scholarly journals Buildings’ Air Quality in High Traffic

2015 ◽  
Vol 4 (6) ◽  
pp. 23-26
Author(s):  
Литвинова ◽  
Natalya Litvinova

The article presents the results of field studies of air quality depending on mobile sources of pollution. Studies of the carbon monoxide concentration was conducted for the climatic conditions of the South of Western Siberia. The object of the study was residential buildings. The studies were conducted under unfavorable wind speed. Processing of experimental data allowed to obtain the calculated dependences of dimensionless concentration of carbon monoxide (II) on the height of building’s facade under emissions from highways. According to the results of research a nomogram was constructed to determine the optimal air intake height of buildings located near roads of various traffic intensity. Research results and given recommendations allow considering external sources of pollution when designing ventilation of a building.

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
V.B. Kalmanova

В статье представлены результаты исследования экологогеохимического состояния снежного покрова как индикатора качества атмосферного воздуха г. Биробиджана. Выявлены основные природные и антропогенные факторы, предопределяющие экологическое состояние городской территории в зимний период (климатические, планировочная структура, стационарные и мобильные источники загрязнения). Определено, что выбросы основных загрязнителей во время отопительного сезона превышает летний в 6,5 раз. Проведены геохимические исследования снежного покрова на 60 экспериментальных площадках, заложенных в различных функциональных зонах города. Выявлено значительное превышение тяжелых металлов над фоновым уровнем: железа до 60, марганца до 50, меди до 40, цинка до 20, никеля до 12, свинца до 10, кобальта до 6 раз. С 2003 по 2018 годы содержание химических элементов в снеге увеличилось в 2 раза за счет мобильных источников загрязнения, ТЭЦ, котельных. Проведена сравнительная характеристика накопления тяжелых металлов в снеге за 2003 и 2018 годы и установлен ранжированный ряд загрязняющих токсичных веществ. Разработана шкала оценки загрязнения депонирующих сред по суммарному показателю концентрации тяжелых металлов, согласно которой в Биробиджане выявлено 5 уровней загрязнения снежного покрова. В целом экологическое состояние урбанизированной территории признано неудовлетворительным (8 площади территории относится к очень высокому, 14 к высокому, 21 к выше среднему, 27 к среднему уровням загрязнения, 30 к относительно чистым районам города). По полученным результатам разработана карта в программе ArcView GIS Экологогеохимическое районирование территории г. Биробиджана по уровню загрязнения снежного покрова с выделением наиболее загрязненных участков (70 от общей площади города является загрязненной). По результатам проведенных исследований предложены конструктивные методы планирования урбанизированной территории с целью улучшения ее экологического состояния: проведение геомониторинга (контроль загрязнения снежного покрова и своевременный его вывоз на специально оборудованные полигоны). Snow cover is taken as an indicator of air quality using Birobidzhan, a middlesize city in the Russian Far East, as a case study. The main natural and manmade determinants influencing the ecological state of the urban area in winter are identified: climate, a planning structure, and the stationary and mobile sources of pollution. During the heating season the emission of major pollutants exceeds the summer level by 6.5 times. The geochemical study of snow cover was performed at 60 experimental sites in different functional urban areas. A significant excess of heavy metals over the regional background level was revealed: iron up to 60 times, manganese up to 50, copper up to 40, zinc up to 20 , nickel up to 12, lead up to 10, cobalt up to 6 times. From 2003 to 2018 the content of chemical elements in snow increased in 2 times due to the mobile sources of pollution, thermal power plants, and boilers. The comparative characteristic of accumulation of heavy metals in snow for 2003 and 2018 is carried out, and the ranked number of polluting toxic substances is established. The scale of pollution assessment in depositing environments was developed using the cumulative indicator of heavy metal concentration. Five levels of snow cover pollution are found in Birobidzhan: low, moderate, above moderate, high and very high. As a whole, the ecological state of the urban area is considered as unsatisfactory (8 of the area with a very high level of pollution, 14 with high, 21 above moderate, 27 a moderate level of pollution, 30 a relatively clean area). According to the results, a map was developed in the ArcView GIS program Ecological and geochemical zoning of Birobidzhan, using the level of the snow cover pollution with the allocation of the most polluted areas (70 of the total area of the city is polluted). According to the results, a constructive method of planning in an urban area is proposed in order to improve its environmental condition: geomonitoring as a control of pollution in snow cover and its prompt removal to specially equipped landfills.


