposed air monitors.

  6. Using Social Media to Detect Outdoor Air Pollution and Monitor Air Quality Index (AQI): A Geo-Targeted Spatiotemporal Analysis Framework with Sina Weibo (Chinese Twitter).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiang, Wei; Wang, Yandong; Tsou, Ming-Hsiang; Fu, Xiaokang

    2015-01-01

    Outdoor air pollution is a serious problem in many developing countries today. This study focuses on monitoring the dynamic changes of air quality effectively in large cities by analyzing the spatiotemporal trends in geo-targeted social media messages with comprehensive big data filtering procedures. We introduce a new social media analytic framework to (1) investigate the relationship between air pollution topics posted in Sina Weibo (Chinese Twitter) and the daily Air Quality Index (AQI) published by China's Ministry of Environmental Protection; and (2) monitor the dynamics of air quality index by using social media messages. Correlation analysis was used to compare the connections between discussion trends in social media messages and the temporal changes in the AQI during 2012. We categorized relevant messages into three types, retweets, mobile app messages, and original individual messages finding that original individual messages had the highest correlation to the Air Quality Index. Based on this correlation analysis, individual messages were used to monitor the AQI in 2013. Our study indicates that the filtered social media messages are strongly correlated to the AQI and can be used to monitor the air quality dynamics to some extent.

  7. Using Social Media to Detect Outdoor Air Pollution and Monitor Air Quality Index (AQI: A Geo-Targeted Spatiotemporal Analysis Framework with Sina Weibo (Chinese Twitter.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wei Jiang

    Full Text Available Outdoor air pollution is a serious problem in many developing countries today. This study focuses on monitoring the dynamic changes of air quality effectively in large cities by analyzing the spatiotemporal trends in geo-targeted social media messages with comprehensive big data filtering procedures. We introduce a new social media analytic framework to (1 investigate the relationship between air pollution topics posted in Sina Weibo (Chinese Twitter and the daily Air Quality Index (AQI published by China's Ministry of Environmental Protection; and (2 monitor the dynamics of air quality index by using social media messages. Correlation analysis was used to compare the connections between discussion trends in social media messages and the temporal changes in the AQI during 2012. We categorized relevant messages into three types, retweets, mobile app messages, and original individual messages finding that original individual messages had the highest correlation to the Air Quality Index. Based on this correlation analysis, individual messages were used to monitor the AQI in 2013. Our study indicates that the filtered social media messages are strongly correlated to the AQI and can be used to monitor the air quality dynamics to some extent.

  8. A Modular IoT Platform for Real-Time Indoor Air Quality Monitoring

    OpenAIRE

    Mohieddine Benammar; Abderrazak Abdaoui; Sabbir H.M. Ahmad; Farid Touati; Abdullah Kadri

    2018-01-01

    The impact of air quality on health and on life comfort is well established. In many societies, vulnerable elderly and young populations spend most of their time indoors. Therefore, indoor air quality monitoring (IAQM) is of great importance to human health. Engineers and researchers are increasingly focusing their efforts on the design of real-time IAQM systems using wireless sensor networks. This paper presents an end-to-end IAQM system enabling measurement of CO2, CO, SO2, NO2, O3, Cl2, am...

  9. Estimation of air quality by air pollution indices

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liblik, Valdo; Kundel, Helmut

    1999-01-01

    A novel system for estimating the quality of atmospheric air in the over-ground air layer with the help of air pollution indices was developed. The method is based on a comparison of measured or calculated maximum short-term concentrations and average annual concentrations of pollutants with maximum permissible concentrations (with regard to human beings and vegetation). Special air quality estimation scales for residential areas and natural systems are presented. On the basis of the concentration of the substance under study zones of very high, high, rather high, moderate, low and very low air pollution were distinguished in the over-ground layer of the atmosphere. These are projected to land surface for landscape zonation. The application of the system of indices is demonstrated in the analysis of air quality for the towns of Kohtla-Jarve, Johvi and Kivioli (in 1997-1998). A comparative analysis of the air pollution zones distinguished on the basis of emissions and data from bio monitoring yielded satisfactory results. The system of air pollution indices developed enables to process the results of air monitoring in case of pollution fields of complicated composition so that the result for estimating the quality of ambient air in a residential area is easily understood by inhabitants and interpretable with the help of a special scale; analyse temporal changes in the quality of the air in towns, villages and other residential areas and use the results as basis for developing measures for reducing the pollution of ambient air; carry out zonation of large territories on the basis of air pollution levels (spatial air pollution zones are projected on the ground surface) and estimate air quality in places where air monitoring is lacking to forecast the possible effect of air pollution on natural systems (author)

  10. BAQMAP. Air Quality Monitoring and Surveillance Program for Botswana. Mission 1 Report 4-22 November 1996

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bekkestad, T.; Dreiem, R.; Hermansen, O.; Knudsen, S.

    1996-12-31

    This report is concerned with the start of a joint project between the authorities in Botswana and Norway on the development of an air pollution monitoring and surveillance program for Botswana. NILU will provide assistance in the fields of (1) Siting and establishment of an air pollution monitoring network, (2) Laboratory techniques, methods and routines, (3) Quality control and quality assurance procedures, (4) Emission data bases, (5) Statistical data analysis and reporting, (6) Atmospheric dispersion model estimates for air quality planning and assessment analysis. This is the report of the Norwegian team after their first visit to Botswana. 1 ref., 13 figs., 35 tabs.

  11. BAQMAP. Air Quality Monitoring and Surveillance Program for Botswana. Mission 1 Report 4-22 November 1996

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bekkestad, T; Dreiem, R; Hermansen, O; Knudsen, S

    1997-12-31

    This report is concerned with the start of a joint project between the authorities in Botswana and Norway on the development of an air pollution monitoring and surveillance program for Botswana. NILU will provide assistance in the fields of (1) Siting and establishment of an air pollution monitoring network, (2) Laboratory techniques, methods and routines, (3) Quality control and quality assurance procedures, (4) Emission data bases, (5) Statistical data analysis and reporting, (6) Atmospheric dispersion model estimates for air quality planning and assessment analysis. This is the report of the Norwegian team after their first visit to Botswana. 1 ref., 13 figs., 35 tabs.

  12. Quasi Real Time Data Analysis for Air Quality Monitoring with an Electronic Nose

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Hanying; Shevade, Abhijit V.; Pelletier, Christine C.; Homer, Margie L.; Ryan, M. Amy

    2006-01-01

    Cabin Air Quality Monitoring: A) Functions; 1) Incident monitor for targeted contaminants exceeding targeted concentrations. Identify and quantify. 2) Monitor for presence of compounds associated with fires or overheating electronics. 3) Monitor clean-up process. B) Characteristics; 1) Low mass, low power device. 2) Requires little crew time for maintenance and calibration. 3) Detects, identifies and quantifies selected chemical species at or below 24 hour SMAC.

  13. Use Of The Operational Air Quality Monitor (AQM) For In-Flight Water Testing Project

    Science.gov (United States)

    Macatangay, Ariel

    2014-01-01

    A primary requirement for manned spaceflight is Environmental Health which ensures air and water contaminants, acoustic profiles, microbial flora, and radiation exposures within the cabin are maintained to levels needed for crew health and for vehicle system functionality. The reliance on ground analyses of returned samples is a limitation in the current environmental monitoring strategy that will prevent future Exploration missions beyond low-Earth orbit. This proposal attempts to address this shortcoming by advancing in-flight analyses of water and air. Ground analysis of in-flight, air and water samples typically employ vapor-phase analysis by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) to identify and quantify organic compounds present in the samples. We envision the use of newly-developed direct ionization approaches as the most viable avenue leading towards an integrated analytical platform for the monitoring of water, air, and, potentially bio-samples in the cabin environment. Development of an in-flight instrument capable of analyzing air and water samples would be the logical next step to meeting the environmental monitoring needs of Exploration missions. Currently, the Air Quality Monitor (AQM) on-board ISS provides this specific information for a number of target compounds in the air. However, there is a significant subset of common target compounds between air and water. Naturally, the following question arises, "Can the AQM be used for both air and water quality monitoring?" Previous directorate-level IR&D funding led to the development of a water sample introduction method for mass spectrometry using electrothermal vaporization (ETV). This project will focus on the integration of the ETV with a ground-based AQM. The capabilities of this integrated platform will be evaluated using a subset of toxicologically important compounds.

  14. A Comprehensive Real-Time Indoor Air-Quality Level Indicator

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jungho Kang

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available The growing concern about Indoor Air-Quality has accelerated the development of small, low-cost air-quality monitoring systems. These systems are capable of monitoring various indoor air pollutants in real time, notifying users about the current air-quality status and gathering the information to the central server. However, most Internet of Things (IoT-based air-quality monitoring systems numerically present the sensed value per pollutant, making it difficult for general users to identify how polluted the air is. Therefore, in this paper, we first introduce a tiny air-quality monitoring system that we developed and, based on the system, we also test the applicability of the comprehensive Air-Quality Index (AQI, which is widely used all over the world, in terms of its capacity for a comprehensive indoor air-quality indication. We also develop design considerations for an IoT-based air-quality monitoring system and propose a real-time comprehensive indoor air-quality level indication method, which effectively copes with dynamic changes and is efficient in terms of processing and memory overhead.

  15. Role of monitoring network in the control management of air quality. An industrial case history

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zerbo, G. [Catania Univ. (Italy). Inst. of Merceology; Fabiano, B.; Ferraiolo, A.; Solisio, C.; Ruaro, R.

    1995-12-31

    Air quality control by a system of monitoring station is indispensable for the environmental protection. Moreover, a monitoring network have not to be only a mere data collection a good air quality control is possible only if the network management allows to prevent unacceptable pollutants level. In other terms, elaboration and interpretation data are fundamental in order to make monitoring system really able for regulations of corrective measures as, for example, the reduction of local emissions. The case of monitoring network run from the Industrial Society CIPA of Siracusa (Italy) is discussed. The management of the data obtained from a continuous survey allows to keep pollutants level below the current limits set down by the Italian law. Furthermore, elaboration of the data allows useful evaluations about atmospheric dispersion phenomena. (author)

  16. Role of monitoring network in the control management of air quality. An industrial case history

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zerbo, G [Catania Univ. (Italy). Inst. of Merceology; Fabiano, B; Ferraiolo, A; Solisio, C; Ruaro, R

    1996-12-31

    Air quality control by a system of monitoring station is indispensable for the environmental protection. Moreover, a monitoring network have not to be only a mere data collection a good air quality control is possible only if the network management allows to prevent unacceptable pollutants level. In other terms, elaboration and interpretation data are fundamental in order to make monitoring system really able for regulations of corrective measures as, for example, the reduction of local emissions. The case of monitoring network run from the Industrial Society CIPA of Siracusa (Italy) is discussed. The management of the data obtained from a continuous survey allows to keep pollutants level below the current limits set down by the Italian law. Furthermore, elaboration of the data allows useful evaluations about atmospheric dispersion phenomena. (author)

  17. A Modular IoT Platform for Real-Time Indoor Air Quality Monitoring.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Benammar, Mohieddine; Abdaoui, Abderrazak; Ahmad, Sabbir H M; Touati, Farid; Kadri, Abdullah

    2018-02-14

    The impact of air quality on health and on life comfort is well established. In many societies, vulnerable elderly and young populations spend most of their time indoors. Therefore, indoor air quality monitoring (IAQM) is of great importance to human health. Engineers and researchers are increasingly focusing their efforts on the design of real-time IAQM systems using wireless sensor networks. This paper presents an end-to-end IAQM system enabling measurement of CO₂, CO, SO₂, NO₂, O₃, Cl₂, ambient temperature, and relative humidity. In IAQM systems, remote users usually use a local gateway to connect wireless sensor nodes in a given monitoring site to the external world for ubiquitous access of data. In this work, the role of the gateway in processing collected air quality data and its reliable dissemination to end-users through a web-server is emphasized. A mechanism for the backup and the restoration of the collected data in the case of Internet outage is presented. The system is adapted to an open-source Internet-of-Things (IoT) web-server platform, called Emoncms, for live monitoring and long-term storage of the collected IAQM data. A modular IAQM architecture is adopted, which results in a smart scalable system that allows seamless integration of various sensing technologies, wireless sensor networks (WSNs) and smart mobile standards. The paper gives full hardware and software details of the proposed solution. Sample IAQM results collected in various locations are also presented to demonstrate the abilities of the system.

  18. A Modular IoT Platform for Real-Time Indoor Air Quality Monitoring

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mohieddine Benammar

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available The impact of air quality on health and on life comfort is well established. In many societies, vulnerable elderly and young populations spend most of their time indoors. Therefore, indoor air quality monitoring (IAQM is of great importance to human health. Engineers and researchers are increasingly focusing their efforts on the design of real-time IAQM systems using wireless sensor networks. This paper presents an end-to-end IAQM system enabling measurement of CO2, CO, SO2, NO2, O3, Cl2, ambient temperature, and relative humidity. In IAQM systems, remote users usually use a local gateway to connect wireless sensor nodes in a given monitoring site to the external world for ubiquitous access of data. In this work, the role of the gateway in processing collected air quality data and its reliable dissemination to end-users through a web-server is emphasized. A mechanism for the backup and the restoration of the collected data in the case of Internet outage is presented. The system is adapted to an open-source Internet-of-Things (IoT web-server platform, called Emoncms, for live monitoring and long-term storage of the collected IAQM data. A modular IAQM architecture is adopted, which results in a smart scalable system that allows seamless integration of various sensing technologies, wireless sensor networks (WSNs and smart mobile standards. The paper gives full hardware and software details of the proposed solution. Sample IAQM results collected in various locations are also presented to demonstrate the abilities of the system.

  19. Performance Evaluation of the United Nations Environment Programme Air Quality Monitoring Unit

    Science.gov (United States)

    A request for technical collaboration between the UNEP and the US EPA resulted in the establishment of a MCRADA. The purpose of this agreement was to evaluate an air quality monitoring system (referred to as the UNEP pod) developed by the UNEP for use in environmental situations ...

  20. European intercomparison workshops on air quality monitoring. Vol. 4. Measuring NO, NO{sub 2}, O{sub 3} and SO{sub 2}

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Muecke, H.G.; Kollar, M. [Umweltbundesamt, Berlin (Germany). WHO-Zentrum zur Ueberwachung der Luftguete und Bekaempfung der Luftverschmutzung; Kratz, M.; Medem, A.; Rudolf, W.; Stummer, V.; Sukale, G. [Umweltbundesamt, Langen (Germany). UBA Pilotstation

    2000-07-01

    This report presents the results of two European Intercomparison Workshops on Air Quality Monitoring (NO, NO{sub 2}, O{sub 3}, and SO{sub 2}). The Workshops were a contribution to continuing quality assurance and quality control activities on air quality monitoring for Member States of the WHO European Region. Fourteen institutes mainly from Central and Eastern Europe used the opportunity to compare their measurement methods (15 manual methods and 24 monitors) and standards. (orig.)

  1. URBAN SPRAWL MODELING, AIR QUALITY MONITORING AND RISK COMMUNICATION: THE NORTHEAST OHIO PROJECT

    Science.gov (United States)

    The Northeast Ohio Urban Sprawl, Air Quality Monitoring, and Communications Project (hereafter called the Northeast Ohio Project) provides local environmental and health information useful to residents, local officials, community planners, and others in a 15 county region in the ...

  2. Development and evaluation of optical fiber NH3 sensors for application in air quality monitoring

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Yu; Wieck, Lucas; Tao, Shiquan

    2013-02-01

    Ammonia is a major air pollutant emitted from agricultural practices. Sources of ammonia include manure from animal feeding operations and fertilizer from cropping systems. Sensor technologies with capability of continuous real time monitoring of ammonia concentration in air are needed to qualify ammonia emissions from agricultural activities and further evaluate human and animal health effects, study ammonia environmental chemistry, and provide baseline data for air quality standard. We have developed fiber optic ammonia sensors using different sensing reagents and different polymers for immobilizing sensing reagents. The reversible fiber optic sensors have detection limits down to low ppbv levels. The response time of these sensors ranges from seconds to tens minutes depending on transducer design. In this paper, we report our results in the development and evaluation of fiber optic sensor technologies for air quality monitoring. The effect of change of temperature, humidity and carbon dioxide concentration on fiber optic ammonia sensors has been investigated. Carbon dioxide in air was found not interfere the fiber optic sensors for monitoring NH3. However, the change of humidity can cause interferences to some fiber optic NH3 sensors depending on the sensor's transducer design. The sensitivity of fiber optic NH3 sensors was found depends on temperature. Methods and techniques for eliminating these interferences have been proposed.

  3. A machine learning calibration model using random forests to improve sensor performance for lower-cost air quality monitoring

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zimmerman, Naomi; Presto, Albert A.; Kumar, Sriniwasa P. N.; Gu, Jason; Hauryliuk, Aliaksei; Robinson, Ellis S.; Robinson, Allen L.; Subramanian, R.

    2018-01-01

    Low-cost sensing strategies hold the promise of denser air quality monitoring networks, which could significantly improve our understanding of personal air pollution exposure. Additionally, low-cost air quality sensors could be deployed to areas where limited monitoring exists. However, low-cost sensors are frequently sensitive to environmental conditions and pollutant cross-sensitivities, which have historically been poorly addressed by laboratory calibrations, limiting their utility for monitoring. In this study, we investigated different calibration models for the Real-time Affordable Multi-Pollutant (RAMP) sensor package, which measures CO, NO2, O3, and CO2. We explored three methods: (1) laboratory univariate linear regression, (2) empirical multiple linear regression, and (3) machine-learning-based calibration models using random forests (RF). Calibration models were developed for 16-19 RAMP monitors (varied by pollutant) using training and testing windows spanning August 2016 through February 2017 in Pittsburgh, PA, US. The random forest models matched (CO) or significantly outperformed (NO2, CO2, O3) the other calibration models, and their accuracy and precision were robust over time for testing windows of up to 16 weeks. Following calibration, average mean absolute error on the testing data set from the random forest models was 38 ppb for CO (14 % relative error), 10 ppm for CO2 (2 % relative error), 3.5 ppb for NO2 (29 % relative error), and 3.4 ppb for O3 (15 % relative error), and Pearson r versus the reference monitors exceeded 0.8 for most units. Model performance is explored in detail, including a quantification of model variable importance, accuracy across different concentration ranges, and performance in a range of monitoring contexts including the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) and the US EPA Air Sensors Guidebook recommendations of minimum data quality for personal exposure measurement. A key strength of the RF approach is that

  4. Air quality

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1995-01-01

    This chapter of the 'Assessment of the state of the environment in Lebanon' describes the air quality and identifies the most important air quality issues. Baseline information about the factors affecting dispersion and the climate of Lebanon presents as well and overall estimation of total emissions in Lebanon. Emissions from vehicles, electricity and power plants generation are described. Industrial emitters of air pollutants are described for each kind of industry i.e.cement plants, Selaata fertilizer factory, sugar-beet factory, refineries and for those derived from the use of leaded fuel . Impact of economic and human activities on air quality in Lebanon (especially in Beirut and Tripoli) are quantified by quantities of CO 2 , SO 2 , NO x , total suspended particulates(TSP), deposition and their environmental effects on health. In abscence of emissions monitoring, data available are expressed in terms of fuel use, output and appropriate empirical factors, national output and workfores sizes. Finally key issues and some potential mitigation /management approaches are presented

  5. Ambient air quality monitoring during the H1N1 influence period in Pune (India).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pathak, M; Deshpande, A; Mirashe, P K; Sorte, R B; Ojha, A

    2010-10-01

    Ambient air quality in an urban area is directly linked with activity level in the city including transport, business and industrial activities. Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) has established an ambient air quality network in the city including state-of-the-art continuous air quality monitoring stations which indicate short duration air quality variations for criteria and non-criteria pollutants. The influence of H1N1 outbreak in Pune hitting its worst pandemic condition, led the civic authorities to implement stringent isolation measures including closure of schools, colleges, business malls, cinema halls, etc. Additionally, the fear of such a pandemic brought the city to a stand still. It was therefore necessary to assess the impacts of such activity level on ambient air quality in the city. It has been observed that such events have positive impacts on air quality of the city. There was a decrease in PM concentration almost to the tune of 30 to 40% if the impacts of precipitation, i.e. seasonal variations, are taken into account. Similarly, the non criteria pollutants too showed a marked but unusual decrease in their concentrations in this ever growing city. The influence of these in turn led to lowered concentrations of secondary pollutants, i.e. O3. Overall, the ambient air quality of Pune was found to be improved during the study period.

  6. Advances in Air Quality Monitoring via Nanotechnology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Baraton, Marie-Isabelle; Merhari, Lhadi

    2004-01-01

    Urban air pollution has become an inescapable issue due to its serious consequences on public health and, therefore, needs more accurate tracking through denser networks of air quality monitoring (AQM) stations. A higher density of these networks can be afforded by cities only if the costs of future individual AQM stations decrease. We review here the outcome of two European projects where our objective was to provide an alternative approach consisting in the development of cost-effective mobile microstations based on semiconductor sensors and capable of complementing the expensive and bulky current AQM stations. Improvement of the sensor sensitivity to detect very low levels of pollutants (CO, NO, NO 2 , O 3 ) in air was the major challenge to take up. This was achieved by using metal oxide nanosized particles with both controlled size and surface chemistry, and by adapting the screen-printing process to the nanometer size specificity. The detection thresholds for NO 2 , NO and O 3 of our nanoparticles-based sensors have been decreased by a factor of 3-5 compared to currently commercialized sensors. The lowest detectable concentration of CO has been reduced from 5 to 3 ppm without affecting the selectivity. In terms of sensitivity performance, our sensor prototypes can now meet the criteria for outdoor AQM whereas the commercial semiconductor and electrochemical sensors still cannot. As for the implementation of the network as a whole, our technological approach is outlined

  7. Air quality in Europe - 2012 report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2012-09-15

    This report presents an overview and analysis of the status and trends of air quality in Europe based on concentration measurements in ambient air and data on anthropogenic emissions and trends from 2001 - when mandatory monitoring of ambient air concentrations of selected pollutants first produced reliable air quality information - to 2010. (Author)

  8. The statistical evaluation and comparison of ADMS-Urban model for the prediction of nitrogen dioxide with air quality monitoring network.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dėdelė, Audrius; Miškinytė, Auksė

    2015-09-01

    In many countries, road traffic is one of the main sources of air pollution associated with adverse effects on human health and environment. Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) is considered to be a measure of traffic-related air pollution, with concentrations tending to be higher near highways, along busy roads, and in the city centers, and the exceedances are mainly observed at measurement stations located close to traffic. In order to assess the air quality in the city and the air pollution impact on public health, air quality models are used. However, firstly, before the model can be used for these purposes, it is important to evaluate the accuracy of the dispersion modelling as one of the most widely used method. The monitoring and dispersion modelling are two components of air quality monitoring system (AQMS), in which statistical comparison was made in this research. The evaluation of the Atmospheric Dispersion Modelling System (ADMS-Urban) was made by comparing monthly modelled NO2 concentrations with the data of continuous air quality monitoring stations in Kaunas city. The statistical measures of model performance were calculated for annual and monthly concentrations of NO2 for each monitoring station site. The spatial analysis was made using geographic information systems (GIS). The calculation of statistical parameters indicated a good ADMS-Urban model performance for the prediction of NO2. The results of this study showed that the agreement of modelled values and observations was better for traffic monitoring stations compared to the background and residential stations.

  9. Measurement results obtained from air quality monitoring system

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Turzanski, P.K.; Beres, R. [Provincial Inspection of Environmental Protection, Cracow (Poland)

    1995-12-31

    An automatic system of air pollution monitoring operates in Cracow since 1991. The organization, assembling and start-up of the network is a result of joint efforts of the US Environmental Protection Agency and the Cracow environmental protection service. At present the automatic monitoring network is operated by the Provincial Inspection of Environmental Protection. There are in total seven stationary stations situated in Cracow to measure air pollution. These stations are supported continuously by one semi-mobile (transportable) station. It allows to modify periodically the area under investigation and therefore the 3-dimensional picture of creation and distribution of air pollutants within Cracow area could be more intelligible.

  10. Letter Report Yucca Mountain Environmental Monitoring Systems Initiative - Air Quality Scoping Study for Caliente, Lincoln County, Nevada

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Engelbrecht, J.; Kavouras, I.; Campbell, D.; Campbell, S.; Kohl, S.; Shafer, D.

    2009-01-01

    The Desert Research Institute (DRI) is performing a scoping study as part of the U.S. Department of Energy's Yucca Mountain Environmental Monitoring Systems Initiative (EMSI). The main objective is to obtain baseline air quality information for Yucca Mountain and an area surrounding the Nevada Test Site (NTS). Air quality and meteorological monitoring and sampling equipment housed in a mobile trailer (shelter) is collecting data at eight sites outside the NTS, including Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge (NWR), Beatty, Sarcobatus Flats, Rachel, Caliente, Pahranagat NWR, Crater Flat, and Tonopah Airport, and at four sites on the NTS (Engelbrecht et al., 2007a-d). The trailer is stationed at any one site for approximately eight weeks at a time. This letter report provides a summary of air quality and meteorological data, on completion of the site's sampling program

  11. Air Pollution Monitoring for Communities Grants

    Science.gov (United States)

    EPA, through its Science to Achieve Results (STAR) grants program is providing funding to six institutions that will advance air monitoring technology while helping communities address unique air quality challenges.

  12. Workshop on indoor air quality research needs

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    1980-01-01

    Workshop participants report on indoor air quality research needs including the monitoring of indoor air quality, report of the instrumentation subgroup of indoor air quality, health effects, and the report of the control technology session. Risk analysis studies addressing indoor environments were also summarized. (DLS)

  13. Workshop on indoor air quality research needs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1980-01-01

    Workshop participants report on indoor air quality research needs including the monitoring of indoor air quality, report of the instrumentation subgroup of indoor air quality, health effects, and the report of the control technology session. Risk analysis studies addressing indoor environments were also summarized

  14. Mobile Air Monitoring Data Processing Strategies and Effects on Spatial Air Pollution Trends

    Science.gov (United States)

    The collection of real-time air quality measurements while in motion (i.e., mobile monitoring) is currently conducted worldwide to evaluate in situ emissions, local air quality trends, and air pollutant exposure. This measurement strategy pushes the limits of traditional data an...

  15. Data Quality Objectives Supporting Radiological Air Emissions Monitoring for the PNNL Site

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Barnett, J. Matthew; Meier, Kirsten M.; Snyder, Sandra F.; Fritz, Brad G.; Poston, Theodore M.; Antonio, Ernest J.

    2012-11-12

    considerations. This DQO report also updates the discussion of the Environmental Monitoring Plan for the PNNL Site air samples and how existing Hanford Site monitoring program results could be used. This document of Data Quality Objectives (DQOs) was prepared based on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Guidance on Systematic Planning Using the Data Quality Objectives Process, EPA, QA/G4, 2/2006 (EPA 2006) as well as several other published DQOs.

  16. Ambient air quality observations in the Athabasca oil sands region

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1996-01-01

    Both Syncrude and Suncor have plans to develop new oil sands leases and to increase crude oil and bitumen recovery in the Athabasca oil sands region. In recognition of the effects that this will have on the environment, Suncor has proposed modifications to reduce SO 2 emissions to the atmosphere, while Syncrude plans to develop additional ambient air quality, sulphur deposition and biomonitoring programs. This report discussed the ambient air quality monitoring that was undertaken in the Fort McMurray-Fort McKay airshed. Twelve continuous ambient air quality stations and 76 passive monitoring stations are maintained in the region. Environment Canada maintains eight precipitation monitoring stations in northern Alberta and Saskatchewan. Source characterization, ambient air quality and meteorology observations, air quality monitoring, and air quality data from continuous sulphur dioxide, hydrogen sulphide, nitrogen oxides, ozone, carbon monoxide, hydrocarbon, acid rain and particulates analyzers were reviewed. The documentation of all computer files used for the analysis of the air quality data is discussed in the Appendix. 47 refs., 39 tabs., 53 figs

  17. The usefulness of air quality monitoring and air quality impact studies before the introduction of reformulated gasolines in developing countries. Mexico City, a real case study

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bravo, H.A.; Torres, R.J. [Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico (Mexico). Section de Contaminacion Ambiental

    2000-07-01

    Urban air pollution is a major environmental problem in several developing countries in the world. This phenomenon seems to be related to the growth of both the urban population in large cities and the number of old and poorly maintained car fleets. The expected rise of population in the next century in countries which suffer from lack of capital for air pollution control, means that there is a great potential for the worsening of the air quality. The worldwide promote policy to phase out lead in gasolines has not proved to be an adequate option in improving the environmental quality. Mexico City Metropolitan Area (MCMA) represents a case in which the introduction of reformulated gasolines in an old car fleet has resulted in the reduction of the airborne lead levels but has worsened the ozone concentration of its urban atmosphere. This paper critically analyzes the chronological evolution of the ozone air pollution problem in MCMA after the successive occurrence of several changes in the formulation of low leaded and unleaded gasolines. It also presents evidences of the usefulness potential of air quality monitoring activities and air quality impact studies on the definition of realistic fuel reformulation policies of developing countries. (author)

  18. Research on the optimization of air quality monitoring station layout based on spatial grid statistical analysis method.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Tianxin; Zhou, Xing Chen; Ikhumhen, Harrison Odion; Difei, An

    2018-05-01

    In recent years, with the significant increase in urban development, it has become necessary to optimize the current air monitoring stations to reflect the quality of air in the environment. Highlighting the spatial representation of some air monitoring stations using Beijing's regional air monitoring station data from 2012 to 2014, the monthly mean particulate matter concentration (PM10) in the region was calculated and through the IDW interpolation method and spatial grid statistical method using GIS, the spatial distribution of PM10 concentration in the whole region was deduced. The spatial distribution variation of districts in Beijing using the gridding model was performed, and through the 3-year spatial analysis, PM10 concentration data including the variation and spatial overlay (1.5 km × 1.5 km cell resolution grid), the spatial distribution result obtained showed that the total PM10 concentration frequency variation exceeded the standard. It is very important to optimize the layout of the existing air monitoring stations by combining the concentration distribution of air pollutants with the spatial region using GIS.

  19. Letter Report Yucca Mountain Environmental Monitoring Systems Initiative - Air Quality Scoping Study for Tonopah Airport, Nye County, Nevada

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Engelbrecht, J.; Kavouras, I.; Campbell, D.; Campbell, S.; Kohl, S.; Shafer, D.

    2009-01-01

    The Desert Research Institute (DRI) is performing a scoping study as part of the U.S. Department of Energy's Yucca Mountain Environmental Monitoring Systems Initiative (EMSI). The main objective is to obtain baseline air quality information for Yucca Mountain and an area surrounding the Nevada Test Site (NTS). Air quality and meteorological monitoring and sampling equipment housed in a mobile trailer (shelter) is collecting data at eight sites outside the NTS, including Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge (NWR), Tonopah Airport, Beatty, Rachel, Caliente, Pahranagat NWR, Crater Flat, and the Tonopah Airport, and at four sites on the NTS (Engelbrecht et al., 2007a-d). The trailer is stationed at any one site for approximately eight weeks at a time. This letter report provides a summary of air quality and meteorological data, on completion of the site's sampling program

  20. Calibration of low-cost gas sensors for an urban air quality monitoring network

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scott, A.; Kelley, C.; He, C.; Ghugare, P.; Lehman, A.; Benish, S.; Stratton, P.; Dickerson, R. R.; Zuidema, C.; Azdoud, Y.; Ren, X.

    2017-12-01

    In a warming world, environmental pollution may be exacerbated by anthropogenic activities, such as climate change and the urban heat island effect, as well as natural phenomena such as heat waves. However, monitoring air pollution at federal reference standards (approximately 1 part per billion or ppb for ambient ozone) is cost-prohibitive in heterogeneous urban areas as many expensive devices are required to fully capture a region's geo-spatial variability. Innovation in low-cost sensors provide a potential solution, yet technical challenges remain to overcome possible imprecision in the data. We present the calibrations of ozone and nitrous dioxide from a low-cost air quality monitoring device designed for the Baltimore Open Air Project. The sensors used in this study are commercially available thin film electrochemical sensors from SPEC Sensor, which are amperometric, meaning they generate current proportional to volumetric fraction of gas. The results of sensor calibrations in the laboratory and field are presented.

  1. Biomonitoring of air quality using plants

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mulgrew, A.; Williams, P. [King' s Coll., London (United Kingdom). Monitoring and Assessment Research Centre - WHO Collaborating Centre for Monitoring and Assessment

    2000-02-01

    This report is an update of the MARC Report No. 32 'Biological Monitoring' and a first volume referring to a WHO project on biological monitoring. The monograph reviews comprehensively the existing literature on biological monitoring of air quality with plants. This review includes consideration of all plant species that are currently, or have a potential of, being used as bioindicators of air pollution. This review is intended to serve as a background paper for the derivation of guidelines for the use of biological monitors in air pollution control. (orig.)

  2. Biomonitoring of air quality using plants

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mulgrew, A; Williams, P [King' s Coll., London (United Kingdom). Monitoring and Assessment Research Centre - WHO Collaborating Centre for Monitoring and Assessment

    2000-02-01

    This report is an update of the MARC Report No. 32 'Biological Monitoring' and a first volume referring to a WHO project on biological monitoring. The monograph reviews comprehensively the existing literature on biological monitoring of air quality with plants. This review includes consideration of all plant species that are currently, or have a potential of, being used as bioindicators of air pollution. This review is intended to serve as a background paper for the derivation of guidelines for the use of biological monitors in air pollution control. (orig.)

  3. Portable and low-cost sensors in monitoring air qualities in China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ouyang, Bin; Popoola, Lekan; Jones, Roderic; Li, Chunlin; Chen, Jianmin

    2016-04-01

    The fast dynamics and the associated high spatial variability of the atmosphere calls for monitoring techniques that are robust, portable, low-power and ideally cheap (which thus allows for easy deployment and little maintenance needs over long measurement period), yet still offering sufficient sensitivity for measuring typical air pollutants at their ambient levels. We have over years developed a measuring suite (SNAQ box, Sensor Network for Air Quality), which weighs ~2.5 kg and has dimension of 30 cm (L)*20 cm (W)* 15 cm (H), and is capable of measuring wind speed and direction, relative humidity, gas species CO, NO, NO2, O3, SO2 (all based on electrochemical sensors), CO2 (based on NDIR, non-dispersive infrared) and total VOCs (based on PID, photoionization detector), and size-speciated particles (based on optical counting method with cut-off in size at 0.34 microns). Two of these boxes have been deployed in China during the 2015 Yangtze River campaign led by Fudan University, China during 22nd/Nov and 05th/Dec. One of the two boxes was mounted on a monitoring ship that sailed along the river aiming at capturing primarily emissions from ships, and the other was carried by a van that drove on roads but followed the track of the ship during the same period. Preliminary analysis of the data revealed that measurements were successful on both platforms for most of the targeted species with essentially no need of personnel interference during the entire campaign. Emission ratio of CO against NOx, or that of CO/NOx against CO2, for different dominating emission sources (vehicles vs. ships), can be readily quantified. Ongoing analysis includes correlating the measured pollution levels with different source profiles as well as meteorology conditions and understanding the background aerosol size profiles. We conclude that this technique provides a viable solution not only for routine point measurements of air quality in China, but also as construction unit for building

  4. Monitoring and assessment of regional air quality in China using space observations (Marco Polo)

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ronald, A. van der; Timmermans, R.; Bai, J.; Zhang, Q.; Wal, L. van der

    2013-01-01

    In this paper we will present the FP7-project 'MarcoPolo'. The main objective of MarcoPolo is to improve air quality monitoring, modelling and forecasting over China using satellite data. During the project a new emission inventory will be constructed by combining Chinese and European expertise. It

  5. Overview of ambient air quality monitoring in South Africa

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Naidoo, M

    2006-10-01

    Full Text Available Air quality data is currently collected, processed and archived by a number of independent institutes. No collaboration exists between these organisations and there is no provincial or national air quality data information system or archive...

  6. Atmosphere and water quality monitoring on Space Station Freedom

    Science.gov (United States)

    Niu, William

    1990-01-01

    In Space Station Freedom air and water will be supplied in closed loop systems. The monitoring of air and water qualities will ensure the crew health for the long mission duration. The Atmosphere Composition Monitor consists of the following major instruments: (1) a single focusing mass spectrometer to monitor major air constituents and control the oxygen/nitrogen addition for the Space Station; (2) a gas chromatograph/mass spectrometer to detect trace contaminants; (3) a non-dispersive infrared spectrometer to determine carbon monoxide concentration; and (4) a laser particle counter for measuring particulates in the air. An overview of the design and development concepts for the air and water quality monitors is presented.

  7. Monitoring Air Quality over China: Evaluation of the modeling system of the PANDA project

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bouarar, Idir; Katinka Petersen, Anna; Brasseur, Guy; Granier, Claire; Xie, Ying; Wang, Xuemei; Fan, Qi; Wang, Lili

    2015-04-01

    Air pollution has become a pressing problem in Asia and specifically in China due to rapid increase in anthropogenic emissions related to growth of China's economic activity and increasing demand for energy in the past decade. Observed levels of particulate matter and ozone regularly exceed World Health Organization (WHO) air quality guidelines in many parts of the country leading to increased risk of respiratory illnesses and other health problems. The EU-funded project PANDA aims to establish a team of European and Chinese scientists to monitor air pollution over China and elaborate air quality indicators in support of European and Chinese policies. PANDA combines state-of-the-art air pollution modeling with space and surface observations of chemical species to improve methods for monitoring air quality. The modeling system of the PANDA project follows a downscaling approach: global models such as MOZART and MACC system provide initial and boundary conditions to regional WRF-Chem and EMEP simulations over East Asia. WRF-Chem simulations at higher resolution (e.g. 20km) are then performed over a smaller domain covering East China and initial and boundary conditions from this run are used to perform simulations at a finer resolution (e.g. 5km) over specific megacities like Shanghai. Here we present results of model simulations for January and July 2010 performed during the first year of the project. We show an intercomparison of the global (MACC, EMEP) and regional (WRF-Chem) simulations and a comprehensive evaluation with satellite measurements (NO2, CO) and in-situ data (O3, CO, NOx, PM10 and PM2.5) at several surface stations. Using the WRF-Chem model, we demonstrate that model performance is influenced not only by the resolution (e.g. 60km, 20km) but also the emission inventories used (MACCity, HTAPv2), their resolution and diurnal variation, and the choice of initial and boundary conditions (e.g. MOZART, MACC analysis).

  8. Letter Report Yucca Mountain Environmental Monitoring Systems Initiative - Air Quality Scoping Study for Pahranagat National Wildlife Refuge, Lincoln County, Nevada

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Engelbrecht, J.; Kavouras, I.; Campbell, D.; Campbell, S.; Kohl, S.; Shafer, D.

    2009-01-01

    The Desert Research Institute (DRI) is performing a scoping study as part of the U.S. Department of Energy's Yucca Mountain Environmental Monitoring Systems Initiative (EMSI). The main objective is to obtain baseline air quality information for Yucca Mountain and an area surrounding the Nevada Test Site (NTS). Air quality and meteorological monitoring and sampling equipment housed in a mobile trailer (shelter) is collecting data at eight sites outside the NTS, including Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge (NWR), Pahranagat NWR, Beatty, Rachel, Caliente, Crater Flat, and Tonopah Airport, and at four sites on the NTS (Engelbrecht et al., 2007a-d). The trailer is stationed at any one site for approximately eight weeks at a time. This letter report provides a summary of air quality and meteorological data on completion of the site's sampling program

  9. Magnetic evaluation of TSP-filters for air quality monitoring

    Science.gov (United States)

    Castañeda-Miranda, Ana Gabriela; Böhnel, Harald N.; Molina-Garza, Roberto S.; Chaparro, Marcos A. E.

    2014-10-01

    We present the magnetic properties of the powders collected by high volume total suspended particle air samplers used to monitor atmospheric pollution in Santiago de Querétaro, a city of one million people in central Mexico. The magnetic measurements have been combined with scanning electron microscopy observations and analysis, in order to characterize the particles captured in the filters as natural and anthropogenic. The main goal of the study is to test if magnetic measurements on the sampled atmospheric dust can be effective, low-cost, proxy to qualitatively estimate the air quality, complementing the traditional analytical methods. The magnetic properties of the powder collected in the filters have been investigated measuring the low field magnetic susceptibility, hysteresis loops, thermomagnetic curves, and isothermal remanent magnetization. The rock magnetism data have been supplemented by energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy analysis and Raman spectroscopy. It was found that the main magnetic carrier is low-Ti magnetite in the PSD range with a contribution from SP particles, and small but significant contributions from hematite, maghemite and goethite particles. Total suspended particles in the atmosphere during the monitored days ranged between about 30 and 280 μg/m3. Magnetic susceptibility values are well correlated with the independently determined total suspended particles concentration (R = 0.93), but particle concentration does not correlate as well with IRM1T. This may be attributed to contributions from SP and paramagnetic particles to the susceptibility signal, but not to the remanence. The effects of climate in particle size, composition and concentration were considered in terms of precipitation and wind intensity, but they are actually minor. The main effect of climate appears to be the removal of SP particles during rainy days. There is a contribution to air pollution from natural mineral sources, which we attribute to low vegetation cover

  10. Response of consumer and research grade indoor air quality monitors to residential sources of fine particles.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Singer, B C; Delp, W W

    2018-04-23

    The ability to inexpensively monitor PM 2.5 to identify sources and enable controls would advance residential indoor air quality (IAQ) management. Consumer IAQ monitors incorporating low-cost optical particle sensors and connections with smart home platforms could provide this service if they reliably detect PM 2.5 in homes. In this study, particles from typical residential sources were generated in a 120 m 3 laboratory and time-concentration profiles were measured with 7 consumer monitors (2-3 units each), 2 research monitors (Thermo pDR-1500, MetOne BT-645), a Grimm Mini Wide-Range Aerosol Spectrometer (GRM), and a Tapered Element Oscillating Microbalance with Filter Dynamic Measurement System (FDMS), a Federal Equivalent Method for PM 2.5 . Sources included recreational combustion (candles, cigarettes, incense), cooking activities, an unfiltered ultrasonic humidifier, and dust. FDMS measurements, filter samples, and known densities were used to adjust the GRM to obtain time-resolved mass concentrations. Data from the research monitors and 4 of the consumer monitors-AirBeam, AirVisual, Foobot, Purple Air-were time correlated and within a factor of 2 of the estimated mass concentrations for most sources. All 7 of the consumer and both research monitors substantially under-reported or missed events for which the emitted mass was comprised of particles smaller than 0.3 μm diameter. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  11. Assessing air quality in Aksaray with time series analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kadilar, Gamze Özel; Kadilar, Cem

    2017-04-01

    Sulphur dioxide (SO2) is a major air pollutant caused by the dominant usage of diesel, petrol and fuels by vehicles and industries. One of the most air-polluted city in Turkey is Aksaray. Hence, in this study, the level of SO2 is analyzed in Aksaray based on the database monitored at air quality monitoring station of Turkey. Seasonal Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (SARIMA) approach is used to forecast the level of SO2 air quality parameter. The results indicate that the seasonal ARIMA model provides reliable and satisfactory predictions for the air quality parameters and expected to be an alternative tool for practical assessment and justification.

  12. Design an Indoor Air Quality Controller Based on LPC2478

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shi Shuheng

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available Indoor air quality is very important to our lives, because we spend most of our time indoor. In order to improve the air quality of indoor, this paper designs an indoor environment quality monitoring and controlling system based on ARM microcontroller LPC2478. It will do a real-time monitoring work for detecting the indoor environmental factors and comprehensively evaluate its air quality level. While the indoor air quality status is "poor", this intelligent system will automatically start the heat exchange ventilator for indoor environmental quality improvement. The results compared to traditional natural ventilation method show the better performance of proposed system.

  13. Energy use, air infiltration, and indoor air quality in well-insulated residences

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Koontz, M.D.; Nagda, N.L.

    1989-01-01

    This paper reports two unoccupied bilevel houses of identical design and construction studied to determine the relationships among air exchange, energy consumption, and indoor air quality. The experimental house was retrofitted to increase building tightness and was equipped with an air-to-air heat exchanger; the control house was kept in its initial state of construction. Infiltration, energy, indoor air quality, and environmental parameters were monitored in both houses before and after the retrofit. It was found that the retrofit decreased air infiltration rates by nearly 25 percent, heating energy savings of 12 to 20 percent were achieved through the retrofit, and among the pollutants monitored, only radon and radon progeny increased in proportion to the reduced infiltration. Similarly, when the heat exchanger was operated, radon and radon progeny were the only pollutants reduced in proportion to the added air exchange

  14. AIRQino, a low-cost air quality mobile platform

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zaldei, Alessandro; Vagnoli, Carolina; Di Lonardo, Sara; Gioli, Beniamino; Gualtieri, Giovanni; Toscano, Piero; Martelli, Francesca; Matese, Alessandro

    2015-04-01

    Recent air quality regulations (Directive 2008/50/EC) enforce the transition from point-based monitoring networks to new tools that must be capable of mapping and forecasting air quality on the totality of land area, and therefore the totality of citizens. This implies new technologies such as models and additional indicative measurements, are needed in addition to accurate fixed air quality monitoring stations, that until now have been taken as reference by local administrators for the enforcement of various mitigation strategies. However, due to their sporadic spatial distribution, they cannot describe the highly resolved spatial pollutant variations within cities. Integrating additional indicative measurements may provide adequate information on the spatial distribution of the ambient air quality, also allowing for a reduction of the required minimum number of fixed sampling points, whose high cost and complex maintenance still remain a crucial concern for local administrators. New low-cost and small size sensors are becoming available, that could be employed in air quality monitoring including mobile applications. However, accurate assessment of their accuracy and performance both in controlled and real monitoring conditions is crucially needed. Quantifying sensor response is a significant challenge due to the sensitivity to ambient temperature and humidity and the cross-sensitivity to others pollutant species. This study reports the development of an Arduino compatible electronic board (AIRQino) which integrates a series of low-cost metal oxide and NDIR sensors for air quality monitoring, with sensors to measure air temperature, relative humidity, noise, solar radiation and vertical acceleration. A comparative assessment was made for CO2, CO, NO2, CH4, O3, VOCs concentrations, temperature and relative humidity. A controlled climatic chamber study (-80°C / +80°C) was performed to verify temperature and humidity interference using reference gas cylinders and

  15. Transformation of Air Quality Monitor Data from the International Space Station into Toxicological Effect Groups

    Science.gov (United States)

    James, John T.; Zalesak, Selina M.

    2011-01-01

    The primary reason for monitoring air quality aboard the International Space Station (ISS) is to determine whether air pollutants have collectively reached a concentration where the crew could experience adverse health effects. These effects could be near-real-time (e.g. headache, respiratory irritation) or occur late in the mission or even years later (e.g. cancer, liver toxicity). Secondary purposes for monitoring include discovery that a potentially harmful compound has leaked into the atmosphere or that air revitalization system performance has diminished. Typical ISS atmospheric trace pollutants consist of alcohols, aldehydes, aromatic compounds, halo-carbons, siloxanes, and silanols. Rarely, sulfur-containing compounds and alkanes are found at trace levels. Spacecraft Maximum Allowable Concentrations (SMACs) have been set in cooperation with a subcommittee of the National Research Council Committee on Toxicology. For each compound and time of exposure, the limiting adverse effect(s) has been identified. By factoring the analytical data from the Air Quality Monitor (AQM), which is in use as a prototype instrument aboard the ISS, through the array of compounds and SMACs, the risk of 16 specific adverse effects can be estimated. Within each adverse-effect group, we have used an additive model proportioned to each applicable 180-day SMAC to estimate risk. In the recent past this conversion has been performed using archival data, which can be delayed for months after an air sample is taken because it must be returned to earth for analysis. But with the AQM gathering in situ data each week, NASA is in a position to follow toxic-effect groups and correlate these with any reported crew symptoms. The AQM data are supplemented with data from real-time CO2 instruments aboard the ISS and from archival measurements of formaldehyde, which the AQM cannot detect.

  16. Air Quality Assessment Using Interpolation Technique

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Awkash Kumar

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available Air pollution is increasing rapidly in almost all cities around the world due to increase in population. Mumbai city in India is one of the mega cities where air quality is deteriorating at a very rapid rate. Air quality monitoring stations have been installed in the city to regulate air pollution control strategies to reduce the air pollution level. In this paper, air quality assessment has been carried out over the sample region using interpolation techniques. The technique Inverse Distance Weighting (IDW of Geographical Information System (GIS has been used to perform interpolation with the help of concentration data on air quality at three locations of Mumbai for the year 2008. The classification was done for the spatial and temporal variation in air quality levels for Mumbai region. The seasonal and annual variations of air quality levels for SO2, NOx and SPM (Suspended Particulate Matter have been focused in this study. Results show that SPM concentration always exceeded the permissible limit of National Ambient Air Quality Standard. Also, seasonal trends of pollutant SPM was low in monsoon due rain fall. The finding of this study will help to formulate control strategies for rational management of air pollution and can be used for many other regions.

  17. The AirQuality SenseBox

    Science.gov (United States)

    Demuth, Dustin; Nuest, Daniel; Bröring, Arne; Pebesma, Edzer

    2013-04-01

    In the past year, a group of open hardware enthusiasts and citizen scientists had large success in the crowd-funding of an open hardware-based sensor platform for air quality monitoring, called the Air Quality Egg. Via the kickstarter platform, the group was able to collect triple the amount of money than needed to fulfill their goals. Data generated by the Air Quality Egg is pushed to the data logging platform cosm.com, which makes the devices a part of the Internet of Things. The project aims at increasing the participation of citizens in the collection of data, the development of sensors, the operation of sensor stations, and, as data on cosm is publicly available, the sharing, visualization and analysis of data. Air Quality Eggs can measure NO2 and CO concentrations, as well as relative humidity and temperature. The chosen sensors are low-cost and have limited precision and accurracy. The Air Quality Egg consists of a stationary outdoor and a stationary indoor unit. Each outdoor unit will wirelessly transmit air quality measurements to the indoor unit, which forwards the data to cosm. Most recent versions of the Air Quality Egg allow a rough calibration of the gas sensors and on-the-fly conversion from raw sensor readings (impedance) to meaningful air quality data expressed in units of parts per billion. Data generated by these low-cost platforms are not intended to replace well-calibrated official monitoring stations, but rather augment the density of the total monitoring network with citizen sensors. To improve the usability of the Air Quality Egg, we present a new and more advanced concept, called the AirQuality SenseBox. We made the outdoor platform more autonomous and location-aware by adding solarpanels and rechargeable batteries as a power source. The AirQuality SenseBox knows its own position from a GPS device attached to the platform. As a mobile sensor platform, it can for instance be attached to vehicles. A low-cost and low-power wireless chipset

  18. Integrated monitoring and assessment of air pollution

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hertel, O.

    2009-09-15

    Improved quality, better understanding of processes and optimisation of allocated resources, these are the main advantages of applying Integrated Monitoring and Assessment (IMA) in air quality management. The IMA is defined as the combined use of measurements and model calculations. The use of IMA is demonstrated with examples with different aims: to obtain data for air pollution in urban streets, to assess human exposure to traffic air pollution, and to assess atmospheric deposition of nitrogen compounds to marine and terrestrial ecosystems. (author)

  19. The Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service: facilitating the prediction of air quality from global to local scales

    Science.gov (United States)

    Engelen, R. J.; Peuch, V. H.

    2017-12-01

    The European Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) operationally provides daily forecasts of global atmospheric composition and regional air quality. The global forecasting system is using ECMWF's Integrated Forecasting System (IFS), which is used for numerical weather prediction and which has been extended with modules for atmospheric chemistry, aerosols and greenhouse gases. The regional forecasts are produced by an ensemble of seven operational European air quality models that take their boundary conditions from the global system and provide an ensemble median with ensemble spread as their main output. Both the global and regional forecasting systems are feeding their output into air quality models on a variety of scales in various parts of the world. We will introduce the CAMS service chain and provide illustrations of its use in downstream applications. Both the usage of the daily forecasts and the usage of global and regional reanalyses will be addressed.

  20. Ecoflex: Improving air quality with green dynamic traffic management based on real time air quality measurements

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Baalen, J. van; Koning, A. de; Voogt, M.; Stelwagen, U.; Turksma, S.

