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

O objetivo deste trabalho foi o analisar o impacto da resolução dos conjuntos de dados topográficos nas simulações das concentrações de dióxido de enxofre (SO2) emitido por uma fonte localizada no Sul do Brasil. Para isso foram realizadas duas simulações aplicando o modelo regional Weather Research and Forecasting acoplado com a química (WRF/Chem), configurado com duas representações do terreno de diferentes resoluções espaciais. Foram utilizados os dados padrão do modelo com melhor resolução, Global 30 Arc-Second Elevation (GTOPO), com aproximadamente 1 km, e inserido no bancos de dados do modelo as informações de terreno em alta-resolução do Radar Shuttle Topography Mission (SRTM) (30 metros). Para as emissões antrópicas do modelo foi elaborado um programa capaz inserir os volumes do poluente SO2 de forma horária expelidos pela chaminé, de acordo com as taxas de emissão medidos diretamente na fonte. O programa representou a emissão do poluente no ponto de grade correspondente a localização e a altura acima da superfície da chaminé da fonte. As simulações foram configuradas com os seguintes esquemas de parametrização: para microfísica de nuvens foi utilizado o Goddard Cumulus Ensemble; os esquemas de radiação de onda longa e curta foram o Goddard e o Rapid Radiative Transfer Model para modelos de circulação geral da atmosfera (MCGA); para a parametrização de cumulus o esquema utilizado foi o Grell 3D Ensemble Scheme; e para os esquemas de camada superficial e camada limite planetária foram utilizados os da teoria da similaridade do Fifth-Generation National Center for Atmospheric Research/Penn State Mesoscale Model (MM5) e o Yonsey University, respectivamente. A escolha desta combinação de esquemas foi definida a partir de um estudo inicial da sensibilidade do modelo à mudança das parametrizações. Os resultados dos experimentos numéricos alterando a topografia foram validados a partir dos dados de monitoramento das estações meteorológica e da qualidade do ar pertencentes à empresa responsável pelo empreendimento associado à fonte. Foi observado que as simulações com os dados SRTM expressaram o terreno da região de estudo mais próximo à realidade, representando o aspecto heterogêneo do relevo, ressaltando os picos e os vales. Os resultados das validações meteorológicas utilizando os dados topográficos indicaram melhoras nas simulações das variáveis meteorológicas: temperatura, umidade relativa, velocidade do vento e precipitação. Os experimentos com os dados topográficos GTOPO e SRTM no modelo WRF/Chem, configurado com as emissões horárias da fonte de Candiota, reproduziram o comportamento dos ventos para transporte de SO2 até as estações de monitoramento conforme os dados observados. Porém foram identificados padrões diferentes na representação das concentrações do poluente entre as duas simulações do modelo, associados aos escoamentos dos ventos representados pelos experimentos. A resolução da topografia afetou na simulação de SO2 devido ao aumento da forçante superficial induzida pelo terreno. Este aumento na forçante, influenciou a advecção da pluma de SO2, resultando em diferentes padrões das concentrações de SO2 no ponto de grade correspondente às estações de monitoramento. Contudo, os resultados das simulações das concentrações de SO2, tanto de forma horária quanto na abordagem das médias diárias, não indicaram uma relação linear entre a utilização de dados em alta resolução e a melhora na representação do SO2 pelo modelo WRF/Chem. / The objective of this work was to analyze the impact of the higher resolution topographic data sets in the simulations of the Sulfur dioxide (SO2) concentrations emitted by a source located Southern Brazil. Two simulations were performed applying the Weather Research and Forecasting model coupled with Chemistry – WRF/Chem, configured with two representations of the terrain with different spatial resolutions. The standard data of the model with the best resolution (approximately 1 km), Global 30 Arc-Second Elevation (GTOPO), and was inserted in the model databases the high-resolution (30 meters) terrain information of the Radar Shuttle Topography Mission (SRTM). For the anthropic emissions of the model, a program was developed capable of inserting the hourly SO2 pollutant volumes expelled by the chimney, according to the emission rates measured directly at the source. The program inserted these emissions into the grid point corresponding to the location and height above the surface of the emission source. The simulations were configured with the following parameterization schemes: for cloud microphysics Goddard Cumulus Ensemble; for the long and short wave radiation treatment it was used the Goddard and the Rapid Radiative Transfer Model for general circulation models; for the cumulus parameterization the scheme it was used the Grell 3D Ensemble Scheme; and for the surface layer and planetary boundary layer schemes, the similarity theory of the Fifth-Generation National Center for Atmospheric Research/Penn State Mesoscale Model (MM5) and the Yonsey University, respectively. The choice of this combination of schemes was defined from an initial study of the sensitivity of the model to the change of parametrizations. The results of the numerical experiments altering the topography were validated from the monitoring data of the meteorological stations and the air quality belonging to the company responsible for the enterprise associated to the source. It was observed that the simulations with the SRTM data expressed the terrain of the region of study closest to reality, representing the heterogeneous aspect of the terrain, highlighting the peaks and valleys. The results of the meteorological validations using the new topographic data indicated an improvement in the simulations of the meteorological variables: temperature, relative humidity, wind speed and precipitation. The experiments with the GTOPO and SRTM topographic data in WRF/Chem model, configured with the hourly emissions of the Candiota source, reproduced the winds behavior that transported the SO2 to the monitoring stations according to the observed data. However, different patterns were identified in the pollutant concentrations between the two simulations of the model, associated to the wind flows represented by the experiments. The topography resolution affected in the simulation of SO2 due to the increase of the surface forcing induced by the terrain. This increase in the forcing influenced the advection of the SO2 plume, resulting in different patterns of SO2 concentrations at the grid point corresponding to the monitoring stations. However, the results of simulations of SO2 concentrations, both hourly and in the approach of daily averages, did not indicate a linear relationship between the use of high resolution data and the improvement in the representation of SO2 by WRF/Chem model.

