Wireless Sensor Network for Indoor Air Quality Monitoring

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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.

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

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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.

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

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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.

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.

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

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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.

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

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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

Application of ESE Data and Tools to Air Quality Management: Services for Helping the Air Quality Community use ESE Data (SHAirED)

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Falke, Stefan; Husar, Rudolf

2011-01-01

The goal of this REASoN applications and technology project is to deliver and use Earth Science Enterprise (ESE) data and tools in support of air quality management. Its scope falls within the domain of air quality management and aims to develop a federated air quality information sharing network that includes data from NASA, EPA, US States and others. Project goals were achieved through a access of satellite and ground observation data, web services information technology, interoperability standards, and air quality community collaboration. In contributing to a network of NASA ESE data in support of particulate air quality management, the project will develop access to distributed data, build Web infrastructure, and create tools for data processing and analysis. The key technologies used in the project include emerging web services for developing self describing and modular data access and processing tools, and service oriented architecture for chaining web services together to assemble customized air quality management applications. The technology and tools required for this project were developed within DataFed.net, a shared infrastructure that supports collaborative atmospheric data sharing and processing web services. Much of the collaboration was facilitated through community interactions through the Federation of Earth Science Information Partners (ESIP) Air Quality Workgroup. The main activities during the project that successfully advanced DataFed, enabled air quality applications and established community-oriented infrastructures were: develop access to distributed data (surface and satellite), build Web infrastructure to support data access, processing and analysis create tools for data processing and analysis foster air quality community collaboration and interoperability.

High Electricity Demand in the Northeast U.S.: PJM Reliability Network and Peaking Unit Impacts on Air Quality.

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Farkas, Caroline M; Moeller, Michael D; Felder, Frank A; Henderson, Barron H; Carlton, Annmarie G

2016-08-02

On high electricity demand days, when air quality is often poor, regional transmission organizations (RTOs), such as PJM Interconnection, ensure reliability of the grid by employing peak-use electric generating units (EGUs). These "peaking units" are exempt from some federal and state air quality rules. We identify RTO assignment and peaking unit classification for EGUs in the Eastern U.S. and estimate air quality for four emission scenarios with the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) model during the July 2006 heat wave. Further, we population-weight ambient values as a surrogate for potential population exposure. Emissions from electricity reliability networks negatively impact air quality in their own region and in neighboring geographic areas. Monitored and controlled PJM peaking units are generally located in economically depressed areas and can contribute up to 87% of hourly maximum PM2.5 mass locally. Potential population exposure to peaking unit PM2.5 mass is highest in the model domain's most populated cities. Average daily temperature and national gross domestic product steer peaking unit heat input. Air quality planning that capitalizes on a priori knowledge of local electricity demand and economics may provide a more holistic approach to protect human health within the context of growing energy needs in a changing world.

The GCOS Reference Upper-Air Network (GRUAN)

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Vömel, H.; Berger, F. H.; Immler, F. J.; Seidel, D.; Thorne, P.

2009-04-01

While the global upper-air observing network has provided useful observations for operational weather forecasting for decades, its measurements lack the accuracy and long-term continuity needed for understanding climate change. Consequently, the scientific community faces uncertainty on such key issues as the trends of temperature in the upper troposphere and stratosphere or the variability and trends of stratospheric water vapour. To address these shortcomings, and to ensure that future climate records will be more useful than the records to date, the Global Climate Observing System (GCOS) program initiated the GCOS Reference Upper Air Network (GRUAN). GRUAN will be a network of about 30-40 observatories with a representative sampling of geographic regions and surface types. These stations will provide upper-air reference observations of the essential climate variables, i.e. temperature, geopotential, humidity, wind, radiation and cloud properties using specialized radiosondes and complementary remote sensing profiling instrumentation. Long-term stability, quality assurance / quality control, and a detailed assessment of measurement uncertainties will be the key aspects of GRUAN observations. The network will not be globally complete but will serve to constrain and adjust data from more spatially comprehensive global observing systems including satellites and the current radiosonde networks. This paper outlines the scientific rationale for GRUAN, its role in the Global Earth Observation System of Systems, network requirements and likely instrumentation, management structure, current status and future plans.

Forest fires and air quality issues in southern Europe

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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...

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.

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.

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

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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

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

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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

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

Spatial and temporal trends from an air quality sensor network near a heavily trafficked intersection

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Orlando, P.; Vo, D.; Giossi, C.; George, L.

2017-12-01

With the world-wide increase in urbanization and the increasing usage of combustion vehicles in urban areas, traffic-related air pollution is a growing health hazard. However, there are limited studies that examine the spatial and temporal impacts of traffic-related pollutants within cities. In particular, there are few studies that look at traffic management and its potential for pollution mitigation. In a previous study we examined roadway pollution and traffic parameters with one roadway station instrumented with standard measurement instruments. With the advent of low-cost air pollution sensors, we have expanded our work by observing multiple sites within a neighborhood to understand spatial and temporal exposures. We have deployed a high-density sensor network around urban arterial corridors in SE Portland, Oregon. This network consisted of ten nodes measuring CO, NO, NO2 and O3, and ten nodes measuring CO, CO2, VOC and PM2.5. The co-location of standard measurement instruments provided insight towards the utility of our low-cost sensor network, as the different nodes varied in cost, and potentially in quality. We have identified near-real-time temporal trends and local-scale spatial patterns during the summer of 2017. Meteorological and traffic data were included to further characterize these patterns, exploring the potential for pollution mitigation.

Hybrid Power Forecasting Model for Photovoltaic Plants Based on Neural Network with Air Quality Index

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Idris Khan

2017-01-01

Full Text Available High concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere has increased dependency on photovoltaic (PV power, but its random nature poses a challenge for system operators to precisely predict and forecast PV power. The conventional forecasting methods were accurate for clean weather. But when the PV plants worked under heavy haze, the radiation is negatively impacted and thus reducing PV power; therefore, to deal with haze weather, Air Quality Index (AQI is introduced as a parameter to predict PV power. AQI, which is an indication of how polluted the air is, has been known to have a strong correlation with power generated by the PV panels. In this paper, a hybrid method based on the model of conventional back propagation (BP neural network for clear weather and BP AQI model for haze weather is used to forecast PV power with conventional parameters like temperature, wind speed, humidity, solar radiation, and an extra parameter of AQI as input. The results show that the proposed method has less error under haze condition as compared to conventional model of neural network.

Air Quality Measures on the National Environmental Health Tracking Network

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U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) provides air pollution data about ozone and particulate matter (PM2.5) to CDC for the Tracking Network. The EPA maintains a...

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

AIR POLLUITON INDEX PREDICTION USING MULTIPLE NEURAL NETWORKS

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Zainal Ahmad

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Air quality monitoring and forecasting tools are necessary for the purpose of taking precautionary measures against air pollution, such as reducing the effect of a predicted air pollution peak on the surrounding population and ecosystem. In this study a single Feed-forward Artificial Neural Network (FANN is shown to be able to predict the Air Pollution Index (API with a Mean Squared Error (MSE and coefficient determination, R2, of 0.1856 and 0.7950 respectively. However, due to the non-robust nature of single FANN, a selective combination of Multiple Neural Networks (MNN is introduced using backward elimination and a forward selection method. The results show that both selective combination methods can improve the robustness and performance of the API prediction with the MSE and R2 of 0.1614 and 0.8210 respectively. This clearly shows that it is possible to reduce the number of networks combined in MNN for API prediction, without losses of any information in terms of the performance of the final API prediction model.

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

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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.

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.

The AirQuality SenseBox

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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

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...

A state of the art regarding urban air quality prediction models

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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.

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.

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".

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.

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 ...

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)

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.

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)

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...

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.

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).

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.

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

76 FR 53853 - Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans and Designation of Areas for Air Quality...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-08-30

... Action Network (LEAN) v. EPA, No. 02-60991). The issues raised concerned EPA's decision to approve... Ambient Air Quality Standard,'' Memorandum from John S. Seitz, Director, Office of Air Quality Planning...

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

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

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...

AIR QUALITY IN THE CITY OF TG JIU

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Adina TĂTAR

2014-05-01

Full Text Available One of the most important problems of the modern age is the air pollution. Within this work I realized a description of Tgjiu City: geographic location, climate, hydrographical network, variations in temperature, terrain, sources of pollution. On the basis of registered values for the air quality indicator, sedimentable powders, and interpretation of results on the basis of the provisions of the standards in force, the comments were made in relation to particulate air pollution in the city area of sedimentableTg Jiu, identifying the polluters in the area, the proposed solutions for the reduction of pollution.

Assessment of the Atmospheric Suspended Particles Pollution in the Madrid Air Quality Networks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Salvador, P.; Artinano, B.

2000-01-01

Suspended particles are a very complex type of atmospheric pollution because of their chemical composition and size. In fact, there are a quite high number of particles sources which are linked to different physicochemical processes that determine their size. At present particles smaller than 10 μm are considered the most dangerous, as has been recently pointed out by numerous epidemiologic studies. In this way, more restrictive concentration limit values have been approved in the EU countries, so an assessment of present airborne concentration values and the sources apportionment in their most representative areas is needed. In the Madrid Community a first approaching of these and other aims, has been carried out from an analysis of the Madrid Air Quality networks data. This will contribute to the establishment of concentration levels abatement strategies. (Author) 111 refs

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...

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.

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

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...

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)

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)

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) ...

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 ...

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...

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)

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.

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...

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

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)

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)

Matrix Factorisation-based Calibration For Air Quality Crowd-sensing

Science.gov (United States)

Dorffer, Clement; Puigt, Matthieu; Delmaire, Gilles; Roussel, Gilles; Rouvoy, Romain; Sagnier, Isabelle

2017-04-01

Internet of Things (IoT) is extending internet to physical objects and places. The internet-enabled objects are thus able to communicate with each other and with their users. One main interest of IoT is the ease of production of huge masses of data (Big Data) using distributed networks of connected objects, thus making possible a fine-grained yet accurate analysis of physical phenomena. Mobile crowdsensing is a way to collect data using IoT. It basically consists of acquiring geolocalized data from the sensors (from or connected to the mobile devices, e.g., smartphones) of a crowd of volunteers. The sensed data are then collectively shared using wireless connection—such as GSM or WiFi—and stored on a dedicated server to be processed. One major application of mobile crowdsensing is environment monitoring. Indeed, with the proliferation of miniaturized yet sensitive sensors on one hand and, on the other hand, of low-cost microcontrollers/single-card PCs, it is easy to extend the sensing abilities of smartphones. Alongside the conventional, regulated, bulky and expensive instruments used in authoritative air quality stations, it is then possible to create a large-scale mobile sensor network providing insightful information about air quality. In particular, the finer spatial sampling rate due to such a dense network should allow air quality models to take into account local effects such as street canyons. However, one key issue with low-cost air quality sensors is the lack of trust in the sensed data. In most crowdsensing scenarios, the sensors (i) cannot be calibrated in a laboratory before or during their deployment and (ii) might be sparsely or continuously faulty (thus providing outliers in the data). Such issues should be automatically handled from the sensor readings. Indeed, due to the masses of generated data, solving the above issues cannot be performed by experts but requires specific data processing techniques. In this work, we assume that some mobile

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...

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

State of progress of the national data base for the quality of air

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vidal, J.P.; Daubon, P.

1991-01-01

A new air quality data base have been created in France with the aim to collect all the air quality measuring results and provide information for synthesis and research. The main hardware equipment have been implemented in October 1990 but the practical application of the data bank is heavily relied to harmonization and standardization of the control equipment, files structures, measuring characteristics and communication systems for the various measuring networks

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.

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...

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...

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

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...

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...

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...

Intercontinental Transport of Aerosols: Implication for Regional Air Quality

Science.gov (United States)

Chin, Mian; Diehl, Thomas; Ginoux, Paul

2006-01-01

Aerosol particles, also known as PM2.5 (particle diameter less than 2.5 microns) and PM10 (particle diameter less than 10 microns), is one of the key atmospheric components that determine ambient air quality. Current US air quality standards for PM10 (particles with diameter air pollution problems, aerosols can be transported on a hemispheric or global scale. In this study, we use the Goddard Chemistry Aerosol Radiation and Transport (GOCART) model to quantify contributions of long-range transport vs. local/regional pollution sources and from natural vs. anthropogenic sources to PM concentrations different regions. In particular, we estimate the hemispheric impact of anthropogenic sulfate aerosols and dust from major source areas on other regions in the world. The GOCART model results are compared with satellite remote sensing and ground-based network measurements of aerosol optical depth and concentrations.

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)

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)

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)

Air-Sense: indoor environment monitoring evaluation system based on ZigBee network

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Yang; Hu, Liang; Yang, Disheng; Liu, Hengchang

2017-08-01

In the modern life, people spend most of their time indoors. However, indoor environmental quality problems have always been affecting people’s social activities. In general, indoor environmental quality is also related to our indoor activities. Since most of the organic irritants and volatile gases are colorless, odorless and too tiny to be seen, because we have been unconsciously overlooked indoor environment quality. Consequently, our body suffer a great health problem. In this work, we propose Air-Sense system which utilizes the platform of ZigBee Network to collect and detect the real-time indoor environment quality. What’s more, Air-Sense system can also provide data analysis, and visualizing the results of the indoor environment to the user.

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 ...

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

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...

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

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)

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.

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)

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.

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.

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,…

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...

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...

Air quality remote sensing over alpine regions with METEOSAT SEVIRI

Science.gov (United States)

Emili, E.; Popp, C.; Petitta, M.; Riffler, M.; Wunderle, S.