    2011-01-01

    Across the world, air quality regulations are breached due to localized high pollution episodes in specific locations, or "hotspots". Advances in air pollution monitoring techniques enable hotspots to be identified more effectively; however challenges remain as to how best to reduce the incidence

  1. Assessment of the Air Quality of Isfahan City, Iran, Using Selected Air Quality Parameters

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Borhan Mansouri

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available Background: Today, air pollution is one of the major problems in large cities including Isfahan. Methods: The objective of this study was to investigate the variations of ozone (O3, carbon monoxide (CO, nitric oxide (NO, nitrogen dioxide (NO2, nitrogen oxides (NOx, sulphur dioxide (SO2, and particulate matter (PM10 concentrations in different months at three stations and also to explore the correlations between pollutants. Monthly averages of air pollutant concentrations recorded in three pollution monitoring stations (Bozorgmehr, Azadi, and Laleh were obtained in 2008 and 2009. Results: There were significant monthly variations in the concentrations of air quality parameters. Results showed that there was a correlation between ozone and particle matter (p<0.05, and between nitric oxide and nitrogen oxides (p<0.01. The statistical analysis indicated that there were significant differences in the O3, NO, NOx and PM10 concentrations. Conclusion: The air quality monitoring data collected in city center of Isfahan showed seasonal variations for O3, CO, NO, NO2, NOx, SO2, and PM10.

  2. Evaluation of the Air Quality Monitor's Performance on the International Space Station

    Science.gov (United States)

    Limero, Thomas; Reese, Eric; Ballard, Ken; Durham, Tamara

    2010-01-01

    The Air Quality Monitor (AQM) was flown to the International Space Station (ISS) as an experiment to evaluate its potential to replace the aging Volatile Organic Analyzer (VOA), which ceased operations in August 2009. The AQM (Figure 1) is a small gas chromatography/differential mobility spectrometer (GC/DMS) manufactured by Sionex. Data was presented at last year s ISIMS conference that detailed the preparation of the AQM for flight, including instrument calibration. Furthermore, initial AQM data was compared to VOA results from simultaneous runs of the two instruments. Although comparison with VOA data provided a measure of confidence in the AQM performance, it is the comparison with results from simultaneously acquired air samples (grab sample containers-GSCs) that will define the success (or failure) of the AQM performance. This paper will update the progress in the AQM investigation by comparing AQM data to results from the analyses of GSC samples, returned from ISS. Additionally, a couple of example will illustrate the AQM s ability to detect disruptions in the spacecraft s air quality. Discussion will also focus upon a few unexpected issues that have arisen and how these will be a addressed in the final operational unit now being built.

  3. Passive samplers and community science in regional air quality measurement, education and communication

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    DeForest Hauser, Cindy; Buckley, Alexandra; Porter, Juliana

    2015-01-01

    Charlotte, in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, was ranked in the top ten cities with the worst air quality for ozone in the United States by the American Lung Association from 2009 to 2011. Nearby counties that may experience similar air quality do not have state or county monitors. This study utilized NO x and ozone Ogawa passive samplers and community scientists to monitor air quality in five counties surrounding Charlotte and increase public engagement in air quality issues. Community scientists deployed samplers weekly at a residential site within each county. Samples were analyzed using spectrophotometry and ion chromatography. Elevated NO x concentrations were observed in four of the five counties relative to those with existing monitors. Ozone concentrations showed little county to county variation, except Iredell and Cabarrus which had higher concentrations than Rowan. Community involvement in this work led to an increase in local dissemination of the results, thus increasing air quality awareness. - Highlights: • NO x concentrations in four adjacent counties were higher than the Mecklenburg site. • Ozone concentrations showed little county to county variation. • Passive samplers and community science can extend the air quality monitoring network. • Community science increases community awareness of air quality issues. - Regional community air quality monitoring is important in educating communities about air quality science issues that can impact personal health and behavior

  4. The Aeroflex: A Bicycle for Mobile Air Quality Measurements

    Science.gov (United States)

    Elen, Bart; Peters, Jan; Van Poppel, Martine; Bleux, Nico; Theunis, Jan; Reggente, Matteo; Standaert, Arnout

    2013-01-01

    Fixed air quality stations have limitations when used to assess people's real life exposure to air pollutants. Their spatial coverage is too limited to capture the spatial variability in, e.g., an urban or industrial environment. Complementary mobile air quality measurements can be used as an additional tool to fill this void. In this publication we present the Aeroflex, a bicycle for mobile air quality monitoring. The Aeroflex is equipped with compact air quality measurement devices to monitor ultrafine particle number counts, particulate mass and black carbon concentrations at a high resolution (up to 1 second). Each measurement is automatically linked to its geographical location and time of acquisition using GPS and Internet time. Furthermore, the Aeroflex is equipped with automated data transmission, data pre-processing and data visualization. The Aeroflex is designed with adaptability, reliability and user friendliness in mind. Over the past years, the Aeroflex has been successfully used for high resolution air quality mapping, exposure assessment and hot spot identification. PMID:23262484

  5. Analysis of air quality in Dire Dawa, Ethiopia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kasim, Oluwasinaayomi Faith; Woldetisadik Abshare, Muluneh; Agbola, Samuel Babatunde

    2017-12-07

    Ambient air quality was monitored and analyzed to develop air quality index and its implications for livability and climate change in Dire Dawa, Ethiopia. Using survey research design, 16 georeferenced locations, representing different land uses, were randomly selected and assessed for sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ), nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ), carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), carbon monoxide (CO),volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and meteorological parameters (temperature and relative humidity). The study found mean concentrations across all land uses for SO 2 of 0.37 ± 0.08 ppm, NO 2 of 0.13 ± 0.17 ppm, CO 2 of 465.65 ± 28.63 ppm, CO of 3.35 ± 2.04 ppm, and VOCs of 1850.67 ± 402 ppm. An air quality index indicated that ambient air quality for SO 2 was very poor, NO 2 ranged from moderate to very poor, whereas CO rating was moderate. Significant positive correlations existed between temperature and NO 2 , CO 2 , and CO and between humidity and VOCs. Significant relationships were also recorded between CO 2 and NO 2 and between CO and CO 2 . Poor urban planning, inadequate pollution control measure, and weak capacity to monitor air quality have implications for energy usage, air quality, and local meteorological parameters, with subsequent feedback into global climate change. Implementation of programs to monitor and control emissions in order to reduce air pollution will provide health, economic, and environmental benefits to the city. The need to develop and implement emission control programs to reduce air pollution in Dire Dawa City is urgent. This will provide enormous economic, health, and environmental benefits. It is expected that economic effects of air quality improvement will offset the expenditures for pollution control. Also, strategies that focus on air quality and climate change present a unique opportunity to engage different stakeholders in providing inclusive and sustainable development agenda for Dire Dawa.

  6. Research on Air Quality Evaluation based on Principal Component Analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Xing; Wang, Zilin; Guo, Min; Chen, Wei; Zhang, Huan

    2018-01-01

    Economic growth has led to environmental capacity decline and the deterioration of air quality. Air quality evaluation as a fundamental of environmental monitoring and air pollution control has become increasingly important. Based on the principal component analysis (PCA), this paper evaluates the air quality of a large city in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Area in recent 10 years and identifies influencing factors, in order to provide reference to air quality management and air pollution control.

  7. Fine Resolution Air Quality Monitoring from a Small Satellite: CHRIS/PROBA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Man Sing Wong

    2008-11-01

    Full Text Available Current remote sensing techniques fail to address the task of air quality monitoring over complex regions where multiple pollution sources produce high spatial variability. This is due to a lack of suitable satellite-sensor combinations and appropriate aerosol optical thickness (AOT retrieval algorithms. The new generation of small satellites, with their lower costs and greater flexibility has the potential to address this problem, with customised platform-sensor combinations dedicated to monitoring single complex regions or mega-cities. This paper demonstrates the ability of the European Space Agency’s small satellite sensor CHRIS/PROBA to provide reliable AOT estimates at a spatially detailed level over Hong Kong, using a modified version of the dense dark vegetation (DDV algorithm devised for MODIS. Since CHRIS has no middle-IR band such as the MODIS 2,100 nm band which is transparent to fine aerosols, the longest waveband of CHRIS, the 1,019 nm band was used to approximate surface reflectance, by the subtraction of an offset derived from synchronous field reflectance spectra. Aerosol reflectance in the blue and red bands was then obtained from the strong empirical relationship observed between the CHRIS 1,019 nm, and the blue and red bands respectively. AOT retrievals for three different dates were shown to be reliable, when compared with AERONET and Microtops II sunphotometers, and a Lidar, as well as air quality data at ground stations. The AOT images exhibited considerable spatial variability over the 11 x 11km image area and were able to indicate both local and long distance sources.

  8. Air quality mapping using GIS and economic evaluation of health impact for Mumbai City, India.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kumar, Awkash; Gupta, Indrani; Brandt, Jørgen; Kumar, Rakesh; Dikshit, Anil Kumar; Patil, Rashmi S

    2016-05-01

    Mumbai, a highly populated city in India, has been selected for air quality mapping and assessment of health impact using monitored air quality data. Air quality monitoring networks in Mumbai are operated by National Environment Engineering Research Institute (NEERI), Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB), and Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). A monitoring station represents air quality at a particular location, while we need spatial variation for air quality management. Here, air quality monitored data of NEERI and BMC were spatially interpolated using various inbuilt interpolation techniques of ArcGIS. Inverse distance weighting (IDW), Kriging (spherical and Gaussian), and spline techniques have been applied for spatial interpolation for this study. The interpolated results of air pollutants sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and suspended particulate matter (SPM) were compared with air quality data of MPCB in the same region. Comparison of results showed good agreement for predicted values using IDW and Kriging with observed data. Subsequently, health impact assessment of a ward was carried out based on total population of the ward and air quality monitored data within the ward. Finally, health cost within a ward was estimated on the basis of exposed population. This study helps to estimate the valuation of health damage due to air pollution. Operating more air quality monitoring stations for measurement of air quality is highly resource intensive in terms of time and cost. The appropriate spatial interpolation techniques can be used to estimate concentration where air quality monitoring stations are not available. Further, health impact assessment for the population of the city and estimation of economic cost of health damage due to ambient air quality can help to make rational control strategies for environmental management. The total health cost for Mumbai city for the year 2012, with a population of 12.4 million, was estimated as USD

  9. A multi-objective assessment of an air quality monitoring network using environmental, economic, and social indicators and GIS-based models.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pope, Ronald; Wu, Jianguo

    2014-06-01

    In the United States, air pollution is primarily measured by Air Quality Monitoring Networks (AQMN). These AQMNs have multiple objectives, including characterizing pollution patterns, protecting the public health, and determining compliance with air quality standards. In 2006, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued a directive that air pollution agencies assess the performance of their AQMNs. Although various methods to design and assess AQMNs exist, here we demonstrate a geographic information system (GIS)-based approach that combines environmental, economic, and social indicators through the assessment of the ozone (O3) and particulate matter (PM10) networks in Maricopa County, Arizona. The assessment was conducted in three phases: (1) to evaluate the performance of the existing networks, (2) to identify areas that would benefit from the addition of new monitoring stations, and (3) to recommend changes to the AQMN. A comprehensive set of indicators was created for evaluating differing aspects of the AQMNs' objectives, and weights were applied to emphasize important indicators. Indicators were also classified according to their sustainable development goal. Our results showed that O3 was well represented in the county with some redundancy in terms of the urban monitors. The addition of weights to the indicators only had a minimal effect on the results. For O3, urban monitors had greater social scores, while rural monitors had greater environmental scores. The results did not suggest a need for adding more O3 monitoring sites. For PM10, clustered urban monitors were redundant, and weights also had a minimal effect on the results. The clustered urban monitors had overall low scores; sites near point sources had high environmental scores. Several areas were identified as needing additional PM10 monitors. This study demonstrates the usefulness of a multi-indicator approach to assess AQMNs. Network managers and planners may use this method to assess the

  10. Real-time water quality monitoring and providing water quality ...

    Science.gov (United States)

    EPA and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) have initiated the “Village Blue” research project to provide real-time water quality monitoring data to the Baltimore community and increase public awareness about local water quality in Baltimore Harbor and the Chesapeake Bay. The Village Blue demonstration project complements work that a number of state and local organizations are doing to make Baltimore Harbor “swimmable and fishable” 2 by 2020. Village Blue is designed to build upon EPA’s “Village Green” project which provides real-time air quality information to communities in six locations across the country. The presentation, “Real-time water quality monitoring and providing water quality information to the Baltimore Community”, summarizes the Village Blue real-time water quality monitoring project being developed for the Baltimore Harbor.

  11. Air quality and precipitation quality monitoring at Tjeldbergodden October 2009 to September 2010; Maalinger av luftkvalitet og nedboerkvalitet paa Tjeldbergodden oktober 2009 - september 2010

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Toennessen, Dag; Haugsbakk, Ivar

    2012-07-01

    Air and precipitation quality is measured and the Tjeldbergodden from October 2009 to October 2010. Most of the components values corresponding levels measured on the basis stations in the monitoring of long air and rain contamination. Local emissions and elevated concentrations of nitrogen dioxide in air to about 2.5 times the background value and to vanadium in precipitation. Components chlorine, sodium and magnesium are also somewhat higher than the background stations.(eb)

  12. Air quality in Beijing during the 2008 Olympic Games observed by satellites and ground monitors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Q.; Liu, Y.; He, K.; Chen, L.; Wang, Z.; Koutrakis, P.; Christiani, D.

    2008-12-01

    Beijing's severe air pollution has been a major concern for hosting the 29th Olympic Games and Special Olympic Games from August 8 to August 24, 2008. It was generally expected that its air quality in 2008, at least around the period of Olympic Games, would be significantly improved through aggressive government control measures However, it is also expected that the improvement of air quality will not be sustainable due to high economic costs. Thus, the massive temporary improvement of air quality in Beijing metropolitan area induced by direct government intervention will serve as an extremely rare "natural experiment", generating a great contrast in air pollution levels in a short period of time. A ground measurement campaign was conducted to evaluate the variation of airborne particulate matters (PM2.5 and PM10) levels in Beijing from late July to early September of 2008. Satellite aerosol remote sensing data from MISR, MODIS, and OMI during this period were also analyzed to evaluate the spatial distribution of particles in Beijing and surrounding areas. Preliminary analysis indicated that city-wide ground PM10 level in August was 30% lower than that in 2007. During the Olympic Games, PM10 level was nearly 50% lower than the same period in 2007. There are a total of 14 days with daily PM10 concentrations below 50 micrograms per cubic meter, longest since the ground monitoring network was established in 2001. PM2.5 concentrations measured from three research sites showed a similar reduction. Satellite remote sensing data are limited during the Games due to extensive cloud cover. However, existing data in August and September show a substantial regional reduction of aerosol optical depth. In conclusion, the pollution control measures effectively improved the air quality in Beijing and provided insight on how the Chinese government may mitigate air pollution in many of its large cities.

  13. Assessment of Air Quality Status in Wuhan, China

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jiabei Song

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available In this study, air quality characteristics in Wuhan were assessed through descriptive statistics and Hierarchical Cluster Analysis (HCA. Results show that air quality has slightly improved over the recent years. While the NO2 concentration is still increasing, the PM10 concentration shows a clearly downward trend with some small fluctuations. In addition, the SO2 concentration has steadily decreased since 2008. Nevertheless, the current level of air pollutants is still quite high, with the PM10 and NO2 levels exceeding the air quality standard. Seasonal variation exists consistently for all the pollutants, with the highest concentration in winter and the lowest in summer. Cluster analysis evidenced that nine urban monitoring sites could be classified into three clusters. Cluster I consists of only the LY site, which is located in the famous East Lake scenic area with the best air quality. Cluster II corresponds to three monitoring sites with heavily trafficked roads nearby, where relatively severe NO2 pollution occurred. Cluster III is comprised of the remaining five sites, characterized by PM10 and SO2 pollution.

  14. Monitoring of Air Quality in Passenger Cabins of the Athens Metro

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tsairidi, Evangelia; Assimakopoulos, Vasiliki D.; Assimakopoulos, Margarita-Niki; Barbaresos, Nicolaos; Karagiannis, Athanassios

    2013-04-01

    The air pollution induced by various transportation means combines the emission of pollutants with the simultaneous presence of people. In this respect, the scientific community has focused its efforts in studying both the air quality within busy streets and inside cars, buses and the underground railway network in order to identify the pollutants' sources and levels as well as the human exposure. The impact of the air pollution on commuters of the underground may be more severe because it is a confined space, extended mostly under heavily trafficked urban streets, relies on mechanical ventilation for air renewal and gathers big numbers of passengers. The purpose of the present work is to monitor the air quality of the city of Athens Metro Network cabins and platforms during the unusually hot summer of 2012. For that cause particulate matter (PM10, PM2.5, PM1), carbon dioxide (CO2), the number of commuters along with temperature (T) and humidity (RH) were recorded inside the Athens Metro Blue Line trains (covering a route from the centre of Athens (Aigaleo) to the Athens International Airport) and on the platforms of a central (Syntagma) and a suburban-traffic (Doukissis Plakentias) station between June and August. The data collection included six different experiments that took place for 2 consecutive working days each, for a time period of 6 weeks from 6:30 am too 7:00 pm in order to account for different outdoor climatic conditions and for morning and evening rush hours respectively. Measurements were taken in the middle car of the moving trains and the platform end of the selected stations. The results show PM concentrations to be higher (approximately 2 to 5 times) inside the cabins and o the platforms of the underground network as compared to the outdoor levels monitored routinely by the Ministry of Environment. Moreover, PM1, PM2.5 and PM10 average concentrations recorded at the Syntagma Station Platform were almost constantly higher reaching 11 μg m-3 47

  15. Predictive monitoring and diagnosis of periodic air pollution in a subway station.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, YongSu; Kim, MinJung; Lim, JungJin; Kim, Jeong Tai; Yoo, ChangKyoo

    2010-11-15

    The purpose of this study was to develop a predictive monitoring and diagnosis system for the air pollutants in a subway system using a lifting technique with a multiway principal component analysis (MPCA) which monitors the periodic patterns of the air pollutants and diagnoses the sources of the contamination. The basic purpose of this lifting technique was to capture the multivariate and periodic characteristics of all of the indoor air samples collected during each day. These characteristics could then be used to improve the handling of strong periodic fluctuations in the air quality environment in subway systems and will allow important changes in the indoor air quality to be quickly detected. The predictive monitoring approach was applied to a real indoor air quality dataset collected by telemonitoring systems (TMS) that indicated some periodic variations in the air pollutants and multivariate relationships between the measured variables. Two monitoring models--global and seasonal--were developed to study climate change in Korea. The proposed predictive monitoring method using the lifted model resulted in fewer false alarms and missed faults due to non-stationary behavior than that were experienced with the conventional methods. This method could be used to identify the contributions of various pollution sources. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  16. Air quality indices : a review

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hewings, J.

    2001-10-01

    Pollution Probe presents some background information that will help in the development of a national Air Quality Index (AQI) in Canada. This report examines the issues that should be addressed in revising the national Index of the Quality of Air (IQUA) or creating a new national Air Quality Index. The IQUA was devised in 1976 and provides Canadians with real-time information on the state of community air quality by including major pollutants and their synergies. It is currently being used for air quality management plans and air quality alert systems. At the same time that the IQUA was devised, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) produced a parallel air quality index known as the Pollution Standard Index (PSI) which incorporated 5 criteria pollutants (particulate matter, sulphur dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide and ground level ozone) for which national health-based standards were devised. In 1999, the US EPA renamed their index the Air Quality Index (AQI) and made revisions to the primary health-based national ambient air quality standards for ground-level ozone and particulate matter. Separate values for PM2.5 and PM10 were incorporated and mandatory reporting was required for metropolitan areas with populations of 350,000 or more. Similarly, the IQUA has undergone major developments that affect the validity of the index, including: rejection by the Working Group on Air Quality Objectives and Guidelines of the previous maximum desirable and maximum acceptable air quality criteria, recognition that standards for many of the contaminants are outdated, developing more sensitive instrumentation for real-time monitoring of contaminants. This report also describes the use of the national short term Air Quality Index by provincial, territorial and local authorities in Canada. Pollution Probe recommends setting up a mechanism to review and revise IQUA on a regular basis that would incorporate governments, the medical profession, special

  17. Air quality compliance improvements through operational management of air resources (OMAR)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Goddard, W.B.; Goddard, C.B.

    1990-01-01

    Geothermal well fields and power plants require operational and emergency atmospheric venting. Venting activities are monitored for compliance with regulations which limit air pollutant emissions and Ambient Air Quality Standards (AAQS). Continuous compliance monitoring data which includes hydrogen sulfide (H2S) levels and meteorological conditions is only available moths after being compiled. In this paper an automated computerized system called OMAR is described in the following which checks data and allows users access to real-time and near real-time data reports. The data can then be used for managing necessary venting or other real-time data needs. The OMAR system hardware and software is descried and is in use at The Geysers and at the Coso KGRA geothermal developments in California. The system has been designed to assist developers, engineers, scientists, and the local air districts in their goal of maintaining ambient air quality within Federal, State and Local standards

  18. Status of ambient air quality at Barauni

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kannan, G.K.

    1993-01-01

    Due to industrialization, Barauni has become a well developed industrial estate to be considered as industrial hub of Bihar. Contemporary to the industrial growth, the environmental quality also gradually deteriorated. Hence a need was felt to know the status of ambient air quality for proper planning of the future growth of industries. The ambient air quality was monitored at 16 stations in and around Barauni industrial estate during 3 major seasons for the period of one year. The results are discussed as to the status of the ambient air quality and suggestion have also been made for improvement. (author). 5 refs., 2 figs., 7 tabs

  19. Table - Impacts of the Proposed Transport Rule on Counties with Monitors Projected to have Ozone and/or Fine Particle Air Quality Problems

    Science.gov (United States)

    This table shows the impacts of the proposed Transport Rule on Counties with Monitors Projected to have Ozone and/or Fine Particle Air Quality Problems, both with and without the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule.

  20. 40 CFR Appendix A to Part 58 - Quality Assurance Requirements for SLAMS, SPMs and PSD Air Monitoring

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... Administrator, or his or her representative. The quality system will be reviewed during the systems audits.... Environmental Protection Agency in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. 2.5Technical Systems Audit Program. Technical systems audits of each ambient air monitoring organization shall be conducted at least every 3...

  1. Management Aspects of Implementing the New Effluent Air Monitoring Standard

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Glissmeyer, John A.; Davis, William E.

    2000-01-01

    The revision to ANSI/HPS N13.1,'Sampling and Monitoring Releases of Airborne Radioactive substances From the Stacks and Ducts of Nuclear Facilities,' went into effect in January 1999 - replacing the 1969 version of the standard. There are several significant changes from the old version of the standard. The revised standard provides a new paradigm where representative air samples can be collected by extracting the sample from a single point in air streams where the contaminants are well mixed. The revised standard provides specific performance criteria and requirements for the various air sampling processes - program structure, sample extraction, transport, collection, effluent and sample flow measurement, and quality assurance. A graded approach to sampling is recommended with more stringent requirements for stacks with a greater potential to emit. These significant changes in the standard will impact the air monitoring programs at some sites and facilities. The impacts on the air monitor design, operation, maintenance, and quality control processes are discussed.

  2. Urban air quality in Europe

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Viana, Mar (ed.) [Spanish Research Council - CSIC, Barcelona (Spain). Inst. for Environmental Assessment and Water Research

    2013-07-01

    This book provides an overview of air quality in urban environments in Europe, focusing on air pollutant emission sources and formation mechanisms, measurement and modeling strategies, and future perspectives. The emission sources described are biomass burning, vehicular traffic, industry and agriculture, but also African dust and long-range transport of pollutants across the European regions. The impact of these emission sources and processes on atmospheric particulate matter, ozone, nitrogen oxides and volatile and semi-volatile organic compounds is discussed and critical areas for particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide in Europe are identified. Finally, this volume presents future perspectives, mainly regarding upcoming air quality monitoring strategies, metrics of interest, such as submicron and nanoparticles, and indoor and outdoor exposure scenarios.

  3. Manual on indoor air quality

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Diamond, R.C.; Grimsrud, D.T.

    1983-12-01

    This reference manual was prepared to assist electric utilities in helping homeowners, builders, and new home buyers to understand a broad range of issues related to indoor air quality. The manual is directed to technically knowledgeable persons employed by utility companies - the customer service or marketing representative, applications engineer, or technician - who may not have specific expertise in indoor air quality issues. In addition to providing monitoring and control techniques, the manual summarizes the link between pollutant concentrations, air exchange, and energy conservation and describes the characteristics and health effects of selected pollutants. Where technical information is too lengthy or complex for inclusion in this volume, reference sources are given. Information for this manual was gathered from technical studies, manufacturers' information, and other materials from professional societies, institutes, and associations. The aim has been to provide objective technical and descriptive information that can be used by utility personnel to make informed decisions about indoor air quality issues

  4. Manual on indoor air quality

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Diamond, R.C.; Grimsrud, D.T.

    1983-12-01

    This reference manual was prepared to assist electric utilities in helping homeowners, builders, and new home buyers to understand a broad range of issues related to indoor air quality. The manual is directed to technically knowledgeable persons employed by utility companies - the customer service or marketing representative, applications engineer, or technician - who may not have specific expertise in indoor air quality issues. In addition to providing monitoring and control techniques, the manual summarizes the link between pollutant concentrations, air exchange, and energy conservation and describes the characteristics and health effects of selected pollutants. Where technical information is too lengthy or complex for inclusion in this volume, reference sources are given. Information for this manual was gathered from technical studies, manufacturers' information, and other materials from professional societies, institutes, and associations. The aim has been to provide objective technical and descriptive information that can be used by utility personnel to make informed decisions about indoor air quality issues.

  5. Indoor air quality/air infiltration in selected low-energy houses

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shohl Wagner, B.; Phillips, T.J.

    1984-01-01

    Indoor air quality and air infiltration were measured in 16 low-energy California houses. Eleven has gas stoves; all had average infiltration rates of 0.5 h -1 of less, recent construction dates, low natural ventilation, and no mechanical ventilation. HCHO levels in 12 houses and radon-222 and NO 2 levels in all houses were measured using passive monitors. Blower door measurements and local weather data were used to calculate average infiltration rates during the monitoring period. Correlation of pollutant concentrations with infiltration rates and building characteristics indicate that new houses with average heating season infiltration rates less than 0.5 h -1 do not necessarily experience poor indoor air quality, HCHO and radon-222 levels in new houses exceeded the lowest currently proposed standards or guidelines, and much higher levels probably exist elsewhere. Therefore, some strategy for identifying 'problem' houses is needed. We recommend an approach for future research in this area. (Author)

  6. AIRPACT Air Quality Forecasting for August 2001

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vaughan, J. K.; Lamb, B. K.; Westberg, H. H.; Fritz, B. G.; Bamesberger, L.; Bowman, C.; Figueroa-Kaminsky, C.; Otterson, S.; Wilson, R.; Arnold, J. R.; Mass, C.; Albright, M.; Jaffe, D. A.; Barrie, L. A.; Barchet, W. R.; Fast, J. D.; Jobson, B. T.

    2002-12-01

    The AIRPACT air-quality forecasting system was operational during the month of August, 2001, and provided daily forecasts of ozone and associated species throughout the PNW2001 period. The AIRPACT (air indicator report for public awareness and community tracking) project was supported by the U.S. EPA through the EMPACT program. The modeling effort within this project resulted in the assembly of a highly automated air quality forecasting system using MM5 meteorology coupled with a regional emissions sub-system, which both drove the CALMET-CALGRID Eulerian air-quality model. Results were posted to the project web-site and distributed via ftp each morning before operations decisions were finalized. Modeling outputs included 24-hour animations of estimated gridded area emissions and predicted gridded hourly average mixing ratios for ozone, among other species. A verification system for comparing AIRPACT results against the Washington Department of Ecology telemetered surface monitor data was in development during PNW2001. The various measurement components of PNW2001, in combination with the Ecology monitoring network, provided an excellent opportunity to compare AIRPACT ozone predictions with ozone observations from multiple measurement schemes, including surface monitors, aircraft sampling, and ozonesondes. The AIRPACT prediction verification against surface monitors at six downwind sites near Seattle, WA for August 2001 resulted in a normalized bias of 15% and a normalized gross error of 51%. Comparisons of AIRPACT predictions against ozonesondes and aircraft measurements are presented graphically in this poster.

  7. Alberta's air quality index : facts at your fingertip

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2003-06-01

    Alberta Environment measures the airborne concentrations of carbon dioxide, fine particulate matter, nitrogen dioxide, ozone and sulphur dioxide on a continuous basis at air quality monitoring stations in Edmonton, Calgary, Red Deer and Beaverlodge. Every hour, the readings are converted to an Air Quality Index (AQI) number to report on Alberta's outdoor air quality as either good, fair, poor or very poor. The categories relate to guidelines under Alberta's Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act and reflect the maximum acceptable levels specified by the National Ambient Air Quality Objectives. Current air quality conditions are available to the public through Alberta Environment's web site or by phoning a toll free number. Both Edmonton and Calgary report good air quality at least 90 per cent of the time. Occasionally, air quality in the two cities may reach the fair category, but it is seldom poor. Fair, poor or very poor air quality occurs with strong temperature inversion and light winds. Under these conditions, air pollutants, usually from automobiles, are trapped in a layer of stagnant air. Fair and poor air quality can also be caused by summer heat when photochemical smog forms by chemical reactions with oxides of nitrogen and volatile hydrocarbons. 1 ref., 1 tab., 1 fig

  8. Forest fires and air quality issues in southern Europe

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ana Isabel Miranda; Enrico Marchi; Marco Ferretti; Millán M. Millán

    2009-01-01

    Each summer forest fires in southern Europe emit large quantities of pollutants to the atmosphere. These fires can generate a number of air pollution episodes as measured by air quality monitoring networks. We analyzed the impact of forest fires on air quality of specific regions of southern Europe. Data from several summer seasons were studied with the aim of...

  9. Assessing air quality impacts of managed lanes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-12-01

    Impacts on transit bus performance and air quality were investigated for a case study high-occupancy / toll (HOT) lane project on a corridor of I-95 near Miami. Trends in air pollutant concentration monitoring data in the study area first were analyz...

  10. CityAir app: Mapping air-quality perception using people as sensors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Castell, Nuria; Fredriksen, Mirjam; Cole-Hunter, Thomas; Robinson, Johanna; Keune, Hans; Nieuwenhuijsen, Mark; Bartonova, Alena

    2016-04-01

    Outdoor air pollution is a major environmental health problem affecting all people in developed and developing countries alike. Ambient (outdoor) air pollution in both cities and rural areas was estimated to cause 3.7 million premature deaths worldwide in 2012. In modern society, people are expending an increasing amount of time in polluted urban environments, thus increasing their exposure and associated health responses. Some cities provide information about air pollution levels to their citizens using air quality monitoring networks. However, due to their high cost and maintenance, the density of the monitoring networks is very low and not capable to capture the high temporal and spatial variability of air pollution. Thus, the citizen lacks a specific answer to the question of "how the air quality is in our surroundings". In the framework of the EU-funded CITI-SENSE project the innovative concept of People as Sensors is being applied to the field of outdoor air pollution. This is being done in eight European cities, including Barcelona, Belgrade, Edinburgh, Haifa, Ljubljana, Oslo, Ostrava and Vienna. People as Sensors defines a measurement model, in which measurements are not only taken by hardware sensors, but in which also humans can contribute with their individual "measurements" such as their subjective perception of air quality and other personal observations. In order to collect the personal observations a mobile app, CityAir, has been developed. CityAir allows citizens to rate the air quality in their surroundings with colour at their current location: green if air quality is very good, yellow if air quality is good, orange if air quality is poor and red if air quality is very poor. The users have also the possibility of indicating the source of pollution (i.e. traffic, industry, wood burning) and writing a comment. The information is on-line and accessible for other app users, thus contributing to create an air-quality map based on citizens' perception

  11. Optimal redistribution of an urban air quality monitoring network using atmospheric dispersion model and genetic algorithm

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hao, Yufang; Xie, Shaodong

    2018-03-01

    Air quality monitoring networks play a significant role in identifying the spatiotemporal patterns of air pollution, and they need to be deployed efficiently, with a minimum number of sites. The revision and optimal adjustment of existing monitoring networks is crucial for cities that have undergone rapid urban expansion and experience temporal variations in pollution patterns. The approach based on the Weather Research and Forecasting-California PUFF (WRF-CALPUFF) model and genetic algorithm (GA) was developed to design an optimal monitoring network. The maximization of coverage with minimum overlap and the ability to detect violations of standards were developed as the design objectives for redistributed networks. The non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm was applied to optimize the network size and site locations simultaneously for Shijiazhuang city, one of the most polluted cities in China. The assessment on the current network identified the insufficient spatial coverage of SO2 and NO2 monitoring for the expanding city. The optimization results showed that significant improvements were achieved in multiple objectives by redistributing the original network. Efficient coverage of the resulting designs improved to 60.99% and 76.06% of the urban area for SO2 and NO2, respectively. The redistributing design for multi-pollutant including 8 sites was also proposed, with the spatial representation covered 52.30% of the urban area and the overlapped areas decreased by 85.87% compared with the original network. The abilities to detect violations of standards were not improved as much as the other two objectives due to the conflicting nature between the multiple objectives. Additionally, the results demonstrated that the algorithm was slightly sensitive to the parameter settings, with the number of generations presented the most significant effect. Overall, our study presents an effective and feasible procedure for air quality network optimization at a city scale.

  12. Lichens as bioindicators of air quality

    Science.gov (United States)

    K. Stolte; D. Mangis; R. Doty; K. Tonnessen; Laurie S.  Huckaby

    1993-01-01

    This report is the result of a workshop held in Denver, Colorado on April 9-11, 1991. It summarizes the current literature and techniques for using lichens to monitor air quality. Experts in lichenology and ecology contributed information on lichen floristics, characterization of monitoring sites, lichen species and communities, identifying lichen species...

  13. a Web Api and Web Application Development for Dissemination of Air Quality Information

    Science.gov (United States)

    Şahin, K.; Işıkdağ, U.

    2017-11-01

    Various studies have been carried out since 2005 under the leadership of Ministry of Environment and Urbanism of Turkey, in order to observe the quality of air in Turkey, to develop new policies and to develop a sustainable air quality management strategy. For this reason, a national air quality monitoring network has been developed providing air quality indices. By this network, the quality of the air has been continuously monitored and an important information system has been constructed in order to take precautions for preventing a dangerous situation. The biggest handicap in the network is the data access problem for instant and time series data acquisition and processing because of its proprietary structure. Currently, there is no service offered by the current air quality monitoring system for exchanging information with third party applications. Within the context of this work, a web service has been developed to enable location based querying of the current/past air quality data in Turkey. This web service is equipped with up-todate and widely preferred technologies. In other words, an architecture is chosen in which applications can easily integrate. In the second phase of the study, a web-based application was developed to test the developed web service and this testing application can perform location based acquisition of air-quality data. This makes it possible to easily carry out operations such as screening and examination of the area in the given time-frame which cannot be done with the national monitoring network.

  14. Outdoor Air Quality Level Inference via Surveillance Cameras

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zheng Zhang

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Air pollution is a universal problem confronted by many developing countries. Because there are very few air quality monitoring stations in cities, it is difficult for people to know the exact air quality level anytime and anywhere. Fortunately, large amount of surveillance cameras have been deployed in the cities and can capture image densely and conveniently in the cities. In this case, this provides the possibility to utilize surveillance cameras as sensors to obtain data and predict the air quality level. To this end, we present a novel air quality level inference approach based on outdoor images. Firstly, we explore several features extracted from images as the robust representation for air quality prediction. Then, to effectively fuse these heterogeneous and complementary features, we adopt multikernel learning to learn an adaptive classifier for air quality level inference. In addition, to facilitate the research, we construct an Outdoor Air Quality Image Set (OAQIS dataset, which contains high quality registered and calibrated images with rich labels, that is, concentration of particles mass (PM, weather, temperature, humidity, and wind. Extensive experiments on the OAQIS dataset demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach.

  15. Real-time dissemination of air quality information using data streams and Web technologies: linking air quality to health risks in urban areas.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Davila, Silvije; Ilić, Jadranka Pečar; Bešlić, Ivan

    2015-06-01

    This article presents a new, original application of modern information and communication technology to provide effective real-time dissemination of air quality information and related health risks to the general public. Our on-line subsystem for urban real-time air quality monitoring is a crucial component of a more comprehensive integrated information system, which has been developed by the Institute for Medical Research and Occupational Health. It relies on a StreamInsight data stream management system and service-oriented architecture to process data streamed from seven monitoring stations across Zagreb. Parameters that are monitored include gases (NO, NO2, CO, O3, H2S, SO2, benzene, NH3), particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5), and meteorological data (wind speed and direction, temperature and pressure). Streamed data are processed in real-time using complex continuous queries. They first go through automated validation, then hourly air quality index is calculated for every station, and a report sent to the Croatian Environment Agency. If the parameter values exceed the corresponding regulation limits for three consecutive hours, the web service generates an alert for population groups at risk. Coupled with the Common Air Quality Index model, our web application brings air pollution information closer to the general population and raises awareness about environmental and health issues. Soon we intend to expand the service to a mobile application that is being developed.

  16. Indoor air-quality measurements in energy-efficient residential buildings

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Berk, J.V.; Hollowell, C.D.; Pepper, J.H.; Young, R.

    1980-05-01

    The potential impact on indoor air quality of energy-conserving measures that reduce ventilation is being assessed in a field-monitoring program conducted by the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory. Using a mobile laboratory, on-site monitoring of infiltration rate, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, nitric oxide, ozone, sulfur dioxide, formaldehyde, total aldehydes, and particulates was conducted in three houses designed to be energy-efficient. Preliminary results show that energy-conserving design features that reduce air-exchange rates compromise indoor air quality; specifically, indoor levels of several pollutants were found to exceed levels detected outdoors. Although the indoor levels of most pollutants are within limits established by present outdoor air-quality standards, considerable work remains to be accomplished before health-risk effects can be accurately assessed and broad-scale regulatory guidelines revised to comply with energy-conservation goals.

  17. Optimal Design of Air Quality Monitoring Network and its Application in an Oil Refinery Plant: An Approach to Keep Health Satus of Workers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Khaled ZoroufchiBenis

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Background: Industrial air pollution is a growing challenge to humane health, especially in developing countries, where there is no systematic monitoring of air pollution. Given the importance of the availabil­ity of valid information on population exposure to air pollutants, it is important to design an optimal Air Quality Monitoring Network (AQMN for assessing population exposure to air pollution and predicting the magnitude of the health risks to the population. Methods: A multi-pollutant method (implemented as a MATLAB program was explored for configur­ing an AQMN to detect the highest level of pollution around an oil refinery plant. The method ranks potential monitoring sites (grids according to their ability to represent the ambient concentra­tion. The term of cluster of contiguous grids that exceed a threshold value was used to calculate the Station Dosage. Selection of the best configuration of AQMN was done based on the ratio of a sta­tion’s dosage to the total dosage in the network. Results: Six monitoring stations were needed to detect the pollutants concentrations around the study area for estimating the level and distribution of exposure in the population with total network effi­ciency of about 99%. An analysis of the design procedure showed that wind regimes have greatest effect on the location of monitoring stations. Conclusion: The optimal AQMN enables authorities to implement an effective program of air quality management for protecting human health.

  18. The use of air quality index (AQI) in environmental management

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cuesta Santos, Osvaldo; Wallo Vazquez, Antonio; Collazo Aranda, Arnaldo

    2006-01-01

    The air quality index (AQI) is considered a global air quality index in a particular moment or day and in a specific monitoring station. The AQI is to be interpreted as a guiding air quality index for the general public. Specialists should take into account other factors when studying the pollution levels. The behaviour of air pollution is studied by using the AQI in two monitoring points in Regla, where the main pollutants are measured: SO 2 , NO 2 and total suspended particulates. It was founded that particulates and NO 2 are the pollutants that contribute most to the air quality deterioration, which occurs with greater frequency-days in the categories Poor and Bad, and show an increase in the categories Terrible and Critical. The necessary recommendations for the reduction of air pollution are given. The use of this AQI for assessing air pollution in settlements is recommended as a good tool for environmental information and management. A visual scale is proposed to improve and facilitate the public's understanding

  19. Assessment on air quality pattern: a case study in Putrajaya, Malaysia

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Nowadays, air quality problem has become a major issue in Malaysia for the past two decades, This study aims to determine the pattern of the air quality status, investigate the significant pollutant, relationship between air pollutants and API and evaluate the pattern of air pollution. Data from Putrajaya monitoring station ...

  20. A state of the art regarding urban air quality prediction models

    Science.gov (United States)

    Croitoru, Cristiana; Nastase, Ilinca

    2018-02-01

    Urban pollution represents an increasing risk to residents of urban regions, particularly in large, over-industrialized cities knowing that the traffic is responsible for more than 25% of air gaseous pollutants and dust particles. Air quality modelling plays an important role in addressing air pollution control and management approaches by providing guidelines for better and more efficient air quality forecasting, along with smart monitoring sensor networks. The advances in technology regarding simulations, forecasting and monitoring are part of the new smart cities which offers a healthy environment for their occupants.

  1. A state of the art regarding urban air quality prediction models

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Croitoru Cristiana

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Urban pollution represents an increasing risk to residents of urban regions, particularly in large, over-industrialized cities knowing that the traffic is responsible for more than 25% of air gaseous pollutants and dust particles. Air quality modelling plays an important role in addressing air pollution control and management approaches by providing guidelines for better and more efficient air quality forecasting, along with smart monitoring sensor networks. The advances in technology regarding simulations, forecasting and monitoring are part of the new smart cities which offers a healthy environment for their occupants.

  2. Effects of political institutions on air quality

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bernauer, Thomas; Koubi, Vally

    2009-01-01

    We empirically test existing theories on the provision of public goods, in particular air quality, using data on sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ) concentrations from the Global Environment Monitoring Projects for 107 cities in 42 countries from 1971 to 1996. The results are as follows: First, we provide additional support for the claim that the degree of democracy has an independent positive effect on air quality. Second, we find that among democracies, presidential systems are more conducive to air quality than parliamentary ones. Third, in testing competing claims about the effect of interest groups on public goods provision in democracies we establish that labor union strength contributes to lower environmental quality, whereas the strength of green parties has the opposite effect. (author)

  3. A Fleet of Low-Cost Sensor Based Air Quality Monitors Is Used to Measure Carbon Dioxide and Carbon Monoxide in Two Settings: In the Ambient Environment to Explore the Regional-Scale Spatial Variability of These Compounds Via a Distributed Network, and in Homes to Investigate How Heating during Winter Months can Impact Indoor Air Quality.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Casey, J. G.; Hannigan, M.; Collier, A. M.; Coffey, E.; Piedrahita, R.

    2016-12-01

    Affordable, small, portable, quiet tools to measure atmospheric trace gases and air quality enable novel experimental design and new findings. Members of the Hannigan Lab at the University of Colorado in Boulder have been working over the last few years to integrate emerging affordable gas sensors into such an air quality monitor. Presented here are carbon monoxide (CO) and carbon dioxide (CO2) measurements from two field experiments that utilized these tools. In the first experiment, ten air quality monitors were located northeast of Boulder throughout the Denver Julesburg oil and gas basin. The Colorado Department of Health and Environment has several air quality monitoring sites in this broader region, each in an Urban center. One goal of the experiment was to determine whether or not significant spatial variability of EPA criteria pollutants like CO, exists on a sub-regulatory monitoring grid scale. Another goal of the experiment was to compare rural sampling locations with urban sites. The monitors collected continuous data (sampling every 15 seconds) at each location over the course of several months. Our sensor calibration procedures are presented along with our observations and an analysis of the spatial and temporal variability in CO and CO2. In the second experiment, we used eight of our air quality monitors to better understand how home heating fuel type can impact indoor air quality in two communities on the Navajo Nation. We sought to compare air quality in homes using one of four different fuels for heat (wood, wood plus coal, pellet, and gas). There are many factors that contribute to indoor air quality and the impact of an emission source, like a woodstove, within a home. Having multiple, easily deployable, air quality monitors allowed us to account for many of these factors. We sampled four homes at a time, aiming for one home from each of our fuel groups in each sampling period. We sampled inside and outside of each home for a period of 3-4 days

  4. A WEB API AND WEB APPLICATION DEVELOPMENT FOR DISSEMINATION OF AIR QUALITY INFORMATION

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    K. Şahin

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available Various studies have been carried out since 2005 under the leadership of Ministry of Environment and Urbanism of Turkey, in order to observe the quality of air in Turkey, to develop new policies and to develop a sustainable air quality management strategy. For this reason, a national air quality monitoring network has been developed providing air quality indices. By this network, the quality of the air has been continuously monitored and an important information system has been constructed in order to take precautions for preventing a dangerous situation. The biggest handicap in the network is the data access problem for instant and time series data acquisition and processing because of its proprietary structure. Currently, there is no service offered by the current air quality monitoring system for exchanging information with third party applications. Within the context of this work, a web service has been developed to enable location based querying of the current/past air quality data in Turkey. This web service is equipped with up-todate and widely preferred technologies. In other words, an architecture is chosen in which applications can easily integrate. In the second phase of the study, a web-based application was developed to test the developed web service and this testing application can perform location based acquisition of air-quality data. This makes it possible to easily carry out operations such as screening and examination of the area in the given time-frame which cannot be done with the national monitoring network.

  5. Portable air quality sensor unit for participatory monitoring: an end-to-end VESNA-AQ based prototype

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vucnik, Matevz; Robinson, Johanna; Smolnikar, Miha; Kocman, David; Horvat, Milena; Mohorcic, Mihael

    2015-04-01

    Key words: portable air quality sensor, CITI-SENSE, participatory monitoring, VESNA-AQ The emergence of low-cost easy to use portable air quality sensors units is opening new possibilities for individuals to assess their exposure to air pollutants at specific place and time, and share this information through the Internet connection. Such portable sensors units are being used in an ongoing citizen science project called CITI-SENSE, which enables citizens to measure and share the data. The project aims through creating citizens observatories' to empower citizens to contribute to and participate in environmental governance, enabling them to support and influence community and societal priorities as well as associated decision making. An air quality measurement system based on VESNA sensor platform was primarily designed within the project for the use as portable sensor unit in selected pilot cities (Belgrade, Ljubljana and Vienna) for monitoring outdoor exposure to pollutants. However, functionally the same unit with different set of sensors could be used for example as an indoor platform. The version designed for the pilot studies was equipped with the following sensors: NO2, O3, CO, temperature, relative humidity, pressure and accelerometer. The personal sensor unit is battery powered and housed in a plastic box. The VESNA-based air quality (AQ) monitoring system comprises the VESNA-AQ portable sensor unit, a smartphone app and the remote server. Personal sensor unit supports wireless connection to an Android smartphone via built-in Wi-Fi. The smartphone in turn serves also as the communication gateway towards the remote server using any of available data connections. Besides the gateway functionality the role of smartphone is to enrich data coming from the personal sensor unit with the GPS location, timestamps and user defined context. This, together with an accelerometer, enables the user to better estimate ones exposure in relation to physical activities, time

  6. Passive samplers and community science in regional air quality measurement, education and communication.

    Science.gov (United States)

    DeForest Hauser, Cindy; Buckley, Alexandra; Porter, Juliana

    2015-08-01

    Charlotte, in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, was ranked in the top ten cities with the worst air quality for ozone in the United States by the American Lung Association from 2009 to 2011. Nearby counties that may experience similar air quality do not have state or county monitors. This study utilized NOx and ozone Ogawa passive samplers and community scientists to monitor air quality in five counties surrounding Charlotte and increase public engagement in air quality issues. Community scientists deployed samplers weekly at a residential site within each county. Samples were analyzed using spectrophotometry and ion chromatography. Elevated NOx concentrations were observed in four of the five counties relative to those with existing monitors. Ozone concentrations showed little county to county variation, except Iredell and Cabarrus which had higher concentrations than Rowan. Community involvement in this work led to an increase in local dissemination of the results, thus increasing air quality awareness. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. Air Quality Impacts of Petroleum Refining and Petrochemical Industries

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aiswarya Ragothaman

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Though refineries and petrochemical industries meet society’s energy demands and produce a range of useful chemicals, they can also affect air quality. The World Health Organization (WHO has identified polluted air as the single largest environmental risk, and hence it is necessary to strive for and maintain good air quality. To manage potential health impacts, it is important to implement proper air quality management by understanding the link between specific pollutant sources and resulting population exposures. These industries release pollutants such as Volatile Organic Compounds, greenhouse gases and particulate matter, from various parts of their operations. Air quality should be monitored and controlled more meticulously in developing nations where increased energy demands, industrialization and overpopulation has led to more emissions and lower air quality. This paper presents a review of findings and highlights from various studies on air quality impacts of petroleum refining and petrochemical plants in many regions in the world.

  8. New considerations for PM, Black Carbon and particle number concentration for air quality monitoring across different European cities

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    C. Reche

    2011-07-01

    Full Text Available In many large cities of Europe standard air quality limit values of particulate matter (PM are exceeded. Emissions from road traffic and biomass burning are frequently reported to be the major causes. As a consequence of these exceedances a large number of air quality plans, most of them focusing on traffic emissions reductions, have been implemented in the last decade. In spite of this implementation, a number of cities did not record a decrease of PM levels. Thus, is the efficiency of air quality plans overestimated? Do the road traffic emissions contribute less than expected to ambient air PM levels in urban areas? Or do we need a more specific metric to evaluate the impact of the above emissions on the levels of urban aerosols?

    This study shows the results of the interpretation of the 2009 variability of levels of PM, Black Carbon (BC, aerosol number concentration (N and a number of gaseous pollutants in seven selected urban areas covering road traffic, urban background, urban-industrial, and urban-shipping environments from southern, central and northern Europe.

    The results showed that variations of PM and N levels do not always reflect the variation of the impact of road traffic emissions on urban aerosols. However, BC levels vary proportionally with those of traffic related gaseous pollutants, such as CO, NO2 and NO. Due to this high correlation, one may suppose that monitoring the levels of these gaseous pollutants would be enough to extrapolate exposure to traffic-derived BC levels. However, the BC/CO, BC/NO2 and BC/NO ratios vary widely among the cities studied, as a function of distance to traffic emissions, vehicle fleet composition and the influence of other emission sources such as biomass burning. Thus, levels of BC should be measured at air quality monitoring sites.

    During morning traffic rush hours, a narrow variation in the N/BC ratio was evidenced, but a wide variation of

  9. Comparison of Calibration Techniques for Low-Cost Air Quality Monitoring

    Science.gov (United States)

    Malings, C.; Ramachandran, S.; Tanzer, R.; Kumar, S. P. N.; Hauryliuk, A.; Zimmerman, N.; Presto, A. A.

    2017-12-01

    Assessing the intra-city spatial distribution and temporal variability of air quality can be facilitated by a dense network of monitoring stations. However, the cost of implementing such a network can be prohibitive if high-quality but high-cost monitoring systems are used. To this end, the Real-time Affordable Multi-Pollutant (RAMP) sensor package has been developed at the Center for Atmospheric Particle Studies of Carnegie Mellon University, in collaboration with SenSevere LLC. This self-contained unit can measure up to five gases out of CO, SO2, NO, NO2, O3, VOCs, and CO2, along with temperature and relative humidity. Responses of individual gas sensors can vary greatly even when exposed to the same ambient conditions. Those of VOC sensors in particular were observed to vary by a factor-of-8, which suggests that each sensor requires its own calibration model. To this end, we apply and compare two different calibration methods to data collected by RAMP sensors collocated with a reference monitor station. The first method, random forest (RF) modeling, is a rule-based method which maps sensor responses to pollutant concentrations by implementing a trained sequence of decision rules. RF modeling has previously been used for other RAMP gas sensors by the group, and has produced precise calibrated measurements. However, RF models can only predict pollutant concentrations within the range observed in the training data collected during the collocation period. The second method, Gaussian process (GP) modeling, is a probabilistic Bayesian technique whereby broad prior estimates of pollutant concentrations are updated using sensor responses to generate more refined posterior predictions, as well as allowing predictions beyond the range of the training data. The accuracy and precision of these techniques are assessed and compared on VOC data collected during the summer of 2017 in Pittsburgh, PA. By combining pollutant data gathered by each RAMP sensor and applying

  10. Air quality assessment of carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide and ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Tumwitike

    Technology ... Biochemical Sciences Department, University of Malawi, Private Bag 303, Blantyre 3 ... urban air quality monitoring in Blantyre and all urban areas in Malawi. ... Key words: Air pollutants, principal component analysis, developing ...

