Relative Importance of School Bus-Related Microenvironments to Children’s Pollutant Exposure

Abstract

Real‐time concentrations of black carbon, particle‐bound polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, nitrogen dioxide, and fine particulate counts, as well as integrated and real‐time fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) mass concentrations were measured inside school buses during long commutes on Los Angeles Unified School District bus routes, at bus stops along the routes, at the bus loading/unloading zone in front of the selected school, and at nearby urban “background” sites. Across all of the pollutants, mean concentrations during bus commutes were higher than in any other microenvironment. Mean exposures (mean concentration times time spent in a particular microenvironment) in bus commutes were between 50 and 200 times greater than those for the loading/unloading microenvironment, and 20–40 times higher than those for the bus stops, depending on the pollutant. Although the analyzed school bus commutes represented only 10% of a child’s day, on average they contributed one‐third of a child’s 24‐hr overall black carbon exposure during a school day. For species closely related to vehicle exhaust, the within‐cabin exposures were generally dominated by the effect of surrounding traffic when windows were open and by the bus’s own exhaust when windows were closed. Low‐emitting buses generally exhibited high concentrations only when traveling behind a diesel vehicle, whereas high‐emitting buses exhibited high concentrations both when following other diesel vehicles and when idling without another diesel vehicle in front of the bus. To reduce school bus commute exposures, we recommend minimizing commute times, avoiding caravanning with other school buses, using the cleanest buses for the longest bus routes, maintaining conventional diesel buses to eliminate visible emissions, and transitioning to cleaner fuels and advanced particulate control technologies as soon as possible.     

Carbonyl emissions from vehicular exhausts sources in Hong Kong

Vehicular emission (VE) is one of the important anthropogenic sources for airborne carbonyls in urban area. Six types of VE-dominated samples were collected at representative locations in Hong Kong where polluted by a particular fueled type of vehicles, including (i) a gas refilling taxis station (liquefied petroleum gas [LPG] emission); (ii) a light-duty passenger car park (gasoline emission); (iii) a minibus station (diesel emission); (iv) a single-deck-bus depot (diesel emission); (v) a double-deck-bus depot (diesel emission); and (vi) a whole-food market entrance for light- and heavy-duty vehicles (diesel emission). A total of 15 carbonyls in the samples were quantified. Formaldehyde was the most abundant carbonyl among the VE-dominated samples, and its contribution to the total quantified amount on a molar basis ranged from 54.8% to 60.8%. Acetaldehyde and acetone were the next two abundant carbonyls. The carbonyls were quantified at three roadside locations in Hong Kong. The highest concentrations of formaldehyde and acetaldehyde, 22.7 +/- 8.4 and 6.0 +/- 2.8 microg/m3, respectively, were determined in the samples collected at a main transportation gate for goods between Hong Kong and Mainland China. The total quantified carbonyl concentration, 37.9 +/- 9.3 microg/m3, was the highest at an entrance of a cross-harbor tunnel in downtown area. The theoretical carbonyls compositions of the three roadside locations were estimated according to the VE-dominated sample profiles and the statistics on vehicle numbers and types during the sampling period. The measured compositions of formaldehyde were much higher than the theoretical compositions in summer, demonstrating that photochemical reactions significantly contributed to the formaldehyde production in the roadsides.     

Review of Pesticide Retention Processes Occurring in Buffer Strips Receiving Agricultural Runoff1

Arora, Kapil, Steven K. Mickelson, Matthew J. Helmers, and James L. Baker, 2010. Review of Pesticide Retention Processes Occurring in Buffer Strips Receiving Agricultural Runoff. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 46(3):618-647. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752-1688.2010.00438.x Abstract: Review of the published results shows that the retention of the two pesticide carrier phases (runoff volume and sediment mass) influences pesticide mass transport through buffer strips. Data averaged across different studies showed that the buffer strips retained 45% of runoff volume (ranging between 0 and 100%) and 76% of sediment mass (ranging between 2 and 100%). Sorption (soil sorption coefficient, K_oc) is one key pesticide property affecting its transport with the two carrier phases through buffer strips. Data from different studies for pesticide mass retention for weakly (K_oc < 100), moderately (100 < K_oc < 1,000), and strongly sorbed pesticides (K_oc > 1,000) averaged (with ranges) 61 (0-100), 63 (0-100), and 76 (53-100) %, respectively. Because there are more data for runoff volume and sediment mass retention, the average retentions of both carrier phases were used to calculate that the buffer strips would retain 45% of weakly to moderately sorbed and 70% of strongly sorbed pesticides on an average basis. As pesticide mass retention presented is only an average across several studies with different experimental setups, the application of these results to actual field conditions should be carefully examined.     