Agriculture workers can be exposed to hazardous concentrations of airborne contaminants such as, particulate matter (PM), carbon dioxide (CO2), and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Exposure to these contaminants has been associated with a high prevalence of acute and chronic respiratory symptoms: coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath, and phlegm, as well as a reduction in lung function. Commercial low-cost indoor air quality (IAQ) monitors have the ability to detect many of the contaminants commonly found in agriculture. Limited research has been conducted on the performance of low-cost monitors in different occupational settings. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to evaluate whether the Foobot (Airboxlab, San Francisco, CA, USA), a low-cost (IAQ) monitor, is sufficiently robust to operate in agricultural environments and provide useful and accurate information to farmers. Foobots were deployed at two sites, a tractor repair shop (“Shop”) for 43 days and a finishing room in a swine production building (“Barn”) for 40 days, where they monitored PM2.5, CO2, and VOCs. Reference direct-reading monitors to compare Foobot readings were collocated with the Foobots. Paired sample results were compared over 19 days at the shop and 21 days at the barn. At neither of the two sites did the Foobots meet the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) acceptable bias criterion of ± 10% when compared to the reference monitors. Linear regression results indicate that a strong linear relationship does not exist (R2< 0.66) between the Foobots and reference monitors. A significant difference (P< 0.031) was found between contaminant concentrations reported by each Foobot but the difference was not found to be substantial. The Foobot CO2 and VOC concentrations were highly correlated (R2=0.99). However, a strong linear relationship between the Foobot CO2 concentrations and the reference CO2 concentrations was not found at the shop (R2 = 0.02) or barn (R2 = 0.61). After 40 days in the barn, the Foobots were reporting that damage had occurred to the sensors and were no longer functioning. In addition, the PM sensors in the three Foobots in the barn were contaminated after the study. Therefore, it was concluded that the Foobots were unable to supply farmers with accurate information and were not durable enough for agricultural environments. Future research will investigate the use of other low-cost monitors in agriculture.

Silica sand is used in the hydraulic fracturing process as a proppant—a material that holds open fissures in a rock formation to allow oil and gas to escape. Due to the increased demand for proppant sand, numerous sand mining and processing facilities have been constructed in the vicinity of small communities. Silica sand contains crystalline silica, which can cause chronic health problems such as silicosis. This study monitored airborne particulate matter at residences within 800 m from the facilities property line, with active mining, processing, and/or transport. Real-time particulate air monitoring with automated acquisition of explanatory variables: sound and motion to detect transportation; and wind speed and direction to attribute measured PM concentrations to specific sources. The highest daily mean concentrations were 37.3 μg/m3 for PM10 and 14.5 μg/m3 for PM2.5, both of which are well below the EPA National Ambient Air Quality Standards. Using conditional probability plots of PM relative to wind direction elevated short-term (20 second) peak concentrations were more likely to occur when the wind was blowing from the sand facility. These peak concentrations occurred infrequently, ranging from 0% to 3% of the sampling time. This study did not measure crystalline silica specifically, but low PM concentrations were observed so crystalline silica is expected to be low. Since PM concentrations were low near the facilities, it can be concluded that these facilities do not increase airborne particulate matter to hazardous concentrations that could cause chronic health conditions.

