scholarly journals Biodiversity of Collembola in urban soils and their use as bioindicators for pollution

2009 ◽  
Vol 44 (8) ◽  
pp. 868-873 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cristina Fiera
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Species Richness ◽  
Air Pollutants ◽  
Urban Soils ◽  
Contaminated Site ◽  
Pollution Levels ◽  
Car Traffic ◽  
Local Air Pollution ◽  
Polluted Sites ◽  
Abundance And Diversity

The objective of this work was to evaluate the effects of pollutants on the abundance and diversity of Collembola in urban soils. The research was carried out in three parks (Cişmigiu, Izvor and Unirea) in downtown Bucharest, where the intense car traffic accounts for 70% of the local air pollution. One site in particular (Cişmigiu park) was highly contaminated with Pb, Cd, Zn and Cu at about ten times the background levels of Pb. Collembola were sampled in 2006 (July, September, November) using the transect method: 2,475 individuals from 34 species of Collembola were collected from 210 samples of soil and litter. Numerical densities differed significantly between the studied sites.The influence of air pollutants on the springtail fauna was visible at the species richness diversity and soil pollution levels. Species richness was lowest in the most contaminated site (Cismigiu, 11 species), which presented an increase in springtails abundances, though. Some species may become resistant to pollution and occur in high numbers of individuals in polluted sites, which makes them a good bioindicator of pollutants.

scholarly journals Contribution of Local and Transboundary Air Pollution to the Urban Air Quality of Fukuoka, Japan

Atmosphere ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 431
Author(s):  
Ayako Yoshino ◽  
Akinori Takami ◽  
Keiichiro Hara ◽  
Chiharu Nishita-Hara ◽  
Masahiko Hayashi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Air Pollutants ◽  
Regional Scale ◽  
Gaseous Species ◽  
Transboundary Air Pollution ◽  
Local Air Pollution ◽  
The City

Transboundary air pollution (TAP) and local air pollution (LAP) influence the air quality of urban areas. Fukuoka, located on the west side of Japan and affected by TAP from the Asian continent, is a unique example for understanding the contribution of LAP and TAP. Gaseous species and particulate matter (PM) were measured for approximately three weeks in Fukuoka in the winter of 2018. We classified two distinctive periods, LAP and TAP, based on wind speed. The classification was supported by variations in the concentration of gaseous species and by backward trajectories. Most air pollutants, including NOx and PM, were high in the LAP period and low in the TAP period. However, ozone was the exception. Therefore, our findings suggest that reducing local emissions is necessary. Ozone was higher in the TAP period, and the variation in ozone concentration was relatively small, indicating that ozone was produced outside of the city and transported to Fukuoka. Thus, air pollutants must also be reduced at a regional scale, including in China.

Control and Suppression in Sarnia’s Chemical Valley during the 1960s

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 380-412
Author(s):  
OWEN TEMBY
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Business Environment ◽  
Policy System ◽  
Pollution Levels ◽  
Clean Air ◽  
Local Air Pollution ◽  
Economic Elites ◽  
Chemical Valley ◽  
The 1960S ◽  
The One

During the 1960s, Sarnia was the wealthiest city in Ontario and the one with the dirtiest air. Its economy was dominated by Chemical Valley, the city’s petrochemical industry. Chemical Valley firms and executives were civically active, donating to public causes, dominating the local chamber of commerce, and working closely with provincial and municipal officials to ensure a friendly business environment. They also maintained a monopoly on information about local air pollution levels and were not required by government to adhere to clean air regulations. However, like the rest of the chemical industry at the time, Chemical Valley was exposed to an onslaught of negative publicity, raising the threat of regulation and loss of their control over emissions data and production processes. This article illustrates how economic elites in Sarnia prevented the problematization and regulation of air pollution. In doing so, it describes the actors in the policy system and examines its recourse to suppress dissent when activists sought to raise the air pollution issue.

scholarly journals Spatial Mapping of a Highly Non-Uniform Distribution of Particle-Bound PAH in a Densely Populated Urban Area

Atmosphere ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 496
Author(s):  
Kyung Hwan Kim ◽  
Kyung-Hwan Kwak ◽  
Jae Young Lee ◽  
Sung Ho Woo ◽  
Jong Bum Kim ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Exposure Assessment ◽  
Urban Area ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Air Pollutants ◽  
Personal Exposure ◽  
Exposure Level ◽  
Traffic Emission ◽  
Pollution Levels ◽  
Monitoring Procedure

