Black carbon (BC) is the light-absorbing component of soot, a combustion-generated aerosol that warms the climate by absorbing solar radiation. Its impacts on climate depend on its microphysical properties, which are modified by atmospheric processes including condensation, coagulation and wet removal. State of the art climate models consider soot in a concentric core/shell configuration, with a BC core coated by nonrefractory material such as organics or sulphate. Within this model, thicker coatings enhance visible light absorption, but also wet removal efficiency, and these have opposing effects on the total amount of light absorbed over BC’s lifetime. How well the core/shell model can calculate Mass Absorption Coefficient (MAC, the ratio of absorption to BC mass) is uncertain, as real soot forms more complex (often fractal) shapes, and detailed optical models using these morphologies predict the core/shell model may under- or over-estimate MAC depending on the precise properties of the particles. Few reliable measurements of variations in ambient MAC are available, as most older measurement techniques suffer from systematic uncertainties. In this work, a Single Particle Soot Photometer (SP2) and PhotoAcoustic Soot Spectrometer (PASS) were used to measure BC mass concentration and absorption, and these instruments do not suffer from such uncertainties. The SP2 was also used to report core size and coating thickness distributions that are required to test state of the art climate models. Firstly, a method was developed to minimise bias in the measured coating thicknesses related to the limited detection range of the SP2. The sensitivity of this technique to the assumed density and refractive index of the BC core was also explored, and the most appropriate parameters to use with ambient measurements were determined. Core and shell distributions were measured in Pasadena, California under a range of different photochemical ages. These were then used to calculate MAC, which was compared to that measured using the SP2 and PASS. The measured and modelled MAC agreed within 10% at 532 nm, though this was dependent on the assumed refractive index of the BC core. Overall MAC increased by 15 –25% in around one third of a day of photochemical ageing. This is quite modest compared to some climate models, but not compared to the previous best estimate, which predicted MAC may increase by a factor of ~1.5 over BC’s lifetime. Core and coating distributions were also measured in Canadian boreal biomass burning plumes. A case study was presented comparing the properties of BC in three plumes, one of which had passed through a precipitating cloud. It was demonstrated that larger and more coated BC-containing particles were removed more efficiently, in agreement with previous thermodynamic theory. By calculating MAC using the measured core/shell distributions and comparing to measured scattering, it was demonstrated that the MAC and single-scattering albedo in the plumes were likely not significantly affected by the wet removal, as greater differences were observed between the two plumes not affected by precipitation.

Urban populations worldwide are expanding rapidly and consequently a large number of people are becoming exposed to hazards inherent in cites. Phenomena such as the urban heat island can exacerbate the effects of heatwaves, and land surface sealing can lead to flash flooding. Cities are also the sites of enhanced air and water pollution from non-point sources such as concentrated motor vehicle use. Climate change predictions for the UK include increased winter precipitation and an increase in frequency of summer heatwaves. This will put further pressure on urban residents and infrastructure. Roof greening can be used within climate change adaptation schemes because green roofs have a range of environmental benefits which can help urban infrastructure become more sustainable. This thesis empirically quantifies several of these benefits, and the processes influencing them, by monitoring real green roofs in Manchester. A number of novel discoveries were made. Green roofs act as passive filters of airborne particulate matter. 0.21 tonnes of PM10 (2.3% of the inputs) could be removed from Manchester city centre in a maximum extensive green roof scenario. Species and site differences in particle capture were exhibited and related to morphology and proximity to sources respectively. An intensive green roof was able to lower the monthly median overlying air temperature at 300 mm by up to 1.06 oC. A combination of drought and mismanagement caused damage to the vegetation on one of the green roofs, with a subsequent reduction in the cooling effect. Daytime air temperatures were higher than over an adjacent bare roof for a larger proportion of the day than over the undamaged roof, and lower cooling was observed at night. A site-specific methodology was devised to monitor the rainwater runoff from an intensive green roof and an adjacent bare roof. Average runoff retention of 65.7% was observed on the green roof, compared to 33.6% on the bare roof. Season and rainfall amount had significant impacts on retention, however, many other explanatory variables such as Antecedent Dry Weather Period (ADWP) and peak rainfall intensity had no demonstrable, significant impact. Intensive roof construction on 10% of the rooftops in Manchester city centre would increase annual rainfall retention by 2.3%. The runoff was characterised with regards to heavy metals and nutrients. Nutrient levels were found to be not a significant problem for water quality, however, Environmental Quality Standards (EQS) values for protection of freshwater were exceeded for concentrations of Cu, Pb and Zn. High metal concentrations within the sediments may be acting as sources of pollution, particularly in the case of Pb. The age of the green roof means that past atmospheric deposition of Pb could be contributing to the runoff quality. The multi-benefit aspect of green roofs is discussed in the light of the results of this thesis and recommendations made for policy makers and the green roof construction industry.

