Particulate Matter

Air quality indices currently in use have been criticized because they do not capture additive effects of multiple pollutants, or reflect the apparent no-threshold concentration-response relationship between air pollution and health. We propose a new air quality health index (AQHI), constructed as the sum of excess mortality risk associated with individual pollutants from a time-series analysis of air pollution and

Understanding the impact on human health during peak episodes in air pollution is invaluable for policymakers. Particles less than PM2.5 can penetrate the respiratory system, causing cardiopulmonary and other systemic diseases. Statistical regression models are usually used to assess air pollution impacts on human health. However, when there are databases missing, linear statistical regression may not process well and alternative data processing should be considered. Nonlinear Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) are not employed to research environmental health pollution even though another advantage in using ANN is that the output data can be expressed as the number of hospital admissions. This research applied ANN to assess the impact of air pollution on human health. Three well-known ANN were tested: Multilayer Perceptron (MLP), Extreme Learning Machines (ELM) and Echo State Networks (ESN), to assess the influence of PM2.5, temperature, and relative humidity on hospital admissions d...

The aim of this study was to investigate the deposition of particles in three types of synthetic fabric filter by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and to determine the experimental adhesive force of filter cakes in fabric filters. The fabrics used were acrylic, polypropylene and polyester. The particulate matter was phosphate rock. The particles were deposited in the filters during 10 filtration cycles, with a superficial filtration velocity of 0.10 m/s and maximum pressure drop of 980 Pa across the filter. The cleaning technique used was reverse air flow at 0.12 m/s. The results showed that the deposition depth of particles in the polypropylene filter was lower than those observed in the polyester and acrylic filters. Nevertheless, the residual pressure drop of the polypropylene at the beginning of the filtration assays was highest, owing to the greater accumulation of particles at the surface of the filter and the characteristics of the filter itself. It was also observed that the adhesion force was higher in the polypropylene filter than in the other filters, making it hard to remove the filter cake from that filter.► The behavior of the particle deposition and adhesion forces can improve the understanding of the cycles of filtration. ► The polypropylene filter exhibited the highest number of particles retained on the surface of the filter. ► The acrylic and polyester filters trapped greater numbers of particles internally than the polypropylene filter. ► The adhesion force was higher in the polypropylene filter, making it difficult to remove the cakes from the filter.

Rapid and unplanned industrialization and urbanization has resulted in the deterioration of India’s air quality according to air-quality monitoring carried out in seven major Indian cities in industrial and residential areas between 1995 and 2000. Suspended particulate matter (SPM) levels in Indian cities are in the range 50 to 550 μg/m3. NOx values are high in Delhi’s residential areas, with values of 33 μg/m3 in 1995 and 34.6 μg/m3 in 2000, while in an industrial area values of 29.4 μg/m3 were found in 1995, increasing to 33.7 μg/m3 in 2000. SO2 values are very high in Pune city, ranging from 43.3 μg/m3 in residential to 43.69 μg/m3 in an industrial area in 2000.

Rainwater harvesting might help to achieve self-sufficiency, but it must comply with health standards. We studied the runoff quantity and quality harvested from seven urban surfaces in a university campus in Barcelona according to their use (pedestrian or motorized mobility) and materials (concrete, asphalt and slabs). An experimental rainwater harvesting system was used to collect the runoff resulting from a set of rainfall events. We estimated the runoff coefficient and initial abstraction of each surface and analyzed the physicochemical and microbiological properties, and hydrocarbon and metal content of the samples. Rainfall intensity, surface material and state of conservation were essential parameters. Because of low rainfall intensity and surface degradation, the runoff coefficient was variable, with a minimum of 0.41. Concrete had the best quality, whereas weathering and particulate matter deposition led to worse quality in asphalt areas. Physicochemical runoff quality was o...