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Abstract To reduce pollution emissions and achieve a cleaner production in paper industry, it is essential to understand the inner links between concentrations of gaseous pollutants, types of final products and production techniques. In this study, the concentrations of four potential gaseous pollutants, total volatile organic compounds (TVOC), formaldehyde (HCHO), hydrogen sulfide (H 2 S), and hydrocarbon compounds (C x H y), in the ambient air on thirty sampling points of five pulp and paper mills were detected and analyzed. The results were summarized with respect to the following aspects: (1) Levels of four gaseous pollutants on all the sampling points in five mills. It was obvious that the situation of gaseous pollution from pulp mill was much more serious than those from paper mills. (2) Gaseous pollutant distinctions due to different production processes. The levels of gaseous pollutants from five mills were greatly influenced by the utilized raw materials and the applied paper chemical agents (flavor, coating materials and additives) in mills. (3) Gaseous pollution comparisons at common points. At the two common points in five mills, i.e. the wet end of paper machine and the wastewater treatment process, TVOC and HCHO, C x H y and H 2 S were the main gaseous pollutants, respectively. In addition, some feasible measures to realize a cleaner production in pulping and papermaking process were also put forward in the article. Highlights • We analyze the levels of 4 gaseous pollutants on 30 sites of 5 pulp & paper mills. • Gaseous pollution distinctions due to different production processes are studied. • Feasible measures to realize the cleaner production in the processes are suggested. • Gaseous pollution are greatly affected by raw materials and added paper chemicals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite their key role in integrated waste management, direct (incineration) and indirect (gasification/pyrolysis) waste combustion processes are still opposed by some of the general public due to the past emission levels of air pollutants. In fact, although the release of air pollutants (especially dioxin) to the atmosphere from waste combustion processes has gradually decreased over the years, thanks to the introduction of stricter regulations and more advanced removal technologies, there is still an unsolved problem regarding the public acceptance of waste-to-energy facilities. The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of the state-of-the-art air pollution control (APC) technologies used in waste combustion facilities. Air pollution control technologies are designed to reduce or eliminate the emissions of harmful pollutants into the atmosphere. These technologies are important for safeguarding public health, protecting ecosystems, complying with regulations, and promoting a more sustainable and resilient future for both local and global communities. This paper will highlight the complexity behind emission control and the efforts made by this sector over the years. This paper will also propose suggested configurations based on the interactions/complementarity between different APC technologies and recent findings to improve their performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Non-exhaust road transport emissions in cities contribute to poor air quality and have an impact on human health. This paper presents a new study of particles emitted by tyre wear in real driving conditions and gives their emission factors. The most frequently emitted particles were collected in urban, suburban and road areas. They were identified and analysed physically and chemically. Their level of toxicity is well known. An overall analysis of the measured pollutants was carried out to assess their emission factors in real driving situations. The highest emitting pollutants, considered separately, were found to have high emission factors. The values obtained exceed the Euro standard for vehicles but are below those of vehicles not equipped with particle filters. Significant test analysis confirmed that the inertia of chemical pollutants is homogeneous. Emission factors have also been provided for PM10 and PM2.5. These results should contribute to the emergence of future regulations of non-exhaust emissions and should help to analyse the exposure-impact relationship for particles from tyre wear. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Internet of Things (IoT) is a new revolution that integrates multiple technologies to improve our lifestyle and healthcare. With the use of this technology, football players may be safeguarded from health issues such as a cardiopulmonary respiratory system that could arise during a game or practice. This paper investigates the effect of inhalable particle pollution on the number of cardiovascular and respiratory diseases during outdoor football games using an advanced IoT-enabled approach. First, this research work investigates the negative impacts of inhalable air particles on the health of IoT-enabled outdoor football players. Second, it designs a sophisticated IoT-based monitoring system for real-time health evaluation, with a particular emphasis on the impact of inhalable particle pollution on the cardiovascular and respiratory systems of the participants. This proposed system is made up of three interconnected layers: the Sensory Layer, which is outfitted with lightweight IoT sensors and meticulously stationed for real-time monitoring of the players' physiological parameters and stadium environmental conditions; the Network Layer, which is in charge of facilitating seamless data flow between the sensors and the Cloud Layer; and the Cloud Layer, which is in charge of secure data storage, intricate analysis, and the extraction of invaluable information. Third, it employs Kriging estimation as a multi-step method that includes variogram modeling to analyze spatial data dependency, providing insights into how data points relate to distance and direction. Kriging calculates the difference between data points and generates spatial concentration maps that illustrate the geographical distributions of particle pollutants. Finally, it employs Linear Regression (LR) analysis to investigate the relationship between inhalable particle pollution and cardiopulmonary respiratory disease in outdoor football players. The data are dimensioned before comparison to produce the correlation coefficient, which reveals the relationship between these variables. The experimental result shows that in the single pollution model of inhalable particulate pollutant PM2.5, the relative risk values of cardiorespiratory diseases in different populations of outdoor football are 1.0022, 1.0019, 1.0024, 1.0025, and 1.0028, respectively. In CO, SO2, NO2, O3, and other multi-pollutant models, the concentration level of inhalable particulate pollutant PM2.5 increased by 10 μg/m3, and the number of visits for cardiorespiratory diseases in the whole population increased by 0.339% (95% CI 0.220–0.458) after the 10th day of outdoor football. In addition, the number of visits for cardiorespiratory diseases in men and women who lagged on the 10th day of outdoor football increased by 0.322% (95% CI 0.198–0.446) and 0.345% (95% CI 0.223–0.467), respectively. The number of visits for cardiorespiratory diseases of the elderly and children who lagged on the 10th day of outdoor football increased by 0.373% (95% CI 0.234–0.512) and 0.364% (95% CI 0.229–0.500), respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

All experiments were carried out in a prototype vortexing fluidized bed combustor (VFBC). The dimension of the combustion chamber is 0.7 x 1.4 x 2 m, and the freeboard section is 1 m i.d. and 4 m in height. Paper sludge was used as the feeding material. Two types of coal particles were employed as the supplementary fuel. In order to understand the characteristics of the VFBC system for paper sludge incineration, the effect of various operating parameters, such as the primary airflow, excess air ratio, and secondary airflow rates, on temperature distribution, ash elutriation, combustion efficiency, and pollutant emissions were investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, the issue of air pollution has garnered significant public attention globally, with a particular emphasis on the challenge of atmospheric fine particulate matter (PM2.5) pollution. The efficient and precise simulation of changes in pollutant concentrations, as well as their spatial and temporal distribution, is essential for effectively addressing the air pollution issue. In this paper, the WRF-Chem model is used to simulate the meteorological elements including temperature (T), relative humidity (RH), wind speed (WS), and pressure (P), and the concentrations of PM2.5 and PM10 atmospheric pollutants in December 2020 in Xuzhou City. Simultaneously, the ADMS-Urban model was employed to conduct a higher spatial resolution study of PM2.5 concentrations during the heavy pollution days of 11–12 December 2020 in Xuzhou City. The study shows that the WRF-Chem model can simulate the meteorological conditions of the study time period better, and the correlation coefficients (R) of pressure, temperature, wind speed, and relative humidity