  11. Air Quality Pattern Assessment in Malaysia Using Multivariate Techniques

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hamza Ahmad Isiyaka; Azman Azid

    2015-01-01

    This study aims to investigate the spatial characteristics in the pattern of air quality monitoring sites, identify the most discriminating parameters contributing to air pollution, and predict the level of air pollution index (API) in Malaysia using multivariate techniques. Five parameters observed for five years (2000-2004) were used. Hierarchical agglomerative cluster analysis classified the five air quality monitoring sites into two independent groups based on the characteristics of activities in the monitoring stations. Discriminate analysis for standard, backward stepwise and forward stepwise mode gave a correct assignation of more than 87 % in the confusion matrix. This result indicates that only three parameters (PM_1_0, SO_2 and NO_2) with a p<0.0001 discriminate best in polluting the air. The major possible sources of air pollution were identified using principal component analysis that account for more than 58 % and 60 % in the total variance. Based on the findings, anthropogenic activities (vehicular emission, industrial activities, construction sites, bush burning) have a strong influence in the source of air pollution. Furthermore, artificial neural network (ANN) was used to predict the level of air pollution index at R"2 = 0.8493 and RMSE = 5.9184. This indicates that ANN can predict more than 84 % of the API. (author)

  12. Assessment of indoor air quality in comparison using air conditioning and fan system in printing premise

    OpenAIRE

    Ramlan Nazirah; Nurhalimatul Husna Ahmad Siti; Aminuddin Eeydzah; Abdul Hamid Hazrul; Khalijah Yaman Siti; Halid Abdullah Abd

    2017-01-01

    Printers contribute to various emissions consist with chemical contaminants. High concentration of the particulate matter can cause serious health problems. This study focuses on the indoor air quality in printing premise unit in Universiti Tun Hussein Onn, Malaysia. Field testing involving air sampling methods were taken from 900 hours to 1600 hours, for every 30 minutes using physical measurement which is Multi-Channel Air Quality Monitor (YESAIR), E-Sampler and Ozone Meter. Air sampling wa...

  13. Air quality impact of the Nanticoke industrial development

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sahota, H.; Kiely, P.; Lusis, M.

    1985-07-01

    This paper discusses the results of the air quality monitoring activities, especially for three of the Ontario Ministry of the Environment's criteria pollutants (SO/sub 2/, O/sub 3/, and total suspended particulates). In the early 1960's Nanticoke Hamlet, located on the northern shore of Lake Erie, was selected for a large industrial development program. The first phase saw the commissioning of a 4000 MW Ontario Hydro thermal generating station, a 100,000 bbl day/sup -1/ Texaco refinery and a Stelco steel plant with an initial annual capacity of 1.7 x 10/sup 6/ tonnes. Favorable climatological data was one of the criteria used for selecting this site. Extensive monitoring of ambient air and water quality was carried out prior to the construction phase of the program. Post operation monitoring has also been done on a continuous basis. The data collected to date indicate that the impact of the industrial activity on air quality in the Haldimand-Norfolk region has been very small, with less than 20 exceedances per year of the hourly air quality criterion for SO/sub 2/ (250 ppb) being observed across the network, and total suspended particulates being similar to other rural locations in Ontario. Only O/sub 3/ has a substantial number of exceedances of the criterion (80 ppb hourly average) during the summer months, primarily due to long-range transport into the area from across Lake Erie. 11 references, 3 tables.

  14. Analysis of hospital interior air quality audits

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lin Lee-Kuo

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available In general, people spent more than 80∼90% of living time in the indoor every day, human health and indoor environmental quality are closely related. The hospital has a complex and unique environmental characteristics, medical personnel and patients are prolonged exposed to risk factors in a variety of environments. Therefore, the merits of indoor air quality in the hospital, not only has a threat to the health of medical personnel and patients, but also will directly affect the quality and efficiency of health care work. A regular monitoring can, improve and maintain a well of indoor air quality, thus ensuring the safety maintenance of medical personnel and patients in hospital, it has become an important issue for hospital. This study has literatures review to collate and analyse that are related issues with indoor air quality. Then measures the indoor air quality test with direct-reading instruments. In selected hospital of this study were field-tested, then use the measured data in the field, discussion and analysis of the causes of air pollutants and the establishment of the sensing area of pollutants Concentration empirical mode.

  15. A Fuzzy Expression Way for Air Quality Index with More Comprehensive Information

    OpenAIRE

    Yujie Wang; Mingxuan Zhao; Yulin Han; Jian Zhou

    2017-01-01

    The Air Quality Index (AQI) is an evaluating indicator for the atmospheric environment released by various environmental monitoring centers to communicate the present air quality status to the public, which is calculated by the aid of the monitored concentrations of six common air pollutants and relevant computational formulae. Considering that the historical data of daily overall AQI illustrated by the traditional expression way merely contain limited information about the original data, thi...

  16. Large scale air monitoring: Biological indicators versus air particulate matter

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rossbach, M.; Jayasekera, R.; Kniewald, G.

    2000-01-01

    Biological indicator organisms are widely used for monitoring and banking purposes since many years. Although the complexity of the interactions between bioorganisms and their environment is generally not easily comprehensible, environmental quality assessment using the bioindicator approach offers some convincing advantages compared to direct analysis of soil, water, or air. Direct measurement of air particulates is restricted to experienced laboratories with access to expensive sampling equipment. Additionally, the amount of material collected generally is just enough for one determination per sampling and no multidimensional characterization might be possible. Further, fluctuations in air masses have a pronounced effect on the results from air filter sampling. Combining the integrating property of bioindicators with the world wide availability and uniform matrix characteristics of air particulates as a prerequisite for global monitoring of air pollution will be discussed. A new approach for sampling urban dust using large volume filtering devices installed in air conditioners of large hotel buildings is assessed. A first experiment was initiated to collect air particulates (300 to 500 g each) from a number of hotels during a period of three to four months by successive vacuum cleaning of used inlet filters from high volume air conditioning installations reflecting average concentrations per three months in different large cities. This approach is expected to be upgraded and applied for global monitoring. Highly positive correlated elements were found in lichen such as K/S, Zn/P, the rare earth elements (REE) and a significant negative correlation between Fig and Cu was observed in these samples. The ratio of concentrations of elements in dust and Usnea spp. is highest for Cr, Zn, and Fe (400-200) and lowest for elements such as Ca, Rb, and Sr (20-10). (author)

  17. BAQMAP Air Quality Monitoring and Surveillance Program for Botswana. Mission 2 Report 27 January - 18 February 1997

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bekkestad, T.

    1997-12-31

    This report is concerned with Mission 2 of a joint project between the authorities in Botswana and Norway on the development of an air pollution monitoring and surveillance program for Botswana. Mission 2 was undertaken as part of the annual meeting on 4 February 1997. Discussions and decision on the air quality program was performed after the annual meeting. Passive samplers for SO{sub 2} and NO{sub 2} were installed in Selebi-Phikwe and Francistown. The samplers measured air pollution from the BCL smelter and traffic, respectively, during the first two weeks of February 1997. The samplers have been analysed and the results are given in this report, which also includes a status report. 13 tabs.

  18. Data Quality Objectives Supporting Radiological Air Emissions Monitoring for the PNNL Richland Campus

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Snyder, Sandra F. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Moleta, Donna Grace L. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Meier, Kirsten M. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Barnett, John M. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)

    2017-12-31

    This is the second revision of the DQO Supporting Radiological Air Emissions Monitoring for the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Richland Campus. In January 2017, the PNNL Richland Campus expanded to the north by 0.35 km2 (85.6 acres). Under the requirements of Washington State Department of Health Radioactive Air Emissions License (RAEL)-005, the PNNL Campus operates and maintains a radiological air monitoring program. This revision documents and evaluates the newly acquired acreage while also removing recreational land at the southwest, and also re-examines all active radioactive emission units on the PNNL Campus. No buildings are located on this new Campus land, which was transferred from the U.S. DOE Hanford Site. Additionally, this revision includes information regarding the background monitoring station PNL-5 in Benton City, Washington, which became active in October 2016. The key purpose of this revision is to determine the adequacy of the existing environmental surveillance stations to monitor radiological air emissions in light of this northern boundary change.

  19. Outlier Detection in Urban Air Quality Sensor Networks

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Zoest, V.M.; Stein, A.; Hoek, Gerard

    2018-01-01

    Low-cost urban air quality sensor networks are increasingly used to study the spatio-temporal variability in air pollutant concentrations. Recently installed low-cost urban sensors, however, are more prone to result in erroneous data than conventional monitors, e.g., leading to outliers. Commonly

  20. Improving indoor air quality through the use of continual multipoint monitoring of carbon dioxide and dew point.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bearg, D W

    1998-09-01

    This article summarizes an approach for improving the indoor air quality (IAQ) in a building by providing feedback on the performance of the ventilation system. The delivery of adequate quantities of ventilation to all building occupants is necessary for the achievement of good IAQ. Feedback on the performance includes information on the adequacy of ventilation provided, the effectiveness of the distribution of this air, the adequacy of the duration of operation of the ventilation system, and the identification of leakage into the return plenum, either of outdoor or supply air. Keeping track of ventilation system performance is important not only in terms of maintaining good IAQ, but also making sure that this system continues to perform as intended after changes in building use. Information on the performance of the ventilation system is achieved by means of an automated sampling system that draws air from multiple locations and delivers it to both a carbon dioxide monitor and dew point sensor. The use of single shared sensors facilitates calibration checks as well as helps to guarantee data integrity. This approach to monitoring a building's ventilation system offers the possibility of achieving sustainable performance of this important aspect of good IAQ.

  1. End-user perspective of low-cost sensors for outdoor air pollution monitoring.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rai, Aakash C; Kumar, Prashant; Pilla, Francesco; Skouloudis, Andreas N; Di Sabatino, Silvana; Ratti, Carlo; Yasar, Ansar; Rickerby, David

    2017-12-31

    Low-cost sensor technology can potentially revolutionise the area of air pollution monitoring by providing high-density spatiotemporal pollution data. Such data can be utilised for supplementing traditional pollution monitoring, improving exposure estimates, and raising community awareness about air pollution. However, data quality remains a major concern that hinders the widespread adoption of low-cost sensor technology. Unreliable data may mislead unsuspecting users and potentially lead to alarming consequences such as reporting acceptable air pollutant levels when they are above the limits deemed safe for human health. This article provides scientific guidance to the end-users for effectively deploying low-cost sensors for monitoring air pollution and people's exposure, while ensuring reasonable data quality. We review the performance characteristics of several low-cost particle and gas monitoring sensors and provide recommendations to end-users for making proper sensor selection by summarizing the capabilities and limitations of such sensors. The challenges, best practices, and future outlook for effectively deploying low-cost sensors, and maintaining data quality are also discussed. For data quality assurance, a two-stage sensor calibration process is recommended, which includes laboratory calibration under controlled conditions by the manufacturer supplemented with routine calibration checks performed by the end-user under final deployment conditions. For large sensor networks where routine calibration checks are impractical, statistical techniques for data quality assurance should be utilised. Further advancements and adoption of sophisticated mathematical and statistical techniques for sensor calibration, fault detection, and data quality assurance can indeed help to realise the promised benefits of a low-cost air pollution sensor network. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  2. Health and air quality 2005 : phase 2 : valuation of health impacts from air quality in the Lower Fraser Valley airshed

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Furberg, M.; Preston, K. [RWDI West Inc., Vancouver, BC (Canada); Sawyer, D. [Marbek Resource Consultants Ltd., Ottawa, ON (Canada); Brauer, M. [British Columbia Univ., Vancouver, BC (Canada). School of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene; Hanvelt, R. [British Columbia Univ., Vancouver, BC (Canada). Dept. of Health Care and Epidemiology

    2005-07-15

    This study provided estimates the health benefits and costs associated with specified changes in ambient air concentrations of particulate matter (PM) and ozone in the Lower Fraser Valley (LFV). Estimates were developed on a regional level. The study focused on PM and ozone, as current air quality monitoring data and scientific findings have indicated that these are the air contaminants of greatest concern in the region. Known air quality health outcome relationships were applied in a spreadsheet model to predict changes in health outcomes associated with 6 ambient air quality scenarios for 3 sub-regions within the LFV airshed. Concentration response functions based on epidemiological studies were used to estimate the number of health events associated with changes in air quality. For each scenario, the model calculated the expected number of the following health outcomes: mortality; chronic bronchitis; respiratory hospital admissions; cardiac hospital admissions; emergency room visits; child acute bronchitis; restricted activity days; asthma symptom days; minor restricted activity days and acute respiratory symptom days. The model also produced the dollar value of the health outcomes. A dollar metric was used so that the health outcomes could be aggregated and compared with other air quality management actions such the costs of improving ambient air quality. Results indicated that improving ambient air quality in the LFV will produce valued and socially desirable benefits, including reduced mortality and morbidity. The measures contemplated by decision-makers to maintain and improve air quality in the LFV will trigger benefits that are likely to be significant. 101 refs., 7 tabs., 7 figs.

  3. Air quality monitoring in Pakistan

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ghauri, B.; Lodhi, A.

    2005-01-01

    Clean air is an important prerequisite for sustainable economic development and is a basic requirement for human health and welfare. The baseline information helps the policy maker in decision making and future planning such as industrial and economic development, establishment and implementation of environmental guidelines etc. Pakistan is a developing country and is confronted with a number of severe environmental problems, such as degradation of natural resources, industrial and vehicle related pollution, degradation of human health etc. SUPARCO has conducted a year long (2003-2004) baseline air quality study in the major urban areas of the country including Karachi, Lahore, Quetta, Rawalpindi, Islamabad and Peshawar in collaboration with ENERCON/ UNDP. The objectives of this study were to establish baseline levels and behavior of ambient airborne pollutants in urban centers with temporal and spatial parameters. Our study reveals that the maximum concentrations of CO were observed at Quetta (38 ppm) while other pollutants like SO/sub 2/, (52.5 ppb), NO/sub x/ (60.75 ppb), and 03 (44.8) were higher at Lahore compared to other urban areas of the country like Karachi, Peshawar etc. Maximum levels of all these pollutants were found in summer months. Comparatively lower concentrations of these pollutants were observed in Islamabad/Rawalpindi including CO (13.6 ppm), NO/sub x/ (41 ppb), SO/sub 2/ (32 ppb) and 03 (24.7 ppb). The maximum Particulate (TSP) and PM 10 levels were observed at Lahore (990,372 micro g/m3), Karachi (410, 306 micro g/m3), and in Quetta (778, 290 micro g/m3) etc. Airborne trace/ toxic metals including Pb, along with noise level were also determined. The existing levels of these pollutants were correlated with meteorological data (temperature, humidity, wind speed, wind direction) to assess the pollutant dispersion, as well as source apportionment. A data bank of the study will be prepared for air pollution impact studies. (author)

  4. Environment quality monitoring using ARM processor

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vinaya, C. H.; Krishna Thanikanti, Vamsi; Ramasamy, Sudha

    2017-11-01

    This paper of air quality monitoring system describes a model of sensors network to continuously monitoring the environment with low cost developed model. At present time all over the world turned into a great revolution in industrial domain and on the other hand environment get polluting in a dangerous value. There are so many technologies present to reduce the polluting contents but still there is no completely reduction of that pollution. Even there are different methods to monitor the pollution content; these are much costly that not everyone can adapt those methods or devices. Now we are proposing a sensors connected network to monitor the environment continuously and displaying the pollutant gases percentage in air surroundings and can transmit the results to our mobiles by message. The advantage of this system is easy to design, establish at area to monitor, maintenance and most cost effective as well.

  5. [Schools, office buildings, leisure settings: diversity of indoor air quality issues. Global review on indoor air quality in these settings].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mandin, C; Derbez, M; Kirchner, S

    2012-07-01

    This review provides a global overview of indoor air quality issues in schools, office buildings and recreational settings. It presents the most recent scientific publications and the on-going work conducted in France in the frame of the indoor air quality Observatory. Monitoring campaigns on indoor air quality in schools have been carried out in the recent years in Europe. However, few studies have specifically addressed the role of exposure in these buildings on children's health. Indoor air quality in office buildings has been little studied so far. However, some specificities, such as emissions from electronic devices, frequent cleaning, impossibility to open windows in high-rise buildings, for example, should be examined and their role on the health and comfort studied. Finally, even if the time spent in recreational settings is short, the quality of indoor air should also be considered because of specific pollution. This is the case of indoor swimming pools (exposure to chlorination byproducts) and ice-rinks (exposure to exhaust from machines used to smooth the ice). Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  6. Greater Baltimore Open Air: an Internet of Things (IoT) approach to citizen science and community-driven climate, air quality, and urban heat island monitoring

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scott, A.; Kelley, C.; Azdoud, Y.; Ambikapathi, R.; Hobson, M.; Lehman, A.; Ghugare, P.; He, C.; Zaitchik, B. F.; Waugh, D.; McCormack, M.; Baja, K.

    2017-12-01

    Anthropogenic activities alter the urban surface and surface atmosphere, generating heat and pollutants that have known detrimental impacts on health. Monitoring these environmental variables in urban environments is made difficult by the spatial heterogeneity of urban environments, meaning that two nearby locations may have significantly different temperatures, humidities, or gas concentrations. Thus, urban monitoring often requires more densely placed monitors than current standards or budgets allow. Recent advances in low-cost sensors and Internet of Things (IoT) enabled hardware offer possible solutions. We present an autonomous wireless, open-source, IoT-enabled environmental monitor called a WeatherCube, developed for the Greater Baltimore Open Air project, funded in part by the EPA SmartCity Challenge. The WeatherCube is suitable for urban monitoring and capable of measuring meteorological variables (temperature and humidity) as well as air quality (ozone, nitrogen dioxide, and sulfur dioxide). The WeatherCube devices were built in collaboration with Johns Hopkins University, local government, and community members, including through an innovative job training program. Monitors are hosted by community partners and libraries throughout Baltimore city and surrounding communities. We present the first wave of data collected by the Greater Baltimore Open Air project and compare it to data collected by the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE). Additionally, we will provide an overview of our experience engaging with the local makers, citizen scientists, and environmental groups to improve their urban environmental monitoring. By developing low-cost devices tailored for urban environmental monitoring, we present an innovative model for both conducting research and community outreach.

  7. Performance Evaluation of the Operational Air Quality Monitor for Water Testing Aboard the International Space Station

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wallace, William T.; Limero, Thomas F.; Gazda, Daniel B.; Minton, John M.; Macatangay, Ariel V.; Dwivedi, Prabha; Fernandez, Facundo M.

    2014-01-01

    Real-time environmental monitoring on ISS is necessary to provide data in a timely fashion and to help ensure astronaut health. Current real-time water TOC monitoring provides high-quality trending information, but compound-specific data is needed. The combination of ETV with the AQM showed that compounds of interest could be liberated from water and analyzed in the same manner as air sampling. Calibration of the AQM using water samples allowed for the quantitative analysis of ISS archival samples. Some calibration issues remain, but the excellent accuracy of DMSD indicates that ETV holds promise for as a sample introduction method for water analysis in spaceflight.

  8. Air pollution sources, impact and monitoring

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Qureshi, I.H.

    1999-01-01

    Improper management of socio-economic developmental activities has put a great stress on natural resources and eco-systems and has caused environmental degradation. Indiscriminate release of toxic substances into the atmosphere from power generation, industrial operations, transportation, incineration of waste and other operations has affected the quality of ambient air. Combustion of fossil fuel results in the emission of oxides of carbon, sulfur and nitrogen, particulate and organic compounds which affect the local, regional and global environment. Industrial operations release a wide variety of pollutants which directly affect the local environment. Operation of automobiles releases oxides of carbon, sulfur and nitrogen, hydrocarbons, traces of heavy metals and toxic polycyclic aromatic compounds whereas incineration of municipal waste releases particulate, acid fumes and photochemically reactive and odorous compounds. These air pollutants have varying impacts on health and environment. The intake of polluted air may produce various physiological disorders ranging from respiratory diseases to changes in blood chemistry. Therefore, the emission of pollutants should be controlled at the source and monitoring the levels of pollution should assess the quality of air. (author)

  9. 75 FR 81126 - Revisions to Lead Ambient Air Monitoring Requirements

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-12-27

    ... tons per year of lead is necessary to provide sufficient information about airborne lead levels near... Revisions to Lead Ambient Air Monitoring Requirements AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). ACTION...) that revised the primary and secondary National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for lead and...

  10. Air quality monitoring of the post-operative recovery room and locations surrounding operating theaters in a medical center in Taiwan.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chin-Sheng Tang

    Full Text Available To prevent surgical site infection (SSI, the airborne microbial concentration in operating theaters must be reduced. The air quality in operating theaters and nearby areas is also important to healthcare workers. Therefore, this study assessed air quality in the post-operative recovery room, locations surrounding the operating theater area, and operating theaters in a medical center. Temperature, relative humidity (RH, and carbon dioxide (CO2, suspended particulate matter (PM, and bacterial concentrations were monitored weekly over one year. Measurement results reveal clear differences in air quality in different operating theater areas. The post-operative recovery room had significantly higher CO2 and bacterial concentrations than other locations. Bacillus spp., Micrococcus spp., and Staphylococcus spp. bacteria often existed in the operating theater area. Furthermore, Acinetobacter spp. was the main pathogen in the post-operative recovery room (18% and traumatic surgery room (8%. The mixed effect models reveal a strong correlation between number of people in a space and high CO2 concentration after adjusting for sampling locations. In conclusion, air quality in the post-operative recovery room and operating theaters warrants attention, and merits long-term surveillance to protect both surgical patients and healthcare workers.

  11. Air quality monitoring of the post-operative recovery room and locations surrounding operating theaters in a medical center in Taiwan.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tang, Chin-Sheng; Wan, Gwo-Hwa

    2013-01-01

    To prevent surgical site infection (SSI), the airborne microbial concentration in operating theaters must be reduced. The air quality in operating theaters and nearby areas is also important to healthcare workers. Therefore, this study assessed air quality in the post-operative recovery room, locations surrounding the operating theater area, and operating theaters in a medical center. Temperature, relative humidity (RH), and carbon dioxide (CO2), suspended particulate matter (PM), and bacterial concentrations were monitored weekly over one year. Measurement results reveal clear differences in air quality in different operating theater areas. The post-operative recovery room had significantly higher CO2 and bacterial concentrations than other locations. Bacillus spp., Micrococcus spp., and Staphylococcus spp. bacteria often existed in the operating theater area. Furthermore, Acinetobacter spp. was the main pathogen in the post-operative recovery room (18%) and traumatic surgery room (8%). The mixed effect models reveal a strong correlation between number of people in a space and high CO2 concentration after adjusting for sampling locations. In conclusion, air quality in the post-operative recovery room and operating theaters warrants attention, and merits long-term surveillance to protect both surgical patients and healthcare workers.

  12. Fiber-optic based instrumentation for water and air monitoring

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    MacCraith, B.D.

    1991-01-01

    In this paper real-time in-situ water and air monitoring capabilities based on fiber-optic sensing technology are described. This relatively new technology combines advances in fiber optic and optoelectronics with chemical spectorscopic techniques to enable field environmental monitoring of sub ppm quantities of specific pollutants. The advantages of this technology over conventional sampling methods are outlined. As it is the more developed area the emphasis is on water quality monitoring rather than air. Examples of commercially available, soon-to be available and laboratory systems are presented. One such example is a system used to detect hydrocarbon spills and leaking of underground hydrocarbon storage tanks

  13. ANITA Air Monitoring on the International Space Station: Results Compared to Other Measurements

    Science.gov (United States)

    Honne, A.; Schumann-Olsen, H.; Kaspersen, K.; Limero, T.; Macatangay, A.; Mosebach, H.; Kampf, D.; Mudgett, P. D.; James, J. T.; Tan, G.; hide

    2009-01-01

    ANITA (Analysing Interferometer for Ambient Air) is a flight experiment precursor for a permanent continuous air quality monitoring system on the ISS (International Space Station). For the safety of the crew, ANITA can detect and quantify quasi-online and simultaneously 33 gas compounds in the air with ppm or sub-ppm detection limits. The autonomous measurement system is based on FTIR (Fourier Transform Infra-Red spectroscopy). The system represents a versatile air quality monitor, allowing for the first time the detection and monitoring of trace gas dynamics in a spacecraft atmosphere. ANITA operated on the ISS from September 2007 to August 2008. This paper summarizes the results of ANITA s air analyses with emphasis on comparisons to other measurements. The main basis of comparison is NASA s set of grab samples taken onboard the ISS and analysed on ground applying various GC-based (Gas Chromatography) systems.

  14. Ambient air monitoring to support HLW repository site characterization

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fransioli, P.M.; Dixon, W.R.

    1993-01-01

    Site characterization at the Yucca Mountain site includes an ambient air quality and meteorological monitoring program to provide information for environmental and site characterization issues. The program is designed to provide data for four basic purposes: Atmospheric dispersion calculations to estimate impacts of possible airborne releases of radiological material; Engineering design and extreme weather event characterization; Local climate studies for environmental impact analyses and climate characterization; and, Air quality permits required for site characterization work. The program is compiling a database that will provide the basis for analyses and reporting related to the purposes of the program. Except for reporting particulate matter and limited meteorological data to the State of Nevada for an air quality permit condition, the data have yet to be formally analyzed and reported

  15. Urban air quality assessment using monitoring data of fractionized aerosol samples, chemometrics and meteorological conditions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yotova, Galina I; Tsitouridou, Roxani; Tsakovski, Stefan L; Simeonov, Vasil D

    2016-01-01

    The present article deals with assessment of urban air by using monitoring data for 10 different aerosol fractions (0.015-16 μm) collected at a typical urban site in City of Thessaloniki, Greece. The data set was subject to multivariate statistical analysis (cluster analysis and principal components analysis) and, additionally, to HYSPLIT back trajectory modeling in order to assess in a better way the impact of the weather conditions on the pollution sources identified. A specific element of the study is the effort to clarify the role of outliers in the data set. The reason for the appearance of outliers is strongly related to the atmospheric condition on the particular sampling days leading to enhanced concentration of pollutants (secondary emissions, sea sprays, road and soil dust, combustion processes) especially for ultra fine and coarse particles. It is also shown that three major sources affect the urban air quality of the location studied-sea sprays, mineral dust and anthropogenic influences (agricultural activity, combustion processes, and industrial sources). The level of impact is related to certain extent to the aerosol fraction size. The assessment of the meteorological conditions leads to defining of four downwind patterns affecting the air quality (Pelagic, Western and Central Europe, Eastern and Northeastern Europe and Africa and Southern Europe). Thus, the present study offers a complete urban air assessment taking into account the weather conditions, pollution sources and aerosol fractioning.

  16. Biomagnetic monitoring as a validation tool for local air quality models: a case study for an urban street canyon.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hofman, Jelle; Samson, Roeland

    2014-09-01

    Biomagnetic monitoring of tree leaf deposited particles has proven to be a good indicator of the ambient particulate concentration. The objective of this study is to apply this method to validate a local-scale air quality model (ENVI-met), using 96 tree crown sampling locations in a typical urban street canyon. To the best of our knowledge, the application of biomagnetic monitoring for the validation of pollutant dispersion modeling is hereby presented for the first time. Quantitative ENVI-met validation showed significant correlations between modeled and measured results throughout the entire in-leaf period. ENVI-met performed much better at the first half of the street canyon close to the ring road (r=0.58-0.79, RMSE=44-49%), compared to second part (r=0.58-0.64, RMSE=74-102%). The spatial model behavior was evaluated by testing effects of height, azimuthal position, tree position and distance from the main pollution source on the obtained model results and magnetic measurements. Our results demonstrate that biomagnetic monitoring seems to be a valuable method to evaluate the performance of air quality models. Due to the high spatial and temporal resolution of this technique, biomagnetic monitoring can be applied anywhere in the city (where urban green is present) to evaluate model performance at different spatial scales. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. Uncertainty in air quality observations using low-cost sensors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Castell, Nuria; Dauge, Franck R.; Dongol, Rozina; Vogt, Matthias; Schneider, Philipp

    2016-04-01

    Air pollution poses a threat to human health, and the WHO has classified air pollution as the world's largest single environmental health risk. In Europe, the majority of the population lives in areas where air quality levels frequently exceed WHO's ambient air quality guidelines. The emergence of low-cost, user-friendly and very compact air pollution platforms allowing observations at high spatial resolution in near real-time, provides us with new opportunities to simultaneously enhance existing monitoring systems as well as enable citizens to engage in more active environmental monitoring (citizen science). However the data sets generated by low-cost sensors show often questionable data quality. For many sensors, neither their error characteristics nor how their measurement capability holds up over time or through a range of environmental conditions, have been evaluated. We have conducted an exhaustive evaluation of the commercial low-cost platform AQMesh (measuring NO, NO2, CO, O3, PM10 and PM2.5) in laboratory and in real-world conditions in the city of Oslo (Norway). Co-locations in field of 24 platforms were conducted over a 6 month period (April to September 2015) allowing to characterize the temporal variability in the performance. Additionally, the field performance included the characterization on different monitoring urban monitoring sites characteristic of both traffic and background conditions. All the evaluations have been conducted against CEN reference method analyzers maintained according to the Norwegian National Reference Laboratory quality system. The results show clearly that a good performance in laboratory does not imply similar performance in real-world outdoor conditions. Moreover, laboratory calibration is not suitable for subsequent measurements in urban environments. In order to reduce the errors, sensors require on-site field calibration. Even after such field calibration, the platforms show a significant variability in the performance

  18. Twenty years of measurement of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in UK ambient air by nationwide air quality networks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brown, Andrew S; Brown, Richard J C; Coleman, Peter J; Conolly, Christopher; Sweetman, Andrew J; Jones, Kevin C; Butterfield, David M; Sarantaridis, Dimitris; Donovan, Brian J; Roberts, Ian

    2013-06-01

    The impact of human activities on the health of the population and of the wider environment has prompted action to monitor the presence of toxic compounds in the atmosphere. Toxic organic micropollutants (TOMPs) are some of the most insidious and persistent of these pollutants. Since 1991 the United Kingdom has operated nationwide air quality networks to assess the presence of TOMPs, including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), in ambient air. The data produced in 2010 marked 20 years of nationwide PAH monitoring. This paper marks this milestone by providing a novel and critical review of the data produced since nationwide monitoring began up to the end of 2011 (the latest year for which published data is available), discussing how the networks performing this monitoring has evolved, and elucidating trends in the concentrations of the PAHs measured. The current challenges in the area and a forward look to the future of air quality monitoring for PAHs are also discussed briefly.

  19. Air quality: ADEME's strategic orientations - Period 2015-2020

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2015-06-01

    This publication presents orientations which are to be implemented by the ADEME at the national and regional level between 2015 and 2020 regarding outdoor and indoor air quality. These strategic orientations aim at developing knowledge and necessary tools for the implementation of efficient actions of preservation and improvement of air quality, at contributing to the implementation of innovative actions for the preservation and improvement of air quality in territories and at diffusing good practices, and at better taking air quality into account in all the actions undertaken by the Agency. After an overview of the present status of air quality, and of related planning and regulations, this report elaborates these orientations for the different sectors: transport and mobility, building and land planning, agriculture and forest, and industry. The last part addresses the operation implementation in territories, the system for outdoor air quality monitoring, the evolution of actions undertaken by the ADEME, and the implementation of R and D actions

  20. In train air quality analysis of the public railway transit and public ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This study analyze the trend of in-train air quality in KTM Commuter in upstream and downstream lines, identify public's perception and knowledge on in-train air quality. Real time monitoring was conducted by measuring five indoor air parameters (CO2, CO, PM10, temperature and humidity) along Klang Valley Line from ...

  1. A Summary of OMI NO2 Data for Air Quality Applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Duncan, Bryan N.; Lamsal, Lok N.; Yoshida, Yasuko; Thompson, Anne M.

    2016-01-01

    As a member of NASA's Air Quality Applied Sciences Team (AQAST), I will update air quality managers on the status of various NASA satellite datasets that are relevant for air quality applications. I will also present a new website that contains NASA Aura OMI nitrogen dioxide data and shows US city trends and comparisons to EPA surface monitor data. Since this is the final AQAST meeting, I will summarize my contributions to AQAST over the last five years.

  2. Air pollution monitoring in Amman, Jordan

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Al-Hasaan, A.A.; Dann, T.F.; Brunet, P.F.

    1992-01-01

    In 1985, a collaborative research program was established between the Royal Scientific Society of Jordan and Environment Canada, Pollution Measurement Division, Ottawa, Canada, with the objective of developing an air pollution monitoring network for Amman and preparing recommendations for national air quality standards and national emission standards for Jordan. Four monitoring sites were established in residential and commercial areas of Amman. Carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, sulphur dioxide and total suspended particle matter (TSP) were measured at the Downtown station. At the other sites only TSP was measured. A short-term monitoring program carried out with a mobile monitoring unit showed relatively low levels of sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide and nitrogen dioxide at the RSS, Naser and Marka sites as compared to the Downtown site. Continuous analyzers purchased from Environment SA, France, were used to measure sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide and nitrogen dioxide; Sierra-Anderson high volume samplers equipped with glass fiber filters were used to collect total suspended particulates samples. Gaseous pollutants were continuously measured at the Downtown site and TSP samplers were operated on a three day schedule at all sites. Sampling began in July 1986 and continues to the present

  3. Emission of pollutants and the dynamics of air quality in Ida-Viru County in 1995-1998

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liblik, Valdo; Kundel, Helmut; Maalma, Kaiu

    1999-01-01

    The organisation of monitoring atmospheric air in Ida-Viru County is described and data on the emission of pollutants in 1995-1998 are presented by industrial enterprises and by individual pollutants. A thorough analysis of the concentration of pollutants in the atmospheric air and air quality of towns and concrete air monitoring data are presented. Changes in the air quality are analysed by towns as well as by pollutants. An analysis of the dynamics of the changes in emissions and air quality showed that after a low concentration of pollutants in the atmospheric air in 1993-1995 a tendency towards worsening air quality occurred in 1995-1997. The concentration of some pollutants, for example phenol, has again reached the level of 1990-1991 when the largest amounts of pollutants were emitted into the air. These are signs of some new intensification of production activity in the region, but also of decreasing interest in environmental issues. Although according to reports the total volume of pollutants emitted into the atmosphere in Ida-Viru County has fallen nearly twice as compared with 1991, air monitoring data do not corroborate this. Hazardous pollution incidences may emerge at Saka and in the district of Jaerve in Kohtla-Jaerve in case of unfavourable weather conditions (no wind, high air temperature). The analysis of monitoring data revealed a necessity to improve the system of collecting and processing air monitoring data. For example, at present it is not possible to make a thorough analysis (including correlation analysis of the concentrations of pollutants and direction of winds) of the towns of Narva various objects on an undermine objective conclusions about the origin of pollutants cannot be drawn. It is necessary to guarantee that the existing automatic monitoring system OPSIS should be kept in working order as it is of great significance in monitoring and objective estimation of the air quality in Jaerve district in Kohtla-Jaerve. Presently OPSIS is

  4. Prediction of Indoor Air Exposure from Outdoor Air Quality Using an Artificial Neural Network Model for Inner City Commercial Buildings.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Challoner, Avril; Pilla, Francesco; Gill, Laurence

    2015-12-01

    NO₂ and particulate matter are the air pollutants of most concern in Ireland, with possible links to the higher respiratory and cardiovascular mortality and morbidity rates found in the country compared to the rest of Europe. Currently, air quality limits in Europe only cover outdoor environments yet the quality of indoor air is an essential determinant of a person's well-being, especially since the average person spends more than 90% of their time indoors. The modelling conducted in this research aims to provide a framework for epidemiological studies by the use of publically available data from fixed outdoor monitoring stations to predict indoor air quality more accurately. Predictions are made using two modelling techniques, the Personal-exposure Activity Location Model (PALM), to predict outdoor air quality at a particular building, and Artificial Neural Networks, to model the indoor/outdoor relationship of the building. This joint approach has been used to predict indoor air concentrations for three inner city commercial buildings in Dublin, where parallel indoor and outdoor diurnal monitoring had been carried out on site. This modelling methodology has been shown to provide reasonable predictions of average NO₂ indoor air quality compared to the monitored data, but did not perform well in the prediction of indoor PM2.5 concentrations. Hence, this approach could be used to determine NO₂ exposures more rigorously of those who work and/or live in the city centre, which can then be linked to potential health impacts.

  5. Technical memorandum - Aamjiwnaang First Nation community air monitoring station - results for September 2008 to August 2009

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2011-01-15

    In 2008, the provincial and federal governments, working with the Aamjiwnaang First Nation, established the Aamjiwnaang First Nation community air monitoring station. The station's purpose was to monitor a series of contaminants produced by local industry. In addition, through the collection and analysis of air quality information, the station provided useful input to air quality studies and community health assessments. This report presents the results from analysis of air quality information between September 1, 2008 and August 31, 2009. Overall the report finds that the local air quality is similar to that in surrounding communities during this period and there were no exceedances of any ministry standard or guideline recorded concerning the expectations for particulate matter and ozone. It will be possible in the future to use this air quality information for comparison and correlation with known point sources or modeled results.

  6. Air quality management planning (AQMP

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sivertsen Bjarne

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available In most urban areas of the world, particulate matter (PM levels pose severe problems, addressed in several policy areas (air quality, climate change, and human health. PM presents multiple challenges due to the multitude of its sources, spanning many sectors of economic activity as well as nature, and due to the complexity of atmospheric processes involved in its transport and secondary formation. For the authorities, the goal is to assure minimal impacts of atmospheric PM levels, in practice represented by compliance with existing regulations and standards. This may be achieved through an air quality management plan (AQMP. In Northern America and in parts of Europe, comprehensive research programs have guided development of AQMP over the last forty years. This cumulated experience can be utilized by others who face the same problems, but have yet to develop their own substantial research base. The main purpose of the AQMP development process is to establish an effective and sound basis for planning and management of air quality in a selected area. This type of planning will ensure that significant sources of impacts are identified and controlled in a most cost-effective manner. The choice of tools, methods and input information is often dictated by their availability, and should be evaluated against current best practices. Important elements of the AQMP are the identification of sources and development of a complete emission inventory, the development and operation of an air quality monitoring programme, and the development and application of atmospheric dispersion models. Major task is to collect the necessary input data. The development of the AQMP will take into account: - Air Quality Management System (AQMS requirements; - Operational and functional structure requirements; - Source identification through emission inventories; - Source reduction alternatives, which may be implemented; - Mechanisms for facilitating interdepartmental

  7. The National Coordinated Research Programme for Air Quality. Another choice for clean air

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Van Giezen, M.; Havinga, A.; De Boer, H.

    2009-01-01

    On August 1st 2009 the National Coordinated Research Programme for Air quality (NSL in Dutch) entered into operation. This programme must help improve air quality such that it meets the European standards. At the same time the deadlock between environment and space is also solved. A special approach has been chosen for this purpose, which is based on a common interest of the State, provinces and local authorities. It was an intensive and interesting process. The annual monitoring will have to show whether or not the NSL will meet its objectives. [nl

  8. Classifying Sources Influencing Indoor Air Quality (IAQ Using Artificial Neural Network (ANN

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shaharil Mad Saad

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available Monitoring indoor air quality (IAQ is deemed important nowadays. A sophisticated IAQ monitoring system which could classify the source influencing the IAQ is definitely going to be very helpful to the users. Therefore, in this paper, an IAQ monitoring system has been proposed with a newly added feature which enables the system to identify the sources influencing the level of IAQ. In order to achieve this, the data collected has been trained with artificial neural network or ANN—a proven method for pattern recognition. Basically, the proposed system consists of sensor module cloud (SMC, base station and service-oriented client. The SMC contain collections of sensor modules that measure the air quality data and transmit the captured data to base station through wireless network. The IAQ monitoring system is also equipped with IAQ Index and thermal comfort index which could tell the users about the room’s conditions. The results showed that the system is able to measure the level of air quality and successfully classify the sources influencing IAQ in various environments like ambient air, chemical presence, fragrance presence, foods and beverages and human activity.

  9. A new method for calculation of an air quality index

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ilvessalo, P. [Finnish Meteorological Inst., Helsinki (Finland). Air Quality Dept.

    1995-12-31

    Air quality measurement programs in Finnish towns have expanded during the last few years. As a result of this it is more and more difficult to make use of all the measured concentration data. Citizens of Finnish towns are nowadays taking more of an interest in the air quality of their surroundings. The need to describe air quality in a simplified form has increased. Air quality indices permit the presentation of air quality data in such a way that prevailing conditions are more easily understandable than when using concentration data as such. Using an air quality index always means that some of the information about concentrations of contaminants in the air will be lost. How much information is possible to extract from a single index number depends on the calculation method. A new method for the calculation of an air quality index has been developed. This index always indicates the overstepping of an air quality guideline level. The calculation of this air quality index is performed using the concentrations of all the contaminants measured. The index gives information both about the prevailing air quality and also the short-term trend. It can also warn about the expected exceeding of guidelines due to one or several contaminants. The new index is especially suitable for the real-time monitoring and notification of air quality values. The behaviour of the index was studied using material from a measurement period in the spring of 1994 in Kaepylae, Helsinki. Material from a pre-operational period in the town of Oulu was also available. (author)

  10. A new method for calculation of an air quality index

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ilvessalo, P [Finnish Meteorological Inst., Helsinki (Finland). Air Quality Dept.

    1996-12-31

    Air quality measurement programs in Finnish towns have expanded during the last few years. As a result of this it is more and more difficult to make use of all the measured concentration data. Citizens of Finnish towns are nowadays taking more of an interest in the air quality of their surroundings. The need to describe air quality in a simplified form has increased. Air quality indices permit the presentation of air quality data in such a way that prevailing conditions are more easily understandable than when using concentration data as such. Using an air quality index always means that some of the information about concentrations of contaminants in the air will be lost. How much information is possible to extract from a single index number depends on the calculation method. A new method for the calculation of an air quality index has been developed. This index always indicates the overstepping of an air quality guideline level. The calculation of this air quality index is performed using the concentrations of all the contaminants measured. The index gives information both about the prevailing air quality and also the short-term trend. It can also warn about the expected exceeding of guidelines due to one or several contaminants. The new index is especially suitable for the real-time monitoring and notification of air quality values. The behaviour of the index was studied using material from a measurement period in the spring of 1994 in Kaepylae, Helsinki. Material from a pre-operational period in the town of Oulu was also available. (author)

  11. Air quality monitoring programme. Annual summary for 2003

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kemp, K.; Palmgren, F.

    2004-06-01

    The Danish Air Quality Monitoring Programme (LMP IV) has been revised in accordance with the Framework Directive and the first three daughter directives of SO 2 , NO x /NO 2 , PM IO , lead, benzene, CO and ozone. Only a PM 10 monitor at an urban background location in Odense is missing. The data sets for year 2003 are almost complete for all stations. The monitoring programme consists of 10 stations plus 2 extra stations under the Municipality of Copenhagen. The limit value of the annual average of NO 2 was in 2003 exceeded at three street stations. At one station (Copenhagen/1103) the limit value + the margin of tolerance (56 μg/m 3 in 2003) was, exceeded. The trend seems to have been constant after several years of decrease. The ozone level was in 2003 - more or less - the same at all rural and urban background stations and no clear trend is observed. The information threshold on 180 μg/m 3 was not exceeded. The target values were not exceeded, but the long-term objectives of max 8 hours on 120 μg/m 3 were exceeded at all urban background and rural stations. The long term objective for AOT40 at 6000 μg/m 3 *hours were exceeded in a few Gases. The limit value of PM 10 on 50 μg/m 3 , not to be exceeded more than 35 times per year and to comply with in 2005, was in 2003 exceeded at 2 out of 4 street stations. At all stations both proposal limits values to be met in 2010 (annual average value on 20 μg/m 3 and 50 μg/m 3 not to be exceeded more than 7 times per year) were exceeded at all stations (including the rural station Keldsnor). PM 10 is 60-70% of TSP. The trend of TSP has been clear decreasing the last 15 years, except at HCAB. The SO 2 and lead levels are still decreasing and far below the limit values. The limit values for benzene and CO are not exceeded and the levels are Glose to the levels in year 2002. Actual data, quarterly reports, annual summaries and summaries over many year are available at the homepage of NERI on 'luft.dmu.dk'. (au)

  12. Air filtration and indoor air quality

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bekö, Gabriel

    2006-01-01

    Demands for better indoor air quality are increasing, since we spend most of our time indoors and we are more and more aware of indoor air pollution. Field studies in different parts of the world have documented that high percentage of occupants in many offices and buildings find the indoor air...... decent ventilation and air cleaning/air filtration, high indoor air quality cannot be accomplished. The need for effective air filtration has increased with increasing evidence on the hazardous effects of fine particles. Moreover, the air contains gaseous pollutants, removal of which requires various air...... cleaning techniques. Supply air filter is one of the key components in the ventilation system. Studies have shown that used ventilation filters themselves can be a significant source of indoor air pollution with consequent impact on perceived air quality, sick building syndrome symptoms and performance...

  13. Assessment of ambient air quality in Chidambaram a south Indian town

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    P. Balashanmugam

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available Worldwide preliminary studies in large number are advocated to create data base, to identify potential cities / towns that warrant “continuous ambient air quality monitoring and control mechanism” and to evolve priorities for clean air target. The results reported pertain to an eight hour random preliminary air sampling exercise carried out at each of the eight select locations in Chidambaram, a southern semi urban settlement in India. Criteria pollutants SPM, CO, SO2 and NO2 measured are found to have either crossed or on the verge of crossing the limits, necessitating the immediate installation of a continuous monitoring and control mechanism. While transport related emissions are the major sources of air contamination, increasing civil construction activities also contribute to particulates. The exponential rise in volume of vehicles, disadvantageous traffic flow pattern, differing driving cycle pattern and human interceptions deserve due attention. It is concluded that Chidambaram town is a strong case for continuous monitoring of ambient air quality due to alarming and increasing level of pollutants.

  14. Two studies on the effects of small exhaust fans on indoor air quality: Field study of exhaust fans for mitigating indoor air quality problems; Indoor air quality, exhaust fan mitigation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1987-07-01

    Overall, the findings show that exhaust fans basically provide small amounts of ventilation compensation. By monitoring the common indoor air pollutants (radon, formaldehyde, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, and water vapor), it was found that the quality of the indoor air was not adversely affected by the use of exhaust fans. Nor did their use provide any measurable or significant benefits since no improvement in air quality was ascertained. While exhaust fans of this small size did not increase radon, which is the contaminant of most concern, the researchers caution that operation of a larger fan or installation in a very tight home could result in higher levels because depressurization is greater. The daily energy consumption for use of these appliances during the heating season was calculated to be 1.5 kilowatt hours or approximately 3% of the energy consumption in the study homes. The information collected in this collaborative field study indicates that the use of these particular ventilation systems has no significant effect on indoor air quality

  15. Characteristics and applications of small, portable gaseous air pollution monitors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McKercher, Grant R; Salmond, Jennifer A; Vanos, Jennifer K

    2017-04-01

    Traditional approaches for measuring air quality based on fixed measurements are inadequate for personal exposure monitoring. To combat this issue, the use of small, portable gas-sensing air pollution monitoring technologies is increasing, with researchers and individuals employing portable and mobile methods to obtain more spatially and temporally representative air pollution data. However, many commercially available options are built for various applications and based on different technologies, assumptions, and limitations. A review of the monitor characteristics of small, gaseous monitors is missing from current scientific literature. A state-of-the-art review of small, portable monitors that measure ambient gaseous outdoor pollutants was developed to address broad trends during the last 5-10 years, and to help future experimenters interested in studying gaseous air pollutants choose monitors appropriate for their application and sampling needs. Trends in small, portable gaseous air pollution monitor uses and technologies were first identified and discussed in a review of literature. Next, searches of online databases were performed for articles containing specific information related to performance, characteristics, and use of such monitors that measure one or more of three criteria gaseous air pollutants: ozone, nitrogen dioxide, and carbon monoxide. All data were summarized into reference tables for comparison between applications, physical features, sensing capabilities, and costs of the devices. Recent portable monitoring trends are strongly related to associated applications and audiences. Fundamental research requires monitors with the best individual performance, and thus the highest cost technology. Monitor networking favors real-time capabilities and moderate cost for greater reproduction. Citizen science and crowdsourcing applications allow for lower-cost components; however important strengths and limitations for each application must be addressed

  16. Providing high-quality measurement data in analytical system of air pollution monitoring and their key importance for smart cities residents

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Czechowski Piotr O.

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available The article presents selected, main elements of an air pollution automatic monitoring system with analytical subsystems concept in smart cities based on examples from Poland, implemented system in Pomerania, the concept of new system in Warsaw city and pilot research in Nowy Sącz city. All systems are the result of teamwork, ranging from design, development of new methodology and software to implementation in real-time air pollutants smart cities monitoring systems. Focused on the most neuralgic elements: data quality subsystems, new ideas of smart mobility measurement stations and their ability to use in future research and models. Special attention was paid to stochastic models and statistic methodology proposed and used in data diagnostics as analytical system engineering.

  17. End-user perspective of low-cost sensors for outdoor air pollution monitoring

    OpenAIRE

    Rai, Aakash C.; Kumar, Prashant; Pilla, Francesco; Skouloudis, Andreas N.; Di Sabatino, Silvana; Ratti, Carlo; Yasar, Ansar; Rickerby, David

    2017-01-01

    Low-cost sensor technology can potentially revolutionise the area of air pollution monitoring by providing high-density spatiotemporal pollution data. Such data can be utilised for supplementing traditional pollution monitoring, improving exposure estimates, and raising community awareness about air pollution. However, data quality remains a major concern that hinders the widespread adoption of low-cost sensor technology. Unreliable data may mislead unsuspecting users and potentially lead to ...

  18. Prediction of Indoor Air Exposure from Outdoor Air Quality Using an Artificial Neural Network Model for Inner City Commercial Buildings

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Avril Challoner

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available NO2 and particulate matter are the air pollutants of most concern in Ireland, with possible links to the higher respiratory and cardiovascular mortality and morbidity rates found in the country compared to the rest of Europe. Currently, air quality limits in Europe only cover outdoor environments yet the quality of indoor air is an essential determinant of a person’s well-being, especially since the average person spends more than 90% of their time indoors. The modelling conducted in this research aims to provide a framework for epidemiological studies by the use of publically available data from fixed outdoor monitoring stations to predict indoor air quality more accurately. Predictions are made using two modelling techniques, the Personal-exposure Activity Location Model (PALM, to predict outdoor air quality at a particular building, and Artificial Neural Networks, to model the indoor/outdoor relationship of the building. This joint approach has been used to predict indoor air concentrations for three inner city commercial buildings in Dublin, where parallel indoor and outdoor diurnal monitoring had been carried out on site. This modelling methodology has been shown to provide reasonable predictions of average NO2 indoor air quality compared to the monitored data, but did not perform well in the prediction of indoor PM2.5 concentrations. Hence, this approach could be used to determine NO2 exposures more rigorously of those who work and/or live in the city centre, which can then be linked to potential health impacts.

  19. Air Twitter: Mashing Crowdsourced Air Quality Event Identification with Scientific Earth Observations (Invited)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Robinson, E. M.

    2010-12-01

    The ability to easily expose content through the web using social media sites like YouTube, Flickr, Blogger and Delicious have given the Earth a “skin” of photos, videos and citizen reporting that enhance our understanding ofour surroundings. Businesses are taking advantage of this constant stream of information by “listening” to the social-media chatter on the web. Social listening allows businesses to better identify their customers and provide tailored service to that group. News agencies are also using social listening techniques and have implemented sites like iReport, since it is more and more likely that citizen reporters will ‘break’ news stories and identify major events. Scientist can benefit from social listening as well. Community remote sensing can incorporate the new and evolving social media ‘sensors’ along with remotely sensed surface and satellite data to provide another dimension of contextual understanding about what is occurring in the natural environment. Air Quality (AQ) events such as fires and dust storms are highly visible and impact daily life, thus the pictures, videos, blogs and tweets are shared through web within minutes of the event occurring. Air Twitter is a social media listening tool that aggregates user generated content from around the web that are described using terms like air quality, fire and smoke. Air twitter then filters content further for outdoor air quality and then binds to the content by tagging the filtered stream with #AirQuality. This stream is retweeted through a separate twitter account for the ESIP Air Quality WG (@ESIPAQWG). A unique and unexpected outcome of this is that it has allowed a community of over 1250+ people to follow this stream. Followers include Gov. Schwarzenegger and Boris Johnson, the mayor of London, as well as many local communities AQ agencies that publish their real-time surface monitoring data through Twitter. The aggregated Air Twitter stream is also saved in a database

  20. Correlation of gravestone decay and air quality 1960-2010

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mooers, H. D.; Carlson, M. J.; Harrison, R. M.; Inkpen, R. J.; Loeffler, S.

