New PbO2, Support for the Measurement of Sulfation

Since 1966, the Division of Laboratories of the Department of Health of the City of Montreal is carrying on measurements of gaseous pollutants. In order to efficiently use the technical staff that our administrators wanted to devote to the fight against air pollution, a new lead dioxide support for the determination of sulfur dioxide has been devised. The preparation of candies according to the standard method requires much time and skill from the operator, whereas the technique that is proposed is rapid, easy, and provides plates of a high degree of uniformity. A technician with little experience can coat a great number of plates per day with no difficulty. N. A. Huey working at the National Center for Air Pollution Control in Cincinnati published in the September 1968 issue of this Journal a new technique which consists of coating the inside of a plastic Petri dish with a PbO² paste. His method also has the above mentioned advantages. The plates that are suggested allow a simplification of the preliminary work for several types of analyses such as gra-vimetry,¹ colorimetry,³ turbidimetry,^4,5 titrimetry,⁶ and nephelemetry.⁸     

Cyclic Trends in Los Angeles Fine Participates

Noontime visibilities in downtown Los Angeles, averaged over the smog season of June through November, show two cycles of general deterioration and improvement. The improvement since 1962 is confirmed by available high volume filter data and conditions in 1974/75 are at least as good as at anytime since observations were begun in 1933. The decrease in frequency of “rule 57” days suggests that the improvement of the last decade and perhaps the cyclic variation of the past 40 years has been primarily of meteorological origin.     

The Everchanging Air Pollution Control Market

While the United States is the largest single market for air pollution control equipment, it constitutes only about one-third of the total world market. This overview explores the legislative, economic, and technological factors that affect those markets.     

Effect of fresh green waste and green waste compost on mineral nitrogen, nitrous oxide and carbon dioxide from a Vertisol

Incorporation of organic waste amendments to a horticultural soil, prior to expected risk periods, could immobilise mineral N, ultimately reducing nitrogen (N) losses as nitrous oxide (N₂O) and leaching. Two organic waste amendments were selected, a fresh green waste (FGW) and green waste compost (GWC) as they had suitable biochemical attributes to initiate N immobilisation into the microbial biomass and organic N forms. These characteristics include a high C:N ratio (FGW 44:1, GWC 35:1), low total N (<1%), and high lignin content (>14%). Both products were applied at 3 t C/ha to a high N (plus N fertiliser) or low N (no fertiliser addition) Vertisol soil in PVC columns. Cumulative N₂O production over the 28 day incubation from the control soil was 1.5 mg/N₂O/m², and 11 mg/N₂O/m² from the control + N. The N₂O emission decreased with GWC addition (P < 0.05) for the high N soil, reducing cumulative N₂O emissions by 38% by the conclusion of the incubation. Analysis of mineral N concentrations at 7, 14 and 28 days identified that both FGW and GWC induced microbial immobilisation of N in the first 7 days of incubation regardless of whether the soil environment was initially high or low in N; with the FGW immobilising up to 30% of available N. It is likely that the reduced mineral N due to N immobilisation led to a reduced substrate for N₂O production during the first week of the trial, when soil N₂O emissions peaked. An additional finding was that FGW + N did not decrease cumulative N₂O emissions compared to the control + N, potentially due to the fact that it stimulated microbial respiration resulting in anaerobic micro sites in the soil and ultimately N₂O production via denitrification. Therefore, both materials could be used as post harvest amendments in horticulture to minimise N loss through nitrate-N leaching in the risk periods between crop rotations. The mature GWC has potential to reduce N₂O, an important greenhouse gas.     

Targeted intervention strategies to optimise diversion of BMW in the Dublin, Ireland region

Urgent transformation is required in Ireland to divert biodegradable municipal waste (BMW) from landfill and prevent increases in overall waste generation. When BMW is optimally managed, it becomes a resource with value instead of an unwanted by-product requiring disposal. An analysis of survey responses from commercial and residential sectors for the Dublin region in previous research by the authors proved that attitudes towards and behaviour regarding municipal solid waste is spatially variable. This finding indicates that targeted intervention strategies designed for specific geographic areas should lead to improved diversion rates of BMW from landfill, a requirement of the Landfill Directive 1999/31/EC. In the research described in this paper, survey responses and GIS model predictions from previous research were the basis for goal setting, after which logic modelling and behavioural research were employed to develop site-specific waste management intervention strategies. The main strategies devised include (a) roll out of the Brown Bin (Organics) Collection and Community Workshops in Dún Laoghaire Rathdown, (b) initiation of a Community Composting Project in Dublin City (c) implementation of a Waste Promotion and Motivation Scheme in South Dublin (d) development and distribution of a Waste Booklet to promote waste reduction activities in Fingal (e) region wide distribution of a Waste Booklet to the commercial sector and (f) Greening Irish Pubs Initiative. Each of these strategies was devised after interviews with both the residential and commercial sectors to help make optimal waste management the norm for both sectors. Strategy (b), (e) and (f) are detailed in this paper. By integrating a human element into accepted waste management approaches, these strategies will make optimal waste behaviour easier to achieve. Ultimately this will help divert waste from landfill and improve waste management practice as a whole for the region. This method of devising targeted intervention strategies can be adapted for many other regions.