Modeling of air quality with a modified two-dimensional Eulerian model： A case study in the Pearl River Delta （PRD） region of China

A modified two-dimensional Eulerian air quality model was used to simulate both the gaseous and particulate pollutant concentrations during October 21-24, 2004 in the Pearl River Delta （PRD） region, China. The most significant improvement to the model is the added capability to predict the secondary organic aerosols （SOA） concentrations because of the inclusion of the SOA formation chemistry. The meteorological input data were prepared using the CALMET meteorological model. The concentrations of aerosol-bound species such as NO3^-, NH4^＋, SO4^2-, and SOA were calculated in the fine particle size range （〈2.5 μm）. The results of the two-dimensional model were compared to the measurements at the ground level during the PRD Intensive Monitoring Campaign （IMC）. Overall, there were good agreements between the measured and modeled concentrations of inorganic aerosol components and O3. Both the measured and the modeled results indicated that the maximum hourly O3 concentrations exceeded the China National Air Quality Standard. The predicted 24-h average SOA concentrations were in reasonable agreement with those predicted by the method of minimum OC/EC ratio.     

欧美经验对我国“十三五”大气污染防治战略的启示

当前,我国大气污染形势严峻,复合型污染特征突出。新修订的《中华人民共和国环境保护法》、《中华人民共和国大气污染防治法》、《环境空气质量标准》以及《大气污染防治行动计划》的发布和实施,对我国大气污染防治工作提出了更高要求。"十三五"时期是我国环境保护负重前行困难期和大有作为关键期,也是我国改善大气环境质量的攻坚期,需要系统谋划大气污染防治战略。欧盟和美国在制定大气污染防治战略时,以改善空气质量为核心,构建了涵盖一次污染物和二次污染物的多污染物目标体系,规定了环境浓度、排放量、直观感受(能见度)、健康以及管理等约束性指标,并且针对大气污染防治政策分析实施的成本与收益,开发相应的模型工具,基于收益成本比进行科学决策。本文对欧美环境规划和战略中的多污染物协同控制目标体系以及大气污染防治政策成本效益评估经验进行梳理,分析我国大气污染防治战略的现状和问题,并提出相关政策建议,以期为解决"心肺之患"、实现环保"十三五"总体目标提供参考。     

成都地区污染天气分型及其污染气象特征研究

污染天气分型研究对空气质量预报、污染源总量控制等具有重要的意义。基于2013年1月~2014年12月高空及地面天气形势划分了成都市的天气类型并探讨各天气类型下的空气质量状况及其污染天气特征,以期为空气质量预报和预警提供依据。结果表明,空气污染过程中,500 hpa环流形势主要有两槽一脊型、一槽一脊型、纬向型、槽脊同位相型等,其中两槽一脊型和槽脊同位相型控制下的空气质量最差。发生空气污染时,地面环流形势可分为高压型、高压后部型、高压底部型、低压型、低压顶部型、低压前部型、低压底部型、鞍型场型、冷锋前部型和均压场型,其中高压型、高压底部型、高压后部型控制下的空气质量最差。     

Which compounds contribute most to elevated airborne exposure and corresponding health risks in the Western Balkans?

A majority of ongoing monitoring of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) is currently focused on chemicals emphasized in the Stockholm Convention. Quantitative detection of other substances (especially those with numerous anthropogenic sources such as polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs)) is, however, also needed since their concentrations are usually several orders of magnitude higher. A goal of this study was to determine how various groups of compounds contribute to total human health risks at the variety of sampling sites in the region of Western Balkan. Distribution of the risks between the gas and particulate phases was also addressed. Results showed that inhalation exposure to organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) does not represent a significant risk to humans, while polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) re-volatilized to the atmosphere from contaminated soils and buildings can pose a problem. PCB evaporation from primary sources (currently used PCB-filled transformers or non-adequate storage facilities) generally resulted in much higher atmospheric concentrations than evaporation from the secondary sources (soils at the sites of war destructions). A majority of the human health risks at the urban sites were associated with PAHs. Between 83 and 94% of the cumulative risk at such sites was assigned to chemicals sorbed to particles, and out of it, PAHs were responsible for 99%.     

Changes in negative air ions concentration under different light intensities and development of a model to relate light intensity to directional change

The purpose of this research was to determine changes in negative air ion (NAI) concentrations produced by plants grown under different light intensities. NAI concentrations were observed and analyzed in an outdoor green space with five plant species (Aloe arborescens, Clivia miniata, Chlorophytum comosum, Opuntia brunnescens, Crassula portulacea) and A. arborescens was then grown under controlled-light conditions in an enclosed space for the subsequent light intensity experiment.     