are 0.99, 0.87, 0.75, and 0.70, respectively. The WRF-Chem model can accurately simulate the PM2.5 concentration on clean days (R of 0.66), but the simulation of polluted days is not satisfactory. Therefore, the ADMS-Urban model was chosen to simulate the PM2.5 concentration on polluted days in the center of Xuzhou City. The ADMS-Urban model can simulate the distribution characteristics and concentration changes of PM2.5 around roads and buildings in the center of Xuzhou City. Comparing the simulation results of the two models, it was found that the two models have their own advantages in PM2.5 concentration simulation, and how to better couple the two models is the next research direction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Air pollution health effects in New Zealand were first assessed in the Health and Air Pollution in New Zealand (HAPINZ 1.0) study undertaken by Fisher et al (2007) for 2001. This work was later updated for 2006 by Kuschel et al (2012) (HAPINZ 2.0), using monitoring data collected to show compliance with a national environmental standard for particulate matter (PM10) (MfE 2011). At the time, limited data meant that HAPINZ 2.0 used PM10 as a proxy for all air pollution, and impacts were assigned to sources using their contributions to PM10 (rather than all) emissions. On this basis, the findings prioritised addressing domestic fire emissions over motor vehicle emissions in most locations across New Zealand. The authors acknowledged that HAPINZ 2.0 likely under-estimated effects due to motor vehicle nitrogen dioxide (NO2). This was flagged for future investigation. In 2019, the Ministry for the Environment, Waka Kotahi, Te Manatū Waka Ministry of Transport and Ministry of Health commissioned a new update - HAPINZ 3.0 - to update the air pollution impacts for 2016. HAPINZ 3.0 developed New Zealand specific exposure-response functions for a range of health outcomes, including childhood asthma, from exposure to both fine particulate (PM2.5) and NO2 using a two pollutant model. While some contribution from NO2 was expected, the extent of the impact was startling. The health burden from all human-generated (anthropogenic) sources of air pollution was estimated at $15.6 billion, with NO2 exposure accounting for just over 60%. At the time the initial findings came to light, no other researchers had found such strong associations between NO2 and mortality. This paper reviews the key features and findings of HAPINZ 3.0. Possibly more interestingly, the paper also discusses the comprehensive additional analyses undertaken by the HAPINZ 3.0 team to check for bias and to confirm the NO2 findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Air pollution is one of the most severe environmental problems that Mexico is currently facing. The objective of this paper is to quantify the most relevant socioeconomic driving forces behind air polluting emissions and, more specifically, 7 local pollutants in Mexico. We do so in a multilevel version of the Stochastic Impacts by Regression on Population, Affluence and Technology (STIRPAT) model that accounts for the spatial heterogeneity at the municipal level across the country. The results show that the most relevant variables to determine the emissions of atmospheric pollutants are the population, the harvested area and the number of cars, while technological development helps to mitigate such emissions. The ecological elasticities are, in all cases, smaller than one. Our purpose is to provide quantitative information about these socioeconomic driving forces of air deterioration as a basis to establish some recommendations for environmental policy decision-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND Air pollution is both a sensory blight and a threat to human health. Inhaled environmental pollutants can be naturally occurring or human-made, and include traffic-related air pollution (TRAP), ozone, particulate matter (PM) and volatile organic compounds, among other substances, including those from secondhand smoking. Studies of air pollution on reproductive and endocrine systems have reported associations of TRAP, secondhand smoke (SHS), organic solvents and biomass fueled-cooking with adverse birth outcomes. While some evidence suggests that air pollution contributes to infertility, the extant literature is mixed, and varying effects of pollutants have been reported. OBJECTIVE AND RATIONALE Although some reviews have studied the association between common outdoor air pollutants and time to pregnancy (TTP), there are no comprehensive reviews that also include exposure to indoor inhaled pollutants, such as airborne occupational toxicants and SHS. The current systematic review summarizes the strength of evidence for associations of outdoor air pollution, SHS and indoor inhaled air pollution with couple fecundability and identifies gaps and limitations in the literature to inform policy decisions and future research. SEARCH METHODS We performed an electronic search of six databases for original research articles in English published since 1990 on TTP or fecundability and a number of chemicals in the context of air pollution, inhalation and aerosolization. Standardized forms for screening, data extraction and study quality were developed using DistillerSR software and completed in duplicate. We used the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale to assess risk of bias and devised additional quality metrics based on specific methodological features of both air pollution and fecundability studies. OUTCOMES The search returned 5200 articles, 4994 of which were excluded at the level of title and abstract screening. After full-text screening, 35 papers remained for data extraction and synthesis. An additional 3 papers were identified independently that fit criteria, and 5 papers involving multiple routes of exposure were removed, yielding 33 articles from 28 studies for analysis. There were 8 papers that examined outdoor air quality, while 6 papers examined SHS exposure and 19 papers examined indoor air quality. The results indicated an association between outdoor air pollution and reduced fecundability, including TRAP and specifically nitrogen oxides and PM with a diameter of ≤2.5 µm, as well as exposure to SHS and formaldehyde. However, exposure windows differed greatly between studies as did the method of exposure assessment. There was little evidence that exposure to volatile solvents is associated with reduced fecundability. WIDER IMPLICATIONS The evidence suggests that exposure to outdoor air pollutants, SHS and some occupational inhaled pollutants may reduce fecundability. Future studies of SHS should use indoor air monitors and biomarkers to improve exposure assessment. Air monitors that capture real-time exposure can provide valuable insight about the role of indoor air pollution and are helpful in assessing the short-term acute effects of pollutants on TTP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a framework for the development of a computationally-efficient surrogate model for air pollution dispersion. Numerical simulation of air pollution dispersion is of fundamental importance for the mitigation of pollution in Seveso-type accidents, and, in extreme cases, for the design of evacuation scenarios for which long-range forecasting is necessary. Due to the high computational load, sophisticated simulation programs are not always useful for prompt computational studies and experimentation in real time. Surrogate models are data-driven models that mimic the behaviour of more accurate and more complex models in limited conditions. These models are computationally fast and enable efficient computer experimentation with them. We propose two methods. The first method develops a grid of independent dynamic models of the air pollution dispersion. The second method develops a reduced grid with interpolation of outputs. Both are demonstrated in an example of a realistic, controlled experiment with limited complexity based on an approximately 7 km radius around the thermal power plant in Šoštanj, Slovenia. The results show acceptable matching of behaviour between the surrogate and original model and noticeable improvement in the computational load. This makes the obtained surrogate models appropriate for further experimentation and confirms the feasibility of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present work aims to present aspects related to the main sources of environmental pollution that exist in the Western Region, as well as the impact of pollution on the health of the inhabitants, in order to ensure a healthy living environment for all the inhabitants of the region. Industrial activities located in this delimited area, sometimes very close or even in human settlements, lead to the appearance of intense sources of environmental pollution with effects on the health of the inhabitants. The short- and medium-term effects of air pollution are detrimental to human health and harm ecosystems and the economy. Long-term pollution affects the environment through: the effect of greenhouse gases, the destruction of the ozone layer, the presence of heavy metals, dust and suspended particles. The greenhouse gases specified in one of the annexes to the Kyoto Protocol are: carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide. Heavy metals (mercury, cadmium, lead) are now well ahead of well-known pollutants such as carbon dioxide and sulfur and are predicted to be considered more dangerous than nuclear and solid waste. Heavy metal contamination is associated with their widespread use in industrial production, coupled with poor cleaning systems, as a result of which heavy metals enter the environment. Among all pollutants, suspended particles, nitrogen oxides, especially nitrogen dioxide, and ozone pose the highest risk to human health. Air pollution is potentially the most serious short- and medium-term health problem. Polluted air is the most difficult to avoid, and its effects penetrate everywhere and harm the health of the population. The Western Region has numerous sources of pollution such as the steel industry, the electricity and thermal energy production industry, the construction materials industry and the extractive industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The types, sources and migration of microplastics in atmospheric environment, and their effects on ecosystem and human health were reviewed. As an emerging contaminant, microplastics are constantly accumulating in the environment and organisms. Coupled with its small particle size, and non-biodegradability, the impact on the ecological environment and human health has attracted widespread attention. Due to the late start of its research, it is still in the stage of continuous exploration and has not yet formed a complete theoretical system. Based on the latest research progress, this paper puts forward that further research should be carried out in the future from the sources, migration and transmission mechanism of atmospheric microplastics, the effects on human health risks, and the combined toxic effects and mechanisms of atmospheric microplastics monomers, additives and pollutants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mercury is a toxic pollutant that can negatively impact the population's health and the environment. The research on atmospheric mercury is of critical concern because of the diverse process that this pollutant suffers in the atmosphere as well as its deposition capacity, which can provoke diverse health issues. The Minamata Convention encourages the protection of the adverse effects of mercury, where research is a part of the strategies and atmospheric modelling plays a critical role in achieving the proposed aim. This paper reviews the study of modelling atmospheric mercury based on the southern hemisphere (SH). The article discusses diverse aspects focused on the SH such as the spatial distribution of mercury, its emissions projections, interhemispheric transport, and deposition. There has been a discrepancy between the observed and the simulated values, especially concerning the seasonality of gaseous elemental mercury and total gaseous mercury. Further, there is a lack of research about the emissions projections in the SH and mercury deposition, which generates uncertainty regarding future global scenarios. More studies on atmospheric mercury behaviour are imperative to better understand the SH's mercury cycle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Air pollution is one of the leading causes of death globally, and continues to have a detrimental effect on our health. In light of these impacts, an extensive range of statistical modelling approaches has been devised in order to better understand air pollution statistics. However, the time-varying statistics of different types of air pollutants are far from being fully understood. The observed probability density functions (PDFs) of concentrations depend very much on the spatial location and on the pollutant substance. In this paper, we analyse a large variety of data from 3544 different European monitoring sites and show that the PDFs of nitric oxide (NO), nitrogen dioxide ( N O 2 ) and particulate matter ( P M 10 and P M 2.5 ) concentrations generically exhibit heavy tails and are asymptotically well approximated by q-exponential distributions with a given width parameter λ . We observe that the power-law parameter q and the width parameter λ vary widely for the different spatial locations. For each substance, we find different patterns of parameter clouds in the (q , λ) plane. These depend on the type of pollutants and on the environmental characteristics (urban/suburban/rural/traffic/industrial/background). This means the effective statistical physics description of air pollution exhibits a strong degree of spatial heterogeneity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heavy metals emitted from anthropogenic activities can be transported into the atmosphere over long distances and can have significant negative effects on human health and the environment. Heavy metals are toxic pollutants that act on various organs and systems of the human body, their effects being specific to each substance. Because of their reduced mobility, heavy metals are concentrated at each trophic level, the highest concentration being reached at the ends of food chains, where, most of the times, humans stand. This paper presents the spatial and temporal evolution of heavy metals concentrations in the Southeastern part of Romania. The Southeastern region we studied included the counties of: Braila, Buzau, Constanta, Galati and Tulcea, respectively. The database of the Romanian National Air Quality Monitoring Network (RNMCA) was used for this study. The data taken from the RNMCA network consisted in the concentrations of As, Cd, Ni and Pb, respectively, which were recorded between January 2020 and May 2022. The monthly evolution of the chosen pollutants was studied. Pearson and Spearman correlations were used in order to study the influence of climatic factors on the heavy metals pollutants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using the hourly monitoring data of pollutants from 16 automatic atmospheric monitoring stations in eastern Jilin Province from 2015 to 2020, this paper analyzed the temporal and spatial distribution laws of CO, SO2, NO2, PM10, PM2.5, and O3 in eastern Jilin Province. At the same time, the regional transport pathways of pollutants were analyzed using the hybrid single-particle Lagrangian integrated trajectory (HYSPLIT) model; the potential source contribution function (PSCF) analyzed the potential source area of PM2.5. Finally, the "weekend effect" of CO, NO2, PM2.5, and O3 was analyzed. The results showed that the six pollutants showed a downward trend year by year. The concentrations of O3, PM10, and PM2.5 were higher in northwest Jilin, and the concentrations of SO2 and CO were higher in southwest Jilin. Except for CO, the seasonal variation of pollutants was pronounced. Except for O3, most pollutants had the highest concentration in winter. Hourly variation analysis described that SO2 and O3 had only one peak in a day, and the other four pollutants showed "double peak" hourly variation characteristics. The study area was mainly affected by the airflow pathway from northwest and southwest. The weight potential source contribution function (WPSCF) high-value area of PM2.5 was northwest and southwest. O3 showed a "negative weekend effect", and NO2 and CO showed a "positive weekend effect". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To reduce the pollution from the atmosphere or polluted cities like the capital city Delhi of India, use of artificial rain is a solution. In this paper, we have proposed and analyzed a nonlinear mathematical model to reduce the pollution level by rain making. In the proposed model five variables are considered, namely; (i) number density of water vapor, (ii) number density of cloud drops, (iii) number density of raindrops, (iv) cumulative concentration of aerosols, and (v) concentration of pollutant particles suspended in the region of consideration. The effect of environmental fluctuations has been studied with the help of Lyapunov functionals. The model is analyzed in the presence of white noise and proved that if rain persists, the pollutants can be totally washed out. It has been observed that the environmental disturbances are not much favorable in such experiments as the presence of environmental disturbance may destabilize the system. It is found that to remove pollutants completely, it is necessary to prevent the formation of pollutants. The simulation is performed to support the analytical findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Road transport has become the major source of environmental pollution and it is also one of the biggest environmental risks in the EU countries. Good air quality is very important for population as pollutants have negative impacts on human health. The paper deals with relationship between air pollutants generated by road transport and the life expectancy in EU countries. At the beginning of the paper the main pollutants from motor vehicles are described and impact on human health is summarized too. We use regression analysis of panel data to analyse the relationship between chosen air pollutants and life expectancy. Our results show negative impacts of nitrogen oxide and sulphur oxide, specifically reduction in life expectancy by 1.49 years for nitrogen oxides and 0.28 years for sulphur oxides with an increase of the pollutant by 1%. So according to our findings economic policy makers should focus primarily on the reduction of nitrogen and sulphur oxides. