Ambient concentrations

Emissions of CO in the United States peaked in the late 1960s, but have decreased consistendy since that time as transportation sector emissions significandy decreased. Between 1968 and 1983, CO emissions from new passenger cars were reduced by 96% (see Exhaust CONTUOL, automotive). This has been partially offset by an increase in the number of vehicle-miles traveled annually. Even so, there has been a steady decline in the CO concentrations across the United States and the decline is expected to continue until the late 1990s without the implementation of any additional emissions-reduction measures. In 1989, there were still 41 U.S. urban areas that exceeded the CO NAAQS on one or mote days per year, but the number of exceedances declined by about 80% from 1980 to 1989. Over the same time period, nationwide CO emissions decreased 23%, and ambient concentrations declined by 25% (4). 

Reference methods for criteria (19) and hazardous (20) poUutants estabHshed by the US EPA include sulfur dioxide [7446-09-5] by the West-Gaeke method carbon monoxide [630-08-0] by nondispersive infrared analysis ozone [10028-15-6] and nitrogen dioxide [10102-44-0] by chemiluminescence (qv) and hydrocarbons by gas chromatography coupled with flame-ionization detection. Gas chromatography coupled with a suitable detector can also be used to measure ambient concentrations of vinyl chloride monomer [75-01-4], halogenated hydrocarbons and aromatics, and polyacrylonitrile [25014-41-9] (21-22) (see Chromatography Trace and residue analysis). 

The terms ambient air, ambient air pollution, ambient levels, ambient concentrations, ambient air monitoring, ambient air quality, etc. occur frequently in air pollution parlance. The intent is to distinguish pollution of the air outdoors by transport and diffusion by wind (i.e., ambient air pollution) from contamination of the air indoors by the same substances. 

The biological response line for acute respiratory disease is a dose-response curve, which for a constant concentration becomes a duration-response curve. The shape of such a curve reflects the ability of the human body to cope with short-term, ambient concentration respiratory exposures and the overwhelming of the body s defenses by continued exposure. 

The presence of air pollutants in the surrounding ambient air is only one aspect of determining the impact on human beings. An air pollution instrument can measure the ambient concentration of a pollutant gas, which may or may not be related to its interaction with individuals. More detailed information about where and for how long we are breathing an air pollutant provides additional informahon about our actual exposure. Finally, how an air pollutant interacts with the human body provides the most useful information about the dose to a target organ or bodily system. 

Natural rubber is composed of polymerized isoprene units. When rubber is under tension, ozone attacks the carbon-carbon double bond, breaking the bond. The broken bond leaves adjacent C = C bonds under additional stress, eventually breaking and placing shll more stress on surrounding C = C bonds. This "domino" effect can be discerned from the structural formulas in Fig. 9-4. The number of cracks and the depth of the cracks in rubber under tension are related to ambient concentrations of ozone. 

Fig. 12-2. NO-NO2-O3 ambient concentration profiles from average of four Regional Air Monitoring Stations (RAPS) in downtown St. Louis, Missouri (USA) on October 1, 1976. Source RAPS, Data obtained from the 1976 data file for the Regional Air Pollution Study Program. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC, 1976.

One example is sampling for S02- Liquid sorbents for SO2 depend on the solubility of SO2 in the liquid collection medium. Certain liquids at the correct pH are capable of removing ambient concentrations of SO2 with 100% efficiency until the characteristics of the solution are altered so that no more SO2 may be dissolved in the volume of liquid provided. Under these circumstances, sampling is 100% efficient for a limited total mass of SO2 transferred to the solution, and the technique is acceptable as long as sampling does not continue beyond the time that the sampling solution is saturated (1). A second example is the use of solid sorbents such as Tenax... 

A solid sorbent Tenax cartridge has a capacity of 100 fig of toluene. If samples were collected at a rate of 5 liters/min, calculate the maximum ambient concentration which can be determined by an hourly sample and a 15-min sample. 