M.Phil. / The combustion of fuels in poorly designed cookstoves is a major anthropogenic source of atmospheric emissions with severe environmental and health implications. It is widely acknowledged that these challenges are best addressed with the development and dissemination of clean cookstoves. Widely used stove testing protocols (UCB Water Boiling Test and variants) are often single task-based and not representative of real-world uses or likely combinations of the manner in which fuels, stoves and pots may be used. The hypothesis of this study is that a stove testing procedure that provides for testing of stove/fuel/pot combinations, in a sequence of heterogeneous tests, provides a better representation of thermal performance and emissions than existing protocols based on prescribed fuels and fuel loads, and single tasks. The study aimed to develop and evaluate a set of testing protocols for determining thermal efficiency and emissions performance of domestic fuels and cooking devices to satisfy the rigorous performance specifications expected for claims under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) carbon trading market. The Heterogeneous stove Testing Protocol (HTP) was developed and documented as a complete set of standard operating procedures (SOPs), using a template derived from the Desert Research Institute (DRI), Reno, Nevada, and used for performance evaluation of fuel/stove combinations. The effect of pot size on the performance of two paraffin wick stoves and a pressurised paraffin stove was assessed and was found not to be a major factor, which affected thermal efficiency only at the high power setting. Power setting was found to influence the thermal efficiency and combustion performance of all stoves tested, indicating the need for assessment of the devices across the full range of power settings (where feasible). The HTP was also employed in characterising the combustion performance of coal stoves, using three different ignition methods, giving qualitative and quantitative results. Compared to the bottom-lit up-draft (BLUD) ignition method, the Basa njengo Magogo, also referred to as the top-lit up draft (TLUD) method, proved to be a better method of coal fires ignition, in terms of reduced CO:CO2 ratio and less smoke generation than in conventional braziers. The bottom-lit down-draft (BLDD) ignition method, incorporated in the SeTAR prototype coal stove, was found to be effective in fuel utilisation and improved combustion efficiency compared to the TLUD and BLUD methods, with CO:CO2 emission factors below 1% for 230 minutes. A number of parameters employed by the Water Boiling Test (WBT) were examined and compared with the HTP (e.g. turn-down ratio; simmer process; hot-start phase; use of standardised fuels and test pots). The HTP was found to provide more representative performance data over a wide range of use scenarios, the equivalent of providing performance curves rather than the minimum and maximum performance points provided by the WBT. The findings of this study have shown that the Heterogeneous stove Testing Protocol is consistent, robust, and transportable; making it a valuable tool for stove design improvements, and for the assessment of stoves under voluntary and compulsory carbon markets.

The diploma thesis covers themes of pollution intensity of production, informal environmental regulation and voluntary approaches. The theoretical part of thesis consists of main theories and empirical results of environmental regulation and impacts on manufacturing production. In the practical part author presents the econometric model of emission intensity equilibria is designed. Plants observations are gathered from IRZ registry in period 2005-2011 and air pollution is proxied by PM10 and C8H8 emissions. Following econometric analysis of emission intensity equilibria measures an influence by factors of production function and environmental regulation variables on intensity. As results have shown, significance of factors such as voluntary approaches, IPPC and socio-economic specifics haven't been proved. On the other hand statistically significant factors are firm's size and average wage of employees.