    2017-03-01

    Evaluation of spatial and temporal variability in surface recession of lead-lettered Carrara marble gravestones provides a quantitative measure of acid flux to the stone surfaces and is closely related to local land use and air quality. Correlation of stone decay, land use, and air quality for the period after 1960 when reliable estimates of atmospheric pollution are available is evaluated. Gravestone decay and SO2 measurements are interpolated spatially using deterministic and geostatistical techniques. A general lack of spatial correlation was identified and therefore a land-use-based technique for correlation of stone decay and air quality is employed. Decadally averaged stone decay is highly correlated with land use averaged spatially over an optimum radius of ≈7 km even though air quality, determined by records from the UK monitoring network, is not highly correlated with gravestone decay. The relationships among stone decay, air-quality, and land use is complicated by the relatively low spatial density of both gravestone decay and air quality data and the fact that air quality data is available only as annual averages and therefore seasonal dependence cannot be evaluated. However, acid deposition calculated from gravestone decay suggests that the deposition efficiency of SO2 has increased appreciably since 1980 indicating an increase in the SO2 oxidation process possibly related to reactions with ammonia.

  1. FY 1994 ambient air monitoring report for McMurdo Station, Antarctica

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lugar, R.M.

    1994-12-01

    This report presents the results of ambient air monitoring performed during the 1994 fiscal year (FY 1994) in the vicinity of McMurdo Station, Antarctica. Routine monitoring was performed during the 1993-1994 austral summer at three locations for airborne particulate matter less than 10 micrometers (PM-10) and at two locations for carbon monoxide (CO), sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ), and nitrogen oxides (NO, NO 2 , and NO x ). Selected PM-10 filters were analyzed for arsenic, beryllium, cadmium, chromium, lead, mercury, and nickel. Additional air samples were collected at three McMurdo area locations and at Black Island for determination of the airborne concentration of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs) and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs). Sampling site selection, sampling procedures, and quality assurance procedures used were consistent with US Environmental Protection Agency guidance for local ambient air quality networks

  2. 77 FR 66398 - Partial Approval and Disapproval of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Arizona; Infrastructure...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-11-05

    ...(a)(2)(J) (in part): PSD. Section 110 (a)(2)(K): Air quality modeling and submission of monitoring... fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ), interstate pollution abatement, and air quality models and modeling... (``Violations; injunctive relief''), 49-463 (``Violations; civil penalties''), and 49- 465 (``Air pollution...

  3. Air Quality Monitoring and Information System for Egypt

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sivertsen, B.

    1996-06-01

    The publication relates to the main objectives and design of a modern monitoring and information system developed in Norway. The system is to be installed in Egypt. Themes being discussed cover technical features of the system, meteorological data, environmental indicators, data transfer and quality assurance, the data bases, data presentation - graphics and GIS, and environmental information to the public. 11 figs., 1 tab.

  4. Adaptation of a Data Acquisition System for Monitoring Air Quality and Radioactivity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ramadan, A.B.; Hefnawi, M.; Hefnaw, M.

    2006-01-01

    the main aim from this work is adapting the data acquisition system for monitoring air quality and radioactivity to save cost, time and effort. the adaptation processes are not only based on rectifying drawbacks but also modifying new features for both systems.these drawbacks are hardware problems and software problems for both systems which cause more operation cost, more operation time and more human effort these new features are modified to achieve the grown user requirements, better performance, more flexibility for customization and better user acceptance the adaptation method is implemented by determining: how exactly two systems work, components for each system and relationships between them, which components need adaptation, and finally suitable adaptation procedure for each component with maintaining the relationships between them the proposed systems overcome the above-mentioned drawbacks associated with the old systems and have new facilities to verify their main goals

  5. The impact of international shipping on European air quality and climate forcing

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    van Aardenne, J. [European Environment Agency (EEA), Copenhagen (Denmark); Colette, A. [INERIS (France); Degraeuwe, B.; de Vlieger, I. [VITO (Belgium); Hammingh, P. [PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (Netherlands); Viana, M. [CSIC (Spain)

    2013-03-15

    This EEA Technical report provides an overview on the state of knowledge on the impact of international shipping in European waters to air quality and climate change. Based on literature review and model assessment studies information is provided on past and future emissions of air pollutants and greenhouse gases, monitoring of ship emissions, emission mitigation policies and impact on European air quality and radiative forcing. (Author)

  6. Indoor Air Quality

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... protect yourself and your family. Learn more Air Quality at Work Workers should breathe easy while on the job, but worksites with poor air quality put employees at risk. Healthy air is essential ...

  7. Space Station Environmental Health System water quality monitoring

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vincze, Johanna E.; Sauer, Richard L.

    1990-01-01

    One of the unique aspects of the Space Station is that it will be a totally encapsulated environment and the air and water supplies will be reclaimed for reuse. The Environmental Health System, a subsystem of CHeCS (Crew Health Care System), must monitor the air and water on board the Space Station Freedom to verify that the quality is adequate for crew safety. Specifically, the Water Quality Subsystem will analyze the potable and hygiene water supplies regularly for organic, inorganic, particulate, and microbial contamination. The equipment selected to perform these analyses will be commercially available instruments which will be converted for use on board the Space Station Freedom. Therefore, the commercial hardware will be analyzed to identify the gravity dependent functions and modified to eliminate them. The selection, analysis, and conversion of the off-the-shelf equipment for monitoring the Space Station reclaimed water creates a challenging project for the Water Quality engineers and scientists.

  8. Air quality management: challenges and solutions in delivering air quality action plans

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Beattie, C.I.; Longhurst, J.W.S.; Woodfield, N.K.

    2000-07-01

    The Air Quality Strategy for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland (DETR, 2001) has the aim of showing how improved local air quality in the UK may be delivered. Through a process of reviewing and assessing local air quality in both urban and rural localities, a clear picture is emerging of areas of the UK where air quality objectives are not likely to be met. The next challenge will be the identification of the required actions and new ways of working to achieve specific air quality objectives. The declaration of air quality management areas, where objectives are not predicted to be met by their target years, involves co-ordinated local action and collaborative working, which can only be effective with support across local authority departments and external stake holders. This paper provides a background to the relevant legislation underpinning, local air quality management and summarises the review and assessment process. It then comments on future directions in relation to the designation of Air Quality Management Areas and considers the requirements of action plans to deliver the goal of cleaner air in the UK. It is concluded that the UK has developed a highly sophisticated system of air quality management over a relatively short period of time, and with it has brought a new way of local authority working. The challenge of the next stage of the process is likely to be in implementing cost effective and proportional solutions to identified problems at the local level. (Author)

  9. Indoor air quality – buildings design

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Juhásová Šenitková Ingrid

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Growing attention is being paid to indoor air quality as one of the main health and well-being factors. The indoor research is concerned mostly to indoor air chemicals within indoor engineering related to building design. The providing good indoor air quality can be achieved effectively by avoiding or reducing indoor air pollution sources and by selecting low-polluting building materials, both being low-cost and energyefficient solutions. On the base of the last large experimental monitoring results, it was possible to know the level of selected indoor chemicals occurrence, rank them as well as to predict the tendencies of occurrence and establish the priorities for the future. There has been very limited attention to rigorous analysis of buildings actual environmental impacts to date. Healthy/green/sustainable building practices are typically applied in unsystematic and inconsistent ways often without resolution of inherent conflicts between and among such practices. Designers, products manufacturers, constructors, and owners declare their buildings and the applied technologies to be beneficial to the environment without validating those claims.

  10. A Context-Aware Indoor Air Quality System for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome Prevention

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daniel H. De La Iglesia

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Context-aware monitoring systems designed for e-Health solutions and ambient assisted living (AAL play an important role in today’s personalized health-care services. The majority of these systems are intended for the monitoring of patients’ vital signs by means of bio-sensors. At present, there are very few systems that monitor environmental conditions and air quality in the homes of users. A home’s environmental conditions can have a significant influence on the state of the health of its residents. Monitoring the environment is the key to preventing possible diseases caused by conditions that do not favor health. This paper presents a context-aware system that monitors air quality to prevent a specific health problem at home. The aim of this system is to reduce the incidence of the Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, which is triggered mainly by environmental factors. In the conducted case study, the system monitored the state of the neonate and the quality of air while it was asleep. The designed proposal is characterized by its low cost and non-intrusive nature. The results are promising.

  11. Indoor air quality environmental information handbook: Building system characteristics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1987-01-01

    This manual, the third in a series, focuses on residential building system characteristics and their effects on indoor air quality. The manual addresses: residential indoor air pollutants by source, indoor concentrations, health effects, source control and mitigation techniques, standards and guidelines; building system characteristics of air exchange, pollutant source strength, residence volume, site characteristics, structural design, construction, and operation, infiltration and ventilation system, building occupancy; and monitoring methods

  12. Ambient air quality predictions in the Athabasca oil sands region

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1996-01-01

    This report presents dispersion modelling predictions for SO 2 , NOx, CO, HC and particulate matter (PM), which complement regional monitoring observations. The air quality simulation models provide a scientific means of relating industrial emissions to changes in ambient air quality. The four models applied to the emission sources in the region were: (1) SCREEN3, (2) ISC3BE, (3) ADEPT2, and (4) the box model. Model predictions were compared to air quality guidelines. It was concluded that the largest SO 2 concentrations were associated with intermittent flaring, and with the Suncor Powerhouse whose emissions are continuous. 45 refs., 36 tabs., 40 figs

  13. Annual report 1990/91 for the Hamburg air monitoring network

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Goemer, D.; Hache, W.; Matzen, D.; Reich, T.

    1992-01-01

    In addition to measured results form the stationary air monitoring network from 1990 (detailed report) and 1991 (brief version), the annual report 1990/91 presents results form special measuring programs of the dynmao car area and from measurements made on the street dating from 1990/91. After a detailed presentation of the meteorological frame conditions in 1990, distinguishing by a relatively good air exchange, a detailed discussion of the air load during this period and a brief survey about the air quality in 1991 follows. (orig.) [de

  14. Air quality in the Netherlands in 2008

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Beijk, R.; Mooibroek, D.; Hoogerbrugge, R.

    2009-01-01

    Results from the Dutch National Air Quality Monitoring Network (LML) show that in 2008 some exceedances of a few European air quality limit values were measured in the Netherlands. However,similar to 2007, the exceedances were less high and frequent than some years before due to more favorable weather conditions. incidently, high concentrations did occur this year. Especially during both the 2007th and 2008th New Year's Eve, when a very high level of PM10 occurred inside, and even outside, many urban areas due to a combination of fireworks, mist and low windspeeds. Ozone concentrations above the alert threshold (smog alert) were not observed in 2008. Exceedance of limit values for nitrogen dioxide occurred especially at traffic dominated monitoring sites. Nitrogen dioxide concentrations at rural background locations remained fairly stable during the last few years and are lower than the limit value. The maximum number of days with PM10-concentrations above the limit value is not exceeded at any of the monitoring sites in 2008. On average, the 2008 year average concentrations PM10 declined with approximately 2 μg/m 3 compared to 2007. [nl

  15. Modelling and analysis of ozone concentration by artificial intelligent techniques for estimating air quality

    Science.gov (United States)

    Taylan, Osman

    2017-02-01

    High ozone concentration is an important cause of air pollution mainly due to its role in the greenhouse gas emission. Ozone is produced by photochemical processes which contain nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds in the lower atmospheric level. Therefore, monitoring and controlling the quality of air in the urban environment is very important due to the public health care. However, air quality prediction is a highly complex and non-linear process; usually several attributes have to be considered. Artificial intelligent (AI) techniques can be employed to monitor and evaluate the ozone concentration level. The aim of this study is to develop an Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy inference approach (ANFIS) to determine the influence of peripheral factors on air quality and pollution which is an arising problem due to ozone level in Jeddah city. The concentration of ozone level was considered as a factor to predict the Air Quality (AQ) under the atmospheric conditions. Using Air Quality Standards of Saudi Arabia, ozone concentration level was modelled by employing certain factors such as; nitrogen oxide (NOx), atmospheric pressure, temperature, and relative humidity. Hence, an ANFIS model was developed to observe the ozone concentration level and the model performance was assessed by testing data obtained from the monitoring stations established by the General Authority of Meteorology and Environment Protection of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The outcomes of ANFIS model were re-assessed by fuzzy quality charts using quality specification and control limits based on US-EPA air quality standards. The results of present study show that the ANFIS model is a comprehensive approach for the estimation and assessment of ozone level and is a reliable approach to produce more genuine outcomes.

  16. RadNet Radiological Air Monitoring Network

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Scott Telofski, J.; Askren, D.R.; Petko, Ch.M.; Fraass, R.G.

    2010-01-01

    The United States Environmental Protection Agency operates a national environmental radiation monitoring program called RadNet. RadNet monitors airborne particulates, precipitation, milk, and drinking water for radiation levels. The primary purpose of the original program in the 1950's and 1960's was to collect and analyze samples in various media to assess the effects of radioactive fallout from above-ground nuclear weapon testing. As above-ground testing diminished in the 1970's, the program, especially the air network, became critical in evaluating effects of other types of nuclear incidents, such as the nuclear reactor accident at Chernobyl, as well as monitoring trends in environmental radioactive contamination. The value of rapid data collection subsequent to such incidents led to the consideration of developing air monitors with radiation detectors and telecommunication equipment for real-time radiation measurement. The strengthened United States homeland security posture after 2001 led to production and installation of the current real-time RadNet air monitors. There are now 118 stationary, continuously operating air monitoring stations and 40 mobile air monitors for site specific monitoring. The stationary air monitors include radiation detectors, meteorological sensors, a high-volume air sampler, and communication devices for hourly data transfers. When unusual levels are detected, scientists download a full sodium iodide detector spectrum for analysis. The real-time data collected by RadNet stationary systems permit rapid identification and quantification of airborne nuclides with sufficient sensitivity to provide critical information to help determine protective actions. The data also may help to rapidly refine long-range radioactive plume models and estimate exposure to the population. This paper provides an overview of the airborne particulate monitoring conducted during above-ground nuclear weapon testing, summarizes the uses of data from the program

  17. A novel, fuzzy-based air quality index (FAQI) for air quality assessment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sowlat, Mohammad Hossein; Gharibi, Hamed; Yunesian, Masud; Tayefeh Mahmoudi, Maryam; Lotfi, Saeedeh

    2011-04-01

    The ever increasing level of air pollution in most areas of the world has led to development of a variety of air quality indices for estimation of health effects of air pollution, though the indices have their own limitations such as high levels of subjectivity. Present study, therefore, aimed at developing a novel, fuzzy-based air quality index (FAQI ) to handle such limitations. The index developed by present study is based on fuzzy logic that is considered as one of the most common computational methods of artificial intelligence. In addition to criteria air pollutants (i.e. CO, SO 2, PM 10, O 3, NO 2), benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylene, and 1,3-butadiene were also taken into account in the index proposed, because of their considerable health effects. Different weighting factors were then assigned to each pollutant according to its priority. Trapezoidal membership functions were employed for classifications and the final index consisted of 72 inference rules. To assess the performance of the index, a case study was carried out employing air quality data at five different sampling stations in Tehran, Iran, from January 2008 to December 2009, results of which were then compared to the results obtained from USEPA air quality index (AQI). According to the results from present study, fuzzy-based air quality index is a comprehensive tool for classification of air quality and tends to produce accurate results. Therefore, it can be considered useful, reliable, and suitable for consideration by local authorities in air quality assessment and management schemes. Fuzzy-based air quality index (FAQI).

  18. Monitoring NSL. Progress of the Dutch National Air Quality Cooperation Programme (NSL). State of affairs 2012; Monitoringsrapportage NSL. Stand van zaken 2012 Nationaal Samenwerkingsprogamma Luchtkwaliteit

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Van Zanten, M.C.; Wesseling, J.; Mooibroek, D.; Van Alphen, A.; Nguyen, L. [Rijksinstituut voor Volksgezondheid en Milieu RIVM, Bilthoven (Netherlands); Groot Wassink, H.; Verbeek, C. [InfoMil, Agentschap NL, Den Haag (Netherlands)

    2012-11-15

    The National Air Quality Cooperation Programme (NSL) has been created to facilitate improvements in air quality in the Netherlands and to ensure that the Netherlands meets the respective deadlines set for compliance to EU limit values for particulate matter (PM10) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2). Local, regional and national authorities work together within the framework of this programme to ensure that these goals will be met. A monitoring programme has been put in place to monitor progress and, if necessary, to enable timely modifications to the programme. The annual results of the monitoring programme have been bundled together by the Monitoring Bureau (collaboration between RIVM and the InfoMil Knowledge Centre) into the 2012 progress report [Dutch] Om de luchtkwaliteit te verbeteren is het Nationaal Samenwerkingsprogramma Luchtkwaliteit (NSL) opgezet. Hierin werken de Rijksoverheid en decentrale overheden samen om te zorgen dat Nederland overal tijdig aan de grenswaarden voor fijn stof en stikstofdioxide zal voldoen. Om de voortgang van dit verbeterprogramma te volgen en tijdig eventuele extra maatregelen te kunnen nemen, is aan het NSL een monitoringsprogramma verbonden. De uitvoering van de monitoring is neergelegd bij Bureau Monitoring, een samenwerkingsverband tussen het RIVM en Kenniscentrum InfoMil.

  19. An air quality assessment onboard an Oberon class submarine : HMCS Okanagan

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Severs, Y.D.; Sabiston, B.H.

    2000-09-01

    The Defence and Civil Institute of Environmental Medicine (DCIEM) re-examined the air quality on an Oberon class submarine, the HMCS Okanagan, to determine if the atmosphere complied with Air Purification Standard BR 1326. The main objective of the assessment was to help in the development of future submarine air quality management. The information obtained from the Oberon class submarine could be readily applied to the Victoria class submarines. The assessment involved a trial aboard an Oberon under patrol conditions. The functional and detection capabilities of analytical air monitoring instruments were assessed for a 24-hour period to obtain data regarding the contaminants onboard the submarine. A profile of carbon dioxide accumulation and oxygen consumption was determined. This was followed by an assessment of the effectiveness of air purification such as carbon dioxide scrubbing, oxygen generation and snorting. Carbon monoxide was also monitored and carboxyhemoglobin was measured in both smokers and non-smokers. In order to determine if the sanitary or electrical systems, or engine exhaust posed any danger, ammonia, ozone and nitrous compounds were also measured. In addition, hydrogen, arsine and stibene were monitored to determine any possible danger from charging batteries. The health risks associated with aerosolized particles from cooking, smoking and exhaust gases were also measured. Results showed that all contaminants were within allowable limits. However, the study also confirmed that air purification measures on diesel submarines are minimal and poorly placed and that there is a lack of exhaust ventilation. Poor air exchange was worsened by compartmentalization and blackout curtains. Several recommendations were proposed to improve the management of air quality in Victoria class submarines. 18 refs., 2 tabs., 5 figs

  20. An air quality assessment onboard an Oberon class submarine : HMCS Okanagan

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Severs, Y.D.; Sabiston, B.H.

    2000-09-01

    The Defence and Civil Institute of Environmental Medicine (DCIEM) re-examined the air quality on an Oberon class submarine, the HMCS Okanagan, to determine if the atmosphere complied with Air Purification Standard BR 1326. The main objective of the assessment was to help in the development of future submarine air quality management. The information obtained from the Oberon class submarine could be readily applied to the Victoria class submarines. The assessment involved a trial aboard an Oberon under patrol conditions. The functional and detection capabilities of analytical air monitoring instruments were assessed for a 24-hour period to obtain data regarding the contaminants onboard the submarine. A profile of carbon dioxide accumulation and oxygen consumption was determined. This was followed by an assessment of the effectiveness of air purification such as carbon dioxide scrubbing, oxygen generation and snorting. Carbon monoxide was also monitored and carboxyhemoglobin was measured in both smokers and non-smokers. In order to determine if the sanitary or electrical systems, or engine exhaust posed any danger, ammonia, ozone and nitrous compounds were also measured. In addition, hydrogen, arsine and stibene were monitored to determine any possible danger from charging batteries. The health risks associated with aerosolized particles from cooking, smoking and exhaust gases were also measured. Results showed that all contaminants were within allowable limits. However, the study also confirmed that air purification measures on diesel submarines are minimal and poorly placed and that there is a lack of exhaust ventilation. Poor air exchange was worsened by compartmentalization and blackout curtains. Several recommendations were proposed to improve the management of air quality in Victoria class submarines. 18 refs., 2 tabs., 5 figs.

  1. Monitoring of meteorology and air quality at influence area of COMPERJ (Rio de Janeiro Petrochemical Complex); Monitoramento meteorologico e da qualidade do ar na regiao de influencia do COMPERJ (Complexo Petroquimico do Rio de Janeiro)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Albuquerque, Edler Lins de; Villa, Felipe de Santana; Lyra, Diogenes Ganghis Pimentel de [CETREL-LUMINA Solucoes Ambientais, Salvador, BA (Brazil); Secron, Marcelo; Iorio, Patricia Freire; Mendes, Marcos Faistauer [PETROBRAS, Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil)

    2008-07-01

    Rio de Janeiro Petrochemical Complex (COMPERJ) will be installed in the north region of Itaborai city. The start of COMPERJ operations is foreseen to 2012. Because of the intensification of industrialization and urbanization processes, the implantation of COMPERJ will bring environmental modifications for Itaborai city and neighbors areas. Thus, meteorological and air quality monitoring was initiated in February of 2007 with the intention of carrying out a characterization of air pollution in this area, before COMPERJ operations. In this work are presented the results found in campaigns performed of February of 2007 until April of 2008. The meteorological monitoring disclosed that the meteorological parameters have varied enough throughout the months, but these are representative of a global behavior of the studied area. Monitoring of air quality has shown that atmospheric levels of monitored pollutants has been generally below of Brazilian air quality standards. This fact corroborates the basic aspect of the present study: identification of the concentrations 'background' in the studied area. Throughout the period of monitoring, the primary air quality standard for ozone has been reached. Observations of meteorological parameters indicate that this fact is associated to the emissions originated from Sao Goncalo, Niteroi and Rio de Janeiro cities. (author)

  2. A Fuzzy Expression Way for Air Quality Index with More Comprehensive Information

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yujie Wang

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The Air Quality Index (AQI is an evaluating indicator for the atmospheric environment released by various environmental monitoring centers to communicate the present air quality status to the public, which is calculated by the aid of the monitored concentrations of six common air pollutants and relevant computational formulae. Considering that the historical data of daily overall AQI illustrated by the traditional expression way merely contain limited information about the original data, this paper puts forward a more concrete and intuitive way to express the air quality in the past day. By analyzing the data concerning individual air quality indices of pollutants gathered from five cities of China for six consecutive months and conducting the curve fitting, each sub-index is recommended to be set as a Gaussian fuzzy number. Accordingly, taking advantage of the novel operational law for fuzzy numbers, the fuzzy distribution and membership function of the daily overall AQI can be deduced immediately, which as a reference contributes to the users acquiring the information more intuitively and facilitates making plans or decisions. Subsequently, a case study taking Shanghai as a background is conducted to elaborate the application of the proposed approach. Furthermore, the line chart reflecting the overall air quality status in a past period is depicted, based on which an example of selecting a tourist destination is given to demonstrate its utilization.

  3. An evaluation tool kit of air quality micro-sensing units

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Fishbain, B.; Lerner, U.; Castell-Balaguer, N.; Cole-Hunter, T.; Popoola, O.; Broday, D. M.; Martinez Iniguez, T.; Nieuwenhuijsen, M.; Jovasevic-Stojanovic, M.; Topalovic, D.; Roderic, L.J.; Gaela, K.; Etzion, Y.; Kizel, F.; Golumbic, Y.N.; Baram-Tsabari, A.; Yacobi, T.; Drahler, D.; Robinson, J.A.; Kocman, D.; Horvát, M.; Švecová, Vlasta; Arpaci, A.; Bartoňová, A.

    2017-01-01

    Roč. 575, jan (2017), s. 639-648 ISSN 0048-9697 Institutional support: RVO:68378041 Keywords : air quality * environmental monitoring * micro sensing units Subject RIV: DN - Health Impact of the Environment Quality OBOR OECD: Public and environmental health Impact factor: 4.900, year: 2016

  4. Can a photocatalytic air purifier be used to improve the perceived air quality indoors?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kolarik, Jakub; Wargocki, Pawel

    2010-01-01

    The effect of a photocatalytic air purifier on perceived air quality(PAQ) was examined in rooms polluted by typical sources of indoor pollution.The rooms were ventilated at three different outdoor air supply rates. The air quality was assessed by a sensory panel when the purifier was in operation...... as well as when it was off. Operation of the purifier significantly improved PAQ in the rooms polluted by building materials (used carpet, old linoleum, and old chip-board), and a used ventilation filter as well as a mixture of building materials, used ventilation filter and cathode-ray tube computer...... monitors. The effect cor-responded to approximately doubling the outdoor air supply rate. Operation of the purifier significantly worsened the PAQ in rooms with human bioeffluents, probably due to incomplete oxidation of alcohols which are one of the main pollutants emitted by humans. Present results show...

  5. 77 FR 30087 - Air Quality Designations for the 2008 Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-05-21

    ... and 81 Air Quality Designations for the 2008 Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards; Implementation of the 2008 National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Ozone: Nonattainment Area Classifications...-9668-2] RIN 2060-AP37 Air Quality Designations for the 2008 Ozone National Ambient Air Quality...

  6. 10 CFR 835.403 - Air monitoring.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 10 Energy 4 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Air monitoring. 835.403 Section 835.403 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY OCCUPATIONAL RADIATION PROTECTION Monitoring of Individuals and Areas § 835.403 Air monitoring. (a) Monitoring of airborne radioactivity shall be performed: (1) Where an individual is likely to...

  7. Localized indoor air quality monitoring for indoor pollutants' healthy risk assessment using sub-principal component analysis driven model and engineering big data

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Shi, Honglan; Kim, MinJeong; Lee, SeungChul; Pyo, SeHee; Esfahani, Iman Janghorban; Yoo, ChangKyoo [Kyung Hee University, Yongin (Korea, Republic of)

    2015-10-15

    Indoor air quality (IAQ) in subway systems shows periodic dynamics due to the number of passengers, train schedules, and air pollutants accumulated in the system, which are considered as an engineering big data. We developed a new IAQ monitoring model using a sub-principal component analysis (sub-PCA) method to account for the periodic dynamics of the IAQ big data. In addition, the IAQ data in subway systems are different on the weekdays and weekend due to weekly effect, since the patterns of the number of passengers and their access time on the weekdays and weekend are different. Sub-PCA-based local monitoring was developed for separating the weekday and weekend environmental IAQ big data, respectively. The monitoring results for the test data at the Y-subway station clearly showed that the proposed method could analyze an environmental IAQ big data, improve the monitoring efficiency and greatly reduce the false alarm rate of the local on-line monitoring by comparison with the multi-way PCA.

  8. Localized indoor air quality monitoring for indoor pollutants' healthy risk assessment using sub-principal component analysis driven model and engineering big data

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shi, Honglan; Kim, MinJeong; Lee, SeungChul; Pyo, SeHee; Esfahani, Iman Janghorban; Yoo, ChangKyoo

    2015-01-01

    Indoor air quality (IAQ) in subway systems shows periodic dynamics due to the number of passengers, train schedules, and air pollutants accumulated in the system, which are considered as an engineering big data. We developed a new IAQ monitoring model using a sub-principal component analysis (sub-PCA) method to account for the periodic dynamics of the IAQ big data. In addition, the IAQ data in subway systems are different on the weekdays and weekend due to weekly effect, since the patterns of the number of passengers and their access time on the weekdays and weekend are different. Sub-PCA-based local monitoring was developed for separating the weekday and weekend environmental IAQ big data, respectively. The monitoring results for the test data at the Y-subway station clearly showed that the proposed method could analyze an environmental IAQ big data, improve the monitoring efficiency and greatly reduce the false alarm rate of the local on-line monitoring by comparison with the multi-way PCA.

  9. Health benefits from improved outdoor air quality and intervention in China

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li, Shanshan; Williams, Gail; Guo, Yuming

    2016-01-01

    China is at its most critical stage of outdoor air quality management. In order to prevent further deterioration of air quality and to protect human health, the Chinese government has made a series of attempts to reduce ambient air pollution. Unlike previous literature reviews on the widespread hazards of air pollution on health, this review article firstly summarized the existing evidence of human health benefits from intermittently improved outdoor air quality and intervention in China. Contents of this paper provide concrete and direct clue that improvement in outdoor air quality generates various health benefits in China, and confirm from a new perspective that it is worthwhile for China to shift its development strategy from economic growth to environmental economic sustainability. Greater emphasis on sustainable environment design, consistently strict regulatory enforcement, and specific monitoring actions should be regarded in China to decrease the health risks and to avoid long-term environmental threats. - Highlights: • Firstly reviews the health benefits of improvement in outdoor air quality in China. • Reduction in air pollution generates various health benefits in China. • Chinese government should consider environmental economic sustainability. • Future research on health benefits of air quality improvement is proposed. - Improvement in outdoor air quality generates various health benefits in China. It is worthwhile for China to consider environmental economic sustainability.

  10. Assessment of air quality in France in 2013 and main trends notices during the 2000-2013 period

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Albertini, Jean-Paul; Bottin, Anne; Le Moullec, Aurelie; Carriere, Celine

    2014-10-01

    Illustrated by many maps, graphs and tables, this report proposes a detailed overview of air quality in France, of its evolution, and of its effects on health and on the environment. After a brief presentation of these last effects, the report presents the French framework of air quality monitoring (actors, monitored pollutants, monitoring tools, access to air quality data) and measures implemented to struggle against air pollution. Then, the report addresses the different monitored pollutants by indicating and commenting their effects on health and on the environment, the evolution of their emissions and of their concentrations, the situation of measurement sites with respect to limit values and the evolution of the situation in the main urban agglomerations. These monitored pollutants are nitrogen oxides (NO x ), particles (PM 1 0 and PM 2 5), sulphur dioxide, ozone, carbon monoxide, benzene, heavy metals (lead, arsenic, cadmium, nickel, mercury), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The last chapter addresses some air pollution episodes which occurred in France in 2013 (nitrogen dioxide of NO 2 , particles PM 1 0, sulphur dioxide, ozone)

  11. Nonradioactive Ambient Air Monitoring at Los Alamos National Laboratory 2001--2002

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    E. Gladney; J.Dewart, C.Eberhart; J.Lochamy

    2004-09-01

    During the spring of 2000, the Cerro Grande forest fire reached Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) and ignited both above-ground vegetation and disposed materials in several landfills. During and after the fire, there was concern about the potential human health impacts from chemicals emitted by the combustion of these Laboratory materials. Consequently, short-term, intensive air-monitoring studies were performed during and shortly after the fire. Unlike the radiological data from many years of AIRNET sampling, LANL did not have an adequate database of nonradiological species under baseline conditions with which to compare data collected during the fire. Therefore, during 2001 the Meteorology and Air Quality Group designed and implemented a new air-monitoring program, entitled NonRadNET, to provide nonradiological background data under normal conditions. The objectives of NonRadNET were to: (1) develop the capability for collecting nonradiological air-monitoring data, (2) conduct monitoring to develop a database of typical background levels of selected nonradiological species in the communities nearest the Laboratory, and (3) determine LANL's potential contribution to nonradiological air pollution in the surrounding communities. NonRadNET ended in late December 2002 with five quarters of data. The purpose of this paper is to organize and describe the NonRadNET data collected over 2001-2002 to use as baseline data, either for monitoring during a fire, some other abnormal event, or routine use. To achieve that purpose, in this paper we will: (1) document the NonRadNET program procedures, methods, and quality management, (2) describe the usual origins and uses of the species measured, (3) compare the species measured to LANL and other area emissions, (4) present the five quarters of data, (5) compare the data to known typical environmental values, and (6) evaluate the data against exposure standards.

  12. Smartphone Air Quality and Atmospheric Aerosol Characterization for Public Health Applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Strong, S. B.; Brown, D. M.; Brown, A.

    2014-12-01

    Air quality is a major global concern. Tracking and monitoring air quality provides individuals with the knowledge to make personal decisions about their health and investigate the environment in which they live. Satellite remote sensing and ground-based observations (e.g. Environmental Protection Agency, NASA Aerosol Robotic Network) of air quality is spatially and temporarlly limited and often neglects to provide individuals with the freedom to understand their own personal environment using their personal observations. Given the ubiquitous nature of smartphones, individuals have access to powerful processing and sensing capabilities. When coupled with the appropriate sensor parameters, filters, and algorithms, smartphones can be used both for 'citizen science' air quality applications and 'professional' scientific atmospheric investigations, alike, simplifying data analysis, processing, and improving deployment efficiency. We evaluate the validity of smartphone technology for air quality investigations using standard Cimel CE 318 sun photometry and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroradiometer (FTIR) observations at specific locations.

  13. 76 FR 12302 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Illinois; Missouri; Saint Louis...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-03-07

    ... monitoring period. However, the historical certified data recorded at the monitors that were discontinued... data available to date as an indication of whether the area continues to attain the standard. EPA... based upon complete, quality assured, quality controlled, and certified ambient air monitoring data...

  14. Health benefits from improved outdoor air quality and intervention in China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Shanshan; Williams, Gail; Guo, Yuming

    2016-07-01

    China is at its most critical stage of outdoor air quality management. In order to prevent further deterioration of air quality and to protect human health, the Chinese government has made a series of attempts to reduce ambient air pollution. Unlike previous literature reviews on the widespread hazards of air pollution on health, this review article firstly summarized the existing evidence of human health benefits from intermittently improved outdoor air quality and intervention in China. Contents of this paper provide concrete and direct clue that improvement in outdoor air quality generates various health benefits in China, and confirm from a new perspective that it is worthwhile for China to shift its development strategy from economic growth to environmental economic sustainability. Greater emphasis on sustainable environment design, consistently strict regulatory enforcement, and specific monitoring actions should be regarded in China to decrease the health risks and to avoid long-term environmental threats. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. Indoor air quality of environments used for physical exercise and sports practice: Systematic review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Andrade, Alexandro; Dominski, Fábio Hech

    2018-01-15

    Systematic reviews have the potential to contribute substantially to environmental health and risk assessment. This study aimed to investigate indoor air quality of environments used for physical exercise and sports practice through a systematic review. The systematic review followed the PRISMA guidelines and was recorded in the PROSPERO registry (CRD42016036057). The search was performed using the SciELO, Science Direct, Scopus, LILACS, MEDLINE via PubMed, and SPORTDiscus databases, from their inception through April 2017. The search terms used in the databases were {air pollution" OR "air pollutants" OR "air quality"} AND {"physical exercise" OR "physical activity" OR "sport"}. The results of selected studies were divided into 5 categories for analysis: monitoring of air quality in the environment according to international guidelines, indoor-to-outdoor ratio (I/O), air quality during physical exercise, impact of air quality on health, and interventions to improve indoor air quality. Among 1281 studies screened, 34 satisfied the inclusion criteria. The monitoring of pollutants was conducted in 20 studies. CO and NO 2 were the most investigated pollutants, and guidelines were discussed in most studies. The I/O ratio was investigated in 12 studies, of which 9 showed a higher concentration of some pollutants in indoor rather than outdoor environments. Among the 34 studies selected, only 7 investigated the impact of indoor air pollution on human health. The population in most of these studies consisted of hockey players. Most studies conducted monitoring of pollutants in indoor environments used for physical exercise and sports practice. The earliest studies were conducted in ice skating rinks and the most recent evaluated gymnasiums, fitness centers, and sports centers. The CO, particulate matter, and NO 2 concentrations were the most investigated and have the longest history of investigation. These pollutants were within the limits established by guidelines in most

  16. A framework for air quality monitoring based on free public data and open source tools

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nikolov, Hristo; Borisova, Denitsa

    2014-10-01

    In the recent years more and more widely accepted by the Space agencies (e.g. NASA, ESA) is the policy toward provision of Earth observation (EO) data and end products concerning air quality especially in large urban areas without cost to researchers and SMEs. Those EO data are complemented by increasing amount of in-situ data also provided at no cost either from national authorities or having crowdsourced origin. This accessibility together with the increased processing capabilities of the free and open source software is a prerequisite for creation of solid framework for air modeling in support of decision making at medium and large scale. Essential part of this framework is web-based GIS mapping tool responsible for dissemination of the output generated. In this research an attempt is made to establish a running framework based solely on openly accessible data on air quality and on set of freely available software tools for processing and modeling taking into account the present status quo in Bulgaria. Among the primary sources of data, especially for bigger urban areas, for different types of gases and dust particles, noted should be the National Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology of Bulgaria (NIMH) and National System for Environmental Monitoring managed by Bulgarian Executive Environmental Agency (ExEA). Both authorities provide data for concentration of several gases just to mention CO, CO2, NO2, SO2, and fine suspended dust (PM10, PM2.5) on monthly (for some data on daily) basis. In the framework proposed these data will complement the data from satellite-based sensors such as OMI instrument aboard EOS-Aura satellite and from TROPOMI instrument payload for future ESA Sentinel-5P mission. Integral part of the framework is the modern map for the land use/land cover which is provided from EEA by initiative GIO Land CORINE. This map is also a product from EO data distributed at European level. First and above all, our effort is focused on provision to the

  17. Multitemporal Monitoring of the Air Quality in Bulgaria by Satellite Based Instruments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nikolov, Hristo; Borisova, Denitsa

    2015-04-01

    Nowadays the effect on climate changes on the population and environment caused by air pollutants at local and regional scale by pollution concentrations higher than allowed is undisputable. Main sources of gas releases are due to anthropogenic emissions caused by the economic and domestic activities of the inhabitants, and to less extent having natural origin. Complementary to pollutants emissions the local weather parameters such as temperature, precipitation, wind speed, clouds, atmospheric water vapor, and wind direction control the chemical reactions in the atmosphere. It should be noted that intrinsic property of the air pollution is its "transboundary-ness" and this is why the air quality (AQ) is not affecting the population of one single country only. This why the exchange of information concerning AQ at EU level is subject to well established legislation and one of EU flagship initiatives for standardization in data exchange, namely INSPIRE, has to cope with. It should be noted that although good reporting mechanism with regard to AQ is already established between EU member states national networks suffer from a serious disadvantage - they don't form a regular grid which is a prerequisite for verification of pollutants transport modeling. Alternative sources of information for AQ are the satellite observations (i.e. OMI, TOMS instruments) providing daily data for ones of the major contributors to air pollution such as O3, NOX and SO2. Those data form regular grids and are processed the same day of the acquisition so they could be used in verification of the outputs generated by numerical modeling of the AQ and pollution transfer. In this research we present results on multitemporal monitoring of several regional "hot spots" responsible for greenhouse gases emissions in Bulgaria with emphasis on satellite-based instruments. Other output from this study is a method for validation of the AQ forecasts and also providing feedback to the service that prepares

  18. Modelling of air quality for Winter and Summer episodes in Switzerland. Final report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Andreani-Aksoyoglu, S.; Keller, J.; Barmpadimos, L.; Oderbolz, D.; Tinguely, M.; Prevot, A. [Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI), Laboratory of Atmospheric Chemistry, Villigen (Switzerland); Alfarra, R. [University of Manchester, Manchester (United Kingdom); Sandradewi, J. [Jisca Sandradewi, Hoexter (Germany)

    2009-05-15

    This final report issued by the General Energy Research Department and its Laboratory of Atmospheric Chemistry at the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) reports on the results obtained from the modelling of regional air quality for three episodes, January-February 2006, June 2006 and January 2007. The focus of the calculations is on particulate matter concentrations, as well as on ozone levels in summer. The model results were compared with the aerosol data collected by an Aerosol Mass Spectrometer (AMS), which was operated during all three episodes as well as with the air quality monitoring data from further monitoring programs. The air quality model used in this study is described and the results obtained for various types of locations - rural, city, high-altitude and motorway-near - are presented and discussed. The models used are described.

  19. From OMI to TROPOMI: entering the realm of air quality from space

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Vries, J. de; Laan, E.C.; Levelt, P.F.; Oord, G.H.J. van den; Veefkind, J.P.; Dobber, M.R.; Aben, I.; Jongma, R.T.; Escudero-Sanz, I.; Court, A.J.

    2006-01-01

    The Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) on NASA's AURA satellite is one of the first instruments measuring an extensive set of daily air quality parameters from space. This anwers to a growing interest in obtaining space data for the air we breath next to the higher altitude air masses. OMI combines

  20. Air quality guidelines for arenas in Nova Scotia

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1999-05-01

    A series of guidelines have been prepared to address the quality of air in skating arena facilities in Nova Scotia. They are limited to carbon monoxide and nitrogen dioxide emissions. Average nitrogen dioxide levels should not exceed 1 part per million (ppm). Average carbon monoxide levels should not exceed 25 ppm. These guidelines do not address other contaminants such as ammonia or chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). The guidelines are considered to be the minimum standards required for safe arena operations. These standards can be met by reducing emissions of the ice resurfacer and edger which is one of the major sources of poor air quality in arenas. Other ways to meet the standards are to ensure proper equipment operation, ventilation and monitoring of indoor air quality levels. Symptoms of exposure and potential consequences were also described. It was noted that owners and operators may be found libel for injury if a proper environment is not maintained. 6 appendices.

  1. Air Quality at Your Street

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen, Steen Solvang; Becker, Thomas; Ketzel, Matthias

    Citizens are frequently concerned about the air quality where they live, where they go to work, where their children go to kindergarten or where they want to move to. Municipalities may also have an interest in location based air quality information e.g. in relation to screening of complaints from...... concerned citizents, or in the context of localization of institutions, etc. The purpose of the project ‘Air Quality at Your Street’ is to create interactive air quality maps on the internet using webGIS to illustrate the geographical variation of air quality in Denmark for selected health related air...... pollutants. The maps show annual means of NO2, PM2.5 or PM10 for 2012. The user interface presents modelled air quality data on a map where the user can select map view, pan, zoom in and out, etc. It is also possible to get the air quality for a particular address by entering a specific address. Air quality...

  2. Modeling, Monitoring and Fault Diagnosis of Spacecraft Air Contaminants

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ramirez, W. Fred; Skliar, Mikhail; Narayan, Anand; Morgenthaler, George W.; Smith, Gerald J.

    1998-01-01

    Control of air contaminants is a crucial factor in the safety considerations of crewed space flight. Indoor air quality needs to be closely monitored during long range missions such as a Mars mission, and also on large complex space structures such as the International Space Station. This work mainly pertains to the detection and simulation of air contaminants in the space station, though much of the work is easily extended to buildings, and issues of ventilation systems. Here we propose a method with which to track the presence of contaminants using an accurate physical model, and also develop a robust procedure that would raise alarms when certain tolerance levels are exceeded. A part of this research concerns the modeling of air flow inside a spacecraft, and the consequent dispersal pattern of contaminants. Our objective is to also monitor the contaminants on-line, so we develop a state estimation procedure that makes use of the measurements from a sensor system and determines an optimal estimate of the contamination in the system as a function of time and space. The real-time optimal estimates in turn are used to detect faults in the system and also offer diagnoses as to their sources. This work is concerned with the monitoring of air contaminants aboard future generation spacecraft and seeks to satisfy NASA's requirements as outlined in their Strategic Plan document (Technology Development Requirements, 1996).

  3. Model-generated air quality statistics for application in vegetation response models in Alberta

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    McVehil, G.E.; Nosal, M.

    1990-01-01

    To test and apply vegetation response models in Alberta, air pollution statistics representative of various parts of the Province are required. At this time, air quality monitoring data of the requisite accuracy and time resolution are not available for most parts of Alberta. Therefore, there exists a need to develop appropriate air quality statistics. The objectives of the work reported here were to determine the applicability of model generated air quality statistics and to develop by modelling, realistic and representative time series of hourly SO 2 concentrations that could be used to generate the statistics demanded by vegetation response models

  4. 78 FR 53270 - Revision of Air Quality Implementation Plan; California; Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-08-29

    ... Quality Implementation Plan; California; Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District... to the Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District (SMAQMD or District) portion of the..., Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District, Rule 214 (Federal New Source Review), Rule 203...

  5. AIR RADIOACTIVITY MONITOR

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bradshaw, R.L.; Thomas, J.W.

    1961-04-11

    The monitor is designed to minimize undesirable background buildup. It consists of an elongated column containing peripheral electrodes in a central portion of the column, and conduits directing an axial flow of radioactively contaminated air through the center of the column and pure air through the annular portion of the column about the electrodes. (AEC)

  6. Canadian environmental sustainability indicators : air quality indicator : data sources methods 2005

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2006-01-01

    National indicators of freshwater quality, air quality and greenhouse gas emissions were established in 2004 by the Canadian government in recognition that public health and economic well-being are linked to the quality of the environment. These indicators build on a base of an established national monitoring network and are communicated to the public by Environment Canada, Statistics Canada and Health Canada in an effort to provide reliable information on the state of the environment. Each indicator reported in a given year has an associated data sources and methods report to provide technical detail and background information that will help interpret the indicator. This particular report focused on the basic methods and data for the air quality indicator as it was reported in 2005. It approximated public exposure to ground-level ozone, a key component of smog and a harmful pollutant. Since ozone levels are influenced by weather and transboundary flows of pollutants, this report analyzed observed concentrations in relation to where people live. The indicator measures the seasonal average of the highest 8-hour average ground-level ozone concentration for each day. The indicator reflects possible health impacts related to ozone over the entire season. It is population-weighted and assumes that ozone concentrations are constant within a radius of 40 km around each monitoring station. It was noted that future improvements for the air quality indicator will include measures of fine particulate matter and improvements in monitoring methods. 9 refs., 2 tabs., 6 figs

  7. Assessment and prediction of air quality using fuzzy logic and autoregressive models

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carbajal-Hernández, José Juan; Sánchez-Fernández, Luis P.; Carrasco-Ochoa, Jesús A.; Martínez-Trinidad, José Fco.

    2012-12-01

    In recent years, artificial intelligence methods have been used for the treatment of environmental problems. This work, presents two models for assessment and prediction of air quality. First, we develop a new computational model for air quality assessment in order to evaluate toxic compounds that can harm sensitive people in urban areas, affecting their normal activities. In this model we propose to use a Sigma operator to statistically asses air quality parameters using their historical data information and determining their negative impact in air quality based on toxicity limits, frequency average and deviations of toxicological tests. We also introduce a fuzzy inference system to perform parameter classification using a reasoning process and integrating them in an air quality index describing the pollution levels in five stages: excellent, good, regular, bad and danger, respectively. The second model proposed in this work predicts air quality concentrations using an autoregressive model, providing a predicted air quality index based on the fuzzy inference system previously developed. Using data from Mexico City Atmospheric Monitoring System, we perform a comparison among air quality indices developed for environmental agencies and similar models. Our results show that our models are an appropriate tool for assessing site pollution and for providing guidance to improve contingency actions in urban areas.

  8. Air quality and disease

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    First page Back Continue Last page Overview Graphics. Climate change is an important determinant of air quality. Climate change is an important determinant of air quality. Poor air quality associated with higher levels of respiratory and cardiovascular disease. Exposure to high levels of ground-level ozone associated with ...

  9. Air quality assessment in Delhi: before and after CNG as fuel.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chelani, Asha B; Devotta, Sukumar

    2007-02-01

    A number of policy measures have been activated in India in order to control the levels of air pollutants such as particulate matter, sulphur dioxide (SO(2)) and nitrogen dioxide (NO(2)). Delhi, which is one of the most polluted cities in the world, is also going through the implementation phase of the control policies. Ambient air quality data monitored during 2000 to 2003, at 10 sites in Delhi, were analyzed to assess the impact of implementation of these measures, specifically fuel change in vehicles. This paper presents the impact of policy measures on ambient air quality levels and also the source apportionment. CO and NO(2) concentration levels in ambient air are found to be associated with the mobile sources. The temporal variation of air quality data shows the significant effect of shift to CNG (Compressed Natural Gas) in vehicles.

  10. Indoor Air Quality in Schools (IAQ): The Importance of Monitoring Carbon Dioxide Levels.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sundersingh, David; Bearg, David W.

    This article highlights indoor air quality and exposure to pollutants at school. Typical air pollutants within schools include environmental tobacco smoke, formaldehyde, volatile organic compounds, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, allergens, pathogens, radon, pesticides, lead, and dust. Inadequate ventilation, inefficient…

  11. Moving towards cleaner air: a progress report on the air quality strategy for the City of Toronto

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2001-06-01

    The City of Toronto Environmental Plan was adapted in principle by City Council in April 2000. The Plan contains 66 recommendations on land, air, water, governance, sustainability, energy, transportation, green economic development and monitoring. As part of the actions on air, the Plan recommended that the City develop a comprehensive strategy to make Toronto's air clean and free of harmful levels of pollutants. This document reports on progress in the development of this comprehensive air quality standard. Work on the standards was undertaken by an Air Quality Strategy Interdepartmental Working Group (AQSI Working Group) consisting of city departmental representatives, which is one of several working groups reporting to the Toronto Interdepartmental Environmental Team (TIE). While the AQSI Working Group has not yet concluded its work, it is able to report a number of preliminary conclusions. Among them are: implementation of several successful city-wide programs. In this context preliminary indications are that program effectiveness will be limited by the availability of staff and appropriate funding. Policy and legal studies that will provide essential information relating to the legal/jurisdictional context are well underway. Modelling and monitoring of Toronto's air quality are in progress, and will be relied upon for information to guide policy development. Final strategy will have to be formulated in a regional context, in concert with the provincial and federal governments, and will have to take into account trans-boundary (inter-regional, inter-provincial and international) issues

  12. 78 FR 10589 - Revision of Air Quality Implementation Plan; California; Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-02-14

    ... Quality Implementation Plan; California; Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District... Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District (SMAQMD or District) portion of the California State... sources within the areas covered by the plan as necessary to assure that the National Ambient Air Quality...

  13. Impact Analysis of Temperature and Humidity Conditions on Electrochemical Sensor Response in Ambient Air Quality Monitoring.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wei, Peng; Ning, Zhi; Ye, Sheng; Sun, Li; Yang, Fenhuan; Wong, Ka Chun; Westerdahl, Dane; Louie, Peter K K

    2018-01-23

    The increasing applications of low-cost air sensors promises more convenient and cost-effective systems for air monitoring in many places and under many conditions. However, the data quality from such systems has not been fully characterized and may not meet user expectations in research and regulatory uses, or for use in citizen science. In our study, electrochemical sensors (Alphasense B4 series) for carbon monoxide (CO), nitric oxide (NO), nitrogen dioxide (NO₂), and oxidants (O x ) were evaluated under controlled laboratory conditions to identify the influencing factors and quantify their relation with sensor outputs. Based on the laboratory tests, we developed different correction methods to compensate for the impact of ambient conditions. Further, the sensors were assembled into a monitoring system and tested in ambient conditions in Hong Kong side-by-side with regulatory reference monitors, and data from these tests were used to evaluate the performance of the models, to refine them, and validate their applicability in variable ambient conditions in the field. The more comprehensive correction models demonstrated enhanced performance when compared with uncorrected data. One over-arching observation of this study is that the low-cost sensors may promise excellent sensitivity and performance, but it is essential for users to understand and account for several key factors that may strongly affect the nature of sensor data. In this paper, we also evaluated factors of multi-month stability, temperature, and humidity, and considered the interaction of oxidant gases NO₂ and ozone on a newly introduced oxidant sensor.

  14. Impact Analysis of Temperature and Humidity Conditions on Electrochemical Sensor Response in Ambient Air Quality Monitoring

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Peng Wei

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available The increasing applications of low-cost air sensors promises more convenient and cost-effective systems for air monitoring in many places and under many conditions. However, the data quality from such systems has not been fully characterized and may not meet user expectations in research and regulatory uses, or for use in citizen science. In our study, electrochemical sensors (Alphasense B4 series for carbon monoxide (CO, nitric oxide (NO, nitrogen dioxide (NO2, and oxidants (Ox were evaluated under controlled laboratory conditions to identify the influencing factors and quantify their relation with sensor outputs. Based on the laboratory tests, we developed different correction methods to compensate for the impact of ambient conditions. Further, the sensors were assembled into a monitoring system and tested in ambient conditions in Hong Kong side-by-side with regulatory reference monitors, and data from these tests were used to evaluate the performance of the models, to refine them, and validate their applicability in variable ambient conditions in the field. The more comprehensive correction models demonstrated enhanced performance when compared with uncorrected data. One over-arching observation of this study is that the low-cost sensors may promise excellent sensitivity and performance, but it is essential for users to understand and account for several key factors that may strongly affect the nature of sensor data. In this paper, we also evaluated factors of multi-month stability, temperature, and humidity, and considered the interaction of oxidant gases NO2 and ozone on a newly introduced oxidant sensor.