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to calculate the fuel consumption and emissions of carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxide (NOx) and hydrocarbons (HC) in the taxi-out period of aircraft at the International Diyarbakir Airport in 2018 and 2019. Design/methodology/approach: Calculations were performed by determining the engine operating times in the taxi-out period with the flight data obtained from the airport authority. In the analyses, aircraft series and aircraft engine types were determined, and the Engine Exhaust Emission Databank of the International Civil Aviation Authority (ICAO) were used for the calculation. Findings: Total fuel consumption in the taxi-out period in 2018 and 2019 was calculated as 525.64 and 463.69 tons, respectively. In 2018, HC, CO and NOx emissions caused by fuel consumption were found to be 1,109, 10,668 and 2,339 kg, respectively. In 2019, the total HC, CO and NOx emissions released to the atmosphere during the taxi-out phase are 966, 9,391 and 2,126 kg, respectively. B737 Series aircraft have the largest share in total fuel consumption and pollutant emissions. Practical implications: This study explains the importance of determining fuel consumption and pollutant emissions by considering engine operating times in the taxi-out period. The study provides aviation authorities with scientific methods to follow in calculating fuel consumption and emissions from aircraft operations. Originality/value: The originality of this study is the calculation of fuel consumption and pollutant emissions by determining real-time engine running times in the taxi-out period. In addition, calculations were made with real engine operating times determined in the taxi-out period using real flight data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In part I of this paper series, the application of an incomplete adjoint operator to calculate the optimal reduction of the total emissions S′ was suggested. This paper, part II of the series, focuses on calculating the reduction of the anthropogenic emission source S′a As Sc (the source term due to the chemical reaction in the atmosphere) is a complex function of the pollutant concentration ρ, we propose an iterative optimization method using a positive-negative discriminant to obtain S′a from S′. The convergence of the iterations is also proven in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] VOCs and CO are considered to be one of the main factors causing air pollution. They have received widespread attentions due to their toxicity and serious threats to the environment and human health. Catalytic oxidation has been proved to be a promising and effective technology. As an eco-friendly and cheap material, cobalt-based catalysts based on Co 3 O 4 has become the most competitive and potential catalyst material for eliminating VOCs and CO. However, most of the pollutants are complex in composition, such as water vapor, sulfur dioxide, and other substances, which puts higher requirements on the low-temperature activity and stability of the catalysts. This work systematically presents recent advances in treating VOCs and CO with cobalt-based materials to fill this gap. Specifically, this paper focuses on the optimization strategy of activity and stability of cobalt-based materials and discusses the improvement mechanism of catalyst performance in detail. Finally, the challenges and prospects of cobalt-based catalysts in VOCs and CO oxidation were discussed. This work may guide the reasonable construction of catalysts with excellent activity and anti-toxicity for VOCs and CO oxidation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evaluates the potential for reducing indoor styrene exposure from copied paper through use of low-emitting toners. determination of air-borne styrene emission rates from freshly copied paper; Impact of lower-styrene toners on emissions from the copier; Generalization of the results of the above-mentioned experiment.

According to the air quality monitoring and meteorological observation data from 2015 to 2020, the air pollution characteristics and causes were analyzed in the Ghost Festival (on the 15th of the 7th lunar month) for the main urban area of Liupanshui City in western Guizhou Province. The results showed that air pollution to different extent occurred in the Ghost Festival every year, reaching the level of heavy pollution in half of the year. The pollution time is generally from 21:00 on the day to 01:00 on the next day. The pollutants mainly come from the smoke dust generated by people burning sacrificial offerings and industrial pollution of iron and steel manufacturing under adverse weather conditions. The primary pollutant is PM2.5, and the annual variation of pollution shows a downward trend. Precipitation weather is in the majority, which is favorable for reducing the pollution degree; the relationship between wind direction, wind speed and pollution degree is closed; the atmospheric inversion is weak, which has no obvious influence on the change of air pollution; the relative humidity is high, which is conducive to the formation and maintenance of pollution; there is a very significant negative correlation between the degree of air pollution and wind energy, and significantly negative correlation between the degree of air pollution and atmospheric turbulence intensity. Advocating civilized sacrifice and strengthening management is beneficial to reducing the degree of pollution. This paper can be used as a reference for air quality forecasts and taking the appropriate measures to reduce pollution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The poor air quality in the London metropolis has sparked our interest in studying the time series dynamics of air pollutants in the city. The dataset consists of roadside and background air quality for seven standard pollutants: nitric oxide (NO), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), oxides of nitrogen (NOx), ozone (O3), particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5) and sulphur dioxide (SO2), using fractional integration to investigate issues such as persistence, seasonality and time trends in the data. Though we notice a large degree of heterogeneity across pollutants and a persistent behaviour based on a long memory pattern is observed practically in all cases. Seasonality and decreasing linear trends are also found in some cases. The findings in the paper may serve as a guide to air pollution management and European Union (EU) policymakers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effects of industrial activity in the refractory products sector on the environment can be estimated depending on the pollutant emissions, pollutants that affect in various ways the quality of the environmental factors. The recoverable products resulting from the activity of these companies are accompanied by emissions that are presented in solid, liquid and gaseous form. In this paper the authors present the sources of pollution and the type of pollutants emitted by an economic agent producing refractory materials. In order to maintain the confidentiality of the data, the name of the commercial company to which this study was made is used generically by S.C. Refractare S.A. Romania. The work was drawn up on the basis of the documentation made on the spot, with the agreement of the management of the respective company, of the observations made in the field, based on the technological data made available by the management of the company and based on the determinations of pollutants discharged into the environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We calculate emissions of criteria pollutants (VOC's, PM10, CO, NOx and SOx) from point sources for the year 1997 in Cali-Yumbo (Colombia). Data were obtained from 108 emission declarations to environmental authorities. We applied the method of emission factors for most of the sources which had no direct measurements and reported type and amount of fuel used. We find that paper manufacturing and printing/publishing industries generate the most pollutants overall, followed by non-metallic minerals and textile/apparel industries. While the sources in the city of Cali were responsible for most of the volatile organic compounds (VOC's), emissions of sulfur oxides and particulate matter originate mostly from sources in the industrial town of Yumbo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The sequestration process of greenhouse contaminants such as CO2 via hollow fiber membrane contactor (HFMC) is regarded as a promising technology to manage the deleterious impressions of CO2 on environment such as global warming and air pollution. This investigational paper renders a wide-ranging 2D simulation in order to assess the removal performance of CO2 from CO2/CH4 gaseous stream (containing 80 % CH4 and 20 % CO2) in the HFMC. As the novelty, the evaluation of CO2 acid gas removal from gaseous mixture applying four novel absorbing agents (potassium threonate (PT), piperazine (PZ), pure water (H2O) and methyldiethanolamine (MDEA)) is implemented in the