Designating Air Quality Management Areas (AQMAs) in the UK Implications for Securing UK Air Quality Objectives

Across the United Kingdom, the majority of local authoritieshave now completed their first phase of local air qualityreview and assessment work, as required under the AirQuality Strategy for England, Scotland, Wales and NorthernIreland (DETR, 2000a). Emerging from this first phasework is an anticipated suite of over 110 Air QualityManagement Areas (AQMAs). These areas are identifiedlocations where one or more of the national air qualityobjectives are predicted to exceed by specific target dates,and their spatial extent and shape is emerging as highlyvariable. Local authorities are guided to use a variety ofscientific tools to underpin the scientific assessments, anda consideration of uncertainty in both the tools used andsubsequent delineation of AQMAs is likely to affect theemerging management areas significantly. With subsidiarity underpinning the process of local air qualitymanagement (LAQM), local decision-making is anticipated toinfluence the outcome of the LAQM process in its entirety,with the declaration of AQMAs necessitating the preparationand implementation of air quality action plans. UKexperience of the effective management of local air quality,through the designation of AQMAs, demonstrates a valuableframework for other European countries developing mechanismsto manage air quality locally.     

Estimation of Cumulative Frequency Distribution for Carbon Monoxide Concentration from Wind-Speed Data, in Buenos Aires (Argentina)

In this article we apply and test a methodology to estimate cumulative frequency distribution for air pollutant concentration from wind-speed data. We use the inverse relationship after Simpson et al. (Atmospheric Environment, 19, 75–82, 1985) between the opposing percentile values in the statistical distributions for air pollutant concentrations and wind-speed data. This relationship is valid, irrespective of the statistical distributions of both variables, if an inverse relationship between them is also applicable. The available data are five years of 8-h average carbon monoxide concentration and 8-h mean wind-speed, observed in Buenos Aires (Argentina). The performance of the obtained empirical expressions in estimating cumulative frequency distributions for 8-h CO is statistically evaluated. The results show that it is possible to obtain an acceptable cumulative frequency distribution for 8-h CO concentration at the site if the cumulative frequency distribution for wind-speed is known. Q–Q plots show a good agreement between estimated and observed values. From our data, the mean relative error of the estimations was found to be as much as 8.0%.     

Potential and Shortcomings of Numerical Weather Prediction Models in Providing Meteorological Data for Urban Air Pollution Forecasting

The last decade progress in numericalweather prediction (NWP) modelling and studies of urbanatmospheric processes for providing meteorological data forurban air pollution forecasting is analysed on examples ofseveral European meteorological centres. Modern nested NWP models are utilising land-use databasesdown to 1 km resolution or finer, and are approaching thenecessary horizontal and vertical resolution suitable forcity scale. The recent scientific developments in the fieldof urban atmospheric physics and the growing availabilityof high-resolution urban surface characteristics datapromise further improvements of the capability of NWPmodels for this aim. A strategy to improve NWP data forthe urban air pollution forecasting is suggested.     

Comprehensive temperature monitoring in an in-vessel forced-aeration static-bed composting process

Comprehensive temperature monitoring was done in an in-vessel forced-aeration static-bed composting process using sewage sludge. The three layers that divided the compost pile horizontally showed different temperature distributions. The temperature of the top layer appeared not to be influenced by the ambient temperature. The temperature of the center area of the top layer was taken to be the representative temperature for evaluating composting start-up performance. The temperature of the bottom layer was strongly influenced by the ambient temperature, and the temperature of the center area of the bottom layer was taken to be the representative temperature for pathogen control as it was the minimum temperature in the reactor. Composting start-up performance was influenced by several factors when the ambient temperature was either below or above 20°C. When the ambient temperature was below 20°C, the time taken to reach 65°C (T ₆₅) was influenced by the temperature of inflowing air, but when the temperature was higher than 20°C, it was influenced by the ratio of sewage sludge to seed compost (F/S). T ₆₅ was least when F/S was 1–2. Received: January 9, 2001 / Accepted: October 10, 2001     

Integrated Assessment of Air Pollution Abatement Strategies in Urban Areas: Application to the Greater Athens Area

This paper presents an integrated system for the assessmentof technical and non-technical measures that are putforward in order to reduce air pollution levels in urbanareas. In contrast to the majority of the currentlyemployed assessment tools, this system allows for theevaluation of any proposed air pollution control measure interms of its combined impact on air quality and socialwelfare, by correlating the environmental and economicaspects of alternative air pollution abatement solutions.Based on the multi-pollutant, multi-effect concept, thesystem presented aims in providing policy-makers with areliable tool for the objective assessment of the mostcost-effective packages of measures, the latter beingallocated according to the particular features and needs ofthe areas examined.     

CFD Prediction of Air Quality in the Area between Two City Vehicular Tunnels Considering Moving Cars

Concentration fields of different pollutants that spread outside two roadtunnels predicted with a CFD code will be presented. The solution domain represents the city area located between two tunnel outlets – tunnel Strahov and tunnel Mrazovka in Prague. The vicinity of both tunnels is a heavily built up area with tall buildings forming typical street canyons. The CFD modelling predicts the situation after the tunnel Mrazovka will be finished and traffic will increase considerably between both tunnels. Namely, an interest was given to the prediction of dispersion of emissions leaving both tunnel and the area touched by the traffic. For the CFD predictions, a method previously developed for moving vehicles was used. The method uses combination of Eulerian and Lagrangian approaches to moving objects and is capable of modeling different speeds and traffic rates of cars as well as traffic-induced turbulence. Influence of several meteorological parameters was studied, namely wind speed and direction and traffic parameters, like traffic rates and speed of cars. The method separates contributions from different sources to the total concentration field, namely from background, tunnel outlet and roadway. Results are presented in the form of horizontal and vertical concentration fields of NO_x.     

一种新型的机场空中驱鸟方法的研究

本文针对鸟撞这一世界性的问题，提出了一种机场驱鸟的新方法，该方法采用航模携带音频设备，频闪及摄像机等的空中复合驱鸟系统。通过对该方法的工作原理及方法的可行性进行了分析，得出了如下结论：该方法能够克服地面驱鸟系统的不足，进一步净化机场上空的范围，改善驱鸟效果，极大地减少了飞机起降时鸟撞的机会；发展专用的空中驱鸟系统不仅是必需，而且是必然的。     

CAF涡凹气浮处理含油废水的中试试验研究

针对石化公司污水成分复杂,COD和油含量较高,还含有较多的硫化物、挥发酚和氨氮(NH3-N)等情况,选用一种新型的气浮设备CAF涡凹气浮系统对该含油废水进行了预处理中试试验。试验结果表明CAF处理石化含油废水效果明显,气浮处理效果好,出水油在10 mg/L以下,去除率高达95%,且CAF气浮的电耗小、占地面积小、操作管理和维修非常简便。采用CAF设备,占地面积可节省70%～80%,每年可节约电费50～60万元(按1000 m3/h,0.8元/kW·h),操作使用也极其简单,具有可观的经济效益。     

排污收费政策失灵分析

在市场经济体制下,经常会出现政策失灵。本文首先介绍了政策失灵的基本理论,然后对我国的排污收费政策失灵进行了深入分析,最后提出了完善我国排污收费政策的对策。     

试论环境产业技术的法律规制

本文对环境产业技术的法律规制进行了初步论述，并就此提出了一些相关的法律制度构想。