Non-conventional gas phase remediation of volatile halogenated compounds by dehydrated bacteria

Traditional biological removal processes are limited by the low solubility of halogenated compounds in aqueous media. A new technology appears very suitable for the remediation of these volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Solid/gas bio-catalysis applied in VOC remediation can transform halogenated compounds directly in the gas phase using dehydrated cells as a bio-catalyst.     

Health benefits valuation of regulatory intervention for air pollution control in thermal power plants in Delhi,India

This study estimates minimum marginal health benefits (morbidity reduction only) of air pollution control and total health benefits arising from regulatory intervention regarding the adoption of the World Bank emission guidelines (WBEG) for thermal power plants (TPPs) in Delhi. The Industrial Source Complex-Short-Term Version–3 (ISCST3) model has been used to estimate the contribution to air pollution from TPPs. The household health production function (avertive behaviour) has been used to value health benefits of air pollution control. The study revealed that the ambient air pollution due to TPPs is reduced by between 62.17% to 83.45% by adopting the WBEG. Annual marginal benefit due to reduction in exposure to air pollution by 1 μg m^?3 is estimated to be US$0.353 per person. Total annual health benefits for adopting the WBEG for TPPs are estimated at US$235.19 million. This study provides a novel methodology to evaluate health benefits of regulatory intervention.     

Octanol–air partition coefficients of polybrominated biphenyls

The octanol–air partition coefficients (K_OA) for PBB15, PBB26, PBB31, PBB49, PBB103 and PBB153 were determined as a function of temperature using a gas chromatographic retention time technique with 1,1,1-trichloro-2,2-bis (4-chlorophenyl) ethane (p,p′-DDT) as a reference substance. The internal energies of phase change from octanol to air (Δ_OAU) were calculated for the six compounds and were in the range from 74 to 116 kJ mol⁻¹. Simple regression equations of log K_OA versus relative retention times (RRTs) on gas chromatography (GC), and log K_OA versus molecular connectivity indexes (MCI) were obtained, for which the correlation coefficients (r²) were greater than 0.985 at 283.15 K and 298.15 K. Thus the K_OA values of the remaining PBBs can be predicted by using their RRTs and MCI according to these relationships.     

Gas/particle partitioning of atmospheric PCDD/Fs in a satellite town in Eastern China

Gas/particle partitioning of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs) in ambient air was investigated in a satellite town in Eastern China from April 2007 to January 2008 comprehending large temperature variations (from 3 to 34 °C, daily average). Molecular weight, molecular structure and ambient temperatures are the three major factors that govern the gas/particle partitioning of atmospheric PCDD/Fs throughout the year. Generally, good agreements were obtained (except for winter) between measured particulate fractions and theoretical estimates of both the Junge–Pankow adsorption model and Harner Bidleman absorption model using different sets of subcooled liquid vapor pressure and octanol–air partition coefficient (K_oa), respectively. Models utilizing estimates, derived from gas chromatographic retention indices (GC-RIs), are more accurate than that of entropy-based. Moreover, during winter, the K_oa-based model using the GC-RIs approach performs better on lower chlorinated PCDD/Fs than that of -based. Furthermore, possible sources of mismatch between measured and predicted values in winter (3–7 °C) were discussed. Gas adsorption artifact was demonstrated to be of minor importance for the phenomena observed. On the other hand, large deviations of slopes (m_r) and intercepts (b_r) in logK_p vs. plots from theoretical values are observed in the literature data and these are found to be linearly correlated with ambient temperatures (P<0.001) in this study. This indicates that the non-equilibrium partitioning of PCDD/Fs in winter may be significantly influenced by the colder temperatures that may have slowed down the exchange between gaseous and particulate fractions.     

Analysis of long-term changes in the dates of seasonal phenomena in plants and insects of the Il’men Reserve as related to climatic factors

The results of monitoring the dates of the onset of flowering and leaf budding in eight herbaceous and woody plant species and the first appearance of three insect species in the Il’men Reserve (1972–2005) were processed by means of regression and correlation analyses. No significant changes in test parameters were revealed in the majority of these species. Only two early spring plants, coltsfoot (Tussilago farfara L.) and goat willow (Salix caprea L.), showed a weak tendency toward earlier flowering in the 1980s and 1990s. This is explained primarily by the absence of any significant trends in spring and summer air temperatures in the study region over the observation period. On the other hand, interannual fluctuations in the dates of plant flowering and insect appearance were well manifested not only in early spring but also in late-spring species. These fluctuations proved to depend largely on spring temperatures: in years with early and warm springs, flowering and leaf budding in plants and the appearance of first individuals in insects were recorded on significantly earlier dates.