Author(s):  
О. V. Levakova ◽  
L. М. Eroshenko ◽  
А. N. Eroshenko

The article presents and analyzes data of competitive varietal testing of promising varieties and lines of spring barley for yield and brewing qualities. Field studies were conducted in 2014–2017 on dark gray forest heavy loam soil. Agrochemical parameters are total nitrogen – 0.24%, humus content in a layer of 0-40 cm (according to Tyurin) – 5.19%, hydrolysis nitrogen – 123.5 mg / kg, salt extract pH – 4.92 mg-eq / 100g; labile phosphorus - 34.6 mg / 100g, labile potassium – 20.0 mg / 100g. The forerunner is winter wheat. Meteorological conditions in the years of research differed from each other and from the average long-term value. Barley samples were assessed by the protein content in the grain (GOST 10846-91), extract content (GOST 12130-77), weight 1000 grains (GOST 10842-89). Ecological plasticity was determined by the method proposed by E.D. Nettevich, A.I. Morgunov and M.I. Maksimenko, stability index (Ľ) by A. A. Gryaznov, indicator of stability level (Puss) by E. D. Nettevich and A. I. Morgunov. The main measure for assessing quality indicators is protein content. Many other biochemical and technological features of grain depend on its level. The experimental data convincingly testify to the significant influence of the soil and climatic conditions on the yield and, especially, on the brewing qualities of barley in the conditions of the Central Region of the Nonchernozem Zone. According to the studied traits, new valuable varieties Nadezhny, Sir, Noble and selection lines 141 / 1-09 h 746, 23 / 1-10 h 784, distinguished by high adaptability and resistance to adverse environmental factors, have been identified.


2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 1329-1333
Author(s):  
Miodrag Šmelcerović

The protection of the environment and people’s health from negative influences of the pollution of air as a medium of the environment requires constant observing of the air quality in accordance with international standards, the analysis of emission and imission of polluting matters in the air, and their connection with the sources of pollution. Having in mind the series of laws and delegated legislations which define the field of air pollution, it is necessary to closely observe these long-term processes, discovering cause-and-effect relationships between the activities of anthropogenic sources of emission of polluting matters and the level of air degradation. The relevant evaluation of the air quality of a certain area can be conducted if the level of concentration of polluting matters characteristic for the pollution sources of this area is observed in a longer period of time. The data obtained by the observation of the air pollution are the basis for creation of the recovery program of a certain area. Vranje is a town in South Serbia where there is a bigger number of anthropogenic pollution sources that can significantly diminish the air quality. The cause-and-effect relationship of the anthropogenic sources of pollution is conducted related to the analysis of systematized data which are in the relevant data base of the authorized institution The Institute of Public Health Vranje, for the time period between the year of 2012. and 2017. By the analysis of data of imission concentrations of typical polluting matters, the dominant polluting matters were determined on the territory of the town of Vranje, the ones that are the causers of the biggest air pollution and the risk for people’s health. Analysis of the concentration of soot, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides indicates their presence in the air of Vranje town area in concentrations that do not exceed the permitted limit values annually. The greatest pollution is caused by the soot content in the air, especially in the winter period when the highest number of days with the values above the limit was registered. By perceiving the influence of natural and anthropogenic factors, it is clear that the concentration of polluting matters can be decreased only by establishing control over anthropogenic sources of pollution, and thus it can be contributed to the improvement of the air quality of this urban environment.


