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INTRODUCTION Air quality is one of the most important factors in health evaluation. Therefore improvement of the quality of air environment may be considered as a priority task for the [...], To establish the priority pollutants in the atmosphere of Moscow in winter 8 snow samples were collected along the perimeter (109 km) of the Moscow Ring Road. Mass spectrometry was used as an analytical tool to identify individual organic compounds (gas chromatography/mass spectrometry) and the most environmentally relevant chemical elements (inductively coupled plasma with mass spectrometric detection). As a result several hundred organic compounds belonging to various classes, including representatives of the list of priority pollutants of the USA Environmental Protection Agency were identified. Their levels as well as the levels of chemical elements were quantified. The importance of accurate mass measurements for the efficient structural elucidation and reliability of quantitative measurements has been demonstrated. The data obtained allow estimating atmospheric pollution in Moscow in the period between December and March and proposing a list of priority pollutants for the atmosphere of Moscow. Keywords: mass spectrometry, accurate mass measurements, ecotoxicants, atmospheric pollution, Moscow, priority pollutants DOI: 10.1134/S1061934812140079

ABSTRACT One objective of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) Supersite Program was to provide data that could be used to more thoroughly evaluate and improve air quality models, and [...]

The usage of lignite as fossil fuel in thermal power plants of Turkey and sulphur dioxide (SO2) pollution levels in the region is examined.

Byline: Pierluigi Calanca (1), Andreas Roesch (2), Karsten Jasper (1), Martin Wild (2) Abstract: Changes of the summer evapotranspiration regime under increased levels of atmospheric greenhouse gases are discussed for three Alpine river basins on the basis of a new set of simulations carried out with a high-resolution hydrological model. The climate change signal was inferred from the output of two simulations with a state-of-the-art global climate model (GCM), a reference run valid for 1961--1990 and a time-slice simulation valid for 2071--2100 under forcing from the A2 IPCC emission scenario. In this particular GCM experiment and with respect to the Alpine region summer temperature was found to increase by 3 to 4 a.sup.C, whereas precipitation was found to decrease by 10 to 20%. Global radiation and water vapor pressure deficit were found to increase by about 5% and 2 hPa, respectively. On this background, an overall increase of potential evapotranspiration of about 20% relative to the baseline was predicted by the hydrological model, with important variations between but also within individual basins. The results of the hydrological simulations also revealed a reduction in the evapotranspiration efficiency that depends on altitude. Accordingly, actual evapotranspiration was found to increase at high altitudes and to the south of the Alps, but to decrease in low elevation areas of the northern forelands and in the inner-Alpine domain. Such a differentiation does not appear in the GCM scenario, which predicts an overall increase in evapotranspiration over the Alps. This underlines the importance of detailed simulations for the quantitative assessment of the regional impact of climate change on the hydrological cycle. Author Affiliation: (1) Agroscope FAL Reckenholz, Swiss Federal Research Station for Agroecology and Agriculture, CH-8046, Zurich, Switzerland (2) Institute for Atmospheric and Climate Science, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, CH-8092, Zurich, Switzerland Article History: Registration Date: 22/02/2006 Received Date: 05/10/2004 Accepted Date: 05/02/2006 Online Date: 27/10/2006

Some of the economic benefits of reducing urban air pollution and the impact of seasonal variation on pollution levels in China are estimated. A China-based valuation study is used to develop the monetary valuation of pollution related averted mortality and the valuation for a number of cities is compared with city-level GDP.

A Monte Carlo method of computing unbiased estimating equations for the analysis of data measured with error is described. Asymptotic distribution results are obtained for estimators derived from the Monte Carlo estimating equations. The method is illustrated with examples, applications, and simulation studies. The Monte Carlo estimating equations are corrected scores in the sense of Nakamura, and the proposed methods are closely related to the simulation method described by Cook and Stefanski. KEY WORDS: Chaotic systems; Complex data; Estimating equation; m-estimator; Measurement error; Monte Carlo score; Poisson regression., 1. INTRODUCTION A common problem complicating the statistical analysis of data is the inability to directly measure or accurately measure important variables. This is often the case in epidemiological studies [...]

The Kuznets Curve postulates that an inverted-U relationship exists between pollution output and economic development. This paper examines the environmental and economic impact of increasing pollution levels in developing countries such as China and India and efforts to curtail such pollution. The World Bank estimates that mortality and morbidity from urban air pollution in these countries suggest an annual loss of 2-3 percent of their GDP.

The author examines the interplay between poverty, politics and pollution. Topics include industrial pollution, groundwater contamination, and public health infrastructures.

Byline: Dongquan He, Michael Wang, Alainna Thomas China has experienced dramatic urbanisation and motorisation in the past 20 years. The phenomenal rise in the vehicle population in major cities has resulted in increased air pollution, traffic congestion and other 'wicked problems'. The Chinese government at all levels has made significant effort to control motor vehicle emissions, but vehicle population growth far outpaces their efforts, resulting in deteriorating air quality. Successful vehicle emissions control policies in industrialised countries offer China new technical and policy tools. This paper outlines China's current air pollution challenges and the technical and policy solutions under consideration by the Chinese central and municipal governments.

Air pollutants and meteorological parameters were measured continuously by in situ instruments, path-averaging techniques (up to three DOAS systems), and SODAR inside a street canyon and in the surrounding area of 1 km x 1 km (Gottinger Strasse in Hanover, Germany) from 2001 until 2003 which are available in the data bank ValiData for validation of microscale models. During three IOPs tracer experiments with a SF6 line source, sampling techniques of up to 15 sites and path-averaging FTIR spectrometry were performed. Concentration measurement results at roof level were anti-correlated with SODAR mixing layer heights, while those inside the street canyon are not. Re-circulation flow patterns inside the street canyon were studied together with corresponding wind tunnel experiments.

