Air pollution monitoring

LIND VALL, T., (1974). Monitoring air pollutants in the field with human observers. Arm. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 237. 

Oshima, R. J. A viable system of biological indicators for monitoring air pollutants. J. Air Pollut. Control Assoc. 24 576-578, 1974. 

Susceptible cultivars of most of these plants develop severe leaf injury when exposed to 2 to 5 pphm of ozone for 1 to 4 hr. This level of ozone is very common in urban areas and so are symptoms of ozone injury. However, such symptoms have also been reported from plants growing in such rural states as Maine and South Dakota. Even when no obvious injury can be seen, plants exposed to low levels of ozone may not grow as well or yield as much as plants growing in air free of ozone. On some plants, e.g., spinach, the symptoms of ozone injury are quite distinctive consequently, plants like these are being used in some places to detect and monitor air pollution. 

A chemist monitoring air pollution collects gaseous wastes in an initially empty 22.1-L steel tank until the pressure reaches 0.84 atm at 26°C. Assuming that the gases have an average molar mass of... 

A typical example of European experience is Heidelberger Zement in West Germany. They have been burning tires in cement kilns since 1978, utilizing as much as 50,000 metric tons per year in six plants. Generally they have kept the tire percentage of the fuel below 20 percent. They have observed improvement in kiln performance and more stable operation. They have monitored air pollution levels from the kilns and observed no problems. 

Enzyme induction and/or isoenzyme variation have been used to characterise widely different phenomena. These enzymatic parameters were shown to be useful criteria for monitoring air pollution (Keller, 1974 Fliickiger et al., 1978 Rabe and Kreeb, 1979), for ecogenetic characterisation of plant populations (Verkleij et al, 1980 Triest, 1991), for the study of callus tissue differentiation (Coppens and Gillis, 1987) and plant development and differentiation (Scandalios, 1974). The evaluation of phytotoxicity of metal-polluted soils and other substrates can also be realised by enzymatic parameters. 

A major use of the inertial microbalance is to monitor air pollution. The technique can be used to measure continuously the change of mass of an exchangeable filter cartridge as dust-loaded air or gas is drawn through it. Patashnick et al. 

W. Strauss, ed., Air Pollution Control, Part III Measuring and Monitoring Air Pollutants, Wiley-Interscience, New York, 1978. 

Atmospheric chemistry, Air quality monitoring. Air pollution modelling. Atmospheric aerosol. Ozone... 

Bresser AHM and Mathy P, eds. Monitoring Air Pollution and Forest Ecosystem Research. Report 21 ECE Air Pollution Report Series, 1989. 

Lichens, especially epiphytic lichens, are increasingly used to monitor air pollutants emitted by vehicles and by a wide range of industrial enterprises. Many publications showed that vehicular and industrial activities are the main source of heavy-metal air-pollution. Mosses, lichens, pine needles and tree bark and leaves are widely used to... 

Several instruments have been developed to monitor air pollutants such as SO2, NO2, HONO, and O3 and these are now commercially available. Although these once seemed likely to revolutionize air quality monitoring, their uptake in practice has been very limited. Most statutory air quality networks require point monitors, and long-path instruments are not accepted. 

Monitoring air pollution The presence of gases (e.g., ammonia, methane, nitrogen dioxide), carbon monoxides, dangerous solids and even microbial contamination may also be checked by biosensors. 

Thermal desorption is the method of choice to monitor air pollution. A known amount of air is drawn through an adsorbent tube filled with activated carbon, Tenax, silicagel, or mixtures of these. Analytes of interest are trapped and concentrated on the adsorbent. The ad.sorbenl tube is sealed and transported to the laboratory where it is installed in the thermal desorption unit. An example of a thermal desorption unit is shown in Figure 33. After the adsorbent tube is placed in the desorption module, the carrier gas is directed over the adsorbent, which is heated from room temperature to 250-300 "C. Since thermal desorption is a slow process, the solutes are focused by cold trapping on a fused silica trap. The cryogenic trap is then heated rapidly to transfer the sample to the column. The method works well for apolar and medium-polarity components in air. Highly polar solutes are very hard to desorb, and other sampling methods must be selected,... 

The maintenance of atmospheric quality requires monitoring air pollutants, especially the criteria air pollutants known to injure health, harm the environment, and cause property damage carbon monoxide, lead, nitrogen dioxide, ozone, particulate matter, and sulfur dioxide. In addition, it is important to determine the approximately 60 hydrocarbons and aldehydes that are precursors to photochemical smog formation. 

Lichens are useful indicators for monitoring air pollution (312, 361, 362, 446, 458). The literature concerning air pollution and lichens is summarized continously in the journal Lichenologist . 

Fig. 14.4. Monitoring air pollution by mea-suring the attenuation of a laser beam which is reflected by a re tr ore flee tor...

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