2020 ◽  
Vol 01 ◽  
Author(s):  
Henrik Jensen ◽  
Pernille D. Pedersen

Aims: To evaluate the real-life effect of photocatalytic surfaces on the air quality at two test-sites in Denmark. Background: Poor air quality is today one of the largest environmental issues, due to the adverse effects on human health associated with high levels of air pollution, including respiratory issues, cardiovascular disease (CVD), and lung cancer. NOx removal by TiO2 based photocatalysis is a tool to improve air quality locally in areas where people are exposed. Methods: Two test sites were constructed in Roskilde and Copenhage airport. In Roskilde, the existing asphalt at two parking lots was treated with TiO2 containing liquid and an in-situ ISO 22197-1 test setup was developed to enable in-situ evaluation of the activity of the asphalt. In CPH airport, photocatalytic concrete tiles were installed at the "kiss and fly" parking lot, and NOx levels were continuously monitored in 0.5 m by CLD at the active site and a comparable reference site before and after installation for a period of 2 years. Results: The Roskilde showed high stability of the photocatalytic coating with the activity being largely unchanged over a period of 2 years. The CPH airport study showed that the average NOx levels were decreased by 12 % comparing the before and after NOx concentrations at the active and reference site. Conclusion: The joined results of the two Danish demonstration projects illustrate a high stability of the photocatalytic coating as well as a high potential for improvements of the real-life air quality in polluted areas.


Land ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 236
Author(s):  
Ha Na You ◽  
Myeong Ja Kwak ◽  
Sun Mi Je ◽  
Jong Kyu Lee ◽  
Yea Ji Lim ◽  
...  

Environmental pollution is an important issue in metropolitan areas, and roadside trees are directly affected by various sources of pollution to which they exhibit numerous responses. The aim of the present study was to identify morpho-physio-biochemical attributes of maidenhair tree (Ginkgo biloba L.) and American sycamore (Platanus occidentalis L.) growing under two different air quality conditions (roadside with high air pollution, RH and roadside with low air pollution, RL) and to assess the possibility of using their physiological and biochemical parameters as biomonitoring tools in urban areas. The results showed that the photosynthetic rate, photosynthetic nitrogen-use efficiencies, and photochromic contents were generally low in RH in both G. biloba and P. occidentalis. However, water-use efficiency and leaf temperature showed high values in RH trees. Among biochemical parameters, in G. biloba, the lipid peroxide content was higher in RH than in RL trees, but in P. occidentalis, this content was lower in RH than in RL trees. In both species, physiological activities were low in trees planted in areas with high levels of air pollution, whereas their biochemical and morphological variables showed different responses to air pollution. Thus, we concluded that it is possible to determine species-specific physiological variables affected by regional differences of air pollution in urban areas, and these findings may be helpful for monitoring air quality and environmental health using trees.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. 4139
Author(s):  
Muriel Diaz ◽  
Mario Cools ◽  
Maureen Trebilcock ◽  
Beatriz Piderit-Moreno ◽  
Shady Attia

Between the ages of 6 and 18, children spend between 30 and 42 h a week at school, mostly indoors, where indoor environmental quality is usually deficient and does not favor learning. The difficulty of delivering indoor air quality (IAQ) in learning facilities is related to high occupancy rates and low interaction levels with windows. In non-industrialized countries, as in the cases presented, most classrooms have no mechanical ventilation, due to energy poverty and lack of normative requirements. This fact heavily impacts the indoor air quality and students’ learning outcomes. The aim of the paper is to identify the factors that determine acceptable CO2 concentrations. Therefore, it studies air quality in free-running and naturally ventilated primary schools in Chile, aiming to identify the impact of contextual, occupant, and building design factors, using CO2 concentration as a proxy for IAQ. The monitoring of CO2, temperature, and humidity revealed that indoor air CO2 concentration is above 1400 ppm most of the time, with peaks of 5000 ppm during the day, especially in winter. The statistical analysis indicates that CO2 is dependent on climate, seasonality, and indoor temperature, while it is independent of outside temperature in heated classrooms. The odds of having acceptable concentrations of CO2 are bigger when indoor temperatures are high, and there is a need to ventilate for cooling.


Atmosphere ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 189
Author(s):  
Min He ◽  
Junhui Chen ◽  
Yuming He ◽  
Yuan Li ◽  
Qichao Long ◽  
...  