  15. Impact Analysis of Temperature and Humidity Conditions on Electrochemical Sensor Response in Ambient Air Quality Monitoring

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ning, Zhi; Ye, Sheng; Sun, Li; Yang, Fenhuan; Wong, Ka Chun; Westerdahl, Dane; Louie, Peter K. K.

    2018-01-01

    The increasing applications of low-cost air sensors promises more convenient and cost-effective systems for air monitoring in many places and under many conditions. However, the data quality from such systems has not been fully characterized and may not meet user expectations in research and regulatory uses, or for use in citizen science. In our study, electrochemical sensors (Alphasense B4 series) for carbon monoxide (CO), nitric oxide (NO), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and oxidants (Ox) were evaluated under controlled laboratory conditions to identify the influencing factors and quantify their relation with sensor outputs. Based on the laboratory tests, we developed different correction methods to compensate for the impact of ambient conditions. Further, the sensors were assembled into a monitoring system and tested in ambient conditions in Hong Kong side-by-side with regulatory reference monitors, and data from these tests were used to evaluate the performance of the models, to refine them, and validate their applicability in variable ambient conditions in the field. The more comprehensive correction models demonstrated enhanced performance when compared with uncorrected data. One over-arching observation of this study is that the low-cost sensors may promise excellent sensitivity and performance, but it is essential for users to understand and account for several key factors that may strongly affect the nature of sensor data. In this paper, we also evaluated factors of multi-month stability, temperature, and humidity, and considered the interaction of oxidant gases NO2 and ozone on a newly introduced oxidant sensor. PMID:29360749

  16. Low-Cost Air Quality Monitoring Tools: From Research to Practice (A Workshop Summary

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andrea L. Clements

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available In May 2017, a two-day workshop was held in Los Angeles (California, U.S.A. to gather practitioners who work with low-cost sensors used to make air quality measurements. The community of practice included individuals from academia, industry, non-profit groups, community-based organizations, and regulatory agencies. The group gathered to share knowledge developed from a variety of pilot projects in hopes of advancing the collective knowledge about how best to use low-cost air quality sensors. Panel discussion topics included: (1 best practices for deployment and calibration of low-cost sensor systems, (2 data standardization efforts and database design, (3 advances in sensor calibration, data management, and data analysis and visualization, and (4 lessons learned from research/community partnerships to encourage purposeful use of sensors and create change/action. Panel discussions summarized knowledge advances and project successes while also highlighting the questions, unresolved issues, and technological limitations that still remain within the low-cost air quality sensor arena.

  17. Cavity Enhanced Absorption Spectroscopy in Air Pollution Monitoring

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Janusz MIKOŁAJCZYK

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available The paper presents some practical aspects of cavity enhanced absorption spectroscopy application in detection of nitrogen dioxide (NO2, nitrous oxide (N2O, nitric oxide (NO and carbon monoxide (CO. These gases are very important for monitoring of environment. There are shown results of lab-setups for N2O, NO, CO detection and portable sensor of NO2. The portable instrument operates in the UV spectral range and reaches a level of single ppb. The lab–devices use high precision mid-infrared spectroscopy and they was demonstrated during testing the laboratory air. These sensors are able to measure concentration at the ppb level using quantum cascade lasers, high quality optical cavities and modern MCT detection modules. It makes it possible to apply such sensors in monitoring the atmosphere quality.

  18. Applications of synergistic combination of remote sensing and in-situ measurements on urban monitoring of air quality

    Science.gov (United States)

    Diaz, Adrian; Dominguez, Victor; Campmier, Mark; Wu, Yonghua; Arend, Mark; Vladutescu, Daniela Viviana; Gross, Barry; Moshary, Fred

    2017-08-01

    In this study, multiple remote sensing and in-situ measurements are combined in order to obtain a comprehensive understanding of the aerosol distribution in New York City. Measurement of the horizontal distribution of aerosols is performed using a scanning eye-safe elastic-backscatter micro-pulse lidar. Vertical distribution of aerosols is measured with a co-located ceilometer. Furthermore, our analysis also includes in-situ measurements of particulate matter and wind speed and direction. These observations combined show boundary layer dynamics as well as transport and inhomogeneous spatial distribution of aerosols, which are of importance for air quality monitoring.

  19. Correlation of Air Quality Data to Ultrafine Particles (UFP Concentration and Size Distribution in Ambient Air

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Werner Hofmann

    2010-07-01

    Full Text Available This study monitored ultrafine particles (UFP concurrent with environmental air quality data, investigating whether already existing instrumentation used by environmental authorities can provide reference values for estimating UFP concentrations. Of particular interest was the relation of UFP to PM10 (particulate matter and nitrogen oxides (NOx, NO2 in ambient air. Existing PM measurement methods alone did not correspond exactly enough with the actual particle number, but we observed a link between NOx and NO2 to UFP concentration. The combined data could act as proxy-indicator for authorities in estimating particle number concentrations, but cannot replace UFP monitoring.

  20. A process for selecting ecological indicators for application in monitoring impacts to Air Quality Related Values (AQRVs) from atmospheric pollutants. Final report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    White, G.J.; Breckenridge, R.P.

    1997-01-01

    Section 160 of the Clean Air Act (CAA) calls for measures be taken {open_quotes}to preserve, protect, and enhance air quality in national parks, national wilderness areas, national monuments, national seashores, and other areas of special national or regional natural, recreational, scenic, or historic value.{close_quotes} Pursuant to this, stringent requirement have been established for {open_quotes}Class I{close_quotes} areas, which include most National Parks and Wilderness Areas. Federal Land Managers (FLMs) are charged with the task of carrying out these requirements through the identification of air quality related values (AQRVs) that are potentially at risk from atmospheric pollutants. This is a complex task, the success of which is dependent on the gathering of information on a wide variety of factors that contribute to the potential for impacting resources in Class I areas. Further complicating the issue is the diversity of ecological systems found in Class I areas. There is a critical need for the development of monitoring programs to assess the status of AQRVs in Class I areas with respect to impacts caused by atmospheric pollutants. These monitoring programs must be based on the measurement of a carefully selected suite of key physical, chemical, and biological parameters that serve as indicators of the status of the ecosystems found in Class I areas. Such programs must be both scientifically-based and cost-effective, and must provide the data necessary for FLMs to make objective, defensible decisions. This document summarizes a method for developing AQRV monitoring programs in Class I areas.

  1. 78 FR 63934 - Approval of Air Quality Implementation Plans; California; El Dorado County Air Quality Management...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-10-25

    ...] Approval of Air Quality Implementation Plans; California; El Dorado County Air Quality Management District... California for the El Dorado County Air Quality Management District (EDAQMD) portion of the California SIP... 24, 1987 Federal Register, May 25, 1988, U.S. EPA, Air Quality Management Division, Office of Air...

  2. An objective methodology for the evaluation of the air quality stations positioning

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Benassi, A.; Marson, G.; Baraldo, E.; Dalan, F.; Lorenzet, K.; Bellasio, R.; Bianconi, R.

    2006-01-01

    This work describes a methodology for the evaluation of the correct positioning of the monitoring stations of an air quality network. The methodology is based on the Italian legislation, the European Directives and on some technical documents used as guidelines at European level. The paper describes all the assumption on which the methodology is based and the results of its application to the air quality network of Region Veneto (Italy) [it

  3. Ambient Air Pollution Monitoring Network Over Alexandria City And The Nile DELTA, Egypt

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    El Raey, M.; Shalaby, E.; Guirguis, S.; Ghatass, Z.; Said, H.H.; Zahran, A.; Rashad, M.; Sivertsen, B.

    2007-01-01

    The Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency (EEAA) has established a National Air Pollution Network for Egypt. A part of this network covers Alexandria and the Nile delta region and is being operated by the Institute of Graduate Studies and Research (IGSR), University of Alexandria. This paper presents a description of the network, the QA/QC program as well as results from automatic monitors and manually operated instruments . . Preliminary interpretations and implications of air pollution levels have also been discussed. The network monitors ambient air quality indicators including SO 2 , NO 2 , CO, O 3 and PM 10 . The sites for measurements were selected to represent industrial, traffic and domestic sources. Eight stations are established over Alexandria City and seven stations are distributed over Nile delta major cities Damanhur, Kafr EI-Dawwar, Kafr EI-Zayat, Mahala, Tanta, Damietta and Mansoura. The results represent the first long term air quality data for the southern Mediterranean region, which have been properly quality assured and quality controlled. The main results indicate that measured NO 2 concentrations have not exceeded the national air quality limit (AQL) values given for Egypt. The same occurred for SO 2 except at one site located in Kafr Elzayat in the Delta, where large emissions from brick factories impact the site. The 8-hour average CO concentrations were exceeded at a few occasions. PM 10 concentrations have been identified as the major air pollution problem. Concentrations exceeding 70 μm 3 (AQL) have been observed over many sites most of the time. It is suggested that a strong program for tree cultivation on the western desert may be essential for protection

  4. Why participation matters for air quality studies: risk perceptions, understandings of air pollution and mobilization in a poor neighborhood in Nairobi, Kenya.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ngo, N S; Kokoyo, S; Klopp, J

    2017-01-01

    With high urbanization rates, Sub-Saharan Africa is facing growing problems of poor air quality in its cities. We make a case for participatory approaches in air quality studies especially including those living in poor neighborhoods who may be particularly at risk from this trend. We used collaboration with a community based organization, interviews, focus group discussions and a community forum. We conducted a pilot study to assess health risk perceptions of air pollution for civic-minded residents in Mathare, an informal settlement in Nairobi, Kenya. Simultaneously, we involved Mathare residents in measuring levels of PM 2.5 and later presented these data at a community forum with the participants of the monitoring study and the focus group discussions. We found that participation in conducting and interpreting air quality studies helped residents improve their understanding of air pollution and also helped them develop responses to it. Initially, participants associated air pollution with a bad odor or discomfort rather than their health, but once the connection to health was made through participation, they sought more information about air quality data and its hazards. Some residents also came up with strategies for coping with their environment and its risks. These results point to the potential of including participation in air quality monitoring as a way to increase awareness and support local action to address it. Discussion and sharing of results at the local level as well as at a wider policy level will be critical for advocacy to improve air quality. Copyright © 2015 The Royal Society for Public Health. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. Air Quality Scoping Study for Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge, Nevada (EMSI April 2007)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Engelbrecht, Johann; Kavouras, Ilias; Campbell, Dave; Campbell, Scott; Kohl, Steven; Shafer, David

    2007-04-01

    The Desert Research Institute (DRI) is performing a scoping study as part of the U.S.Department of Energy’s Yucca Mountain Environmental Monitoring Systems Initiative (EMSI). The main objective is to obtain baseline air quality information for Yucca Mountain and an area surrounding the Nevada Test Site (NTS). Air quality and meteorological monitoring and sampling equipment housed in a mobile trailer (shelter) is collecting data at seven sites outside the NTS, including Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge, Sarcobatus Flat, Beatty, Rachel, Caliente, Pahranagat National Wildlife Refuge, and Crater Flat, and at four sites on the NTS. The trailer is stationed at any one site for approximately eight weeks at a time. Letter reports provide summaries of air quality and meteorological data, on completion of each site’s sampling program.

  6. Determination and evaluation of air quality control. Manual of ambient air quality control in Germany

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lahmann, E.

    1997-07-01

    Measurement of air pollution emissions and ambient air quality are essential instruments for air quality control. By undertaking such measurements, pollutants are registered both at their place of origin and at the place where they may have an effect on people or the environment. Both types of measurement complement each other and are essential for the implementation of air quality legislation, particularly, in compliance with emission and ambient air quality limit values. Presented here are similar accounts of measurement principles and also contains as an Appendix a list of suitability-tested measuring devices which is based on information provided by the manufacturers. In addition, the guide of ambient air quality control contains further information on discontinuous measurement methods, on measurement planning and on the assessment of ambient air quality data. (orig./SR)

  7. Air quality in Europe - 2011 report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Guerreiro, C.; Larssen, S. (Norsk Inst. for Luftforskning (NILU), Lillestroem (Norway)); Leeuw, F. de (RIVM, Bilthoven (Netherlands)); Foltescu, V. (EEA, Copenhagen (Denmark))

    2011-11-15

    The annual report 'Air quality in Europe' summarises the most recent evaluation of Europe's air quality status. It is mainly based on air quality measurement data that have been made available officially by 32 EEA member countries as well as 6 EEA cooperating countries. The report includes maps and analyses of air quality status over the calendar year 2009. It also analyses air quality trends over the past years. The evaluation of the status and trends of air quality is based on ambient air measurements, in conjunction with reported anthropogenic emissions. The report summarizes the main effects of different air pollutants on human health, the environment and the climate. An overview of policies and measures at European level is also given for each pollutant. This report reviews progress towards meeting the requirements of the two air quality directives in force as well as the air quality guidelines set by the World Health Organization (WHO). The report is produced in support of European and national policy development and implementation in the field of air quality. It also supports air quality management and informs the general public on the current status and trends of air quality in Europe. (Author)

  8. 77 FR 71371 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Ohio; Redesignation of the Ohio...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-11-30

    ... formed secondarily through chemical reactions in the atmosphere involving precursor pollutants emitted... control measures, monitoring and reporting; include provisions for air quality modeling; and provide for.... The air quality modeling analysis conducted for the Transport Rule demonstrates that the Wheeling area...

  9. Strengthening the Network for Monitoring Air Quality in the Valle de Aburra with Passive Meters

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zapata S, Carmen; Quijano, Ricardo; Vasquez Eliana

    2008-01-01

    This investigation was made by the National University of Colombia in agreement with the Metropolitan Area of the Aburra Valley. The principal objective was to enforcing the monitoring of the quality of the air of the Aburra valley by means of the passive testers of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, ozone, volatile organic compounds (BTX) and the rate of particle sedimentation in main road routes. Testers were settled in 15 Stations of the Metropolitan Area for a year. In gas measurement passive tubes of diffusion were used. Settle able particle measurement uses the principle of the gravity and the samples are analyzed by means of total solids. The results of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen do not exceed the Annual Colombian Norm, but in 12 stations of testing the value is surpassed guides of the WHO for nitrogen dioxide. The ozone levels show formation of this one polluting agent in the zones of slope. In 9 stations the Annual Colombian Norm for benzene is exceeded and all the stations the WHO Norm was not fulfilled. The greater rates of particle sedimentation are obtained in the sites of testing influenced by activities of construction and maintenance of ways. The use of passive measurers allows to identify critic zones and to evaluate of simple way the tendencies of atmospheric contamination. We suggest that in Colombia this technique for the measurement of the quality of the air is approved.

  10. Waste to energy plant-air pollution monitoring and reporting

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mullowney, R.L.

    1988-01-01

    We can't eat it. We can't wear it. We are running out of places to bury it. We can't export it. We can't stop making it. Garbage seems to be, by volume at least, our biggest national product. These facts are driving more and more industries and municipalities to construct waste to energy plants. Following the adage that when you get lemons, make lemonade, municipalities have been burning their garbage to produce steam and electricity. Communities, fearful that what they have produced may be toxic to them when burned, have enacted stringent air pollution control and monitoring regulations. The federal government has enacted regulations under the Clean Air Act 43 CFR Part 60 which regulate the emission limits monitoring and reporting requirements of waste energy plants. The most important of these regulations was enacted on December 16, 1987 and June 26, 1987, regulating particulate, SO 2 and NO x emissions. This paper reports that these regulations also tie in to various other EPA regulations and requirements. The most important of these to air pollution monitoring is Appendix F, Quality Assurance. However, these regulations are only minimum requirements -- individual states further strengthen their bite by requiring lower emissions limits and the monitoring of additional parameters such as H 2 S, HCl, NH 2 , CO, CO 2 and moisture. These monitoring limits and reporting requirements are currently being negotiated on a case by case basis in most instances

  11. 75 FR 65572 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Ohio; Ohio Ambient Air Quality...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-26

    ... Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Ohio; Ohio Ambient Air Quality Standards AGENCY... Ohio Administrative Code (OAC) relating to the consolidation of Ohio's Ambient Air Quality Standards... apply to Ohio's SIP. Incorporating the air quality standards into Ohio's SIP helps assure that...

  12. 77 FR 73320 - Approval of Air Quality Implementation Plans; California; South Coast Air Quality Management...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-12-10

    ... Quality Implementation Plans; California; South Coast Air Quality Management District; Prevention of... Implementation Plan (SIP) revision for the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD or District... in a August 15, 2012 letter from the South Coast Air Quality Management District regarding specific...

  13. Air movement and perceived air quality

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Melikov, Arsen Krikor; Kaczmarczyk, J.

    2012-01-01

    The impact of air movement on perceived air quality (PAQ) and sick building syndrome (SBS) symptoms was studied. In total, 124 human subjects participated in four series of experiments performed in climate chambers at different combinations of room air temperature (20, 23, 26 and 28 °C), relative...... and the humidity of the room air. At a low humidity level of 30% an increased velocity could compensate for the decrease in perceived air quality due to an elevated temperature ranging from 20 °C to 26 °C. In a room with 26 °C, increased air movement was also able to compensate for an increase in humidity from 30...... humidity (30, 40 and 70%) and pollution level (low and high). Most of the experiments were performed with and without facially applied airflow at elevated velocity. The importance of the use of recirculated room air and clean, cool and dry outdoor air was studied. The exposures ranged from 60. min to 235...

  14. Transportation and air quality

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Roseland, M.

    1992-01-01

    In the greater Vancouver regional district (GVRD), some 80% of the annual production of 600,000 tonnes of air pollutants come from motor vehicles. Three critical air quality issues in the GVRD are discussed: local air pollution, ozone layer depletion, and greenhouse gas emissions, all of which are fundamentally linked to transportation. Overall air quality in the GVRD has been judged acceptable by current federal standards, but ground-level ozone has exceeded maximum tolerable levels at some locations and concentrations of suspended particulates are above maximum acceptable levels. Serious deterioration in air quality has been predicted unless a concerted effort is made to manage air quality on an airshed-wide basis. The GVRD is developing Canada's first Air Management Plan with the goal of halving atmospheric emissions by 2000. GVRD transportation priorities stress public transit, walking, cycling, car pooling, and reducing of travel demand; however, the viability of such strategies depends on decisions made outside the transportation sector. Restricted authority and jurisdiction also hinder GVRD goals; the regional level of government has no authority over highways or transit and only has authority for pollution control in some parts of the Fraser Valley. Airshed quality management, using the Los Angeles example, is seen as a possible direction for future GVRD policymaking in the transportation sector. A single regional planning agency with responsibility for transportation, land use, and air quality management appears as the best option for an integrated approach to solve multiple problems. 19 refs

  15. Macrolichens as biomonitors of air-quality change in western Pennsylvania

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    McClenahen, J.R.; Davis, D.D.; Hutnik, R.J. [Ohio State Univ, Shreve, OH (United States)

    2007-07-01

    Species richness of corticolous macrolichens was monitored at one- or two-year intervals on a total of 63 plots from 1997-2003 in a region of west-central Pennsylvania that included four coal-fired power generating stations and an industrial city. Lichen richness significantly increased from an average of 5.7 species/plot in 1997 to 9.3 species/plot in 2003. A linear mean rate of gain in species on regional monitoring plots was 0.56 species/yr. Plots along a major ridge top had a slower but significant gain in richness, and a localized area flanked by the city and two generating stations exhibited less lichen recolonization. Our results confirm the value of macrolichens as indicators of air quality and the importance of examining temporal as well as spatial changes in lichen richness to ascertain air-quality status.

  16. 76 FR 72097 - Air Quality Designations for the 2008 Lead (Pb) National Ambient Air Quality Standards

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-11-22

    ... Air Quality Designations for the 2008 Lead (Pb) National Ambient Air Quality Standards AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). ACTION: Final rule. SUMMARY: This rule establishes air quality designations for most areas in the United States for the 2008 lead (Pb) National Ambient Air Quality Standards...

  17. A preliminary investigation of indoor air quality in a naturally ventilated house

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shahrani, S.; Ahmed, A.Z.; Abdul Rahman, S.

    2006-01-01

    Continuous monitoring of indoor air quality was conducted in a naturally ventilated Malaysian house. CO 2 , CO, temperature and relative air humidity measurements were performed in the bathroom, bedroom, family room, kitchen and living room at 15-minute intervals over a 24-hour monitoring period. The measurement data were supplemented with time activity diaries detailing the occupants time of occupancy in each room, activities undertaken in each room and cooling and/or ventilation techniques used in each room. Indoor air quality was found to be generally satisfactory in all five rooms. However, levels of CO in the family room exceeded the USEPA, WHO and Singapore guidelines. Additionally, levels of relative humidity in the kitchen, living room and family room temperature in all five rooms exceeded the ASHRAE and Singapore guidelines, and suggest the like hood of condensation and mould growth

  18. A Study on the Potential Applications of Satellite Data in Air Quality Monitoring and Forecasting

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Can; Hsu, N. Christina; Tsay, Si-Chee

    2011-01-01

    In this study we explore the potential applications of MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) -like satellite sensors in air quality research for some Asian regions. The MODIS aerosol optical thickness (AOT), NCEP global reanalysis meteorological data, and daily surface PM(sub 10) concentrations over China and Thailand from 2001 to 2009 were analyzed using simple and multiple regression models. The AOT-PM(sub 10) correlation demonstrates substantial seasonal and regional difference, likely reflecting variations in aerosol composition and atmospheric conditions, Meteorological factors, particularly relative humidity, were found to influence the AOT-PM(sub 10) relationship. Their inclusion in regression models leads to more accurate assessment of PM(sub 10) from space borne observations. We further introduced a simple method for employing the satellite data to empirically forecast surface particulate pollution, In general, AOT from the previous day (day 0) is used as a predicator variable, along with the forecasted meteorology for the following day (day 1), to predict the PM(sub 10) level for day 1. The contribution of regional transport is represented by backward trajectories combined with AOT. This method was evaluated through PM(sub 10) hindcasts for 2008-2009, using ohservations from 2005 to 2007 as a training data set to obtain model coefficients. For five big Chinese cities, over 50% of the hindcasts have percentage error less than or equal to 30%. Similar performance was achieved for cities in northern Thailand. The MODIS AOT data are responsible for at least part of the demonstrated forecasting skill. This method can be easily adapted for other regions, but is probably most useful for those having sparse ground monitoring networks or no access to sophisticated deterministic models. We also highlight several existing issues, including some inherent to a regression-based approach as exemplified by a case study for Beijing, Further studies will be

  19. 78 FR 19990 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Ohio; Ohio Ambient Air Quality...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-04-03

    ... Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Ohio; Ohio Ambient Air Quality Standards; Correction AGENCY... approved revisions to Ohio regulations that consolidated air quality standards in a new chapter of rules... State's air quality standards into Ohio Administrative Code (OAC) 3745-25 and modifying an assortment of...

  20. 77 FR 12482 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Indiana; Lead Ambient Air Quality...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-03-01

    ... Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Indiana; Lead Ambient Air Quality Standards AGENCY... incorporates the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for Pb promulgated by EPA in 2008. DATES: This... FR 66964) and codified at 40 CFR 50.16, ``National primary and secondary ambient air quality...

  1. Assessing urban air quality and its relation with radon (222Rn)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zoran, Maria; Savastru, Dan; Dida, Adrian

    2016-01-01

    This paper focuses on the assessment of air quality and its relation with radon ( 222 Rn) for Bucharest metropolitan area in Romania. Specifically, daily mean concentrations of particle matter (PM2.5, PM10), ozone (O 3 ), nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ), sulphur dioxide (SO 2 ) and global air quality indices have been analyzed in relation with radon ( 222 Rn) concentrations measured in the air near the ground with AlphaGUARD Radon Monitoring System and CR-39 SSNTDs during 2012 year. Such new information is required by atmospheric sciences to prove suitability of 222 Rn as a tracer for atmospheric dynamics analysis as well as by epidemiological and radiological protection studies. (author)

  2. Do Individual and Neighborhood Characteristics Influence Perceived Air Quality?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deguen, Séverine; Padilla, Manon; Padilla, Cindy; Kihal-Talantikite, Wahida

    2017-12-12

    Background : Despite improvements, air pollution still remains a major public health issue. Numerous epidemiological studies have demonstrated the adverse health effects of air pollution exposure based on modeled measures, but only a few have considered the health impact of perceived air quality. Improving our knowledge of individual perceptions is crucial to defining targeted actions and promoting appropriate intervention measures. Our objective is to investigate the relationship between subjective and objective measures of air pollution and to focus on how individual characteristics combined with the neighborhood socioeconomic deprivation index, measured at a fine spatial scale, may or may not alter this relationship. Materials and Methods : The subjective measures of air quality reported by a sample of Lyon residents were collected via an individual questionnaire. The objective measures of air pollution were modeled by the local air quality monitoring network of the Rhône-Alpes region at census block level. We used a socioeconomic deprivation index to capture the different socioeconomic dimensions at census block level. The statistical analysis was structured in two steps: (1) identification of individual determinants of the subjective measures of air quality using multiple correspondence analysis followed by hierarchical clustering; (2) identification of individual and contextual characteristics that may alter the relationship between the objective and subjective measures of air pollution. Results : Among the youngest and the middle aged population (ages 30 to 59), consistent results between level of satisfaction, perceived air quality and objective measures of air pollution were found whatever the individual characteristics of the population. It is less clear among the oldest population: globally no significant difference between the NO₂ concentrations and the level of satisfaction was observed. Conclusion s : We found a significant relationship between the

  3. Ozone - Current Air Quality Index

    Science.gov (United States)

    GO! Local Air Quality Conditions Zip Code: State : My Current Location Current AQI Forecast AQI Loop More Maps AQI: Good (0 - 50) ... resources for Hawaii residents and visitors more announcements Air Quality Basics Air Quality Index | Ozone | Particle Pollution | Smoke ...

  4. Air quality in the Kootenays: fine particulate (PM10) airborne metals and sulphur dioxide levels, 1993-1999

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2000-09-01

    Air quality monitoring data collected in the Kootenays over a seven year period from 1993 to 1999 are summarized in an effort to inform the public about air quality in the Kootenays and to assist them in understanding air quality monitoring results. Data includes hourly (TEOM) and weekly (NAPS) data for particulate matter (PM 1 0) airborne metals (arsenic, cadmium, lead and zinc) and sulphur dioxide. Analysis of monitoring data showed that particulate matter levels remained constant in most communities, with Johnson Lake and Slocan reporting the lowest levels, while Golden had the highest values during this period. Trail-Butler Park showed a clear declining trend in PM 1 0. Airborne metals and sulphur dioxide levels have decreased in the Kootenays during the seven year period, with only occasional exceedances of both Level A and B air quality objectives in some communities. The report includes a detailed description of the sampling methodology and the analyzed results for PM 1 0, airborne metals and sulphur dioxide for 10 communities in the region. 6 refs., 1 tab., 16 figs., 1 map

  5. Vertical hydraulic generators experience with dynamic air gap monitoring

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pollock, G.B.; Lyles, J.F.

    1992-01-01

    Until recently, dynamic monitoring of the rotor to stator air gap of hydraulic generators was not practical. Cost effective and reliable dyamic air gap monitoring equipment has been developed in recent years. Dynamic air gap monitoring was originally justified because of the desire of the owner to minimize the effects of catastrophic air gap failure. However, monitoring air gaps on a time basis has been shown to be beneficial by assisting in the assessment of hydraulic generator condition. The air gap monitor provides useful information on rotor and stator condition and generator vibration. The data generated by air gap monitors will assist managers in the decision process with respect to the timing and extent of required maintenance for a particular generating unit

  6. Indoor air quality (IAQ) assessment in a multistorey shopping mall by high-spatial-resolution monitoring of volatile organic compounds (VOC).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Amodio, M; Dambruoso, P R; de Gennaro, Gianluigi; de Gennaro, L; Loiotile, A Demarinis; Marzocca, A; Stasi, F; Trizio, L; Tutino, M

    2014-12-01

    In order to assess indoor air quality (IAQ), two 1-week monitoring campaigns of volatile organic compounds (VOC) were performed in different areas of a multistorey shopping mall. High-spatial-resolution monitoring was conducted at 32 indoor sites located in two storehouses and in different departments of a supermarket. At the same time, VOC concentrations were monitored in the mall and parking lot area as well as outdoors. VOC were sampled at 48-h periods using diffusive samplers suitable for thermal desorption. The samples were then analyzed with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The data analysis and chromatic maps indicated that the two storehouses had the highest VOC concentrations consisting principally of terpenes. These higher TVOC concentrations could be a result of the low efficiency of the air exchange and intake systems, as well as the large quantity of articles stored in these small spaces. Instead, inside the supermarket, the food department was the most critical area for VOC concentrations. To identify potential emission sources in this department, a continuous VOC analyzer was used. The findings indicated that the highest total VOC concentrations were present during cleaning activities and that these activities were carried out frequently in the food department. The study highlights the importance of conducting both high-spatial-resolution monitoring and high-temporal-resolution monitoring. The former was able to identify critical issues in environments with a complex emission scenario while the latter was useful in interpreting the dynamics of each emission source.

  7. Satellite Air Quality Monitoring Before, During and After the Beijing 2008 Olympics and Paralympics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Witte, J. C.; Schoeberl, M. R.; Krotkov, N. A.; Pickering, K. E.; Streets, D. G.; Gleason, J. F.; Gille, J. C.

    2009-12-01

    In 2001, Beijing, China was awarded the hosting rights to the 2008 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Since then, the government has gradually implemented pollution emission control strategies to improve Beijing's air quality in preparation for both games. Long-term industrial and short-term vehicle emission controls have also been enforced upwind of Beijing's neighboring provinces to the south and west. This region is characterized by numerous heavy-polluting industries whose emissions are typically transported towards Beijing, significantly impacting the city's air quality. We examine the efficacy of these emission control measures on tropospheric NO2, SO2, and CO pollution using satellite data from Aura's Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) and Terra's Measurements Of Pollution In The Troposphere (MOPITT) from 2004 to the present. During both games, held in August and September 2008, OMI and MOPITT measured significant decreases in all three tracer gases compared to the past three years: NO2 (-43%), SO2 (-13%), and CO (-12%). This decrease in CO and SO2 over northeastern China continues through 2009, reflecting the longer-term nature of emission controls on heavily polluting industries. The global recession is also a likely contributor, as factories have shut down or slowed production due to the decrease in demand for manufactured goods. The tropospheric NO2 column over Beijing returned to typical monthly mean values when controls on vehicle emissions were lifted by the end of September 2008. However, we observe a slight NO2 decrease at the beginning of 2009 relative to 2008 suggesting a decrease in the contribution of industrial emissions of NOx to the overall NO2 column.

  8. Air quality more extensive monitoring of particulates pollution but concentrations must be reduced by 2005

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ba, M.; Colosio, J.

    2000-09-01

    Most epidemiological data point to a link between the concentrations of particles measured in the ambient air and the effects of air pollution on human health. Particulates emitted by road traffic and industry are among the most harmful; they carry serious risks. The particulate monitoring network and legislation on the issue are constantly changing. In France, the number of monitoring stations has more than doubled in recent years. EC Directive 1999/30/EC of 22 April 1999 sets limit values for concentrations of particulates in ambient air to be complied with at certain given dates. In France, while the concentrations measured in urban areas with over 100 000 inhabitants are below the limit values set by the Directive for today, they are significantly higher than those to be complied with by 1 January 2005. (author)

  9. Atomic Energy of Canada Limited monitoring tritiated water in air and water effluents

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Osborne, R.V.; Tepley, N.W

    1978-01-01

    Current on-line methods of monitoring effluents for tritium (as tritiated water, HTO) measure concentrations in air above 250 nCi/m 3 (approx. 10 kBq/m 3 ) and in water above 1 uCi/kg (approx. 40 kBq/kg). Some of the problems encountered in such monitoring are the presence of fission and activation products in the effluents and, particularly in water monitoring, the often dirty quality of the sample. In a new design of monitor, HTO is collected directly from air by a flow of liquid scintillator (LS). For water monitoring a flow of air continuously samples the water and transports HTO to the LS. The key features of the new design are that the high detection efficiency of LS is realizable, that the rate of use of LS is only approx. 2 mm 3 /s, that the controlled evaporation and metering of air provides the low flow of HTO needed for mixing with LS, and that accurate metering of a dirty effluent is not needed. The sensitivities for detecing tritium on-line are improved by at least an order of magnitude

  10. Evaluating real-time air-quality data as earthquake indicator

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hsu, Shih-Chieh; Huang, Yi-Tang; Huang, Jr-Chung; Tu, Jien-Yi; Engling, Guenter; Lin, Chuan-Yao; Lin, Fei-Jan; Huang, Chao-Hao

    2010-01-01

    A catastrophic earthquake, namely the 921-earthquake, occurred with a magnitude of M L = 7.3 in Taiwan on September 21, 1999, causing severe disaster. The evaluation of real-time air-quality data, obtained by the Taiwan Environmental Protection Administration (EPA), revealed a staggering increase in ambient SO 2 concentrations by more than one order of magnitude across the island several hours prior to the earthquake, particularly at background stations. The abrupt increase in SO 2 concentrations likely resulted from seismic-triggered degassing instead of air pollution. An additional case of a large earthquake (M L = 6.8), occurring on March 31, 2002, was examined to confirm our observations of significantly enhanced SO 2 concentrations in ambient air prior to large earthquakes. The coincidence between large earthquakes and increases in trace gases during the pre-quake period (several hours) indicates the potential of employing air-quality monitoring data to forecast catastrophic earthquakes.

  11. Evaluation of The Data of Duzce Air Quality Monitoring Station Between 2007-2011

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Atilla Senih Mayda

    2013-02-01

    Full Text Available Background: To evaluate air quality between the years 2007-2011 in the province of Duzce. Methods: Inthis cross-sectional study, sulfur dioxide, particulate matter levels, wind speed, air temperature, wind direction, relative humidity, air pressure values of Duzce city center obtained from the web page of Ministry of Envoriment and Planning between 2007-2011 were studied. Ontained measurements compared with the limit values of Air Quality Protection Regulation and the European Union. Results: Average PM10 was 90,5±1,9 (minimum 11,maximum 612 in Duzce Province from January 30, 2007 to December 2011. For PM10 long-term limit value for Turkey was 78 µg/mm3 and were exceeded all years. Winter seasons had higher average values of PM10 than summer seasons. The average SO2 was 12,5±0,3 (minimum 1, maximum 56. Long-term limit value and average annual values of Turkey for SO2 were not exceeded in any year. Conclusion:Duzce Directorate of Environment and Urban Planning should increase the controls in Duzce,especially due to higher values for PM10 parameter related to air pollution.In the days when warning theshold levels exceeded necessary measuress must be taken. [TAF Prev Med Bull 2013; 12(1.000: 11-18

  12. Air quality in Ontario: a concise report on the state of air quality in the province of Ontario 1998

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2001-01-01

    Major achievements in reducing total sulphur compounds, carbon monoxide, sulphur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide are reported, notwithstanding sharp increases in the province's population, economic activity and vehicular traffic since the first report in 1971. Despite the reported improvements and the impressive results of the 'Drive Clean' program, air pollution still impacts the health and well-being of Ontarians, with smog, resulting from an increase in ground-level ozone and inhalable particles emissions, being of particular concern. The 'Drive Clean' program is the province's principal weapon in the fight to reduce smog-causing emissions from the No. 1 domestic source, namely cars, trucks and buses. Some 2.5 million light-duty vehicles had been tested as of March 2001, with almost 86 per cent of them passing on the first try. Repairs mandated by the program during its first year led to a reduction of 6.7 per cent in smog-related emissions from light-duty vehicles, as well as an 18,500-tonne reduction in emission of carbon dioxide. When fully implemented by 2004, the 'Drive Clean' program is expected to cover some five million light-duty vehicles in southern Ontario and 200,000 heavy-duty trucks across the province. Mandatory tracking and reporting of all harmful air emissions by industrial and commercial enterprises and tough new emission limits for smog and acid rain-causing pollutants have been announced in April 2000. Power generating plants are also now obliged to monitor and report some 28 substances of concern which include sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and carbon dioxide. In addition to mandatory reporting, the province also introduced new regulated emission limits for nitrogen oxides and sulphur dioxide from coal and oil-fired power stations. More than four million dollars have been invested by the province since 1995 to develop a state-of-the-art air monitoring system. Air quality information is now being provided by 28 communities across Ontario

  13. Long-term trends in airborne SO2 in an air quality monitoring station in Seoul, Korea, from 1987 to 2013.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khan, Azmatullah; Kim, Ki-Hyun; Szulejko, Jan E; Brown, Richard J C; Jeon, Eui-Chan; Oh, Jong-Min; Shin, Yong Soon; Adelodun, Adedeji A

    2017-08-01

    Atmospheric concentration of sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ) was intermittently measured at an air quality monitoring (AQM) station in the Yong-san district of Seoul, Korea, between 1987 and 2013. The SO 2 level was compared with other important pollutants concurrently measured, including methane (CH 4 ), carbon monoxide (CO), nitric oxide (NO), nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ), ozone (O 3 ), and particulate matter (PM 10 ). If split into three different periods (period 1, 1987-1988, period 2, 1999-2000, and period 3, 2004-2013), the respective mean [SO 2 ] values (6.57 ± 4.29, 6.30 ± 2.44, and 5.29 ± 0.63 ppb) showed a slight reduction across the entire study period. The concentrations of SO 2 are found to be strongly correlated with other pollutants such as CO (r = 0.614, p = 0.02), which tracked reductions in reported emissions due to tighter emissions standards enacted by the South Korean government. There was also a clear seasonal trend in the SO 2 level, especially in periods 2 and 3, reflecting the combined effects of domestic heating by coal briquettes and meteorological conditions. Although only a 16% concentration reduction was achieved during the 27-year study duration, this is significant if one considers rapid urbanization, an 83.2% increase in population, and rapid industrialization that took place during that period. Since 1970, a network of air quality monitoring (AQM) stations has been operated by the Korean Ministry of Environment (KMOE) for routine nationwide monitoring of air pollutant concentrations in urban/suburban areas. To date, the information obtained from these stations has provided a platform for analyzing long-term trends of major pollutant species. In this study, we examined the long-term trends of SO 2 levels and relevant environmental parameters monitored continuously in the Yong-san district of Seoul between 1987 and 2013. The data were analyzed over various time scales (i.e., monthly, seasonal, and annual intervals). The results obtained from

  14. The health benefits of attaining and strengthening air quality standards in Cape Town

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Samantha Keen

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available The link between pollution and poor health and mortality has been established globally. Developing countries carry most of the burden of ill health from air pollution, and urban centres like the City of Cape Town even more so. Effective air quality management to protect human health relies on the attainment of air quality standards. This study uses the Benefits Mapping and Analysis Program (BenMAP along with a locally derived exposure-response function and air quality monitor data to investigate whether the consistent attainment of current or more stringent air quality standards would avoid loss of life. The results show that attaining the PM10 24-hour mean South Africa National Standard limit and the PM10 and SO2 24-hour mean World Health Organisation guidelines in Cape Town reduces levels of pollutants and does reduce excess risk of mortality in Cape Town.

  15. Assessment of air quality in and around a steel industry with direct reduction iron route.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jena, Pradip K; Behera, Dillip K; Mishra, C S K; Mohanty, Saswat K

    2011-10-01

    The coal based Direct Reduced Iron (DRI) route for secondary steel production is now a preferred choice in India. Steel making is invariably associated with emission of air pollutants into the environment. Air quality monitoring was carried out in Winter, Summer and Rainy seasons of 2008 in eight monitoring stations in the work zone and five stations in the residential zone of an Integrated Steel Industry located in Orissa state, India. Four air quality parameters i.e. SPM, RSPM, SO2 and NO2 were monitored. Mean SPM and RSPM values were found to be significantly high (p < 0.01) at stations nearer to source in both work zone and residential zone .The highest average SPM and RSPM values in the work zone recorded were 4869 microg/m3 and 1420 microg/m3 and in the residential zone 294 microg/m3 and 198 microg/m3 respectively. No significant difference in the SO2 and NO2 levels was observed between the work and residential zones. In general, the values of air pollutants were highest in Winter followed by Summer and Rainy season. SPM and RSPM values exceeded the National Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) in both the residential and work zones.

  16. Indoor Air Quality Manual.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baldwin Union Free School District, NY.

    This manual identifies ways to improve a school's indoor air quality (IAQ) and discusses practical actions that can be carried out by school staff in managing air quality. The manual includes discussions of the many sources contributing to school indoor air pollution and the preventive planning for each including renovation and repair work,…

  17. 77 FR 12524 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Indiana; Lead Ambient Air Quality...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-03-01

    ... Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Indiana; Lead Ambient Air Quality Standards AGENCY... Indiana State Implementation Plan (SIP) for lead (Pb) under the Clean Air Act (CAA). This submittal incorporates the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for Pb promulgated by EPA in 2008. DATES...

  18. 75 FR 65594 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Ohio; Ohio Ambient Air Quality...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-26

    ... Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Ohio; Ohio Ambient Air Quality Standards AGENCY... the Ohio Administrative Code (OAC) relating to the consolidation of Ohio's Ambient Air Quality Standards (AAQS) into Ohio's State Implementation Plan (SIP) under the Clean Air Act. On April 8, 2009, and...

  19. Assessment of ambient air quality in Chidambaram a south Indian town

    OpenAIRE

    P. Balashanmugam; A.R. Ramanathan; V. Nehrukumar

    2012-01-01

    Worldwide preliminary studies in large number are advocated to create data base, to identify potential cities / towns that warrant “continuous ambient air quality monitoring and control mechanism” and to evolve priorities for clean air target. The results reported pertain to an eight hour random preliminary air sampling exercise carried out at each of the eight select locations in Chidambaram, a southern semi urban settlement in India. Criteria pollutants SPM, CO, SO2 and NO2 measured are fou...

  20. Assessment of air quality microsensors versus reference methods: The EuNetAir joint exercise

    Science.gov (United States)

    Borrego, C.; Costa, A. M.; Ginja, J.; Amorim, M.; Coutinho, M.; Karatzas, K.; Sioumis, Th.; Katsifarakis, N.; Konstantinidis, K.; De Vito, S.; Esposito, E.; Smith, P.; André, N.; Gérard, P.; Francis, L. A.; Castell, N.; Schneider, P.; Viana, M.; Minguillón, M. C.; Reimringer, W.; Otjes, R. P.; von Sicard, O.; Pohle, R.; Elen, B.; Suriano, D.; Pfister, V.; Prato, M.; Dipinto, S.; Penza, M.

    2016-12-01

    The 1st EuNetAir Air Quality Joint Intercomparison Exercise organized in Aveiro (Portugal) from 13th-27th October 2014, focused on the evaluation and assessment of environmental gas, particulate matter (PM) and meteorological microsensors, versus standard air quality reference methods through an experimental urban air quality monitoring campaign. The IDAD-Institute of Environment and Development Air Quality Mobile Laboratory was placed at an urban traffic location in the city centre of Aveiro to conduct continuous measurements with standard equipment and reference analysers for CO, NOx, O3, SO2, PM10, PM2.5, temperature, humidity, wind speed and direction, solar radiation and precipitation. The comparison of the sensor data generated by different microsensor-systems installed side-by-side with reference analysers, contributes to the assessment of the performance and the accuracy of microsensor-systems in a real-world context, and supports their calibration and further development. The overall performance of the sensors in terms of their statistical metrics and measurement profile indicates significant differences in the results depending on the platform and on the sensors considered. In terms of pollutants, some promising results were observed for O3 (r2: 0.12-0.77), CO (r2: 0.53-0.87), and NO2 (r2: 0.02-0.89). For PM (r2: 0.07-0.36) and SO2 (r2: 0.09-0.20) the results show a poor performance with low correlation coefficients between the reference and microsensor measurements. These field observations under specific environmental conditions suggest that the relevant microsensor platforms, if supported by the proper post processing and data modelling tools, have enormous potential for new strategies in air quality control.

  1. Assessment of air quality for arsenic, cadmium, mercury and nickel in the Netherlands

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Buijsman E; LLO

    The presence of arsenic, cadmium, mercury and nickel in air in the Netherlands has been investigated. Using measurement data, a limited supplemental monitoring effort and the results of modelling calculations, it has been possible to obtain a realistic picture of air quality in the Netherlands with

  2. Next Generation Air Quality Platform: Openness and Interoperability for the Internet of Things

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alexander Kotsev

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available The widespread diffusion of sensors, mobile devices, social media and open data are reconfiguring the way data underpinning policy and science are being produced and consumed. This in turn is creating both opportunities and challenges for policy-making and science. There can be major benefits from the deployment of the IoT in smart cities and environmental monitoring, but to realize such benefits, and reduce potential risks, there is an urgent need to address current limitations, including the interoperability of sensors, data quality, security of access and new methods for spatio-temporal analysis. Within this context, the manuscript provides an overview of the AirSensEUR project, which establishes an affordable open software/hardware multi-sensor platform, which is nonetheless able to monitor air pollution at low concentration levels. AirSensEUR is described from the perspective of interoperable data management with emphasis on possible use case scenarios, where reliable and timely air quality data would be essential.

  3. Next Generation Air Quality Platform: Openness and Interoperability for the Internet of Things.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kotsev, Alexander; Schade, Sven; Craglia, Massimo; Gerboles, Michel; Spinelle, Laurent; Signorini, Marco

    2016-03-18

    The widespread diffusion of sensors, mobile devices, social media and open data are reconfiguring the way data underpinning policy and science are being produced and consumed. This in turn is creating both opportunities and challenges for policy-making and science. There can be major benefits from the deployment of the IoT in smart cities and environmental monitoring, but to realize such benefits, and reduce potential risks, there is an urgent need to address current limitations, including the interoperability of sensors, data quality, security of access and new methods for spatio-temporal analysis. Within this context, the manuscript provides an overview of the AirSensEUR project, which establishes an affordable open software/hardware multi-sensor platform, which is nonetheless able to monitor air pollution at low concentration levels. AirSensEUR is described from the perspective of interoperable data management with emphasis on possible use case scenarios, where reliable and timely air quality data would be essential.

  4. Spatial and temporal air quality pattern recognition using environmetric techniques: a case study in Malaysia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Syed Abdul Mutalib, Sharifah Norsukhairin; Juahir, Hafizan; Azid, Azman; Mohd Sharif, Sharifah; Latif, Mohd Talib; Aris, Ahmad Zaharin; Zain, Sharifuddin M; Dominick, Doreena

    2013-09-01

    The objective of this study is to identify spatial and temporal patterns in the air quality at three selected Malaysian air monitoring stations based on an eleven-year database (January 2000-December 2010). Four statistical methods, Discriminant Analysis (DA), Hierarchical Agglomerative Cluster Analysis (HACA), Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs), were selected to analyze the datasets of five air quality parameters, namely: SO2, NO2, O3, CO and particulate matter with a diameter size of below 10 μm (PM10). The three selected air monitoring stations share the characteristic of being located in highly urbanized areas and are surrounded by a number of industries. The DA results show that spatial characterizations allow successful discrimination between the three stations, while HACA shows the temporal pattern from the monthly and yearly factor analysis which correlates with severe haze episodes that have happened in this country at certain periods of time. The PCA results show that the major source of air pollution is mostly due to the combustion of fossil fuel in motor vehicles and industrial activities. The spatial pattern recognition (S-ANN) results show a better prediction performance in discriminating between the regions, with an excellent percentage of correct classification compared to DA. This study presents the necessity and usefulness of environmetric techniques for the interpretation of large datasets aiming to obtain better information about air quality patterns based on spatial and temporal characterizations at the selected air monitoring stations.

  5. 77 FR 58955 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Commonwealth of Pennsylvania...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-09-25

    ... than 100 HP or gas extraction wells at landfills. However, the Commenter has not provided, and EPA is... processing of natural gas from the Marcellus Shale'' and asserts that these alleged monitoring or reporting... Marcellus Shale industry and therefore the ambient air quality monitoring plan is inadequate to monitor...

  6. Factors Affecting Parent's Perception on Air Quality-From the Individual to the Community Level.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guo, Yulin; Liu, Fengfeng; Lu, Yuanan; Mao, Zongfu; Lu, Hanson; Wu, Yanyan; Chu, Yuanyuan; Yu, Lichen; Liu, Yisi; Ren, Meng; Li, Na; Chen, Xi; Xiang, Hao

    2016-05-12

    The perception of air quality significantly affects the acceptance of the public of the government's environmental policies. The aim of this research is to explore the relationship between the perception of the air quality of parents and scientific monitoring data and to analyze the factors that affect parents' perceptions. Scientific data of air quality were obtained from Wuhan's environmental condition reports. One thousand parents were investigated for their knowledge and perception of air quality. Scientific data show that the air quality of Wuhan follows an improving trend in general, while most participants believed that the air quality of Wuhan has deteriorated, which indicates a significant difference between public perception and reality. On the individual level, respondents with an age of 40 or above (40 or above: OR = 3.252; 95% CI: 1.170-9.040), a higher educational level (college and above: OR = 7.598; 95% CI: 2.244-25.732) or children with poor healthy conditions (poor: OR = 6.864; 95% CI: 2.212-21.302) have much more negative perception of air quality. On the community level, industrial facilities, vehicles and city construction have major effects on parents' perception of air quality. Our investigation provides baseline information for environmental policy researchers and makers regarding the public's perception and expectation of air quality and the benefits to the environmental policy completing and enforcing.

  7. Preparation and analysis of zero gases for the measurement of trace VOCs in air monitoring

    Science.gov (United States)

    Englert, Jennifer; Claude, Anja; Demichelis, Alessia; Persijn, Stefan; Baldan, Annarita; Li, Jianrong; Plass-Duelmer, Christian; Michl, Katja; Tensing, Erasmus; Wortman, Rina; Ghorafi, Yousra; Lecuna, Maricarmen; Sassi, Guido; Sassi, Maria Paola; Kubistin, Dagmar

    2018-06-01

    Air quality observations are performed globally to monitor the status of the atmosphere and its level of pollution and to assess mitigation strategies. Regulations of air quality monitoring programmes in various countries demand high-precision measurements for harmful substances often at low trace concentrations. These requirements can only be achieved by using high-quality calibration gases including high-purity zero gas. For volatile organic compound (VOC) observations, zero gas is defined as being hydrocarbon-free and can be, for example, purified air, nitrogen or helium. It is essential for the characterisation of the measurement devices and procedures, for instrument operation as well as for calibrations. Two commercial and one self-built gas purifiers were tested for their VOC removal efficiency following a standardised procedure. The tested gas purifiers included one adsorption cartridge with an inorganic media and two types of metal catalysts. A large range of VOCs were investigated, including the most abundant species typically measured at air monitoring stations. Both catalysts were able to remove a large range of VOCs whilst the tested adsorption cartridge was not suitable to remove light compounds up to C4. Memory effects occurred for the adsorption cartridge when exposed to higher concentration. This study emphasises the importance of explicitly examining a gas purifier for its intended application before applying it in the field.

  8. Merging Air Quality and Public Health Decision Support Systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hudspeth, W. B.; Bales, C. L.

    2003-12-01

    The New Mexico Air Quality Mapper (NMAQM) is a Web-based, open source GIS prototype application that Earth Data Analysis Center is developing under a NASA Cooperative Agreement. NMAQM enhances and extends existing data and imagery delivery systems with an existing Public Health system called the Rapid Syndrome Validation Project (RSVP). RSVP is a decision support system operating in several medical and public health arenas. It is evolving to ingest remote sensing data as input to provide early warning of human health threats, especially those related to anthropogenic atmospheric pollutants and airborne pathogens. The NMAQM project applies measurements of these atmospheric pollutants, derived from both remotely sensed data as well as from in-situ air quality networks, to both forecasting and retrospective analyses that influence human respiratory health. NMAQM provides a user-friendly interface for visualizing and interpreting environmentally-linked epidemiological phenomena. The results, and the systems made to provide the information, will be applicable not only to decision-makers in the public health realm, but also to air quality organizations, demographers, community planners, and other professionals in information technology, and social and engineering sciences. As an accessible and interactive mapping and analysis application, it allows environment and health personnel to study historic data for hypothesis generation and trend analysis, and then, potentially, to predict air quality conditions from daily data acquisitions. Additional spin off benefits to such users include the identification of gaps in the distribution of in-situ monitoring stations, the dissemination of air quality data to the public, and the discrimination of local vs. more regional sources of air pollutants that may bear on decisions relating to public health and public policy.

  9. Air Quality Monitoring with Routine Utilization of Ion Beam Analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wegrzynek, D.