In this work, a 2-D gridded air pollution map with a high resolution of 50 × 50 m2 was proposed to help the exposure assessment studies focusing on the association between air pollutants and their health effects. To establish a reliable air pollution map in a 2 × 2 km2 urban area, a mobile monitoring procedure and a data process were developed. Among the various vehicle-related air pollutants, the particle-bound polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (pPAH) was chosen as a sensitive indicator. The average pPAH concentration on major roads (293.1 ng/m3) was found to be 35 times higher than that at a background location (8.4 ng/m3). Based on the cell-based pPAH concentrations, the 50 × 50 m2 cells in the air pollution map were categorized into five pollution levels. The higher air pollution levels were generally shown by the cells close to the major traffic emission points. The proposed map can be used to make various policies regarding land use and traffic flow control in urban areas. Estimation of the personal exposure level to air pollutants is possible at a reliable location using the highly resolved 2-D gridded air pollution map in exposure assessment studies.

scholarly journals Analysis of Variations in Air Pollution Fields in Selected Cities in Poland and Germany

2018 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 217-227 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Cichowicz ◽  
Grzegorz Wielgosiński
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Carbon Monoxide ◽  
Air Pollutants ◽  
Pollutant Dispersion ◽  
Measured Data ◽  
The Other ◽  
Limit Values ◽  
Atmospheric Air ◽  
Car Traffic ◽  
Monitoring Stations

Abstract Variations in immission fields resulting from emissions and pollutant dispersion in the atmosphere were investigated. The analysis was based on data from the four-year period covering the years 2012-2015, collected in two automatic atmospheric air monitoring stations, one located in Germany in Magdeburg which is the capital of Saxony-Anhalt and the other in Poland in Lodz, i.e. the seat of Lodz Region authorities. Selected immission monitoring stations in both cities are located in the areas with similar urban development and are characterized by high levels of pedestrian and car traffic. In both measuring stations the following atmospheric air pollutants were measured: PM10, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide and nitrogen dioxide, and ozone (carbon monoxide was analyzed only for the station located in Lodz). On the basis of the measured data the periodic exceedance of air pollution limit values measured at both monitoring stations were observed, as well as the levels of particular pollutants and changes in immission fields were analyzed. It seems that this information may be useful not only to the competent authorities of the country but also to the users of these areas.

scholarly journals Assessment of Air Pollution over Baghdad City Using Fixed Annual Stations and GIS Techniques

2019 ◽  
Vol 54 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zainab B. Mohammed ◽  
Ali Abdul Khaliq Kamal ◽  
Ali S. Resheq ◽  
Waleed M. Sh. Alabdraba
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Air Pollutants ◽  
Spatial Interpolation ◽  
Nitrogen Monoxide ◽  
World Health ◽  
Distribution Maps ◽  
Pollution Levels ◽  
Who Standards ◽  
Main Observation ◽  
Interpolation Techniques

Baghdad, considered one of the most polluted and populated cities in Iraq, waschoosen for mapping the distribution of air pollutants and the overall pollution levels by using the ArcGIS techniques. Six of main observation stations werechoosen in a particular location. Then, the recorded data from these stations were spatially interpolated using two types of ArcGIS interpolation techniques. The spatial interpolation techniques used in this work were Inverse distance weighting (IDW) and fuzzy logic. This study includes measuring the main air pollutants, which were nitrogen dioxide (NO2), sulfur dioxide (SO2), carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxide (NOx), and nitrogen monoxide (NO) during the period from January 2018 to December 2018. The data recorded by the stations during the work period and the distribution maps of air pollutants, which resulted from spatial interpolation (IDW) method, showed that the concentration of NO2 was within the International limits of World Health Origination (WHO) which is about 0.11 ppm. SO2 concentrations were exceeding the WHO limits in all stations for the study area. The concentrations of CO ranged from 0.484 ppm to 7.027 ppm that were within acceptable limits of WHO standards that is 9 ppm. NOx concentrations ranged between 0.01506 ppm – 0.214 ppm, which were exceeding acceptable limits of WHO standards (0.01 ppm). The concentrations of NO did not exceed the WHO standard limits, which are 0.08 ppm. Finally, the fuzzsy logic method of spatial interpolation in ArcGIS was applied to evaluate the air pollution over Baghdad city.

