Air pollution - Monitoring

Title

Global climate change and contaminants-an overview of opportunities and priorities for modelling the potential implications for long-term human exposure to organic compounds in the Arctic

Reference

J. Environ. Monit, 2011, 13, 1532-1546
DOI:10.1039/C1EM10131E

Author(s

James M. Armitage, Cristina L. Quinn and Frank Wania

Study type

Peer Review Journal

Abstract

This overview seeks to provide context and insight into the relative importance of different aspects related to global climate change for the exposure of Northern residents to organic contaminants. A key objective is to identify, from the perspective of researchers engaged in contaminant fate, transport and bioaccumulation modelling, the most useful research questions with respect to projecting the long-term trends in human exposure. Monitoring studies, modelling results, the magnitude of projected changes and simplified quantitative approaches are used to inform the discussion. Besides the influence of temperature on contaminant amplification and distribution, accumulation of organic contaminants in the Arctic is expected to be particularly sensitive to the reduction/elimination of sea-ice cover and also changes to the frequency and intensity of precipitation events (most notably for substances that are highly susceptible to precipitation scavenging). Changes to key food-web interactions, in particular the introduction of additional trophic levels, have the potential to exert a relatively high influence on contaminant exposure but the likelihood of such changes is difficult to assess. Similarly, changes in primary productivity and dynamics of organic matter in aquatic systems could be influential for very hydrophobic contaminants, but the magnitude of change that may occur is uncertain. Shifts in the amount and location of chemical use and emissions are key considerations, in particular if substances with relatively low long range transport potential are used in closer proximity to, or even within, the Arctic in the future. Temperature-dependent increases in emissions via (re)volatilization from primary and secondary sources outside the Arctic are also important in this regard. An increased frequency of boreal forest fires has relevance for compounds emitted via biomass burning and revolatilization from soil during/after burns but compound-specific analyses are limited by the availability of reliable emission factors. However, potentially more influential for human exposure than changes to the physical environment are changes in human behaviour. This includes the gradual displacement of traditional food items by imported foods from other regions, driven by prey availability and/or consumer preference, but also the possibility of increased exposure to chemicals used in packaging materials and other consumer products, driven by dietary and lifestyle choices.

Policy theme(s)

Air pollution >> Managing emissions >> Monitoring
Air pollution >> Impact of emissions >> Ecosystem impacts
Air pollution >> Impact of emissions >> Health impacts

Keywords

Entry Source:

Shortlisted for Science for Environment Policy News Alert

Referred to in EC doc:

N/A

View this study at:

http://pubs.rsc.org/en/Content/ArticleLanding/2011/EM/c1em10131e
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james.armitage@utoronto.ca

Title

Diffusion-controlled reference material for volatile organic compound emissions testing: Pilot inter-laboratory study

Reference

Building and Environment, 2011; 46 (7): 1504 DOI: 10.1016/j.buildenv.2011.01.024

Author(s)

Cynthia Howard-Reed, Zhe Liu, Jennifer Benning, Steven Cox, Daniel Samarov, Dennis Leber, Alfred T. Hodgson, Stephany Mason, Doyun Won, John C. Little

Study type

Peer Review Journal

Abstract

To improve the reliability and accuracy of tests used to measure emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from samples of interior building products, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and Virginia Tech (VT) have created a program to develop reference materials with independently predictable emission rates. A diffusive reference material and associated mechanistic model have been developed and are undergoing extensive evaluation. As part of this process, a pilot inter-laboratory study (ILS) was conducted with four laboratories using a polymer material loaded with toluene as the reference source. Results showed the prototype material to be a relatively stable, homogeneous source with consistent emissions both within and between production batches. A comparison of toluene emission rates determined by the laboratories showed relative standard deviations as low as 9%, which are significantly lower than inter-laboratory variations for most previous ILS exercises with VOC sources. At a sample time of 48 h, the mean measured toluene emission rate for all four laboratories was within 1% of the model predicted value. The success of this pilot ILS is a key step toward being able to provide a VOC reference material for independent validation of VOC emission tests conducted in small chambers.