2009-04-01

It is well demonstrated that small aerosol particles or particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5) affect air quality and can have severe effects on human's health. Hence, it is of great interest for public institutions to have an efficient PM monitoring network. In the last decades this data has been provided from ground-based instruments. Moreover, due to the fast development of space-borne remote sensing instruments, we can now be able to take advantage of air pollution measurements from space, which bears the potential to fill up the gap of spatial coverage from ground-based networks. This also improves the capability to assess air pollutants transport properties together with a better implementation in forecasting data assimilation procedures. In this study we examine the possibility of using data from the Spinning Enhanced Visible and Infrared Imager (SEVIRI), on-board of the geostationary Meteosat Second Generation (MSG) platform, to provide PM concentrations values over Switzerland. SEVIRI's high temporal resolution (15 minutes) could be very useful in investigating the daily behaviour of air pollutants and therefore be a good complement to measurements from polar orbiting sensors (e.g. MODIS). Switzerland is of particular interest because of its mountainous orography that hampers pollutants dispersion. Further, major transalpine connection routes, often characterised by high traffic load, act as a significant air pollution source. The south of Switzerland is also occasionally influenced by pollutants transported from the highly industrialised Po Valley in northern Italy. We investigate the existence of a linear relation between the SEVIRI retrieved AOD (Aerosol Optical Depth) and the PM concentration obtained from the ground-based air quality network NABEL (Nationales Beobachtungsnetz fuer Luftfremdstoffe). The temporal trend of this two quantities shows a significant relationship over various locations. The correlation coefficient is in some cases higher than 0

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...

Analysis of the Chinese air route network as a complex network

Science.gov (United States)

Cai, Kai-Quan; Zhang, Jun; Du, Wen-Bo; Cao, Xian-Bin

2012-02-01

The air route network, which supports all the flight activities of the civil aviation, is the most fundamental infrastructure of air traffic management system. In this paper, we study the Chinese air route network (CARN) within the framework of complex networks. We find that CARN is a geographical network possessing exponential degree distribution, low clustering coefficient, large shortest path length and exponential spatial distance distribution that is obviously different from that of the Chinese airport network (CAN). Besides, via investigating the flight data from 2002 to 2010, we demonstrate that the topology structure of CARN is homogeneous, howbeit the distribution of flight flow on CARN is rather heterogeneous. In addition, the traffic on CARN keeps growing in an exponential form and the increasing speed of west China is remarkably larger than that of east China. Our work will be helpful to better understand Chinese air traffic systems.

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

Towards an agent based traffic regulation and recommendation system for the on-road air quality control.

Science.gov (United States)

Sadiq, Abderrahmane; El Fazziki, Abdelaziz; Ouarzazi, Jamal; Sadgal, Mohamed

2016-01-01

This paper presents an integrated and adaptive problem-solving approach to control the on-road air quality by modeling the road infrastructure, managing traffic based on pollution level and generating recommendations for road users. The aim is to reduce vehicle emissions in the most polluted road segments and optimizing the pollution levels. For this we propose the use of historical and real time pollution records and contextual data to calculate the air quality index on road networks and generate recommendations for reassigning traffic flow in order to improve the on-road air quality. The resulting air quality indexes are used in the system's traffic network generation, which the cartography is represented by a weighted graph. The weights evolve according to the pollution indexes and path properties and the graph is therefore dynamic. Furthermore, the systems use the available pollution data and meteorological records in order to predict the on-road pollutant levels by using an artificial neural network based prediction model. The proposed approach combines the benefits of multi-agent systems, Big data technology, machine learning tools and the available data sources. For the shortest path searching in the road network, we use the Dijkstra algorithm over Hadoop MapReduce framework. The use Hadoop framework in the data retrieve and analysis process has significantly improved the performance of the proposed system. Also, the agent technology allowed proposing a suitable solution in terms of robustness and agility.

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...

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

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)

Structural Properties of the Brazilian Air Transportation Network.

Science.gov (United States)

Couto, Guilherme S; da Silva, Ana Paula Couto; Ruiz, Linnyer B; Benevenuto, Fabrício

2015-09-01

The air transportation network in a country has a great impact on the local, national and global economy. In this paper, we analyze the air transportation network in Brazil with complex network features to better understand its characteristics. In our analysis, we built networks composed either by national or by international flights. We also consider the network when both types of flights are put together. Interesting conclusions emerge from our analysis. For instance, Viracopos Airport (Campinas City) is the most central and connected airport on the national flights network. Any operational problem in this airport separates the Brazilian national network into six distinct subnetworks. Moreover, the Brazilian air transportation network exhibits small world characteristics and national connections network follows a power law distribution. Therefore, our analysis sheds light on the current Brazilian air transportation infrastructure, bringing a novel understanding that may help face the recent fast growth in the usage of the Brazilian transport network.

Structural Properties of the Brazilian Air Transportation Network

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

GUILHERME S. COUTO

2015-09-01

Full Text Available The air transportation network in a country has a great impact on the local, national and global economy. In this paper, we analyze the air transportation network in Brazil with complex network features to better understand its characteristics. In our analysis, we built networks composed either by national or by international flights. We also consider the network when both types of flights are put together. Interesting conclusions emerge from our analysis. For instance, Viracopos Airport (Campinas City is the most central and connected airport on the national flights network. Any operational problem in this airport separates the Brazilian national network into six distinct subnetworks. Moreover, the Brazilian air transportation network exhibits small world characteristics and national connections network follows a power law distribution. Therefore, our analysis sheds light on the current Brazilian air transportation infrastructure, bringing a novel understanding that may help face the recent fast growth in the usage of the Brazilian transport network.

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.

Assessment of SRS ambient air monitoring network

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Abbott, K. [Savannah River Site (SRS), Aiken, SC (United States). Savannah River National Lab. (SRNL); Jannik, T. [Savannah River Site (SRS), Aiken, SC (United States). Savannah River National Lab. (SRNL)

2016-08-03

Three methodologies have been used to assess the effectiveness of the existing ambient air monitoring system in place at the Savannah River Site in Aiken, SC. Effectiveness was measured using two metrics that have been utilized in previous quantification of air-monitoring network performance; frequency of detection (a measurement of how frequently a minimum number of samplers within the network detect an event), and network intensity (a measurement of how consistent each sampler within the network is at detecting events). In addition to determining the effectiveness of the current system, the objective of performing this assessment was to determine what, if any, changes could make the system more effective. Methodologies included 1) the Waite method of determining sampler distribution, 2) the CAP88- PC annual dose model, and 3) a puff/plume transport model used to predict air concentrations at sampler locations. Data collected from air samplers at SRS in 2015 compared with predicted data resulting from the methodologies determined that the frequency of detection for the current system is 79.2% with sampler efficiencies ranging from 5% to 45%, and a mean network intensity of 21.5%. One of the air monitoring stations had an efficiency of less than 10%, and detected releases during just one sampling period of the entire year, adding little to the overall network intensity. By moving or removing this sampler, the mean network intensity increased to about 23%. Further work in increasing the network intensity and simulating accident scenarios to further test the ambient air system at SRS is planned

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)

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 ...

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.

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.

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.

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.

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. ...

Increasing the Use of Earth Science Data and Models in Air Quality Management.

Science.gov (United States)

Milford, Jana B; Knight, Daniel

2017-04-01

In 2010, the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) initiated the Air Quality Applied Science Team (AQAST) as a 5-year, $17.5-million award with 19 principal investigators. AQAST aims to increase the use of Earth science products in air quality-related research and to help meet air quality managers' information needs. We conducted a Web-based survey and a limited number of follow-up interviews to investigate federal, state, tribal, and local air quality managers' perspectives on usefulness of Earth science data and models, and on the impact AQAST has had. The air quality managers we surveyed identified meeting the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for ozone and particulate matter, emissions from mobile sources, and interstate air pollution transport as top challenges in need of improved information. Most survey respondents viewed inadequate coverage or frequency of satellite observations, data uncertainty, and lack of staff time or resources as barriers to increased use of satellite data by their organizations. Managers who have been involved with AQAST indicated that the program has helped build awareness of NASA Earth science products, and assisted their organizations with retrieval and interpretation of satellite data and with application of global chemistry and climate models. AQAST has also helped build a network between researchers and air quality managers with potential for further collaborations. NASA's Air Quality Applied Science Team (AQAST) aims to increase the use of satellite data and global chemistry and climate models for air quality management purposes, by supporting research and tool development projects of interest to both groups. Our survey and interviews of air quality managers indicate they found value in many AQAST projects and particularly appreciated the connections to the research community that the program facilitated. Managers expressed interest in receiving continued support for their organizations' use of

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

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.

Lichen communities as bioindicators of the Aburra Valley air quality

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jaramillo C, Margarita M; Botero B, Liliana R

2010-01-01

Lichens have been used as bioindicators of air quality. They are sensitive to changes in air composition at any given site affecting their abundance, biomass and vitality.This study evaluated lichen affectation as a consequence of air pollution. Two study areas within the Aburra Valley and the RedAire network were selected: Miguel Aguinaga (high pollution station) and the Medellin University (low pollution station). Four phorophytic tree species were chosen at each site Terminalia catappa Linneaus, Eritrina fusca Loureiro, Mangifera indica Linneaus y Fraxinus chinensis Roxb. The lichen cover by species, the vitality and the fructification were used to analyze the effect of air pollution. Finally, the lichen cover information was used to calculate the index of atmospheric purity (IAP) and the Q factor determination. Total qualitative and quantitative information obtained made evident that Canoparmelia sp. and Parmotrema austrosinensis (Zahlbr) Hale. lichen species are the most sensitive, and therefore appropriate to assess air quality. Additionally, the statistical analysis carried out using the relative abundances by phorophytic trees, showed that Fraxinus chinensis Roxb is the most appropriate tree species for bioindicator lichens studies into the Aburra valley.

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...

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

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

Development of hybrid genetic-algorithm-based neural networks using regression trees for modeling air quality inside a public transportation bus.

Science.gov (United States)

Kadiyala, Akhil; Kaur, Devinder; Kumar, Ashok

2013-02-01

The present study developed a novel approach to modeling indoor air quality (IAQ) of a public transportation bus by the development of hybrid genetic-algorithm-based neural networks (also known as evolutionary neural networks) with input variables optimized from using the regression trees, referred as the GART approach. This study validated the applicability of the GART modeling approach in solving complex nonlinear systems by accurately predicting the monitored contaminants of carbon dioxide (CO2), carbon monoxide (CO), nitric oxide (NO), sulfur dioxide (SO2), 0.3-0.4 microm sized particle numbers, 0.4-0.5 microm sized particle numbers, particulate matter (PM) concentrations less than 1.0 microm (PM10), and PM concentrations less than 2.5 microm (PM2.5) inside a public transportation bus operating on 20% grade biodiesel in Toledo, OH. First, the important variables affecting each monitored in-bus contaminant were determined using regression trees. Second, the analysis of variance was used as a complimentary sensitivity analysis to the regression tree results to determine a subset of statistically significant variables affecting each monitored in-bus contaminant. Finally, the identified subsets of statistically significant variables were used as inputs to develop three artificial neural network (ANN) models. The models developed were regression tree-based back-propagation network (BPN-RT), regression tree-based radial basis function network (RBFN-RT), and GART models. Performance measures were used to validate the predictive capacity of the developed IAQ models. The results from this approach were compared with the results obtained from using a theoretical approach and a generalized practicable approach to modeling IAQ that included the consideration of additional independent variables when developing the aforementioned ANN models. The hybrid GART models were able to capture majority of the variance in the monitored in-bus contaminants. The genetic

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

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....

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 ...

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…

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...

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…

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)

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.

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.

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.

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...

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.)

A new air quality modelling approach at the regional scale using lidar data assimilation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, Y.

2013-01-01

Assimilation of lidar observations for air quality modelling is investigated via the development of a new model, which assimilates ground-based lidar network measurements using optimal interpolation (OI) in a chemistry transport model. First, a tool for assimilating PM 10 (particulate matter with a diameter lower than 10 μm) concentration measurements on the vertical is developed in the air quality modelling platform POLYPHEMUS. It is applied to western Europe for one month from 15 July to 15 August 2001 to investigate the potential impact of future ground-based lidar networks on analysis and short-term forecasts (the description of the future) of PM 10 . The efficiency of assimilating lidar network measurements is compared to the efficiency of assimilating concentration measurements from the AirBase ground network, which includes about 500 stations in western Europe. A sensitivity study on the number and location of required lidars is also performed to help define an optimal lidar network for PM 10 forecasts. Secondly, a new model for simulating normalised lidar signals (PR 2 ) is developed and integrated in POLYPHEMUS. Simulated lidar signals are compared to hourly ground-based mobile and in-situ lidar observations performed during the MEGAPOLI (Mega-cities: Emissions, urban, regional and Global Atmospheric Pollution and climate effects, and Integrated tools for assessment and mitigation) summer experiment in July 2009. It is found that the model correctly reproduces the vertical distribution of aerosol optical properties and their temporal variability. Additionally, two new algorithms for assimilating lidar signals are presented and evaluated during MEGAPOLI. The aerosol simulations without and with lidar data assimilation are evaluated using the AIRPARIF (a regional operational network in charge of air quality survey around the Paris area) database to demonstrate the feasibility and the usefulness of assimilating lidar profiles for aerosol forecasts. Finally

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.

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.

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.

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.

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...

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.

New Zealand traffic and local air quality.