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

Orientador: Gisela de Aragão Umbuzeiro / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Tecnologia / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-22T02:22:25Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Morales_DanielAlexandre_M.pdf: 1734694 bytes, checksum: adaccd3cf62c01d1ccd7421b7f9b99e4 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013 / Resumo: O fracionamento de uma mistura complexa, como o extrato orgânico do material particulado de ar, com base nas diferentes características físicas e químicas dos seus componentes acoplada a testes de mutagenicidade e análises cromatográficas, vem sendo um procedimento útil na elucidação de quais substâncias está presentes na mistura. Este trabalho foi realizado em colaboração com outro grupo de pesquisa em um projeto temático financiado pela FAPESP, e seu objetivo foi estudar a mutagenicidade de frações de extratos orgânicos de material particulado de ar, utilizando ensaio Salmonella/microssoma em microssuspensão com os pares de linhagens TA98/YG1041, TA98/TA1538 e TA1538/YG5161 de Salmonella typhimurium que apresentam diferentes sensibilidades para grupos específicos de compostos. Também foi objetivo do trabalho comparar as potências mutagênicas obtidas para cada uma das frações com os níveis de hidrocarbonetos policíclicos aromáticos analisados pelos pesquisadores do projeto temático. Foram avaliadas três frações, Nitro-HPA, Oxi-HPA e HPA utilizando o método Salmonella/microssoma em microssuspensão na presença e ausência de ativação metabólica (mistura S9) em experimentos de dose-resposta, com quantidade máxima de 10 m³ por placa; também foi avaliada a contribuição na mutagenicidade dos hidrocarbonetos policíclicos aromáticos analisados para cada fração. De acordo com a contribuição na mutagenicidade dos compostos identificados, foi possível inferir que esses não explicam totalmente a mutagenicidade observada para algumas linhagens, e que outros compostos podem estar causando esse efeito. A comparação dos perfis observados entre as frações analisadas e os compostos químicos encontrados na literatura utilizando os pares de linhagens foi capaz de fornecer alguns grupos que podem justificar a mutagenicidade observada, porém, faltam estudos com compostos químicos puros. Um estudo utilizando os pares de linhagens com compostos químicos pode ajudar a identificar e entender o perfil das respostas observadas em amostras ambientais de material particulado de ar, bem como em outras amostras ambientais, especialmente em análises químicas direcionadas pelo efeito biológico (ADEB) / Abstract: The fractionation of a complex mixture based on different physical and chemical characteristics of its components coupled to mutagenicity testing and chromatographic analyzes have been useful in elucidating what substances are present in the mixture. This work was performed in collaboration with another research group in a broad thematic project funded by FAPESP. Samples were collected extracted and prepared by the participants and in this work the objective was to study the mutagenicity of fractions of organic extracts of air particulate matter using Salmonella/microsome microsuspension in combination with selective pair of strains TA98/YG1041, TA98/TA1538 and TA1538/YG5161 of Salmonella typhimurium which have different sensitivities to specific types of compounds. Another objective was to compare the mutagenic potencies obtained for each of the fractions with the levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons analyzed by the researchers of the thematic project. We evaluated three fractions, named as Nitro-PAH, Oxy-PAH and PAH, using the Salmonella/microsome microsuspension protocol in the presence and absence of metabolic activation (S9) in dose-response experiments, with maximum of 10 m³ per plate, was also evaluated the contribution of mutagenicity in polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons for each fraction analyzed. According to the contribution in the mutagenicity of the compounds identified, it was possible to infer that these do not fully explain the mutagenicity observed for some strains, and that other compounds may be causing this effect. The comparison of the profiles observed between fractions and analyzed the chemical compounds found in the literature using the pairs of strains was able to provide some groups which may justify the mutagenicity observed, however, there are few studies with pure chemicals. A study using pairs of strains with single chemicals could help in the identification and understanding of the profile of the responses seen atmospheric air particulate samples as well as in other environmental samples, and so assist chemical analysis studies in effect directed analysis (EDA) / Mestrado / Tecnologia e Inovação / Mestre em Tecnologia