Policy theme(s)

Air pollution>> Managing emissions>>Monitoring

Keywords

Product emissions testing, Inter-laboratory study, Reference material, Volatile organic compounds

Entry Source:

N/A

Referred to in EC doc:

Shortlisted for Science for Environment Policy News Alert

View this study at:

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360132311000345
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chreed@nist.gov

Title

General overview: European Integrated project on Aerosol Cloud Climate and Air Quality interactions (EUCAARI) - integrating aerosol research from nano to global scales

Reference

Atmos. Chem. Phys. Discuss., 11, 17941-18160, 2011

Author(s)

M. Kulmala, A. Asmi, H. K. Lappalainen, et al

Study type

Peer Review Journal

Abstract

In this paper we describe and summarize the main achievements of the European Aerosol Cloud Climate and Air Quality Interactions project (EUCAARI). EUCAARI started on 1 January 2007 and ended on 31 December 2010 leaving a rich legacy including: (a) a comprehensive database with a year of observations of the physical, chemical and optical properties of aerosol particles over Europe, (b) the first comprehensive aerosol measurements in four developing countries, (c) a database of airborne measurements of aerosols and clouds over Europe during May 2008, (d) comprehensive modeling tools to study aerosol processes from nano to global scale and their effects on climate and air quality. In addition a new Pan-European aerosol emissions inventory was developed and evaluated, a new cluster spectrometer was built and tested in the field and several new aerosol parameterizations and computations modules for chemical transport and global climate models were developed and evaluated. This work enabled EUCAARI to improve our understanding of aerosol radiative forcing and air quality-climate interactions. The EUCAARI results can be utilized in European and global environmental policy to assess the aerosol impacts and the corresponding abatement strategies.

Policy theme(s)

Air pollution >> Managing emissions >> Monitoring
Environmental information services >> Environmental communication >> Environmental data resources

Keywords

N/A

Entry Source:

Shortlisted for Science for Environment Policy News Alert

Referred to in EC doc:

N/A

View this study at:

http://www.atmos-chem-phys.org/9/2825/2009/acp-9-2825-2009.pdf
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markku.kulmala@helsinki.fi

Title

Have primary emission reduction measures reduced ozone across Europe? An analysis of European rural background ozone trends 1996-2005

Reference

Atmos. Chem. Phys. Discuss., 11, 18433-18485, 2011

Author(s)

R. C. Wilson, Z. L. Fleming, P. S. Monks, G. Clain, S. Henne, I. B. Konovalov,
S. Szopa, and L. Menut

Study type

Peer Review Journal

Abstract

National and European legislation over the past 20 years, and the modernisation or removal of industrial sources, have significantly reduced European ozone precursor emissions. This study quantifies observed and modelled European ozone annual and seasonal linear trends from 158 harmonised rural background monitoring stations over a constant time period of a decade (1996-2005). Mean ozone concentrations are investigated, in addition to the ozone 5th percentiles as a measure of the baseline or background conditions, and the 95th percentiles that are representative of the peak concentration levels. This study aims to characterise and quantify surface European ozone concentrations and trends and assess the impact of the changing anthropogenic emission tracers on the observed and modelled trends.
Significant (p < 0.1) positive annual trends in ozone mean, 5th and 95th percentiles are observed at 54 %, 52 % and 45 % of sites respectively (85 sites, 82 sites and 71 sites). Spatially, sites in Central and Northwestern Europe tend to display positive annual ozone trends in mean, 5th and 95th percentiles. Significant negative annual trends in ozone mean 5th and 95th percentiles are observed at 11 %, 12 % and 12 % of sites respectively (18 sites, 19 sites and 19 sites) which tend to be located in the eastern and south-western extremities of Europe. European-averaged annual trends have been calculated from the 158 sites in this study. Overall there is a net positive annual trend in observed ozone mean (0.16 ± 0.02 ppbv yr-1 2δ error)), 5th (0.13 ± 0.02 ppbv yr-1) and 95th (0.16 ± 0.03 ppbv yr-1) percentiles, representative of positive trends in mean, baseline and peak ozone. Assessing the sensitivity of the derived overall trends to the constituent years shows that the European heatwave year of 2003 has significant positive influence and 1998 the converse effect; demonstrating the masking effect of inter-annual variability on decadal based ozone trends.
The European scale 3-D CTM CHIMERE was used to simulate hourly O3 concentrations for the period 1996-2005. Comparisons between the 158 observed ozone trends to those equivalent sites extracted from regional simulations by CHIMERE better match the observed increasing annual ozone (predominantly in Central and Northwestern Europe) for 5th percentiles, than for mean or 95th ozone percentiles. The European-averaged annual ozone trend in CHIMERE 5th percentiles (0.13 ± 0.01 ppbv yr-1) matches the corresponding observed trend extremely well, but displays a negative trend for the 95th percentile (-0.03 ± 0.02 ppbv yr-1) where a positive ozone trend is observed. Inspection of the EU-averaged monthly means of ozone shows that the CHIMERE model is overestimating the summer month O3 levels.
In comparison to trends in EMEP emissions inventories, with the exception of Austria-Hungary, we find anthropogenic NOx and VOC reductions do not appear to have a substantial effect on observed annual mean O3 trends in the rest of Europe.