HFMC with the aim of introducing a more efficient liquid absorbent for CO2 sequestration. Model validation is done based on the comparison of mathematical model outcomes and experimental data in a wide range of H2O velocity and confirms a desirable agreement with an average relative deviation (ARD) of approximately 3 % for CO2 flux. It is perceived from the results that PZ is introduced as the most efficient liquid absorbent for CO2 sequestration and MDEA, PT and H2O are in the next category (100 % removal using PZ > 96 % removal using MDEA > 89 % removal using PT > 57 % removal using H2O). The results corroborate that increase in membrane tortuosity and gas velocity negatively affects the sequestration process while increment of module length and porosity improve the separation of CO2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the increasing severity of air pollution, PM2.5 in aerosols, as the most important air pollutant, has adversely affected people's normal production, life and work, and has caused harm to people's health. Scientific and effective prediction of PM2.5 can enable people to take precautions in advance to avoid or reduce harm to the human body. Therefore, the prediction of PM2.5 concentration has become a topic of great practical significance. This paper selects the air quality data released in real time, obtains the historical monitoring data of air environmental pollutants, and normalizes the data, then divides the sample data, and divides it into training data set and test data set in appropriate proportion. Design the optimal network structure based on BP neural network. An improved neural network is proposed, and the neural network is optimized using genetic algorithms. The preprocessed data are input into the network for training and testing. The fitting and prediction results were statistically and comparatively analyzed. The data results show that the neural network optimized by genetic algorithm has better performance in PM2.5 mass concentration prediction, which improves the accuracy of prediction results and reduces the error rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The cytochrome P450 BM3 enzyme produced by engineered E. coli was immobilized on Pt/TiO 2 -Cu hollow nanosphere. • The nanoparticles enhance the stability and activity of the enzyme. • The nanoparticle helped to produce continuous supply of electrons to the enzyme instead of NADPH. • This new photonanobiocatalyst has a bright future in industrial, pharmaceutical and environmental applications using the visible sunlight. Recently, nanoparticle-based immobilization of biocatalytic systems is getting interested in bioremediation efficiency. Therefore, hollow nanosphere particles of TiO 2 - Cu (<50 nm) were used to immobilize P450 BM3 enzyme produced by engineered E. coli to create an effective novel material that can be significantly used for organic pollutants degradation under solar radiation conditions. Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) and the evaluation of enzyme activity before and after immobilization step were used to confirm the successful immobilization process of enzyme on the surface of hollow nanosphere TiO 2 – Cu composite. The enzyme P450 BM3 was strongly immobilized on hollow nanosphere composite and its activity was doubled than that of the free enzyme produced by batch fermentation of engineered E. coli. Furthermore, the catalytic potential of P450 BM3 - hollow nanocomposite biocatalyst was examined for in vitro degradation of isopropanol as a model of organic gases pollutants under visible radiation. It was found that the degradation of isopropanol was high (95%) with enzyme- hollow nanosphere composite biocatalyst (5 mg) at an initial condition of pH (˜7.0), ambient temperature, and isopropanol concentration (20 mg/L). Control experiment indicated that P450 BM3 enzyme- hollow nanosphere composite biocatalyst was better than both the hollow nanosphere composite without enzyme and free enzyme. Therefore, the hollow nanocomposite TiO 2 – Cu seemed to enhance stability and activity of immobilized P450 BM3 enzyme over the free enzyme. Moreover, a combination of nanomaterial and enzyme is required for achieving biocompatibility and inert condition without denaturing the enzyme. Overall, TiO 2 -Cu hollow nanosphere composite is potential for large-scale P450 BM3 immobilization with improved properties and reuse. The results showed that the performance of nanobiocatalyst was successfully introduced via combined biocatalytic property of the enzyme and photocatalytic property of the hollow nanosphere composite. These were carried out for the first time in this paper. Therefore, this system is a potentially valid approach for air pollution remediation with a bright future in industrial applications as a new photonanobiocatalyst. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Excess emissions are pollutant releases that occur during periods of startups, shutdowns or malfunctions and are considered violations of the U.S. Clean Air Act. They are an important, but understudied and under-regulated, category of pollution releases given their frequency and magnitude. In this paper, we examine the demographic correlates of excess emissions, using data from industrial sources in Texas. Methods: We conduct two complementary sets of analyses: one at the census tract level and one at the facility level. At the census tract level, we use a multinomial logit model to examine the relationships between racial, ethnic, and income characteristics and the incidence of excess emissions. At the facility level, we first estimate a logit model to examine whether these characteristics are associated with facilities that emit excess emissions, and then, conditional on the presence of excess emissions, we use ordinary least square regression to estimate their correlation with the magnitude of releases. Results: Across our analyses, we find that the percentage of Black population and median household income are positively associated with excess emissions; percentage of college graduate, population density, median housing value, and percentage of owner-occupied housing unit are negatively associated with excess emissions. We, however, have not found a clear and significant relationship between the percentage of Hispanic population and excess emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To address the multiple air pollution problems, the simultaneous abatement of NO x and VOCs in the existing NH 3 -SCR units has attracted considerable environmental attention. Although this method has lowered costs, saved space and facilitated manufacturing, its practical use is still constrained by various uncertainties, such as catalyst properties, reactant interactions, etc. Hence, this paper reviews the progress of research on the simultaneous abatement of NO x and VOCs from industrial furnaces using SCR technology in recent decades. Firstly, the effectiveness of various catalysts for the synergistic removing multiple-pollutant and various methods for changing the catalyst properties are evaluated. It is worth noting that NO x reduction and VOCs oxidation inevitably interact with each other, therefore the interaction mechanism of multiple reactants and the influence of reaction conditions on the synergistic removal efficiency are then discussed in detail. Additionally, the mechanism of catalyst deactivation in the presence of heavy metal, chloride, etc. and the corresponding regeneration methods are proposed. Finally, some recommendations regarding potential future investigative directions are given. Hopefully, this review can build a bridge between newly modified SCR catalysts and the transformation from single pollutant to synergistic multi-pollutant elimination, allowing for the commercial applications in the near future. [Display omitted] • Simultaneously abating NO x and VOCs by using SCR technology was fully reviewed. • Various SCR catalysts for synergistic pollutant removal were thoroughly analyzed. • The interactions between NO x reduction and VOCs oxidation were discussed in detail. • The catalyst deactivation and the corresponding regeneration method were concluded. • Challenges and prospects of synergistic multi-pollutant elimination were proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Environmental-economic perspectives are recently taking growing momentum in the analysis of country-level performances, but few studies take into account the multi-dimensional nature of the phenomenon. The leading measure of pollution still remains only CO2 emission or, at best, CO2 equivalent emission. The few works taking a multi-criteria perspective are mainly related to specific case studies, urban areas, or the localization of renewable power plants. In this paper, we propose a multi-criteria analysis for a macro-perspective assessment of 10 different pollutants in 30 European countries over the period 2008–2015. Methodologically, we propose a new hybrid tool allowing us to merge the consolidated procedure usually employed for environmental evaluation: PROMETHEE, with a more flexible weighing process inspired by Data Envelopment Analysis. The unprecedented use of this tool for developing a macro perspective allows the clustering of European countries according their relative