Science.gov (United States)

Irving, Paul; Moncrieff, Ian

2004-12-01

Since 1996 the New Zealand Ministry of Transport (MOT) has been investigating the effects of road transport on local air quality. The outcome has been the government's Vehicle Fleet Emissions Control Strategy (VFECS). This is a programme of measures designed to assist with the improvement in local air quality, and especially in the appropriate management of transport sector emissions. Key to the VFECS has been the development of tools to assess and predict the contribution of vehicle emissions to local air pollution, in a given urban situation. Determining how vehicles behave as an emissions source, and more importantly, how the combined traffic flows contribute to the total emissions within a given airshed location was an important element of the programme. The actual emissions output of a vehicle is more than that determined by a certified emission standard, at the point of manufacture. It is the engine technology's general performance capability, in conjunction with the local driving conditions, that determines its actual emissions output. As vehicles are a mobile emissions source, to understand the effect of vehicle technology, it is necessary to work with the average fleet performance, or "fleet-weighted average emissions rate". This is the unit measure of performance of the general traffic flow that could be passing through a given road corridor or network, as an average, over time. The flow composition can be representative of the national fleet population, but also may feature particular vehicle types in a given locality, thereby have a different emissions 'signature'. A summary of the range of work that has been completed as part of the VFECS programme is provided. The NZ Vehicle Fleet Emissions Model and the derived data set available in the NZ Traffic Emission Rates provide a significant step forward in the consistent analysis of practical, sustainable vehicle emissions policy and air-quality management in New Zealand.

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.;

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...

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...

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)

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.

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

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.

Mapping urban air quality in near real-time using observations from low-cost sensors and model information.

Science.gov (United States)

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

2017-09-01

The recent emergence of low-cost microsensors measuring various air pollutants has significant potential for carrying out high-resolution mapping of air quality in the urban environment. However, the data obtained by such sensors are generally less reliable than that from standard equipment and they are subject to significant data gaps in both space and time. In order to overcome this issue, we present here a data fusion method based on geostatistics that allows for merging observations of air quality from a network of low-cost sensors with spatial information from an urban-scale air quality model. The performance of the methodology is evaluated for nitrogen dioxide in Oslo, Norway, using both simulated datasets and real-world measurements from a low-cost sensor network for January 2016. The results indicate that the method is capable of producing realistic hourly concentration fields of urban nitrogen dioxide that inherit the spatial patterns from the model and adjust the prior values using the information from the sensor network. The accuracy of the data fusion method is dependent on various factors including the total number of observations, their spatial distribution, their uncertainty (both in terms of systematic biases and random errors), as well as the ability of the model to provide realistic spatial patterns of urban air pollution. A validation against official data from air quality monitoring stations equipped with reference instrumentation indicates that the data fusion method is capable of reproducing city-wide averaged official values with an R 2 of 0.89 and a root mean squared error of 14.3 μg m -3 . It is further capable of reproducing the typical daily cycles of nitrogen dioxide. Overall, the results indicate that the method provides a robust way of extracting useful information from uncertain sensor data using only a time-invariant model dataset and the knowledge contained within an entire sensor network. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published

Global thermal analysis of air-air cooled motor based on thermal network

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, Tian; Leng, Xue; Shen, Li; Liu, Haidong

2018-02-01

The air-air cooled motors with high efficiency, large starting torque, strong overload capacity, low noise, small vibration and other characteristics, are widely used in different department of national industry, but its cooling structure is complex, it requires the motor thermal management technology should be high. The thermal network method is a common method to calculate the temperature field of the motor, it has the advantages of small computation time and short time consuming, it can save a lot of time in the initial design phase of the motor. The domain analysis of air-air cooled motor and its cooler was based on thermal network method, the combined thermal network model was based, the main components of motor internal and external cooler temperature were calculated and analyzed, and the temperature rise test results were compared to verify the correctness of the combined thermal network model, the calculation method can satisfy the need of engineering design, and provide a reference for the initial and optimum design of the motor.

Developing a dynamic control system for mine compressed air networks

OpenAIRE

Van Heerden, S.W.; Pelzer, R.; Marais, J.H.

2014-01-01

Mines in general, make use of compressed air systems for daily operational activities. Compressed air on mines is traditionally distributed via compressed air ring networks where multiple shafts are supplied with compressed air from an integral system. These compressed air networks make use of a number of compressors feeding the ring from various locations in the network. While these mines have sophisticated control systems to control these compressors, they are not dynamic systems. Compresso...

Forecasting Urban Air Quality via a Back-Propagation Neural Network and a Selection Sample Rule

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yonghong Liu

2015-07-01

Full Text Available In this paper, based on a sample selection rule and a Back Propagation (BP neural network, a new model of forecasting daily SO2, NO2, and PM10 concentration in seven sites of Guangzhou was developed using data from January 2006 to April 2012. A meteorological similarity principle was applied in the development of the sample selection rule. The key meteorological factors influencing SO2, NO2, and PM10 daily concentrations as well as weight matrices and threshold matrices were determined. A basic model was then developed based on the improved BP neural network. Improving the basic model, identification of the factor variation consistency was added in the rule, and seven sets of sensitivity experiments in one of the seven sites were conducted to obtain the selected model. A comparison of the basic model from May 2011 to April 2012 in one site showed that the selected model for PM10 displayed better forecasting performance, with Mean Absolute Percentage Error (MAPE values decreasing by 4% and R2 values increasing from 0.53 to 0.68. Evaluations conducted at the six other sites revealed a similar performance. On the whole, the analysis showed that the models presented here could provide local authorities with reliable and precise predictions and alarms about air quality if used at an operational scale.

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)

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

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.

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)

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.

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

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.

Towards an agent based traffic regulation and recommendation system for the on-road air quality control

OpenAIRE

Sadiq, Abderrahmane; El Fazziki, Abdelaziz; Ouarzazi, Jamal; Sadgal, Mohamed

2016-01-01

This paper presents an integrated and adaptive problem-solving approach to control the on-road air quality by modeling the road infrastructure, managing traffic based on pollution level and generating recommendations for road users. The aim is to reduce vehicle emissions in the most polluted road segments and optimizing the pollution levels. For this we propose the use of historical and real time pollution records and contextual data to calculate the air quality index on road networks and gen...

Rural and Urban Differences in Air Quality, 2008-2012, and Community Drinking Water Quality, 2010-2015 - United States.

Science.gov (United States)

Strosnider, Heather; Kennedy, Caitlin; Monti, Michele; Yip, Fuyuen

2017-06-23

The places in which persons live, work, and play can contribute to the development of adverse health outcomes. Understanding the differences in risk factors in various environments can help to explain differences in the occurrence of these outcomes and can be used to develop public health programs, interventions, and policies. Efforts to characterize urban and rural differences have largely focused on social and demographic characteristics. A paucity of national standardized environmental data has hindered efforts to characterize differences in the physical aspects of urban and rural areas, such as air and water quality. 2008-2012 for air quality and 2010-2015 for water quality. Since 2002, CDC's National Environmental Public Health Tracking Program has collaborated with federal, state, and local partners to gather standardized environmental data by creating national data standards, collecting available data, and disseminating data to be used in developing public health actions. The National Environmental Public Health Tracking Network (i.e., the tracking network) collects data provided by national, state, and local partners and includes 21 health outcomes, exposures, and environmental hazards. To assess environmental factors that affect health, CDC analyzed three air-quality measures from the tracking network for all counties in the contiguous United States during 2008-2012 and one water-quality measure for 26 states during 2010-2015. The three air-quality measures include 1) total number of days with fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ) levels greater than the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for 24-hour average PM 2.5 (PM 2.5 days); 2) mean annual average ambient concentrations of PM 2.5 in micrograms per cubic meter (mean PM 2.5 ); and 3) total number of days with maximum 8-hour average ozone concentrations greater than the NAAQS (ozone days). The water-quality measure compared the annual mean

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.

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...

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)

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

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

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.

Solutions Network Formulation Report. NASA's Potential Contributions for Using Solar Ultraviolet Radiation in Conjunction with Photocatalysis for Urban Air Pollution Mitigation and Increasing Air Quality

Science.gov (United States)

Underwood, Lauren; Ryan, Robert E.

2007-01-01

This Candidate Solution is based on using NASA Earth science research on atmospheric ozone and aerosols data as a means to predict and evaluate the effectiveness of photocatalytically created surfaces (building materials like glass, tile and cement) for air pollution mitigation purposes. When these surfaces are exposed to near UV light, organic molecules, like air pollutants and smog precursors, will degrade into environmentally friendly compounds. U.S. EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) is responsible for forecasting daily air quality by using the Air Quality Index (AQI) that is provided by AIRNow. EPA is partnered with AIRNow and is responsible for calculating the AQI for five major air pollutants that are regulated by the Clean Air Act. In this Solution, UV irradiance data acquired from the satellite mission Aura and the OMI Surface UV algorithm will be used to help understand both the efficacy and efficiency of the photocatalytic decomposition process these surfaces facilitate, and their ability to reduce air pollutants. Prediction models that estimate photocatalytic function do not exist. NASA UV irradiance data will enable this capability, so that air quality agencies that are run by state and local officials can develop and implement programs that utilize photocatalysis for urban air pollution control and, enable them to make effective decisions about air pollution protection programs.

On the feasibility of measuring urban air pollution by wireless distributed sensor networks.

Science.gov (United States)

Moltchanov, Sharon; Levy, Ilan; Etzion, Yael; Lerner, Uri; Broday, David M; Fishbain, Barak

2015-01-01

Accurate evaluation of air pollution on human-wellbeing requires high-resolution measurements. Standard air quality monitoring stations provide accurate pollution levels but due to their sparse distribution they cannot capture the highly resolved spatial variations within cities. Similarly, dedicated field campaigns can use tens of measurement devices and obtain highly dense spatial coverage but normally deployment has been limited to short periods of no more than few weeks. Nowadays, advances in communication and sensory technologies enable the deployment of dense grids of wireless distributed air monitoring nodes, yet their sensor ability to capture the spatiotemporal pollutant variability at the sub-neighborhood scale has never been thoroughly tested. This study reports ambient measurements of gaseous air pollutants by a network of six wireless multi-sensor miniature nodes that have been deployed in three urban sites, about 150 m apart. We demonstrate the network's capability to capture spatiotemporal concentration variations at an exceptional fine resolution but highlight the need for a frequent in-situ calibration to maintain the consistency of some sensors. Accordingly, a procedure for a field calibration is proposed and shown to improve the system's performance. Overall, our results support the compatibility of wireless distributed sensor networks for measuring urban air pollution at a sub-neighborhood spatial resolution, which suits the requirement for highly spatiotemporal resolved measurements at the breathing-height when assessing exposure to urban air pollution. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

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…

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

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...

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...

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

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

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...

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

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

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.

Voice Quality Estimation in Wireless Networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Petr Zach

2015-01-01

Full Text Available This article deals with the impact of Wireless (Wi-Fi networks on the perceived quality of voice services. The Quality of Service (QoS metrics must be monitored in the computer network during the voice data transmission to ensure proper voice service quality the end-user has paid for, especially in the wireless networks. In addition to the QoS, research area called Quality of Experience (QoE provides metrics and methods for quality evaluation from the end-user’s perspective. This article focuses on a QoE estimation of Voice over IP (VoIP calls in the wireless networks using network simulator. Results contribute to voice quality estimation based on characteristics of the wireless network and location of a wireless client.

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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.

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

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

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.

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...

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...

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...

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.

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)

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)

Air quality estimation by computational intelligence methodologies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ćirić Ivan T.

2012-01-01

Full Text Available The subject of this study is to compare different computational intelligence methodologies based on artificial neural networks used for forecasting an air quality parameter - the emission of CO2, in the city of Niš. Firstly, inputs of the CO2 emission estimator are analyzed and their measurement is explained. It is known that the traffic is the single largest emitter of CO2 in Europe. Therefore, a proper treatment of this component of pollution is very important for precise estimation of emission levels. With this in mind, measurements of traffic frequency and CO2 concentration were carried out at critical intersections in the city, as well as the monitoring of a vehicle direction at the crossroad. Finally, based on experimental data, different soft computing estimators were developed, such as feed forward neural network, recurrent neural network, and hybrid neuro-fuzzy estimator of CO2 emission levels. Test data for some characteristic cases presented at the end of the paper shows good agreement of developed estimator outputs with experimental data. Presented results are a true indicator of the implemented method usability. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. III42008-2/2011: Evaluation of Energy Performances and br. TR35016/2011: Indoor Environment Quality of Educational Buildings in Serbia with Impact to Health and Research of MHD Flows around the Bodies, in the Tip Clearances and Channels and Application in the MHD Pumps Development

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...

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...

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)

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)

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.

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...

Resolving uncertainties in the urban air quality, climate, and vegetation nexus through citizen science, satellite imagery, and atmospheric modeling

Science.gov (United States)

Jenerette, D.; Wang, J.; Chandler, M.; Ripplinger, J.; Koutzoukis, S.; Ge, C.; Castro Garcia, L.; Kucera, D.; Liu, X.

2017-12-01

Large uncertainties remain in identifying the distribution of urban air quality and temperature risks across neighborhood to regional scales. Nevertheless, many cities are actively expanding vegetation with an expectation to moderate both climate and air quality risks. We address these uncertainties through an integrated analysis of satellite data, atmospheric modeling, and in-situ environmental sensor networks maintained by citizen scientists. During the summer of 2017 we deployed neighborhood-scale networks of air temperature and ozone sensors through three campaigns across urbanized southern California. During each five-week campaign we deployed six sensor nodes that included an EPA federal equivalent method ozone sensor and a suite of meteorological sensors. Each node was further embedded in a network of 100 air temperature sensors that combined a randomized design developed by the research team and a design co-created by citizen scientists. Between 20 and 60 citizen scientists were recruited for each campaign, with local partners supporting outreach and training to ensure consistent deployment and data gathering. We observed substantial variation in both temperature and ozone concentrations at scales less than 4km, whole city, and the broader southern California region. At the whole city scale the average spatial variation with our ozone sensor network just for city of Long Beach was 26% of the mean, while corresponding variation in air temperature was only 7% of the mean. These findings contrast with atmospheric model estimates of variation at the regional scale of 11% and 1%. Our results show the magnitude of fine-scale variation underestimated by current models and may also suggest scaling functions that can connect neighborhood and regional variation in both ozone and temperature risks in southern California. By engaging citizen science with high quality sensors, satellite data, and real-time forecasting, our results help identify magnitudes of climate and

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

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.