Orientadores: Edson Tomaz, Osvaldir Pereira Taranto / Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Engenharia Química / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-28T04:21:58Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Pinheiro_ClaironLima_D.pdf: 2779888 bytes, checksum: 5fa91f4decd517c966fafa783aa325da (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015 / Resumo: As indústrias de processamento de suco de laranja geram subprodutos como óleos essenciais, d-limoneno e farelo de polpa cítrica. O farelo de polpa cítrica corresponde a 49 kg de cada 100 kg de laranja processada, sendo definido como bagaço dos frutos processados (cascas, sementes, fibras e partes não aproveitadas durante o processamento) após as operações de prensagem, moagem, secagem e peletização. No entanto, durante o processo de secagem do bagaço para produção de farelo de polpa cítrica, há a emissão de compostos orgânicos voláteis (COV), que ocorre devido as cascas do fruto (albedo e flavedo) presentes no bagaço conterem uma quantidade residual de d-limoneno e óleos voláteis que não foram recuperados em etapas anteriores do processo. Assim, ao serem liberados para a atmosfera, esses COV tornam-se uma fonte primária de poluição do ar e causam problemas ambientais relacionados à formação de ozônio troposférico e névoa fotoquímica (ou smog fotoquímico), além de problemas à saúde humana, como: desconforto olfativo devido ao odor cítrico, irritação dos olhos pelo ozônio troposférico e produtos de oxidação dos COV. Dentro deste contexto, estudou-se a emissão de COV durante a exposição de conjuntos de partículas de albedo e flavedo de laranja-pêra a fluxos de ar com velocidade constante em diferentes tempos de exposição e a sete temperaturas, onde os experimentos foram conduzidos em um módulo experimental, no qual se coletou amostras de gás na saída do fluxo de ar e quantificou-se por cromatografia gasosa com detector de ionização por chama (CG-DIC) os seguintes COV selecionados: furfural, 'alfa'-pineno, 'beta'-pineno, 3-careno, p-cimeno e d-limoneno. Os resultados mostraram que: os principais compostos emitidos foram o d-limoneno, 3-careno e ?-pineno a partir do flavedo com tendência ao aumento da emissão com a temperatura e diminuição com o tempo de exposição, além da emissão de compostos não identificados; a emissão de COV ocorreu por processo de arraste por vapor predominando até 160°C e por arraste a vapor seguido de evaporação por efeito do aumento do tempo de exposição e da temperatura do ar de 160 a 250°C e; a contribuição do albedo nas emissões de COV é desprezível comparada à do flavedo / Abstract: The orange juice processing industries generate products such as essential oils, d-limonene and citrus pulp bran. The citrus pulp bran corresponds to 49 kg per 100 kg of orange processing and this is defined as bagasse of processed fruits (peels, seeds, fibers and parts weren¿t used during processing) after pressing, milling, drying and pelletizing operations. However, in the waste drying process for citrus pulp bran production, there are volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emissions. This occurs because the fruit peel in the residue holds a residual amount of d-limonene and volatile oils were not recover in the previous process steps. Thus, these VOCs become a primary source of air pollution and cause environmental problems related to tropospheric ozone formation, photochemical smog and human health problems, such as discomfort olfactory because of the citric odor, eye irritation by tropospheric ozone and VOC oxidation products. In this context, the emission of VOCs during the exposure of albedo and flavedo particles of sweet orange to air flow with constant velocity, seven temperatures and different exposure times. The experiments were performed in a experimental module, in which gas samples collected at air flow exit and the selected VOCs (furfural, 'alfa'-pinene, ß-pinene, 3 -carene, p-cymene and d-limonene) were quantified by gas phase chromatography with flame ionization detector (GC-FID). The results showed: the main compounds emitted was d-limonene, 3-carene and ?-pinene from flavedo and the emission tended to increase with air temperature increase and it decrease whith exposure time increase; unidentified compounds were detected, but they weren¿t quantified; the VOCs emissions occurred by distillation steam process and by this process following by volatilization process due to time exposure and air temperature increase; the VOCs emissions from albedo was negligible compared to flavedo / Doutorado / Engenharia de Processos / Doutor em Engenharia Química

