Method of pollution sources assessment in relation to residential site selection

Much investigation supports a high incidence of disease and death rates when people live in ambient polluted air for a long time. Thus, the location of residential sites is important from a public health viewpoint. The method outlined in this paper is useful for determining the location of residential sites based on pollution sources assessment.     

Analysis of Roadside Inhalable Particulate Matter (PM10) in Major Korean Cities

A data analysis of three major Korean cities was conducted to assess roadside inhalable particulate matter 10 μm or smaller in aerodynamic diameter (PM₁₀), including temporal and meteorological variations, over a recent period of 4 to 6 years. The yearly roadside PM₁₀ concentrations presented a well-defined increasing trend or no trend depending on the roadside monitoring station. Most mean values exceeded or approximated the Korean standard of 70 μg/m³ per year for PM₁₀. A representative roadside diurnal trend was characterized by a distinct morning maximum. In most cases, the Sunday roadside concentrations were similar to or somewhat lower than the weekday concentrations, and the PM₁₀ concentrations presented a well-defined seasonal variation, with the maximum concentration in March. The monthly maximum concentrations observed in March were most likely attributable to Asian dust storms. In two metropolitan cities (Seoul and Busan), the frequency of days with roadside PM₁₀ concentrations exceeding the standard of 150μg/m³ per 24 h was much lower for the roadside monitoring stations than for the residential monitoring station, whereas in the third city (Daegu), this result was reversed. Interestingly, the average maximum concentrations observed for the roadside sites in Seoul and Busan during March were higher than those for the residential sites, suggesting that the roadside concentrations responded more to the dust storms than the residential areas. The relationship between the pollutant concentrations and five important meteorological parameters (solar radiation, wind speed, air temperature, relative humidity, and precipitation) showed that the number and type of meteorological variables included in the equations varied according to the monitoring station or season. Finally, the current results confirmed that attention should be given to the PM₁₀ exposure of residents living near roadways.     

Quantifying the rebound effects of residential solar panel adoption

Customers who adopt solar panels can reduce their energy bills and lower the effective average electricity prices they pay. When the price falls, a solar consumer might consume more electricity than before – a solar rebound effect. We provide the first empirical evidence of residential solar rebound effects in the U.S. We use household level hourly and daily electricity meter data as well as hourly solar panel electricity generation data from 277 solar homes and about 4000 non-solar homes from 2013 to 2017 in Phoenix Arizona. Using matching methods and a fixed effects panel regression approach, we find that when solar electricity generation increases by 1 kWh, solar homes increase their total electricity consumption by 0.18 kWh. This indicates that solar rebound effects are estimated at 18%. Building upon our theoretical framework, the increase in consumer surplus from solar panel adoption is estimated at $972/yr.     

The Role of Disaggregation of Asset Values in Flood Loss Estimation: A Comparison of Different Modeling Approaches at the Mulde River,Germany

In loss estimation there is a spatial mismatch of hazard data that are commonly modeled on an explicit raster level and exposure data that are often available only for aggregated administrative units. Usually disaggregation methods that use ancillary information to distribute lumped exposure data in a finer spatial resolution help to bridge this gap. However, the actual influence of different mapping techniques and ancillary data on the final loss estimation has not been analyzed yet. In this paper three methods are applied to disaggregate residential building assets using two kinds of land use/land cover (LULC) data. The resulting disaggregated assets are validated and compared using census data of the residential building number on the community and constituency level. In addition, the disaggregated assets are taken to estimate residential building losses due to the flood in August 2002 in 21 municipalities on the River Mulde in Saxony, Germany. Losses are calculated with the help of four loss models. In general, disaggregation helps to decrease the error variance within the loss estimation. It must, however, be stated that the application of sophisticated disaggregation methods does not lead to significant improvements compared to the straightforward binary method. Therefore more effort should instead be put into the provision of high-resolution LULC data. Finally, the remaining uncertainties in loss estimation are high and demand further improvements in all modeling aspects.     

基于LMDI方法的广东省生活能源消费影响因素分析

运用对数平均迪氏分解法(LMDI)构建广东省生活能源消费的因素分解模型,定量分析2000~2014年间能源结构、人口规模、居住面积和设备消费等因素的变化对生活能源消费的影响。研究发现,4种因素的累计效应均为正,而采用逐年效应角度观察,设备消费是生活能源消费增加的最大拉动因素,其次为居住面积。基于研究结果,提出降低居民生活能源消费的相关政策建议。     

城市居住区毒气扩散数值模拟

针对某居住区附近氯气储罐连续泄漏,通过求解三维不可压缩Navier-Stokes方程、K-ε湍流模型和物质浓度方程,模拟毒气在建筑物扰动条件下的扩散过程以及浓度时空分布特征,以毒气负载为基础给出近地面毒气危害区域,探讨毒气扩散对周边居民的影响。     

房地产新建项目的环境影响预测评价

根据房地产开发项目环境影响评价的方法和准则,分析了新建住宅类建设项目施工期和营运期对环境产生的不良影响,及外环境对住宅小区的环境影响,预测和评价了运营期的大气污染、废水污染及施工期和运营期的噪声污染。结果表明,运营期排放的废水可以满足国家污水排放标准,氮氧化物是运营期大气污染物的主要成分,施工期土石方阶段和结构阶段的噪声排放能满足昼间噪声限值,其余噪声污染全部超出了标准限值。提出了相应的环保措施,总结了住宅建设项目环境影响评价的特点。     

我国居住建筑室内PM_(2.5)研究现状及进展

分析了我国居住建筑室内PM_(2.5)污染水平,总结了现阶段PM_(2.5)的研究方法,主要包括理论分析法、数值模拟法和实验测试法。指出室外源是室内PM_(2.5)的主要污染来源,而室内烟草烟雾、烹饪及人员活动也会严重影响室内PM_(2.5)浓度。针对目前研究中存在的问题,提出了标定典型建筑在不同影响因素下的I/O比范围、研究家具和家电的颗粒物释放状况、加强农村室内外空气颗粒物污染调查等建议。     

Polychlorinated biphenyls in vacuum dust and blood of residents in 20 Wisconsin households

Human exposure to PCBs is nearly universal in North America. While most exposure can be linked to consumption of contaminated fish, detection of PCBs in non-fish eating populations suggests that other routes of exposure including inhalation of PCB-laden particles or volatile congeners, ingestion of contaminated soil or dust, or dermal absorption following direct contact are also important. In an effort to assess the role of the residential environment as a source of exposure, vacuum dust was collected from the homes of 26 Wisconsin residents whose serum PCB levels had been measured approximately 2 years earlier. More than 60 congeners were detected in dust with all of the samples containing congeners 101, 110, 138 and 153. Total PCB levels ranged from 8.8 to 1186 ng g⁻¹ with levels being highest in vacuum dust from homes built between 1959 and 1970. Total PCB levels ranged from 0.05 to 8.34 μg L⁻¹ in serum collected from the adults living in these households, with congeners 138, 153 and 180 predominating. Hexa- and hepta-chlorinated biphenyls comprised 73% of the total residues detected in serum. However, most of the residues found in dust were lower chlorinated congeners with tetra- and penta-chlorinated biphenyls being dominant. Following log transformation, a positive association was found between serum and house dust PCB levels. This association was stronger among infrequent consumers of Great Lake fish, but of borderline statistical significance. This exploratory study suggests that house dust may be a significant source of exposure to PCBs and supports the need for further investigations.