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.

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...

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...

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...

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.

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.

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...

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

A Visual Analytics Approach for Station-Based Air Quality Data

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yi Du

2016-12-01

Full Text Available With the deployment of multi-modality and large-scale sensor networks for monitoring air quality, we are now able to collect large and multi-dimensional spatio-temporal datasets. For these sensed data, we present a comprehensive visual analysis approach for air quality analysis. This approach integrates several visual methods, such as map-based views, calendar views, and trends views, to assist the analysis. Among those visual methods, map-based visual methods are used to display the locations of interest, and the calendar and the trends views are used to discover the linear and periodical patterns. The system also provides various interaction tools to combine the map-based visualization, trends view, calendar view and multi-dimensional view. In addition, we propose a self-adaptive calendar-based controller that can flexibly adapt the changes of data size and granularity in trends view. Such a visual analytics system would facilitate big-data analysis in real applications, especially for decision making support.

A Visual Analytics Approach for Station-Based Air Quality Data.

Science.gov (United States)

Du, Yi; Ma, Cuixia; Wu, Chao; Xu, Xiaowei; Guo, Yike; Zhou, Yuanchun; Li, Jianhui

2016-12-24

With the deployment of multi-modality and large-scale sensor networks for monitoring air quality, we are now able to collect large and multi-dimensional spatio-temporal datasets. For these sensed data, we present a comprehensive visual analysis approach for air quality analysis. This approach integrates several visual methods, such as map-based views, calendar views, and trends views, to assist the analysis. Among those visual methods, map-based visual methods are used to display the locations of interest, and the calendar and the trends views are used to discover the linear and periodical patterns. The system also provides various interaction tools to combine the map-based visualization, trends view, calendar view and multi-dimensional view. In addition, we propose a self-adaptive calendar-based controller that can flexibly adapt the changes of data size and granularity in trends view. Such a visual analytics system would facilitate big-data analysis in real applications, especially for decision making support.

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. ...

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

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

Current Indoor Air Quality in Japan.

Science.gov (United States)

Jinno, Hideto

2016-01-01

People spend more than two thirds of their daily time indoors. Hence, maintaining a healthy indoor environment is indispensable for the prevention of building related illness. In Japan, guidelines for indoor air quality have been established for 13 volatile/semi-volatile organic compounds (VOCs/SVOCs). These guidelines are now under revision by the Committee on Sick House Syndrome: Indoor Air Pollution. In order to gain information on the current indoor air pollutants and their levels, we carried out a nation-wide survey of VOCs and aldehydes in indoor residential air during 2012-2013. In this review, I concisely summarized the current indoor air quality of Japan.

40 CFR 52.683 - Significant deterioration of air quality.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... quality. 52.683 Section 52.683 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR... deterioration of air quality. (a) The State of Idaho Rules for Control of Air Pollution in Idaho, specifically... the Clean Air Act for preventing significant deterioration of air quality. (b) The requirements of...

Perceived Air Quality in a Displacement Ventilated Room

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Brohus, Henrik; Knudsen, Henrik Nellemose; Nielsen, Peter V.

in a displacement ventilated room was determined directly by asking humans about how they perceived the air quality. A trained sensory panel comprising 12 subjects assessed the perceived air quality immediately after entering a climate chamber. The experiments showed that the perceived air quality...

Air quality and future energy system planning

Science.gov (United States)

Sobral Mourao, Zenaida; Konadu, Dennis; Lupton, Rick

2016-04-01

Ambient air pollution has been linked to an increasing number of premature deaths throughout the world. Projected increases in demand for food, energy resources and manufactured products will likely contribute to exacerbate air pollution with an increasing impact on human health, agricultural productivity and climate change. Current events such as tampering emissions tests by VW car manufacturers, failure to comply with EU Air Quality directives and WHO guidelines by many EU countries, the problem of smog in Chinese cities and new industrial emissions regulations represent unique challenges but also opportunities for regulators, local authorities and industry. However current models and practices of energy and resource use do not consider ambient air impacts as an integral part of the planing process. Furthermore the analysis of drivers, sources and impacts of air pollution is often fragmented, difficult to understand and lacks effective visualization tools that bring all of these components together. This work aims to develop a model that links impacts of air quality on human health and ecosystems to current and future developments in the energy system, industrial and agricultural activity and patterns of land use. The model will be added to the ForeseerTM tool, which is an integrated resource analysis platform that has been developed at the University of Cambridge initially with funding from BP and more recently through the EPSRC funded Whole Systems Energy Modeling (WholeSEM) project. The basis of the tool is a set of linked physical models for energy, water and land, including the technologies that are used to transform these resources into final services such as housing, food, transport and household goods. The new air quality model will explore different feedback effects between energy, land and atmospheric systems with the overarching goal of supporting better communication about the drivers of air quality and to incorporate concerns about air quality into

Long-term Changes in Extreme Air Pollution Meteorology and the Implications for Air Quality.

Science.gov (United States)

Hou, Pei; Wu, Shiliang

2016-03-31

Extreme air pollution meteorological events, such as heat waves, temperature inversions and atmospheric stagnation episodes, can significantly affect air quality. Based on observational data, we have analyzed the long-term evolution of extreme air pollution meteorology on the global scale and their potential impacts on air quality, especially the high pollution episodes. We have identified significant increasing trends for the occurrences of extreme air pollution meteorological events in the past six decades, especially over the continental regions. Statistical analysis combining air quality data and meteorological data further indicates strong sensitivities of air quality (including both average air pollutant concentrations and high pollution episodes) to extreme meteorological events. For example, we find that in the United States the probability of severe ozone pollution when there are heat waves could be up to seven times of the average probability during summertime, while temperature inversions in wintertime could enhance the probability of severe particulate matter pollution by more than a factor of two. We have also identified significant seasonal and spatial variations in the sensitivity of air quality to extreme air pollution meteorology.

Setting priorities for ambient air quality objectives

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2004-10-01

Alberta has ambient air quality objectives in place for several pollutants, toxic substances and other air quality parameters. A process is in place to determine if additional air quality objectives are required or if existing objectives should be changed. In order to identify the highest priority substances that may require an ambient air quality objective to protect ecosystems and public health, a rigorous, transparent and cost effective priority setting methodology is required. This study reviewed, analyzed and assessed successful priority setting techniques used by other jurisdictions. It proposed an approach for setting ambient air quality objective priorities that integrates the concerns of stakeholders with Alberta Environment requirements. A literature and expert review were used to examine existing priority-setting techniques used by other jurisdictions. An analysis process was developed to identify the strengths and weaknesses of various techniques and their ability to take into account the complete pathway between chemical emissions and damage to human health or the environment. The key strengths and weaknesses of each technique were identified. Based on the analysis, the most promising technique was the tool for the reduction and assessment of chemical and other environmental impacts (TRACI). Several considerations for using TRACI to help set priorities for ambient air quality objectives were also presented. 26 refs, 8 tabs., 4 appendices

Data Assimilation and Air Quality Forecasting

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Eskes, H.; Timmermans, R.; Curier, L.; Ruyter de Wildt, M. de; Segers, A.; Sauter, F.; Schaap, M.

2014-01-01

Lotos-Euros is a chemistry transportmodel developed in the Netherlands, and is used for air quality assessments and forecasts. Operational air quality forecasts for the Netherlands concerning ozone and PM10 are made available on the RIVM webpage (http://www.lml.rivm.nl/verw.html) and are used to

40 CFR 81.77 - Puerto Rico Air Quality Control Region.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 17 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Puerto Rico Air Quality Control Region... PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) DESIGNATION OF AREAS FOR AIR QUALITY PLANNING PURPOSES Designation of Air Quality Control Regions § 81.77 Puerto Rico Air Quality Control Region. The Puerto Rico Air Quality Control Region...

Air quality assessment in Salim Slam Tunnel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

El-Fadel, M.; Hashisho, Z.; Saikaly, P.

1999-01-01

Full text.Vehicle emissions constitute a serious occupational environmental hazard particularly in confined spaces such as tunnels and underground parking garages. these emissions at elevated concentrations, can cause adverse health effects, which range from nausea and eye irritation to mutagenicity, carcinogenicity and even death. This paper presents an environmental air quality assessment in a tunnel located in a highly congested urban area. For this purpose, air samples were collected and analyzed for the presence of primary air pollutants, priority metals, and volatile organic carbons. Air quality modeling was conducted to simulate variations of pollutant concentrations in the tunnel under worst case scenarios including traffic congestion and no air ventilation. Field measurements and mathematical simulation results were used to develop a strategy for proper air quality management in tunnels

Group Centric Networking: Large Scale Over the Air Testing of Group Centric Networking

Science.gov (United States)

2016-11-01

Large Scale Over-the-Air Testing of Group Centric Networking Logan Mercer, Greg Kuperman, Andrew Hunter, Brian Proulx MIT Lincoln Laboratory...performance of Group Centric Networking (GCN), a networking protocol developed for robust and scalable communications in lossy networks where users are...devices, and the ad-hoc nature of the network . Group Centric Networking (GCN) is a proposed networking protocol that addresses challenges specific to

Quality and food network configuration

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kjeldsen, Chris; Noe, Egon

The aim of the paper is to analyze how the emergence of distinct quality conventions relates to particular network relations within two selected Danish organic dairy enterprises. The paper starts out from the assumption that the distinct qualities, which distinguish organic food, can be viewed...... as a form of symbolic capital. In order to be recognized and thus qualified as symbolic capital, mediation of quality takes place throughout the selected networks, all the way from cow to cup. At some point, symbolic capital will be converted into economic capital. In practical terms, management of quality...... is thus extremely important and even more so if the product chain in question is a ‘high-quality’ food chain of a relatively high level of complexity, such as an organic food network. Analytically, our main focus is on the relation between network structure and the qualities mediated from cow to cup...

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.

40 CFR 52.1929 - Significant deterioration of air quality.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... quality. 52.1929 Section 52.1929 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR... Significant deterioration of air quality. (a) Regulation for preventing significant deterioration of air... preventing significant deterioration of air quality. [56 FR 5656, Feb. 12, 1991, as amended at 68 FR 11324...

40 CFR 52.1485 - Significant deterioration of air quality.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... quality. 52.1485 Section 52.1485 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... include approvable procedures for preventing the significant deterioration of air quality. (b) Regulation...

RadNet Air Quality (Fixed Station) Data

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — RadNet is a national network of monitoring stations that regularly collect air for analysis of radioactivity. The RadNet network, which has stations in each State,...

A review of scientifc linkages and interactions between climate change and air quality, with implications for air quality management in South Africa

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tirusha Thambiran

2010-04-01

Full Text Available In recent years there has been considerable advancement in our scientifc understanding of the linkages and interactions between climate change and air quality. A warmer, evolving climate is likely to have severe consequences for air quality due to impacts on pollution sources and meteorology. Climate-induced changes to sources of tropospheric ozone precursor gases and to atmospheric circulation are likely to lead to changes in both the concentration and dispersion of near-surface ozone that could act to offset improvements in air quality. The control of air pollutants through air quality management is also likely to impact on climate change, with reductions in ozone, particulate matter and sulphur dioxide being of particular interest. The improved understanding of the relationship between air quality and climate change provides a scientific basis for policy interventions. After a review of the scientific linkages, the potential to include climate change considerations in air quality management planning processes in South Africa was examined.

Air Quality and Indoor Environmental Exposures: Clinical Impacts

Science.gov (United States)

Indoor air quality (IAQ) is a term which refers to the air quality within and around buildings and homes as it relates to the health and comfort of the occupants. Many ambient (outdoor) air pollutants readily permeate indoor spaces. Because indoor air can be considerably more pol...

Indoor Air Quality: Maryland Public Schools.

Science.gov (United States)

Maryland State Dept. of Education, College Park. Office of Administration and Finance.

Less than adequate indoor air quality in schools can lead to a higher risk of health problems, an increase in student and teacher absenteeism, diminished learning, and even hazardous conditions. An indoor air quality program that addresses the planning, design, maintenance, and operation of public school buildings should be implemented at the…

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.

40 CFR 52.2303 - Significant deterioration of air quality.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... quality. 52.2303 Section 52.2303 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR... Significant deterioration of air quality. (a) The plan submitted by Texas is approved as meeting the requirements of part C, Clean Air Act for preventing significant deterioration of air quality. The plan...

Air quality risk management.

Science.gov (United States)

Williams, Martin L

2008-01-01

Rather than attempt to provide a comprehensive account of air quality risk assessment, as might be found in a textbook or manual, this article discusses some issues that are of current importance in the United Kingdom and the rest of Europe, with special emphasis on risk assessment in the context of policy formulation, and emerging scientific knowledge. There are two pollutants of particular concern and that both pose challenges for risk assessment and policy, and they are particulate matter (PM) and ozone. The article describes some issues for health risk assessment and finally some forward-looking suggestions for future approaches to air quality management.

Increased office productivity through improved indoor air quality

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fanger, Povl Ole

2002-01-01

Control of indoor pollution sources and ventilation are both means of improving indoor air quality. Three independent experiments have recently documented that removing a pollution source or increasing the ventilation rate will improve perceived air quality, reduce the intensity of several Sick...... with the air quality was reduced by either measure. The quantitative relationsh8ip was 1.1% change in performance per 10% dissatisfied, in the range 25-70% dissatisifed, or 0.5% change in performance per 1 decipol (dp), in the range 2-13 dp. Significant improvements in performance occurred only when......, future developments in HVCAC technology may include "personalized air ", new ways of improving the quality of supply air (e.g., by filtration), more extensive use of heat recovery from exhaust air and systematic selection of low-polluting building and furnishing materials....

