Inorganic constituents of urban air pollution in the Lazio region (Central Italy)

A field study was carried out at six locations in the Lazio region (Central Italy) aimed at characterising atmospheric particulate matter (PM₁₀ and PM_2.5) from the point of view of the chemical composition and grain size distribution of the particles, the mixing properties of the atmosphere, the frequency and relevance of natural events. The combination of four different analytical techniques (ion chromatography, X-ray fluorescence and ICP for inorganic components, thermo-optical analysis for carbon compounds) yielded sound results in terms of characterisation of the air masses. During the first three months of the study (October-December 2004), many pollution events of natural (sea-salt or desert dust episodes) or anthropogenic nature were identified and characterised. More than 90% of the collected mass was identified by chemical analysis. The central role played by the mixing properties of the lower atmosphere when pollution events occurred was highlighted. The results show a major impact of primary anthropogenic pollutants on traffic stations and a homogeneous distribution of secondary pollutants over the regional area. An evaluation of the sources of PM and an identification of possible reliable tracers were obtained using a chemical fractionation procedure.     

Externalities of Fugitive Dust

It is known that fugitive dust can cause human health and environmental problems, alone or in combination with other air pollutants. These problems are referred to as ‘external costs’ that have been traditionally ignored. However, there is a growing interest towards quantifying externalities to assist policy and decision-making. With this in mind, the present study aimed at discussing the environmental regulations that deal with fugitive dust, the impact of fugitive dust on human health and global climate system, and the available methods for calculating fugitive dust externalities. The damage cost associated with human health and global environmental problems was predicted based on the environmental strategy priority model. The damage cost estimated by the model ranged from 40 to 374 EUR/kg of emitted fugitive dust with a mean value of 120 EUR/kg of emitted fugitive dust. It was also found that PM_2.5 and PM₁₀ have contributed to about 60% and 36% of the estimated damage cost, respectively. The remaining 4% was attributed to both nitrate and sulfate aerosols.     

Multi-hazard failure assessment of atmospheric storage tanks during hurricanes

Hurricane as one of the most destructive natural hazards can make a devastating impact on the industrial equipment, especially atmospheric storage tanks, leading to the release of stored chemicals and disastrous safety and environmental issues. These catastrophic consequences are caused not only by strong winds but also by the torrential rainfall and inundating floods. The objective of this study is to present a risk-based methodology for assessing and reducing the vulnerability of atmospheric storage tanks to hurricanes. Considering the shell buckling, flotation, sliding, and roof sinking as dominant failure modes of atmospheric storage tanks during hurricanes, Bayesian network (BN) has been employed to combine the failure modes while considering their conditional dependencies. The probability updating feature of the developed BN was employed to indicate that the flood is the most critical hazard during hurricanes while the impact of wind and rainfall cannot be neglected. Extending the developed BN to an influence diagram, the cost-benefit filling of storage tanks with water prior to the advent of hurricanes was shown as a viable measure for reducing the damage probability. The results show that the proposed methodology can be used as an effective decision support tool for assessing and reducing the vulnerability of atmospheric storage tanks to natural hazards.     

Advances in coastal ocean boundary layer detection technology and equipment in China

Accurate and comprehensive knowledge of the atmospheric environment and its evolution within the coastal ocean boundary layer are necessary for understanding the sources, chemical mechanisms, and transport processes of air pollution in land, sea, and atmosphere. We present an overview of coastal ocean boundary layer detection technology and equipment in China and summarize the progress and main achievements in recent years. China has developed a series of coastal ocean boundary layer detection t...     

Atmospheric environment monitoring technology and equipment in China: A review and outlook

Accurate monitoring of the atmospheric environment and its evolution are important for understanding the sources, chemical mechanisms, and transport processes of air pollution and carbon emissions in China, and for regulatory and control purposes. This study gives an overview of atmospheric environment monitoring technology and equipment in China and summarizes the major achievements obtained in recent years. China has made great progress in the development of atmospheric environment monitoring technology and equipment with decades of effort. The manufacturing level of atmospheric environment monitoring equipment and the quality of products have steadily improved, and a technical & production system that can meet the requirements of routine monitoring activities has been initiated. It is expected that domestic atmospheric environment monitoring technology and equipment will be able to meet future demands for routine monitoring activities in China and provide scientific assistance for addressing air pollution problems.     

