Urban Air Quality in Europe


Book Description

This book provides an overview of air quality in urban environments in Europe, focusing on air pollutant emission sources and formation mechanisms, measurement and modeling strategies, and future perspectives. The emission sources described are biomass burning, vehicular traffic, industry and agriculture, but also African dust and long-range transport of pollutants across the European regions. The impact of these emission sources and processes on atmospheric particulate matter, ozone, nitrogen oxides and volatile and semi-volatile organic compounds is discussed and critical areas for particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide in Europe are identified. Finally, this volume presents future perspectives, mainly regarding upcoming air quality monitoring strategies, metrics of interest, such as submicron and nanoparticles, and indoor and outdoor exposure scenarios.




Urban Air Quality in Europe


Book Description

This book provides an overview of air quality in urban environments in Europe, focusing on air pollutant emission sources and formation mechanisms, measurement and modeling strategies, and future perspectives. The emission sources described are biomass burning, vehicular traffic, industry and agriculture, but also African dust and long-range transport of pollutants across the European regions. The impact of these emission sources and processes on atmospheric particulate matter, ozone, nitrogen oxides and volatile and semi-volatile organic compounds is discussed and critical areas for particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide in Europe are identified. Finally, this volume presents future perspectives, mainly regarding upcoming air quality monitoring strategies, metrics of interest, such as submicron and nanoparticles, and indoor and outdoor exposure scenarios.




Urban Air Pollution - European Aspects


Book Description

This European Community-initiated book presents an up-to-date account of the air pollution situation with special reference to European cities. Its structure follows by and large the logical chain of events in air pollution, from sources, through dispersion and deposition, to impacts.







Urban Air Pollution in Asian Cities


Book Description

Air pollution has become part of the daily existence of many people who work, live and use the streets in Asian cities. Each day millions of city dwellers breathe air polluted with concentrations of chemicals, smoke and particles that dramatically exceed World Health Organization guideline values. Deteriorating air quality has resulted in significant impacts on human health and environment in Asia. This book provides a comprehensive and comparative assessment of the current status and challenges in urban air pollution management in 20 cities in the Asian region. It examines the effects on human health and the environment and future implications for planning, transport and energy sectors. National and local governments have begun to develop air quality management strategies to address the deterioration in urban air quality; however, the scope and effectiveness of such strategies vary widely. This book benchmarks these air quality management strategies, examines successes and failures in these cities and presents strategies for improving air quality management in cities across Asia and the rest of our rapidly urbanizing world. Information on air quality in Asia is clearly presented with easy-to-read city profiles, tables and graphs. This is an essential resource for all those concerned with urban air quality management, not just in Asia but in cities across our rapidly urbanizing world. Cities covered Bangkok, Beijing, Busan, Colombo, Dhaka, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Hong Kong, Jakarta, Kathmandu, Kolkata, Metro Manila, Mumbai, New Delhi, Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore, Surabaya, Taipei and Tokyo




Air Pollution and Health in Rapidly Developing Countries


Book Description

In developing countries the price of rapid growth is all too often noxious airborne pollution, which annually contributes to a disturbing number of avoidable deaths. In recent decades, however, there has been considerable progress in the epidemiology of air pollution, significant changes in international air pollution guidelines, and the emergence of more systematic approaches to air pollution control. While many of these advances have originated in affluent countries, there have been major developments in other parts of the world. In this book, a distinguished cast of leading researchers in both the scientific and policy dimensions of air pollution and health have synthesized the recent developments in the field and their relevance for public health in developing countries. The authors review studies from a wide range of Asian, African and Latin American countries and contrast the findings with those from Europe and North America. They also describe various tools and systems for air pollution management and emphasize approaches that can be used when data is scarce. With a clear focus on the scientific and technical aspects of air pollution and health, this book is essential reading for pollution and health policy-makers, researchers and others concerned with air pollution and health in developing countries.




