Citizen Complaints of Air Pollution In Northeastern Illinois

In 1964, as part of the Northeastern Illinois Metropolitan Planning Commission's Air Resource Management Study, an examination was made of citizen complaints of air pollution registered with air pollution control agencies representing the City of Chicago, outlying Cook County, and the State of Illinois. The complaint files of the City of Chicago were found to contain the addresses of some 9500 air pollution sources specified by complainants in complaints covering the time period from approximately 1954 to 1964. A statistical sample of these sources showed more than 70% to be of a nonindustrial nature, with domestic fuel burning or incineration by neighbors most often specified. There were 1119 industrial process source snamed in the Chicago files; 588 nonmanufacturing and 531 manufacturing. Fabricated metal industries, primary metal industries, chemical manufacturers, and food processing plants were cited more often than other industrial categories. Complaint sources named in complaints filed by citizens with the State of Illinois, and with Cook County, differed with those of Chicago in that industrial sources were specified more often than nonindustrial ones. The reason for this is believed to lie in the reduced residential densities and the relatively great use of pollution-free fuels in the metropolitan area outside of the City of Chicago.     

Measurement of Exhaust Emissions in Piston And Diesel Engines by Dispersive Spectroscopy

A versatile but simple, reliable, rugged, and compact vehicle exhaust monitoring system has been developed, allowing detection of carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (COo), high and low hydrocarbons (HHC and LHC), and nitric oxide (NO). The analysis is performed by dispersive absorption spectroscopy with instrumentation designed and fabricated for this demanding industrial environment. The operation of the instrumentation is described here, as well as results for both diesel and piston engine emission testing. This equipment has been used for California 7 mode-7 cycle hot start and cold start tests, the California heavy-duty engine test cycles, EPA CVS tests reading bag samples and also continuous dilute, and finally it has been used for idle checks. Testing has been performed on production automobiles, as well as those equipped with thermal reactors or catalytic mufflers, and also both heavy-duty gasoline and diesel. engines. The instrumentation has shown very good correlation with other established techniques, and because of its sensitivity, selectivity, ruggedness, and simplicity, has been shown to be suitable for vehicle emission analysis. Applications include assembly-line testing, engine testing, certification testing, quality audit testing, emission lab testing, and research.     

Comments on the NAS Report: Odors From Stationary and Mobile Sources

ABSTRACT

Solid phase microextraction (SPME) presents many advantages over conventional analytical methods by combining sampling, preconcentration, and direct transfer of the analytes into a standard gas chromatograph (GC). Since its commercial introduction in the early 1990s, SPME has been successfully applied to the sampling and analysis of environmental samples. This paper presents an overview of the current methods for air sampling and analysis with SPME using both grab and time-weighted average (TWA) modes. Methods include total volatile organic compounds (TVOCs), formaldehyde, and several target volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Field sampling data obtained with these methods in indoor air were validated with conventional methods based on sorbent tubes. The advantages and challenges associated with SPME for air sampling are also discussed. SPME is accurate, fast, sensitive, versatile, and cost-efficient, and could serve as a powerful alternative to conventional methods used by the research, industrial, regulatory, and academic communities.     

The Impact of Stratospheric Ozone on Tropospheric Air Quality

A background of ozone (O₃), principally of stratospheric origin, is present in the lower free troposphere. Typical mean O₃ levels of 50 ppb, 40 ppb, and 30 ppb are encountered here in spring, summer, and fall, respectively. Maximum hourly O₃ concentrations which are twice these mean values can be expected. Ozone from the free troposphere is routinely brought down to ground level under turbulent atmospheric conditions. Deep and rapid Intrusions of stratospheric air into the lower troposphere are associated with low-pressure troughs and occur regularly. In the mid troposphere, O₃ levels as high as 300 ppb are found within these intrusions. Observational data showing these intrusions, containing high O₃ concentrations, to directly reach ground level are currently lacking. Over the United States, an intrusion was present aloft on 8 9% of the days in 1978. The frequency, however, is somewhat reduced in summer and a northward movement is evident. During 1978, no intrusion occurred south of 30°N between June and August and none south of 40 °N in August.

The hypothesis that low levels of stratospheric O₃ produce disproportionately large amounts of O₃ in the polluted atmosphere cannot be supported from currently known chemistry but should be studied further. The experimental technique involving a ⁷Be/O₃ ratio to estimate the daily stratospheric component of ground level O₃ is unverified and considered to be inadequate for air quality applications. Estimates resulting from such a technique are considered uncertain by a factor of more than three. Specially designed aircraft studies provide the best means to determine quantitatively the impact of stratospheric O₃ on ground level air quality.     

PADRE: A Computerized Data Reduction System for Cascade Impactor Measurements

An interactive computer resource for analyzing, evaluating, and archiving particle size distributions as determined by cascade impactors for environmental measurement is decribed. The Particle Data Reduction (PADRE) computer program assists users in obtaining high quality size-mass distribution data for archival in the Fine Particle Emissions Information System (FPEIS). PADRE users interactively store, edit, reduce, and analyze observed impactor data from anywhere in the continential United States. Extensive data quality checks and computer- prompted, user-directed program operations assist users in obtaining meaningful information within minutes of entering impactor data. Design goals, program operation, sample sessions and plans for future system development are discussed.     