    2013-01-01

    Full text: Information on source contributions to ambient air particulate concentrations is a vital tool for air quality management. Traditional gravimetric analysis of airborne particulate matter is unable to provide information on the sources contributing to air particulate concentrations. Ion beam analysis is used to identify the elemental composition of air particulates for source apportionment and determining the relative contribution of biogenic and anthropogenic sources to air particulate pollution. The elemental composition is obtained by proton induced X-ray emission technique (PIXE), which is an ion beam analysis (IBA) technique. The element concentrations are deduced from the X ray spectra produced when the particulate collected on a filter is bombarded with a high-energy proton beam. As part of the UNDP/IAEA/RCA Project RAS/8/082 ‘Better Management of the Environment, Natural Resources and Industrial Growth through Isotope and Radiation Technology,’ a collaborative alliance was formed between the Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences Limited and the Wellington Regional Council, New Zeland [1]. The purpose of the project was to examine the elemental composition of air particulate matter and determine the origins through source apportionment techniques. In New Zealand PM 10 and PM 2.5 fractions have been collected at the industrial area of Seaview, Wellington over two years using a GENT stacked filter unit sampler. Concentrations of elements with atomic mass above neon were determined using ion beam analysis and elemental carbon concentrations were determined using a reflectometer. Specific ambient source elemental 'fingerprints' were then determined by factor analysis and the relative contributions of various local and regional sources were assessed. The significant factors (sources) were determined to be sea salt, soil, industry, and combustion sources. Local industry was found to contribute to ambient lead concentrations. (author)

  10. Air Quality System (AQS)

    Science.gov (United States)

    The Air Quality System (AQS) database contains measurements of air pollutant concentrations from throughout the United States and its territories. The measurements include both criteria air pollutants and hazardous air pollutants.

  11. Biomonitoring of air quality in the metropolitan region of Recife, PE, Brazil

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Santos, Thiago Oliveira dos

    2016-01-01

    The interest on questions related to environmental conservation has increased in recent decades, being air pollution one of the main public health problems in huge urban centers. Major part of this atmospheric contamination is caused by gaseous pollutants and inhalable particulate matter. One of the main sources is the burning of fossil fuels mainly emitted by motor vehicles. Some organisms, like lichen and atmospheric bromeliad, are able to accumulate chemical elements in their tissues, thereby becoming excellent tools for air quality studies of monitoring. The present work evaluated the air quality in the Metropolitan Region of Recife (RMR) using the lichen Cladonia verticillaris and the bromeliad Tillandsia recurvata, through the quantification of chemical elements associated to vehicles traffic. The biomonitors were transferred to 40 points distributed in the RMR with different intensities of the vehicle traffic. After the exposition period of six months, Al, Ba, Ca, Cd, Cl, Fe, Mg, Mn, P, Pb, Sb, Sr, Th, V and Zn were quantified by Energy Dispersive X-Ray Fluorescence (EDXRF) and Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS). The organisms were complementary, being appropriated tools for monitoring the air quality. The vehicle traffic was considered one of the major contributor for increasing chemical elements in the RMR urban atmosphere. (author)

  12. 77 FR 46911 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Michigan; Regional Haze State...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-08-06

    ...-air quality environmental impacts of compliance; (3) any existing pollution control technology in use... relying on EPA's Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR) to address these requirements. EPA is also taking...) monitoring network, show that visibility impairment caused by air pollution occurs virtually all the time at...

  13. Evaluation of the air quality at the two monitoring sities in Brno related to the synoptic situation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jan Svoboda

    2005-01-01

    Full Text Available The main objective of this work was to evaluate influnce of transportation on the air quality using IAQ (index of air quality. The data from one of the AIM station were evaluated. The trend in air quality development in years 1996–2003 was described. In days with adverse IAQ values the probable cause of the phenomenon was determined. It is obvious that adverse IAQ values were recorded during these synoptic situations: centre anticyklone, wedge of high pressure, weak pressure field and warm sector of front systém. The most frequent was the centre anticyklone synoptic situation which is typical (mainly during winter by air temperature inversion.

  14. Air Quality and Climate Change

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Colette, A.; Rouil, L.; Bessagnet, B.; Schucht, S.; Szopa, S.; Vautard, R.; Menut, L.

    2013-01-01

    Climate change and air quality are closely related: through the policy measures implemented to mitigate these major environmental threats but also through the geophysical processes that drive them. We designed, developed and implemented a comprehensive regional air quality and climate modeling System to investigate future air quality in Europe taking into account the combined pressure of future climate change and long range transport. Using the prospective scenarios of the last generation of pathways for both climate change (emissions of well mixed greenhouse gases) and air pollutants, we can provide a quantitative view into the possible future air quality in Europe. We find that ozone pollution will decrease substantially under the most stringent scenario but the efforts of the air quality legislation will be adversely compensated by the penalty of global warming and long range transport for the business as usual scenario. For particulate matter, the projected reduction of emissions efficiently reduces exposure levels. (authors)

  15. Air Quality Guide for Ozone

    Science.gov (United States)

    GO! Local Air Quality Conditions Zip Code: State : My Current Location Air Quality Guide for Ozone Ground-level ozone is one of our nation’s most common air pollutants. Use the chart below to help reduce ...

  16. Air quality assessment of low emission zones in Copenhagen. [Denmark]; Luftkvalitetsvurdering af ren-luftzone i Koebenhavn

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Solvang Jensen, S.; Ketzel, M.; Brandt, J.; Winther, M.; Ellermann, T.

    2012-09-15

    According to the government agreement from 2011 improved low emission zones have been identified as a measure to improve the air quality in greater Danish cities, and to ensure compliance with air quality limit values for NO{sub 2} of 40 {mu}g/m{sup 3} as an annual mean. The limit value is violated at H.C. Andersens Boulevard in Copenhagen which is one of the busiest urban streets in Denmark and a fixed air quality monitor station is also located in the street. Air quality model calculations also shows that some other busy streets in Copenhagen violate the annual air quality limit values for NO{sub 2}. The objective of the project is to assess the impacts of a number of improved low emission zone measures in Copenhagen regarding emissions and air quality with focus on NO{sub 2}. The impact assessment of different scenarios includes assessment of emissions and air quality. The assessment is carried out in great details for NO{sub 2} and to a lesser degree for PM exhaust, PM{sub 2.5} and PM{sub 10}. Since air quality assessment is resource demanding only the main scenarios are carried out with the full air quality model whereas the air quality of the scenario variants are assessed based on regression analysis between emissions and air quality in scenarios calculated with the full air quality model. (LN)

  17. Participant evaluation results for two indoor air quality studies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hawthorne, A.R.; Dudney, C.S.; Cohen, M.A.; Spengler, J.D.

    1987-01-01

    After two surveys for indoor air pollutants (radon and other chemicals) the homeowners were surveyed for their reactions. The results of these participant evaluation surveys, assuming that the participants that responded to the survey were representative, indicate that homeowners will accept a significant level of monitoring activity as part of an indoor air quality field study. Those participants completing surveys overwhelmingly enjoyed being in the studies and would do it again. We believe that the emphasis placed on positive homeowner interactions and efforts made to inform participants throughout our studies were positive factors in this result. There was no substantial differences noted in the responses between the 70-house study, which included a homeowner compensation payment of $100, and the 300-house study, which did not include a compensation payment. These results provide encouragement to conduct future complex, multipollutant indoor air quality studies when they are scientifically sound and cost effective

  18. Forecasting air quality time series using deep learning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Freeman, Brian S; Taylor, Graham; Gharabaghi, Bahram; Thé, Jesse

    2018-04-13

    This paper presents one of the first applications of deep learning (DL) techniques to predict air pollution time series. Air quality management relies extensively on time series data captured at air monitoring stations as the basis of identifying population exposure to airborne pollutants and determining compliance with local ambient air standards. In this paper, 8 hr averaged surface ozone (O 3 ) concentrations were predicted using deep learning consisting of a recurrent neural network (RNN) with long short-term memory (LSTM). Hourly air quality and meteorological data were used to train and forecast values up to 72 hours with low error rates. The LSTM was able to forecast the duration of continuous O 3 exceedances as well. Prior to training the network, the dataset was reviewed for missing data and outliers. Missing data were imputed using a novel technique that averaged gaps less than eight time steps with incremental steps based on first-order differences of neighboring time periods. Data were then used to train decision trees to evaluate input feature importance over different time prediction horizons. The number of features used to train the LSTM model was reduced from 25 features to 5 features, resulting in improved accuracy as measured by Mean Absolute Error (MAE). Parameter sensitivity analysis identified look-back nodes associated with the RNN proved to be a significant source of error if not aligned with the prediction horizon. Overall, MAE's less than 2 were calculated for predictions out to 72 hours. Novel deep learning techniques were used to train an 8-hour averaged ozone forecast model. Missing data and outliers within the captured data set were replaced using a new imputation method that generated calculated values closer to the expected value based on the time and season. Decision trees were used to identify input variables with the greatest importance. The methods presented in this paper allow air managers to forecast long range air pollution

  19. Innovative application of air ejector as a pump for continuous air monitors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dhanasekaran, A.; Ajoy, K.C.; Santhanam, R.; Rajagopal, V.; Jose, M.T.

    2016-01-01

    Workplace monitoring, one of the key components of the radiation protection program is generally carried out by means of instruments installed permanently in respective areas or through portable air sampling instruments. Continuous air monitor (CAM) is one such monitor that constantly monitors the radionuclide concentration in air and triggers alarm as and when the air concentration goes above the pre-set levels. Conventional CAM system has a filter head, detector, display unit and a pump as four major parts. Pump may be either rotary vane or a vibrating diaphragm which are electrically driven using motors. Air lift pumps using ejectors are widely used where pump reliability and low maintenance are required, and where corrosive, abrasive, or radioactive fluids are handled. Since ejectors are uncomplicated alternative to vacuum pumps, an attempt was made to use the same as a pump for conventional CAMs. An ejector based sampling set up was made, tested and the results are represented in this paper

  20. Indoor air quality of houses located in the urban environment of Agra, India.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Taneja, Ajay; Saini, Renuka; Masih, Amit

    2008-10-01

    Increased concern over the adverse health effects of air pollution has highlighted the need for air-pollution measurements, especially in urban areas, where many sources of air pollutants are normally monitored outdoors as part of obligations under the National Air Quality Strategies. Very little is known about air pollution indoors. In fact, the largest exposure to health-damaging indoor pollution probably occurs in the developing world, not in households, schools, and offices of developed countries where most research and control efforts have been focused to date. As a result much of the health impacts from air pollution worldwide seem to occur among the poorest and most vulnerable populations. The authors in their earlier studies have confirmed the importance of ambient air in determining the quality of air indoors. In this study an observation of air quality indoors and outdoors of domestic homes located in an urban environment from October 2004 to December 2005 in Agra, north central India, is performed. The purpose of this study was to characterize the indoor/outdoor (I/O) relationship of airborne pollutants and recognize their probable source in all three seasons, that is, winter, summer, and rainy season. Concentrations of SO(2), NO(2), CO(2), Cl(2), H(2)S, NH(3), RSPM, and PAH were monitored simultaneously and I/O ratios were calculated. In order to investigate the effect of seasonality on indoor and ambient air quality, winter to summer and winter to monsoon average ratios were calculated. It is apparent that there is a general pattern of increasing levels from monsoon to summer to winter, and similarly from outdoor to indoor air. Regressions analysis had been done to further investigate the influence of outdoor air-pollutant concentrations on indoor concentrations. The most probable categories of sources for these pollutants have been identified by using principal-component analysis. Indoor air pollution is a complex function of energy housing and

  1. Methodology for Air Quality Forecast Downscaling from Regional- to Street-Scale

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baklanov, Alexander; Nuterman, Roman; Mahura, Alexander; Amstrup, Bjarne; Hansen Saas, Bent; Havskov Sørensen, Jens; Lorenzen, Thomas; Weismann, Jakob

    2010-05-01

    The most serious air pollution events occur in cities where there is a combination of high population density and air pollution, e.g. from vehicles. The pollutants can lead to serious human health problems, including asthma, irritation of the lungs, bronchitis, pneumonia, decreased resistance to respiratory infections, and premature death. In particular air pollution is associated with increase in cardiovascular disease and lung cancer. In 2000 WHO estimated that between 2.5 % and 11 % of total annual deaths are caused by exposure to air pollution. However, European-scale air quality models are not suited for local forecasts, as their grid-cell is typically of the order of 5 to 10km and they generally lack detailed representation of urban effects. Two suites are used in the framework of the EC FP7 project MACC (Monitoring of Atmosphere Composition and Climate) to demonstrate how downscaling from the European MACC ensemble to local-scale air quality forecast will be carried out: one will illustrate capabilities for the city of Copenhagen (Denmark); the second will focus on the city of Bucharest (Romania). This work is devoted to the first suite, where methodological aspects of downscaling from regional (European/ Denmark) to urban scale (Copenhagen), and from the urban down to street scale. The first results of downscaling according to the proposed methodology are presented. The potential for downscaling of European air quality forecasts by operating urban and street-level forecast models is evaluated. This will bring a strong support for continuous improvement of the regional forecast modelling systems for air quality in Europe, and underline clear perspectives for the future regional air quality core and downstream services for end-users. At the end of the MACC project, requirements on "how-to-do" downscaling of European air-quality forecasts to the city and street levels with different approaches will be formulated.

  2. Importance of A Priori Vertical Ozone Profiles for TEMPO Air Quality Retrievals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnson, M. S.; Sullivan, J. T.; Liu, X.; Zoogman, P.; Newchurch, M.; Kuang, S.; McGee, T. J.; Leblanc, T.

    2017-12-01

    Ozone (O3) is a toxic pollutant which plays a major role in air quality. Typically, monitoring of surface air quality and O3 mixing ratios is conducted using in situ measurement networks. This is partially due to high-quality information related to air quality being limited from space-borne platforms due to coarse spatial resolution, limited temporal frequency, and minimal sensitivity to lower tropospheric and surface-level O3. The Tropospheric Emissions: Monitoring of Pollution (TEMPO) satellite is designed to address the limitations of current space-based platforms and to improve our ability to monitor North American air quality. TEMPO will provide hourly data of total column and vertical profiles of O3 with high spatial resolution to be used as a near-real-time air quality product. TEMPO O3 retrievals will apply the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory profile algorithm developed based on work from GOME, GOME-2, and OMI. This algorithm is suggested to use a priori O3 profile information from a climatological data-base developed from long-term ozone-sonde measurements (tropopause-based (TB-Clim) O3 climatology). This study evaluates the TB-Clim dataset and model simulated O3 profiles, which could potentially serve as a priori O3 profile information in TEMPO retrievals, from near-real-time data assimilation model products (NASA GMAO's operational GEOS-5 FP model and reanalysis data from MERRA2) and a full chemical transport model (CTM), GEOS-Chem. In this study, vertical profile products are evaluated with surface (0-2 km) and tropospheric (0-10 km) TOLNet observations and the theoretical impact of individual a priori profile sources on the accuracy of TEMPO O3 retrievals in the troposphere and at the surface are presented. Results indicate that while the TB-Clim climatological dataset can replicate seasonally-averaged tropospheric O3 profiles, model-simulated profiles from a full CTM resulted in more accurate tropospheric and surface-level O3 retrievals from

  3. Laser system for remote sensing monitoring of air pollution and quality control of the atmosphere

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Belić Ilija

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Monitoring of the atmosphere and determination of the types and amounts of pollutants is becoming more important issue in complex and global monitoring of the environment. On the geocomponent and geocomplex level problem of monitoring the environment is attracting the attention of the scientific experts of different profiles (chemists, physicists, geographers, biologists, meteorologists, both in the national and international projects. Because of the general characteristics of the Earth's atmosphere (Dynamically Ballanced Instability DBI and the potential contribution to climate change solutions air-pollution monitoring has become particularly important field of environmental research. Control of aerosol distribution over Europe is enabled by EARLINET systems (European Aerosol Lidar NETwork. Serbia’s inclusion into these European courses needs development of the device, the standardization of methods and direct activity in determining the type, quantity and location of aerosol. This paper is analyzing the first step in the study of air-pollution, which is consisted of the realization of a functional model of LIDAR remote sensing devices for the large particle pollutants.

  4. A survey of an air monitoring program

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, M.B.

    1997-01-01

    The objective of this report is to compare personal air sampling data to stationary air sampling data and to bioassay data that was taken during the decontamination and decommissioning of sixty-one plutonium glove boxes at Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) in 1995. An air monitoring program administered at Argonne National Laboratory was assessed by comparing personal air sampler (PAS) data, stationary air sampler (SAS) data, and bioassay data. The study revealed that the PAS and SAS techniques were equivalent when averaged over all employees and all workdays, but the standard deviation was large. Also, large deviations were observed in individual samples. The correlation between individual PAS results and bioassay results was low. Personal air samplers and bioassay monitoring played complementary roles in assessing the workplace and estimating intakes. The PAS technique is adequate for detection and evaluation of contaminated atmospheres, whereas bioassay monitoring is better for determining individual intakes

  5. Spatial Air Quality Modelling Using Chemometrics Techniques: A Case Study in Peninsular Malaysia

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Azman Azid; Hafizan Juahir; Mohammad Azizi Amran; Zarizal Suhaili; Mohamad Romizan Osman; Asyaari Muhamad; Asyaari Muhamad; Ismail Zainal Abidin; Nur Hishaam Sulaiman; Ahmad Shakir Mohd Saudi

    2015-01-01

    This study shows the effectiveness of hierarchical agglomerative cluster analysis (HACA), discriminant analysis (DA), principal component analysis (PCA), and multiple linear regressions (MLR) for assessment of air quality data and recognition of air pollution sources. 12 months data (January-December 2007) consisting of 14 stations in Peninsular Malaysia with 14 parameters were applied. Three significant clusters - low pollution source (LPS), moderate pollution source (MPS), and slightly high pollution source (SHPS) were generated via HACA. Forward stepwise of DA managed to discriminate eight variables, whereas backward stepwise of DA managed to discriminate nine variables out of fourteen variables. The PCA and FA results show the main contributor of air pollution in Peninsular Malaysia is the combustion of fossil fuel from industrial activities, transportation and agriculture systems. Four MLR models show that PM_1_0 account as the most and the highest pollution contributor to Malaysian air quality. From the study, it can be stipulated that the application of chemometrics techniques can disclose meaningful information on the spatial variability of a large and complex air quality data. A clearer review about the air quality and a novelty design of air quality monitoring network for better management of air pollution can be achieved via these methods. (author)

  6. Air quality management in Portugal: example of needs and available tools.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Borrego, C; Miranda, A I; Coutinho, M; Ferreira, J; Carvalho, A C

    2002-01-01

    The Framework Directive (FWD) and the proposed Daughter Directives are the newest legislative instruments concerning a new political strategy and air quality management approach for Europe. Additionally, the member countries of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe have included the concepts of critical load and level for planning air pollution abatement strategies and as a base of international agreements concerning limitation of the emissions of air pollutants. These concepts imply an accurate knowledge about pollutants deposition fluxes. The paper describes the main needs and the tools available to define a strategy of air quality management in Portugal. Two study cases are presented: (1) extensive monitoring plan to assess the impact of an urban incinerator plant; and (2) contribution to a methodology to estimate critical levels for a coastal region in Portugal. These different approaches allowed illustrating the complexity of the implementation of an air pollution management strategy.

  7. Rural southeast Texas air quality measurements during the 2006 Texas Air Quality Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schade, Gunnar W; Khan, Siraj; Park, Changhyoun; Boedeker, Ian

    2011-10-01

    The authors conducted air quality measurements of the criteria pollutants carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, and ozone together with meteorological measurements at a park site southeast of College Station, TX, during the 2006 Texas Air Quality Study II (TexAQS). Ozone, a primary focus of the measurements, was above 80 ppb during 3 days and above 75 ppb during additional 8 days in summer 2006, suggestive of possible violations of the ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) in this area. In concordance with other air quality measurements during the TexAQS II, elevated ozone mixing ratios coincided with northerly flows during days after cold front passages. Ozone background during these days was as high as 80 ppb, whereas southerly air flows generally provided for an ozone background lower than 40 ppb. Back trajectory analysis shows that local ozone mixing ratios can also be strongly affected by the Houston urban pollution plume, leading to late afternoon ozone increases of as high as 50 ppb above background under favorable transport conditions. The trajectory analysis also shows that ozone background increases steadily the longer a southern air mass resides over Texas after entering from the Gulf of Mexico. In light of these and other TexAQS findings, it appears that ozone air quality is affected throughout east Texas by both long-range and regional ozone transport, and that improvements therefore will require at least a regionally oriented instead of the current locally oriented ozone precursor reduction policies.

  8. Air Quality Management Process Cycle

    Science.gov (United States)

    Air quality management are activities a regulatory authority undertakes to protect human health and the environment from the harmful effects of air pollution. The process of managing air quality can be illustrated as a cycle of inter-related elements.

  9. Process air quality data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Butler, C. M.; Hogge, J. E.

    1978-01-01

    Air quality sampling was conducted. Data for air quality parameters, recorded on written forms, punched cards or magnetic tape, are available for 1972 through 1975. Computer software was developed to (1) calculate several daily statistical measures of location, (2) plot time histories of data or the calculated daily statistics, (3) calculate simple correlation coefficients, and (4) plot scatter diagrams. Computer software was developed for processing air quality data to include time series analysis and goodness of fit tests. Computer software was developed to (1) calculate a larger number of daily statistical measures of location, and a number of daily monthly and yearly measures of location, dispersion, skewness and kurtosis, (2) decompose the extended time series model and (3) perform some goodness of fit tests. The computer program is described, documented and illustrated by examples. Recommendations are made for continuation of the development of research on processing air quality data.

  10. 32 CFR 989.30 - Air quality.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 32 National Defense 6 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Air quality. 989.30 Section 989.30 National... ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ANALYSIS PROCESS (EIAP) § 989.30 Air quality. Section 176(c) of the Clean Air Act..., Air Quality Compliance. 10 10 See footnote 1 to § 989.1. ...

  11. Monitoring air quality with lichens: A comparison between mapping in forest sites and in open areas

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Policnik, Helena; Simoncic, Primoz; Batic, Franc

    2008-01-01

    Four different methods of epiphytic lichen mapping were used for the assessment of air quality in the region under the influence of the Sostanj Thermal Power Plant (Salek Valley, Slovenia). Three methods were based on the presence of different lichen species (VDI, EU and ICP-Forest), the fourth on a frequency and coverage assessment of different growth forms of epiphytic lichens, e.g. crustose, foliose and fruticose (SI). A comparison of the results from the assessment of air quality between forest sites (ICP-Forest, SI) and open areas (VDI, EU and SI), obtained by the different methods of epiphytic lichen mapping, is presented in the contribution. Data showed that lichen species richness is worse in forest sites in comparison with open areas. From the data obtained it can be concluded that epiphytic lichen mapping in open areas is a better method for the assessment of air pollution in a given area than mapping in forest sites. The species-based methods in open areas are more powerful and useful for air quality assessment in polluted research areas than the SI and ICP-Forest methods. - The mapping of epiphytic lichens in open areas is more suitable for air quality assessment than mapping in forest sites in the Salek Valley, Slovenia

  12. Wireless air monitoring network with new AMIZ-2004G dust monitors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jakowiuk, A.; Machaj, B.; Pienkos, P.; Swistowski, E.

    2006-01-01

    The principle of operation of the dust monitors is based on determination of dust mass deposited on air filters from known volumes of air samples. The dust mass is determined from radiation attenuation of a Pm-147 beta source. MIZA and AMIZ monitors produced in the Institute of Nuclear Chemistry and Technology, Warsaw (Poland) additionally measure relative humidity, atmospheric pressure and temperature of the air. In case the measurements are made in a few different places, direct collection of the results requires that personnel of the environment protection units has to go frequently to the monitors and collect the data. To improve the data transmission, a new version of the AMIZ-2004G monitor was developed which is equipped with a GSM modem enabling communication with a central computer. Thanks to the new construction not only a remote wireless communication with AMIZ is possible, but also a monitoring network containing a higher number of dust monitors can be made. The measuring data from all the monitors in the network can now be collected in one central computer equipped with the GSM modem and a proper acquisition program. In 2005, two such monitoring networks were put into operation

  13. An index to measure depreciation in air quality in some coal mining areas of Korba industrial belt of Chhattisgarh, India.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Singh, Gurdeep

    2006-11-01

    The comparison with National Ambient Air Quality Standards does not always depict a true picture of the Air Quality Status of a study area. As an alternative an index that measures depreciation in Air Quality on more realistic terms has been proposed and applied to the ambient air monitoring data collected from some areas of Korba Coalfields in India. Results have been discussed in detail to illustrate the application of the proposed index and utility in bringing out more realistic air quality assessment.

  14. Indoor air quality

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon.

    1993-01-01

    Indoor Air Quality is rapidly becoming a major environmental concern because a significant amount of people spend a substantial amount of time in a variety of different indoor environments. Health effects from indoor pollutants fall into two categories: those that are experienced immediately after exposure and those that do not show up until years later. They are: radon, formaldehyde, asbestos, lead and household organic chemicals. The authors presented a source-by-source look at the most common indoor air pollutants, their potential health effects, and ways to reduce their levels in the home. There are three basic strategies to improve indoor air quality: one method is source control, another is through ventilation improvements, and the third is the utilization of some sort of mechanical device such as air cleaners

  15. Air crew monitoring in Germany

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stegemann, R.; Frasch, G.; Kammerer, L.

    2006-01-01

    Cosmic radiation at high altitudes, especially high energetic neutrons, significantly increases exposure to man. Pilots and flight attendants may receive annual effective doses comparable to doses received in occupations, in which ionising radiation is used or radioactive sources are handled. For this reason, the European Council Directive 96/29 EURATOM requires that air-crew members also be monitored for radiation protection. Flight personnel, receiving an effective dose from cosmic radiation of more than 1 mSv per year are subject to monitoring i.e. radiation exposure has to be assessed, limited and minimized. As the physical conditions causing cosmic radiation doses are well established, it is possible to calculate the expected radiation dose with sufficient accuracy. Several codes for this purpose are available. Since August 2003, the operators of airlines in Germany are obliged to assess the doses of their air crew personnel from cosmic radiation exposure and to minimise radiation exposure by means of appropriate work schedules, flight routes and flight profiles. Approx. 31 000 persons of 45 airlines are monitored by the German Radiation Protection Register. Gender, age and 3 different occupational categories are used to characterise different groups and their doses. The presentation will give an overview about the legislation and organisation of air crew monitoring in Germany and will show detailed statistical results from the first year of monitoring. (authors)

  16. 78 FR 47191 - Air Quality Designations for the 2010 Sulfur Dioxide (SO2) Primary National Ambient Air Quality...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-08-05

    ... Air Quality Designations for the 2010 Sulfur Dioxide (SO[bdi2]) Primary National Ambient Air Quality... air quality designations for certain areas in the United States for the 2010 primary Sulfur Dioxide (SO 2 ) National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS). The EPA is issuing this rule to identify areas...

  17. Air quality in the Kootenays: fine particulate (PM{sub 1}0) airborne metals and sulphur dioxide levels, 1993-1999

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2000-09-01

    Air quality monitoring data collected in the Kootenays over a seven year period from 1993 to 1999 are summarized in an effort to inform the public about air quality in the Kootenays and to assist them in understanding air quality monitoring results. Data includes hourly (TEOM) and weekly (NAPS) data for particulate matter (PM{sub 1}0) airborne metals (arsenic, cadmium, lead and zinc) and sulphur dioxide. Analysis of monitoring data showed that particulate matter levels remained constant in most communities, with Johnson Lake and Slocan reporting the lowest levels, while Golden had the highest values during this period. Trail-Butler Park showed a clear declining trend in PM{sub 1}0. Airborne metals and sulphur dioxide levels have decreased in the Kootenays during the seven year period, with only occasional exceedances of both Level A and B air quality objectives in some communities. The report includes a detailed description of the sampling methodology and the analyzed results for PM{sub 1}0, airborne metals and sulphur dioxide for 10 communities in the region. 6 refs., 1 tab., 16 figs., 1 map.

  18. Air quality assessment on human well-being in the vicinity of quarry site

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ibrahim, W. H. W.; Marinie, E.; Yunus, J.; Asra, N.; Sukor, K. Mohd

    2018-02-01

    This study aims to investigate the variation of air pollutants associated with the quarry activities prior to classified distance from quarry site. Air pollutants were monitored with the use of instruments which are Rae System Multirae Lite Pumped (PGM-6208) to measure indoor air quality while TSI 8533 Dusttrack Drx Desktop Aerosol Monitor to measure outdoor air quality. Sampling will be replicated two times. The locations of quarry are at Bandar Saujana Putra and Taman Kajang Perdana 2, Selangor. The objectives of this study are to investigate the impact of quarry mining by preparing the suitable Indoor Air Quality Index and to prepare preventive measure for residential that caused from quarry mining activities. Both Qualitative and Quantitative approaches will be implemented in this study, which employed case study and interview survey. Both quarries identified previously will be the main case study. The Respondent’s interviews are from Local Authority and Quarry Management Staff while questionnaire surveys from selected residences. Measurement method will be used to measure the Particle Matter (PM2.5) for indoor and outdoor in selected resident’s area. However, this paper is primed to discuss the method used in this study. It is not only presents the beneficial information for future research on methodologies employed but also it is anticipated the benefit to environment which can increased residents’ well-being in the vicinity of quarry sites.

  19. Technologies for air quality monitoring; Tecnologias para el monitoreo de calidad del aire

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Muriel, Manuel [Instituto de Investigaciones Electricas, Cuernavaca (Mexico)

    1997-12-31

    There are various measuring principles and systems whose usage is delimited by the type of contaminant to be measured. The author of this paper presents a revision of the different applications, measuring principles, systems, costs and selection of the equipment utilized for the measuring and monitoring the atmospheric emissions. The case of the pollutants emitted to the air by the Power Plants in analyzed [Espanol] Existen diversos principios y sistemas de medicion cuyo uso estara delimitado por el tipo de contaminante a medir. El autor de esta ponencia presenta una revision de las diferentes aplicaciones, principios de medicion, sistemas, costos y seleccion de los equipos utilizados en la medicion y monitoreo de emisiones atmosfericas. Se analiza el caso de los contaminantes emitidos a la atmosfera en las centrales termoelectricas

  20. Technologies for air quality monitoring; Tecnologias para el monitoreo de calidad del aire

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Muriel, Manuel [Instituto de Investigaciones Electricas, Cuernavaca (Mexico)

    1996-12-31

    There are various measuring principles and systems whose usage is delimited by the type of contaminant to be measured. The author of this paper presents a revision of the different applications, measuring principles, systems, costs and selection of the equipment utilized for the measuring and monitoring the atmospheric emissions. The case of the pollutants emitted to the air by the Power Plants in analyzed [Espanol] Existen diversos principios y sistemas de medicion cuyo uso estara delimitado por el tipo de contaminante a medir. El autor de esta ponencia presenta una revision de las diferentes aplicaciones, principios de medicion, sistemas, costos y seleccion de los equipos utilizados en la medicion y monitoreo de emisiones atmosfericas. Se analiza el caso de los contaminantes emitidos a la atmosfera en las centrales termoelectricas

  1. Deaf Smith County air quality analysis: Letter report: Revision 2

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1985-11-01

    Air quality impacts due to site characterization, and repository construction and operation activities were evaluated in the Deaf Smith County Site, Texas environmental assessment (EA). The analyses on which the impact assessments are based made with dispersion models recommended by the EPA for such applications, meteorological data from a nearby representative National Weather Service station at Amarillo, Texas, and available background air quality data from an urban monitoring location. Maximum offsite concentrations of total suspended particulates, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and carbon monoxide were estimated for periods of maximum emissions identified for each pollutant. Estimates of total annual salt deposition resulting from repository salt handling operations were also made. 36 refs., 5 figs., 17 tabs

  2. Air quality indicators

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Clench-Aas, Jocelyn; Guerreiro, Cristina; Bartonova, Alena

    1999-06-01

    This report proposes and describes in detail several air quality indicators that may be used to describe population exposure. The suggested indicators account for temporal and spatial patterns of pollution and movements of individuals between different micro-environments. The Air Quality Indicator /AQI) should represent both the spatial and temporal aspects of pollution exposure that may have important effects on health. Two indicators are needed, the Population Air Quality Indicator and the Individual Air Quality Indicator. Mean concentrations, 98th percentile and maximum values are the traditional indicators for estimating exposure. the temporal variability of PM-10 and NO 2 , however, is here described by means of: 1) The rate of change of pollution as the difference between two consecutive hourly values and of 2) episodes, described in terms of number, duration and winter episode period, maximum concentration in the episode and integrated episode exposure (episode AOT50/100). The spatial variation of AQIs can be described in several ways, e.g.: 1) Concentrations in neighbouring grid squares can be compared as an indication of spatial variation and 2) point estimates can be compared to grid values for a description of variation within a grid. Both methods are presented here. A test of the representativity of static point estimates for pollution exposure is to compare them to an estimate of air pollution exposure accounting for movements between different locations, obtained using diaries. The ultimate aim of AQIs is to describe the population exposure to ambient pollution. This is done by estimating the number of people exposed using different characteristics of AQIs. The data used to describe these indicators originates from dispersion modelling of short-term air pollution concentrations in Oslo. Two series of data are used. One represents hour-for hour concentrations in the 1 km 2 grid system covering the city of Oslo, winter 1994/95, calculated by the grid

  3. Technical procedures for implementation of meteorology/air quality site studies, Deaf Smith County site, Texas: Environmental Field Program: Preliminary draft

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1987-09-01

    This report describes The Technical Procedures that will be used to monitor air quality and meteorology. Topics include: high-volume filter handling; operation, maintenance, and calibration of the 10-M meteorological and air quality system; processing data from the 10-M meteorological tower; processing data from the 60-M meteorological tower; processing total suspended particulate filters and data from the high-volume air samplers; operation maintenance, and calibration of the 60-M meteorological and air quality system; and auditing the air quality system. 4 refs., 6 figs

  4. Mapping real-time air pollution health risk for environmental management: Combining mobile and stationary air pollution monitoring with neural network models.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Adams, Matthew D; Kanaroglou, Pavlos S

    2016-03-01

    Air pollution poses health concerns at the global scale. The challenge of managing air pollution is significant because of the many air pollutants, insufficient funds for monitoring and abatement programs, and political and social challenges in defining policy to limit emissions. Some governments provide citizens with air pollution health risk information to allow them to limit their exposure. However, many regions still have insufficient air pollution monitoring networks to provide real-time mapping. Where available, these risk mapping systems either provide absolute concentration data or the concentrations are used to derive an Air Quality Index, which provides the air pollution risk for a mix of air pollutants with a single value. When risk information is presented as a single value for an entire region it does not inform on the spatial variation within the region. Without an understanding of the local variation residents can only make a partially informed decision when choosing daily activities. The single value is typically provided because of a limited number of active monitoring units in the area. In our work, we overcome this issue by leveraging mobile air pollution monitoring techniques, meteorological information and land use information to map real-time air pollution health risks. We propose an approach that can provide improved health risk information to the public by applying neural network models within a framework that is inspired by land use regression. Mobile air pollution monitoring campaigns were conducted across Hamilton from 2005 to 2013. These mobile air pollution data were modelled with a number of predictor variables that included information on the surrounding land use characteristics, the meteorological conditions, air pollution concentrations from fixed location monitors, and traffic information during the time of collection. Fine particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide were both modelled. During the model fitting process we reserved

  5. Cautionary tales on air-quality improvement in Beijing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Shuyi; Guo, Bin; Dong, Anlan; He, Jing; Xu, Ziping; Chen, Song Xi

    2017-09-01

    The official air-quality statistic reported that Beijing had a 9.9% decline in the annual concentration of PM2.5 in 2016. While this statistic offered some relief for the inhabitants of the capital, we present several analyses based on Beijing's PM2.5 data of the past 4 years at 36 monitoring sites along with meteorological data of the past 7 years. The analyses reveal the air pollution situation in 2016 was not as rosy as the 9.9% decline would convey, and improvement if any was rather uncertain. The paper also provides an assessment on the city's PM2.5 situation in the past 4 years.

  6. Indoor air quality

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen, Trine Susanne; Recevska, Ieva

     The objective of the 35th specific agreement is to provide support to the EEA activities in Environment and Health (E&H) on the topic of indoor air quality. The specific objectives have been to provide an overview of indoor air related projects in EU and indoor air related policies as well...... as idenfiying "good practices" to reduce health impact of indoor air exposure and suggest areas for future improvements....

  7. European experience on air and water pollution control: monitoring network and warning station

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Aflalo, Sergio S [Groupe Environnement S.A., Poissy (France)

    1994-12-31

    After a review of the energy consumption and pollutants emitted in the European Community, especially those concerning the `green house effect`, the author proceeded a summary of the actual legislation and Europeans directives, and also, the Best Available Technology for reducing air pollution is discussed. Original Air Quality monitoring networks performed by Environnement SA are described including measurements obtained around Paris and other areas of France. 7 refs., 11 figs.

  8. European experience on air and water pollution control: monitoring network and warning station

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Aflalo, Sergio S. [Groupe Environnement S.A., Poissy (France)

    1993-12-31

    After a review of the energy consumption and pollutants emitted in the European Community, especially those concerning the `green house effect`, the author proceeded a summary of the actual legislation and Europeans directives, and also, the Best Available Technology for reducing air pollution is discussed. Original Air Quality monitoring networks performed by Environnement SA are described including measurements obtained around Paris and other areas of France. 7 refs., 11 figs.

  9. Introduction to Indoor Air Quality

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... Offices Regional Offices Labs and Research Centers Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) Contact Us Share Introduction to Indoor Air Quality Health Effects Primary Causes Identifying Problems Improving IAQ ...

  10. Monitoring of air pollutants and greenhouse gases. Monitoring Krypton-85

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Novitchkov, V.

    1996-01-01

    Krypton-85 is an anthropogenic radioactive noble gas, a gaseous fission product which builds up in the atmosphere. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Global Atmospheric Watch (GAW) integrates many monitoring and research activities involving the measurements of atmospheric composition. Kr-85 represents one of the gases recommended by the WMO for monitoring. The collaborative program of the Moscow State Engineering Physics Institute (MEPI) and the US Air Resources Laboratory (ARL) NOAA activities is aimed at determining the possible future consequences of Krypton-85 content (trend) increasing in the earth's atmosphere. The research is conducted at the MEPI to study the character of KR-85 release into the atmosphere and its distribution in the atmosphere, to determine Kr-85 possible sources. If only the question of the direct impact of Kr-85 on climate would be considered, only the order of magnitude of the atmospheric concentration would be of interest. In this case almost any available detection method and a precision as low as some 10% would be acceptable. If however, Kr-85 is to be applied as a tracer for the improvement of our present knowledge of local, regional and global transport and mixing processes and the validation of global-scale transport and mixing models, a much higher precision is required (order of +1%). This high standard cannot be met without a permanent quality assurance programmer. It is within the framework of the WMO that MEPI and the Air Resources Laboratory NOAA USA proposes collaboration of Kr-85 scientific findings. The project MEPI open-quotes Monitoring Krypton-85close quotes is being financed through the International Science and Technology Center

  11. Understanding social and behavioral drivers and impacts of air quality sensor use.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hubbell, Bryan J; Kaufman, Amanda; Rivers, Louie; Schulte, Kayla; Hagler, Gayle; Clougherty, Jane; Cascio, Wayne; Costa, Dan

    2018-04-15

    Lower-cost air quality sensors (hundreds to thousands of dollars) are now available to individuals and communities. This technology is undergoing a rapid and fragmented evolution, resulting in sensors that have uncertain data quality, measure different air pollutants and possess a variety of design attributes. Why and how individuals and communities choose to use sensors is arguably influenced by social context. For example, community experiences with environmental exposures and health effects and related interactions with industry and government can affect trust in traditional air quality monitoring. To date, little social science research has been conducted to evaluate why or how sensors, and sensor data, are used by individuals and communities, or how the introduction of sensors changes the relationship between communities and air quality managers. This commentary uses a risk governance/responsible innovation framework to identify opportunities for interdisciplinary research that brings together social scientists with air quality researchers involved in developing, testing, and deploying sensors in communities. Potential areas for social science research include communities of sensor users; drivers for use of sensors and sensor data; behavioral, socio-political, and ethical implications of introducing sensors into communities; assessing methods for communicating sensor data; and harnessing crowdsourcing capabilities to analyze sensor data. Social sciences can enhance understanding of perceptions, attitudes, behaviors, and other human factors that drive levels of engagement with and trust in different types of air quality data. New transdisciplinary research bridging social sciences, natural sciences, engineering, and design fields of study, and involving citizen scientists working with professionals from a variety of backgrounds, can increase our understanding of air sensor technology use and its impacts on air quality and public health. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  12. Indoor Air Quality in Schools.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Torres, Vincent M.

    Asserting that the air quality inside schools is often worse than outdoor pollution, leading to various health complaints and loss of productivity, this paper details factors contributing to schools' indoor air quality. These include the design, operation, and maintenance of heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems; building…

  13. Indoor air quality and infiltration in multifamily naval housing

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Parker, G.B.; Wilfert, G.L.; Dennis, G.W.

    1984-11-01

    Measurements of indoor air quality and air infiltration were taken in three units of a multifamily housing complex at the Naval Submarine base in Bangor, Washington, over 5 consecutive days during the heating season of 1983. Three dwelling units of identical size constructed in 1978 were monitored, each in a separate two-story four-unit complex. One unit was a downstairs unit and the other two units were upstairs units. Two of the units were occupied by smokers (one downstairs and one upstairs). None of the units had combustion appliances. Pollutants monitored indoors included radon, formaldehyde, carbon monoxide, particulate matter, and nitrogen dioxide. Indoor and outdoor temperature and windspeed were also recorded. Outdoor formaldehyde and nitrogen dioxide were also measured. Air exchange was measured about three times during each 24-h period, using a perfluorocarbon tracer with automatic tracer sampling. The daily average air exchange rate ranged from 0.22 to 0.91 air changes per hour (ACH). Pollutant concentrations were generally low except for particulate matter in the units with smokers, which were two to four times higher than in the unit with nonsmokers. Levels of carbon monoxide were also slightly elevated in one of the units with a smoker compared to the unit with nonsmokers. 5 references, 4 figures, 4 tables

  14. Emissions and Air Quality Impacts of Freight Transportation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bickford, Erica

    Diesel freight vehicles (trucks + trains) are responsible for 20% of all U.S. nitrogen oxide (NOx) and 3% of fine particulate (PM2.5) emissions - pollutants that are harmful to human health. Freight tonnage is also projected to double over the next several decades, reaching 30 billion tons by 2050, increasing freight transport activity. Air quality impacts from increased activity, trade-offs between activity and vehicle technology improvements, as well as where to make infrastructure investments that encourage sustainable freight growth, are important considerations for transportation and air quality managers. To address these questions, we build a bottom-up roadway-by-roadway freight truck inventory (WIFE) and employ it to quantify emissions impacts of swapping biodiesel blends into the Midwest diesel freight truck fleet, and investigate emissions and air quality impacts of truck-to-rail freight modal shifts in the Midwest. We also evaluate the spatial and seasonal freight performance of WIFE modeled in a regional photochemical model (CMAQ) against satellite retrievals of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI). Results show that spatial and seasonal distribution of biodiesel affects regional emissions impacts. Summer high-blend deployment yields a larger annual emissions reduction than year-round low-blend deployment, however, technological improvements in vehicle emissions controls between 2009 and 2018 dwarf the impacts of biodiesel. Truck-to-rail modal shift analysis found 40% of daily freight truck VMT could be shifted to rail freight, causing a 26% net reduction in NOx emissions, and 31% less carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Despite significant emissions impacts, air quality modeling results showed mostly localized near roadway air quality improvements, with small regional net changes; yet, federal regulation of CO2 emissions and/or rising costs of diesel fuel could motivate shifting freight to more fuel efficient rail. Evaluation of

  15. Assessment of indoor air quality in comparison using air conditioning and fan system in printing premise

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ramlan Nazirah

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Printers contribute to various emissions consist with chemical contaminants. High concentration of the particulate matter can cause serious health problems. This study focuses on the indoor air quality in printing premise unit in Universiti Tun Hussein Onn, Malaysia. Field testing involving air sampling methods were taken from 900 hours to 1600 hours, for every 30 minutes using physical measurement which is Multi-Channel Air Quality Monitor (YESAIR, E-Sampler and Ozone Meter. Air sampling was recorded based on one sampling point and most suitable point for production. A comparison based on different ventilation using fan and air-conditioning were also taken and results is being compared based on OSHA and NIOSH standards. Besides that, the statistical analysis is being conducted in order to predict the effect on number of printers. From the result, the O3 concentrations show, 10% reduced for printing premise using fan ventilation compared to air-conditioning but remain the same value for PM2.5. The concentration of O3 increased when the number of printers decreased, while the concentration of PM2.5 increased the increase of printers number. Overall, the use of fan in printing premise is more suggested since the level is slightly lower than the printing premise using air-conditioning.

  16. Environmental Monitoring Plan

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hunter, S.W.; Gallegos, G.M.; Surano, K.A.; Lamson, K.C.; Tate, P.J.; Balke, B.K.; Biermann, A.H.; Hoppes, W.G.; Fields, B.C.; Gouveia, F.J.; Berger, R.L.; Miller, F.S.; Rueppel, D.W.; Sims, J.M.

    1992-04-01

    The primary tasks of the environmental monitoring section (EMS) Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) are: effluent monitoring of air, sewer, and NPDES water. Surveillance monitoring of soil, vegetation and foodstuff, water, air particulate, and air tritium. Radiation monitoring, dose assessment, emergency response, quality assurance, and reporting. This report describes LLNL and the monitoring plan

  17. 77 FR 52277 - Approval of Air Quality Implementation Plans; California; South Coast Air Quality Management...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-08-29

    ... Quality Implementation Plans; California; South Coast Air Quality Management District; Prevention of... rule. SUMMARY: EPA is proposing approval of a permitting rule submitted for the South Coast Air Quality Management District (District) portion of the California State Implementation Plan (SIP). The State is...

  18. Indoor Air Quality in Chemistry Laboratories.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hays, Steve M.

    This paper presents air quality and ventilation data from an existing chemical laboratory facility and discusses the work practice changes implemented in response to deficiencies in ventilation. General methods for improving air quality in existing laboratories are presented and investigation techniques for characterizing air quality are…

  19. Urban air quality management. V. 1

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1997-01-01

    This is the first in a series of reports commissioned by the International Petroleum Industry Environmental Conservation Association (IPIECA) to represent members' views on the management of urban air quality in the growing cities in developing countries. In this report, a general, science based framework is provided as a basis for understanding the nature of the problem in any specific urban area, the range of solutions that might be available, and the potential impact of each solution and its least cost privatisation. The topics covered are: a process for urban air quality management; setting air quality targets; a structured approach to the assessment of current and future air quality modelling methodologies; identification and collation of air quality model input data; development of socio-economic scenarios -long-term trend forecasting; cost effectiveness studies; the IPIECA approach to urban air quality management - development of partnerships; encouraging commitment to implementation of programme recommendations. (7 figures; 2 tables; 18 references). (UK)

  20. Enhancing indoor air quality -The air filter advantage.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vijayan, Vannan Kandi; Paramesh, Haralappa; Salvi, Sundeep Santosh; Dalal, Alpa Anil Kumar

    2015-01-01

    Air pollution has become the world's single biggest environmental health risk, linked to around 7 million deaths in 2012 according to a recent World Health Organisation (WHO) report. The new data further reveals a stronger link between, indoor and outdoor air pollution exposure and cardiovascular diseases, such as strokes and ischemic heart disease, as well as between air pollution and cancer. The role of air pollution in the development of respiratory diseases, including acute respiratory infections and chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases, is well known. While both indoor and outdoor pollution affect health, recent statistics on the impact of household indoor pollutants (HAP) is alarming. The WHO factsheet on HAP and health states that 3.8 million premature deaths annually - including stroke, ischemic heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and lung cancer are attributed to exposure to household air pollution. Use of air cleaners and filters are one of the suggested strategies to improve indoor air quality. This review discusses the impact of air pollutants with special focus on indoor air pollutants and the benefits of air filters in improving indoor air quality.

  1. Air quality and use of natural gas fuels: Assessment of improvement

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Riva, A.; Andreetto, B.

    1992-01-01

    This paper describes the application of the ARICOM code in the evaluation of air pollution and air quality in the Italian district of Verona. The study compared the environmental effects resulting from the use of natural gas, diesel fuels and fuel oils in a variety of real and simulated consumption schemes involving different mixes of fuels for space heating, automobile operation and industrial processes. The Verona district was divided into one square kilometer sections and the exhaust emission data were utilized in a dispersion model to calculate ground level pollution concentration levels. Real condition scenario pollution concentration levels calculated with this code were validated by actual measurements taken with an air quality monitoring network. The results evidenced the reduction in sulfur oxide pollution levels which can be obtained with the increased use of natural gas

  2. Information Framework of Pervasive Real Time Monitoring System: Case of Peat Land Forest Fires and Air Quality in South Sumatera, Indonesia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nurmaini, Siti; Firsandaya Malik, Reza; Stiawan, Deris; Firdaus; Saparudin; Tutuko, Bambang

    2017-04-01

    The information framework aims to holistically address the problems and issues posed by unwanted peat and land fires within the context of the natural environment and socio-economic systems. Informed decisions on planning and allocation of resources can only be made by understanding the landscape. Therefore, information on fire history and air quality impacts must be collected for future analysis. This paper proposes strategic framework based on technology approach with data fusion strategy to produce the data analysis about peat land fires and air quality management in in South Sumatera. The research framework should use the knowledge, experience and data from the previous fire seasons to review, improve and refine the strategies and monitor their effectiveness for the next fire season. Communicating effectively with communities and the public and private sectors in remote and rural landscapes is important, by using smartphones and mobile applications. Tools such as one-stop information based on web applications, to obtain information such as early warning to send and receive fire alerts, could be developed and promoted so that all stakeholders can share important information with each other.

  3. Indoor air quality in 300 homes in Kingston/Harriman, Tennessee: winter phase status report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hawthorne, A.R.; Uziel, M.; Vo-Dinh, T.; Cohen, M.A.; Orebaugh, C.T.; Miller, G.H.; Ironsides, K.; Monar, K.P.; Dudney, C.S.; Tyndall, R.L.

    1986-10-01

    This report summarizes the status of the 300-Home Kingston/Harriman Indoor Air Quality Study at the end of the winter phase of monitoring. Plans for the summer monitoring phase are also presented. The report is organized by the major pollutants monitored. Reporting focuses on study protocols and summaries of winter monitoring activities. A minimum of results are presented since, for many pollutants, laboratory analyses are not yet complete.

  4. Utilizing Operational and Improved Remote Sensing Measurements to Assess Air Quality Monitoring Model Forecasts

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gan, Chuen-Meei

    Air quality model forecasts from Weather Research and Forecast (WRF) and Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) are often used to support air quality applications such as regulatory issues and scientific inquiries on atmospheric science processes. In urban environments, these models become more complex due to the inherent complexity of the land surface coupling and the enhanced pollutants emissions. This makes it very difficult to diagnose the model, if the surface parameter forecasts such as PM2.5 (particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter less than 2.5 microm) are not accurate. For this reason, getting accurate boundary layer dynamic forecasts is as essential as quantifying realistic pollutants emissions. In this thesis, we explore the usefulness of vertical sounding measurements on assessing meteorological and air quality forecast models. In particular, we focus on assessing the WRF model (12km x 12km) coupled with the CMAQ model for the urban New York City (NYC) area using multiple vertical profiling and column integrated remote sensing measurements. This assessment is helpful in probing the root causes for WRF-CMAQ overestimates of surface PM2.5 occurring both predawn and post-sunset in the NYC area during the summer. In particular, we find that the significant underestimates in the WRF PBL height forecast is a key factor in explaining this anomaly. On the other hand, the model predictions of the PBL height during daytime when convective heating dominates were found to be highly correlated to lidar derived PBL height with minimal bias. Additional topics covered in this thesis include mathematical method using direct Mie scattering approach to convert aerosol microphysical properties from CMAQ into optical parameters making direct comparisons with lidar and multispectral radiometers feasible. Finally, we explore some tentative ideas on combining visible (VIS) and mid-infrared (MIR) sensors to better separate aerosols into fine and coarse modes.

  5. Historical Ambient Air Quality Data Inventory

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — The Historical Ambient Air Quality Data Inventory contains measured and estimated data on ambient air pollution for use in assessing air quality, assisting in...

