Air pollution surveillance

Concentration and Source Origin of Trace Metals in PM2.5 Collected at Selected Canadian Sites within the Canadian National Air Pollution Surveillance Program... 

The Canadian National Air Pollution Surveillance (NAPS) network is one of the major air quality monitoring initiatives in the country. It was established in 1969 as a joint program of the federal and provincial governments to monitor and assess the quality of the ambient air in Canada s urban centers. Air quality data are measured at 319 sites, located in 216 communities in all provinces and territories with the aim of providing the information needed to evaluate air pollution control... 

The general air pollution surveillance related to exhaust gases in Belgium has put the emphasis on lead, carbon monoxide and NO. The PAH pollution data are relatively restricted and the most interesting are those from the Laboratory for Industrial Toxicology and Ecotoxicology of the Environment, under the direction of our host Professor Rondia. 

Table 3 Analytical features of relevant flowing-stream methods applied to air pollution surveillance... 

Environment Canada. 2000. National Air Pollution Surveillance (NAPS) Network—Annual Summary for 1998, Report EPS 7/AP/31, Environmental Protection Service, Ottawa, ON. 

National Academy of Sciences National Research Council, 1993. Measuring Lead Exposure in Infants, Children, and Other Sensitive Populations. National Academy Press, Washington, DC. National Air Pollution Surveillance Reports (NAPS), 1971—1976. Report Series No. EPS-5-AP. 

Fig. 14-1. Nondispersive infrared (NDIR) analyzer, Source Bryan, R. J, Ambient air quality surveillance, in "Air Pollution," 3rd ed., Vol. Ill (A. C. Stern, ed.). Academic Press, New York, 1976, p. 375.

In 1953 the Public Health Service in cooperation with state and local departments in air-pollution control agencies set up air sampling stations in 17 communities. The Federal Air Pollution Research and Technical Assistance Act (Public Law 159, 84th Congress) became effective in June, 1955. The network expanded to become national in 1957, at which time about 110 urban and 51 non-urban stations in the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico were operated on a continuing basis. Currently, the National Air Surveillance Network (NASN) includes some 270 stations (10% of which are non-urban) where particulate matter is collected on glass-fiber filters and TSP is deter-... 

This chapter presents a summary of composition and source origin of trace metals in PM2 5 collected at selected urban and rural sites across Canada, within the National Air Pollution Network Surveillance program, during the May 2004 to December 2006 sampling period. The PM2.5 mass concentrations found at all Canadian sites ranged from 5 to 11 pg/m (IQR)- The overall median was 7.2 pg/ m and was lower than most of the values reported for other regions of the world. The least contaminated site was Canterbury NB (rural), whereas Windsor ON (urban) was the site with the highest concentration of PM2.5. 

Environmental Surveillance Study (CHESS) and subsequent programs trying to link air pollution with human health effects. The second is the Cancer Mortality Atlas published by NCI in 1973 that identifies cancer incidence as a function of geographical distribution. As part of this effort, in-depth cancer statistics were also obtained by NCI on several Standard Metropolitan Statistical Areas (SMSAs). 

Air sampling is one of the most important and difficult steps in the surveillance of air pollution. Particulate air sampling techniques include filtration, electrostatic... 

Sheppard 1980). The level of thorium measured in 1969 in East Chicago, IN, a heavily polluted industrial area, was 1.3 ng/m compared to a value of 0.27 ng/m at a rural location in Michigan (Niles, Ml) (Dams et al. 1970). The air particulate samples collected from 250 sites in the United States by the National Air Surveillance Network (NASN) of ERA during 1975 and 1976 were analyzed for thorium-232 by neutron activation analysis. The measured concentrations at 250 urban and nonurban sites in the United States ranged from 0.2-1.0 ng/m, with a mean concentration of 0.3 ng/m (Lambert and Wilshire 1979). The mean concentrations of thorium-228, thorium-230 and thorium-232 in New York City air (sample collected on the roof above the 14th floor) were 36 aCi/m (aCi = 10 Ci), 36 aCi/m, and 37 aCi/m, respectively (Wrenn et al. 1981). 

A decade ago, only a few pollutants were monitored. However, current regulations impose the monitoring of an increased number of substances at increasingly lower detection levels. Special surveillance is conducted in establishments known to release pollutants into the environment. Similarly, hazardous chemicals such as pesticides and herbicides are constantly identified and quantified. Several of these are related to air, water and soil pollution. 

Figure 1 shows the final scheme used for all sample types when the program was terminated. (The PBR ceased operation in Jan. 1973.) Each operation is identified by a letter in parentheses. Table I provides information on the manpower breakdown for each identified operation. Results on the pollution-related samples went to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Division of Air Surveillance at Research Triangle Park, N. C. and the Environmental Research Office (ERO). NASA Lewis Research Center, Cleveland, Ohio. 

---