40 CFR 81.36 - Maricopa Intrastate Air Quality Control Region.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... Quality Control Regions § 81.36 Maricopa Intrastate Air Quality Control Region. The Phoenix-Tucson Intrastate Air Quality Control Region has been renamed the Maricopa Intrastate Air Quality Control Region... 40 Protection of Environment 17 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Maricopa Intrastate Air Quality...

40 CFR 81.88 - Billings Intrastate Air Quality Control Region.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... Quality Control Regions § 81.88 Billings Intrastate Air Quality Control Region. The Metropolitan Billings Intrastate Air Quality Control Region (Montana) has been renamed the Billings Intrastate Air Quality Control... to by Montana authorities as follows: Sec. 481.168Great Falls Intrastate Air Quality Control Region...

40 CFR 52.1987 - Significant deterioration of air quality.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... quality. 52.1987 Section 52.1987 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR... Significant deterioration of air quality. (a) The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality rules for the prevention of significant deterioration of air quality (provisions of OAR chapter 340, Divisions 200, 202...

Competing Air Quality and Water Conservation Co-benefits from Power Sector Decarbonization

Science.gov (United States)

Peng, W.; Wagner, F.; Mauzerall, D. L.; Ramana, M. V.; Zhai, H.; Small, M.; Zhang, X.; Dalin, C.

2016-12-01

Decarbonizing the power sector can reduce fossil-based generation and associated air pollution and water use. However, power sector configurations that prioritize air quality benefits can be different from those that maximize water conservation benefits. Despite extensive work to optimize the generation mix under an air pollution or water constraint, little research has examined electricity transmission networks and the choice of which fossil fuel units to displace in order to achieve both environmental objectives simultaneously. When air pollution and water stress occur in different regions, the optimal transmission and displacement decisions still depend on priorities placed on air quality and water conservation benefits even if low-carbon generation planning is fixed. Here we use China as a test case, and develop a new optimization framework to study transmission and displacement decisions and the resulting air quality and water use impacts for six power sector decarbonization scenarios in 2030 ( 50% of national generation is low carbon). We fix low-carbon generation in each scenario (e.g. type, location, quantity) and vary technology choices and deployment patterns across scenarios. The objective is to minimize the total physical costs (transmission costs and coal power generation costs) and the estimated environmental costs. Environmental costs are estimated by multiplying effective air pollutant emissions (EMeff, emissions weighted by population density) and effective water use (Weff, water use weighted by a local water stress index) by their unit economic values, Vem and Vw. We are hence able to examine the effect of varying policy priorities by imposing different combinations of Vem and Vw. In all six scenarios, we find that increasing the priority on air quality co-benefits (higher Vem) reduces air pollution impacts (lower EMeff) at the expense of lower water conservation (higher Weff); and vice versa. Such results can largely be explained by differences

Federal Interagency Committee on Indoor Air Quality

Science.gov (United States)

The Federal Interagency Committee on Indoor Air Quality (CIAQ), which meets three times a year, was established by Congress to coordinate the activities of the Federal Government on issues relating to Indoor Air Quality.

Operational air quality forecasting system for Spain: CALIOPE

Science.gov (United States)

Baldasano, J. M.; Piot, M.; Jorba, O.; Goncalves, M.; Pay, M.; Pirez, C.; Lopez, E.; Gasso, S.; Martin, F.; García-Vivanco, M.; Palomino, I.; Querol, X.; Pandolfi, M.; Dieguez, J. J.; Padilla, L.

2009-12-01

The European Commission (EC) and the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US-EPA) have shown great concerns to understand the transport and dynamics of pollutants in the atmosphere. According to the European directives (1996/62/EC, 2002/3/EC, 2008/50/EC), air quality modeling, if accurately applied, is a useful tool to understand the dynamics of air pollutants, to analyze and forecast the air quality, and to develop programs reducing emissions and alert the population when health-related issues occur. The CALIOPE project, funded by the Spanish Ministry of the Environment, has the main objective to establish an air quality forecasting system for Spain. A partnership of four research institutions composes the CALIOPE project: the Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC), the center of investigation CIEMAT, the Earth Sciences Institute ‘Jaume Almera’ (IJA-CSIC) and the CEAM Foundation. CALIOPE will become the official Spanish air quality operational system. This contribution focuses on the recent developments and implementation of the integrated modelling system for the Iberian Peninsula (IP) and Canary Islands (CI) with a high spatial and temporal resolution (4x4 sq. km for IP and 2x2 sq. km for CI, 1 hour), namely WRF-ARW/HERMES04/CMAQ/BSC-DREAM. The HERMES04 emission model has been specifically developed as a high-resolution (1x1 sq. km, 1 hour) emission model for Spain. It includes biogenic and anthropogenic emissions such as on-road and paved-road resuspension production, power plant generation, ship and plane traffic, airports and ports activities, industrial and agricultural sectors as well as domestic and commercial emissions. The qualitative and quantitative evaluation of the model was performed for a reference year (2004) using data from ground-based measurement networks. The products of the CALIOPE system will provide 24h and 48h forecasts for O3, NO2, SO2, CO, PM10 and PM2.5 at surface level. An operational evaluation system has been developed

40 CFR 52.343 - Significant deterioration of air quality.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... quality. 52.343 Section 52.343 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 for the following categories of sources for preventing the significant deterioration of air quality...

40 CFR 52.833 - Significant deterioration of air quality.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... quality. 52.833 Section 52.833 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 met... for preventing significant deterioration of air quality. The provisions of § 52.21 except paragraph (a...

Fire in the forest: The air quality dilemma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Core, J.E.

1992-01-01

Fire has long been an important tool of forest land managers. Air regulators responsible for assuring that the provisions of the Clean Air Act are met, see smoke from forest land burning as just another source of air pollution. From an air quality standpoint, pollutants released by forestry burning practices are no different than those emitted from other sources since smoke is smoke, regardless of whether it comes from a woodstove, a wood products industry stack, agricultural burning, or forestry land management. This paper discusses the dilemma that air quality and forest land managers face when balancing air quality protection with the role of fire in the forest

Air quality impact assessment of multiple open pit coal mines in northern Colombia.

Science.gov (United States)

Huertas, José I; Huertas, María E; Izquierdo, Sebastián; González, Enrique D

2012-01-01

The coal mining region in northern Colombia is one of the largest open pit mining regions of the world. In 2009, there were 8 mining companies in operation with an approximate coal production of ∼70 Mtons/year. Since 2007, the Colombian air quality monitoring network has reported readings that exceed the daily and annual air quality standards for total suspended particulate (TSP) matter and particles with an equivalent aerodynamic diameter smaller than 10 μm (PM₁₀) in nearby villages. This paper describes work carried out in order to establish an appropriate clean air program for this region, based on the Colombian national environmental authority requirement for modeling of TSP and PM(10) dispersion. A TSP and PM₁₀ emission inventory was initially developed, and topographic and meteorological information for the region was collected and analyzed. Using this information, the dispersion of TSP was modeled in ISC3 and AERMOD using meteorological data collected by 3 local stations during 2008 and 2009. The results obtained were compared to actual values measured by the air quality monitoring network. High correlation coefficients (>0.73) were obtained, indicating that the models accurately described the main factors affecting particle dispersion in the region. The model was then used to forecast concentrations of particulate matter for 2010. Based on results from the model, areas within the modeling region were identified as highly, fairly, moderately and marginally polluted according to local regulations. Additionally, the contribution particulate matter to the pollution at each village was estimated. Using these predicted values, the Colombian environmental authority imposed new decontamination measures on the mining companies operating in the region. These measures included the relocation of three villages financed by the mine companies based on forecasted pollution levels. Copyright © 2011. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Parent's Guide to School Indoor Air Quality. Revised

Science.gov (United States)

Healthy Schools Network, Inc., 2012

2012-01-01

Air pollution is air pollution, indoors or out. Good indoor air quality (IAQ) contributes to a favorable learning environment for students, protects health, and supports the productivity of school personnel. In schools in poor repair, leaky roofs and crumbling walls have caused additional indoor air quality problems, including contamination with…

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.

Indoor air quality in Brazilian universities.

Science.gov (United States)

Jurado, Sonia R; Bankoff, Antônia D P; Sanchez, Andrea

2014-07-11

This study evaluated the indoor air quality in Brazilian universities by comparing thirty air-conditioned (AC) (n = 15) and naturally ventilated (NV) (n = 15) classrooms. The parameters of interest were indoor carbon dioxide (CO2), temperature, relative humidity (RH), wind speed, viable mold, and airborne dust levels. The NV rooms had larger concentration of mold than the AC rooms (1001.30 ± 125.16 and 367.00 ± 88.13 cfu/m3, respectively). The average indoor airborne dust concentration exceeded the Brazilian standards (indoor air quality in Brazilian university classrooms affects the health of students. Therefore, indoor air pollution needs to be considered as an important public health problem.

40 CFR 52.1116 - Significant deterioration of air quality.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... quality. 52.1116 Section 52.1116 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) The following provisions of 40 CFR 52.21 are hereby incorporated and made a...

75 FR 6570 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Louisiana; Baton Rouge 1-Hour...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-02-10

... from John S. Seitz, Director, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards, entitled ``Reasonable... Environmental Law Clinic on behalf of the Louisiana Environmental Action Network (LEAN) (hereinafter LEAN... submitted by LCA, and to adverse comments received from LEAN. LCA submitted the following additional...

Administrative law judge as a watchdog for air quality

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schutte-Postma, L.; Van Wee, B.

2005-01-01

Insight is given on the correctness of judgements of the judge for the administrative law in the Netherlands with regard to air quality and the discontinuation of related spatial planning and building and construction projects. Also attention is paid to the new Decree on Air Quality, including the regulation on balancing. This regulation implies that deteriorated air quality in one place must be compensated by improved air quality somewhere else [nl

Biomass and air quality the UK experience

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dearnley, E.

2009-01-01

Policies to encourage the use of biomass in the UK can perhaps be held up as an example of how not to develop integrated environmental policy. The UK has considered the air quality effects of biomass burning only after putting in place policies that will hugely increase the amount of biomass burning plant that will be installed. Whilst these issues are now being addressed, it will be some time before a satisfactory framework will be in place. The current situation is not a positive one for all involved - air quality practitioners, climate change policy makers and the wider biomass industry. For clean air organisations such as Environmental Protection UK and our European counterparts there are essentially two lessons to take away. The first is that we have to raise our sights to look for potential threats to air quality from wider policy measures, and flag up potential concerns at the earliest opportunity. It is easy to focus on the job in hand (for example emissions from vehicles) and miss developments further afield. Secondly, and most importantly, we have to offer our own solutions to wider environmental challenges. Climate change is likely to remain the dominant global environmental issue for decades to come; clean air agencies need to understand this and put forward low carbon solutions that offer strong synergies with air quality. The alternative is for policy makers to see air i quality standards and clean air agencies as a barrier t to progress towards a low carbon economy, rather than a positive source of solutions. (N.C.)

Trading emissions improve air quality

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lents, J.M.

1993-01-01

While admitting sharply contrasting views exist, James M. Lents of the South Coast Air Quality Management District in southern California sees emissions trading open-quotes as a lifesaver for our troubled planet.close quotes He explains: open-quotes If political support for the environment is to be maintained, we must seek the most economical and flexible means of pursuing cleanup. At present, market incentives and emissions trading represent our best hope.close quotes Lents is putting his money where his pen is. The air quality management district he heads plans to use market incentives, including emissions trading, to reduce air pollution in the notoriously dirty southern California area. When the system goes into operation in 1994, he estimates it will save southern California businesses more than $400 million a year in compliance costs, while also making major improvements in the region's air quality. If the idea works there, why won't it work elsewhere, even on a global scale, Lents asks? He believes it will. But open-quotes the ultimate success of emissions-trading programs, whether regional, national, or international in scope, lies in the proof that they're actually achieving reductions in harmful emissions,close quotes he emphasizes. open-quotes These reductions must be real and verifiable to satisfy the Clean Air Act and a skeptical public.close quotes

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

Helping air quality managers identify vulnerable communities

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Wright, C

2008-10-01

Full Text Available population exposure and vulnerability risk prioritisation model is proposed for potential use by air quality managers in conjunction with their air quality management plans. The model includes factors such as vulnerability caused by poverty, respiratory...

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.

Clearing the air. Air quality modelling for policy support

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hendriks, C.

2017-01-01

The studies presented in this thesis were performed to provide policy makers with more accurate information about the sources of air pollution and the possible consequences of future developments on air quality. This enables policy makers to make better informed decisions when formulating policies

High Spectral Resolution LIDAR as a Tool for Air Quality Research

Science.gov (United States)

Eloranta, E. W.; Spuler, S.; Hayman, M. M.

2017-12-01

Many aspects of air quality research require information on the vertical distribution of pollution. Traditional measurements, obtained from surface based samplers, or passive satellite remote sensing, do not provide vertical profiles. Lidar can provide profiles of aerosol properties. However traditional backscatter lidar suffers from uncertain calibrations with poorly constrained algorithms. These problems are avoided using High Spectral Resolution Lidar (HSRL) which provides absolutely calibrated vertical profiles of aerosol properties. The University of Wisconsin HSRL systems measure 532 nm wavelength aerosol backscatter cross-sections, extinction cross-sections, depolarization, and attenuated 1064 nm backscatter. These instruments are designed for long-term deployment at remote sites with minimal local support. Processed data is provided for public viewing and download in real-time on our web site "http://hsrl.ssec.wisc.edu". Air pollution applications of HSRL data will be illustrated with examples acquired during air quality field programs including; KORUS-AQ, DISCOVER-AQ, LAMOS and FRAPPE. Observations include 1) long range transport of dust, air pollution and smoke. 2) Fumigation episodes where elevated pollution is mixed down to the surface. 3) visibility restrictions by aerosols and 4) diurnal variations in atmospheric optical depth. While HSRL is powerful air quality research tool, its application in routine measurement networks is hindered by the high cost of current systems. Recent technical advances promise a next generation HSRL using telcom components to greatly reduce system cost. This paper will present data generated by a prototype low cost system constructed at NCAR. In addition to lower cost, operation at a non-visible near 780 nm infrared wavelength removes all FAA restrictions on the operation.