O objetivo da presente Tese de Doutorado foi analisar o impacto do exercício realizado em ambiente poluído sobre parâmetros cardiorrespiratórios, inflamação e metaboloma. Para isso, foi dividida em dois estudos, com o objetivo de analisar: a influência da duração (estudo 1) e da intensidade (estudo 2) do exercício sobre parâmetros cardiovasculares, de inflamação e o metaboloma. Foram recrutados 10 indivíduos fisicamente ativos do sexo masculino, que foram submetidos aos seguintes testes: a) teste progressivo até a exaustão voluntária; b) dois testes de carga constante no Δ25 da diferença entre o limiar ventilatório (LV) e o ponto de compensação respiratória (PCR), com duração de 90 minutos, sendo um no ambiente limpo e um no poluído (estudo 1) e; c) quatro testes de cargas constantes com 30 minutos de duração, sendo dois no Δ25 e dois no Δ75 da diferença entre o LV e o PCR, também em ambiente limpo e poluído. No estudo 1, foi observado um aumento na pressão arterial sistólica (4,0 ± 0,7 mmHg) e diastólica (6,1 ± 0,5 mmHg) após os 90 minutos de exercício em ambiente poluído, ao contrário do observado no ambiente limpo (-6,2 ± 0,8 mmHg e -1,3 ± 0,5 mmHg, respectivamente). Também após 90 minutos de exercício, foi observado aumento de IL-6 (+37%; p = 0,047) e VEGF (+257%; p = 0,026) e diminuição de IL-10 (-34%; p = 0,061) no ambiente poluído em relação ao limpo. Por sua vez, o metaboloma mostrou alterações que foram mantidas ao longo do tempo, assim como alterações tempo-dependentes, capazes de sugerir que a duração do exercício é um fator importante a ser considerado em ambientes com altos índices de poluição atmosférica. Não houve diferença nas demais variáveis analisadas. A intensidade de exercício não mostrou alteração significativa em nenhum dos parâmetros analisados. É possível que a menor duração de exercício seja responsável por essa ausência de respostas específicas ao exercício em ambiente poluído. Por sua vez, o metaboloma apontou vias diferentemente afetadas no ambiente poluído quando o exercício foi realizado em alta intensidade, sugerindo que a intensidade pode ser um fator importante, porém, em maiores durações de exercício do que a utilizada no presente trabalho. Em conclusão, nossos resultados sugerem que quando o exercício é realizado em ambiente poluído, maiores durações são capazes de produzir respostas mais exacerbadas à inalação de poluentes, como aumento da pressão arterial e da inflamação, assim como diferentes alterações no metaboloma. Por outro lado, a intensidade do exercício não pareceu influenciar significativamente as respostas biológicas ao ambiente poluído, ao menos nas condições testadas / The aim of the present Thesis was to analyze the impact of exercise in polluted ambient on cardiorespiratory parameters, inflammation and metabolome. For this, it was divided in two studies, aiming to analyze: the influence of exercise duration (study 1) and exercise intensity (study 2) on cardiovascular parameters, inflammation and the metabolome. 10 healthy physical active male performed the following tests: a) maximal incremental test; b) two constant load tests at the Δ25 of the difference between ventilatory threshold (VT) and respiratory compensation point (RCP), with 90 minutes in duration, at clean and polluted conditions (study 1) and; c) four constant load tests with 30 minutes in duration, with two at Δ25 and two at Δ75 of the difference between VT and RCP, also at clean and polluted conditions. In the study 1, it was observed an increase in systolic (4.0 ± 0.7 mmHg) and diastolic (6.1 ± 0.5 mmHg) arterial pressure after 90 minutes of exercise at polluted condition, unlike the observed in clean condition (-6.2 ± 0.8 mmHg e -1.3 ± 0.5 mmHg, respectively). Also after 90 minutes of exercise, it were observed increases in IL-6 (+37%; p = 0.047) and VEGF (+257%; p = 0.026), and a decrease in IL-10 (-34%; p = 0.061) in the polluted related to clean condition. In turn, metabolome showed alterations which have been maintained over time, as well as time-dependent alterations, suggesting the exercise duration as an important factor to be considered in high polluted ambient. It were not observed significant alterations in any of the other analyzed variables. The exercise intensity did not show significant alterations in any of the analyzed parameters. It is possible that the lower exercise duration might be responsible for the absence of specif responses to exercise in polluted condition. In turn, metabolome pointed out different pathways affected by the polluted condition when the exercise was performed at higher intensity, suggesting that exercise intensity might be an important factor, but in longer exercise durations than the utilized in the present study. In conclusion, our results suggest that when exercise is performed at polluted ambient, longer exercise durations are able to induce more exacerbated responses to air pollutants inhalation, as increased arterial pressure and inflammation, as well as metabolome alterations. On the other hand, exercise intensity seems not significantly influence the biological responses to polluted ambient, at least in the tested conditions