Anthropogenic processes have led to high levels of reactive nitrogen entering freshwater ecosystems. This increase in reactive nitrogen levels has caused several adverse environmental and health effects and has resulted in higher deposition rates of nitrates to freshwater ecosystems. The costs and benefits associated with nitrate deposition have been analysed by the European Nitrogen Assessment (ENA) for European countries. However, no studies similar to this have been done for the South African context. The aim of the study was to present a cost analysis of nitrate deposition originating from power station NOx emissions. The objectives were: to examine the changes in nitrate deposition for the years 1980, 2005, 2006 and 2014; to determine the costs associated with nitrate deposition to freshwater ecosystems for the South African context; to calculate the costs of power station emissions to the Vaal River; to consider how European costs differ from South African costs; to consider the impact of the NEMAQA of 2004 and finally, to evaluate the likelihood of these costs being incurred. The years that were selected for this study were chosen due to availability of data, which were supplied by EScience Associates. Three scenarios were considered for each of these years: Scenario 1 was a case in which Eskom operated as usual without any retrofits of power stations, Scenario 2 considered the implementation of the Eskom air quality management strategy and Scenario 3 considered full compliance with the minimum emissions standards set out in the NEMAQA of 2004. The costing method followed the ENA approach, whilst considering the South African context by consulting the relevant literature. The monetized annual costs for the South African context were: mitigation options for improving water quality; increased coal consumption due to power station interventions; agricultural costs; water purification and waste treatment; health impacts and loss of biodiversity as a result of acidification and eutrophication. Power station interventions were found to be the only capital expenditure. The nitrate deposition per unit of electricity generated was expected to decrease, due to changes within the electricity mix of Eskom during this period. Furthermore, the least costly option was expected to be a scenario in which no intervention was made by Eskom to reduce emissions, due to the high capital cost associated with retrofitting low NOx burners in the older power stations. The final expected outcome was that the National Environment Management: Air Quality Act (NEMAQA) of 2004 would have led to a significant decrease in the emissions and, therefore, nitrate deposition to the Vaal River. The costs that were calculated for the South African context differed greatly from the costs in the ENA, indicating that the European costs could not be used directly for the South African context. Furthermore, the results showed that the costs of nitrate deposition increased between 1980 and 2005, decreased between 2005 and 2006 and increased again between 2006 and 2014. Between 1980, 2005 and 2006, a clear link is seen between electricity generated and nitrate deposition. Even though electricity generation increased from 2006 to 2014, the 2014 emissions data show that emissions decreased over the same period. The cost of a fine for non-compliance to emission limits is R10 million. The lowest cost calculated for each year and scenario was found to be Scenario 1 for 1980, and was approximately R 70 million of costs arising from nitrate deposition from power station emissions. The R 70 million, therefore, does not include mitigation options for water quality, increased coal consumption and power station interventions. Therefore, the fines associated with non-compliance, which occur in Scenario 1 and Scenario 2, should be increased to force compliance. The total cost associated with Eskom’s air quality strategy, calculated as part of scenario two, was the lowest cost option for 1980, 2006 and 2014. In 2005, the lowest cost option was scenario 1, where no retrofits were done by Eskom. This indicated that there was a trade-off between capital expenditure for low NOx burners and the annual costs, listed previously. This study concluded that when air quality policies, such as the NEMAQA of 2004 are implemented without stringent enforcement, the desired result is not achieved. The findings in this study show that no significant decrease in nitrate deposition occurred between 2005, when the NEMAQA of 2004 was released, and 2014, which was almost 10 years after the policy was implemented. This study makes a valuable contribution to informing policy makers on the impact of reactive nitrogen addition to the environment. Future research should be done on the cost of agricultural nitrate deposition to the Vaal River, considering that these inputs to the Vaal River are several times larger than those of deposition from power station emissions and could, therefore, have costs of a larger scale associated with them.

