Forecasting Air Pollution Potential: A Synoptic Climatological Approach

ABSTRACT

This paper describes the development and application of an air pollution potential (APP) forecast model based on a synoptic climatological approach in a heavily industrialized area in Durban, South Africa. The aim of the forecasting procedure, based on a system of orange, red, and all-clear alerts, was to give industry advance warning of periods of poor atmospheric dispersion so that it could take action to reduce emissions. The key meteorological parameter in accurately identifying the commencement of an APP episode was found to be negative surface pressure tendency. Wind direction was the most useful parameter in estimating the end point of an APP episode. The model was very successful in identifying periods of elevated SO₂, but there is a need for further refinement in forecasting the end point of an episode.     

Black Carbon Aerosol at McMurdo Station,Antarctica

ABSTRACT

Aerosol light absorption as black carbon (BC) was measured from November 19, 1995, to February 6, 1996, at a location 0.65 km downwind of the center of McMurdo Station on the Antarctic coast. The results show a bimo-dal frequency distribution of BC concentrations. Approximately 65% of the measurements were found in a mode at a low range of concentrations centered at ~20 ng/m³. These concentrations are higher than those found at other remote Antarctic locations and probably represent contamination from the station. The remaining measurements were in a high-concentration mode (BC ~300 ng/m³), indicating direct impact of local emissions from combustion activities at the station. High values of BC were associated with winds from the direction of the station, and the BC flux showed a clear directionality. Maximum BC concentrations occurred between 7:00 and 11:00 a.m. The "polluted" mode accounted for more than 80% of the BC frequency-weighted impact at this location.     

Identification of Selected Hormonally Active Agents and Animal Mammary Carcinogens in Commercial and Residential Air and Dust Samples

ABSTRACT

In order to characterize typical indoor exposures to chemicals of interest for research on breast cancer and other hormonally mediated health outcomes, methods were developed to analyze air and dust for target compounds that have been identified as animal mammary carcinogens or hormonally active agents and that are used in commercial or consumer products or building materials. These methods were applied to a small number of residential and commercial environments to begin to characterize the extent of exposure to these classes of compounds. Phenolic compounds, including nonylphenol, octylphenol, bisphenol A, and the methoxychlor metabolite 2,2-bis (p-hydroxyphenyl)-1,1,1-trichloroethane (HPTE), were extracted, derivatized, and analyzed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS)–selective ion monitoring (SIM). Selected phthalates, pesticides, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were extracted and analyzed by GC/MS-SIM. Residential and workplace samples showed detectable levels of twelve pesticides in dust and seven in air samples. Phthalates were abundant in dust (0.3524 μg/g) and air (0.005-2.8 μg/m³). Nonylphenol and its mono- and di-ethoxylates were prevalent in dust (0.82-14 μg/g) along with estrogenic phenols such as bisphenol A and o-phenyl phenol. In this 7-sample pilot study, 33 of 86 target compounds were detected in dust, and 24 of 57 target compounds were detected in air. In a single sample from one home, 27 of the target compounds were detected in dust and 15 in air, providing an indication of chemical mixtures to which humans are typically exposed.     

Variations in the Emissions of Volatile Organic Compounds from the Toner for a Specific Photocopier

ABSTRACT

A laboratory thermal desorption apparatus was used to measure emissions from a number of nominally identical photocopier toners—manufactured to meet the specifications of one specific model copier—when these toners were heated to fuser temperature (180-200 °C). The objective was to assess how potential volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions from the toner for a given copier can vary, depending upon the production run and the supplier. Tests were performed on a series of toner (and associated raw polymer feedstock) samples obtained directly from a toner manufacturer, representing two production runs using a nonvented extrusion process, and on toner cartridges purchased from two local retailers, representing three different production lots (histories unknown). The results showed that the retailer toners consistently had up to 350% higher emissions of some major compounds (expressed as |ig of compound emit-ted/g of toner), and up to 100% lower emissions of others, relative to the manufacturer toners (p ≤ 0.01). The manufacturer toners from one production run had emissions of certain compounds, and of total VOCs, that were modestly higher (13-18%) than those from the other run (p ≤ 0.01). The emission differences between the retailer and manufacturer toners are probably due to differences     

Investigation of the Potential Antimicrobial Efficacy of Sealants Used in HVAC Systems

ABSTRACT

Recent experiments confirm field experience that duct cleaning alone may not provide adequate protection from regrowth of fungal contamination on fiberglass duct liner (FGDL). Current recommendations for remediation of fungally contaminated fiberglass duct materials specify complete removal of the materials. But removal of contaminated materials can be extremely expensive. Therefore, a common practice in the duct-cleaning industry is the postcleaning use of antimicrobial surface coatings with the implication that they may contain or limit regrowth.