Air Pollution and Lung Disease in Adults


Book Description

Air Pollution and Lung Disease in Adults provides a general approach to problems involving air pollutants and respiratory disorders in adults. The diversity among the authors, whose areas of expertise and interest include pulmonary medicine, toxicology, allergy immunology, pathology, environmental engineering, and industrial hygiene, parallels the diversity of the readers. Although selected chapters address specific conditions, the overall general approach creates a wide context in which to assess and explore several areas of interest. The book begins with a chapter on exposure and environmental characterization, followed by discussions on direct and indirect injury to the respiratory tract, carcinogenesis, and lung cancer. The book then covers the pathology of environmental lung disease, causality assessment, and causal inference and toxicology. Clinical evaluation of the individual patient, diagnosis and differential diagnosis, as well as spirometry and cardiopulmonary exercise testing in impairment evaluation follow. The three chapters addressing the more particular entities of immunologic mechanisms include pneumoconioses, chronic and interstitial pulmonary fibrosis and bronchiolitis, sick building syndrome, multiple chemical sensitivities, and chronic fatigue syndrome.




Air Quality Guidelines


Book Description

This book presents revised guideline values for the four most common air pollutants - particulate matter, ozone, nitrogen dioxide and sulfur dioxide - based on a recent review of the accumulated scientific evidence. The rationale for selection of each guideline value is supported by a synthesis of information emerging from research on the health effects of each pollutant. As a result, these guidelines now also apply globally. They can be read in conjunction with Air quality guidelines for Europe, 2nd edition, which is still the authority on guideline values for all other air pollutants. As well as revised guideline values, this book makes a brief yet comprehensive review of the issues affecting the application of the guidelines in risk assessment and policy development. Further, it summarizes information on: . pollution sources and levels in various parts of the world, . population exposure and characteristics affecting sensitivity to pollution, . methods for quantifying the health burden of air pollution, and . the use of guidelines in developing air quality standards and other policy tools. Finally, the special case of indoor air pollution is explored. Prepared by a large team of renowned international experts who considered conditions in various parts of the globe, these guidelines are applicable throughout the world. They provide reliable guidance for policy-makers everywhere when considering the various options for air quality management.




Air Pollution and Climate Change


Book Description

This book identifies four key forms of air pollution: indoor, urban, regional and global. It discusses how these four types of pollution are manifest in today’s society and examines the scientific and policy challenges that stand in the way of progress. Written in a style that balances scientific underpinnings with accessible language, Pearson and Derwent examine the sources and historical context of air pollutants, before dedicating a chapter to each of the key forms. Armed with these basics, they begin to address the challenges faced by improving indoor, urban and regional air quality, whilst reducing global warming in the years ahead. This leads to a greater understanding of the challenges of global climate change, with new proposals for reducing global warming. However, the authors conclude that it is only when we have a scenario of reforestation combined with reductions in emissions of all greenhouse gases that real progress will be made in the fight against climate change. Then, air pollution will also be consigned to history. With a foreword written by Professor James Lovelock, this book will be of great interest to students and scholars of climate change and environmental policy, as well as air quality professionals working in this important field.




Air Quality in Urban Environments


Book Description

Urban air quality is a topic which remains high on the scientific and political agenda. Concentrations of most air pollutants are higher in urban areas than in the surrounding rural regions, and given the high population densities, it is within urban areas that the majority of the population receive their air pollutant exposure. Despite the continued implementation of abatement measures, concentrations of air pollutants within urban areas frequently exceed health-based guidelines and stricter measures to restrict emissions are required. This comprehensive volume, written by authoritative authors, deals with the basic science of urban air pollution in relation to the sources and concentrations, and the atmospheric chemical and physical processes which determine those concentrations and lead to the formation of secondary pollutants by chemical reactions in the atmosphere. The health effects of urban air pollution are described as is the policy response designed to mitigate the problems. Some of the highest air pollutant exposures occur within underground railway systems and this topic is considered explicitly in its own chapter. With comprehensive coverage from sources through atmospheric processes, to human exposure and effects on health and the policy response, this topical work will be of interest to scientists and policy makers within this field as well advanced students.