In wintertime hazy episodes, the air pollution in northern China has always reached to an alarming level. In the winter of 2012-13, the trans-boundary air pollution from China has attracted national and global attention. An elevated public awareness to the unprecedented pollution levels has prompted much investigation on the health effects of fine particulate matter (PM), in particular PM2.5. Since PM-elicited harmful effects primarily depends on the composition of chemical contaminants adsorbed, in this study we characterized the chemical compositions of PM2.5 and determined its associated toxicity. Samples of PM2.5 were collected using high-volume samplers installed in five northern and southern cities in China. One typical (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, PAHs) and one emerging (perfluorinated compounds, PFCs) family of organic pollutants were analyzed using gas chromatographymass spectrometry (GC-MS) or liquid chromatography-MS-MS (LC-MS-MS), followed by in-vitro or/and in vivo studies. In Chapters 2 and 3, sixteen PAH congeners in PM2.5 samples collected from five different cities (Hong Kong (HK), Guangzhou (GZ), Xiamen (XM), Xi’an (XA) and Beijing (BJ)) in the winter and summer time 2012-13 was analyzed. The biological effects of the sample extracts were determined using the human bronchial epithelial cells BEAS-2B. The total PAH concentrations ranged from 3.35 to 80.45 ng/m3 air, leading by BJ, followed by XA, XM, GZ and HK. In a comparison of the physical and chemical data of the samples obtained during the winter and summer sampling periods, the amount of PM collected per unit time and the concentrations of PAHs adsorbed were found to be remarkably greater in the winter time. In the cell culture study, the expression levels of the pro-inflammatory cytokine (interleukin-6, IL-6) and detoxifying enzymes (i.e. cytochrome p450 enzymes, CYP1A1 and CYP1B1) were found to be stimulated in the treatment. The cells exposed to sample extracts prepared from XA and BJ demonstrated significant migratory activities, indicating a sign of increase of tumorigenicity. These data highlighted the risk of getting lung cancer in local population. In chapters 4 and 5, we focused on the emerging pollutants PFCs, in particular PFOS. Chemical characterization was implemented using the winter samples. Biological effects of PFOS were conducted using omics approach in a maternal-fetal model. Therefore, in the first part of chapter 4, we measured the concentrations of nine PFC congeners in PM2.5 samples using LC-MS-MS. Generally, the eight PFCs, namely PFOS, PFDoA, PFUdA, PFDA, PFNA, PFOA, PFHxA and PFBA were detected in all the sampling cities, with the exception PFHxS which was below the limit of detection. The total PFC concentrations ranged from 121.2 to 192.2pg/m3, leading by GZ, followed by XA, BJ, XM and HK. The data denoted the risk of inhalation exposure to PFCs through PM2.5, which enter into blood circulations via lung alveoli, presumably penetrates through placenta in affecting fetal health. Therefore, in the latter part of chapter 4, the potential adverse effect of prenatal exposure to the prototypical PFC congener PFOS was used in the maternal-fetal mouse model to determine its effects on fetal liver and pancreas. Transcriptomic analysis demonstrated that the in-utero exposure to PFOS affect the expression of genes associated with fatty acid metabolism, lipid transport, and steroid synthesis in fetal livers. KEGG pathway analysis showed these changes were primarily associated with modulations of arachidonic, linoleic acid, retinol metabolism and PPAR signaling pathways in fetal liver. To identify additional target fetal tissue of PFOS, in chapter 5, we investigated the effects of PFOS on the protein expression in fetal pancreas using the technique of “Isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantitation (iTRAQ). We identified changes in the protein expressions involved in pancreatic secretion, protein digestion and absorption, protein processing in endoplasmic reticulum, fat digestion and absorption, glycerolipid metabolism and steroid biosynthesis. The perturbations to these targets may increase the risk of pancreatitis in mouse offspring. Collectively, this study provided a comprehensive chemical and biological analysis of PM2.5 collected in China and demonstrated the toxicities, in vitro and in vivo of the adsorbed chemical contaminants.