La composition chimique atmosphérique dépend principalement des émissions de polluants, de leurs précurseurs et de la météorologie. Les stratégies de gestion de la qualité de l’air ambitionnent des réductions substantielles d’émissions à long terme. Mais il est légitime d’évaluer si l’impact du changement climatique pourrait compenser ces efforts.Afin de répondre à cette problématique, on a recours à la modélisation qui permet de faire des projections à long terme, sous différents scénarios de sensibilité pour isoler les principaux facteurs. Se pose alors le problème des incertitudes dans la modélisation. L’approche privilégié pour les études d’impact du climat est la modélisation ensembliste. Cependant du fait de l'important coût de calcul, on constate qu’aucune étude passée d’impact du climat sur la qualité de l’air ne repose sur un ensemble large de projections climatiques. C’est pourquoi, nous avons développé une méthode statistique alternative, entraînée sur des grands ensembles de simulation, pour caractériser l'impact des émissions et de la météorologie sur la qualité de l'air dans un contexte de changement climatique.Nous avons montré qu'un modèle statistique permettait d'obtenir des réponses sur l'impact du climat sans forcément avoir à réaliser explicitement des modélisations d'ensemble. La méthode développée donne des résultats avec une incertitude faible sur le long terme, même si nous avons montré ses limites lorsqu'il s'agit de traiter des cas de pollution extrêmes.Afin de quantifier l'erreur induite par les données climatiques des modèles actuellement conservées de manière partielle, nous avons réalisé une étude de sensibilité à la résolution verticale des modèles climatiques régionaux. Nous avons montré qu'un minimum de dix niveaux verticaux, ainsi que des variables supplémentaires à l'existant étaient indispensables si l'on voulait que l'erreur de simulation reste inférieure au signal climatique étudié.Enfin, nous avons utilisé le modèle statistique pour confronter l’impact du changement climatique aux réductions d'émissions anthropiques attendues à l’avenir. Les résultats ont permis de mettre en évidence que le bénéfice climatique pour les particules fines, PM2.5, était du même ordre de grandeur que les baisses réalisées dans le secteur le plus influent de chaque pays étudié. Ces baisses d'émissions vont donc être renforcées par le changement climatique. Au contraire, pour le SOMO35, la pénalité climatique va contrebalancer les efforts de réductions d'émissions réalisés entre 2050 et 2010. Pour les pays analysés, on peut estimer la date approximative de l’émergence du signal induit par le changement climatique malgré la réduction des émissions attendue dans la législation actuelle. / The atmospheric composition is mainly driven by the emission of primary pollutants and precursors and meteorology. Because of its sensitivity to unfavorable weather patterns, air pollution is expected to be sensitive to climate change. That is why the aim of this work is to estimate the effect of climate change over air pollution in Europe at the end of the century. To achieve this we rely on modeling which allow to cover such timescales. To reduce uncertainties and quantify the effect of climate change on air quality, ensemble approaches should be applied. However, the computing cost of such methods is substantial. To overcome this issue we developed a statistical method which does not require forcing a chemistry and transport model with a large ensemble of climate projections. The results obtained with this statistical method are in good agreement with full chemistry-transport models when considering long time periods. But we point out the limits of the method when focusing on extreme pollution events. The statistical model can be used to assess the uncertainty of using a comprehensive ensemble of climate forcing in terms of air quality impacts. The statistical approach can also help identifying a subset of climate forcing that should be explored in priority to drive chemistry-transport models.Such a subset of climate models is however only available at a degraded vertical resolution on existing databases such as EuroCordex. To quantify the error induced when using a meteorological variables only saved for a few vertical levels, a sensitivity study focused on the impact of the vertical resolution of the meteorological data has been perfomed. We emphasized that a minimum of 10 vertical levels and some specific variables were required to study the impact of climate change on air quality to keep the error lower than the climate change signal.Finally, we use the statistical method to compare the climate change effect and the future emissions reduction impact estimated also with a surrogate model. We exhibit that the magnitude of climate benefit for PM2.5 will be comparable to the emissions reductions of the dominant sector in each country studied. These emissions decreases will therefore be reinforced the climate change. On the opposite, for SOMO35, the climate penalty will jeopardize the emission reductions between 2010 and 2050. We also evaluate that climate change will become more important than the expected reduction emissions signal.