performances without any exogenous assumption about the weights given to the specific pollutants. In addition, the empirical evidence emerging from the analysis provides a comprehensive picture of patterns followed by European economies, which highlights the relative strengths and flaws at country-level for the considered pollutants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The purpose of this paper was to analyze the relationship between the selected chemical air pollutants found in the Lublin Province and the semen parameters of men seeking fertility treatment for the first time.Material and Methods: The study involved an analysis of semen sample test results obtained from male patients first reporting for fertility treatment in reproductive health centers in the Lublin Province, Poland. The data set comprises semen parameters of 13 148 men, and the number of samples in the reference period was 255-769 annually. Data on air pollution were obtained from the website of the Polish General Environmental Inspectorate and included selected chemical air pollutant levels, i.e., NO2, SO2, O3, and PM10.Results: The mean PM10 levels in the air increased, on average, by 0.65 μg/m3 annually in 2000-2015 (p = 0.029); the mean levels of O3, NO2, SO2 did not change significantly in the analyzed period. There were increasing trends in the mean sperm density and total sperm count of the subjects in 1992-2015 (p < 0.001). The mean percentage of sperm with normal morphology significantly decreased in the subsequent analysis periods: 1992-1998 (p = 0.001); 1999-2009 (p < 0.001); 2010-2015 (p = 0.001). A significant negative correlation was found between the ozone levels in the air in the Lublin Province and the percentage of sperm with normal morphology (r = -0.8311, p = 0.040).Conclusions: Exposure to ozone in the air contributes to decreased percentages of sperm with normal sperm morphology. Over the years, there was an increasing trend in sperm density in the men first reporting for fertility treatment, and a decreasing trend in the percentage of sperm with normal morphology. Int J Occup Med Environ Health. 2019;32(3):387-99. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When assessing the short-term effect of air pollution on health outcomes, it is common practice to consider one pollutant at a time, due to their high correlation. Multi pollutant methods have been recently proposed, mainly consisting of collapsing the different pollutants into air quality indexes or clustering the pollutants and then evaluating the effect of each cluster on the health outcome. A major drawback of such approaches is that it is not possible to evaluate the health impact of each pollutant. In this paper we propose the use of the Bayesian hierarchical framework to deal with multi pollutant concentrations in a two-component model: a pollutant model is specified to estimate the ‘true’ concentration values for each pollutant and then such concentration is linked to the health outcomes in a time-series perspective. Through a simulation study we evaluate the model performance and we apply the modelling framework to investigate the effect of six pollutants on cardiovascular mortality in Greater London in 2011-2012. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Efficient ventilation in hospital airborne isolation rooms is important vis-à-vis decreasing the risk of cross infection and reducing energy consumption. This paper analyses the suitability of using a displacement ventilation strategy in airborne infection isolation rooms, focusing on health care worker exposure to pathogens exhaled by infected patients. The analysis is mainly based on numerical simulation results obtained with the support of a 3-D transient numerical model validated using experimental data. A thermal breathing manikin lying on a bed represents the source patient and another thermal breathing manikin represents the exposed individual standing beside the bed and facing the patient. A radiant wall represents an external wall exposed to solar radiation. The air change efficiency index and contaminant removal effectiveness indices and inhalation by the health care worker of contaminants exhaled by the patient are considered in a typical airborne infection isolation room set up with three air renewal rates (6 h-1, 9 h-1 and 12 h-1), two exhaust opening positions and two health care worker positions. Results show that the radiant wall significantly affects the air flow pattern and contaminant dispersion. The lockup phenomenon occurs at the inhalation height of the standing manikin. Displacement ventilation renews the air of the airborne isolation room and eliminates the exhaled pollutants efficiently, but is at a disadvantage compared to other ventilation strategies when the risk of exposure is taken into account. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are regulated aerial pollutants that have environmental and health concerns. Swine operations produce and emit a complex mixture of VOCs with a wide range of molecular weights and a variety of physicochemical properties. Significant progress has been made in this area since the first experiment on VOCs at a swine facility in the early 1960s. A total of 47 research institutions in 15 North American, European, and Asian countries contributed to an increasing number of scientific publications. Nearly half of the research papers were published by U.S. institutions. Investigated major VOC sources included air inside swine barns, in headspaces of manure storages and composts, in open atmosphere above swine wastewater, and surrounding swine farms. They also included liquid swine manure and wastewater, and dusts inside and outside swine barns. Most of the sample analyses have been focusing on identification of VOC compounds and their relationship with odors. More than 500 VOCs have been identified. About 60% and 10% of the studies contributed to the quantification of VOC concentrations and emissions, respectively. The largest numbers of VOC compounds with reported concentrations in a single experimental study were 82 in air, 36 in manure, and 34 in dust samples. The relatively abundant VOC compounds that were quantified in at least two independent studies included acetic acid, butanoic acid (butyric acid), dimethyl disulfide, dimethyl sulfide, iso-valeric, p-cresol, propionic acid, skatole, trimethyl amine, and valeric acid in air. They included acetic acid, p-cresol, iso-butyric acid, butyric acid, indole, phenol, propionic acid, iso-valeric acid, and skatole in manure. In dust samples, they were acetic acid, propionic acid, butyric acid, valeric acid, p-cresol, hexanal, and decanal. Swine facility VOCs were preferentially bound to smaller-size dusts. Identification and quantification of VOCs were restricted by using instruments based on gas Chromatography (GC) and liquid chromatography (LC) with different detectors most of which require time-consuming procedures to obtain results. Various methodologies and technologies in sampling, sample preparation, and sample analysis have been used. Only four publications reported using GC based analyzers and PTR-MS (proton-transfer-reaction mass spectrometry) that allowed continuous VOC measurement. Because of this, the majority of experimental studies were only performed on limited numbers of air, manure, or dust samples. Many aerial VOCs had concentrations that were too low to be identified by the GC peaks. Although VOCs emitted from swine facilities have environmental concerns, only a few studies investigated VOC emission rates, which ranged from 3.0 to 176.5mgd−1 kg−1 pig at swine finishing barns and from 2.3 to 45.2gd−1 m−2 at manure storages. Similar to the other pollutants, spatial and temporal variations of aerial VOC concentrations and emissions existed and were significantly affected by manure management systems, barn structural designs, and ventilation rates. Scientific research in this area has been mainly driven by odor nuisance, instead of environment or health concerns. Compared with other aerial pollutants in animal agriculture, the current scientific knowledge about VOCs at swine facilities is still very limited and far from sufficient to develop reliable emission factors. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Highlights • Polluting gases and particulate matter are a health problem for cities. • Air pollution is dynamic; it moves through the air. • Aerial vehicles allow the pollutants measurement in air columns. • Pollution produced by cities is not local, it moves to the periphery. Abstract This paper presents the design, development and preliminary results of a sensor system that georeferences and measures atmospheric variables, polluting gases and particle pollution on ground level and lower troposphere using an unmanned aerial vehicle. The system can measure dioxide and monoxide of carbon, methane, ozone, different-diameter particle pollution, and variables such as temperature, humidity, among others. Data is registered and processed by a microcontroller system, is saved in a SD card and sent to a ground station using an Xtend radiofrequency system. Atmospheric and pollution data is published in real time on a website; reports could be generated. Some tests were performed in Envigado, Antioquia-Colombia, because the special geographic characteristics of this area increase the concentration of polluting gases in Medellín City troposphere. This equipment facilitates terrestrial and aerial measurements because is a compact and versatile device that allows optimizing predictive models of pollutant gases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Atmospheric pollutants are a very wide range of substances that differ from one another in terms of their chemical properties and their effects on humans or the environment. The toxic potential of gases and vapors in achieving a higher or lower concentration and in achieving a particular receptivity depends on a number of factors that are related to the particularities of the toxic, the external environment and the exposed organism. In this paper we present aspects related to the air pollution, the health effects due to exposure to atmospheric pollutants, the factors that depend on the toxicity of toxic gases and vapors and the risk of illness due to the main categories of atmospheric pollutants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents preliminary results about Turin’s air quality before, during and after the realization of the infrastructure projects for the Turin 2006 XX Winter Olympic Games. We compared the 3-year in-operam (work in progress) period (i.e. 2003–2005, when all infrastructures needed for the organization were built) with the periods before (ante-operam) and after (post-operam): 2000–2002 and 2006–2008, respectively. In particular, we analyzed the concentrations of the primary pollutants (nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide and fine particulate matter, PM10) in Turin and Milan. In this way, we could use the measurements from Milan as a control dataset for comparison with the atmospheric pollution conditions in Turin. We found that infrastructural work for the Olympic Games in Turin affected NO2 and PM10 atmospheric concentrations, determining a peak in the average values during the in-operam period (probably due to caterpillar tractor emissions and excavation). This pattern did not emerge from the Milan data, where a decreasing trend can be seen between the ante-operam and the post-operam periods. On the other hand, a negative effect on CO levels was not observed: the decreasing trend, more evident in Turin compared to Milan, can be linked to the expansion during the same period of limited traffic areas created to facilitate the infrastructural work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ikorodu Industrial Estate has no doubt transformed socioeconomic development of the city and the region at large from basically rural community about four decades ago to multicultural urban at the center and developing lower towns surrounding it. However, the Estate has been seen to be contributing immensely to the ambient air pollution of the area. The paper therefore was designed to investigate this. The population for the study was 577,917 NPC (2006) and the total randomly sampled population was 2000 which were drawn from residents, factory workers, Ikorodu local government workers and LASEPA. Aside this, atmospheric readings were taken within and some locations outside the Industrial Estate using Mobile Air Quality Measuring Machine. Analyses were done with the aid of Arc GIS version 9.2 for air measuring and SPSS for statistic using chi-square tests which revealed alternative hypotheses at 0.05. The work therefore found out that the Industrial Estate contributes to the pollution of its environmental air and that it has effects on the health of the people living in the area. The paper therefore recommended latest environmental control practices as in vogue in the developed nations of the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is employing the well-known methodology of impact pathway approach to assess the external costs in human health from ship air pollution at port areas. The passenger port of Piraeus, Greece is the scenery of the study. Piraeus port is in the vicinity of the greater Athens metropolitan area where almost half of the country’s population lives. Hence, this port is the central hub of the Greek coastal passenger ship system which connects the islands of the Aegean Sea with land and is characterized by heavy ship traffic. The case study presented in this paper assesses the annual external cost in human health from air emissions produced by all passenger ships and cruise ships calling the port of Piraeus. Health cost from ships at port has been estimated at both local (Athens metropolitan area) and regional level (entire territory of Greece). Results show that higher costs occur at the local level. The dominant pollutants creating this cost are particulate matter (PM 2.5 , and PM 10 ). Overall, the results indicate that the health impact of Piraeus’s passenger port emissions is not negligible; however the cost of PM 10 is considerably lower than the corresponded cost deriving from the land based industries of the Athens regional area for which comparison has been available. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Currently, air pollution is primarily characterized by PM 2.5 and O 3. Therefore, the co-control of PM 2.5 and O 3 has become an important task of atmosphere pollution prevention and control in China. However, few studies have been conducted on the emissions from vapor recovery and processes, which is an important source of VOCs. This paper analyzed the VOC emissions of three vapor process technologies in service stations and first proposed key pollutants for priority control based on the coordinated reactivity of O 3 and SOA. The concentration of VOCs emitted from the vapor processor was 3.14–9.95 g m−3, compared to 631.2–717.8 g m−3 for uncontrolled vapor. Alkanes, alkenes, and halocarbons accounted for a high proportion of the vapor both before and after control. Among the emissions, i -pentane, n -butane, and i -butane were the most abundant species. Then, the species of OFP and SOAP were calculated through the maximum incremental reactivity (MIR) and fractional aerosol coefficient (FAC). The average source reactivity (SR) value of the VOC emissions from three service stations was 1.9 g g−1, while the OFP ranged from 8.2 to 13.9 g m−3 and SOAP ranged from 0.18 to 0.36 g m−3. By considering the coordinated chemical reactivity of O 3 and SOA, a comprehensive control index (CCI) was proposed for the control of key pollutant species that have multiplier effects on environment. For adsorption, trans -2-butene and p -xylene were the key co-control pollutants, while toluene and trans -2-butene were the most important for membrane and condensation + membrane control. A 50% emission reduction of the top two key species that emission account for 4.3% averagely will reduce O 3 by 18.4% and SOA by 17.9%. [Display omitted] • The organized emissions of VOCs from three vapor processors were studied in service stations. • The species composition of VOCs before and after control were analyzed. • The OFP and SOAP were calculated to evaluate the secondary pollution. • The co-control of key pollutants based on SOA and O 3 has great environmental benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Air-borne micrometer and submicrometer particles produced by anthropogenic sources contaminate atmospheric air, especially in large cities where both population and industrial activities are higher leading to a reduced air quality. Recent research has pointed out particles less than 2.5 \mum in diameter (PM2.5) as a potential health hazard. To address this issue, stricter legislation has been put into force to reduce PM2.5 emissions. This paper is focused on the development of an impulsive microelectrostatic precipitation technology for charging and removal of fine air-borne particles in an economically feasible way. In this paper, a compact coaxial precipitator has been developed for possible indoor air cleaning applications. High-voltage impulses together with dc voltage have been used for energization of the reactor as it has been shown to enhance the precipitation efficiency. This precipitation system has been used for removal of fumes and fine air-borne particles from ambient air. In addition to the experimental part, analytical work has been conducted to optimize the electrostatic precipitation process and to reduce its power consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The National Environmental Respiratory Center Program was initiated as an experiment to explore strategies for identifying the components of complex air pollution mixtures that cause health effects associated statistically with air pollution. A strategy involving multivariate analysis of a composition-concentration-response database was adopted. A novel database was created by exposing rodents daily for up to six months to one of four combustion-related mixtures and measuring respiratory, cardiovascular and general toxicological responses after one week or six months of exposure. The mixtures included multiple concentrations of diesel and gasoline engine exhaust, hardwood smoke and simulated downwind coal combustion emissions. After reporting the biological effects of each mixture and comparing effects among them, 47 significant effects were selected for multiple additive regression