Judging Survey Quality: Local Variances

The present study was undertaken to explore possibilities to judge survey quality on basis of a limited and restricted number of a-priori observations. Here, quality is defined as the ratio between survey and local variance (signal-to-noiseratio). The results indicate that the presented surveys do not permit such judgement. Furthermore, the discussion alsosuggests that the 5-fold local sampling strategies do not merit any sound judgement in about 10% of all cases.The results further imply that surveys will benefit from procedures, controls and approaches in sampling and sample handling, to assess both average, variance and the nature of the distribution of elemental concentrations in local sites. This reasoning is compatible with the idea of the site as a basic homogeneous survey unit, which is implicitly and conceptually underlying any survey performed.     

Air Quality Monitoring and Management in Lisbon

The environmental decision-making process is related with the interpretation of data both in spatial and temporal dimensions. This paper presents a methodology that integrates the time-space framework of air quality data to infer the temporal pattern and spatial variability that could be interpreted for environmental decision purposes. Variograms that accommodate time and space lags were used for the analysis and proved to be effective. Its environmental meaning, in particular its relationship with traffic patterns is discussed. Data from air quality monitoring stations located in the central part of Lisbon were used in this study. It describes a strategy to identify the type of vehicles responsible for certain pollutant levels, particularly for nitrogen oxides, and discusses the application of new air quality European legislation to the city of Lisbon, Portugal.     

Monitoring Air Quality in Mountains: Designing an Effective Network

A quantitatively robust yet parsimonious air-quality monitoring network in mountainous regions requires special attention to relevant spatial and temporal scales of measurement and inference. The design of monitoring networks should focus on the objectives required by public agencies, namely: 1) determine if some threshold has been exceeded (e.g., for regulatory purposes), and 2) identify spatial patterns and temporal trends (e.g., to protect natural resources). A short-term, multi-scale assessment to quantify spatial variability in air quality is a valuable asset in designing a network, in conjunction with an evaluation of existing data and simulation-model output. A recent assessment in Washington state (USA) quantified spatial variability in tropospheric ozone distribution ranging from a single watershed to the western third of the state. Spatial and temporal coherence in ozone exposure modified by predictable elevational relationships ( 1.3 ppbv ozone per 100 m elevation gain) extends from urban areas to the crest of the Cascade Range. This suggests that a sparse network of permanent analyzers is sufficient at all spatial scales, with the option of periodic intensive measurements to validate network design. It is imperative that agencies cooperate in the design of monitoring networks in mountainous regions to optimize data collection and financial efficiencies.     

Project of an Air Quality Monitoring Network for Industrial Site in Italy

In this paper results concerning project of an atmospheric monitoring network applied to an area of south of Italy carried out using chemical measurement campaigns (for traffic emissions characterisation couple with diffusional simulation of industrial pollutant emissions will be presented. The area selected is characterised by an high concentration of high environmental impacting industrial activities, with also high concentration of urban settlement and vehicular traffic. A comprehensive definition of all the monitoring system to be installed in order to have a correct monitoring system for the all province will be described and discussed.     

Visual Assessment of Foliar Injury Induced by Ozone on Indicator Tobacco Plants: A Data Quality Evaluation

A group of 50 inexperienced scorers were asked to estimate –using standard reference photos – foliar injury induced by the gas pollutant ozone on the supersensitive indicator planttobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) cv. Bel-W3. Theaverage accuracy level was 56.1% (95.9% when theclasses nearest to the reality were also consideredcorrect) and the average repeatability was 65.4%. Theextreme classes were easily scored. Central classesproved to be more difficult to be evaluated: this maydepend on the fact that two leaves may have similaractual total injured area, but substantially differentnumbers and spatial distribution of the lesions. Insome cases we observed a prevalence of overestimationerrors in the high classes and underestimation in thelow classes: this is in contradiction with theWeber-Fechner law. It is noteworthy the very shorttime required by operators to score, regardless of the results.     

Optimization of ambient Air Quality Monitoring Networks

A method has been developed to obtain a joint solution to the problem of optimum number and configuration of ambient air quality monitors, on the principles of spatial correlation analysis and the minimum spanning tree. The interest in this case is to represent the patterns of regional air quality, at a minimum of an overlap of information. This methodology is extended to account for the uncertainties in air quality simulations and also to incorporate the probabilities of occurrence. As an illustration to these methodologies, an example of Taipei City, Taiwan has been considered.     

Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Network Design for Assessing Human Health Impacts from Exposures to Airborne Contaminants

Existing methods of establishing ambientair quality monitoring networks typically evaluateonly parameters related to ambient concentrations ofthe contaminant(s) of interest such as emissionsource characteristics, atmospheric transport anddispersion, secondary reactions, depositioncharacteristics, and local topography. However,adverse health risks from exposures to airbornecontaminants are a function of the contaminant andthe anatomic and physiologic characteristics of theexposed population. Thus, ambient air qualitymonitoring networks designed for the protection ofpublic health or for epidemiological studiesevaluating adverse health impacts from exposures toambient air contaminants should account for bothcontaminant characteristics and human healthparameters. A methodology has been establishedwhich optimizes ambient air quality monitoringnetworks for assessments of adverse human healthimpacts from exposures to airborne contaminants byincorporating human health risk assessmenttechniques. The use of risk assessment techniquesas the basis for designing ambient air qualitymonitoring networks will help to target limitedfinancial and human resources to evaluate humanhealth risks from exposures to airbornecontaminants.     

