The promulgation of the minimum emission standards for the list of activities resulting in significant air pollution under the National Environmental Management: Air Quality Act, 2004 (Act No.39 of 2004) introduces a command – and – control regulation, in which the listed activities are required to obtain atmospheric emission licenses prior to operation. Under this regime, the listed activities are required to demonstrate compliance with the concentration-based minimum emission standards incorporated into their license, by conducting emission monitoring. Effective emission monitoring is dependent on the systematic implementation of a number of processes, procedures and protocols for emissions sampling, analysis and reporting. This study focused on development of a system for emissions monitoring, by establishment of the best practice on sampling procedures; criteria for emission measurement methods selection; quality assurance and quality control procedures; as well as data handling, reporting and compliance assessment procedures. The study recommends a model of emissions compliance monitoring system for South Africa, comprising of processes and procedures required for the acquisition of good quality, credible data to support effective implementation of the National Environmental Management: Air Quality Act, 2004. / Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 2015. / Chemical Engineering / Unrestricted

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This thesis examines social and political responses to poor air quality in Vancouver, British Columbia from the 1950s through the early 1970s. Businesses dependent on local markets, the City of Vancouver and medical health officers organized the first civic efforts to strengthen air pollution control in the early 1950s. The provincial government only engaged with the air pollution issue publicly in the early 1960s, and delayed developing clear policy until 1969. Social Credit politicians and representatives of exporting industries generally characterized pollution impacts as aesthetic rather than as harmful to health. This characterization helped justify keeping air policy implementation at the municipal level. Excepting Vancouver, this level proved incapable of dealing with the problem. Public protests of poor air quality increased over time even as visible pollutants decreased. The capitalist state’s imperative to support large corporate interests helps explain the Province’s consistently weak stance on air pollution policy. However, the contradictory imperative of democratic legitimation helps explain policy shifts during the Bennett administration, such as occurred during the public wave of environmental concern in the late 1960s. Vancouver’s consistently stronger stand on air pollution was supported by the local market oriented business community, market shifts to liquid fuels and deindustrialization. Vancouver’s policy experience and federal-provincial political rivalries best explain Greater Vancouver’s retention of industrial air pollution management when the Bennett administration finally asserted control over this pollution source for the rest of the province. / Graduate

A variety of methods exist to remove volatile organic compound (VOC) air pollutants from contaminated gas streams. As regulatory and public opinion pressures increase, companies are searching for more effective methods to control these emissions. This document is intended as a guide to help determine if existing systems are adequate and to provide additional information to improve the efficiency of the systems. It explores conventional methods of controlling VOC emissions, as well as innovative technologies including membrane separation, plasma destruction, and ozone catalytic oxidation. The conventional technologies covered include condensation, adsorption, absorption (or scrubbing), thermal incineration, flaring, catalytic incineration, and biofiltration. Each chapter includes a description of the technology, a discussion of the types of systems available, notes on the design of the system, economic estimates, an explanation of potential problems, and a list of considerations for installation and maintenance concerns. The final chapter is dedicated to the preparation and characterization of metal catalysts which were developed to improve the reaction rate of VOCs using ozone as an oxidant. / Ph. D.

