Evaluation of filter-based aerosol measurements during the 1987 Southern California Air Quality Study

The Southern California Air Quality Study (SCAQS) was conducted during the summer and fall of 1987 to assess the causes of elevated ozone and suspended particulate matter concentrations in California's South Coast Air Basin (SoCAB). Extensive gaseous (i.e. nitric acid, ammonia, sulfur dioxide) and particle (i.e. PM_2.5 and PM₁₀ mass, elements, ions, carbon) measurements were acquired for 11 days during the summer at nine locations, and six days during the fall at six locations. Outliers were identified so that they could be excluded from further statistical analyses. Carbon and elemental measurements were found to be negatively biased by 20% owing to inhomogenous aerosol deposits on the SCAQS filters and analysis methods which were applied to a portion of the filters. These biases seem relatively consistent, however, and should not affect conclusions drawn from data analysis efforts if they are appropriately considered. Significant fractions (30–60%) of ammonium nitrate volatilized during the summer when temperatures were higher. Less than 10% typically volatilized during the fall when temperatures were lower. Anion/cation balances support the accuracy and precision estimates of the nitrate, sulfate, and ammonium measurements. Coarse particle sulfate was generally low, while coarse particle nitrate was most pronounced at the coastal sites.This paper documents SCAQS filter-based aerosol measurement methods, and evaluates the accuracy, precision, and validity of the data set. Various comparisons were made for: (1) PM_2.5/PM₁₀ ratios for mass and major chemical species; (2) sum of chemical species versus measured mass; (3) sulfate versus sulfur ratios; (4) PM_2.5 particulate nitrate versus nitric acid-denuded nitrate; and (5) anion/cation balances. The measurement and evaluation techniques presented in this paper serve as a guideline for other data analysis and modeling studies.     

High-performance size exclusion chromatography with a multi-wavelength absorbance detector study on dissolved organic matter characterisation along a water distribution system

This study examined the associations between dissolved organic matter(DOM) characteristics and potential nitrification occurrence in the presence of chloramine along a drinking water distribution system. High-performance size exclusion chromatography(HPSEC) coupled with a multiple wavelength detector(200–280 nm) was employed to characterise DOM by molecular weight distribution, bacterial activity was analysed using flow cytometry, and a package of simple analytical tools, such as dissolved organic carbon, absorbance at 254 nm, nitrate,nitrite, ammonia and total disinfectant residual were also applied and their applicability to indicate water quality changes in distribution systems were also evaluated. Results showed that multi-wavelength HPSEC analysis was useful to provide information about DOM character while changes in molecule weight profiles at wavelengths less than 230 nm were also able to be related to other water quality parameters. Correct selection of the UV wavelengths can be an important factor for providing appropriate indicators associated with different DOM compositions. DOM molecular weight in the range of 0.2–0.5 k Da measured at210 nm correlated positively with oxidised nitrogen concentration(r = 0.99), and the concentrations of active bacterial cells in the distribution system(r = 0.85). Our study also showed that the changes of DOM character and bacterial cells were significant in those sampling points that had decreases in total disinfectant residual. HPSEC-UV measured at210 nm and flow cytometry can detect the changes of low molecular weight of DOM and bacterial levels, respectively, when nitrification occurred within the chloraminated distribution system.     

三个机场候机厅的火灾安全分区评述

通过参观机场对公众开放的区域,对三个机场侯机厅的火灾安全分区进行了评述,这三个机场是,香港的旧启德机场,澳大利亚的悉尼机场和墨尔本机场,指出了一般的被动建筑设计和积极的火灾防护系统,按照估计的火灾载葆密度对零售区域商店的形状和商品进行了记录,利用消防工程计算程序FIRECALC对三种水喷头的启动时间进行了预测。     

Steel slag quality control for road construction aggregates and its environmental impact: case study of Vietnamese steel industry—leaching of heavy metals from steel-making slag

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Steel slag is an industrial by product of steel manufacturing processes and has been widely utilized within civil and construction materials for road...     

Size and XAD fractionations of trihalomethane precursors from soils

Soil organic matter is an important source of allochthonous dissolved organic matter inputs to the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta waterways, which is a drinking water source for 22 million people in California, USA. Knowledge of trihalomethane (THM) formation potential of soil-derived organic carbon is important for developing effective strategies for organic carbon removal in drinking water treatment. In this study, soil organic carbon was extracted with electrolytes (deionized H2O and Na- or Ca-based electrolytes) of electrical conductivity bracketing those found in Delta leaching and runoff conditions. The extracts were physically and chemically separated into different fractions: colloidal organic carbon (0.45-0.1 microm), fine colloidal organic carbon (0.1-0.025 microm), and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) (<0.025 microm); hydrophobic acid (HPOA), transphilic acid, and hydrophilic acid. Two representative Delta soils, Rindge Muck (a peat soil) and Scribner Clay Loam (a mineral soil) were examined. Results showed that less than 2% of soil organic carbon was electrolyte-extractable and heterogeneous organic fractions with distinct THM reactivity existed. Regardless of soil and electrolytes, DOC and HPOA fractions were dominant in terms of total concentration and THMFP. The amounts of extractable organic carbon and THMFP were dependent on the cation and to a lesser extent on electrical conductivity of electrolytes. Along with our previous study on temperature and moisture effects on DOC production, we propose a conceptual model to describe the impacts of agricultural practices on DOC production in the Delta. DOC is mainly produced in the surface peat soils during the summer and is immobilized by accumulated salt in the soils. DOC is leached from soils to drainage ditches and finally to the Delta channels during winter salt leaching practices.     

