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This paper is a preliminary report of an indoor pollution case study in a complex of apartments as a part of an Indoor Pollution Management Plan (IPMP). It describes the calculation by Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) techniques and presents the predicted air flow, Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) and formaldehyde contaminant distributions in an apartment comprised of a full-scale kitchen with open access to a living room, ventilated by an exhaust hood. The CFD Code PHOENICS (R), which is based on solving the full 3-D Navier Stokes equations for turbulent flow and scalar conservation equations, was used. Major kitchen indoor pollution sources, VOCs and formaldehyde emitting materials and their emission characteristics were calculated through the use of emission factors. A typical apartment was used under case study and its detailed geometry was applied for the CFD model. To analyze the characteristics of the indoor environment, different mixing ventilation schemes (different locations of the cooker/oven and air inlets) were chosen as the parameters to investigate the indoor environment. The fields of VOCs and formaldehyde for several air inlets window positions, and ventilation parameters were calculated and compared. It was concluded that CFD methods can be used as a useful tool to assist the rational design of indoor spaces. Aerosol and Air Quality Research

Airborne particulate matter (PM) comprises dust, dirt soot, smoke, and liquid droplets suspended in the atmosphere. Particle sizes and their physical and chemical characteristics are determined by the formation processes and subsequent reactions in the atmosphere. Typically, urban aerosol can be divided into two main fractions ; fine (with diameter less than 2  m) and coarse particles (diameter of more than 2  m). Fine particles mainly originate from combustion, and, they comprise sulfates, organic ammonium, nitrates, carbon, lead, and some trace constituents. Coarse fraction is produced by mechanical processes, and it contains crustal material (i.e. silicon compounds, iron, aluminum), sea salt and plant particles. There are number of studies addressing to particles with diameter less than 10 and 2.5  m (PM10 and PM2.5, respectively), compared to relatively sparse literature on PM PM1.0 (particles smaller than 1.0  m in aerodynamic diameter). The aim of the study was to assess pedestrian’ s exposure to the PM1.0 fractions in a residential part of Zagreb, Croatia under various traffic density conditions. Continuous PM1.0 concentrations were measured using Model 8520 DUSTTRAKTM Aerosol Monitor (TSI Inc., Shoreview, MN, USA). The instrument is portable, and provides the real-time data at the temporal resolution of 1 s. In order to assess pedestrians’ exposure, the DUSTTRAKTM was placed at the sidewalk of a road, at the height of 1.7 m above the ground, half meter away from the road edge and with the inlet perpendicular to the roadway. The road has two lanes of opposite direction, separated by the centerline. The traffic is generally low-speed (up to 50 km / h), and its density varies from low to moderate (at the most up to about 30 vehicles per minute). Measurements of PM1.0 concentration at the resolution of 1 s were performed during ten time intervals of 45 min. Simultaneously, meteorological data (air pressure, air temperature, horizontal and vertical wind, global radiation and relative humidity were recorded by automatic meteorological station META 2000 (AMES, Brezovica, Slovenia) approximately 50 m far from the road at the temporal resolution of 1 min. Measured PM1.0 concentrations at 1 s resolution varied from 4 to 413  g m-3, and they were on the average 38.8  g m-3. Investigation of relationships between the PM1.0 levels and various meteorological parameters and traffic density revealed the strongest correlation of PM1.0 concentrations with relative humidity and wind direction, where the latter suggest the importance of distant pollution sources. While wind speed and traffic density affect the concentrations of the ambient fine particles, temperature and global radiation do not seem to influence the PM1.0 levels.

Due to the enormous number of potentially polluting substances contained in surface water, a chemical-specific approach is insufficient to provide the information about water quality. Therefore it is essential to use biological test systems with living cells or organisms that give a global response to the pool of micropollutants present in the sample. The aim of this study was to evaluate and compare the suitability of certain endpoints: growth parameters, pigment content, peroxidase activity, lipid peroxidation and alkaline comet assay as biomarkers for environmental monitoring of surface waters using duckweed plants as a test system according to the standardized protocol ISO 20079. Duckweeds (Lemnaceae) possess physiological properties (small size, high multiplication rates, and vegetative propagation), which make them an ideal test system. Moreover, duckweed can be used in a wide range of pH-values (pH 3.5-10). In the proposed test protocol, plants are exposed to a toxicant over a period of seven days, when the consequent potential growth inhibition based on frond number and biomass is estimated. The surface waters were collected monthly over a three-month period at three sampling sites along the river Sava and its confluents (Croatia). The pH value of all samples was in the range 7.8– 8.0. All samples caused inhibition of growth rates derived from frond (leaves) number, decrease of chlorophylls content and of peroxidase activity. Contrary to that, dry to fresh weight ratio markedly increased in duckweed exposed to tested water samples. Tail extent moment (measure of DNA strand breaks) and lipid peroxidation (measure of biomembrane injury) showed increase only in more polluted water samples. In the present study frond number and final biomass proved to be almost equally sensitive parameters, followed by dry to fresh weight ratio, peroxidase activity and chlorophyll a and carotenoid contents. Simplified Comet procedure modified for plants tissues allows rapid yet sensitive determination of DNA damage. The results obtained suggest that phyto- and genotoxicity tests with Lemna minor should be used in the biomonitoring of municipal, agricultural and industrial effluents because of their simplicity, sensitivity and cost-effectiveness.

In this study, a time series from the ground level ozone monitoring station for Rijeka (Croatia) as well as the associated meteorological conditions were investigated. In the summer, during 13 to 19 August 2000, the afternoon hourly ozone measurements were consistently higher than the 180 μ g m-3 which represents an information threshold of pollutant concentrations according to the national standards. During the night the ozone concentrations were unusually very high as well, above 100 μ g m-3. An analysis of the observations was performed to identify characteristics of the low-level wind in the Rijeka Bay and the results of a nonhydrostatic mesoscale meteorological model WRF were compared with the observations with respect to these characteristics. The contribution of the distant pollution sources to observed concentrations was evaluated by the atmospheric chemical model EMEP.

Cartography, especially digital cartography, will be useful not only for geographers and geologists, but also for economic managers and planners.