  6. Air pollution and urban air quality management in Indonesia

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Santosa, Sri J. [Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Gadjah Mada University, Yogyakarta (Indonesia); Okuda, Tomoaki; Tanaka, Shigeru [Department of Applied Chemistry, Faculty of Science and Technology, Keio University, Yokohama (Japan)

    2008-06-15

    The trade-led industry and economic development after the Asian financial crisis a decade ago has been accelerated in Indonesia to improve the quality of life of its population. This rapid development of Indonesia was in fact heavily fueled by fossil fuels, especially oil, followed by natural gas and coal. The exploitation of fossil fuel in fueling the development resulted in significant environmental quality degradation. Air pollution is perhaps Indonesia's most severe environmental problem. Industry and transportation were the typical main sources of urban air pollutants. Moreover, Indonesia also failed to reach its original 2005 target for a complete phase-out of leaded gasoline. As a result, the level of Pb together with other pollutants such as CO, NO{sub x}, SO{sub 2}, and total suspended particulates has exceeded or at least approached the designated ambient air quality standards. The urban air pollution will not be lesser in extent, but surely will be more severe in the future. Unfortunately, the capability of the Indonesian authorities to manage the urban air quality is still very limited and the portion of the budget allocated to the improvement of urban air quality is still remarkably low, typically 1% of total. This is why the efforts to enhance the capability to manage the urban air quality could not be handled by the environmental authorities in Indonesia's cities themselves, but outside stimulation in the form of man power, consultant and equipment assistance along with financial support has been very important. (Abstract Copyright [2008], Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

  7. U.S. Forest Service Region 1 Lake Chemistry, NADP, and IMPROVE air quality data analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jill Grenon; Mark Story

    2009-01-01

    This report was developed to address the need for comprehensive analysis of U.S. Forest Service (USFS) Region 1 air quality monitoring data. The monitoring data includes Phase 3 (long-term data) lakes, National Atmospheric Deposition Program (NADP), and Interagency Monitoring of Protected Visual Environments (IMPROVE). Annual and seasonal data for the periods of record...

  8. Portable formaldehyde monitoring device using porous glass sensor and its applications in indoor air quality studies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maruo, Yasuko Yamada; Nakamura, Jiro

    2011-09-30

    We have developed a portable device for formaldehyde monitoring with both high sensitivity and high temporal resolution, and carried out indoor air formaldehyde concentration analysis. The absorbance difference of the sensor element was measured in the monitoring device at regular intervals of, for example, one hour or 30 min, and the result was converted into the formaldehyde concentration. This was possible because we found that the lutidine derivative that was formed as a yellow product of the reaction between 1-phenyl-1,3-butandione and formaldehyde was stable in porous glass for at least six months. We estimated the reaction rate and to be 0.049 min(-1) and the reaction occurred quickly enough for us to monitor hourly changes in the formaldehyde concentration. The detection limit was 5 μg m(-3) h. We achieved hourly formaldehyde monitoring using the developed device under several indoor conditions, and estimated the air exchange rate and formaldehyde adsorption rate, which we adopted as a new term in the mass balance equation for formaldehyde, in one office. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  9. Ozone retrievals from MAGEAQ GEO TIR+VIS for air quality

    Science.gov (United States)

    Quesada-Ruiz, Samuel; Attié, Jean-Luc; Lahoz, William A.; Abida, Rachid; El-Amraoui, Laaziz; Ricaud, Philippe; Zbinden, Regina; Spurr, Robert; da Silva, Arlindo M.

    2016-04-01

    Nowadays, air quality monitoring is based on the use of ground-based stations (GBS) or satellite measurements. GBS provide accurate measurements of pollutant concentrations, especially in the planetary boundary layer (PBL), but usually the spatial coverage is sparse. Polar-orbiting satellites provide good spatial resolution but low temporal coverage -this is insufficient for tracking pollutants exhibiting a diurnal cycle (Lahoz et al., 2012). However, pollutant concentrations can be measured by instruments placed on board a geostationary satellite, which can provide sufficiently high temporal and spatial resolutions (e.g. Hache et al., 2014). In this work, we investigate the potentiality of a possible future geostationary instrument, MAGEAQ (Monitoring the Atmosphere from Geostationary orbit for European Air Quality), for retrieving ozone measurements over Europe. In particular, MAGEAQ can provide 1-hour temporal sampling at 10x10km pixel resolution for measurements in both visible (VIS) and thermal infrared (TIR) bands -thus, we will be able to measure during the day and at night. MAGEAQ synthetic radiance observations are obtained through radiative transfer (RT) simulations using the VLIDORT discrete ordinate RT model (Spurr, 2006) based on output from the GEOS-5 Nature Run (Gelaro et al., 2015) providing optical information, plus a suitable instrument model. Ozone is retrieved from these synthetic measurements using the optimal estimation inversion scheme of Levenberg-Marquardt. Finally, we examine an application of the air quality concept based on these ozone retrievals during the heatwave event of July 2006 over Europe. REFERENCES Gelaro, R., Putman, W. M., Pawson, S., Draper, C., Molod, A., Norris, P. M., Ott, L., Privé, N., Reale, O., Achuthavarier, D., Bosilovich, M., Buchard, V., Chao, W., Coy, L., Cullather, R., da Silva, A., Darmenov, A., Errico, R. M., Fuentes, M., Kim, M-J., Koster, R., McCarty, W., Nattala, J., Partyka, G., Schubert, S., Vernieres, G

  10. A Survey of Wireless Sensor Network Based Air Pollution Monitoring Systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yi, Wei Ying; Lo, Kin Ming; Mak, Terrence; Leung, Kwong Sak; Leung, Yee; Meng, Mei Ling

    2015-12-12

    The air quality in urban areas is a major concern in modern cities due to significant impacts of air pollution on public health, global environment, and worldwide economy. Recent studies reveal the importance of micro-level pollution information, including human personal exposure and acute exposure to air pollutants. A real-time system with high spatio-temporal resolution is essential because of the limited data availability and non-scalability of conventional air pollution monitoring systems. Currently, researchers focus on the concept of The Next Generation Air Pollution Monitoring System (TNGAPMS) and have achieved significant breakthroughs by utilizing the advance sensing technologies, MicroElectroMechanical Systems (MEMS) and Wireless Sensor Network (WSN). However, there exist potential problems of these newly proposed systems, namely the lack of 3D data acquisition ability and the flexibility of the sensor network. In this paper, we classify the existing works into three categories as Static Sensor Network (SSN), Community Sensor Network (CSN) and Vehicle Sensor Network (VSN) based on the carriers of the sensors. Comprehensive reviews and comparisons among these three types of sensor networks were also performed. Last but not least, we discuss the limitations of the existing works and conclude the objectives that we want to achieve in future systems.

  11. Energy performance and Indoor Air Quality in Modern Buildings in Greenland

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kotol, Martin; Rode, Carsten

    2012-01-01

    A new dormitory for engineering students “Apisseq” was built in the town of Sisimiut, Greenland in 2010. Its purpose is not only to provide accommodation for students. Thanks to its complex monitoring system it enables researchers to evaluate the building’s energy performance and indoor air quality...

  12. Monitoring of air pollution levels related to Charilaos Trikoupis Bridge.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sarigiannis, D A; Handakas, E J; Kermenidou, M; Zarkadas, I; Gotti, A; Charisiadis, P; Makris, K; Manousakas, M; Eleftheriadis, K; Karakitsios, S P

    2017-12-31

    Charilaos Trikoupis bridge is the longest cable bridge in Europe that connects Western Greece with the rest of the country. In this study, six air pollution monitoring campaigns (including major regulated air pollutants) were carried out from 2013 to 2015 at both sides of the bridge, located in the urban areas of Rio and Antirrio respectively. Pollution data were statistically analyzed and air quality was characterized using US and European air quality indices. From the overall campaign, it was found that air pollution levels were below the respective regulatory thresholds, but once at the site of Antirrio (26.4 and 52.2μg/m 3 for PM 2.5 and ΡΜ 10 , respectively) during the 2nd winter period. Daily average PM 10 and PM 2.5 levels from two monitoring sites were well correlated to gaseous pollutant (CO, NO, NO 2 , NO x and SO 2 ) levels, meteorological parameters and factor scores from Positive Matrix Factorization during the 3-year period. Moreover, the elemental composition of PM 10 and PM 2.5 was used for source apportionment. That analysis revealed that major emission sources were sulfates, mineral dust, biomass burning, sea salt, traffic and shipping emissions for PM 10 and PM 2.5 , for both Rio and Antirrio. Seasonal variation indicates that sulfates, mineral dust and traffic emissions increased during the warm season of the year, while biomass burning become the dominant during the cold season. Overall, the contribution of the Charilaos Trikoupis bridge to the vicinity air pollution is very low. This is the result of the relatively low daily traffic volume (~10,000 vehicles per day), the respective traffic fleet composition (~81% of the traffic fleet are private vehicles) and the speed limit (80km/h) which does not favor traffic emissions. In addition, the strong and frequent winds further contribute to the rapid dispersion of the emitted pollutants. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  13. Air quality environmental assessment of the Horseshoe Bay Terminal Improvement Project

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2001-09-01

    The proposed improvement project for British Columbia's Horseshoe Bay Ferry Terminal incorporates specific measures to protect the air quality of the area, the environment and public health. The ferry terminal handles over 2.5 million vehicles and 7 million passengers per year. The upgrades are intended to improve terminal operations, increase safety and reduce traffic congestion through residential and commercial portions of the Horseshoe Bay area as well as Highway 99 traffic. The toll booths will be relocated about 25 m further away from the nearby elementary school to further protect air quality at the school. A study was conducted in which vehicular emissions from the operation of the ferry terminal prior to the proposed improvement project were modelled to predict the effect of vehicular emissions on ambient air quality levels in the area and to ensure that maximum acceptable objectives are met for gaseous air pollutants, including carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, nitrous oxides, as well as inhalable and fine particulates. The British Columbia Ferry Corp. will work jointly with the Greater Vancouver Regional District to install continuous monitors for at least one year after the project is completed. Based on the analysis of the report, the air quality in the Horseshoe Bay area would not suffer major adverse environmental or public health affects from the proposed improvement project.

  14. Ambient air pollution and semen quality.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nobles, Carrie J; Schisterman, Enrique F; Ha, Sandie; Kim, Keewan; Mumford, Sunni L; Buck Louis, Germaine M; Chen, Zhen; Liu, Danping; Sherman, Seth; Mendola, Pauline

    2018-05-01

    Ambient air pollution is associated with systemic increases in oxidative stress, to which sperm are particularly sensitive. Although decrements in semen quality represent a key mechanism for impaired fecundability, prior research has not established a clear association between air pollution and semen quality. To address this, we evaluated the association between ambient air pollution and semen quality among men with moderate air pollution exposure. Of 501 couples in the LIFE study, 467 male partners provided one or more semen samples. Average residential exposure to criteria air pollutants and fine particle constituents in the 72 days before ejaculation was estimated using modified Community Multiscale Air Quality models. Generalized estimating equation models estimated the association between air pollutants and semen quality parameters (volume, count, percent hypo-osmotic swollen, motility, sperm head, morphology and sperm chromatin parameters). Models adjusted for age, body mass index, smoking and season. Most associations between air pollutants and semen parameters were small. However, associations were observed for an interquartile increase in fine particulates ≤2.5 µm and decreased sperm head size, including -0.22 (95% CI -0.34, -0.11) µm 2 for area, -0.06 (95% CI -0.09, -0.03) µm for length and -0.09 (95% CI -0.19, -0.06) µm for perimeter. Fine particulates were also associated with 1.03 (95% CI 0.40, 1.66) greater percent sperm head with acrosome. Air pollution exposure was not associated with semen quality, except for sperm head parameters. Moderate levels of ambient air pollution may not be a major contributor to semen quality. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  15. Future Air Quality in Danish Cities

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen, S. S.; Berkowicz, R.; Winther, M.

    The impact of new EU vehicle emission and fuel quality directives on the future air quality in Danish cities has been modelled for comparison with new limit values in the new EU directive on assessment and management of urban air quality. Nested modelling was applied using a set of air quality...... and emission models to predict concentration levels in the regional background, urban background and at street level. Air pollution levels were predicted to decrease for NO2, CO and benzene (ozone increased slightly) and the results show that the levels will not exceed the new EU limit values in 2010 despite...

  16. Global Air Quality and Climate

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fiore, Arlene M.; Naik, Vaishali; Steiner, Allison; Unger, Nadine; Bergmann, Dan; Prather, Michael; Righi, Mattia; Rumbold, Steven T.; Shindell, Drew T.; Skeie, Ragnhild B.; hide

    2012-01-01

    Emissions of air pollutants and their precursors determine regional air quality and can alter climate. Climate change can perturb the long-range transport, chemical processing, and local meteorology that influence air pollution. We review the implications of projected changes in methane (CH4), ozone precursors (O3), and aerosols for climate (expressed in terms of the radiative forcing metric or changes in global surface temperature) and hemispheric-to-continental scale air quality. Reducing the O3 precursor CH4 would slow near-term warming by decreasing both CH4 and tropospheric O3. Uncertainty remains as to the net climate forcing from anthropogenic nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions, which increase tropospheric O3 (warming) but also increase aerosols and decrease CH4 (both cooling). Anthropogenic emissions of carbon monoxide (CO) and non-CH4 volatile organic compounds (NMVOC) warm by increasing both O3 and CH4. Radiative impacts from secondary organic aerosols (SOA) are poorly understood. Black carbon emission controls, by reducing the absorption of sunlight in the atmosphere and on snow and ice, have the potential to slow near-term warming, but uncertainties in coincident emissions of reflective (cooling) aerosols and poorly constrained cloud indirect effects confound robust estimates of net climate impacts. Reducing sulfate and nitrate aerosols would improve air quality and lessen interference with the hydrologic cycle, but lead to warming. A holistic and balanced view is thus needed to assess how air pollution controls influence climate; a first step towards this goal involves estimating net climate impacts from individual emission sectors. Modeling and observational analyses suggest a warming climate degrades air quality (increasing surface O3 and particulate matter) in many populated regions, including during pollution episodes. Prior Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) scenarios (SRES) allowed unconstrained growth, whereas the Representative

  17. Air Quality System (AQS)

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — The Air Quality System (AQS) database contains measurements of air pollutant concentrations from throughout the United States and its territories. The measurements...

  18. A Portable Low-Cost High Density Sensor Network for Air Quality at London Heathrow Airport

    Science.gov (United States)

    Popoola, Olalekan; Mead, Iq; Bright, Vivien; Baron, Ronan; Saffell, John; Stewart, Gregor; Kaye, Paul; Jones, Roderic

    2013-04-01

    Outdoor air quality and its impact on human health and the environment have been well studied and it has been projected that poor air quality will surpass poor sanitation as the major course of environmental premature mortality by 2050 (IGAC / IGBP, release statement, 2012). Transport-related pollution has been regulated at various levels by enactment of legislations at local, national, regional and global stages. As part of the mitigation measures, routine measurements of atmospheric pollutants such as carbon monoxide (CO), nitric oxide (NO) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) have to be established in areas where air quality problems are identified. In addition, emission inventories are also generated for different atmospheric environments including urban areas and airport environments required for air quality models. Whilst recognising that most of the existing sparse monitoring networks provide high temporal measurements, spatial data of these highly variable pollutants are not captured, making it difficult to adequately characterise the highly heterogeneous air quality. Spatial information is often obtained from model data which can only be constrained using measurements from the sparse monitoring networks. The work presented here shows the application of low-cost sensor networks aimed at addressing this missing spatial information. We have shown in previous studies the application of low-cost electrochemical sensor network instruments in monitoring road transport pollutants including CO, NO and NO2 in an urban environment (Mead et. al. 2012, accepted Atmospheric Environment). Modified versions of these instruments which include additional species such as O3, SO2, VOCs and CO2 are currently deployed at London Heathrow Airport (LHR) as part of the Sensor Network for Air Quality (SNAQ) project. Meteorology data such as temperature, relative humidity, wind speed and direction are also measured as well as size-speciated particulates (0.38 to 17.4 µm). A network of 50

  19. 30 CFR 75.321 - Air quality.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Air quality. 75.321 Section 75.321 Mineral... SAFETY STANDARDS-UNDERGROUND COAL MINES Ventilation § 75.321 Air quality. (a)(1) The air in areas where... air current in these areas shall be sufficient to dilute, render harmless, and carry away flammable...

  20. Air quality dispersion models from energy sources

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lazarevska, Ana

    1996-01-01

    Along with the continuing development of new air quality models that cover more complex problems, in the Clean Air Act, legislated by the US Congress, a consistency and standardization of air quality model applications were encouraged. As a result, the Guidelines on Air Quality Models were published, which are regularly reviewed by the Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards, EPA. These guidelines provide a basis for estimating the air quality concentrations used in accessing control strategies as well as defining emission limits. This paper presents a review and analysis of the recent versions of the models: Simple Terrain Stationary Source Model; Complex Terrain Dispersion Model; Ozone,Carbon Monoxide and Nitrogen Dioxide Models; Long Range Transport Model; Other phenomenon Models:Fugitive Dust/Fugitive Emissions, Particulate Matter, Lead, Air Pathway Analyses - Air Toxic as well as Hazardous Waste. 8 refs., 4 tabs., 2 ills

  1. Characteristics of public concern on haze in China and its relationship with air quality in urban areas.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lu, Yaling; Wang, Yuan; Zuo, Jian; Jiang, Hongqiang; Huang, Dacang; Rameezdeen, Raufdeen

    2018-10-01

    Severe air pollution associated with the rapid urbanization is a pressing issue in China. Moreover, the public awareness of environmental protection in China is awakening, which poses enormous pressure on governments to enforce environmental regulations. The study of environmental problems from the public perspective plays a crucial role in effective environmental governance. The Baidu search engine is the China's largest search engine. The search index of haze based on Baidu search engine reflects the public concern on air quality in China. The aim of this study is to uncover important relationships between public concern and air quality monitoring data based on the case study of haze pollution crisis in China. The results indicate that: (1) the year 2013 is the turning point of the public concern on air quality in China; (2) according to daily data analysis, the search index of haze has increased progressively with increased PM 2.5 concentration with a time lag of 0-4 days and the lag time has a declining tendency from 2013 to 2017; (3) according to annual data analysis, the public concern showed a weak correlation with air quality and they showed an opposite temporal trend. However, when the long-term annual trend was removed, the strong positive correlation emerges between the fluctuation parts of the search index of haze and monitoring data of air quality. This indicates the public is more sensitive to the short-term fluctuation of air quality. The results of this paper provide statistical evidence on the evolution of public concern on air quality from 2013 to 2017. This study will help policy makers to better understand the patterns of the public's perception of environmental problems and consequently improve the government's capability to deal with these challenges. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  2. ASPECTS REGARDING AIR QUALITY IN DEVA AREA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    CARMEN DRAGOTA

    2012-03-01

    Full Text Available Aspects regarding air quality in Deva area. The attenuation of air quality in the urban environment is determined by artificial warming, a result of the radiation emitted by constructions, economic activities, as well as the climatic elements characteristics. In the survey regarding air quality in Deva we will analyse the concentrations of NO2, O3, SO2 and their implications on air quality.

  3. Discontinuous and Continuous Indoor Air Quality Monitoring in Homes with Fireplaces or Wood Stoves as Heating System.

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Gennaro, Gianluigi; Dambruoso, Paolo Rosario; Di Gilio, Alessia; Di Palma, Valerio; Marzocca, Annalisa; Tutino, Maria

    2015-12-24

    Around 50% of the world's population, particularly in developing countries, uses biomass as one of the most common fuels. Biomass combustion releases a considerable amount of various incomplete combustion products, including particulate matter (PM) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The paper presents the results of Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) measurements in six houses equipped with wood burning stoves or fireplaces as heating systems. The houses were monitored for 48-h periods in order to collect PM10 samples and measure PAH concentrations. The average, the maximum and the lowest values of the 12-h PM10 concentration were 68.6 μg/m³, 350.7 μg/m³ and 16.8 μg/m³ respectively. The average benzo[a]pyrene 12-h concentration was 9.4 ng/m³, while the maximum and the minimum values were 24.0 ng/m³ and 1.5 ng/m³, respectively. Continuous monitoring of PM10, PAHs, Ultra Fine Particle (UFP) and Total Volatile Organic Compounds (TVOC) was performed in order to study the progress of pollution phenomena due to biomass burning, their trends and contributions to IAQ. The results show a great heterogeneity of impacts on IAQ in terms of magnitude and behavior of the considered pollutants' concentrations. This variability is determined by not only different combustion technologies or biomass quality, but overall by different ignition mode, feeding and flame management, which can also be different for the same house. Moreover, room dimensions and ventilation were significant factors for pollution dispersion. The increase of PM10, UFP and PAH concentrations, during lighting, was always detected and relevant. Continuous monitoring allowed singling out contributions of other domestic sources of considered pollutants such as cooking and cigarettes. Cooking contribution produced an impact on IAQ in same cases higher than that of the biomass heating system.

  4. Discontinuous and Continuous Indoor Air Quality Monitoring in Homes with Fireplaces or Wood Stoves as Heating System

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gianluigi de Gennaro

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Around 50% of the world’s population, particularly in developing countries, uses biomass as one of the most common fuels. Biomass combustion releases a considerable amount of various incomplete combustion products, including particulate matter (PM and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs. The paper presents the results of Indoor Air Quality (IAQ measurements in six houses equipped with wood burning stoves or fireplaces as heating systems. The houses were monitored for 48-h periods in order to collect PM10 samples and measure PAH concentrations. The average, the maximum and the lowest values of the 12-h PM10 concentration were 68.6 μg/m3, 350.7 μg/m3 and 16.8 μg/m3 respectively. The average benzo[a]pyrene 12-h concentration was 9.4 ng/m3, while the maximum and the minimum values were 24.0 ng/m3 and 1.5 ng/m3, respectively. Continuous monitoring of PM10, PAHs, Ultra Fine Particle (UFP and Total Volatile Organic Compounds (TVOC was performed in order to study the progress of pollution phenomena due to biomass burning, their trends and contributions to IAQ. The results show a great heterogeneity of impacts on IAQ in terms of magnitude and behavior of the considered pollutants’ concentrations. This variability is determined by not only different combustion technologies or biomass quality, but overall by different ignition mode, feeding and flame management, which can also be different for the same house. Moreover, room dimensions and ventilation were significant factors for pollution dispersion. The increase of PM10, UFP and PAH concentrations, during lighting, was always detected and relevant. Continuous monitoring allowed singling out contributions of other domestic sources of considered pollutants such as cooking and cigarettes. Cooking contribution produced an impact on IAQ in same cases higher than that of the biomass heating system.

  5. 76 FR 6056 - Additional Air Quality Designations for the 2006 24-Hour Fine Particle National Ambient Air...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-02-03

    ... Planning Texas. Section, EPA Region 6, 1445 Ross Avenue, Dallas, TX 75202, (214) 665-7242. Monica Morales... monitored air quality data for 2006-2008 indicating a violation of the NAAQS (2006-2008 design value of 48... NAAQS, with a 2007-2009 design value of 40 [micro]g/m\\3\\. In October of 2009, EPA notified the Governor...

  6. Spatio-temporal modelling of atmospheric pollution based on observations provided by an air quality monitoring network at a regional scale

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Coman, A.

    2008-01-01

    This study is devoted to the spatio-temporal modelling of air pollution at a regional scale using a set of statistical methods in order to treat the measurements of pollutant concentrations (NO 2 , O 3 ) provided by an air quality monitoring network (AIRPARIF). The main objective is the improvement of the pollutant fields mapping using either interpolation methods based on the spatial or spatio-temporal structure of the data (spatial or spatio-temporal kriging) or some algorithms taking into account the observations, in order to correct the concentrations simulated by a deterministic model (Ensemble Kalman Filter). The results show that nitrogen dioxide mapping based only on spatial interpolation (kriging) gives the best results, while the spatial repartition of the monitoring sites is good. For the ozone mapping it is the sequential data assimilation that leads us to a better reconstruction of the plume's form and position for the analyzed cases. Complementary to the pollutant mapping, another objective was to perform a local prediction of ozone concentrations on a 24-hour horizon; this task was performed using Artificial Neural Networks. The performance indices obtained using two types of neural architectures indicate a fair accuracy especially for the first 8 hours of prediction horizon. (author)

  7. Representativeness of shorter measurement sessions in long-term indoor air monitoring.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maciejewska, M; Szczurek, A

    2015-02-01

    Indoor air quality (IAQ) considerably influences health, comfort and the overall performance of people who spend most of their lives in confined spaces. For this reason, there is a strong need to develop methods for IAQ assessment. The fundamental issue in the quantitative determination of IAQ is the duration of measurements. Its inadequate choice may result in providing incorrect information and this potentially leads to wrong conclusions. The most complete information may be acquired through long-term monitoring. However it is typically perceived as impractical due to time and cost load. The aim of this study was to determine whether long-term monitoring can be adequately represented by a shorter measurement session. There were considered three measurable quantities: temperature, relative humidity and carbon dioxide concentration. They are commonly recognized as indicatives for IAQ and may be readily monitored. Scaled Kullback-Leibler divergence, also called relative entropy, was applied as a measure of data representativeness. We considered long-term monitoring in a range from 1 to 9 months. Based on our work, the representative data on CO2 concentration may be acquired while performing measurements during 20% of time dedicated to long-term monitoring. In the case of temperature and relative humidity the respective time demand was 50% of long-term monitoring. From our results, in indoor air monitoring strategies, there could be considered shorter measurement sessions, while still collecting data which are representative for long-term monitoring.

  8. Air quality and urban form in U.S. urban areas: evidence from regulatory monitors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Clark, Lara P; Millet, Dylan B; Marshall, Julian D

    2011-08-15

    The layout of an urban area can impact air pollution via changes in emissions and their spatial distribution. Here, we explore relationships between air quality and urban form based on cross-sectional observations for 111 U.S. urban areas. We employ stepwise linear regression to quantify how long-term population-weighted outdoor concentrations of ozone, fine particulate matter (PM(2.5)), and other criteria pollutants measured by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency depend on urban form, climate, transportation, city size, income, and region. Aspects of urban form evaluated here include city shape, road density, jobs-housing imbalance, population density, and population centrality. We find that population density is associated with higher population-weighted PM(2.5) concentrations (p urban form variables are associated with 4%-12% changes in population-weighted concentrations-amounts comparable, for example, to changes in climatic factors. Our empirical findings are consistent with prior modeling research and suggest that urban form could potentially play a modest but important role in achieving (or not achieving) long-term air quality goals.

  9. The air quality impacts of road closures associated with the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Clougherty Jane E

    2006-05-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The Democratic National Convention (DNC in Boston, Massachusetts in 2004 provided an opportunity to evaluate the impacts of a localized and short-term but potentially significant change in traffic patterns on air quality, and to determine the optimal monitoring approach to address events of this nature. It was anticipated that the road closures associated with the DNC would both influence the overall air pollution level and the distribution of concentrations across the city, through shifts in traffic patterns. Methods To capture these effects, we placed passive nitrogen dioxide badges at 40 sites around metropolitan Boston before, during, and after the DNC, with the goal of capturing the array of hypothesized impacts. In addition, we continuously measured elemental carbon at three sites, and gathered continuous air pollution data from US EPA fixed-site monitors and traffic count data from the Massachusetts Highway Department. Results There were significant reductions in traffic volume on the highway with closures north of Boston, with relatively little change along other highways, indicating a more isolated traffic reduction rather than an across-the-board decrease. For our nitrogen dioxide samples, while there was a relatively small change in mean concentrations, there was significant heterogeneity across sites, which corresponded with our a priori classifications of road segments. The median ratio of nitrogen dioxide concentrations during the DNC relative to non-DNC sampling periods was 0.58 at sites with hypothesized traffic reductions, versus 0.88 for sites with no changes hypothesized and 1.15 for sites with hypothesized traffic increases. Continuous monitors measured slightly lower concentrations of elemental carbon and nitrogen dioxide during road closure periods at monitors proximate to closed highway segments, but not for PM2.5 or further from major highways. Conclusion We conclude that there was a small but

  10. High Resolution Air Quality Forecasts in the Western Mediterranean area within the MACC, MACC-II and MACC-III European projects

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cansado, A.; Martinez, I.; Morales, T.

    2015-07-01

    The European Earth observation programme Copernicus, formerly known as GMES (Global Monitoring for Environment and Security) is establishing a core global and regional environmental atmospheric service as a component of the Europes Copernicus/GMES initiative through successive R and D projects led by ECMWF (European Center for Medium-range Weather Forecasting) and funded by the 6th and 7th European Framework Programme for Research and Horizon 2020 Programme: GEMS, MACC, MACC-II and MACC-III. AEMET (Spanish State Meteorological Agency) has participated in the projects MACC and MACC-II and continues participating in MACC-III (http://atmosphere.copernicus.eu). AEMET has contributed to those projects by generating highresolution (0.05 degrees) daily air-quality forecasts for the Western Mediterranean up to 48 hours aiming to analyse the dependence of the quality of forecasts on resolution. We monitor the evolution of different chemical species such as NO{sub 2}, O{sub 3}, CO y SO{sub 2} at surface and different vertical levels using the global model MOCAGE and the MACC Regional Ensemble forecasts as chemical boundary conditions. We will show different case-studies, where the considered chemical species present high values and will show a validation of the air-quality by comparing to some of the available air-quality observations (EMEP/GAW, regional -autonomous communities- and local -city councils- air-quality monitoring networks) over the forecast domain. The aim of our participation in these projects is helping to improve the understanding of the processes involved in the air-quality forecast in the Mediterranean where special factors such as highly populated areas together with an intense solar radiation make air-quality forecasting particularly challenging. (Author)

  11. High Resolution Air Quality Forecasts in the Western Mediterranean area within the MACC, MACC-II and MACC-III European projects

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cansado, A.; Martinez, I.; Morales, T.

    2015-07-01

    The European Earth observation programme Copernicus, formerly known as GMES (Global Monitoring for Environment and Security) is establishing a core global and regional environmental atmospheric service as a component of the Europe’s Copernicus/GMES initiative through successive R&D projects led by ECMWF (European Center for Medium-range Weather Forecasting) and funded by the 6th and 7th European Framework Programme for Research and Horizon 2020 Programme: GEMS, MACC, MACC-II and MACC-III. AEMET (Spanish State Meteorological Agency) has participated in the projects MACC and MACC-II and continues participating in MACC-III (http://atmosphere.copernicus.eu). AEMET has contributed to those projects by generating highresolution (0.05 degrees) daily air-quality forecasts for the Western Mediterranean up to 48 hours aiming to analyse the dependence of the quality of forecasts on resolution. We monitor the evolution of different chemical species such as NO2, O3, CO y SO2 at surface and different vertical levels using the global model MOCAGE and the MACC Regional Ensemble forecasts as chemical boundary conditions. We will show different case-studies, where the considered chemical species present high values and will show a validation of the air-quality by comparing to some of the available air-quality observations (EMEP/GAW, regional -autonomous communities- and local -city councils- air-quality monitoring networks) over the forecast domain. The aim of our participation in these projects is helping to improve the understanding of the processes involved in the air-quality forecast in the Mediterranean where special factors such as highly populated areas together with an intense solar radiation make air-quality forecasting particularly challenging. (Author)

  12. Assessment of air quality benefits from national air pollution control policies in China. Part II: Evaluation of air quality predictions and air quality benefits assessment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Litao; Jang, Carey; Zhang, Yang; Wang, Kai; Zhang, Qiang; Streets, David; Fu, Joshua; Lei, Yu; Schreifels, Jeremy; He, Kebin; Hao, Jiming; Lam, Yun-Fat; Lin, Jerry; Meskhidze, Nicholas; Voorhees, Scott; Evarts, Dale; Phillips, Sharon

    2010-09-01

    Following the meteorological evaluation in Part I, this Part II paper presents the statistical evaluation of air quality predictions by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA)'s Community Multi-Scale Air Quality (Models-3/CMAQ) model for the four simulated months in the base year 2005. The surface predictions were evaluated using the Air Pollution Index (API) data published by the China Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP) for 31 capital cities and daily fine particulate matter (PM 2.5, particles with aerodiameter less than or equal to 2.5 μm) observations of an individual site in Tsinghua University (THU). To overcome the shortage in surface observations, satellite data are used to assess the column predictions including tropospheric nitrogen dioxide (NO 2) column abundance and aerosol optical depth (AOD). The result shows that CMAQ gives reasonably good predictions for the air quality. The air quality improvement that would result from the targeted sulfur dioxide (SO 2) and nitrogen oxides (NO x) emission controls in China were assessed for the objective year 2010. The results show that the emission controls can lead to significant air quality benefits. SO 2 concentrations in highly polluted areas of East China in 2010 are estimated to be decreased by 30-60% compared to the levels in the 2010 Business-As-Usual (BAU) case. The annual PM 2.5 can also decline by 3-15 μg m -3 (4-25%) due to the lower SO 2 and sulfate concentrations. If similar controls are implemented for NO x emissions, NO x concentrations are estimated to decrease by 30-60% as compared with the 2010 BAU scenario. The annual mean PM 2.5 concentrations will also decline by 2-14 μg m -3 (3-12%). In addition, the number of ozone (O 3) non-attainment areas in the northern China is projected to be much lower, with the maximum 1-h average O 3 concentrations in the summer reduced by 8-30 ppb.

  13. New Methods for Air Quality Model Evaluation with Satellite Data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Holloway, T.; Harkey, M.

    2015-12-01

    Despite major advances in the ability of satellites to detect gases and aerosols in the atmosphere, there remains significant, untapped potential to apply space-based data to air quality regulatory applications. Here, we showcase research findings geared toward increasing the relevance of satellite data to support operational air quality management, focused on model evaluation. Particular emphasis is given to nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and formaldehyde (HCHO) from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument aboard the NASA Aura satellite, and evaluation of simulations from the EPA Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) model. This work is part of the NASA Air Quality Applied Sciences Team (AQAST), and is motivated by ongoing dialog with state and federal air quality management agencies. We present the response of satellite-derived NO2 to meteorological conditions, satellite-derived HCHO:NO2 ratios as an indicator of ozone production regime, and the ability of models to capture these sensitivities over the continental U.S. In the case of NO2-weather sensitivities, we find boundary layer height, wind speed, temperature, and relative humidity to be the most important variables in determining near-surface NO2 variability. CMAQ agreed with relationships observed in satellite data, as well as in ground-based data, over most regions. However, we find that the southwest U.S. is a problem area for CMAQ, where modeled NO2 responses to insolation, boundary layer height, and other variables are at odds with the observations. Our analyses utilize a software developed by our team, the Wisconsin Horizontal Interpolation Program for Satellites (WHIPS): a free, open-source program designed to make satellite-derived air quality data more usable. WHIPS interpolates level 2 satellite retrievals onto a user-defined fixed grid, in effect creating custom-gridded level 3 satellite product. Currently, WHIPS can process the following data products: OMI NO2 (NASA retrieval); OMI NO2 (KNMI retrieval); OMI

  14. Ambient air quality trends in Alberta

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2007-01-01

    This document provided an overview of ambient air pollutant trends in Alberta. The report discussed the following pollutants having effect on human and environmental health: carbon monoxide (CO), hydrogen sulphide (H2 S ), nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ), sulphur dioxide (SO 2 ), ozone (O 3 ), fine particulate matter (PM 2 .5), benzene, and benzopyrene. Each of these pollutants was described. The report provided data on annual average concentration trends and annual 99th percentile concentration as an indicator of peak concentrations. A map illustrating air quality monitoring stations in 2006 was also provided. The findings revealed that mean annual CO levels were the lowest they have been since 1990; hydrogen sulphide concentrations have fluctuated in time since 1990; most Edmonton and Calgary area stations showed significant decreasing trends in annual average NO 2 levels since 1990; and higher SO 2 concentrations have been found in the industrial areas of Alberta, such as the Redwater and Scotford oil sands locations. tabs., figs

  15. Toward an integrated quasi-operational air quality analysis and prediction system for South America

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hoshyaripour, Gholam Ali; Brasseur, Guy; Petersen, Katinka; Bouarar, Idiir; Andrade, Maria de Fatima

    2015-04-01

    Recent industrialization and urbanization in South America (SA) have notably exacerbated the air pollution with adverse impacts on human health and socio-economic systems. Consequently, there is a strong demand for developing ever-better assessment mechanisms to monitor the air quality at different temporal and spatial scales and minimize its damages. Based on previous achievements (e.g., MACC project in Europe and PANDA project in East Asia) we aim to design and implement an integrated system to monitor, analyze and forecast the air quality in SA along with its impacts upon public health and agriculture. An initiative will be established to combine observations (both satellite and in-situ) with advanced numerical models in order to provide a robust scientific basis for short- and long-term decision-making concerning air quality issues in SA countries. The main objectives of the project are defined as 3E: Enhancement of the air quality monitoring system through coupling models and observations, Elaboration of comprehensive indicators and assessment tools to support policy-making, Establishment of efficient information-exchange platforms to facilitate communication among scientists, authorities, stockholders and the public. Here we present the results of the initial stage, where a coarse resolution (50×50 km) set up of Weather Research and Forecast model with Chemistry (WRF-Chem) is used to simulate the air quality in SA considering anthropogenic, biomass-burning (based on MACCity, FINN inventories, respectively) and biogenic emissions (using MEGAN model). According to the availability of the observation data for Metropolitan Area of São Paulo, August 2012 is selected as the simulation period. Nested domains with higher resolution (15×15 km) are also embedded within the parent domain over the megacities (Sao Paolo and Rio de Janeiro in Brazil and Buenos Aires in Argentina), which account for the major anthropogenic emission sources located along coastal regions

  16. Agriculture: Agriculture and Air Quality

    Science.gov (United States)

    Information on air emissions from agricultural practices, types of agricultural burning, air programs that may apply to agriculture, reporting requirements, and links to state and other federal air-quality information.

  17. Environmental Assessment of the City of El Cerrito, CA: Creek, Trash and Air Quality Analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moore, A.; Ilan, A.

    2015-12-01

    The City of El Cerrito, CA is located within Western Contra Costa County and adjacent to the San Francisco Bay. Local land-uses that affect its overall public and environmental health include major freeways, railways, and commercial and industrial zones. In an effort to assess the overall health of the local environment, students at Korematsu Middle School conducted a comprehensive analysis that included street litter auditing, water monitoring of Cerritos Creek and air quality measurements made along local streets. In 2014 the City of El Cerrito adopted a long-term trash plan that included strategies for reducing trash loads of local stormwater sewer systems. This plan called for load reduction of 70% by July 1, 2017 and 100% by July 1, 2022. To evaluate the effectiveness of the trash plan, our team quantified and scored trash concentration levels at two locations—one in a residential neighborhood and the other in a commercial zone. We also monitored water quality at nearby Cerritos Creek to investigate the impacts that each area's trash concentrations had on water quality. We also monitored particulate matter (PM) concentration levels in air within these locations to determine whether or not differences exist between residential and commercial areas. Preliminary analysis of litter data suggests that the Long Term Trash Plan has thus far been effective in reducing concentrations of street litter along San Pablo Avenue, which is located within a major commercial zone, but has been inadequate in reducing trash in nearby parks. Water quality results indicate that Cerritos Creek contains waters that are quite healthy with respect to Ammonia and Nitrate concentration levels (i.e., very low values for every sample collected). However, elevated concentration levels of Phosphates were detected in every sample collected. Air quality data surprisingly revealed that extremely high PM concentration levels occur in air surrounding a residential park in El Cerrito.

  18. The Use of Remote Sensing Data for Modeling Air Quality in the Cities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Putrenko, V. V.; Pashynska, N. M.

    2017-12-01

    Monitoring of environmental pollution in the cities by the methods of remote sensing of the Earth is actual area of research for sustainable development. Ukraine has a poorly developed network of monitoring stations for air quality, the technical condition of which is deteriorating in recent years. Therefore, the possibility of obtaining data about the condition of air by remote sensing methods is of great importance. The paper considers the possibility of using the data about condition of atmosphere of the project AERONET to assess the air quality in Ukraine. The main pollution indicators were used data on fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) content in the atmosphere. The main indicator of air quality in Ukraine is the air pollution index (API). We have built regression models the relationship between indicators of NO2, which are measured by remote sensing methods and ground-based measurements of indicators. There have also been built regression models, the relationship between the data given to the land of NO2 and API. To simulate the relationship between the API and PM2.5 were used geographically weighted regression model, which allows to take into account the territorial differentiation between these indicators. As a result, the maps that show the distribution of the main types of pollution in the territory of Ukraine, were constructed. PM2.5 data modeling is complicated with using existing indicators, which requires a separate organization observation network for PM2.5 content in the atmosphere for sustainable development in cities of Ukraine.

  19. Air quality management in Botswana

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Modupe O. Akinola

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available This paper examines air pollution situation and the history of air quality management in Botswana. The current air quality management in Botswana is still largely underpinned by the Atmospheric Pollution Prevention Act of 1971, supplemented by the more recently enacted legislations such as the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA Act of 2010 and the Ambient Air Quality - Limits for Common Pollutants of 2012 published by the Botswana Bureau of Standards. Though commendable efforts have been made toward legislating against air and other forms of pollution, these have not yielded expected results in view of the prevailing levels of air pollutants like sulphur dioxide and fine particulate matters in the country’s atmospheric environment. Legislation as a sole measure may not be effective in tackling this challenge. Rather, government should also address some root-causes of the problem by making policies and programmes that will reduce unemployment and increase the earning capacity of citizenry. This will, among other things, effectively check poverty-induced biomass burning in the country. The paper looks at some other challenges of air pollution management and suggestions are made to tackle the identified problems.

  20. Aerosol distribution during open suctioning and long-term surveillance of air quality in a respiratory care center within a medical center.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chung, Fen-Fang; Lin, Hui-Ling; Liu, Hsueh-Erh; Lien, Angela Shin-Yu; Hsiao, Hsiu-Feng; Chou, Lan-Ti; Wan, Gwo-Hwa

    2015-01-01

    The investigation of hospital air quality has been conducted in wards, ICUs, operating theaters, and public areas. Few studies have assessed air quality in respiratory care centers (RCCs), especially in mechanically ventilated patients with open suctioning. The RCC air quality indices (temperature, relative humidity, levels of CO2, total volatile organic compounds, particulate matter [PM], bacteria, and fungi) were monitored over 1 y. The air around the patient's head was sampled during open suctioning to examine the probability of bioaerosol exposure affecting health-care workers. This investigation found that the levels of indoor air pollutants (CO2, PM, bacteria, and fungi) were below the indoor air quality standard set by the Taiwan Environmental Protection Agency. Meanwhile, the levels of total volatile organic compounds sometimes exceeded the indoor air quality standard, particularly in August. The identified bacterial genera included Micrococcus species, Corynebacterium species, and Staphylococcus species, and the predominant fungal genera included yeast, Aspergillus species, Scopulariopsis species, and Trichoderma species. Additionally, airborne PM2.5, PM1, and bacteria were clearly raised during open suctioning in mechanically ventilated patients. This phenomenon demonstrated that open suctioning may increase the bacterial exposure risk of health-care workers. RCC air quality deserves long-term monitoring and evaluation. Health-care workers must implement self-protection strategies during open suctioning to ensure their occupational health and safety in health-care settings. Copyright © 2015 by Daedalus Enterprises.

  1. Ambient Air Quality Data Inventory

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — The Office of Air and Radiation's (OAR) Ambient Air Quality Data (Current) contains ambient air pollution data collected by EPA, other federal agencies, as well as...

  2. Ozone, air quality and climatic change

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Van Noije, T.

    2008-01-01

    Changes in climate due to increased greenhouse gas emissions differ per region. Regional climate changes can also be caused by regional changes in air quality, though. On the other hand, global and regional changes in climate also lead to changes in air quality without any changes in sources of pollution. This article discusses the various aspects of the interaction between air quality and climate change with extra focus on the role of ozone. [mk] [nl

  3. The UK National Air Quality Strategy: the effects of the proposed changes on Local Air Quality Management

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Beattie, C.I.; Ling, K.; Longhurst, J.W.S. [Univ. of the West of England, Faculty of Applied Sciences, Bristol (GB)] [and others

    1999-07-01

    The UK has implemented a system of Local Air Quality Management (LAQM) to tackle the many contemporary sources of air pollution, notably transport, industry and domestic fuel burning, in a holistic manner. The current legislation stems from the Environment Act 1995, which required a National Air Quality Strategy (NAQS) to be published outlining the Governments policies with respect to the assessment and management of air quality. The NAQS, originally published in March 1997, is on a rolling programme of reviews in order to reflect developments in European legislation, technological and scientific advances, improved air pollution modelling techniques and an increasingly better understanding of the economic and social issues involved. Following the first review (currently at consultation state), this paper will comment on how the proposed changes may affect the LAQM process. The proposed changes will also be summarised and discussed in the context of European Union air quality objectives and the economic analysis of NAQS.

  4. An Internet of Things System for Underground Mine Air Quality Pollutant Prediction Based on Azure Machine Learning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jo, ByungWan; Khan, Rana Muhammad Asad

    2018-03-21

    The implementation of wireless sensor networks (WSNs) for monitoring the complex, dynamic, and harsh environment of underground coal mines (UCMs) is sought around the world to enhance safety. However, previously developed smart systems are limited to monitoring or, in a few cases, can report events. Therefore, this study introduces a reliable, efficient, and cost-effective internet of things (IoT) system for air quality monitoring with newly added features of assessment and pollutant prediction. This system is comprised of sensor modules, communication protocols, and a base station, running Azure Machine Learning (AML) Studio over it. Arduino-based sensor modules with eight different parameters were installed at separate locations of an operational UCM. Based on the sensed data, the proposed system assesses mine air quality in terms of the mine environment index (MEI). Principal component analysis (PCA) identified CH₄, CO, SO₂, and H₂S as the most influencing gases significantly affecting mine air quality. The results of PCA were fed into the ANN model in AML studio, which enabled the prediction of MEI. An optimum number of neurons were determined for both actual input and PCA-based input parameters. The results showed a better performance of the PCA-based ANN for MEI prediction, with R ² and RMSE values of 0.6654 and 0.2104, respectively. Therefore, the proposed Arduino and AML-based system enhances mine environmental safety by quickly assessing and predicting mine air quality.

  5. An Internet of Things System for Underground Mine Air Quality Pollutant Prediction Based on Azure Machine Learning

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    ByungWan Jo

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available The implementation of wireless sensor networks (WSNs for monitoring the complex, dynamic, and harsh environment of underground coal mines (UCMs is sought around the world to enhance safety. However, previously developed smart systems are limited to monitoring or, in a few cases, can report events. Therefore, this study introduces a reliable, efficient, and cost-effective internet of things (IoT system for air quality monitoring with newly added features of assessment and pollutant prediction. This system is comprised of sensor modules, communication protocols, and a base station, running Azure Machine Learning (AML Studio over it. Arduino-based sensor modules with eight different parameters were installed at separate locations of an operational UCM. Based on the sensed data, the proposed system assesses mine air quality in terms of the mine environment index (MEI. Principal component analysis (PCA identified CH4, CO, SO2, and H2S as the most influencing gases significantly affecting mine air quality. The results of PCA were fed into the ANN model in AML studio, which enabled the prediction of MEI. An optimum number of neurons were determined for both actual input and PCA-based input parameters. The results showed a better performance of the PCA-based ANN for MEI prediction, with R2 and RMSE values of 0.6654 and 0.2104, respectively. Therefore, the proposed Arduino and AML-based system enhances mine environmental safety by quickly assessing and predicting mine air quality.

  6. Air Monitoring: New Advances in Sampling and Detection

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nicola Watson

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available As the harmful effects of low-level exposure to hazardous organic air pollutants become more evident, there is constant pressure to improve the detection limits of indoor and ambient air monitoring methods, for example, by collecting larger air volumes and by optimising the sensitivity of the analytical detector. However, at the other end of the scale, rapid industrialisation in the developing world and growing pressure to reclaim derelict industrial land for house building is driving the need for air monitoring methods that can reliably accommodate very-high-concentration samples in potentially aggressive matrices. This paper investigates the potential of a combination of two powerful gas chromatography—based analytical enhancements—sample preconcentration/thermal desorption and time-of-flight mass spectrometry—to improve quantitative and qualitative measurement of very-low-(ppt level organic chemicals, even in the most complex air samples. It also describes new, practical monitoring options for addressing equally challenging high-concentration industrial samples.

  7. Evaluation of the Impact of Indoor Smoking Bans on Air Quality in Australian Licensed Clubs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Davidson, Margaret Elissa

    The quality of indoor air in Australian buildings is unknown due to limited published data. The assessment of indoor air quality (IAQ) in hospitality environments is of special concern because they are frequented by sensitive populations such as the elderly, children, and people with pre-existing health conditions, who may be at risk of developing adverse health reactions if the IAQ is poor. As of 2010, all Australian states and territories have introduced legalisation banning smoking in enclosed public places, including licensed clubs. This project has evaluated the impact of indoor smoking bans on air quality inside and outside of Australian licensed clubs. In doing this it has identified emerging IAQ issues in post smoking ban environments, and documented the airborne concentrations of previously unstudied air contaminants such as particulate matter with a 50% cut-point diameter of 1.0 ?m (PM1.0) and particulate polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PPAH) in the indoor smoking areas of Australian licensed clubs. The study involved collecting approximately 400 hours of air quality data, of which 200 hours was collected before bans and 200 hrs was collected after smoking bans were introduced in licensed clubs located within two local government districts of South Eastern Australia. Clubs 1 to 7 were located in the one district and Clubs 8 to 11 in the other district. Club 4 dropped out following the pre ban monitoring, and the results were omitted from analysis. The air quality parameters measured inside include particulate matter with a 50% cut-point diameter of 2.5 mum (PM2.5), PPAH, carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide mu(CO2), temperature and humidity. The air quality parameters measured outside were PM2.5, CO2, temperature and humidity. Each of the parameters were monitored for 4 hour periods on 4 occasions in each club both before, and after the introduction of indoor smoking bans. Additional monitoring of indoor concentrations of PM1.0, nicotine and PM2

  8. Test plan for air monitoring during the Cryogenic Retrieval Demonstration

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yokuda, E.

    1992-06-01

    This report presents a test plan for air monitoring during the Cryogenic Retrieval Demonstration (CRD). Air monitors will be used to sample for the tracer elements neodymium, terbium, and ytterbium, and dysprosium. The results from this air monitoring will be used to determine if the CRD is successful in controlling dust and minimizing contamination. Procedures and equipment specifications for the test are included

  9. Air Quality Criteria for Particulate Matter.

    Science.gov (United States)

    National Air Pollution Control Administration (DHEW), Washington, DC.

    To assist states in developing air quality standards, this book offers a review of literature related to atmospheric particulates and the development of criteria for air quality. It not only summarizes the current scientific knowledge of particulate air pollution, but points up the major deficiencies in that knowledge and the need for further…

  10. Air Quality in Lanzhou, a Major Industrial City in China: Characteristics of Air Pollution and Review of Existing Evidence from Air Pollution and Health Studies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Yaqun; Li, Min; Bravo, Mercedes A.; Jin, Lan; Nori-Sarma, Amruta; Xu, Yanwen; Guan, Donghong; Wang, Chengyuan; Chen, Mingxia; Wang, Xiao; Tao, Wei; Qiu, Weitao; Zhang, Yawei

    2015-01-01

    Air pollution contributes substantially to global health burdens; however, less is known about pollution patterns in China and whether they differ from those elsewhere. We evaluated temporal and spatial heterogeneity of air pollution in Lanzhou, an urban Chinese city (April 2009–December 2012), and conducted a systematic review of literature on air pollution and health in Lanzhou. Average levels were 141.5, 42.3, and 47.2 µg/m3 for particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter ≤10 µm (PM10), NO2, and SO2, respectively. Findings suggest some seasonality, particularly for SO2, with higher concentrations during colder months relative to warmer months, although a longer time frame of data is needed to evaluate seasonality fully. Correlation coefficients generally declined with distance between monitors, while coefficients of divergence increased with distance. However, these trends were not statistically significant. PM10 levels exceeded Chinese and other health-based standards and guidelines. The review identified 13 studies on outdoor air pollution and health. Although limited, the studies indicate that air pollution is associated with increased risk of health outcomes in Lanzhou. These studies and the high air pollution levels suggest potentially serious health consequences. Findings can provide guidance to future epidemiological studies, monitor placement programs, and air quality policies. PMID:25838615

  11. ENSEMBLE and AMET: Two Systems and Approaches to a Harmonized, Simplified and Efficient Facility for Air Quality Models Development and Evaluation

    Science.gov (United States)

    The complexity of air quality modeling systems, air quality monitoring data make ad-hoc systems for model evaluation important aids to the modeling community. Among those are the ENSEMBLE system developed by the EC-Joint Research Center, and the AMET software developed by the US-...