Residential indoor air quality guideline : ozone

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2010-01-01

Ozone (O 3 ) is a colourless gas that reacts rapidly on surfaces and with other constituents in the air. Sources of indoor O 3 include devices sold as home air cleaners, and some types of office equipment. Outdoor O 3 is also an important contributor to indoor levels of O 3 , depending on the air exchange rate with indoor environments. This residential indoor air quality guideline examined factors that affect the introduction, dispersion and removal of O 3 indoors. The health effects of prolonged exposure to O 3 were discussed, and studies conducted to evaluate the population health impacts of O 3 were reviewed. The studies demonstrated that there is a significant association between ambient O 3 and adverse health impacts. Exposure guidelines for residential indoor air quality were discussed. 14 refs.

The BErkeley Atmospheric CO2 Observation Network: field calibration and evaluation of low-cost air quality sensors

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Jinsol; Shusterman, Alexis A.; Lieschke, Kaitlyn J.; Newman, Catherine; Cohen, Ronald C.

2018-04-01

The newest generation of air quality sensors is small, low cost, and easy to deploy. These sensors are an attractive option for developing dense observation networks in support of regulatory activities and scientific research. They are also of interest for use by individuals to characterize their home environment and for citizen science. However, these sensors are difficult to interpret. Although some have an approximately linear response to the target analyte, that response may vary with time, temperature, and/or humidity, and the cross-sensitivity to non-target analytes can be large enough to be confounding. Standard approaches to calibration that are sufficient to account for these variations require a quantity of equipment and labor that negates the attractiveness of the sensors' low cost. Here we describe a novel calibration strategy for a set of sensors, including CO, NO, NO2, and O3, that makes use of (1) multiple co-located sensors, (2) a priori knowledge about the chemistry of NO, NO2, and O3, (3) an estimate of mean emission factors for CO, and (4) the global background of CO. The strategy requires one or more well calibrated anchor points within the network domain, but it does not require direct calibration of any of the individual low-cost sensors. The procedure nonetheless accounts for temperature and drift, in both the sensitivity and zero offset. We demonstrate this calibration on a subset of the sensors comprising BEACO2N, a distributed network of approximately 50 sensor nodes, each measuring CO2, CO, NO, NO2, O3 and particulate matter at 10 s time resolution and approximately 2 km spacing within the San Francisco Bay Area.

40 CFR 93.160 - Mitigation of air quality impacts.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 20 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Mitigation of air quality impacts. 93... quality impacts. (a) Any measures that are intended to mitigate air quality impacts must be identified and..., the revised text is set forth as follows: § 93.160 Mitigation of air quality impacts. (e) When...

Air Quality Modelling and the National Emission Database

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, S. S.

The project focuses on development of institutional strengthening to be able to carry out national air emission inventories based on the CORINAIR methodology. The present report describes the link between emission inventories and air quality modelling to ensure that the new national air emission...... inventory is able to take into account the data requirements of air quality models...

Characterising air quality risk in the City of Johannesburg

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Ngwenya, NS

2014-10-01

Full Text Available of the National Environmental Management: Air Quality Act (AQA). Air quality data that were obtained from the South African Air Quality Information System (SAAQIS) were averaged such that the diurnal, seasonal and annual trends could be identified. Geographic...

South Coast Air Quality Management District Truck Testing | Transportation

Science.gov (United States)

Research | NREL South Coast Air Quality Management District Truck Evaluation South Coast Air Quality Management District Truck Evaluation Photo of heavy-duty truck cab. Electric drayage truck Cargo Transportation project, conducted in partnership with the South Coast Air Quality Management

Summarising climate and air quality (ozone) data on self-organising maps: a Sydney case study.

Science.gov (United States)

Jiang, Ningbo; Betts, Alan; Riley, Matt

2016-02-01

This paper explores the classification and visualisation utility of the self-organising map (SOM) method in the context of New South Wales (NSW), Australia, using gridded NCEP/NCAR geopotential height reanalysis for east Australia, together with multi-site meteorological and air quality data for Sydney from the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage Air Quality Monitoring Network. A twice-daily synoptic classification has been derived for east Australia for the period of 1958-2012. The classification has not only reproduced the typical synoptic patterns previously identified in the literature but also provided an opportunity to visualise the subtle, non-linear change in the eastward-migrating synoptic systems influencing NSW (including Sydney). The summarisation of long-term, multi-site air quality/meteorological data from the Sydney basin on the SOM plane has identified a set of typical air pollution/meteorological spatial patterns in the region. Importantly, the examination of these patterns in relation to synoptic weather types has provided important visual insights into how local and synoptic meteorological conditions interact with each other and affect the variability of air quality in tandem. The study illustrates that while synoptic circulation types are influential, the within-type variability in mesoscale flows plays a critical role in determining local ozone levels in Sydney. These results indicate that the SOM can be a useful tool for assessing the impact of weather and climatic conditions on air quality in the regional airshed. This study further promotes the use of the SOM method in environmental research.

The community takes charge : story and success of Clean Air Hamilton

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McCarry, B.

2004-01-01

Clean Air Hamilton was established in 2001 to identify priority air quality issues, pollution sources, and evaluate impacts and solutions for air quality issues. Clean Air Hamilton also assesses the human health effects of ambient air exposures in Hamilton. A 1997 survey of Hamilton residents showed that most citizens were extremely concerned about health effects, black fallout, smog visibility, and odours. Clean Air Hamilton has established an air monitoring network which includes 19 member companies and 22 industrial sites. The objective is to determine recent contaminant trends in upwind/downwind air quality. The timeline for establishing the Hamilton air monitoring network was presented. The network, which serves as a model for Ontario and Canada, monitors the impact of vehicular and industrial emissions and establishes ten-year air quality trends for benzo(a)pyrene, sulphur, nitrogen dioxide, and ozone at industrial sites and the downtown core. Analysis of air quality trends shows that there has been improvement in levels of some locally-generated contaminants. The data has also been used for epidemiological studies to determine the health effects of industry on Hamiltonians. figs

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.

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)

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)

Outdoor air pollution and sperm quality.

Science.gov (United States)

Lafuente, Rafael; García-Blàquez, Núria; Jacquemin, Bénédicte; Checa, Miguel Angel

2016-09-15

Exposure to air pollution has been clearly associated with a range of adverse health effects, including reproductive toxicity, but its effects on male semen quality are still unclear. We performed a systematic review (up to June 2016) to assess the impact of air pollutants on sperm quality. We included 17 semi-ecological, panel, and cohort studies, assessing outdoor air pollutants, such as PM2.5, PM10, NOx, SO2, and O3, and their effects on DNA fragmentation, sperm count, sperm motility, and sperm morphology. Thirteen studies assessed air pollution exposure measured environmentally, and six used biomarkers of air pollution exposure (two did both). We rated the studies using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale and assessed with the exposure method. Taking into account these factors and the number of studies finding significant results (positive or negative), the evidence supporting an effect of air pollution on DNA fragmentation is weak but suggestive, on sperm motility is limited and probably inexistent, on lower sperm count is inconclusive, and on sperm morphology is very suggestive. Because of the diversity of air pollutants and sperm parameters, and the studies' designs, we were unable to perform a meta-analysis. In summary, most studies concluded that outdoor air pollution affects at least one of the four semen quality parameters included in the review. However, results lack consistency, and furthermore, studies were not comparable. Studies using standardized air pollution and semen measures are required to obtain more reliable conclusions. CRD42015007175. Copyright © 2016 American Society for Reproductive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Network modeling of PM10 concentration in Malaysia

Science.gov (United States)

Supian, Muhammad Nazirul Aiman Abu; Bakar, Sakhinah Abu; Razak, Fatimah Abdul

2017-08-01

Air pollution is not a new phenomenon in Malaysia. The Department of Environment (DOE) monitors the country's ambient air quality through a network of 51 stations. The air quality is measured using the Air Pollution Index (API) which is mainly recorded based on the concentration of particulate matter, PM10 readings. The Continuous Air Quality Monitoring (CAQM) stations are located in various places across the country. In this study, a network model of air quality based on PM10 concen tration for selected CAQM stations in Malaysia has been developed. The model is built using a graph formulation, G = (V, E) where vertex, V is a set of CAQM stations and edges, E is a set of correlation values for each pair of vertices. The network measurements such as degree distributions, closeness centrality, and betweenness centrality are computed to analyse the behaviour of the network. As a result, a rank of CAQM stations has been produced based on their centrality characteristics.

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.

Air quality health index variation across British Columbia

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hasselback, P. [Interior Health Authority, Kelowna, BC (Canada); Taylor, E. [British Columbia Ministry of Health Living and Sport, Vancouver, BC (Canada)

2010-09-15

The new Air Quality Health Index (AQHI) is a tool aiming to present the health risks related to air pollution in Canada. This index can be used by individuals to help them reduce their health risk resulting from poor air quality. An assessment of the short term health risk induced by poor air quality is provided to Canadians through the AQHI. The AQHI is based on three factors: ambient concentrations of nitrogen dioxide, fine particulate matter and ozone, the local air quality information being presented on an hourly and daily basis and being calculated each hour for several locations across Canada. Pulmonary disorders and impacts on cardiac function are the more significant short term health risks. Longer term exposure to poor air quality is associated with increased rates of allergies and asthma, low birth weight, atherosclerosis, poorer lung development in children, lung cancer and ear infections. Information on the AQHI and on the variation across British Columbia of the health risk associated with this index are presented in this document. 19 refs., 5 tabs., 5 figs.

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...

Indoor air quality

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hollowell, C.D.

1981-06-01

Rising energy prices, among other factors, have generated an incentive to reduce ventilation rates and thereby reduce the cost of heating and cooling buildings. Reduced ventilation in buildings may significantly increase exposure to indoor air pollution and perhaps have adverse effects on occupant health and comfort. Preliminary findings suggest that reduced ventilation may adversely affect indoor air quality unless appropriate control strategies are undertaken. The strategies used to control indoor air pollution depend on the specific pollutant or class of pollutants encountered, and differ somewhat depending on whether the application is to an existing building or a new building under design and construction. Whenever possible, the first course of action is prevention or reduction of pollutant emissions at the source. In most buildings, control measures involve a combination of prevention, removal, and suppression. Common sources of indoor air pollution in buildings, the specific pollutants emitted by each source, the potential health effects, and possible control techniques are discussed

Air quality modelling using chemometric techniques | Azid | Journal ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This study presents that the chemometric techniques and modelling become an excellent tool in API assessment, air pollution source identification, apportionment and can be setbacks in designing an API monitoring network for effective air pollution resources management. Keywords: air pollutant index; chemometric; ANN; ...

[Air quality control systems: heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC)].

Science.gov (United States)

Bellucci Sessa, R; Riccio, G

2004-01-01

After a brief illustration of the principal layout schemes of Heating, Ventilating, and Air Conditioning (HVAC), the first part of this paper summarizes the standards, both voluntary and compulsory, regulating HVAC facilities design and installation with regard to the question of Indoor Air Quality (IAQ). The paper then examines the problem of ventilation systems maintenance and the essential hygienistic requirements in whose absence HVAC facilities may become a risk factor for people working or living in the building. Lastly, the paper deals with HVAC design strategies and methods, which aim not only to satisfy comfort and air quality requirements, but also to ensure easy and effective maintenance procedures.

Indoor air humidity, air quality, and health - An overview.

Science.gov (United States)

Wolkoff, Peder

2018-04-01

There is a long-standing dispute about indoor air humidity and perceived indoor air quality (IAQ) and associated health effects. Complaints about sensory irritation in eyes and upper airways are generally among top-two symptoms together with the perception "dry air" in office environments. This calls for an integrated analysis of indoor air humidity and eye and airway health effects. This overview has reviewed the literature about the effects of extended exposure to low humidity on perceived IAQ, sensory irritation symptoms in eyes and airways, work performance, sleep quality, virus survival, and voice disruption. Elevation of the indoor air humidity may positively impact perceived IAQ, eye symptomatology, and possibly work performance in the office environment; however, mice inhalation studies do not show exacerbation of sensory irritation in the airways by low humidity. Elevated humidified indoor air appears to reduce nasal symptoms in patients suffering from obstructive apnea syndrome, while no clear improvement on voice production has been identified, except for those with vocal fatigue. Both low and high RH, and perhaps even better absolute humidity (water vapor), favors transmission and survival of influenza virus in many studies, but the relationship between temperature, humidity, and the virus and aerosol dynamics is complex, which in the end depends on the individual virus type and its physical/chemical properties. Dry and humid air perception continues to be reported in offices and in residential areas, despite the IAQ parameter "dry air" (or "wet/humid air") is semantically misleading, because a sensory organ for humidity is non-existing in humans. This IAQ parameter appears to reflect different perceptions among other odor, dustiness, and possibly exacerbated by desiccation effect of low air humidity. It is salient to distinguish between indoor air humidity (relative or absolute) near the breathing and ocular zone and phenomena caused by moisture

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

Impacts Of Passive Removal Materials On Indoor Air Quality

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Darling, Erin; Cros, Clement; Wargocki, Pawel

2011-01-01

Indoor air quality (IAQ) was determined in the presence of eight combinations of building materials with and without ozone. Air samples were collected in twin 30 m3 chambers to assess the C5 to C10 aldehyde content of the air while a panel of 18 to 23 human subjects assessed air quality using...... a continuous acceptability scale. Materials were either new carpet that was aired out for three weeks, clay plaster applied to gypsum wallboard that was aired out for up to one month, both materials, or neither. Perceived Air Quality (PAQ) assessed by the panel was most acceptable and concentrations...