scholarly journals A multimethodological approach to study the spatial distribution of air pollution in an Alpine valley during wintertime

2009 ◽  
Vol 9 (10) ◽  
pp. 3385-3396 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Schnitzhofer ◽  
M. Norman ◽  
A. Wisthaler ◽  
J. Vergeiner ◽  
F. Harnisch ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Spatial Distribution ◽  
Air Pollutants ◽  
Layer Structure ◽  
Vertical Mixing ◽  
Valley Bottom ◽  
Alpine Valley ◽  
Pollution Levels ◽  
Stable Conditions ◽  
Typical Day

Abstract. In order to investigate the spatial distribution of air pollutants in the Inn valley (Tyrol, Austria) during wintertime, a joint field campaign of the three research projects ALPNAP (Monitoring and Minimisation of Traffic-Induced Noise and Air Pollution Along Major Alpine Transport Routes), INNAP (Boundary Layer Structure in the Inn Valley during high Air Pollution) and INNOX (NOx-structure in the Inn Valley during High Air Pollution) was carried out in January/February 2006. In addition to continuous ground based measurements, vertical profiles of various air pollutants and meteorological parameters were obtained on six selected days. For in-situ investigations, a tethered balloon was used to analyse the lowest atmospheric layers, 0–500 m above the valley bottom (a.v.b.), and a research aircraft sampled at 150–2200 m a.v.b. An aircraft equipped with an aerosol backscatter lidar performed nadir measurements at 3000 m a.v.b. Combined results from a typical day show a strongly polluted layer up to about 125 m a.v.b. in the morning. Around midday concentrations on the valley floor decrease indicating some vertical air exchange despite thermally stable conditions. Strong vertical and horizontal gradients with enhanced pollution levels along the sunny side of the valley up to 1300 m a.v.b. were observed in the afternoon. This vertical mixing due to thermally or dynamically driven slope winds reduces the concentration of air pollutants at the bottom of the valley and causes the formation of elevated pollution layers.

scholarly journals Modeling air pollution in Beijing for the 2008 Olympic Summer Games

SURG Journal ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 26-34
Author(s):  
Jenni Vanos
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Physiological Response ◽  
Air Pollutants ◽  
Elite Athletes ◽  
Athletic Competition ◽  
Pollution Levels ◽  
Ozone Concentrations ◽  
Difficult Time ◽  
Very High ◽  
Ambient Levels

High levels of ambient oxidant air pollution, such as ozone, have been associated with negative health effects in elite athletes. The photochemical model OzCalc was used to calculate ozone concentrations as a function of time in Beijing for the 2008 Olympic Summer Games. By making use of the data obtained in Hastings, Ontario in August 1993, the model was adjusted for Beijing with respect to radiation geometry and ambient levels of primary air pollutants. Ozone concentrations were calculated using three scenarios: keeping pollution levels constant, a moderate success in pollution clean-up, and a high success in pollution clean-up. Results of ozone obtained with the model predicted very high levels associated with Scenario’s 1 and 2, while Scenario 3 showed acceptable levels for athletic competition, in accordance with WHO and Chinese Standards. A high NO-to-NO2 concentration ratio showed less ozone formation, which displayed the dependence of ozone on the variable levels of NO2 and NO. The level of the hydroxyl radical formation was closely related to that of ozone. The overall results suggest that Beijing will have a difficult time bringing pollution down to an acceptable level; athletes will have to deal with an added negative physiological response.

scholarly journals Population densities and diversity of Noctuidae (Lepidoptera) along an air pollution gradient on the Kola Peninsula, Russia¹

1996 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 9-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mikhail Kozlov ◽  
Jukka Jalava ◽  
Alexandr Lvovsky ◽  
Kauri Mikkola
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Species Richness ◽  
Kola Peninsula ◽  
Forest Decline ◽  
Total Catch ◽  
Population Densities ◽  
Pollution Gradient ◽  
Unpolluted Area ◽  
Polluted Sites ◽  
Pollution Impact

The noctuid moths were monitored by means of bait traps from 1991 to 1993 in the area polluted by the Severonikel smelter on the Kola Peninsula. The total catch was 869 specimens belonging to 21 species. The catches peaked in sites representing the earlier stages of forest decline, being about two times as large as in the unpolluted area. The noctuid moths were heterogeneous in their response to pollution impact: (1) Xestia rhaetica, X. speciosa and Eurois occultus showed a clinal decline towards the emission source, (2) Diarsia mendica peaked at slightly polluted sites, (3) Acronicta auricoma, Hyppa rectilinea, Apamea maillardi and Xestia alpicola were most abundant in moderately polluted areas, (4) a mountain tundra species, Polia conspicua, was collected in heavily polluted sites only. However, neither species richness nor diversity of Noctuidae were affected by pollution.