As one of the most populated regions in China, Sichuan province had been suffering from deteriorated air quality due to the dramatic growth of economy and vehicles in recent years. To deal with the increasingly serious air quality problem, Sichuan government agencies had made great efforts to formulate various control measures and policies during the past decade. In order to better understand the emission control progress in recent years and to guide further control policy formulation, the emission trends and source contribution characteristics of SO2, NOX, PM10 and PM2.5 from 2013 to 2017 were characterized by using emission factor approach in this study. The results indicated that SO2 emission decreased rapidly during 2013–2017 with total emission decreased by 52%. NOX emission decreased during 2013–2015 but started to increase slightly afterward. PM10 and PM2.5 emissions went down consistently during the study period, decreased by 26% and 25%, respectively. In summary, the contribution of power plants kept decreasing, while contribution of industrial combustion remained steady in the past 5 years. The contribution of industrial processes increased for SO2 emission, and decreased slightly for NOX, PM10 and PM2.5 emissions. The on-road mobile sources were the largest emission contributor for NOX, accounting for about 32–40%, and its contribution increased during 2013–2015 and then decreased. It was worth mentioning that nonroad mobile sources and natural gas fired boilers were becoming important NOX contributors in Sichuan. Fugitive dust were the key emission sources for PM10 and PM2.5, and the contribution kept increasing in the study period. Comparison results with other inventories, satellite data and ground observations indicated that emission trends developed in this research were relatively credible.


Buildings ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 250
Author(s):  
Chuloh Jung ◽  
Jihad Awad

Due to unprecedented urbanization, UAE had built many new residential projects with poor choices of material and ventilation. This social phenomenon is leading UAE to Sick Building Syndrome (SBS) faster than any other countries. The Dubai Municipality regulates the indoor air quality with strict stipulation, but the detailed regulations are still insufficient. The objective of this paper is to measure the indoor air quality of new residential projects in Dubai to suggest the improvement of the regulations for indoor air quality. As a methodology, a field survey was conducted to investigate the status of indoor air pollution in residential buildings. Based on the field survey data, lab experiments for building materials were conducted and a computer simulation on radon gas was conducted. The result had shown that radon gas was mainly detected in new townhouses and labor camp houses, and its concentration was found to exceed the standard. Volatile organic solvents (VOCs) and formaldehyde (CH2O) were mainly detected in showhouses and new townhouses, and the concentration distribution was about 10 times higher than that of outdoors. It was proven that emission concentration of radon gas from various building materials were detected, and the order was red clay, gypsum board, and concrete. Volatile organic solvents (VOCs) are mainly detected in oil paints and PVC floor and the radiation amount of all pollutants increased with temperature increase. In computer simulation, it was found that a new townhouse needs a grace period from 20 days to 6 months to lower the radon gas concentration by 2 pCi/L. This study will serve as a basic data to establish more detailed regulation for the building materials and improve the IAQ standards in Dubai.


Author(s):  
Zhiyuan Wang ◽  
Xiaoyi Shi ◽  
Chunhua Pan ◽  
Sisi Wang

Exploring the relationship between environmental air quality (EAQ) and climatic conditions on a large scale can help better understand the main distribution characteristics and the mechanisms of EAQ in China, which is significant for the implementation of policies of joint prevention and control of regional air pollution. In this study, we used the concentrations of six conventional air pollutants, i.e., carbon monoxide (CO), sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), fine particulate matter (PM2.5), coarse particulate matter (PM10), and ozone (O3), derived from about 1300 monitoring sites in eastern China (EC) from January 2015 to December 2018. Exploiting the grading concentration limit (GB3095-2012) of various pollutants in China, we also calculated the monthly average air quality index (AQI) in EC. The results show that, generally, the EAQ has improved in all seasons in EC from 2015 to 2018. In particular, the concentrations of conventional air pollutants, such as CO, SO2, and NO2, have been decreasing year by year. However, the concentrations of particulate matter, such as PM2.5 and PM10, have changed little, and the O3 concentration increased from 2015 to 2018. Empirical mode decomposition (EOF) was used to analyze the major patterns of AQI in EC. The first mode (EOF1) was characterized by a uniform structure in AQI over EC. These phenomena are due to the precipitation variability associated with the East Asian summer monsoon (EASM), referred to as the “summer–winter” pattern. The second EOF mode (EOF2) showed that the AQI over EC is a north–south dipole pattern, which is bound by the Qinling Mountains and Huaihe River (about 35° N). The EOF2 is mainly caused by seasonal variations of the mixed concentration of PM2.5 and O3. Associated with EOF2, the Mongolia–Siberian High influences the AQI variation over northern EC by dominating the low-level winds (10 m and 850 hPa) in autumn and winter, and precipitation affects the AQI variation over southern EC in spring and summer.


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