A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, in fulfilment of requirements for the degree of Master of Science. October 2014. / Domestic fuel burning activities have become a major source of urban air pollution. Studies have indicated that domestic burning activities, specifically in low-income settlements and townships, contribute greatly to the air quality problems experienced by most developing urban centres. Low-income households that exist within townships in South Africa, house a large portion of the South African population. These households burn vast quantities of coal, wood, paraffin as well as other substances in order to provide for their energy needs. Pollution emitted as a result of domestic burning activities is estimated to be one of the leading causes of respiratory illnesses, prevalent in inhabitants of low-income settlements. To better understand the relationship that exists between domestic burning and the resultant pollutants, a method of quantifying these pollutants has been developed for a completely un-electrified settlement, near Johannesburg, using the quantities and type of fuel consumed. A study, carried out in Zenzele during the winter months, in addition to a month before and a month after this period, allowed for the analysis of some of the more harmful winter fuels. Common fuel types consumed were identified through the analysis of census data and information gathered from questionnaires. In un-electrified households, paraffin and liquid petroleum gas (LPG), used specifically for cooking and lighting, are the most commonly used fuel types during the warmer months. During the colder months, however, residents of households in low-income settlements prefer to use solid fuels such as wood and coal. Factors such as seasonality, the availability and price of fuels as well as cultural aspects all have a bearing on residents’ fuel choices and the quantity consumed. Emissions were quantified based on the quantities of wood and coal burnt in 15 households in Zenzele, using emission factors for SO2, PM10, CO2 and CO. As the temperature declines, the rate at which these solid fuels are consumed increases. The most significant observations identified in this study are the diurnal and seasonal trends associated with domestic burning.

This thesis presents the results of a research project that involved laboratory experimentation for gathering data on how the concentration of a dense gas disperses in indoor air. A box was built and designed as a model of a typical indoor environment and a dense contaminant, carbon dioxide, was injected into the box at a known flow rate through either a high or a low injection port. The gases left the box through either a high or a low exit port. The concentration of the contaminant inside the box was measured with an indoor air quality monitor at sampling ports at different locations and at different times during the experiments. The time and place dependent data were organized to observe the pattern of dispersion of a dense indoor air contaminant. It was determined that CO2 tended to sink down and move away from the point of injection at lower elevations, while gradually diffusing upwards. It was concluded that the dispersion of carbon dioxide in the box was driven mainly by the density gradient and to a less extent by diffusivity.

No description available.

No description available.

This study describes the Illinois coal industry’s response to the rising challenges of air pollution regulation and competition in the energy market from natural gas and oil throughout the twentieth century. Importantly, this dissertation fills a significant gap in the historiography of Illinois coalmining, and is the first historical study based on two key, yet unused, sets of historical documents. This is a mining history and a cultural history of a system of understanding and knowledge that first developed in the Illinois Mining Institute and then in State of Illinois organizations. As the industry’s leaders organized their approaches to resolving issues they generated a culture of industry preservationism based on the ideas of mechanization, automation, expansion, research and development, politics and policy, and coal preparation and conversion. In doing so, they came to identify their movement with modernity and as they looked ahead in time with futurity. These ideas became the principles around which they forged their social connections and formed their understandings of the problems the industry faced. This study spans from a period often defined by its volatile and contentious labor–management negotiations and labor unrest, the so-called “coal wars,” to the announcement of U.S. President Barack Obama’s Clean Power Plan, which according to some began his Administration’s so-called “war on coal.” This study illustrates four major historical shifts during this century-long transformation: First, this movement of Illinois coal industry preservationism, focused on interfuel completion and air pollution control, diverged from the industry’s ongoing response to organized labor. Second, in response to the rise of environmentalism and federal environmental regulations, industry leaders and State of Illinois officials began to expand on the integration of the principles of Illinois coal industry preservationism and the state’s political and policy agendas. Third, despite that industry leaders had sustained the production of Illinois coal for many decades, the movement declined in the wake of the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments and the rise of the natural gas industry in the energy market during the first two decades of the twenty-first century. Fourth, in reaction to the constraints of the domestic market and pollution laws, the Illinois coal industry began to sell the majority of its product overseas. Additionally, this study highlights few historical continuities. For one, those seeking to preserve the Illinois coal industry espoused the idea that their industry played a key role in the nation’s security and energy independence. They likewise held the belief that technological solutions would continue to solve the industry’s problems. The people behind this movement had every reason to view their industry through those lenses. After all, Illinois coal had helped the country win two world wars, and it offered a potential solution to the oil supply crises that resulted from cold war upheavals. In the end, however, the two problems that pushed industry leaders to generate the movement in the first place, interfuel competition and air pollution regulation, left it fractured, diminished, and in decline.

Lewis David Harris. / Typescript. / M.S. Florida State University 1967 / Includes bibliographical references.