Luftföroreningar har varit ett betydande problem för människor och naturen. Att lavar påverkas negativt av luftföroreningar har varit känt sedan lång tid tillbaka. Lavars känslighet för luftföroreningar är artspecifik, vilket gör att lavar kan användas som indikatorer på luftens kvalité. Syftet med denna studie var att studera specifika epifytiska lavarters förekomst, frekvens och täckningsgrad längs en gradient, från stad till landsbygd, för att undersöka eventuella förändringar med avseende på luftföroreningar. Studien utfördes inom Karlstads kommun där tre olika områdeskategorier, centrum, utkant och landsbygd, studerades och jämfördes. Resultatet visade flera signifikanta skillnader mellan känsliga respektive tåliga epifytiska lavarter samt interaktionen mellan dessa grupper och de olika områdeskategorierna. Känsliga arter förekom i högre artantal och frekvens på landsbygden jämfört med i centrum och utkant. Täckningsgraden av känsliga arter visar på en ökande trend från centrum till landsbygd men tåliga arter har en signifikant högre täckningsgrad än känsliga arter inom samtliga områdeskategorier. Signifikanta skillnader i lavfloran mellan stad och landsbygd indikerar att luftkvalitén förbättras längs den studerade gradienten. Det finns många miljömässiga faktorer som kan påverka lavflorans sammansättning men trots detta kan man se trender som samstämmer med den förväntade variationen i luftkvalité. / Air pollution has been a significant problem for humans and nature. The fact that lichens are negatively affected by air pollution has been known for a long time. The sensitivity of lichens to air pollution is species-specific, which means that lichen can be used as indicators of air quality. The purpose of this study was to investigate the species composition, frequency and cover of specific epiphytic lichens along a gradient, from city to countryside, to investigate changes with regard to air pollution. The study was conducted within Karlstad municipality where three different area categories, city, outskirts and countryside, were studied and compared. The results showed several significant differences between sensitive and resistant epiphytic lichens as well as the interaction between these groups and the different area categories. Sensitive species were found in higher numbers and frequency in the countryside then in the city and its outskirts. The cover of sensitive species increased from the city to the countryside, but resistant species had a significantly higher coverage ratio in all area categories. Significant differences in the lichen community between the city and countryside indicate that air quality is improving along the gradient studied. There are many environmental factors that may affect the composition of the lichen community, but despite these trends consistent with presumed differences in air quality were found.

A large number of quantitative studies have examined social inequities in the geographic distribution of air pollution. Although previous research has made strides towards understanding the nature and extent of inequities, they have been limited methodologically in three ways. First, the presence of pollutants have been rarely linked to their adverse health effects, with many studies using proximity to sources as a proxy for risk. Second, there has been a tendency to study a single pollution source instead of assessing multiple types of sources. Finally, conventional statistical methods such as multivariate regression have been limited by their inability to discern spatial variations in the relationships between dependent and explanatory variables. This thesis addresses these gaps in environmental justice analysis of air pollution by using data from U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's 1999 National-Scale Air Toxics Assessment in combination with 2000 U.S. Census data to evaluate inequities in the geography of cancer risks from hazardous air pollutants in Florida. The objective is to determine if there are racial/ethnic inequities in the distribution of estimated cancer risks from outdoor exposure to point and mobile sources of air pollutants, after controlling for well-documented contextual variables. The first phase of the study utilizes traditional correlation and regression techniques to reveal that cancer risk from most air pollution sources are distributed inequitably with respect to race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic state. In the second phase, geographically weighted regression is used along with choropleth mapping to explore the spatial nonstationarity of regression model parameters and geographic variations in the statistical association between cancer risks and various explanatory variables. Results indicate that while Black and Hispanic proportions remain consistent indicators of cancer risk from most pollution sources, these relationships vary across space within Florida. This thesis contributes to environmental justice analysis by demonstrating that conventional multivariate regression can hide important local variations in the relationships between environmental risk and explanatory variables such as race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. Since this spatial nonstationarity can be significant within an entire region or a single urban area, understanding its nature and extent is imperative to advancing environmental justice goals.