Animal Hair as Biological Indicator for Heavy Metal Pollution in Urban and Rural Areas

Animal hair is a good biomonitoring tool for heavy metals assessment and reflects the content of heavy metals in the forage and soil. Heavy metals Fe, Mn, Co and Ni as well as toxic metals Cd and Pb were determined in goat, sheep and camel hair, forage and soil collected from four different environmental urban and rural regions. These regions are Aswan city farms, Allaqi desert pasture, Kalabsha farms and Halaiub desert pasture at far south of Egypt. The results reveal that sheep hair contains the highest levels of Fe and Mn (879 and 55 μg/g, respectively), camel hair contains the highest Pb, whereas for goat Cd and Ni were the highest. Heavy metal concentrations in the studied hair reflect the presence of these metals in the surrounding forage and soil and vary from one area to another, and give knowledge of pollution in the area. Correlation statistics analysis and cluster analysis show a good and significant value between metals in hair and plants.     

环境空气质量自动监测系统质量保证工作的探索

根据全国多个省市的环境空气自动监测质量保证工作的经验和做法,结合乌鲁木齐市环境空气自动监测质量保证工作实际情况,对点位设置要求、制度体系建立、仪器质量控制难点、数据审核与研判等环境空气自动监测质量保证工作的关键环节进行探索,为加强环境空气自动监测质量保证体系提供参考依据.     

Dental Fluorosis in Wild Deer: Its Use as a Biomarker of Increased Fluoride Exposure

The relationships between age (range: 3 to 14 yr), mandibular bone fluoride level (marker of accumulated internal dose, range: 597 to 4680 mg F^- kg^-1> dry wt) and intensity of dental fluorosis (reflecting fluoride exposure during enamel formation) were studied in a sample of 53 fluorosed red deer from a fluoride-polluted area in the Czech-German border region (Ore mountains and their southern foreland). Assessment of the severity of dental fluorosis was performed for the 3 permanent premolars and 3 molars of one hemimandible per animal by using an ordinal measurement scale. For statistical analysis, the maximum tooth score of fluorosis (MTS) and the dental lesion index of fluorosis (DLI, sum of the six tooth scores per individual) were used. In the sample, both MTS (r_s = 0.850) and DLI (r_s = 0.813) were highly significantly (p <0.00001) correlated with bone fluoride content. A weaker correlation existed between age and bone fluoride content (r_s = 0.322, p <0.05). The results demonstrate that in case of regional, long-term fluoride pollution, dental fluorosis (measured as MTS or DLI) can be used as a sensitive biomarker of fluoride exposure in deer and thus as an indicator of the level of environmental contamination by fluorides. In many countries, skulls and mandibles of wild deer are regularly and continuously collected by hunters. Assessment of the prevalence and severity of dental fluorosis in this material offers the opportunity for an efficient large-scale biomonitoring of environmental pollution by fluorides at very low cost.     

香港的空气污染指数预报

介绍了香港空气污染指数预报的方法和所取得的良好社会效果。通过香港空气污染指数预报的学习结合内地环境保护工作的情况，谈了几点体会。     

环境空气自动监测的质量保证问题探讨

简要介绍了江苏省环境空气自动监测系统的发展现状，结合环境空气自动监测站日常工作中的质控措施，重点就子站运行、中心站数据处理、人员岗位、管理制度4个方面论述了环境空气自动监测系统的管理和质量保证。     

Air Quality Assessment And Control Of Emission Rates

Mathematical methods based on the adjoint model approach are given for the air-pollution estimation and control in an urban region. A simple advection–diffusion-reaction model and its adjoint are used to illustrate the application of the methods. Dual pollution concentration estimates in ecologically important zones are derived and used to develop two non-optimal strategies and one optimal strategy for controlling the emission rates of enterprises. A linear convex combination of these strategies represents a new sufficient strategy. A method for detecting the enterprises, which violate the emission rates prescribed by a control, is given. A method for determining an optimal position for a new enterprise in the region is also described.     