南京北郊秋冬季相对湿度及气溶胶理化特性对大气能见度的影响

为了解南京北郊秋冬季相对湿度与气溶胶理化特性对大气能见度的影响,利用2012年秋冬季气象要素资料、颗粒物浓度及其主要成分和气溶胶粒子谱分布等观测数据,分析了南京北郊大气能见度与气象要素、颗粒物污染之间的关系.结果表明,南京北郊秋冬季节平均大气能见度仅为4.76 km.颗粒物浓度与能见度存在一定的负相关关系,尤其细粒子对能见度的影响更为显著.随细粒子质量浓度和相对湿度(RH)的增大,低能见度出现的频率呈现上升趋势.能见度从5~10 km衰减到5km时,PM10和PM2.1质量浓度分别增加了7.56%和37.64%;其中SO2-4和NO-3质量浓度均有显著增加.气溶胶粒子数浓度对能见度的影响与相对湿度有关,粒径0.5~2μm的气溶胶数浓度随RH增加增长缓慢,而2~10μm范围内的粒子数浓度随RH增加而减小;结合气溶胶表面积浓度与能见度进行相关性分析,表明0.5~2μm的细粒子及相对湿度是导致南京北郊秋冬季大气能见度下降的主要因素.     

模拟气候升温对湿地土壤微生物群落及磷素形态的影响

通过构建微宇宙湿地柱模拟气候升温的方法,采用高通量测序和核磁共振技术,分别研究了湿地土壤微生物群落和磷素形态对暖化作用的响应特征.结果表明,暖化作用导致了Firmicutes、Clostridia、Clostridiales、Clostridiaceae和Clostridium的相对丰度分别显著下降65%~98%、69%~87%、67%~87%、73%~97%和74%~93%,这表明暖化作用对不同分类水平上的物种Firmicutes到Clostridium具有显著的抑制效应.通过主坐标分析和聚类分析,不同湿地柱采样点的暖化组与对照组样本表现出显著的分离特征,揭示了暖化作用能够诱导微生物群落组成发生显著性变化.磷酸单酯和正磷酸盐是各湿地柱土壤主导的磷素形态,同时暖化作用导致了XX湿地柱采样点的磷酸单酯和正磷酸盐相对丰度分别显著升高275%和下降20%,JH湿地柱采样点的磷酸单酯和多聚磷酸盐相对丰度分别显著升高85%和下降49%,这表明不同磷素形态对暖化作用的响应具有土壤异质性特征.通过典型对应分析,揭示了暖化条件下微生物群落组成的显著变化对磷素形态具有显著的影响效应.     

西安市重污染与清洁天PM2.5组分及其活性氧物质对比

针对重霾污染,在西安市冬季重污染日(2015-11-30~2015-12-09)和清洁日(2016-01-13~2016-01-22)各进行了为期10d的PM_(2.5)采集,测量其中的有机碳、元素碳,及NH_4~+、NO_3~-、SO_4~(2-)等无机水溶性离子,探讨两种污染条件下的组分特征及其成因.结果表明:观测期,重霾日和清洁日PM_(2.5)质量浓度分别为(170±47.5)μg·m~(-3)和(48.6±17.9)μg·m~(-3),且重霾日伴随低能见度、高湿静风等多种不利气象条件;重霾日二次无机离子(NH_4~+、NO_3~-、SO_4~(2-))组分占PM_(2.5)质量浓度的49.8%±13.1%,而清洁日为19.4%±5.95%,并且重霾日硫氧化速率(sulfur oxidation ratio,SOR)和氮氧化速率(nitrogen oxidation ratio,NOR)分别为0.282±0.157和0.269±0.124,远高于清洁日(SOR和NOR分别为0.189±0.057和0.077±0.046),重霾日二次有机组分浓度[(6.22±3.87)μg·m~(-3)]是清洁日[(1.44±1.63)μg·m~(-3)]的5倍,表明二次污染及不利气象条件是造成重霾期间相关组分浓度升高的重要原因.最后,通过二氯荧光黄双乙酸盐(2',7'-DCFH)化学荧光分析法测定了其中活性氧物质(reactive oxygen species,ROS)的浓度,探讨其对于二次无机组分形成的影响,结果表明观测期ROS平均浓度(以H_2O_2计)分别为(4.99±1.54)nmol·m~(-3)(重霾期),(0.492±0.356)nmol·m~(-3)(清洁期),二次反应及积累效应可能是西安重霾条件下ROS浓度升高的主要原因.NO_3~-、SO_4~(2-)与ROS均呈现正相关(P0.05),表明ROS可能通过二次氧化过程参与到二次无机组分形成过程中.     

