URBAN AIR QUALITY. A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF MAJOR EUROPEAN CAPITALS

In this article, the authors made a comparative analysis of air quality in several European capitals, with the goal to identify the place occupied by Bucharest among the most polluted cities in the European Union. For this analysis we used data reported by various member states, as well as data provided by the Romanian National Network of Air Quality. The comparative analysis presents the last years evolution for the concentration of the most important substances involved in the atmospheric pollution process, emphasizing the place occupied by Bucharest city according to the quality index value of the cities.air quality, European capitals, comparative analysis, pollution, urban environment.

Www.airqualitynow.eu, a common website and air quality indices to compare cities across europe

International audienceAir quality is a public concern. This is partly due to the "right to know" principle embodied in European legislation. Despite this common legislation, the way air quality is being interpreted and communicated differs considerably. For specialists raw monitoring data for Europe are available but these are not usable by the general public. Easy to understand and internationally comparable air quality information from one city to another is scarce: there are almost as many air quality indices as air quality monitoring networks. The CITEAIR II project (Common information to European Air, INTERREG IVc) facilitates the comparison of urban air quality in near real-time by introducing common air quality indices at hourly, daily and annual scales and by developing a forecast for those indices for D+0 and D+1.The implementation was based on a common website www.airqualitynow.eu using readily available simple IT-solutions. This paper describes those tools which both aimed at presenting the air quality of the participating cities in a comparable way and not to replace more targeted local information. Their added value is to provide, for the first time, a European and comparable picture of the air quality in near real-time easily accessible through a common platform and presentation of the results. The website is designed to receive and display data from any city wanting to join. The main part is dedicated to compare the cities index values using different time scales (hourly, daily or annual) and two types of exposure thanks to a background and a traffic index. In addition, space is offered to cities for presenting themselves according to a common template, providing background information on their specific air pollution situation and associated reduction measures. Participating is easy: cities upload their data through ftp and the indices calculations are automatically made. The website provides a dynamic picture of the air quality and is updated each hour enticing viewers to make repeated visits. However, participation with only a daily update or with yearly data is feasible as wel

Izvješćivanje o kvaliteti zraka u stvarnom vremenu kontinuiranim prijenosom podataka i web tehnologijama - povezivanje kvalitete zraka sa zdravstvenim rizicima u urbanim sredinama

This article presents a new, original application of modern information and communication technology to provide effective real-time dissemination of air quality information and related health risks to the general public. Our on-line subsystem for urban real-time air quality monitoring is a crucial component of a more comprehensive integrated information system, which has been developed by the Institute for Medical Research and Occupational Health. It relies on a StreamInsight data stream management system and service-oriented architecture to process data streamed from seven monitoring stations across Zagreb. Parameters that are monitored include gases (NO, NO2, CO, O3, H2S, SO2, benzene, NH3), particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5), and meteorological data (wind speed and direction, temperature and pressure). Streamed data are processed in real-time using complex continuous queries. They first go through automated validation, then hourly air quality index is calculated for every station, and a report sent to the Croatian Environment Agency. If the parameter values exceed the corresponding regulation limits for three consecutive hours, the web service generates an alert for population groups at risk. Coupled with the Common Air Quality Index model, our web application brings air pollution information closer to the general population and raises awareness about environmental and health issues. Soon we intend to expand the service to a mobile application that is being developed.U ovom se članku predstavlja nova, originalna primjena suvremene informacijske i komunikacijske tehnologije radi učinkovitoga izvješćivanja opće populacije o kvaliteti zraka i s njom povezanih zdravstvenih rizika. Naš online podsustav praćenja kvalitete zraka u gradovima ključan je dio složenijega integriranoga informacijskoga sustava koji je razvio Institut za medicinska istraživanja i medicinu rada. Oslanja se na sustav upravljanja kontinuiranim prijenosom informacija (engl. data stream management system) razvijen pomoću StreamInsighta i SOA arhitekture radi obrade podataka koji neprekidno dolaze sa sedam automatskih postaja za praćenje kvalitete zraka diljem Zagreba. Prate se sljedeći parametri: NO, NO2, CO, O3, H2S, SO2, benzen, NH3, čestice u zraku (PM10 i PM2.5), brzina i smjer vjetra, temperatura i tlak zraka. Zbog stalnih složenih upita (engl. continuous query) podaci se obrađuju u stvarnom vremenu. Prvi je korak automatska validacija pristiglih podataka, zatim se izračunava indeks kvalitete zraka za svaki sat, a potom se izvještaj šalje Agenciji za zaštitu okoliša. Ako tri sata za redom vrijednosti pojedinih parametara nadilaze granične vrijednosti utvrđene zakonom, web usluga šalje upozorenje osjetljivim populacijskim skupinama (bolesnicima, trudnicama, djeci, radnicima na otvorenom i dr.). Oslanjajući se na model europskoga indeksa kvalitete zraka (Common Air Quality Index, CAQI), naša web aplikacija približava općoj populaciji aktualne podatke o onečišćenju zraka te podiže svijest o problemima vezanima uz okoliš i zdravlje. Uskoro namjeravamo proširiti ovu uslugu na mobilnu aplikaciju, koja je u izradi