Describe the deficiencies of a total suspended particulate measurement for relating ambient concentrations to potential human health effects. 

Simplified environmental fate estimation procedures are based on the predominant mechanisms of transport within each medium, and they generally disregard intermedia transfer or transformation processes. In general, they produce conservative estimates (i.e., reasonable upper bounds) for final ambient concentrations and the extent of hazardous substance migration. However, caution should be taken to avoid using inappropriate analytical methods that underestimate or overlook significant pathways that affect human health. 

Tenax Various grades for collection of a range of boiling-point compounds. Suitable for low ambient concentrations... 

Exposure to sulfur dioxide in the ambient air has been associated with reduced lung function, increased incidence of respiratory symptoms and diseases, irritation of the eyes, nose, and throat, and premature mortality. Children, the elderly, and those already suffering from respiratory ailments, such as asthmatics, are especially at risk. Health impacts appear to be linked especially to brief exposures to ambient concentrations above 1,000 ixg/in (acute exposures measured over 10 minutes). Some epidemiologic studies, however, have shown an association between relatively low annual mean levels and excess mortality. It is not clear whether long-... 

Emissions of gases or particles less than 20 microns (larger particles settle more quickly due to gravitational effects) disperse with an origin and plume centerline at the effective stack height. Pollutant concentrations are greatest within one standard deviation of the plume centerline. Thus, the determination of the value of these standard deviations is an important factor in calculating ambient concentrations. 

Hundreds of computations are needed to generate the long-term average ambient concentration at various receptor sites due to one or more continuously discharging stacks. 

Resulting ambient concentration of each compound must be below an air quality standard. 

Actual ambient concentrations of HO and H02 will be determined by the balance of radical generation steps (photolysis) and radical termination steps such as R8, R23, and R33... 

AAC = acceptable ambient concentration ACGIH = American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists ADEQ = Arizona Department of Environmental Quality SNA = Bureau of National Affairs CDC = Center for Disease Control CERCLA = Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act CFR = Code of Federal Regulations DNR = Department of Natural Resources DWEL = drinking water equivalent level ... 

Carey AE, Kutz FW. 1985. Trends in ambient concentrations of agrochemicals in humans and the environment of the United States. Environ Assess 5 155-163. 

The values listed in NATICH 1992 as "acceptable ambient concentrations guidelines or standards may not be referred to as such by certain States and localities. For example, the values listed for Connecticut are referred to as hazard limiting values ... 

At an intensive watershed Hg monitoring site, it is envisioned that THg and MeHgwonld be measured in ambient concentrations of atmospheric Hg species (i.e.,... 

These crude estimates could be checked by comparing estimates of ambient concentrations based on them against actual measurements... 

Environmental Fate. Having characterized the entry of materials into the environment, we move into the second step of our procedure. The goal at this stage of analysis is to define ambient concentration of the material or its products in areas of concern for receptor (e.g., people, materials or ecosystem components) exposure. A family of computer simulation models has been developed for calculating the ambient levels of a... 

Another case of multimedia fate modeling may be exemplified by human inhalation exposure estimates for PCB spills. The spill size is estimated considering both spread and soil infiltration. Volatilization calculations were carried out to get transfer rates into the air compartment. Finally, plume calculations using local meteorological statistics produced ambient concentration patterns which can be subsequently folded together with population distributions to obtain exposures. 

For acute releases, the fault tree analysis is a convenient tool for organizing the quantitative data needed for model selection and implementation. The fault tree represents a heirarchy of events that precede the release of concern. This heirarchy grows like the branches of a tree as we track back through one cause built upon another (hence the name, "fault tree"). Each level of the tree identifies each antecedent event, and the branches are characterized by probabilities attached to each causal link in the sequence. The model appiications are needed to describe the environmental consequences of each type of impulsive release of pollutants. Thus, combining the probability of each event with its quantitative consequences supplied by the model, one is led to the expected value of ambient concentrations in the environment. This distribution, in turn, can be used to generate a profile of exposure and risk. 

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