  12. The urban air; L'air de la ville

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2002-07-01

    This paper presents the abstracts of conferences proposed during the meeting on the urban air, organized by the French Meteorological Society in november 2002. These conferences dealt with the air quality monitoring, the public health impacts, the air pollution in function of the meteorological effects, the pollutants, the main factors of the air quality and the models of the meteorology. (A.L.B.)

  13. Workplace air monitoring and sampling practices at DOE facilities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Swinth, K.L.; Kenoyer, J.L.; Selby, J.M.

    1987-01-01

    The Pacific Northwest Laboratory (PNL) surveyed the current air monitoring and sampling practices at U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) facilities as a part of an air monitoring upgrade task. A comprehensive questionnaire was developed and distributed to DOE contractors through the DOE field offices. Twenty-six facilities returned a completed questionnaire. Questionnaire replies indicate a large diversity in air sampling and monitoring practices among DOE facilities. The differences among the facilities exist in monitoring and sampling instrumentation, procedures, calibration, analytical methods, detection levels, and action levels. Many of these differences could be attributed to different operational needs. 5 references, 2 figures, 2 tables

  14. A real-time monitoring and assessment method for calculation of total amounts of indoor air pollutants emitted in subway stations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oh, TaeSeok; Kim, MinJeong; Lim, JungJin; Kang, OnYu; Shetty, K Vidya; SankaraRao, B; Yoo, ChangKyoo; Park, Jae Hyung; Kim, Jeong Tai

    2012-05-01

    Subway systems are considered as main public transportation facility in developed countries. Time spent by people in indoors, such as underground spaces, subway stations, and indoor buildings, has gradually increased in the recent past. Especially, operators or old persons who stay in indoor environments more than 15 hr per day usually influenced a greater extent by indoor air pollutants. Hence, regulations on indoor air pollutants are needed to ensure good health of people. Therefore, in this study, a new cumulative calculation method for the estimation of total amounts of indoor air pollutants emitted inside the subway station is proposed by taking cumulative amounts of indoor air pollutants based on integration concept. Minimum concentration of individual air pollutants which naturally exist in indoor space is referred as base concentration of air pollutants and can be found from the data collected. After subtracting the value of base concentration from data point of each data set of indoor air pollutant, the primary quantity of emitted air pollutant is calculated. After integration is carried out with these values, adding the base concentration to the integration quantity gives the total amount of indoor air pollutant emitted. Moreover the values of new index for cumulative indoor air quality obtained for 1 day are calculated using the values of cumulative air quality index (CAI). Cumulative comprehensive indoor air quality index (CCIAI) is also proposed to compare the values of cumulative concentrations of indoor air pollutants. From the results, it is clear that the cumulative assessment approach of indoor air quality (IAQ) is useful for monitoring the values of total amounts of indoor air pollutants emitted, in case of exposure to indoor air pollutants for a long time. Also, the values of CCIAI are influenced more by the values of concentration of NO2, which is released due to the use of air conditioners and combustion of the fuel. The results obtained in

  15. Investigating the air quality in aircraft cabins

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nilsen, Steinar K.

    2002-01-01

    In recent years, there has been increasing concern about the air quality in aircraft cabins and its effects on health and safety for crew and passengers. Some of the major worries are risk of communication of infectious diseases, high incidence of respiratory diseases caused by low air moisture, and increased concentration of carbon dioxide from exhaled air due to the cabin air being recirculated. It also happens that fumes and gases enter the cabin by way of the ventilation system. This article describes the EU-funded research programme called CabinAir. The project aims to: (1) establish the current level of air quality in aircraft cabins, (2) establish the relationship between cabin air quality and the performance of environmental control and filtration systems, the air distribution, the energy consumption and the environmental impact of fuel burn. (3) develop new designs and technical solutions to improve the environmental control system and cabin air distribution/control systems, (4) optimise air quality in the cabin and minimise fuel consumption and environmental impacts, (5) develop performance specifications for the components, (6) draft European Pre-Normative Standards

  16. Air quality in the Netherlands in 2011; Jaaroverzicht Luchtkwaliteit 2011

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Beijk, R.; Mooibroek, D.; Hoogerbrugge, R.

    2012-09-15

    The concentrations of atmospheric pollutants measured by the Dutch National Air Quality Monitoring Network (NAQMN) in 2011 do not differ greatly from those of preceding years. This is partly due to the absence in recent years of any extreme weather conditions that can affect air quality. However, during the first few months of 2011, there was an increase in particulate matter concentrations, especially during dry spells in the spring of 2011 [Dutch] De concentraties van stoffen die door het Landelijk Meetnet Luchtkwaliteit (LML) in Nederland gemeten worden, zijn in 2011 weinig veranderd ten opzichte van voorgaande jaren. Dit komt mede doordat de gemiddelde weersomstandigheden, die van invloed zijn op de luchtkwaliteit, niet substantieel afweken. Wel zijn in de eerste maanden op meer dagen dan in voorgaande jaren hoge concentraties fijn stof gemeten, vooral tijdens droge perioden in het voorjaar.

  17. Good air quality in offices improves productivity

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Fanger, Povl Ole

    2000-01-01

    Three recent independent studies have documented that the quality of indoor air has a significant and positive influence or? the productivity of office workers. A combined analysis of the results of the three studies shows a significant relationship between productivity and perceived indoor air...... quality. The impact on productivity justifies a much higher indoor air quality than the minimum levels prescribed in present standards and guidelines. One way of providing air of high quality for people to breathe, without involving excessive ventilation rates and energy use, is to provide "personalized...

  18. Good air quality in offices improves productivity

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Fanger, Povl Ole

    2000-01-01

    Three recent independent studies have documented that the quality of indoor air has a significant and positive influence on the productivity of office workers. A combined analysis of the results of the three studies shows a significant relationship between productivity and perceived indoor air...... quality. The impact on productivity justifies a much higher indoor air quality than the minimum levels prescribed in present standards and guidelines. One way of providing air of high quality for people to breathe, without involving excessive ventilation rates and energy use, is to provide "personalized...

  19. 30 CFR 250.302 - Definitions concerning air quality.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 30 Mineral Resources 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Definitions concerning air quality. 250.302... Definitions concerning air quality. For purposes of §§ 250.303 and 250.304 of this part: Air pollutant means..., pursuant to section 109 of the Clean Air Act, national primary or secondary ambient air quality standards...

  20. HVAC design guidelines for effective indoor air quality

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bladykas, M.P.

    1993-01-01

    Building owners, designers and occupants need to consider all the design measures that contribute to high indoor air quality. Building occupants, furnishings, equipment, and ambient air pollution all contribute to surmounting indoor air quality concerns. However, these can be minimized by following HVAC design guidelines which promote high indoor air quality while maintaining reasonable energy-efficiency. The possible liabilities and loss of business productivity due to air quality problems are too great to ignore

  1. AirNow Information Management System - Global Earth Observation System of Systems Data Processor for Real-Time Air Quality Data Products

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haderman, M.; Dye, T. S.; White, J. E.; Dickerson, P.; Pasch, A. N.; Miller, D. S.; Chan, A. C.

    2012-12-01

    (ASDP) was recently developed to merge PM2.5 estimates from National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) satellite data and AirNow observational data, creating more precise maps and gridded data products for under-monitored areas. The ASDP can easily incorporate other data feeds, including fire and smoke locations, to build enhanced real-time air quality data products. In this presentation, we provide an overview of the features and functions of IMS, an explanation of how data moves through IMS, the rationale of the system architecture, and highlights of the ASDP as an example of the modularity and scalability of IMS.

  2. Incorporating wind availability into land use regression modelling of air quality in mountainous high-density urban environment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shi, Yuan; Lau, Kevin Ka-Lun; Ng, Edward

    2017-08-01

    Urban air quality serves as an important function of the quality of urban life. Land use regression (LUR) modelling of air quality is essential for conducting health impacts assessment but more challenging in mountainous high-density urban scenario due to the complexities of the urban environment. In this study, a total of 21 LUR models are developed for seven kinds of air pollutants (gaseous air pollutants CO, NO 2 , NO x , O 3 , SO 2 and particulate air pollutants PM 2.5 , PM 10 ) with reference to three different time periods (summertime, wintertime and annual average of 5-year long-term hourly monitoring data from local air quality monitoring network) in Hong Kong. Under the mountainous high-density urban scenario, we improved the traditional LUR modelling method by incorporating wind availability information into LUR modelling based on surface geomorphometrical analysis. As a result, 269 independent variables were examined to develop the LUR models by using the "ADDRESS" independent variable selection method and stepwise multiple linear regression (MLR). Cross validation has been performed for each resultant model. The results show that wind-related variables are included in most of the resultant models as statistically significant independent variables. Compared with the traditional method, a maximum increase of 20% was achieved in the prediction performance of annual averaged NO 2 concentration level by incorporating wind-related variables into LUR model development. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  3. Environmental, political, and economic determinants of water quality monitoring in Europe

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beck, Lucas; Bernauer, Thomas; Kalbhenn, Anna

    2010-11-01

    Effective monitoring is essential for effective pollution control in national and international water systems. To what extent are countries' monitoring choices driven by environmental criteria, as they should be? And to what extent are they also influenced by other factors, such as political and economic conditions? To address these questions, we describe and explain the evolution of one of the most important international environmental monitoring networks in Europe, the one for water quality, in the time period 1965-2004. We develop a geographic information system that contains information on the location of several thousand active monitoring stations in Europe. Using multivariate statistics, we then examine whether and to what extent the spatial and temporal clustering of monitoring intensity is driven by environmental, political, and economic factors. The results show that monitoring intensity is higher in river basins exposed to greater environmental pressure. However, political and economic factors also play a strong role in monitoring decisions: democracy, income, and peer pressure are conducive to monitoring intensity, and monitoring intensity generally increases over time. Moreover, even though monitoring is more intense in international upstream-downstream settings, we observe only a weak bias toward more monitoring downstream of international borders. In contrast, negative effects of European Union (EU) membership and runup to the EU's Water Framework Directive are potential reasons for concern. Our results strongly suggest that international coordination and standardization of water quality monitoring should be intensified. It will be interesting to apply our analytical approach also to other national and international monitoring networks, for instance, the U.S. National Water-Quality Assessment Program or the European Monitoring and Evaluation Program for air pollution.

  4. 40 CFR 52.1165 - Significant deterioration of air quality.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... quality. 52.1165 Section 52.1165 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR... Significant deterioration of air quality. (a) The requirements of sections 160 through 165 of the Clean Air... deterioration of air quality. (b) Regulation for preventing significant deterioration of air quality. The...

  5. 40 CFR 52.2729 - Significant deterioration of air quality.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... quality. 52.2729 Section 52.2729 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR... Significant deterioration of air quality. (a) The requirements of sections 160 through 165 of the Clean Air... deterioration of air quality. (b) Regulations for preventing significant deterioration of air quality. The...

  6. 40 CFR 52.1689 - Significant deterioration of air quality.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... quality. 52.1689 Section 52.1689 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR... Significant deterioration of air quality. (a) The requirements of sections 160 through 165 of the Clean Air... deterioration of air quality. (b) Regulations for preventing significant deterioration of air quality. The...

  7. 40 CFR 52.1234 - Significant deterioration of air quality.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... quality. 52.1234 Section 52.1234 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR... Significant deterioration of air quality. (a) The requirements of sections 160 through 165 of the Clean Air... deterioration of air quality. (b) Regulations for preventing significant deterioration of air quality. The...

  8. 40 CFR 52.2827 - Significant deterioration of air quality.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... quality. 52.2827 Section 52.2827 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR... Significant deterioration of air quality. (a) The requirements of sections 160 through 165 of the Clean Air... deterioration of air quality. (b) Regulations for preventing significant deterioration of air quality. The...

  9. 40 CFR 52.1603 - Significant deterioration of air quality.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... quality. 52.1603 Section 52.1603 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR... Significant deterioration of air quality. (a) The requirements of sections 160 through 165 of the Clean Air... deterioration of air quality. (b) Regulations for preventing significant deterioration of air quality. The...

  10. 40 CFR 52.1180 - Significant deterioration of air quality.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... quality. 52.1180 Section 52.1180 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR... Significant deterioration of air quality. (a) The requirements of sections 160 through 165 of the Clean Air... deterioration of air quality. (b) Regulations for preventing significant deterioration of air quality. The...

  11. 40 CFR 52.2779 - Significant deterioration of air quality.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... quality. 52.2779 Section 52.2779 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR... Significant deterioration of air quality. (a) The requirements of sections 160 through 165 of the Clean Air... deterioration of air quality. (b) Regulations for preventing significant deterioration of air quality. The...

  12. 40 CFR 52.2676 - Significant deterioration of air quality.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... quality. 52.2676 Section 52.2676 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR... Significant deterioration of air quality. (a) The requirements of sections 160 through 165 of the Clean Air... deterioration of air quality. (b) Regulations for preventing significant deterioration of air quality. The...

  13. 40 CFR 52.499 - Significant deterioration of air quality.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... quality. 52.499 Section 52.499 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR... Significant deterioration of air quality. (a) The requirements of sections 160 through 165 of the Clean Air... deterioration of air quality. (b) Regulations for preventing significant deterioration of air quality. The...

  14. 40 CFR 52.2497 - Significant deterioration of air quality.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... quality. 52.2497 Section 52.2497 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR... Significant deterioration of air quality. (a) The requirements of sections 160 through 165 of the Clean Air... deterioration of air quality. (b) Regulations for preventing significant deterioration of air quality. The...

  15. 40 CFR 52.1884 - Significant deterioration of air quality.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... quality. 52.1884 Section 52.1884 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR... Significant deterioration of air quality. (a) The requirements of sections 160 through 165 of the Clean Air... deterioration of air quality. (b) Regulations for preventing significant deterioration of air quality. The...

  16. Strength of smoke-free air laws and indoor air quality.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Kiyoung; Hahn, Ellen J; Robertson, Heather E; Lee, Seongjik; Vogel, Suzann L; Travers, Mark J

    2009-04-01

    Smoke-free air laws have been implemented in many Kentucky communities to protect the public from the harmful effects of secondhand smoke exposure. The impact of different strengths of smoke-free air laws on indoor air quality was assessed. Indoor air quality in hospitality venues was assessed in seven communities before and after comprehensive smoke-free air laws and in two communities only after partial smoke-free air laws. One community was measured three times: before any smoke-free air law, after the initial partial law, and after the law was strengthened to cover all workplaces and public places with few exemptions. Real-time measurements of particulate matters with 2.5 mum aerodynamic diameter or smaller (PM(2.5)) were obtained. When comprehensive smoke-free air laws were implemented, indoor PM(2.5) concentrations decreased significantly from 161 to 20 microg/m3. In one community that implemented a comprehensive smoke-free law after initially passing a partial law, indoor PM(2.5) concentrations were 304 microg/m3 before the law, 338 microg/m3 after the partial law, and 9 microg/m3 after the comprehensive law. The study clearly demonstrated that partial smoke-free air laws do not improve indoor air quality. A significant linear trend indicated that PM(2.5) levels in the establishments decreased with fewer numbers of burning cigarettes. Only comprehensive smoke-free air laws are effective in reducing indoor air pollution from secondhand tobacco smoke.

  17. Compliance with air quality regulations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Steen, D.V.; Tackett, D.L.

    1990-01-01

    Due to the probable passage of Clean Air Act Amendments in 1990, electric utilities throughout the United States are faced with numerous choices to comply with the new acid rain regulations, expected in 1991. The choice of a compliance plan is not a simple task. Every compliance option will be costly. At Ohio Edison, deliberations are quite naturally influenced by past compliance with air quality regulations. This paper discusses compliance with air quality regulations in the 1970's, clean coal technologies and advanced scrubbers, and compliance with air quality regulations in 1995 - 2000. The choice of a compliance strategy for many utilities will involve serving customer loads through some combination of scrubbers, clean coal technologies, fuel switching, fuel blending, redispatch of units, and emissions trading. Whatever the final choice, it must be economic while providing sufficient flexibility to accommodate the critical uncertainties of load growth, state regulatory treatment, markets for emission allowances, advancements in control technologies, additional federal requirements for air emissions, equipment outages and fuel supply disruptions.s

  18. Energy and air quality

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1981-12-01

    This is one of a series of handbooks designed to provide nontechnical readers with a general understanding of the interaction between energy development and environmental media and to provide a rudimentary data base from which estimates of potential future impacts can be made. This handbook describes the air quality impacts of energy development and summarizes the major federal legislation which regulates the potential air quality impacts of energy facilities and can thus influence the locations and timing of energy development. In addition, this report describes and presents the data which can be used as the basis for measurement, and in some cases, prediction of the potential conflicts between energy development and achieving and maintaining clean air. Energy utilization is the largest emission source of man-made air pollutants. Choices in energy resource development and utilization generate varying emissions or discharges into the atmosphere, the emissions are affected by the assimilative character of the atmosphere, and the resultant air pollutant concentrations have biological and aesthetic effects. This handbook describes the interrelationships of energy-related air emissions under various methods of pollution control, the assimilative character of the air medium, and the effects of air pollution. The media book is divided into three major sections: topics of concern relating to the media and energy development, descriptions of how to use available data to quantify and examine energy/environmental impacts, and the data

  19. Using National Ambient Air Quality Standards for fine particulate matter to assess regional wildland fire smoke and air quality management.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schweizer, Don; Cisneros, Ricardo; Traina, Samuel; Ghezzehei, Teamrat A; Shaw, Glenn

    2017-10-01

    Wildland fire is an important ecological process in the California Sierra Nevada. Personal accounts from pre-20th century describe a much smokier environment than present day. The policy of suppression beginning in the early 20th century and climate change are contributing to increased megafires. We use a single particulate monitoring site at the wildland urban interface to explore impacts from prescribed, managed, and full suppression wildland fires from 2006 to 2015 producing a contextual assessment of smoke impacts over time at the landscape level. Prescribed fire had little effect on local fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ) air quality with readings typical of similar non-fire times; hourly and daily good to moderate Air Quality Index (AQI) for PM 2.5 , maximum hourly concentrations 21-103 μg m -3 , and mean concentrations between 7.7 and 13.2 μg m -3 . Hourly and daily AQI was typically good or moderate during managed fires with 3 h and one day reaching unhealthy while the site remained below National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS), with maximum hourly concentrations 27-244 μg m -3 , and mean concentrations 6.7-11.7 μg m -3 . The large high intensity fire in this area created the highest short term impacts (AQI unhealthy for 4 h and very unhealthy for 1 h), 11 unhealthy for sensitive days, and produced the only annual value (43.9 μg m -3 ) over the NAAQS 98th percentile for PM 2.5 (35 μg m -3 ). Pinehurst remained below the federal standards for PM 2.5 when wildland fire in the local area was managed to 7800 ha (8-22% of the historic burn area). Considering air quality impacts from smoke using the NAAQS at a landscape level over time can give land and air managers a metric for broader evaluation of smoke impacts particularly when assessing ecologically beneficial fire. Allowing managers to control the amount and timing of individual wildland fire emissions can help lessen large smoke impacts to public health from a megafire

  20. Toronto air quality index health links analysis

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pengelly, D [McMaster Inst. of Environment and Health, Hamilton, ON (Canada); Campbell, M; Macfarlane, R; Li-Muller, A [Toronto Public Health, ON (Canada)

    2001-10-01

    Based on data acquired in the year 1995, Toronto Public Health published a report called Air Pollution Burden of Illness in Toronto. In that report, it was estimated that up to 1000 Toronto residents die prematurely each year while another 5500 are admitted to hospitals due to six smog-related air pollutants. In the present document, the authors examined the air quality classifications of the Ontario Air Quality Index (AQI) in an attempt to determine whether the values adequately reflect the state of air quality and the associated burden of illness in Toronto. After careful examination of the results, it became apparent that 92 per cent of the premature mortality and hospitalization took place at times when the Air Quality Index was in the very good or good range. At times when the Air Quality Index was in the moderate or poor-very poor range, an estimated 8 per cent of the burden of illness occurred. These results indicate that the concentration range of a pollutant used to classify the good and very good categories is not always in agreement with the pollutant levels responsible for the adverse health effects. As demonstrated by this study, the air quality associated with the very good or good range described by the AQI is responsible for negative health effects in Toronto, and are lower than the provincial criteria of Ontario. The air quality conditions that may have an impact on health are not always correctly identified by the current AQI system. The authors are recommending a review of the provincial criteria for several air pollutants, and the current AQI system needs to be modified. 16 refs., tabs., figs.

  1. 40 CFR 52.738 - Significant deterioration of air quality.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... quality. 52.738 Section 52.738 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR... deterioration of air quality. (a) The requirements of sections 160 through 165 of the Clean Air Act are not met... air quality. (b) Regulations for preventing significant deterioration of air quality. The provisions...

  2. 40 CFR 52.793 - Significant deterioration of air quality.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... quality. 52.793 Section 52.793 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR... deterioration of air quality. (a) The requirements of sections 160 through 165 of the Clean Air Act are not met... air quality. (b) Regulations for preventing significant deterioration of air quality. The provisions...

  3. 40 CFR 52.632 - Significant deterioration of air quality.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... quality. 52.632 Section 52.632 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR... deterioration of air quality. (a) The requirements of sections 160 through 165 of the Clean Air Act are not met... air quality. (b) Regulations for preventing significant deterioration of air quality. The provisions...

  4. 75 FR 42018 - Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans and Designation of Areas for Air Quality...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-20

    ... makes the situation worse. Retroactive relief would likely impose large costs on the States, which would... emission control measures, monitoring, and reporting; include provisions for air quality modeling; and...

  5. Geostatistical uncertainty of assessing air quality using high-spatial-resolution lichen data: A health study in the urban area of Sines, Portugal.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ribeiro, Manuel C; Pinho, P; Branquinho, C; Llop, Esteve; Pereira, Maria J

    2016-08-15

    In most studies correlating health outcomes with air pollution, personal exposure assignments are based on measurements collected at air-quality monitoring stations not coinciding with health data locations. In such cases, interpolators are needed to predict air quality in unsampled locations and to assign personal exposures. Moreover, a measure of the spatial uncertainty of exposures should be incorporated, especially in urban areas where concentrations vary at short distances due to changes in land use and pollution intensity. These studies are limited by the lack of literature comparing exposure uncertainty derived from distinct spatial interpolators. Here, we addressed these issues with two interpolation methods: regression Kriging (RK) and ordinary Kriging (OK). These methods were used to generate air-quality simulations with a geostatistical algorithm. For each method, the geostatistical uncertainty was drawn from generalized linear model (GLM) analysis. We analyzed the association between air quality and birth weight. Personal health data (n=227) and exposure data were collected in Sines (Portugal) during 2007-2010. Because air-quality monitoring stations in the city do not offer high-spatial-resolution measurements (n=1), we used lichen data as an ecological indicator of air quality (n=83). We found no significant difference in the fit of GLMs with any of the geostatistical methods. With RK, however, the models tended to fit better more often and worse less often. Moreover, the geostatistical uncertainty results showed a marginally higher mean and precision with RK. Combined with lichen data and land-use data of high spatial resolution, RK is a more effective geostatistical method for relating health outcomes with air quality in urban areas. This is particularly important in small cities, which generally do not have expensive air-quality monitoring stations with high spatial resolution. Further, alternative ways of linking human activities with their

  6. Establishment of ambient air quality trends using historical monitoring data from Edmonton and Fort McKay, Alberta

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Faisal, K.; Gamal El-Din, M.

    2006-01-01

    Ambient air trends were assessed using data collected over an 8 year period from monitoring stations in Edmonton and Fort McKay, Alberta. In particular, the study evaluated the short term trends in the concentration of carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ), ozone (O 3 ), and particulate matter (PM 2.5 ) in Edmonton, as well as the NO 2 , O 3 , PM 2.5 , and total hydrocarbons in Fort McKay. In order to evaluate the ambient air trends, this study examined the changes in concentrations of these pollutants between the 50 - 90 percentiles of concentration distributions for a calendar year. These statistics were assumed to be linear over the period of study and fitted using simple linear regression. Hypothesis tests were performed to determine if the slopes of the best-fit lines were greater or less than zero. There was no indication of a statistically significant short-term trend for NO 2 and O 3 for the city of Edmonton. However, statistically pronounced decreasing trends were noted for CO and PM 2.5 . There was no indication of statistically significant trend for any of the pollutants examined at Fort McKay over the study period. It was cautioned that since the period of study over which trends were examined was short, the changes or lack of changes observed do not necessarily indicate long term trends. However, the results suggest that air quality has remained unchanged during the last 6 to 8 years, despite increased economic development in Edmonton and continued oil sands development in Fort McKay

  7. Air quality management in Riga area

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Leitass, A. [Riga City Council (Latvia). Air Monitoring Dept.

    1995-12-31

    The present Air Quality Management System was started in 1992 as a result of co-operation between two cities - Riga and Norrkoping (Sweden) supported by BITS (The Swedish Agency for International Technical and Economic Co-operation). Lots of Swedish companies were involved in different parts of this project. The strategy is designed by INDIC company developing the AIRVIRO which is a computer based system for all aspects of air quality management. Air pollution in Riga is a serious problem affecting health and damaging valuable buildings of historic value. The majority of the city`s air pollution is the result of emission sources inside the city. The traffic is the predominant source of pollution now. The fossil fuel power stations in the country are not considered to affect the air quality situation in Riga. (author)

  8. Air quality management in Riga area

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Leitass, A [Riga City Council (Latvia). Air Monitoring Dept.

    1996-12-31

    The present Air Quality Management System was started in 1992 as a result of co-operation between two cities - Riga and Norrkoping (Sweden) supported by BITS (The Swedish Agency for International Technical and Economic Co-operation). Lots of Swedish companies were involved in different parts of this project. The strategy is designed by INDIC company developing the AIRVIRO which is a computer based system for all aspects of air quality management. Air pollution in Riga is a serious problem affecting health and damaging valuable buildings of historic value. The majority of the city`s air pollution is the result of emission sources inside the city. The traffic is the predominant source of pollution now. The fossil fuel power stations in the country are not considered to affect the air quality situation in Riga. (author)

  9. Biological monitors of air pollution

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kucera, J.

    1994-01-01

    Direct biological monitoring of air pollution was introduced about 30 years ago. Although still under development, the application of biological monitors, or indicators, may provide important information on the levels, availability, and pathways of a variety of pollutants including heavy metals and other toxic trace elements in the air. A survey is given of the most frequently used biomonitors, such as herbaceous plants, tree leaves or needles, bryophytes, and lichens, with their possible advantages and/or limitations. In addition to using naturally-occurring biomonitors, a possibility of employing ''transplanted'' species in the study areas, for instance grasses grown in special containers in standard soils or lichens transplanted with their natural substrate to an exposition site, is also mentioned. Several sampling and washing procedures are reported. The important of employing nuclear analytical methods, especially instrumental neutron activation analysis, for multielemental analysis of biomonitors as a pre-requisite for unlocking the information contained in chemical composition of monitor's tissues, such as apportionment of emission sources using multivariate statistical procedures, is also outlined. (author). 32 refs, 2 figs

  10. Aerospace toxicology overview: aerial application and cabin air quality.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chaturvedi, Arvind K

    2011-01-01

    Aerospace toxicology is a rather recent development and is closely related to aerospace medicine. Aerospace toxicology can be defined as a field of study designed to address the adverse effects of medications, chemicals, and contaminants on humans who fly within or outside the atmosphere in aviation or on space flights. The environment extending above and beyond the surface of the Earth is referred to as aerospace. The term aviation is frequently used interchangeably with aerospace. The focus of the literature review performed to prepare this paper was on aerospace toxicology-related subject matters, aerial application and aircraft cabin air quality. Among the important topics addressed are the following: · Aerial applications of agricultural chemicals, pesticidal toxicity, and exposures to aerially applied mixtures of chemicals and their associated formulating solvents/surfactants The safety of aerially encountered chemicals and the bioanalytical methods used to monitor exposures to some of them · The presence of fumes and smoke, as well as other contaminants that may generally be present in aircraft/space vehicle cabin air · And importantly, the toxic effects of aerially encountered contaminants, with emphasis on the degradation products of oils, fluids, and lubricants used in aircraft, and finally · Analytical methods used for monitoring human exposure to CO and HCN are addressed in the review, as are the signs and symptoms associated with exposures to these combustion gases. Although many agricultural chemical monitoring studies have been published, few have dealt with the occurrence of such chemicals in aircraft cabin air. However, agricultural chemicals do appear in cabin air; indeed, attempts have been made to establish maximum allowable concentrations for several of the more potentially toxic ones that are found in aircraft cabin air. In this article, I emphasize the need for precautionary measures to be taken to minimize exposures to aerially

  11. 40 CFR 52.96 - Significant deterioration of air quality.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... quality. 52.96 Section 52.96 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR... deterioration of air quality. (a) The State of Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation Air Quality... deterioration of air quality. (b) The requirements of sections 160 through 165 of the Clean Air Act are not met...

  12. 40 CFR 52.432 - Significant deterioration of air quality.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... quality. 52.432 Section 52.432 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR... deterioration of air quality. (a) The requirements of sections 160 through 165 of the Clean Air Act are not met... air quality. (b) Regulation for preventing significant deterioration of air quality. The provisions of...

  13. Status of air quality in arenas in the Abitibi-Temiscamingue 2004-2005

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gagne, D.

    2005-01-01

    The air quality was checked in 24 of 26 arenas in Quebec's Abitibi-Temiscamingue region during the intensive tournament season from November 2004 to March 2005. Carbon monoxide (CO) levels were measured in 24 arenas, while nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ) levels were measured in 22 arenas during and after intensive use of the ice surfacing machine. The air quality respected the public health criteria for CO and NO 2 in 87 and 95 per cent of the arenas, respectively. The main factors that influence the ambient air quality in the arenas included the maintenance of the ice surfacing machine, the system of radiant heating and ventilation of combustion gases. In more than half of the arenas, the ice surfacing machine had been tuned prior to the active season. In 28 per cent of the arenas, maintenance inspections were carried out only twice during the season. Two arenas were equipped with an electric ice surfacing machine. All arenas had a mechanical ventilation system. It was concluded that the proportion of arenas that do not respect public health criteria at the time of monitoring varied between 4 and 23 per cent. While the negligence of operators is often in question, the failures of ventilation systems or a contamination by external sources of CO are often unforeseeable. For these reasons, it was recommended that annual monitoring should be conducted by an external organization. 9 refs., 7 figs.

  14. Air quality and urban management in Europe

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Alberti, M. [Stanford Univ. (United States). Center for Conservation Biology; Joffre, S. [Finnish Meteorological Inst., Helsinki (Finland)

    1995-12-31

    Important changes in the quality of urban air have occurred in Europe during the last 20 years. Urban air quality trends are clearly correlated to changes in production and consumption processes which have occurred in European cities during the last decades. However, the way these trends are linked with the changes in the urban structure is not yet fully appreciated. A set of indicators is proposed to examine the relationships between air quality, energy consumption and transportation trends. On this basis is argued that the current decentralization of the urban structure and specialization of land use are major driving forces in current urban air pollution. The range of actions and tools to improve urban air quality should include: (1) land use planning, (2) efficient urban management, and (3) measures directed to protecting the quality of the urban environment. (author)

  15. Air quality and urban management in Europe

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Alberti, M [Stanford Univ. (United States). Center for Conservation Biology; Joffre, S [Finnish Meteorological Inst., Helsinki (Finland)

    1996-12-31

    Important changes in the quality of urban air have occurred in Europe during the last 20 years. Urban air quality trends are clearly correlated to changes in production and consumption processes which have occurred in European cities during the last decades. However, the way these trends are linked with the changes in the urban structure is not yet fully appreciated. A set of indicators is proposed to examine the relationships between air quality, energy consumption and transportation trends. On this basis is argued that the current decentralization of the urban structure and specialization of land use are major driving forces in current urban air pollution. The range of actions and tools to improve urban air quality should include: (1) land use planning, (2) efficient urban management, and (3) measures directed to protecting the quality of the urban environment. (author)

  16. 75 FR 8871 - Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans and Designation of Areas for Air Quality...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-02-26

    ... proposed solution only makes the situation worse. Retroactive relief would likely impose large costs on the... measures, monitoring, and reporting; includes provisions for air quality modeling; and provides for public...

  17. Integrating air-related health surveillance into air quality management: perceptions and practicalities

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Wright, C

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available Health surveillance is presently not an integral part of air quality management in South Africa, although ambient air pollution standards are derived from health effects of personal exposure. In a survey to air quality officials and environmental...

  18. Monitoring Environmental Quality by Sniffing Social Media

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhibo Wang

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available Nowadays, the environmental pollution and degradation in China has become a serious problem with the rapid development of Chinese heavy industry and increased energy generation. With sustainable development being the key to solving these problems, it is necessary to develop proper techniques for monitoring environmental quality. Compared to traditional environment monitoring methods utilizing expensive and complex instruments, we recognized that social media analysis is an efficient and feasible alternative to achieve this goal with the phenomenon that a growing number of people post their comments and feelings about their living environment on social media, such as blogs and personal websites. In this paper, we self-defined a term called the Environmental Quality Index (EQI to measure and represent people’s overall attitude and sentiment towards an area’s environmental quality at a specific time; it includes not only metrics for water and food quality but also people’s feelings about air pollution. In the experiment, a high sentiment analysis and classification precision of 85.67% was obtained utilizing the support vector machine algorithm, and we calculated and analyzed the EQI for 27 provinces in China using the text data related to the environment from the Chinese Sina micro-blog and Baidu Tieba collected from January 2015 to June 2016. By comparing our results to with the data from the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS, we showed that the environment evaluation model we constructed and the method we proposed are feasible and effective.

  19. Study on the impact of air quality in agricultural and health sectors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chairani, S.

    2018-03-01

    This study focused on the impact of air quality in agricultural and health sectors. The impact of CO2 on the agricultural crops was conducted by using literature review and the impact of air quality was conducted using secondary data to calculate the Air Quality Index (AQI), derived from some monitoring stations available in Indonesia. Numerous studies showed that the elevated CO2 decreased the agricultural productivity. Maize yields decreased by 15 % in areas which used irrigation system and 8 % in areas which used rainfed. Maize yields had already experienced severe losses without increasing CO2 concentrations. It decreased by 21 % for irrigated maize and 26 % by rainfed maize. In addition, it turned out that other elevated pollutants, such as SO2, NO2, SPM, O3, CH4, PM2.5, PM10 and TSP also occurred in the atmosphere. These pollutants’ effects might harm human being in term of health concern. The USEPA had developed a tool, called the Air Quality Index (AQI) calculator to calculate the pollutants’ concentrations in a daily basis. This tool’s function to inform how clean or polluted the air that we breathed was with the health effects based on the concentrations of each pollutant. The AQI also provided the information on sensitive groups, health effects and cautionary statements. Based on the air daily data which derived from Board of Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics (BMKG) of Indonesia, the AQI in Indonesia varied from good, moderate to unhealthy categories; with level of health concern was respiratory diseases, such as asthma.

  20. Quality management manual. National EU air quality reference laboratory of the Federal Environmental Agency; Qualitaetsmanagementhandbuch. Nationales EU-Luftqualitaets-Referenzlabor im Umweltbundesamt

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2003-02-01

    The 'Air' Department of the Federal Environmental Agency initiated a quality management system according to DIN EN ISO/IEC 17025 in order to carry out its tasks as a EU reference laboratory for air pollution monitoring. Harmonisation of measurements is attempted not only in the Federal Republic of Germany but world-wide. This is to be achieved by standardising the activities of reference laboratories on the basis of the DIN EN standards. The quality management system comprises complex organisational, technical and staff-oriented measures to ensure quality-relevant procedures and to control the interdependences between the individual processes. The specifications contained in this report are to ensure that quality requirements are met, and that the QM system will be updated continuously in order to ensure constant improvement.

  1. Clean Air Markets - Monitoring Surface Water Chemistry

    Science.gov (United States)

    Learn about how EPA uses Long Term Monitoring (LTM) and Temporily Integrated Monitoring of Ecosystems (TIME) to track the effect of the Clean Air Act Amendments on acidity of surface waters in the eastern U.S.

  2. ESTIMATION AND PROGNOSIS OF QUALITY OF ATMOSPHERIC AIR AT REGIONAL LEVEL

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    POLISCHUK S. Z.

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available Raising of problem. The problem of quality of atmospheric air takes a special place among problems of protection of a surrounding environment. It is caused first of all by vital necessity of atmospheric air for all alive on the Earth, influence of a condition of an atmosphere on global climatic processes and biosphere as a whole due to huge mobility of air weights with which harmful impurity can be transferred. These questions for industrial regions where the level of anthropogenous influence has reached critical size are especially actual. The Dnepropetrovsk area concerns to such regions also. By development of scripts of development of such regions and their territorial components there is a necessity for definition of possible consequences of anthropogenous processes, which occur (or can occur in atmospheric air. It demands strengthening прогнозных functions of ecological monitoring, in particular on atmospheric air, at planning and building of territories, at a choice of the optimum script of town-planning. Purpose. To improve a subsystem of an estimation and the forecast of a condition of atmospheric air on an example of system of ecological monitoring «Pridneprov'e» the Dnepropetrovsk area by means of introduction of a complex of the mathematical models focused on large industrial region which will allow at presence of criteria and parameters to receive as statistical (for the short-term forecast during steady atmospheric processes, and dynamic estimations of a condition of atmospheric air, the forecast of changes of parameters of atmospheric air and distribution of polluting substances, and also their influence on an environment and the person. Conclusion. The offered approach allows to consider complex parameters of steady development, territorial, branch, social, economic and ecological, time aspects, opportunities of atmospheric air as a polyresource, provides the forecast and an estimation of a condition of atmospheric air

  3. Air quality management and planning system for Guangzhou. Report from workshop 1, 1998

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Larssen, Steinar

    1999-02-01

    The report is proceedings from Workshop no. 1, 1998 of the Sino-Norwegian co-operation project ''Guangzhou Air Quality Management and Planning System''. The project studies pollution emissions generally and from coal, vehicle and energy activities, dispersion modelling, monitoring, exposure, health damage assessment, material damage assessment, vegetation, control options, baseline scenario development, cost benefit analysis, pollution control management and policy instruments and air pollution forecasting. A forth workshop is planned. There are several reports from the various project activities

  4. Development of mobile air pollution monitoring system (LIDAR)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cha, Hyung Ki; Song, Kyu Seok; Kim, Dukh Yeon; Yang, Ki Ho; Lee, Jong Min; Yoon, S.; Rostov, A

    2001-01-01

    Most air pollution monitoring technologies accompany a time-consuming sample treatment and provide pollution information only for a local area. Thus, they have a critical restriction in monitoring time-dependent pollution variation effectively over the wide range of area both in height and in width. LIDAR(Light Detection And Ranging) is a new technology to overcome such drawbacks of the existing pollution monitoring technologies and has long been investigated in the advanced countries. The coal of this project is to develop the mobile air pollution monitoring system and to apply the system to the detection of various pollutants, such as ozone, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide and aerosols.

  5. Development of mobile air pollution monitoring system (LIDAR)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cha, Hyung Ki; Song, Kyu Seok; Kim, Dukh Yeon; Yang, Ki Ho; Lee, Jong Min; Yoon, S.; Rostov, A.

    2001-01-01

    Most air pollution monitoring technologies accompany a time-consuming sample treatment and provide pollution information only for a local area. Thus, they have a critical restriction in monitoring time-dependent pollution variation effectively over the wide range of area both in height and in width. LIDAR(Light Detection And Ranging) is a new technology to overcome such drawbacks of the existing pollution monitoring technologies and has long been investigated in the advanced countries. The coal of this project is to develop the mobile air pollution monitoring system and to apply the system to the detection of various pollutants, such as ozone, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide and aerosols

  6. The effect of transport on air quality in urban areas of Syria

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Almasri, Radwan; Muneer, Tariq; Cullinane, Kevin

    2011-01-01

    Statistics show that the number of cars per capita in Syria is still low, but that the figure has more than doubled since 2004. Syria also suffers from inadequate public transport provision, poor infrastructure and the absence of suitable traffic management systems, with the average speed of road transport in Damascus at about 4-5 km/h. Only until very recently, a comprehensive network for the continuous monitoring of air pollutants has been lacking. This paper reviews, collates and synthesises the results of numerous studies of Syrian road transport, with an emphasis on air pollution from Syria's transport and energy production sectors. It is revealed that what studies that have been done show that the air quality in Syrian urban areas falls below established national air quality standards, especially during winter when the demand for heating is high. The paper proposes a number of suggestions to improve air quality in Syria by using greener and more public transport, promoting and incentivising rational and efficient energy consumption in all sectors, taking advantage of available renewable energy resources, establishing an active network for routine measurement of pollution, setting local emissions standards that are in line with international standards and which are supported by the imposition of penalties, fines or taxation on polluting agents. - Highlights: → Car ownership in Syria is low, but has more than doubled since 2004. → Air pollution from Syria's transport and energy production sectors are analysed. → Air quality can be improved by using greener and more public transport. → Policy should incentivise efficient energy consumption in all sectors. → The use of renewable energy resources should be promoted.

  7. Air pollution monitoring in downtown Rome, Italy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Brocco, D; Petricca, M; Polesi, R [Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Rome (Italy). Ist. sull' Inquinamento Atmosferico Assessorato Ambiente, Rome (Italy). Amministrazione Provinciale

    1992-09-01

    This paper tables air pollution data indicating concentrations of sulfur dioxide, nitrous oxides, carbon monoxide, ozone, non-methane hydrocarbons (NMTHC) and particulate matter measured in downtown Rome during the period, April 1990 - March 1991. These data are analyzed according to National Air Quality Standards. Correlations are developed for nitrous oxide, NMTHC and ozone concentration trends as a function of solar radiation intensity. Analysis of the data reveals that the concentrations of the primary pollutants, carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxide, were very high in the winter months when building heating systems were operating under stable weather conditions. In many cases, the concentrations of carbon monoxide exceeded ambient air quality standards. The paper also discusses the need for the development of limits for NMTHC concentrations and including these limits in the Air Quality Standards.

  8. Atmospheric air contamination monitoring. Monitoring station ASS-500, GIG Katowice

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Michalik, B.

    1993-01-01

    The results obtained during the period of 1991-1993 in monitoring station ASS-500 working in Katowice have been presented. The concentration of 137 Cs, 226 Ra, 40 K, 7 Be and dustiness in atmospheric air have been shown. Some proposals about the modifications of monitoring station ASS-500 have been introduced. 3 figs, 5 tabs

  9. 40 CFR 52.931 - Significant deterioration of air quality.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... quality. 52.931 Section 52.931 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR... deterioration of air quality. (a) Regulations for preventing significant deterioration of air quality. The..., the Kentucky Division for Air Quality has determined that the application complies with the applicable...

  10. 40 CFR 52.2451 - Significant deterioration of air quality.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... quality. 52.2451 Section 52.2451 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR... Significant deterioration of air quality. (a) The requirements of sections 160 through 165 of the Clean Air... Quality Deterioration. (b) Regulations for preventing significant deterioration of air quality. The...

  11. 40 CFR 52.2528 - Significant deterioration of air quality.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... quality. 52.2528 Section 52.2528 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR... Significant deterioration of air quality. (a) The requirements of Sections 160 through 165 of the Clean Air... Quality Deterioration. (b) Regulations for Preventing Significant Deterioration of Air Quality, the...

  12. Air quality impacted by local pollution sources and beyond - Using a prominent petro-industrial complex as a study case.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Sheng-Po; Wang, Chieh-Heng; Lin, Wen-Dian; Tong, Yu-Huei; Chen, Yu-Chun; Chiu, Ching-Jui; Chiang, Hung-Chi; Fan, Chen-Lun; Wang, Jia-Lin; Chang, Julius S

    2018-05-01

    The present study combines high-resolution measurements at various distances from a world-class gigantic petrochemical complex with model simulations to test a method to assess industrial emissions and their effect on local air quality. Due to the complexity in wind conditions which were highly seasonal, the dominant wind flow patterns in the coastal region of interest were classified into three types, namely northeast monsoonal (NEM) flows, southwest monsoonal (SEM) flows and local circulation (LC) based on six years of monitoring data. Sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ) was chosen as an indicative pollutant for prominent industrial emissions. A high-density monitoring network of 12 air-quality stations distributed within a 20-km radius surrounding the petrochemical complex provided hourly measurements of SO 2 and wind parameters. The SO 2 emissions from major industrial sources registered by the monitoring network were then used to validate model simulations and to illustrate the transport of the SO 2 plumes under the three typical wind patterns. It was found that the coupling of observations and modeling was able to successfully explain the transport of the industrial plumes. Although the petrochemical complex was seemingly the only major source to affect local air quality, multiple prominent sources from afar also played a significant role in local air quality. As a result, we found that a more complete and balanced assessment of the local air quality can be achieved only after taking into account the wind characteristics and emission factors of a much larger spatial scale than the initial (20 km by 20 km) study domain. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. Air quality in urban, industrial and rural areas of France

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Stroebel, R. [Agence de l`Environnement et de la Maitrise de l`Energie, Paris (France)

    1995-12-31

    With the financial support of the parafiscal tax on air pollution and with a view to better appraise both the nationwide traffic exhausts and the photochemical air pollution, the national ambient air monitoring equipment is in the process of being renewed. Some networks have been recently created other networks have been thoroughly modernized. The commissioning of new equipments, supplemented by the measurement quality-assurance programme implemented by the National Central Network Laboratory, lead to both a better coverage of the nationwide surveillance and more reliable data. The monitoring programme still has to be enlarged as numerous airborne substances (aromatics, organic micropollutants, heavy metals) are not still systematically measured nowadays. The average concentrations of pollutants in 1992 are similar to the levels recorded in 1991, although the peak levels are slightly lower in 1992. The meteorological conditions have not exhibited winter or summer excess liable to bring about large air pollution episodes. The decrease in SO{sub 2} concentrations, originating mainly from combustion, is noticeable in 1992. The concentrations dropped by 12 % between 1991 and 1992. For the first time in many years, NO{sub x} and CO emissions are levelling off. The peak NO{sub 2} and CO concentrations are lower in 1992 compared to 1991. Partly due to short measurement data sets, it is not possible to identify any clear-cut trend pattern of ozone concentrations. In fact, most of the ozone monitoring stations are in the process of being relocalized and the density of the measurement sites is being strengthened

  14. Air quality in urban, industrial and rural areas of France

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Stroebel, R [Agence de l` Environnement et de la Maitrise de l` Energie, Paris (France)

    1996-12-31

    With the financial support of the parafiscal tax on air pollution and with a view to better appraise both the nationwide traffic exhausts and the photochemical air pollution, the national ambient air monitoring equipment is in the process of being renewed. Some networks have been recently created other networks have been thoroughly modernized. The commissioning of new equipments, supplemented by the measurement quality-assurance programme implemented by the National Central Network Laboratory, lead to both a better coverage of the nationwide surveillance and more reliable data. The monitoring programme still has to be enlarged as numerous airborne substances (aromatics, organic micropollutants, heavy metals) are not still systematically measured nowadays. The average concentrations of pollutants in 1992 are similar to the levels recorded in 1991, although the peak levels are slightly lower in 1992. The meteorological conditions have not exhibited winter or summer excess liable to bring about large air pollution episodes. The decrease in SO{sub 2} concentrations, originating mainly from combustion, is noticeable in 1992. The concentrations dropped by 12 % between 1991 and 1992. For the first time in many years, NO{sub x} and CO emissions are levelling off. The peak NO{sub 2} and CO concentrations are lower in 1992 compared to 1991. Partly due to short measurement data sets, it is not possible to identify any clear-cut trend pattern of ozone concentrations. In fact, most of the ozone monitoring stations are in the process of being relocalized and the density of the measurement sites is being strengthened

  15. 76 FR 76048 - Air Quality Designations for the 2008 Lead (Pb) National Ambient Air Quality Standards

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-12-06

    ... ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY 40 CFR Part 81 [EPA-HQ-OAR-2009-0443; FRL-9492-3] RIN 2060-AR17 Air Quality Designations for the 2008 Lead (Pb) National Ambient Air Quality Standards Correction In rule document 2011-29460 appearing on pages 72097-72120 in the issues of Tuesday, November 22, 2011...

  16. Statistical Analysis of the Impacts of Regional Transportation on the Air Quality in Beijing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Zhongwen; Zhang, Huiling; Tong, Lei; Xiao, Hang

    2016-04-01

    From October to December 2015, Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (BTH) region had experienced several severe haze events. In order to assess the effects of the regional transportation on the air quality in Beijing, the air monitoring data (PM2.5, SO2, NO2 and CO) from that period published by Chinese National Environmental Monitoring Center (CNEMC) was collected and analyzed with various statistical models. The cities within BTH area were clustered into three groups according to the geographical conditions, while the air pollutant concentrations of cities within a group sharing similar variation trends. The Granger causality test results indicate that significant causal relationships exist between the air pollutant data of Beijing and its surrounding cities (Baoding, Chengde, Tianjin and Zhangjiakou) for the reference period. Then, linear regression models were constructed to capture the interdependency among the multiple time series. It shows that the observed air pollutant concentrations in Beijing were well consistent with the model-fitted results. More importantly, further analysis suggests that the air pollutants in Beijing were strongly affected by regional transportation, as the local sources only contributed 17.88%, 27.12%, 14.63% and 31.36% of PM2.5, SO2, NO2 and CO concentrations, respectively. And the major foreign source for Beijing was from Southwest (Baoding) direction, account for more than 42% of all these air pollutants. Thus, by combining various statistical models, it may not only be able to quickly predict the air qualities of any cities on a regional scale, but also to evaluate the local and regional source contributions for a particular city. Key words: regional transportation, air pollution, Granger causality test, statistical models

  17. 40 CFR 240.205 - Air quality.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 24 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Air quality. 240.205 Section 240.205 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) SOLID WASTES GUIDELINES FOR THE THERMAL PROCESSING OF SOLID WASTES Requirements and Recommended Procedures § 240.205 Air quality. ...

  18. Indoor air quality analysis based on Hadoop

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tuo, Wang; Liang, Yu; Weihong, Cui; Yunhua, Sun; Song, Tian

    2014-01-01

    The air of the office environment is our research object. The data of temperature, humidity, concentrations of carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and ammonia are collected peer one to eight seconds by the sensor monitoring system. And all the data are stored in the Hbase database of Hadoop platform. With the help of HBase feature of column-oriented store and versioned (automatically add the time column), the time-series data sets are bulit based on the primary key Row-key and timestamp. The parallel computing programming model MapReduce is used to process millions of data collected by sensors. By analysing the changing trend of parameters' value at different time of the same day and at the same time of various dates, the impact of human factor and other factors on the room microenvironment is achieved according to the liquidity of the office staff. Moreover, the effective way to improve indoor air quality is proposed in the end of this paper

  19. Indoor air quality analysis based on Hadoop

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tuo, Wang; Yunhua, Sun; Song, Tian; Liang, Yu; Weihong, Cui

    2014-03-01

    The air of the office environment is our research object. The data of temperature, humidity, concentrations of carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and ammonia are collected peer one to eight seconds by the sensor monitoring system. And all the data are stored in the Hbase database of Hadoop platform. With the help of HBase feature of column-oriented store and versioned (automatically add the time column), the time-series data sets are bulit based on the primary key Row-key and timestamp. The parallel computing programming model MapReduce is used to process millions of data collected by sensors. By analysing the changing trend of parameters' value at different time of the same day and at the same time of various dates, the impact of human factor and other factors on the room microenvironment is achieved according to the liquidity of the office staff. Moreover, the effective way to improve indoor air quality is proposed in the end of this paper.

  20. Pilot study on indoor air quality: Managing indoor air-quality risks. Report on a meeting held in St. Michaels, Maryland on October 25-27, 1989

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1990-06-01

    Included in this study are the following: quantifying future trends of indoor air quality as a basis for government policy plans; assessing indoor air quality risks of pesticides; formaldehyde emission standards in the Federal Republic of Germany; orientations and actions of the European Community in the assessment and prevention of indoor air pollution; EPA and indoor air quality; the non-regulatory approach to reducing risks from radon exposure; U.S. consumer product safety commission; a builders guide to healthy homes; WHO air quality guidelines for Europe; the approach to control indoor air quality in Italy; guidelines - ventilation classes; energy consequences of upgrading indoor air quality; Canada's guidelines for residential indoor air quality: rationale and scope; Canadian ventilation and venting standards; indoor air quality building surveys case studies; design of indoor air quality studies; summary findings of inter-ministerial committee on indoor air quality (Ontario); the Quebec approach; employee survey EPA headquarters; pollution in closed spaces and its consequences in conservation of works of art; and how Norwegian health authorities will handle indoor air quality problems