A Reassessment of the Economic Effects of Ozone on U.S. Agriculture

The potential adverse effects of environmental change on agriculture have motivated considerable public research on this topic. Acid deposition, gaseous air pollutants, stratosphere ozone depletion and "green house" phenomena, individually and in combination, have been or are being evaluated in terms of effects on agricultural productivity. Assessments of the economic consequences of such effects have also been performed as input into the regulatory process. As with any applied bioeconomic analysis, the credibility of these economic assessments is dependent on the quality of the natural science and other data on the pollutant In question.

The ability of economists to assess the agricultural effects of one important pollutant, tropospheric ozone, has been Improved by the recently completed National Crop Loss Assessment Network (NCLAN). The structure, protocols and initial plant science findings of this U.S. Environmental Protection Agency program have been presented in this journal (see, for example, Heck et al).^1-2 In a related article,³ we reported the economic consequences of those preliminary ozone crop yield effects. Summary plant science findings have now been published.⁴

We provide here a more complete analysis of estimated benefits from reductions in troposphere ozone based on the final results of the NCLAN plant science research. In doing so, we concentrate on improvements in the modeling and underlying data which are reflected In this current assessment. While uncertainties still remain, these improvements should result in more defensible estimates of the magnitude of ozone’s effects on U.S. agriculture.     

Mobilization of arsenic in aquifers from the Datong Basin,China: Evidence from geochemical and iron isotopic data

Iron isotope compositions of various Fe pools in aquifer sediments were measured at a known As-contaminated site in the Datong Basin, China. The δ⁵⁶Fe values of HCl-extracted poor-crystalline Fe(III) range widely from ?0.41‰ to 0.36‰. We interpret the low Fe(II)/Fe_Extractable ratios (<50%) and the negative correlation between Fe(II)/Fe_Extractable and δ⁵⁶Fe values in HCl-extracted poor-crystalline Fe to be best explained by redox cycling of Fe induced by microbial Fe(III) reduction. However, the high Fe(II)/Fe_Extractable ratios (?70%) and positive correlation between Fe(II)/Fe_Extractable and δ⁵⁶Fe values for HCl-extracted poor-crystalline Fe indicates production of sulfides (FeSs). The δ⁵⁶Fe values of crystalline Fe(III) extracted by reductant appears to be comparatively small varying from ?0.01‰ to 0.24‰, which is consistent with the δ⁵⁶Fe values for ferric oxides/hydroxides having undergone microbial Fe(III) reduction. The Fe isotope composition of various Fe pools shows the transformation between crystalline Fe(III) and poor-crystalline crystalline Fe(III) and the secondary Fe(II) phases has already occurred or is occurring in aquifer sediments. More importantly, there is a significant difference in the As concentrations in crystalline Fe(III) oxides/hydroxides and HCl-extracted Fe phases. The concentrations of As range from 1.6 to 29.9 mg kg^?1 and from 0.6 to 3.0 mg kg^?1, for crystalline Fe(III) and HCl-extracted Fe phases respectively. Accordingly, the transformation of Fe minerals induced by microbial Fe(III) reduction can contribute to the mobilization of As. This study is the first to examine the Fe isotope compositions in high As aquifer sediments; the results show that the Fe isotope would be an important tool in demonstrating the enrichment of As in groundwater.     

Characterization of organic coatings on hygroscopic salt particles and their atmospheric impacts

The photooxidation of α-pinene in the presence of NO₂, with and without added NaNO₃ seed particles, has been studied in a large-diameter flow tube. Particles formed by homogeneous nucleation and by condensation on the pre-existing seeds were sampled at various stages of the reaction, dried using four diffusion dryers, size selected at different mobility diameters (d_m) using a differential mobility analyzer (DMA), and characterized with a single particle mass spectrometer (SPLAT II). It was found that homogeneously nucleated particles are spherical, have a density (ρ) of 1.25 ± 0.02 g cm^?3 (±2σ) and contain a significant amount of organic nitrates. The mass spectra of the low volatility products condensed on the NaNO₃ seed particles were found to be virtually the same as in the case of homogeneous nucleation. The data show that the presence of even a submonolayer of organics on the NaNO₃ particles causes water retention that leads to a decrease in particle density and that the amount of water retained increases with organic coating thickness. Thicker coatings appear to inhibit water evaporation from the particle seeds altogether. This suggests that in the atmosphere, where low volatility organics are plentiful, some hygroscopic salts will retain water and have different densities and refractive indices than expected in the absence of the organic coating. This water retention combined with the organic shell on the particles can potentially impact light scattering by these particles and activity as cloud condensation nuclei (CCN), as well as heterogeneous chemistry and photochemistry on the particles.