碳素纤维在近岸海洋污染物磷酸盐、硅酸盐处理中的应用

对碳素纤维进行氧化改性,利用改性后的碳素纤维处理近岸污染海水,重点研究了改性碳素纤维对海水中活性磷酸盐和活性硅酸盐的吸附作用。考察了碳素纤维液相改性时间、碳素纤维投加量、活性磷酸盐初始浓度、活性硅酸盐初始浓度、吸附时间、海况、pH值等单因素对近岸海洋污染物磷酸盐、硅酸盐吸附效果的影响。研究结果表明:改性碳素纤维对硅酸盐的吸附效果较好,去除率可达70%,对活性磷酸盐的去除率为31%左右。通过正交实验确定改性碳素纤维材料修复模拟近岸海水的优化条件为:碳素纤维改性时间为1.5 h,投加量为0.01 g,硅酸盐初始浓度为3mg/L,磷酸盐初始浓度为20 mg/L,海况为3级,pH值为8,吸附时间为3 h。在此条件下,碳素纤维对磷酸盐的去除率可达31.06%,硅酸盐去除率可达70.88%。     

我国大气中挥发性有机物的分布特征

大气中挥发性有机物(VOCs)是臭氧和二次有机气溶胶形成的关键前体物之一,研究表明烷烃、烯烃、芳香烃是我国大气VOCs的重要组分。在不同区域,城市地区烷烃含量最高,而偏远地区芳香烃为含量最丰富的VOCs。VOCs浓度日间变化多呈双峰分布趋势,峰值多出现在早晨与傍晚的上下班高峰期。目前对我国臭氧污染事件的研究均表明芳香烃和烯烃是对臭氧生成贡献最大的化合物。VOCs源解析中广泛运用的模型包括CMB、PMF和PCA/APCS,各模型均存在优点和局限性。比较各地VOCs源解析结果,发现交通排放源和工业排放源为我国VOCs的主要人为来源。VOCs的跨区域传输决定与周边地区的合作将是未来空气治理中的发展方向。     

Ag-AgI/CN/MA复合物的制备及其可见光催化性能

采用沉淀法和热聚合法分别将AgI、氮化碳(CN)负载在介孔γ-Al_2O_3(MA)上,并通过光还原银离子成功制备了等离子体诱导可见光催化剂Ag-AgI/CN/MA.利用X射线衍射(XRD)、X射线光电子能谱(XPS)、场发射扫描电子显微镜(FESEM)、紫外可见漫反射光谱(UV-vis DRS)和透射电子显微镜(TEM)对Ag-AgI/CN/MA复合材料进行表征,并对其在可见光照射下(λ420 nm)的光催化性能进行了研究,考察了初始溶液pH值及催化剂投加量等条件对光催化反应的影响.结果表明,表面银以Ag+和Ag0形式共存,并且Ag和AgI均匀地分散在CN的表面.与CN和Ag-AgI/MA相比,Ag-AgI/CN/MA复合物对甲基橙(MO)具有更高的可见光催化降解效率,且反应过程中Ag+的释放量显著减少,显示出良好的稳定性.当溶液pH值为7、催化剂投加量为1 g·L~(-1)时,Ag-AgI/CN/MA-2显示出最优的催化性能.同时,其对罗丹明B(Rh B)、甲基红(MR)和刚果红(CR)等不同电性的染料均体现出良好的催化性能.     

基于臭氧溶胞的活性污泥减量化技术

目前常见的活性污泥减量技术主要包括解偶联技术、微生物的捕食作用以及隐性生长三种方法。基于臭氧氧化溶胞作用从而强化细菌隐性生长的污泥减量技术具有较好的处理效果及良好的应用前景。着重探讨了臭氧溶胞作用的机理及溶胞过程的影响因素。考虑到污泥减量技术在实际污水处理系统中的应用,探讨了臭氧溶胞对污水生物处理系统的影响。