40 CFR 52.2346 - Significant deterioration of air quality.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... quality. 52.2346 Section 52.2346 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR... Significant deterioration of air quality. (a) The Utah plan, as submitted, is approved as meeting the... construct on Indian Reservations. (b) Regulation for prevention of significant deterioration of air quality...

40 CFR 52.1778 - Significant deterioration of air quality.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... quality. 52.1778 Section 52.1778 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR... Significant deterioration of air quality. (a)-(b) [Reserved] (c) All applications and other information... Resources, Division of Air Quality, 1641 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, North Carolina 27699-1641 or local...

40 CFR 52.2178 - Significant deterioration of air quality.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... quality. 52.2178 Section 52.2178 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR... Significant deterioration of air quality. (a) The South Dakota plan, as submitted, is approved as meeting the... on Indian reservations; (b) Regulations for preventing significant deterioration of air quality. The...

[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.

40 CFR 81.76 - State of Hawaii Air Quality Control Region.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 17 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false State of Hawaii Air Quality Control... PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) DESIGNATION OF AREAS FOR AIR QUALITY PLANNING PURPOSES Designation of Air Quality Control Regions § 81.76 State of Hawaii Air Quality Control Region. The State of Hawaii Air Quality...

Air quality: how to assess air quality management policies on a short and on a long term? The integration of the climate factor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Prevot, Aurelie

2014-01-01

This document presents the activities and works performed by the INERIS Institute in the development of tools for the assessment of air quality management policies including the climate factor. This comprises the development of simulations within the frame of the SALUT'AIR project, and also within the frame of the reviewing of the European policy on air quality (directives 2008/50/CE on ambient air quality and 2001/81/CE on national limits of emissions of some pollutants). The CHIMERE model of chemistry and transport is one of these tools. Simulations are performed to analyse the impact of scenarios of air quality management on a short term, in terms of pollutant emissions, pollutant concentration, and particle concentrations. The integration of a climate factor is justified by the existence of interactions between climate and air quality

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.

40 CFR 81.112 - Charleston Intrastate Air Quality Control Region.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... Quality Control Regions § 81.112 Charleston Intrastate Air Quality Control Region. The Charleston Intrastate Air Quality Control Region (South Carolina) consists of the territorial area encompassed by the... Quality Control Region: Region 1. 81.107Greenwood Intrastate Air Quality Control Region: Region 2. 81...

40 CFR 52.2233 - Significant deterioration of air quality.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... quality. 52.2233 Section 52.2233 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR... Significant deterioration of air quality. (a)(1) Paragraph 1200-3-9-.01(4)-(0)-2. of Tennessee's regulations... requesting innovative technology waivers which would significantly impact air quality in adjacent states. (2...

40 CFR 52.270 - Significant deterioration of air quality.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... quality. 52.270 Section 52.270 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR... deterioration of air quality. (a) With the exception of the areas listed in paragraph (b) of this section: (1... plan does not include approvable procedures for preventing the significant deterioration of air quality...

40 CFR 52.144 - Significant deterioration of air quality.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... quality. 52.144 Section 52.144 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR... deterioration of air quality. (a) The requirements of sections 160 through 165 of the Clean Act are not met... lands does not include approvable procedures for preventing the significant deterioration of air quality...

Potential impact of a US climate policy and air quality regulations on future air quality and climate change

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Yunha; Shindell, Drew T.; Faluvegi, Greg; Pinder, Rob W.

2016-04-01

We have investigated how future air quality and climate change are influenced by the US air quality regulations that existed or were proposed in 2013 and a hypothetical climate mitigation policy that aims to reduce 2050 CO2 emissions to be 50 % below 2005 emissions. Using the NASA GISS ModelE2 general circulation model, we look at the impacts for year 2030 and 2055. The US energy-sector emissions are from the GLIMPSE project (GEOS-Chem LIDORT Integrated with MARKAL (MARKet ALlocation) for the Purpose of Scenario Exploration), and other US emissions data sets and the rest of the world emissions data sets are based on the RCP4.5 scenario. The US air quality regulations are projected to have a strong beneficial impact on US air quality and public health in year 2030 and 2055 but result in positive radiative forcing. Under this scenario, no more emission constraints are added after 2020, and the impacts on air quality and climate change are similar between year 2030 and 2055. Surface particulate matter with a diameter smaller than 2.5 µm (PM2.5) is reduced by ˜ 2 µg m-3 on average over the USA, and surface ozone by ˜ 8 ppbv. The improved air quality prevents about 91 400 premature deaths in the USA, mainly due to the PM2.5 reduction (˜ 74 200 lives saved). The air quality regulations reduce the light-reflecting aerosols (i.e., sulfate and organic matter) more than the light-absorbing species (i.e., black carbon and ozone), leading to a strong positive radiative forcing (RF) over the USA by both aerosols' direct and indirect forcing: the total RF is ˜ 0.04 W m-2 over the globe, and ˜ 0.8 W m-2 over the USA. Under the hypothetical climate policy, a future CO2 emissions cut is achieved in part by relying less on coal, and thus SO2 emissions are noticeably reduced. This provides air quality co-benefits, but it could lead to potential climate disbenefits over the USA. In 2055, the US mean total RF is +0.22 W m-2 due to positive aerosol direct and indirect forcing

Potential Impact of a US Climate Policy and Air Quality Regulations on Future Air Quality and Climate Change

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Y. H.; Faluvegi, Gregory S.

2016-01-01

We have investigated how future air quality and climate change are influenced by the US air quality regulations that existed or were proposed in 2013 and a hypothetical climate mitigation policy that aims to reduce 2050 CO2 emissions to be 50% below 2005 emissions. Using the NASA GISS ModelE2 general circulation model, we look at the impacts for year 2030 and 2055. The US energy-sector emissions are from the GLIMPSE project (GEOS-Chem LIDORT Integrated with MARKAL (MARKet ALlocation) for the Purpose of Scenario Exploration), and other US emissions data sets and the rest of the world emissions data sets are based on the RCP4.5 scenario. The US air quality regulations are projected to have a strong beneficial impact on US air quality and public health in year 2030 and 2055 but result in positive radiative forcing. Under this scenario, no more emission constraints are added after 2020, and the impacts on air quality and climate change are similar between year 2030 and 2055. Surface particulate matter with a diameter smaller than 2.5 micron PM(sub 2:5) is reduced by 2 approximately µg/m(sup -3) on average over the USA, and surface ozone by approximately 8 ppbv. The improved air quality prevents about 91 400 premature deaths in the USA, mainly due to the PM(sub 2:5) reduction approximately (74 200 lives saved). The air quality regulations reduce the light-reflecting aerosols (i.e., sulfate and organic matter) more than the light-absorbing species (i.e., black carbon and ozone), leading to a strong positive radiative forcing (RF) over the USA by both aerosols' direct and indirect forcing: the total RF is approximately 0.04 W m(sup -2) over the globe, and approximately 0.8 W m(sup -2) over the USA. Under the hypothetical climate policy, a future CO2 emissions cut is achieved in part by relying less on coal, and thus SO2 emissions are noticeably reduced. This provides air quality co-benefits, but it could lead to potential climate disbenefits over the USA. In 2055, the US

Performance and diagnostic evaluation of ozone predictions by the Eta-Community Multiscale Air Quality Forecast System during the 2002 New England Air Quality Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Shaocai; Mathur, Rohit; Kang, Daiwen; Schere, Kenneth; Eder, Brian; Pleim, Jonathan

2006-10-01

A real-time air quality forecasting system (Eta-Community Multiscale Air Quality [CMAQ] model suite) has been developed by linking the National Centers for Environmental Estimation Eta model to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) CMAQ model. This work presents results from the application of the Eta-CMAQ modeling system for forecasting ozone (O3) over the Northeastern United States during the 2002 New England Air Quality Study (NEAQS). Spatial and temporal performance of the Eta-CMAQ model for O3 was evaluated by comparison with observations from the EPA Air Quality System (AQS) network. This study also examines the ability of the model to simulate the processes governing the distributions of tropospheric O3 on the basis of the intensive datasets obtained at the four Atmospheric Investigation, Regional Modeling, Analysis, and Estimation (AIRMAP) and Harvard Forest (HF) surface sites. The episode analysis reveals that the model captured the buildup of O3 concentrations over the northeastern domain from August 11 and reproduced the spatial distributions of observed O3 very well for the daytime (8:00 p.m.) of both August 8 and 12 with most of normalized mean bias (NMB) within +/- 20%. The model reproduced 53.3% of the observed hourly O3 within a factor of 1.5 with NMB of 29.7% and normalized mean error of 46.9% at the 342 AQS sites. The comparison of modeled and observed lidar O3 vertical profiles shows that whereas the model reproduced the observed vertical structure, it tended to overestimate at higher altitude. The model reproduced 64-77% of observed NO2 photolysis rate values within a factor of 1.5 at the AIRMAP sites. At the HF site, comparison of modeled and observed O3/nitrogen oxide (NOx) ratios suggests that the site is mainly under strongly NOx-sensitive conditions (>53%). It was found that the modeled lower limits of the O3 production efficiency values (inferred from O3-CO correlation) are close to the observations.

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.

Indoor Air Quality

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Selman, Ayser Dawod; Heiselberg, Per

Overall purpose of the research is to provide an overview of the relevance and importance of various defined Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) parameters in a European perspective. Based on the report it should be possible to prioritize which countries to target for further activities as well as it should...

40 CFR 52.2581 - Significant deterioration of air quality.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... quality. 52.2581 Section 52.2581 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR... Significant deterioration of air quality. (a)-(c) [Reserved] (d) The requirements of sections 160 through 165... provisions for prevention of significant deterioration of air quality at 40 CFR 52.21 are applicable to the...

40 CFR 52.986 - Significant deterioration of air quality.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... quality. 52.986 Section 52.986 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR... deterioration of air quality. (a) The plan submitted by the Governor of Louisiana on August 14, 1984 (as adopted... preventing significant deterioration of air quality. (b) The requirements of sections 160 through 165 of the...

40 CFR 52.1634 - Significant deterioration of air quality.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... quality. 52.1634 Section 52.1634 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR... Significant deterioration of air quality. (a) The plan submitted by the Governor of New Mexico on February 21... adopted by the NMEID on March 9, 1990), Air Quality Control Regulation 707—Permits, Prevention of...

Hospital-acquired infections associated with poor air quality in air-conditioned environments

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daniela Pinheiro da Silva

2013-10-01

Full Text Available Backgound and Objectives: Individuals living in cities increasingly spend more time indoors in air-conditioned environments. Air conditioner contamination can be caused by the presence of aerosols from the external or internal environment, which may be associated with disease manifestations in patients present in this type of environment. Therefore, the aim of this review was to assess the air quality in air-conditioned hospital environments as a risk factor for hospital-acquired infections – HAI – as the air can be a potential source of infection, as well as assess the exposure of professionals and patients to different pollutants. Material and Methods: A literature review was performed in the LILACS, MEDLINE, SCIELO, SCIENCE DIRECT databases, CAPES thesis database and Ministry of Health – Brazil, including studies published between 1982 and 2008. The literature search was grouped according to the thematic focus, as follows: ventilation, maintenance and cleaning of systems that comprehend the environmental quality standard. Discussion and Conclusion: Outbreaks of hospital-acquired infections associated with Aspergillus, Acinetobacter, Legionella, and other genera such as Clostridium and Nocardia, which were found in air conditioners, were observed, thus indicating the need for air-conditioning quality control in these environments.

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

Regional Air Quality Data

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — This asset provides data on regional air quality, including trace level SO2, nitric acid, ozone, carbon monoxide, and NOy; and particulate sulfate, nitrate, and...

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)

Air quality management in China: issues, challenges, and options.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Shuxiao; Hao, Jiming

2012-01-01

This article analyzed the control progress and current status of air quality, identified the major air pollution issues and challenges in future, proposed the long-term air pollution control targets, and suggested the options for better air quality in China. With the continuing growth of economy in the next 10-15 years, China will face a more severe situation of energy consumption, electricity generation and vehicle population leading to increase in multiple pollutant emissions. Controlling regional air pollution especially fine particles and ozone, as well as lowering carbon emissions from fossil fuel consumption will be a big challenge for the country. To protect public health and the eco-system, the ambient air quality in all Chinese cities shall attain the national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) and ambient air quality guideline values set by the World Health Organization (WHO). To achieve the air quality targets, the emissions of SO2, NOx, PM10, and volatile organic compounds (VOC) should decrease by 60%, 40%, 50%, and 40%, respectively, on the basis of that in 2005. A comprehensive control policy focusing on multiple pollutants and emission sources at both the local and regional levels was proposed to mitigate the regional air pollution issue in China. The options include development of clean energy resources, promotion of clean and efficient coal use, enhancement of vehicle pollution control, implementation of synchronous control of multiple pollutants including SO2, NOx, VOC, and PM emissions, joint prevention and control of regional air pollution, and application of climate friendly air pollution control measures.