An empirical study of public conceptions of responsibility and choice in relation to health protection, and the influence of these upon responses to official information is presented using two contrasting studies of air pollution and child immunization. Conclusions are developed relating to information provision in an age promoting individualization and retraction of government, specially the need for explicit engagement with the benefits of health protection measures.

Every industrial project in Mira Loma was officially proclaimed to have no significant effect on the environment for about 13 years. This unincorporated community that was already in the pockets of Southern California's dirtiest pocket of particulate pollution was overrun by thousands of diesel trucks and medical researchers discovered that diesel soot is the most toxic part of particulate air pollution.

Pollution control efforts in California's San Joaquin Valley are frequently halfhearted and ineffectual. Valley residents huddle around fireplaces and wood-burning stoves, sending tons of tiny toxic soot particles into the still air thereby leading the region and health of residents into danger.

Byline: Marie-Helene Tshiamala Mbuyi An evaluation of air pollution at the Bily Kriz mountains in the Czech Republic is given. Annual daily concentrations of sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxides (NOx), particulate matter of size 10 mm (PM10) and ozone (O3) measured in the years 19942000 are presented. Air pollution at Bily Kriz is assessed with the reference to the European Union Directives and the standards adopted by the Czech Republic. In general, the concentrations of air pollutants were lower in 1996 for ozone and decreased for SO2, NOx and PM10 from 1994. The daily values of SO2 and PM10 exceeded the European Union limits in approximately 0.0% and 5.5% of cases, respectively. The values of ozone exceeded the limits for the considered period.

Byline: Alan Penn, Ben Croxford Up to now, little has been understood about the way that airborne pollution is distributed spatially at head height and kerbside in the urban Street grid. This paper reports on research in which a new monitor has been developed, validated and used to sample a small urban neighbourhood at finer temporal and spatial resolutions than has been achieved previously. The data show that pollution concentrations at head height vary radically within metres of each other. A method is developed for using the shape of the frequency distribution of pollutant concentrations to 'fingerprint' monitoring sites in terms of their pollution exposure at both average levels and at the extremes, and to compare the effects of climatic, seasonal and diurnal changes on pollution concentrations, as well as to help isolate effects of traffic management and other interventions on local ambient pollution concentrations. 'Space syntax' methods of analysis of street grid configuration, which have been shown to predict vehicular flows on the basis of representations of the geometry and topology of the Street grid alone, were found to predict both average and extreme CO concentrations (r = 0.88, p = 0.0001) at Street segment resolution in the urban grid.

Byline: Clemens Mensink, Ina De Vlieger The role of road transport emissions in regional scale air pollution and acidification has been evaluated, using the Operational Priority Substances (OPS) model as implemented and applied for modelling acidification in Flanders, Belgium. Details concerning road transport emissions are discussed and model results are presented, focusing on the relation between road transport emissions and acidification. This includes modelling the impact of legislative actions (EC directives) and road transport scenarios for policy support. The scenarios have been based on emission factors derived from on-the-road traffic emission measurements in combination with national statistics on traffic numbers and vehicle types.

Byline: N. Moussiopoulos, P. Sahm The Ozone Fine Structure (OFIS) model describes transport and chemical transformation processes in an urban plume at very low computational effort. This newly developed Eulerian model may be used for calculating ozone levels for individual situations as well as for deriving ozone exceedance statistics based on large-scale meteorological and long-range transport information over a longer time period. Results are presented from the application of the OFIS model to Stuttgart for the period April to September 1990. Compared to measurements, OFIS satisfactorily describes both the absolute maximum ozone values and cumulative AOT60 values in the area of interest. Results of the OFIS model allow conclusions regarding the influence of assumed ozone emission reductions on the urban scale to be drawn.

Byline: E. Genikhovich, E. Filatova, A. Ziv The aim of this paper is to develop the technique for mapping the air pollution in cities using measured and computed concentrations. It is based on the combined use of deterministic and stochastic modelling. Two different approaches are applied to extrapolate the measurements to the regular grid points covering the city. The first uses the method of the principal components, and the second is based on optimal interpolation or 'kriging' of meteorological fields. The results of the application of this model for the mapping of air pollution in the city of Pskov, Russia, are given.

Byline: A.W. Reynolds, B.M. Broderick In recent years motor vehicles have become the dominant source of air pollution in metropolitan areas. Hence, the assessment of transport-related air quality is of major concern to policymakers and municipal planners. This paper describes an urban air quality modelling system for evaluating the environmental effects of transport related air pollution. A preliminary evaluation of the model has been performed for one site in Dublin using data from an extensive monitoring and measuring campaign. Observed pollutant concentrations compare well with predicted concentrations using local conditions, e.g. site geometry, traffic activity, meteorology, and vehicle population.

Byline: F. Hesek This paper presents the basic principles of the method of calculating air pollution from road traffic in an urban built-up area. The algorithm of the method is based on the numerical integration of stationary two-dimensional partial differential equations of turbulent diffusion, with boundary conditions for the street canyons. The method consists of two modules: KALIB and STREETS, which calculate the distribution of pollutant concentration in a street canyon; and GRID and GRIDMAX, which calculate the distribution of pollutant concentration in the free atmosphere. The output of the method is given in numerical and graphical form.

Everyone agrees that air pollution from U.S. manufacturing has declined significantly in recent decades. But has America simply offshored its dirty industries and boosted imports of polluting products, as many [...]