Policy theme(s)

Air pollution >> Source of emissions >> Industrial emissions
Air pollution >> Managing emissions >> Monitoring

Keywords

N/A

Entry Source:

Shortlisted for Science for Environment Policy News Alert

Referred to in EC doc:

N/A

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http://www.atmos-chem-phys-discuss.net/11/18433/2011/acpd-11-18433-2011.pdf This study is free to view

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p.s.monks@le.ac.uk

Title

STEMS-Air: A simple GIS-based air pollution dispersion model for city-wide exposure assessment

Reference

Sci Total Environ. 2011 May 15; 409(12):2419-29

Author(s)

John Gulliver and David Briggs

Study type

Peer Review Journal

Abstract

Current methods of air pollution modelling do not readily meet the needs of air pollution mapping for short-term (i.e. daily) exposure studies. The main limiting factor is that for those few models that couple with a GIS there are insufficient tools for directly mapping air pollution both at high spatial resolution and over large areas (e.g. city wide). A simple GIS-based air pollution model (STEMS-Air) has been developed for PM10 to meet these needs with the option to choose different exposure averaging periods (e.g. daily and annual). STEMS-Air uses the grid-based FOCALSUM function in ArcGIS in conjunction with a fine grid of emission sources and basic information on meteorology to implement a simple Gaussian plume model of air pollution dispersion. STEMS-Air was developed and validated in London, UK, using data on concentrations of PM10 from routinely available monitoring data. Results from the validation study show that STEMS-Air performs well in predicting both daily (at four sites) and annual (at 30 sites) concentrations of PM10. For daily modelling, STEMS-Air achieved r2 values in the range 0.19-0.43 (p < 0.001) based solely on traffic-related emissions and r2 values in the range 0.41-0.63 (p < 0.001) when adding information on 'background' levels of PM10. For annual modelling of PM10, the model returned r2 in the range 0.67-0.77 (P < 0.001) when compared with monitored concentrations. The model can thus be used for rapid production of daily or annual city-wide air pollution maps either as a screening process in urban air quality planning and management, or as the basis for health risk assessment and epidemiological studies.

Policy theme(s)

Air pollution >> Managing emissions >> Monitoring

Keywords

Particulates, PM10; Exposure, Dispersion modelling, GIS, Air pollution

Entry Source:

Selected for Science for Environment Policy News Alert

Referred to in EC doc:

N/A

View this study at:

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969711002543
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j.gulliver@imperial.ac.uk

Title

Intercomparison of air quality data using principal component analysis, and forecasting of PM and PM concentrations using artificial neural networks, in Thessaloniki and Helsinki

Reference

Science of The Total Environment
Volume 409, Issue 7, 1 March 2011, Pages 1266-1276

Author(s)

Dimitris Voukantsis, Kostas Karatzas, Jaakko Kukkonen, Teemu Räsänen, Ari Karppinen and Mikko Kolehmainen

Study type

Peer Review Journal

Abstract

In this paper we propose a methodology consisting of specific computational intelligence methods, i.e. principal component analysis and artificial neural networks, in order to inter-compare air quality and meteorological data, and to forecast the concentration levels for environmental parameters of interest (air pollutants). We demonstrate these methods to data monitored in the urban areas of Thessaloniki and Helsinki in Greece and Finland, respectively. For this purpose, we applied the principal component analysis method in order to inter-compare the patterns of air pollution in the two selected cities. Then, we proceeded with the development of air quality forecasting models for both studied areas. On this basis, we formulated and employed a novel hybrid scheme in the selection process of input variables for the forecasting models, involving a combination of linear regression and artificial neural networks (multi-layer perceptron) models. The latter ones were used for the forecasting of the daily mean concentrations of PM10 and PM2.5 for the next day. Results demonstrated an index of agreement between measured and modelled daily averaged PM10 concentrations, between 0.80 and 0.85, while the kappa index for the forecasting of the daily averaged PM10 concentrations reached 60% for both cities. Compared with previous corresponding studies, these statistical parameters indicate an improved performance of air quality parameters forecasting. It was also found that the performance of the models for the forecasting of the daily mean concentrations of PM10 was not substantially different for both cities, despite the major differences of the two urban environments under consideration.

Policy theme(s)

Air pollution >> Managing emissions >> Monitoring

Keywords

Air pollution, Artificial neural networks, Atmospheric quality comparison and forecasting, Multi-layer perceptron, Particulate matter, Principal component analysis

Entry Source:

Selected for Science for Environment Policy News Alert

Referred to in EC doc:

N/A

View this study at:

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969711000052
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Contact the study author at:

kkara@eng.auth.gr