Air pollution simulation has several components, including data preparation, atmospheric circulation and air pollution dispersion modelling and computation, visualization of the model computation results, analysis and model evaluation. Of these components, only atmospheric circulation and air pollution dispersion modelling and computation are mature, while the other components are weak to a greater or lesser extent. To address these weaknesses, this thesis proposes to integrate the data, modelling and analysis into a multi-dimension, virtual geographically referenced environment. In addition, collaboration is used to solve the problem of multi-disciplinary knowledge requirements for conducting air pollution simulation. Based on this model, a concept of collaborative virtual geographic environments (CVGE) is proposed. / The air pollution that is associated with global economic growth is a global problem. Scientists, governmental officials and the public are focusing on improving understanding, accurately predicting and efficiently controlling levels of air pollution. Air pollution simulation is one method used to achieve these goals. This research will consider a computer supported simulation. / The contributions can be drawn from two aspects---CVGE and practice of air pollution simulation. Regarding CVGE, thesis 1 develops the conceptual framework of CVGE; 2 designs the architecture of a CVGE prototype in order to facilitate air pollution simulation; 3 proposes the concept of a "fuzzy boundary volume object", and designs a solution composed of a particle system wrapped in pollution boxes; and 4 examines the levels of geo-collaboration for air pollution simulation. For air pollution simulation, thesis 1 integrates air pollution sources, geo-data, an atmospheric circulation model, an air pollution dispersion model, geo-visualization and analysis into a collaborative virtual geographic environment, which is able to supply a new research methodology and platform for air pollution simulation; in 2, the new platform is scalable and able to free the restrictions of operations on visualization, which paves the way for further extension; 3 couples air pollution dispersion models with geo-information, opening up opportunities for cross studies between air pollution and other research areas, such as the economy, public health and urban planning. / The focus of this thesis is two-fold: one is on the development of a conceptual framework and prototype of CVGE from practice of air pollution simulation; the other is on applying this framework to facilitate air pollution simulation. The work of this thesis can be summarized as follows. (1) Defining the concept of CVGE, developing a conceptual framework for CVGE and discussing primary theories of CVGE. (2) Designing the architecture of a CVGE prototype to facilitate air pollution simulation. (3) Integration and computation of a complex atmospheric circulation model and an air pollution dispersion model based on high performance computation. (4) Geo-visualization of air pollution distribution and dispersion based on calculations using air pollution dispersion models. (5) Geo-collaboration for air pollution simulation. And finally (6) CVGE prototype based air pollution simulation. / The motivation for future research has two main aspects again---CVGE and practice of air pollution simulation. For the aspect of CVGE, possibilities for future research include: 1 more detailed research on the CVGE concept, primary theories and methodologies; 2 the efficient integration and management of heterogeneous geo-models with CVGE in standardization; and 3 the efficient rendering of a complex structured object in CVGE. Regarding practice, future research can be conducted into: 1 extending air pollution dispersion models; and 2 improving the efficiency of air pollutant rendering with a particle system wrapped in pollution boxes. / Xu, Bingli / Adviser: Hui Lin. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 72-11, Section: A, page: . / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 251-264). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. [Ann Arbor, MI] : ProQuest Information and Learning, [201-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstract also in Chinese.

University of Macau / Faculty of Science and Technology / Department of Computer and Information Science

Beginning in March 1999 at Georgia Institute of Technology, the ASACA (Assessment of Spatial Aerosol Composition in Atlanta) program has provided PM₂. ₅ concentration and speciation using particle concentration monitoring in and around metropolitan Atlanta. Since 1999, three of the ASACA sites have collected PM₂. ₅ in an urban setting: Fort McPherson (FT, SW), South Dekalb (SD, SE), and Tucker (TU, NE). In January 2007, TU was retired and Fire Station 8 (FS8, NE) was employed as the new urban site. Starting in 2002, PM₂. ₅ concentrations have also been characterized at a rural site, Fort Yargo (YG). Water-soluble ionic species and carbonaceous species concentrations are collected daily on filters using a three-channel particulate composition monitor (PCM). From 1999 to 2008, average PM₂. ₅ concentrations range from 12.9 µg/m3 at YG to 15.4 µg/m3 at TU. Sulfate and organic matter are the main components of Atlanta PM, contributing around 26% and 31% respectively to PM mass. Overall ASACA data quality increased from around 5 in 1999 to a value of 9 in 2005. Seasonal PM data quality appears to be significantly affected by volatility of secondary aerosol species during warm months because ionic data quality regularly decreases in the summer. PM is more sensitive to total sulfate concentration than nitrate and ammonia year-round.