Submitted by Rosina Valeria Lanzellotti Mattiussi Teixeira (rosina.teixeira@unisantos.br) on 2017-02-23T18:08:51Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Ilana Andrade Santos do Egyto.pdf: 1683328 bytes, checksum: 29e96e570cfb8bdc614748fda148ce3c (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-02-23T18:08:51Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Ilana Andrade Santos do Egyto.pdf: 1683328 bytes, checksum: 29e96e570cfb8bdc614748fda148ce3c (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-02-06 / INTRODUCTION: Most of Brazilian States has no network of air quality monitoring, but all are exposed to air pollution from industries, automobiles, fires and those produced naturally by the environment. In the State of Paraíba no monitoring of air quality and therefore, there is no measurement of atmospheric pollutants and climatic variables. OBJECTIVE: Assess the relationship between air pollution and hospital admissions of children under five by respiratory diseases in Paraíba: contribution in decision-making of public policies aimed at controlling air pollution. METHODOLOGY: Analytical and descriptive study of the spatial distribution of vulnerable areas in relation to socioeconomic data, data on health information (hospitalization), population and pollutant sources (fleet and burned). The tabs and data analyses were conducted for the State of Paraíba stratified by region. We opted for the use of thematic cartography for the generation of maps of vulnerability to consider its potential as a tool for easy and intuitive visualization, to communicate the results of the environmental risk assessments. Descriptive analysis, Chi-square test, Kruskal-Wallis, and multiple comparisons of Dunn. The significance level was 5%. RESULTS: There is no relationship between the increase of air pollution and hospital admissions of children from zero to five years for respiratory problems. With respect to the spatial distribution of the hotspots and hospitalization, we have that in 2010 was the worst year among the analyzed in this study. The regions with the largest numbers of cases are the hinterland and coast. CONCLUSION: There is a need for a balance between economic development and sustainability. A plan of strategies should be designed and implemented, not depending on only one institution and the set of actions of various organs for the results to be favourable both to the quality of life of the population as to the economy of the State. / INTRODUÇÃO: A maior parte dos Estados Brasileiros não possui rede de monitoramento da qualidade do ar, porém todos estão expostos a poluição atmosférica provenientes de indústrias, automóveis, queimadas e as produzidas naturalmente pelo meio ambiente. No Estado da Paraíba não há monitoramento da qualidade do ar e portanto, não há mensuração dos poluentes atmosférico e de variáveis climáticas. OBJETIVO: Avaliar a relação entre poluição atmosférica e internações de crianças menores de cinco anos por doenças respiratórias na Paraíba: contribuição na tomada de decisões de políticas públicas voltadas ao controle da poluição do ar. METODOLOGIA: Estudo analítico e descritivo da distribuição espacial das áreas vulneráveis em relação a dados socioeconômicos, dados sobre informações de saúde (internações), população e fontes poluidoras (frota e queimadas). As tabulações e análises dos dados foram realizadas para o estado da Paraíba estratificada por região. Optou-se pela utilização da cartografia temática para a geração de mapas de vulnerabilidade ao considerar seu potencial como ferramenta intuitiva e de fácil visualização, para comunicar os resultados das avaliações de risco ambiental. Foi realizada a análise descritiva, testes de Qui-quadrado, Kruskal-Wallis, e de comparações múltiplas de Dunn. O nível de significância foi de 5%. RESULTADOS: Existe relação entre o aumento da poluição atmosférica e as admissões hospitalares de crianças de zero a cinco anos por problemas respiratórios. Com relação à distribuição espacial dos focos de calor e internação, temos que em 2010 foi o pior ano dentre os analisados neste estudo. As regiões com maiores números de casos são o sertão e litoral. CONCLUSÃO: É necessário um equilíbrio entre desenvolvimento econômico e sustentabilidade. Um plano de estratégias deve ser pensado e posto em prática, não dependendo apenas de uma instituição e sim do conjunto de ações de diversos órgãos para que os resultados sejam favoráveis tanto para a qualidade de vida da população como para a economia do Estado.