Investigation of infiltration and indoor air quality

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1990-03-01

A multitask study was performed in the State of New York to provide information for guiding home energy conservation programs while maintaining acceptable indoor air quality. During the study, the statistical distribution of radon concentrations inside 2,400 homes was determined. The relationships among radon levels, house characteristics, and sources were also investigated. The direct impact that two specific air infiltration reduction measures--caulking and weatherstripping of windows and doors, and installation of storm windows and storm doors--have on house air leakage was investigated in 60 homes. The effect of house age on the impact of weatherization was also evaluated. Indoor and outdoor measurements of NO 2 , CO, SO 2 , and respirable suspended particulates (RSP) were made for 400 homes to determine the effect of combustion sources on indoor air quality and to characterize the statistical distribution of the concentrations. Finally, the combustion source data were combined with the information on air infiltration reduction measures to estimate the potential impact of these measures on indoor air quality

40 CFR 51.860 - Mitigation of air quality impacts.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Mitigation of air quality impacts. 51... Federal Actions to State or Federal Implementation Plans § 51.860 Mitigation of air quality impacts. Link... mitigate air quality impacts must be identified and the process for implementation and enforcement of such...

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

Importance and Challenges in Use and Uptake of Air Quality Modelling in Developing Countries: Use of CAMx for Air Quality Management in the City of Johannesburg.

Science.gov (United States)

Garland, R. M.; Naidoo, M.; Sibiya, B.; Naidoo, S.; Bird, T.; von Gruenewaldt, R.; Liebenberg-Enslin, H.; Nekhwalivhe, M.; Netshandama, J.; Mahlatji, M.

2017-12-01

Ambient air pollution levels are regulated in South Africa; however in many areas pollution concentrations exceed these levels. The South African Air Quality Act also stipulates that government across all levels must have Air Quality Management Plans (AQMP) in place that outline the current state of air quality and emissions, as well as the implementable plan to manage, and where necessary improve, air quality. Historically, dispersion models have been used to support air quality management decisions, including in AQMPs. However, with the focus of air quality management shifting from focusing on industrial point sources to a more integrated and holistic management of all sources, chemical transport models are needed. CAMx was used in the review and development of the City of Johannesburg's AQMP to simulate hot spots of air pollution, as well as to model intervention scenarios. As the pollutants of concern in Johannesburg are ozone and particulate matter, it is critical to use a model that can simulate chemistry. CAMx was run at 1 km with a locally derived emissions inventory for 2014. The sources of pollution in the City are diverse (including, industrial, vehicles, domestic burning, natural), and many sources have large uncertainties in estimating emissions due to lack of necessary data and local emission factors. These uncertainties, together with a lack of measurements to validate the model against, hinder the performance of the model to simulate air quality and thus inform air quality management. However, as air quality worsens in Africa, it is critical for decision makers to have a strong evidence base on the state of air quality and impact of interventions in order to improve air quality effectively. This presentation will highlight the findings from using a chemical transport model for air quality management in the largest city in South Africa, the use and limitations of these for decision-makers, and proposed way forward.

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.

40 CFR 52.60 - Significant deterioration of air quality.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... quality. 52.60 Section 52.60 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR... deterioration of air quality. (a) All applications and other information required pursuant to § 52.21 from... “Guideline on Air Quality Models (Revised)” or other models approved by EPA. [42 FR 22869, May 5, 1977, as...

40 CFR 52.1436 - Significant deterioration of air quality.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 4 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Significant deterioration of air quality. 52.1436 Section 52.1436 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR... Significant deterioration of air quality. The requirements of sections 160 through 165 of the Clean Air Act...

Exploring the potential relationship between indoor air quality and the concentration of airborne culturable fungi: a combined experimental and neural network modeling study.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Zhijian; Cheng, Kewei; Li, Hao; Cao, Guoqing; Wu, Di; Shi, Yunjie

2018-02-01

Indoor airborne culturable fungi exposure has been closely linked to occupants' health. However, conventional measurement of indoor airborne fungal concentration is complicated and usually requires around one week for fungi incubation in laboratory. To provide an ultra-fast solution, here, for the first time, a knowledge-based machine learning model is developed with the inputs of indoor air quality data for estimating the concentration of indoor airborne culturable fungi. To construct a database for statistical analysis and model training, 249 data groups of air quality indicators (concentration of indoor airborne culturable fungi, indoor/outdoor PM 2.5 and PM 10 concentrations, indoor temperature, indoor relative humidity, and indoor CO 2 concentration) were measured from 85 residential buildings of Baoding (China) during the period of 2016.11.15-2017.03.15. Our results show that artificial neural network (ANN) with one hidden layer has good prediction performances, compared to a support vector machine (SVM). With the tolerance of ± 30%, the prediction accuracy of the ANN model with ten hidden nodes can at highest reach 83.33% in the testing set. Most importantly, we here provide a quick method for estimating the concentration of indoor airborne fungi that can be applied to real-time evaluation.

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.

Congestion transition in air traffic networks.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bernardo Monechi

Full Text Available Air Transportation represents a very interesting example of a complex techno-social system whose importance has considerably grown in time and whose management requires a careful understanding of the subtle interplay between technological infrastructure and human behavior. Despite the competition with other transportation systems, a growth of air traffic is still foreseen in Europe for the next years. The increase of traffic load could bring the current Air Traffic Network above its capacity limits so that safety standards and performances might not be guaranteed anymore. Lacking the possibility of a direct investigation of this scenario, we resort to computer simulations in order to quantify the disruptive potential of an increase in traffic load. To this end we model the Air Transportation system as a complex dynamical network of flights controlled by humans who have to solve potentially dangerous conflicts by redirecting aircraft trajectories. The model is driven and validated through historical data of flight schedules in a European national airspace. While correctly reproducing actual statistics of the Air Transportation system, e.g., the distribution of delays, the model allows for theoretical predictions. Upon an increase of the traffic load injected in the system, the model predicts a transition from a phase in which all conflicts can be successfully resolved, to a phase in which many conflicts cannot be resolved anymore. We highlight how the current flight density of the Air Transportation system is well below the transition, provided that controllers make use of a special re-routing procedure. While the congestion transition displays a universal scaling behavior, its threshold depends on the conflict solving strategy adopted. Finally, the generality of the modeling scheme introduced makes it a flexible general tool to simulate and control Air Transportation systems in realistic and synthetic scenarios.

Congestion transition in air traffic networks.

Science.gov (United States)

Monechi, Bernardo; Servedio, Vito D P; Loreto, Vittorio

2015-01-01

Air Transportation represents a very interesting example of a complex techno-social system whose importance has considerably grown in time and whose management requires a careful understanding of the subtle interplay between technological infrastructure and human behavior. Despite the competition with other transportation systems, a growth of air traffic is still foreseen in Europe for the next years. The increase of traffic load could bring the current Air Traffic Network above its capacity limits so that safety standards and performances might not be guaranteed anymore. Lacking the possibility of a direct investigation of this scenario, we resort to computer simulations in order to quantify the disruptive potential of an increase in traffic load. To this end we model the Air Transportation system as a complex dynamical network of flights controlled by humans who have to solve potentially dangerous conflicts by redirecting aircraft trajectories. The model is driven and validated through historical data of flight schedules in a European national airspace. While correctly reproducing actual statistics of the Air Transportation system, e.g., the distribution of delays, the model allows for theoretical predictions. Upon an increase of the traffic load injected in the system, the model predicts a transition from a phase in which all conflicts can be successfully resolved, to a phase in which many conflicts cannot be resolved anymore. We highlight how the current flight density of the Air Transportation system is well below the transition, provided that controllers make use of a special re-routing procedure. While the congestion transition displays a universal scaling behavior, its threshold depends on the conflict solving strategy adopted. Finally, the generality of the modeling scheme introduced makes it a flexible general tool to simulate and control Air Transportation systems in realistic and synthetic scenarios.

40 CFR 81.111 - Georgetown Intrastate Air Quality Control Region.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... Quality Control Regions § 81.111 Georgetown Intrastate Air Quality Control Region. The Georgetown Intrastate Air Quality Control Region (South Carolina) consists of the territorial area encompassed by the... 40 Protection of Environment 17 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Georgetown Intrastate Air Quality...

40 CFR 81.107 - Greenwood Intrastate Air Quality Control Region.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... Quality Control Regions § 81.107 Greenwood Intrastate Air Quality Control Region. The Greenwood Intrastate Air Quality Control Region (South Carolina) consists of the territorial area encompassed by the... 40 Protection of Environment 17 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Greenwood Intrastate Air Quality...

40 CFR 81.108 - Columbia Intrastate Air Quality Control Region.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... Quality Control Regions § 81.108 Columbia Intrastate Air Quality Control Region. The Columbia Intrastate Air Quality Control Region (South Carolina) consists of the territorial area encompassed by the... 40 Protection of Environment 17 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Columbia Intrastate Air Quality...

40 CFR 81.109 - Florence Intrastate Air Quality Control Region.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... Quality Control Regions § 81.109 Florence Intrastate Air Quality Control Region. The Florence Intrastate Air Quality Control Region (South Carolina) consists of the territorial area encompassed by the... 40 Protection of Environment 17 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Florence Intrastate Air Quality...

40 CFR 81.51 - Portland Interstate Air Quality Control Region.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... Quality Control Regions § 81.51 Portland Interstate Air Quality Control Region. The Portland Interstate Air Quality Control Region (Oregon-Washington) has been revised to consist of the territorial area... Portland Interstate Air Quality Control Region (Oregon-Washington) will be referred to by Washington...

40 CFR 81.35 - Louisville Interstate Air Quality Control Region.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... Quality Control Regions § 81.35 Louisville Interstate Air Quality Control Region. The Louisville Interstate Air Quality Control Region (Kentucky-Indiana) consists of the territorial area encompassed by the... 40 Protection of Environment 17 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Louisville Interstate Air Quality...

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.

Annual survey air quality 2003-2006

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

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

2007-01-01

Results from the Dutch National Air Quality Monitoring Network (LML) show that several European air quality limit values were exceeded in the Netherlands between 2003 and 2006. This applied mainly to nitrogen dioxide, particulate matter (PM10) and ozone. The number of exceedances was especially high in 2003, partly due to weather conditions such as enduring dry episodes. Ozone concentration levels above the alert threshold (smog alert) were measured in 2003 and 2006, with concentration levels above the alert threshold occurring mostly during heat episodes. Measurements for nitrogen dioxide showed a yearly average concentration at city street locations above the European limit value at approximately half the measuring sites between 2003 and 2006. Yearly average concentrations measured at regional locations have changed relatively little in the past four years, remaining below the limit value for this entire period. Particulate matter concentrations have been relatively constant in the past few three years, after peaking in 2003. There is an EU standard for particulate matter for short- and long-term exposure of the population, which is represented by year and day average concentrations, with a maximum number of exceedances per year allowed. The year averages for the 2003 to 2006 period are less than the standard for long-term exposure. The maximum number of days showing average concentrations above the limit value was violated at several locations in 2006. Both nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter are characterized by a clear downward trend when measured over a long period of time (15 and 14 years, respectively). However, it is not possible to determine from the past seven years whether this trend is still valid [nl

Perceived indoor air quality and its relationship to air pollutants in French dwellings.

Science.gov (United States)

Langer, S; Ramalho, O; Le Ponner, E; Derbez, M; Kirchner, S; Mandin, C

2017-11-01

Perception of indoor air quality (PIAQ) was evaluated in a nationwide survey of 567 French dwellings, and this survey was combined with measurements of gaseous and particulate matter (PM 10 and PM 2.5 ) indoor air pollutants and indoor climate parameters. The perception was assessed on a nine-grade scale by both the occupants of the dwellings and the inspectors who performed the measurements. The occupants perceived the air quality in their homes as more pleasant than the inspectors. The inspectors perceived the air quality as more unpleasant in dwellings in which the residents smoked indoors. Significant associations between PIAQ and indoor air pollutant concentrations were observed for both the inspectors and, to a lesser extent, the occupants. Introducing confounding parameters, such as building and personal characteristics, into a multivariate model suppressed most of the observed bivariate correlations and identified the tenure status of the occupants and their occupation as the parameters that most influenced their PIAQ. For the inspectors, perceived air quality was affected by the presence of smokers, the season, the type of ventilation, retrofitting, and the concentrations of acetaldehyde and acrolein. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Impact of air quality guidelines on COPD sufferers

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Youcheng; Yan, Shuang; Poh, Karen; Liu, Suyang; Iyioriobhe, Emanehi; Sterling, David A

2016-01-01

Background COPD is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in both high- and low-income countries and a major public health burden worldwide. While cigarette smoking remains the main cause of COPD, outdoor and indoor air pollution are important risk factors to its etiology. Although studies over the last 30 years helped reduce the values, it is not very clear if the current air quality guidelines are adequately protective for COPD sufferers. Objective This systematic review was to summarize the up-to-date literature on the impact of air pollution on the COPD sufferers. Methods PubMed and Google Scholar were utilized to search for articles related to our study’s focus. Search terms included “COPD exacerbation”, “air pollution”, “air quality guidelines”, “air quality standards”, “COPD morbidity and mortality”, “chronic bronchitis”, and “air pollution control” separately and in combination. We focused on articles from 1990 to 2015. We also used articles prior to 1990 if they contained relevant information. We focused on articles written in English or with an English abstract. We also used the articles in the reference lists of the identified articles. Results Both short-term and long-term exposures to outdoor air pollution around the world are associated with the mortality and morbidity of COPD sufferers even at levels below the current air quality guidelines. Biomass cooking in low-income countries was clearly associated with COPD morbidity in adult nonsmoking females. Conclusion There is a need to continue to improve the air quality guidelines. A range of intervention measures could be selected at different levels based on countries’ socioeconomic conditions to reduce the air pollution exposure and COPD burden. PMID:27143874

40 CFR 52.884 - Significant deterioration of air quality.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Significant deterioration of air quality. 52.884 Section 52.884 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR... deterioration of air quality. (a) The requirements of section 160 through 165 of the Clean Air Act, as amended...

Improving Indoor Air Quality

Science.gov (United States)

Usually the most effective way to improve indoor air quality is to eliminate individual sources of pollution or to reduce their emissions. Some sources, like those that contain asbestos, can be sealed or enclosed.

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...