Found 2229 publications. Showing page 32 of 223:
Monitoring of long-range transported air pollutants in Norway. Annual report 2018.
This report presents results from the monitoring of atmospheric composition and deposition of air pollution in 2018, and focuses on main components in air and precipitation, particulate and gaseous phase of inorganic constituents, particulate carbonaceous matter, ground level ozone and particulate matter. 2018 was a special year with elevated ozone levels during the whole summer season due to prolonged heat and drought.
NILU
2019
This report presents the results of the European Union Action
on Black Carbon in the Arctic (EUA-BCA) initiative’s review of
observation capacities and data availability for black carbon in the Arctic region.
EUA-BCA/AMAP
2019
ClairCity aims to contribute to citizen-inclusive air quality and carbon policy making in middle-sized European cities. It does so by investigating citizens’ current behaviours, their preferred future behaviours and their preferred future policy measures in six European cities. The project also examines the possible future impacts of citizens’ policy preferences and implementation possibilities for these measures in the light of the existing institutional contexts in each city. With this aim, ClairCity has carried out in all six cities an extensive citizen, stakeholder and policy maker engagement process (Chapter 1). This report summarises the main policy results for the first of the six cities, Bristol (UK). The other ClairCity cities are Amsterdam (NL), Ljubljana (SL), Sosnowiec (PL), CIRA/ Aveiro (PT) and Liguria / Genoa (IT).
ClairCity Project
2019
Environmental pollutants in the terrestrial and urban environment 2018
Samples from the urban terrestrial environment in the Oslo area were analysed for various inorganic and organic
environmental pollutants. The selected species were earthworm, fieldfare, sparrowhawk, brown rat, red fox and
badger. Air and soil samples were also included in the study to further the understanding on sources and uptake of
pollutants. A foodchain approach was used to investigate trophic magnification of the different compounds.
NILU
2019
Screening program 2018. Volatiles, Gd, BADGE, UV filters, Additives, and Medicines.
This screening project has focused on the occurrence and environmental fate of chemicals with possible PBT-properties. Samples were from indoor environments, surface waters, municipal wastewater, and the receiving marine environment. Some of the detected chemicals need to be studied in more detail. One UV-filter compound shows a potential environmental risk.
NILU
2019
This report studies the distribution and fate of contaminants such as mercury (Hg), cyclic volatile methylated siloxanes (cVMS: D4, D5, D6), brominated flame retardants (BFR, PBDEs), alkylphenols, organic phosphorous flame retardants (oPFR), poly- and perfluorated alkyl substances (PFAS), new brominated flame retardants (nBFR) and UV-chemicals. Samples of the pelagic food web of Lake Mjøsa (zooplankton, Mysis, vendace, European smelt and brown trout) and the top predator brown trout in Lake Femunden are studied. Results are compared to environmental quality standards (EQS) and the time trends for major contaminants are studied.
Norsk institutt for vannforskning (NIVA)
2019
Review of the Assessment of Industrial Emissions with Mosses
Commissioned by Norwegian Environmental Agency, NILU - Norwegian Institute for Air Research has surveyed the literature on the topic of “Assessment of industrial emissions using moss”. The purpose is to provide an overview of published knowledge on possible relationships between metal concentrations in moss and air quality, emissions, uptake in other organisms and impacts on environment and health. In addition, there was a request for information on whether other countries use moss surveys around industries and, if so, how the results are used by the authorities. The literature search resulted in 51 relevant publications, which mostly are from the period 2016-2019. The results of these publications show that moss is a good passive sampler for airborne contaminants and can provide valuable information on chemical signature and deposition of metals. No studies have been found that relates concentration in moss to air quality or amount emission from selected industries. A single 2019 study attempts to link moss concentration in context of health effects. A survey among the participating countries in ICP-Vegetation shows that results from moss surveys so far not have been used by authorities in a regulatory context.
NILU
2019
Land cover and traffic data inclusion in PM mapping
Annual European-wide air quality maps have been produced using geostatistical techniques for many years and is based primarily on air quality measurements. The mapping method follows in principle the sequence of regression – interpolation – merging. It combines monitoring data, chemical transport model outputs and other supplementary data (such as altitude and meteorology) using a linear regression model followed by kriging of its residuals (‘residual kriging’), applied separately for rural and urban background areas. The rural and urban background map layers are
subsequently merged on basis of population densities into one final concentration map for Europe.
Inclusion of land cover and road type data among the set of the supplementary data demonstrated to improve the quality of urban and rural background layers in the NO2 map and is currently routinely applied in the NO2 mapping. In addition, an urban traffic map layer based on the measurement data from traffic stations is constructed and takes art in the merging process with the rural and urban background map layers to reach a final NO2 map.
This report examines now – due to its proved added value in the NO2 mapping – whether for PM10 and PM2.5 the similar method provides also sufficient added value to include it on a routinely basis in the production of the final concentration map and population exposure estimates.. It concerns the inclusion of land cover data and road type data in the background map layers, as well as the inclusion of the urban traffic layer based on traffic measurement stations. The analysis is done based on 2015 data, being the most recent year with all data needed available when this study started.
ETC/ACM
2019
Low cost sensor systems for air quality assessment. Possibilities and challenges.
Air quality is enjoying popular interest in the last years, with numerous projects initiated by civil society or individuals that aim to assess the quality of air locally, aided by new, low-cost monitoring technologies that can be used by “everyone”. Such initiatives are very welcome, but in this highly technical and (in the western world) thoroughly regulated area, the professional community seems to struggle with communication with these initiatives, trying to reconcile the often highly technical aspects with the social ones. The technical issues include subjects such as monitoring techniques, air quality assessment methods, or quality control of measurements, and disciplines such as metrology, atmospheric science or informatics.
In this report, we would like to provide the reader with a practically oriented overview indicating the position of these new technologies in the ecosystem of air quality monitoring and measurement activities. Sensing techniques are rapidly evolving. This ‘ever’ improving capability implies among other, that there is currently no traceable method of evaluation of data quality. Despite the efforts of numerous groups, including within the European standardization system, a certification system will take some time to develop. This has important implications for example, when comparing measurements taken in time, by different devices (or different versions of the same sensor system device). Fitness for purpose – why are we measuring or monitoring and how do we intend to use the information we obtain – should always be the main criterion for the technological choice.
The report starts with an overview of elements of a monitoring system and proceed to describe the new technologies. Then, we give examples of how low-cost sensor technologies are being used by citizens. These examples are followed by reflections upon providing actionable information. Having learned from practical applications of sensor systems, we also discuss how the data from citizen activities can be used to develop new information, and provide some reflections on developing sensor systems monitoring on a larger scale.
We feel that the new technologies, while a disruptive change, provide many exciting opportunities, and we hope that this report will contribute to promote their use alongside with other assessment methods. We believe that increased understanding of technical issues we discuss will ultimately lead to better communication on air quality, and in its consequence, will enable further improvements in this domain.
ETC/ACM
2019