1954—2013年湖北省黄石市气溶胶光学厚度与降水关系研究

通过对地面观测资料进行均一性处理和反演,建立了湖北省黄石市近60年气溶胶光学厚度(AOD)的时间序列,采用气候趋势分析、相关分析等方法,研究了AOD与降水之间的关系.结果表明:近60年黄石市气溶胶光学厚度(AOD)总体上呈显著增加趋势,最大值出现在1991年.随着AOD值的显著增加,年平均降水发生日数显著减少,其中,小雨日数下降更明显,而中雨、大雨日数有增加趋势,暴雨日数的变化趋势不明显.小雨雨量随着AOD值的显著增加而减少,而中雨及以上等级降水量的变化趋势不明显.总之,近60年黄石市气溶胶光学厚度(AOD)的增加,对降水日数和降水量都有一定的影响,其相关性有待进一步研究.     

Using urban man-made ponds to reconstruct a 150-year history of air pollution in northwest England

A regional pollution history has been reconstructed for the borough of Halton (northwest England) from four urban ponds in north Cheshire and south Merseyside, using environmental analyses of lake sediment stratigraphies. Mineral magnetism, geochemistry and radiometric dating have produced profiles of pollution characteristics dating from the mid-nineteenth century to present day. These pollution profiles reflect the atmospheric deposition of a range of pollutants over 150 years of intensified industry. Distinct phases of pollution deposition and characteristics are identified reflecting: (1) intensification of industry in the nineteenth century; (2) expansion of industry during the twentieth century; (3) post 1956 Clean Air Acts. This work promotes the potential use of these pollution archives for use in epidemiology to better understand links between human health and environmental pollution, especially for diseases with long latency times, where retrospective pollution exposure assessments are important.     

成都市大气污染及其防治对策

本文针对成都市大气污染源进行了探讨，根据可持续发展的原则，提出针对性的解决措施。     

NitroMAC: An instrument for the measurement of HONO and intercomparison with a long-path absorption photometer

NitroMAC (French acronym for continuous atmospheric measurements of nitrogenous compounds) is an instrument which has been developed for the semi-continuous measurement of atmospheric nitrous acid (HONO). This instrument relies on wet chemical sampling and detection using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)-visible absorption at 540 nm. Sampling proceeds by dissolution of gaseous HONO in a phosphate buffer solution followed by derivatization with sulfanilamide/N-(1-naphthyl)-ethylenediamine. The performance of this instrument was found to be as follows: a detection limit of around 3 ppt with measurement uncertainty of 10% over an analysis time of 10 min. Intercomparison was made between the instrument and a long-path absorption photometer (LOPAP) during two experiments in different environments. First, air was sampled in a smog chamber with concentrations up to 18 ppb of nitrous acid. NitroMAC and LOPAP measurements showed very good agreement. Then, in a second experiment, ambient air with HONO concentrations below 250 ppt was sampled. While NitroMAC showed its capability of measuring HONO in moderate and highly polluted environments, the intercomparison results in ambient air highlighted that corrections must be made for minor interferences when low concentrations are measured.     

南京市灰霾期间颗粒物污染的主要影响源识别

大气颗粒物污染影响范围广,污染种类繁多,污染物形态复杂多变,消除难度较大。随着2014年南京青奥会的日益临近,南京市"蓝天工程"、灰霾污染的控制进入了最关键的阶段。以南京市为例,从宏观微观两方面同时开展研究。在宏观层面上,采用主成分分析、因子分析、相关分析、逐步回归分析等方法,揭示可吸入颗粒物年均浓度、年均降尘量与表征各类影响源变量因素之间的相关关系,并计算贡献率;在微观层面上,采集各影响源尘样,进行相关实验分析得到各影响源特征谱;科学布点采集南京市空气样品,进行相关实验分析得到各点位大气颗粒物样特征谱;采用化学平衡分析法,揭示各粉尘影响源的主要贡献率大小。两方面相结合得到南京市灰霾的主要贡献源为二次扬尘和建筑扬尘,并根据结果提出控制对策。