COST ES0602: towards a European network on chemical weather forecasting and information systems

The COST ES0602 action provides a forum for benchmarking approaches and practices in data exchange and multi-model capabilities for chemical weather forecasting and near real-time information services in Europe. The action includes approximately 30 participants from 19 countries, and its duration is from 2007 to 2011 (<a href="http://www.chemicalweather.eu/" target="_blank">http://www.chemicalweather.eu/</a>). Major efforts have been dedicated in other actions and projects to the development of infrastructures for data flow. We have therefore aimed for collaboration with ongoing actions towards developing near real-time exchange of input data for air quality forecasting. We have collected information on the operational air quality forecasting models on a regional and continental scale in a structured form, and inter-compared and evaluated the physical and chemical structure of these models. We have also constructed a European chemical weather forecasting portal that includes links to most of the available chemical weather forecasting systems in Europe. The collaboration also includes the examination of the case studies that have been organized within COST-728, in order to inter-compare and evaluate the models against experimental data. We have also constructed an operational model forecasting ensemble. Data from a representative set of regional background stations have been selected, and the operational forecasts for this set of sites will be inter-compared and evaluated. The Action has investigated, analysed and reviewed existing chemical weather information systems and services, and will provide recommendations on best practices concerning the presentation and dissemination of chemical weather information towards the public and decision makers

Air Pollution Monitoring: A Case Study from Romania

The first section of this chapter provides an up‐to‐date general view of air pollution/air quality topic. It indicates main pollutants and their sources and impacts and presents and discusses current air quality standards and air quality indexes worldwide; how datasets are acquired, gathered and analyzed and how the measurements are then interpreted are also presented. Recent works containing updated and detailed technical discussions for each issue addressed and additional web resources are mentioned. The great importance of air pollution monitoring is emphasized. Second, in the international context of incomplete information on air pollution in East Europe, the chapter includes a section presenting an assessment of air pollution at some sites in Romania together with its evolution from the beginning of the monitoring up to present. Availability of PM10, PM2.5, NOx, SO2 and CO concentrations is site and pollutant dependent and varies from 3 to 9 years. Investigation of temporal and spatial variation of pollutant levels, as well as of PM10 and PM2.5 relationships with the measured gaseous air pollutants and with meteorological variables, includes correlation and linear regression analysis and temporal‐trend analysis; coefficient of divergence was calculated to check up on the air pollution inter‐sites’ differences and pollutant seasonal variation intra‐site