Tropospheric aerosol information from NASA satellites in space has reached the milestone of ten years of continuous measurements. These higher resolution satellite aerosol records allow for a broader regional perspective than can be gained using only sparsely located ground based monitoring sites. Decadal satellite aerosol data have the potential to advance knowledge of the climatic impacts of aerosols through better understanding of solar dimming/brightening and radiative forcings on regional scales, as well as aid in air quality applications. The goal of this thesis is to develop and implement methodologies for using satellite remotely sensed data in conjunction with ground based observations and modeling for characterization of regional aerosol variations with applications to air quality and climate studies in the Southeastern U. S. This region is of special interest because of distinct aerosol types, less warming climate trends compared to the rest of U.S., and growing population. To support this primary goal, a technique is developed that exploits the statistical relationship between PM2.5 (particulate matter that has an aerodynamic radius of 2.5 µm or less) and satellite AOD (Aerosol Optical Depth) from MODIS (Moderate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) where a probabilistic approach is used for air quality assessments in the metropolitan Atlanta area. The metropolitan Atlanta area experiences the poorest air quality during the warmer seasons. We found that satellite AODs capture a significant portion of PM2.5 concentration variability during the warmer months of the year with correlation values above 0.5 for a majority of co-located (in time and space) ground based PM2.5 monitors, which is significant at the 95% confidence interval. The developed probabilistic approach uses five years of satellite AOD, PM2.5 and their related AQI (Air Quality Index) to predict future AQI based solely on AOD retrievals through the use of AOD thresholds, e.g., 80% of Code Green AQI days have AOD below 0.3. This approach has broad applicability for concerned stakeholders in that it allows for quick dissemination of pertinent air quality data in near-real time around a satellite overpass. Examination of the use of multiple satellite sensors to aid in investigating the impacts of biomass burning in the region is performed. The utility of data fusion is evaluated in understanding the effects of the large wildfire that burned in May 2007. This wildfire caused PM2.5 in the metropolitan Atlanta area to exceed healthy levels with some measurements surpassing 150 µg/m3 during the month. OMI (Ozone Monitoring Instrument) AI (Aerosol Index), which qualitatively measures absorbing aerosols, have high values of more than 1.5 during May 26 - 31, 2007. CALIPSO (Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations) a space based lidar was used to determine the vertical structure of the atmosphere across the region during the active fire period. CALIPSO was able to identify wildfire aerosols both within the planetary boundary layer (likely affects local air quality) and aloft where aerosol transport occurs. This has important implications for climatic studies specifically aerosol radiative effects. In-depth analysis of the satellite and ground based aerosol data records over the past decade (2000 - 2009) are performed from a climatic perspective. The long temporal scale allowed for better characterization of seasonality, interannual variability, and trends. Spatial analysis of ten years of AOD from both MODIS and MISR (Multi-angle Imaging Spectroradiometer) showed little variability of AOD during the winter with mean AOD below 0.1 for the entire region, while the summer had decidedly more variability with mean AOD around 0.33 for MODIS and 0.3 for MISR. Seasonal analysis of the PM2.5 revealed that summer means are twice as high as winter means for PM2.5. All of the datasets show interannual variability that suggests with time AOD and PM2.5 are decreasing, but seasonal variability obscured the detection of any appreciable trends in AOD; however, once the seasonal influence was removed through the creation of monthly anomalies there were decreasing trends in AOD, but only MODIS had a trend of -0.00434 (per month) that statistically significant at the 95% confidence level. Satellite and ground-based data are used to assess the radiative impacts of aerosols in the region. The regional TOA (Top Of the Atmosphere) direct radiative forcing is estimated by utilizing satellite AOD from MODIS and MISR both on Terra, along with satellite derived cloud fraction, surface albedo (both from MODIS), and single scattering albedo (SSA) from MISR data from 2000 - 2009. Estimated TOA forcing varied from between -6 to -3 W/m2 during the winter, and during the warmer months there is more variation with ΔF varying between -28 to -12.6 W/m2 for MODIS and -26 to -11 W/m2 for MISR. The results suggest that when AOD, cloud fraction and surface albedo are all consider they add an additional 6 W/m2 of TOA forcing compared to TOA forcing due to aerosol effects only. Varying SSA can create changes in TOA forcing of about 5 W/m2. With removal of the seasonal variability timeseries anomaly trend analysis revealed that estimated TOA forcing is decreasing (becoming less negative) with MODIS based estimates statistically significant at the 95% confidence level. Optical and radiative 1-D radiative transfer modeling is performed to assess the daily mean TOA forcing and forcing at the surface for representative urban and background aerosol mixtures for summer and winter. During the winter, modeled TOA forcing is -2.8 and -5 W/m2 for the WB and WU cases, and the modeled summer TOA forcings (SB = -13.3 W/m2) also generally agree with earlier estimates. While surface forcings varied from -3 to -210 W/m2. The radiative forcing efficiency at the TOA (amount of forcing per unit of AOD at 550 nm) varied from -9 to -72 W/m2 τ-1, and RFE at the surface varied from -50 to -410 W/m2 τ-1. It was found that the forcing efficiency for biomass burning aerosols are similar to the forcing efficiency of background aerosols during the summer that highlights the importance of possible increased biomass burning activity. Ultimately, the methodologies developed in this work can be implemented by the remote sensing community and have direct applicability for society as a whole.

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As of March 2016, GRID Alternatives’ 179 solar electric system installations on low-income housing contributed 103 metric tons of carbon (MT CO2e) emissions reduction for the climate action plans’ Energy or Renewable Energy climate action measures that pertain to solar electric installations in the cities of: Arroyo Grande, Atascadero, Paso Robles, and San Luis Obispo and San Luis Obispo County. In 2007, the San Luis Obispo County Air Pollution Control District (APCD) created a team of government agencies to design climate action plans (CAP) that met the emission reduction goals set out by AB 32 and the 2008 Climate Change Scoping Plan (Rincon Consultants, 2014, p. 1-2). Each CAP outlines its greenhouse gas (GHG) baseline emissions and GHG emissions reduction targets in metric tons of carbon (MT CO2e) and identifies climate action measures to reach GHG emissions reduction targets. The climate action measure that pertains to Energy or Renewable Energy, specifically solar electric system installations, is examined in this study. GRID Alternatives, a non-profit solar installer that implements its Solar Affordable Housing Program, was selected by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) in 2008, to serve as the statewide program manager for the California Solar Initiative’s $108 million incentive program called the Single-family Affordable Solar Homes (SASH) program, which is the country's first dedicated solar rebate program for low-income families (GRID, 2016a, p. 2). In 2010, GRID Alternatives opened its Central Coast office in Atascadero to serve five central coast counties and tracks CO2 emission reductions for each installation. My objective is to determine the impact that GRID Alternatives’ solar electric installations in the cities of Arroyo Grande, Atascadero, Paso Robles, and San Luis Obispo and in San Luis Obispo County have on their respective CAPs’ GHG emissions reduction targets for the Energy or Renewable Energy climate action measure that pertains to solar electric installations.