Risk-Based Prioritization of Air Pollution Monitoring Using Fuzzy Synthetic Evaluation Technique

Air pollution monitoring programs aim to monitor pollutants and their probable adverse effects at various locations over concerned area. Either sensitivity of receptors/location or concentration of pollutants is used for prioritizing the monitoring locations. The exposure-based approach prioritizes the monitoring locations based on population density and/or location sensitivity. The hazard-based approach prioritizes the monitoring locations using intensity (concentrations) of air pollutants at various locations. Exposure and hazard-based approaches focus on frequency (probability of occurrence) and potential hazard (consequence of damage), respectively. Adverse effects should be measured only if receptors are exposed to these air pollutants. The existing methods of monitoring location prioritization do not consider both factors (hazard and exposure) at a time. Towards this, a risk-based approach has been proposed which combines both factors: exposure frequency (probability of occurrence/exposure) and potential hazard (consequence).This paper discusses the use of fuzzy synthetic evaluation technique in risk computation and prioritization of air pollution monitoring locations. To demonstrate the application, common air pollutants like CO, NO_x, PM₁₀ and SO_x are used as hazard parameters. Fuzzy evaluation matrices for hazard parameters are established for different locations in the area. Similarly, fuzzy evaluation matrices for exposure parameters: population density, location and population sensitivity are also developed. Subsequently, fuzzy risk is determined at these locations using fuzzy compositional rules. Finally, these locations are prioritized based on defuzzified risk (crisp value of risk, defined as risk score) and the five most important monitoring locations are identified (out of 35 potential locations). These locations differ from the existing monitoring locations.     

河流生态系统指示生物与生物监测:概念、方法及发展趋势

综述了河流生物监测的概念、常用指示生物与监测指标、国外相对完善的技术体系及发展趋势。大型底栖动物、着生藻类、鱼类是河流生物监测中最常使用的指示生物,可以单独使用,也可结合使用,详述了这些类群在河流生态系统中的重要地位及用于生物监测的优点。常用的监测指标包括生物多样性指数、生物指数、多参数指数、多变量指数及功能性指数。许多国家和地区(如英国、美国、欧盟等)都已经将生物监测纳入水环境管理系统,并开发出自己的技术体系。未来的河流生物监测中,功能性指数的应用会越来越多,分子技术的介入也会为提高分类辨识度和检测遗传多样性提供更为有效的途径。最后,思考并总结了国内河流生物监测的现状及趋势。     

阿图什市空气质量变化趋势分析

分析了阿图什市“八五”至“九五”期间空气质量监测数据不同年度、不同季节及不同污染因子的动态变化趋势．结合当地能源结构、气候特征、城市环境综合发展水平,指出影响阿图什市空气质量的主要因素,为防治和减轻阿图什市的空气污染提供了科学依据。     

伊宁市空气质量动态变化趋势分析

分析了伊宁市空气质量长期监测数据不同月份、不同年度、不同污染因子的动态变化趋势,结合当地能源结构、气候特征、城市环境综合发展水平,指出影响伊宁市空气质量的主要因素,为防治或减轻伊宁市的空气污染提供了科学依据。     

太湖流域（苏州片）水质同步监测调查与评价

综合分析了太湖流域（苏州片）达标排放前后的水质变化情况,讨论了达标排放与水质变化之间的关系,评价了水污染控制的效果。     

The Monitoring and Risk Assessment of Zn Deposition Around a Metal Smelter in Latvia

Heavy metal concentrations in Hylocomium splendens collected around a metal smelter in Latvia showed very high concentrations of Zn (>200 g/g), and elevated concentrations of Pb (38.3 g/g) and Cu (18.3 g/g). In an attempt to better evaluate the potential toxicity of the high Zn concentrations, a serial elution method was used to determine the concentrations of zinc in intercellular, extracellular exchangeable cell wall, intracellular, and particle fractions. The intercellular Zn concentrations represent the water soluble component of the total concentrations, and were low with no clear trends. Zn concentrations in the extra- and intracellular and particle fractions decreased exponentially from the pollutant source. Intracellular Zn concentrations in moss close to the emission source are within the range considered to be potentially toxic, from other single element exposure studies. The proportion of Zn in the relatively insoluble particle fraction, which is least associated with environmental risk, was greater closer to the pollution source, reaching > 30% in the oldest Hylocomium splendens segments.     

Assessment of Air Quality, Emissions and Management in a Local Urban Environment

This paper describes one example of how the UK National Air Quality Strategy (NAQS) is implemented in a local urban environment. The paper reviews the beginning of this process, by examining the review and assessment procedures of the NAQS in the London Borough of Barnet. By the application of available UK tools of local air quality management (LAQM), the process began through analysis of the levels of local emissions and progressed onto modelling of current and future air quality. A map showing combined emission hotspot areas for the Borough indicated and higher emission rates occur in the south of the Borough and along the major transport corridors, as road sources dominate emissions. Dispersion modelling studies were also conducted for this purpose, using the screening models GRAM, PGRAM and ADMS Urban for an in-depth assessment. These analyses found that some local point sources and the majority of Borough roads with over 20,000 vehicles per day produced exceedances of the future objectives for air quality for some pollutants.Recommendations for the progression of LAQM in the Borough are made and include the update and expansion of the emissions information held for use in future modelling studies. The paper demonstrates the experience of implementing the Strategy, using the tools and procedures available for this purpose, in a local urban environment that is similar to many in the UK.