Boys With Allergic Rhinitis Who Were Sensitized to Blomia tropicalis Are the Most Vulnerable to Air Pollutants

2019 ◽  
Vol 33 (6) ◽  
pp. 730-736 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yeak-Wun Quek ◽  
Chun-Yi Chuang ◽  
Hui-Hsien Pan ◽  
Hai-Lun Sun ◽  
Ko-Huang Lue ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Allergic Rhinitis ◽  
Clinical Study ◽  
Epidemiological Study ◽  
Air Pollutants ◽  
Drug Prescriptions ◽  
House Dust Mites ◽  
National Database ◽  
Blomia Tropicalis ◽  
Pollution Levels

Background Studies have confirmed the detrimental effects of air pollutants on allergic disease patients. However, individuals who are most vulnerable have not been completely identified. Methods Clinical study: During 2007 to 2011, 225 children aged 6 to 15 years with allergic rhinitis (AR) were recruited from a hospital in Taichung City, Taiwan. They were classified based on sensitivity to house dust mites, such as Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus, Blomia tropicalis (Bt), or Dermatophagoides microceras. Correlations between Pediatric Rhinoconjunctivitis Quality of Life Questionnaire (PRQLQ) scores, allergen-specific immunoglobulin E levels, and air pollution levels were evaluated. Epidemiological study: Records of 9868 children with AR who were matched for study years, age, and city of the clinical study were obtained from a national database. Correlations between clinic visits for AR, topical AR drug prescriptions, and air pollution levels were evaluated. The air pollutants included sulfur dioxide (SO2), carbon monoxide (CO), ozone (O3), particles <10 μm in diameter (PM10), particles <2.5 μm in diameter (PM2.5), nitric oxide (NO), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), nonmethane hydrocarbon (NMHC), and methane (CH4). Results Epidemiological study: CO, NO, NO2, and CH4 levels were significantly correlated with topical AR drug prescriptions in boys. However, in girls, only CH4 level was significantly correlated. Clinical study: Positive correlations between the PRQLQ score and air pollutants were noted in boys but not in girls. After adjusting for confounders, correlations between CO, PM2.5, and NO2 levels were noted in boys sensitized to Bt but not in those sensitized to other mites. Conclusion Boys with AR were more vulnerable to air pollutants than girls. Bt-sensitized boys with AR were more vulnerable to air pollutants than girls and those sensitized to other mites.

scholarly journals Evaluating the Influence of Meteorological Parameters on Ozone Concentration Levels

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (3.7) ◽  
pp. 65
Author(s):  
Amina Nazif ◽  
Nurul Izma Mohammed ◽  
Amirhossein Malakahmad ◽  
Motasem S. Abualqumboz
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Air Pollutants ◽  
Stepwise Regression ◽  
Meteorological Parameters ◽  
Anthropogenic Activities ◽  
Quality Monitoring ◽  
Air Quality Monitoring ◽  
Pollution Levels ◽  
Air Quality Monitoring Stations ◽  
Concentration Levels

Over the years, anthropogenic activities have led to the increase in air pollution concentration levels in the atmosphere, this persistent increase in pollution levels can be influenced by meteorological parameters. These parameters assist in the formation and transportation of air pollutants in the atmosphere. Hence, this study aims at evaluating the association between meteorological parameters and air pollutants. The analysis was carried out using Ozone (O3), Particulate matter (PM10), Nitrogen dioxide (NO2), temperature, humidity, wind speed, and wind direction data from 2006 to 2010, from two industrial air quality monitoring stations. Stepwise regression (SR) analysis was used to assess the influence of meteorological parameters in accounting for the variability of O3 concentration levels. The SR analysis showed that meteorological parameters accounted for more than 50 % of O3 variability. It can be concluded that different relationship between meteorological parameters and O3 can exist in different locations in the same region.  

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