Content: Car industry is highly demanding for low emission parameters and despite remarkable results have been achieved since the last decade, the requests are day by day more sophisticated. The focus on emission is a severe task and requires the investigation on emissions on full-range and involves the expertise of multi and inter disciplinal competences. The leather industry is a clear key ring for car interior suppliers and it is also focusing on more sustainable processes and reducing the emission of pollutants to the environment, prompting the commitment of leather suppliers, tanneries, and chemical auxiliaries producers. From our perspective, in fact, one of the major problems that car interior producers are currently facing is the production of low-emitting leather, which requires special chemical auxiliaries to be achieved. In this context, our research has focused on the study of VOC volatile substances from car interiors, in particular on finishing systems, aiming at their reduction without losing the original performances of the finished leather article. Our investigation focused on full grain finished leathers, evaluating the contribution to the VOC emission from crust leather to the finished articles. A preliminary study showed that silicon compounds family brought an important contribution to the emission from a qualitative and quantitative perspective: these substances play a crucial role in terms of the final article performances (such as resistance), and quality. So, our investigation focused on innovative silicon-free auxiliary combination to give low VOC emission contribution from the leather compared with the same performances of the original silicon containing finishing. In order to evaluate the impact of the emissions, a series of analyses of the volatiles were performed: static headspace VDA 277 (and/or PV3341) analysis and active air sampling analysis GS 97014-3 type were performed, indicating that silicon contribution was very high in the emission. In addition, the quality of the leather was also assessed and characterised through standard automotive tests such as stick-slip, abrasion trials with Taber tester and Martindale machine, ball plate method, fogging test; rub fastness provided with Veslic tester (wet, dry, alcohol, gasoline), dry-rubbing trial with Gakushin tester. The set of result showed that standard leather containg silicon compounds on the finishing produced high VOC emission and high performance articles, thus contributing to VOC emission. Conversely, the novel finishing auxiliaries had low VOC emission, no silicons, yet high performance leather and therefore should be chosen from a more environmental point of view. Take-Away: Low VOC emission from novel leather finishing albeit high resistance leather.

Der jährlich erscheinende Bericht gibt Auskunft über die Luftqualität im Freistaat Sachsen. Analysiert wurden die Luftschadstoffe mit gesetzlich festgelegten Grenz- bzw. Zielwerten, darunter Schwefeldioxid, Stickstoffdioxid, Benzol und Ozon sowie Feinstaub einschließlich dessen Inhaltsstoffe. Analysiert wurden auch Entwicklungen der Nassen Deposition und des Staubniederschlages. Ein Teil des Berichtes widmet sich Sondermessungen, mit denen z. B. spezielle lokale Probleme untersucht wurden. Die Untersuchungen zeigten, dass 2016 - der Jahresgrenzwert für Stickstoffdioxid an einigen verkehrsnahen Messstellen nicht eingehalten werden konnte, - der Ozon-Zielwert zum Schutz der Pflanzen auf dem Erzgebirgskamm überschritten wurde, - der Ozon-Zielwert zum Schutz der menschlichen Gesundheit auf dem Erzgebirgskamm und auf dem Collmberg überschritten wurde, - es bei allen anderen Luftschadstoffen keine die Grenz- bzw. Zielwertverletzungen gab.

Der Bericht informiert über die Messergebnisse zur Luftbelastung im Freistaat Sachsen. An 29 Messstellen werden kontinuierlich die Konzentrationen der Luftschadstoffe Schwefeldioxid, Stickstoffdioxid, Feinstaub-Partikel (PM10 und PM2,5), Blei, Benzol und Ozon überwacht. In den Städten Leipzig, Dresden, Chemnitz, Zwickau und Görlitz wurde der 24-Stunden-Grenzwert der Partikelkonzentration (PM10) an verkehrsnahen Messstellen verletzt. Der NO2-Jahresgrenzwert wurde, wie bereits in den vergangenen Jahren, in Dresden, Leipzig und Chemnitz nicht eingehalten. Die Ozonsituation verbesserte sich nur leicht. Zielwerte zum Schutz der menschlichen Gesundheit und der Pflanzen wurden nur noch in den Höhenlagen des Erzgebirgskamms überschritten. Die Konzentrationen von Schwefeldioxid, Feinstaub PM2,5, Benzol und Blei lagen auf dem Niveau der Vorjahre und damit weit unter den gesetzlichen Grenzwerten.

Der Jahresbericht gibt Auskunft über die Luftqualität im Freistaat Sachsen. Das Luftmessnetz mit 29 Messstellen misst die Konzentration der Luftschadstoffe Schwefeldioxid, Stickstoffdioxid, Feinstaub, Blei, Benzol und Ozon. Zusätzlich erfolgt an ausgewählten Standorten eine Analyse der Inhaltsstoffe von Feinstaub und des Niederschlags.