tree analysis to identify putative causal components. Although the four mixtures provided a database marginally sufficient for the analysis, the results suggested the putative causes of 19 significant effects with acceptable confidence. This article describes and critiques the Program and its strategy. The integrated results are presented in two accompanying papers, and mixture-specific results were presented in preceding papers, which are cited. The experiment demonstrated the potential utility of the general approach and identified certain cause-effect relationships for confirmatory studies. A follow-up study provided support for causation by the components implicated for one of those relationships. The advantages and disadvantages of the Program's management and funding strategies are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ultimate solution to anthropogenic air pollution depends on an adjustment and upgrade of industrial and energy structures. Before this process can be completed, reducing the anthropogenic pollutant emissions is an effective measure. This is a problem belonging to “Natural Cybernetics”, i.e., the problem of air pollution control should be solved together with the weather prediction; however, this is very complicated. Considering that heavy air pollution usually occurs in stable weather conditions and that the feedbacks between air pollutants and meteorological changes are insufficient, we propose a simplified natural cybernetics method. Here, an off-line air pollution evolution equation is first solved with data from a given anthropogenic emission inventory under the predicted weather conditions, and then, a related “incomplete adjoint problem” is solved to obtain the optimal reduction of anthropogenic emissions. Usually, such solution is sufficient for satisfying the air quality and economical/ social requirements. However, a better solution can be obtained by iteration after updating the emission inventory with the reduced anthropogenic emissions. Then, this paper discusses the retrieval of the pollutant emission source with a known spatio-temporal distribution of the pollutant concentrations, and a feasible mathematical method to achieve this is proposed. The retrieval of emission source would also help control air pollution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the relation of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) in air samples with meteorological parameters (temperature, atmospheric pressure and relative humidity) using the Kohonen self-organizing map (SOM). Both gas- and particle-adsorbed phase of 20 PCB congeners and 7 OCPs including the three new ones (α-HCH, β-HCH, and γ-HCH) listed in the Stockholm Convention were collected during a one-year period at urban locations in Zagreb (Croatia). Moving beyond existing studies, the SOM analysis showed that the meteorological characteristics of transient seasons such as spring had no influence on the dissimilarities in the behavior of PCBs and OCPs. Towards the identification of pollutant spatial patterns, the SOM did not isolate a clear phenomenon probably due to the absence of local pollution sources contributing to the elevated concentrations of these compounds. Overall, our results have shown that the SOM method, by recognizing significant differences among PCB and OCP seasonality, could be recommended in the analysis of pollutant distribution depending on temperature and atmospheric pressure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rapidly rising population and increasing urbanization have the potential for producing a high level of pollution. Pollutants have the ability to change the distributions of patterns of plants and animals. Some of the main pollutant categories are water pollutants, air pollution, pesticides, and radioactive waste. Most abundantly toxicants are produced by the chemical and medical industries. We used food crops that are produced by using pesticide and herbicides, etc. Due to the enormous variety of toxic substances are present in the atmosphere, it is challenging task to determine the potential ecological and human health risk. Keeping all these things in mind, in this paper, a non-linear mathematical model is developed to examine the existence and survival of the human population in a polluted environment. For this, we have assumed four variables the human population, population pressure, urbanization, and toxicants and considered that the human population propagates logistically, urbanization and toxicants propagate at the constant rate. The qualitative analysis of the system shows that the rapid increase in urbanization increases the toxicants in the environment which causes the growth of the human population decrease. Some numerical simulations are also made to examine the validity of the model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper calculates the distribution of an adjusted measure of income that deducts damages due to exposure to air pollution from reported market income in the United States from 2011 to 2014. The Gini coefficient for this measure of adjusted income is 0.682 in 2011, as compared to 0.482 for market income. By 2014, we estimate that the Gini for adjusted income fell to 0.646, while the market income Gini did not appreciably change. The inclusion of air pollution damage acts like a regressive tax: with air pollution, the bottom 20% of households lose roughly 10% of the share of income, while the top 20% of households gain 10%. We find that, unlike the case for market income, New England is not the most unequal division with respect to adjusted income. Further, the difference between adjusted income for white and Hispanics is smaller than expected. However, the gap in augmented income between whites and African-Americans is widening. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The development of urbanization has had many negative outcomes in different societies. Population growth and the increase in the transportation are the consequences of urban growth which has resulted into problems. Vehicles are responsible for 90% of air pollution in Iran and it is essential to use authentic models of traffic emissions in accordance with the current conditions to predict this and future emissions. Iran has a lot of different air pollution dispersion parameters compared with the developed countries. Method: In this paper air pollution emission parameters in signalized intersections have been modelled and results have been compared to measured concentrations of air pollution in intersections. For this purpose the use of IVE (International Vehicle Emission) model that is common air pollution modelling and besides, Sensitivity Analysis has been performed to show modeling accuracy in comparison with current emissions. Result: By modeling and measurement results, it's easily understood in warm seasons emission concentration is more than cold seasons. Minimum and maximum rate of Carbon-monoxide (CO) and Nitrogen-oxides (NO) has been evaluated. Conclusion: IVE model has shown a bit difference amount of pollutions by comparison with field measurement emission. It could be said it is appropriate for model vehicle emission in Iran. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mounting evidence over the past several decades has demonstrated inequitable distribution of pollutants of ambient origin between sociodemographic groups in the United States. Most environmental inequality studies to date are cross-sectional and used proximity-based methods rather than modeled air pollution concentrations, limiting the ability to examine trends over time or the factors that drive exposure inequalities. In this paper, we use 1 km 2 modeled PM 2.5 and NO 2 concentrations in Massachusetts over an 8-year period and Census demographic data to quantify inequality between sociodemographic groups and to develop a more nuanced understanding of the drivers and trends in longitudinal air pollution inequality. Annual-average population-weighted PM 2.5 and NO 2 concentrations were highest for urban non-Hispanic black populations (11.8 µg/m 3 in 2003 and 8.4 µg/m 3 in 2010, vs. 11.3 µg/m 3 and 8.1 µg/m 3 for urban non-Hispanic whites) and urban Hispanic populations (15.9 ppb in 2005 and 13.0 ppb in 2010, vs. 13.0 ppb and 10.2 ppb for urban non-Hispanic whites), respectively. While population groups experienced similar absolute decreases in exposure over time, disparities in population-weighted concentrations increased over time when quantified by the Atkinson Index, a relative inequality measure. Exposure inequalities were approximately one order of magnitude greater for NO 2 compared to PM 2.5 , were more pronounced in urban compared to rural geographies, and between racial/ethnic groups compared to income and educational attainment groups. Our results also revealed similar longitudinal PM 2.5 and NO 2 inequality trends using Census 2000 and Census 2010 data, indicating that spatio-temporal shifts in air pollution may best explain observed trends in inequality. These findings enhance our understanding of factors that contribute to persistent inequalities and underscore the importance of targeted exposure reduction strategies aimed at vulnerable populations and neighborhoods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]