Comparison of continuous and filter-based carbon measurements at the Fresno supersite

Results from six continuous and semicontinuous black carbon (BC) and elemental carbon (EC) measurement methods are compared for ambient samples collected from December 2003 through November 2004 at the Fresno Supersite in California. Instruments included a multi-angle absorption photometer (MAAP; lambda = 670 nm); a dual-wavelength (lambda = 370 and 880 nm) aethalometer; seven-color (lambda = 370, 470, 520, 590, 660, 880, and 950 nm) aethalometers; the Sunset Laboratory carbon aerosol analysis field instrument; a photoacoustic light absorption analyzer (lambda = 1047 nm); and the R&P 5400 ambient carbon particulate monitor. All of these acquired BC or EC measurements over periods of 1 min to 1 hr. Twenty-four-hour integrated filter samples were also acquired and analyzed by the Interagency Monitoring of Protected Visual Environments (IMPROVE) thermal/optical reflectance carbon analysis protocol. Site-specific mass absorption efficiencies estimated by comparing light absorption with IMPROVE EC concentrations were 5.5 m2/g for the MAAP, 10 m2/g for the aethalometer at a wavelength of 880 nm, and 2.3 m2/g for the photoacoustic analyzer; these differed from the default efficiencies of 6.5, 16.6, and 5 m2/g, respectively. Scaling absorption by inverse wavelength did not provide equivalent light absorption coefficients among the instruments for the Fresno aerosol measurements. Ratios of light absorption at 370 nm to those at 880 nm from the aethalometer were nearly twice as high in winter as in summer. This is consistent with wintertime contributions from vehicle exhaust and from residential wood combustion, which is believed to absorb more shorter-wavelength light. To reconcile BC and EC measurements obtained by different methods, a better understanding is needed of the wavelength dependence of light-absorption and mass-absorption efficiencies and how they vary with different aerosol composition.     

Nanoparticle and ultrafine particle events at the Fresno supersite

Continuous measurements of particle size distributions of 3-407 nm were collected from August 2002 to July 2004 at the Fresno Supersite to understand their number concentrations, size distributions, and formation processes. Measurements for fine particulate matter (PM2.5) mass, sulfate (SO4(2-)), nitrate (NO3-), black carbon (BC), particle-bound polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), nitrogen oxides (NOx), carbon monoxide (CO), ozone (O3), and meteorological data (wind speed, wind direction, temperature [T], relative humidity [RH], and solar radiation) were used to determine the causes of nanoparticle (3-10 nm) and ultrafine (10-100 nm) particle events. These events were found to be divided into four types: (1) 3- to 10-nm morning nucleation; (2) 10- to 30-nm morning traffic; (3) 10- to 30-nm afternoon photochemical; and (4) 50- to 84-nm evening home heating, including residential wood combustion. Intense examples of the first type (>10(4) number [#]/cm3) were observed on 29 days, nearly always during the summer. The second type of event was observed on more than 73 days and occurred throughout the year. The third type was observed on 36 days, from spring through summer. The fourth type was found on 109 days, all of them during the winter. Although sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions in Central California are low, the small residual amounts in gasoline and diesel fuel are apparently sufficient to initiate nucleation events. These were measured in the morning, soon after the shallow surface inversion coupled with layers aloft where nucleation probably was initiated. PM2.5 concentrations were poorly correlated with nanoparticle number.     

The effects of larval experience with a complex plant latex on subsequent feeding and oviposition by the cabbage looper moth: Trichoplusia ni (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)

Summary. Leaf disc choice and oviposition bioassays were used to examine the effects of larval experience with a Hoodia gordonii latex on subsequent behaviors. The latex deterred feeding and oviposition by “naïve” cabbage looper (Trichoplusia ni, Noctuidae) larvae and moths with no previous exposure to the material. “Experienced” insects, reared on a diet with the H. gordonii latex (1000 ppm), exhibited lesser feeding deterrence relative to naïve insects. Experienced female moths actually preferred to lay eggs on treated rather than control leaves. There was no observed transfer of behavioral preferences from experienced parents to their offspring. Our results suggest that moths may be acquiring oviposition preferences from larval feeding experience as described by Hopkins’ host selection principal (HHSP) or through chemical legacy.     

Catalytic hydrodechlorination of 1,2-dichloroethane using copper nanoparticles under reduction conditions of sodium borohydride

1,2-Dichloroethane (1,2-DCA) is a raw material used for the manufacture of vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) and therefore has very often been detected in the groundwater nearby the VCM manufacturing plant. Zero-valent iron (ZVI) is capable of degrading a wide array of highly chlorinated contaminants; however, the reactivity of ZVI towards 1,2-DCA is very low. In this study, zero-valent copper nanoparticles have been synthesized for effective dechlorination of 1,2-DCA under reduction conditions of sodium borohydride. Copper nanoparticles consisted of mainly metallic copper (Cu(0)) with small amounts of cuprous oxide (Cu(2)O). They have surface areas of about 19.0 m(2) g(-1) and an average diameter of 15 nm. Batch experiments were conducted to test the effectiveness of copper nanoparticles for 1,2-DCA degradation using sodium borohydride as electron donors where the ORP was measured as -1100 mV. More than 80% of 1,2-DCA (30 mg L(-1)) was rapidly degraded within 2 h in the presence of both copper nanoparticles (2.5 g L(-1)) and borohydride (25 mM). No reduction of 1,2-DCA was observed when the system contained either copper nanoparticles alone or borohydride alone. The degradation intermediates included ethane and ethylene accounting for 79% and ～1.5% of the 1,2-DCA lost, respectively. Potential environmental applications can be achieved by immobilizing copper nanoparticles onto the surface of reducing metals to form a reactive bimetallic structure.