Little information is available on the efficacy of these treatments. This paper describes a study to evaluate whether three commercially available antimicrobial coatings, placed on a cleaned surface that 1 year previously had been actively growing microorganisms, would be able to prevent regrowth. The three coatings contained different active antimicrobial compounds. All three of the coatings were designed for use on heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system components or interior surfaces of lined and unlined duct systems. Coating I was a polyacrylate copolymer containing zinc oxide and borates. Coating II was an acrylic coating containing decabromodiphenyl oxide and antimony trioxide. Coating III was an acrylic primer containing a phosphated quaternary amine complex.

The study included field and laboratory assessments. The three treatments were evaluated in an uncontrolled field setting in an actual duct system. The laboratory study broadened the field study to include a range of humidities under controlled conditions. Both static and dynamic chamber laboratory experiments were performed. The results showed that two of the three antimicrobial coatings limited the regrowth of fungal contamination, at least in the short term (the 3-month time span of the study); the third did not. Before use in the field, testing of the efficacy of antimicrobial coatings under realistic use conditions is recommended because antimicrobials have different baseline activities and interact differently with the substrate that contains them and their local environment.     

Source Apportionment of Phoenix PM2.5 Aerosol with the Unmix Receptor Model

Abstract

The multivariate receptor model Unmix has been used to analyze a 3-yr PM_2.5 ambient aerosol data set collected in Phoenix, AZ, beginning in 1995. The analysis generated source profiles and overall average percentage source contribution estimates (SCEs) for five source categories: gasoline engines (33 ± 4%), diesel engines (16 ± 2%), secondary SO₄ ^2? (19 ± 2%), crustal/soil (22 ± 2%), and vegetative burning (10 ± 2%). The Unmix analysis was supplemented with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) of a limited number of filter samples for information on possible additional low-strength sources. Except for the diesel engine source category, the Unmix SCEs were generally consistent with an earlier multivariate receptor analysis of essentially the same data using the Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF) model. This article provides the first demonstration for an urban area of the capability of the Unmix receptor model.     

An Air Quality Modeling Study Comparing Two Possible Sites for the New International Airport for Mexico City

Abstract

Using an air quality model, two future urban scenarios induced by the construction of the new international airport for Mexico City are compared at a regional level. The air quality model couples the meteorology model MM5 and state-of-the-art photochemistry. The air quality comparison is made using metrics for the criterion gases selected for the study. From the two urban scenarios compared, the option for Tizayuca is moderately better than the option for Texcoco, because relative reductions in O₃ and other photochemical pollutants are achieved over highly populated areas. Regardless of the site, the air quality for the central region of Mexico in the future will deteriorate. In the region of central Mexico, SO₂ and NO₂ will become important pollutants.     

Hazardous Air Pollutants from Mobile Sources in the Metropolitan Area of Mexico City

Abstract

Environmental agencies are currently in the process of implementing a new air management program, which includes the improvement of fuel quality. In this work, exhaust emissions data and estimated relative risk for various fuels testing in-use vehicles, equipped with three different exhaust emission control technologies, are presented. Aromatics, sulfur, and olefins contents; type of oxygenated compound; and Reid vapor pressure were varied. The aim also includes calculating the ozone (O₃)of forming potential and a relative cancer risk of emissions from current and formulated gasoline blends in Mexico. The proposed gasoline decreases carbon monoxide, total hydrocarbons (THC), and nitrogen oxides emissions by 18 and 14%, respectively, when compared with gasoline sold in the rest of the country and within ozone nonattainment metropolitan areas in Mexico, respectively.     

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.     

Recommendations on the Use of Satellite Remote-Sensing Data for Urban Air Quality

Abstract

In the last 5 yr, the capabilities of earth-observing satellites and the technological tools to share and use satellite data have advanced sufficiently to consider using satellite imagery in conjunction with ground-based data for urban-scale air quality monitoring. Satellite data can add synoptic and geospatial information to ground-based air quality data and modeling. An assessment of the integrated use of ground-based and satellite data for air quality monitoring, including several short case studies, was conducted. Findings identified current U.S. satellites with potential for air quality applications, with others available internationally and several more to be launched within the next 5 yr; several of these sensors are described in this paper as illustrations. However, use of these data for air quality applications has been hindered by historical lack of collaboration between air quality and satellite scientists, difficulty accessing and understanding new data, limited resources and agency priorities to develop new techniques, ill-defined needs, and poor understanding of the potential and limitations of the data. Specialization in organizations and funding sources has limited the resources for cross-disciplinary projects. To successfully use these new data sets requires increased collaboration between organizations, streamlined access to data, and resources for project implementation.