Political airs : from monitoring to attuned sensing air pollution

In Madrid, as in many European cities, air pollution is known about and made accountable through techno-scientific monitoring processes based on data, and the toxicity of the air is defined through epidemiological studies and made political through policy. In 2009, Madrid’s City Council changed the location of its air quality monitoring stations without notice, reducing the average pollution of the city and therefore provoking a public scandal. This scandal challenged the monitoring process, as the data that used to be the evidence of pollution could not be relied on anymore. To identify the characteristics of some of the diverse forms of public’s participation that emerged, I route theories of environmental sensing from STS and feminist theory through the notion of attuned sensing. Reading environmental sensing through the processual and orientational processes of attunement expands the ways in which toxicity can be sensed outside of quantitative data. This mode of sensing recognizes how the different spontaneous attunements to and with air pollution and the scandal acknowledged Madrid’s chemical infrastructure, rendering visible qualitative conditions of toxicity. This mode of sensing politicized the toxicity of the air not through management or policy making, nor only through established forms environmental activism, but through contagion and accumulation of the different forms of public participation. All together, they made air pollution a matter of public concern. They also redistributed the actors, practices and objects that make the toxicity not only knowable, but also accountable, and most importantly, they opened up spaces for citizen intervention

Análise comparativa da qualidade do ar em Portugal

Mestrado em Engenharia do AmbienteO presente trabalho propõe-se analisar os níveis dos poluentes atmosféricos, PM10, PM2.5, SO2, NO, NO2, CO e O3,monitorizados em variadas estações de tipo rural, urbano e industrial em Portugal no ano de 2006. Os dados das concentrações medidas foram tratados de modo a poderem ser comparados com a legislação em vigor (Decreto-Lei nº111/2002 de 16 de Abril, Decreto-Lei nº320/2003 de 20 de Dezembro e Directiva 2008/50/CE de 21 de Maio). Este trabalho focou particularmente a área de Lisboa e Vale do Tejo, tendo sido efectuada a comparação da qualidade do ar nesta área metropolitana com a monitorizada noutros locais do país. Efectuou-se também o cálculo de índices de poluição do ar (API) e de qualidade do ar (AQI), tendo-se comparado as estações de Lisboa com algumas cidades Europeias. Concluiu-se que para os poluentes PM10, NO2 e CO a estação que registou concentrações mais elevadas foi a urbana de tráfego da Avenida da Liberdade. Juntamente com Entrecampos, esta estação apresenta os índices de qualidade do ar mais elevados, embora se situem abaixo dos reportados para algumas metrópoles de outros países da Europa. A matéria particulada PM2,5 registou níveis mais elevados na estação industrial de Estarreja/Teixugueira. Nesta estação, a par com as estações industriais do Lavradio e Escavadeira, registaram-se os maiores valores de concentração para o SO2. No que diz respeito ao O3, este obteve um registo máximo na estação rural e montanhosa de Lamas de Olo. ABSTRACT: The present work aims to analyse the atmospheric pollutants PM10, PM2,5, SO2, NO2, CO, and O3, measured in multiple urban, rural and industrial sites in Portugal during the year of 2006. Data were mathematically treated in a way to be able to compare with the legislation in force (Decree-Law nº111/2002 of 16 of April, Decree-Law nº320/2003 of 20 of December and Directive 2008/50/CE of 21 of May). This work was mainly focused on the Lisbon and Vale do Tejo region, whose air quality have been compared with those of other sites througout the country. Air pollution (API) and air quality (AQI) indices have also been calculated and a comparison between Lisbon and other European cities have been made. It was concluded that for the pollutants PM10, NO2 and CO, the station that registered highest concentrations was the traffic urban site of Avenida da Liberdade. Together with Entrecampos, this station presented the highest air quality índices; nevertheless, the Lisbon índices are lower than those reported for some other European cities. PM2.5 presented higher concentrations at the industrial site of Estarreja/Teixugueira. This station, together with the industrial sites of Lavradio and Escavadeira registered the highest levels of SO2. As far as O3 is concerned, the maximum level was registered in the mountainous and rural station of Lamas of Olo.

Qualidade do ar : a comunicação na construção do conhecimento científico e na promoção da mudança

O presente trabalho procura estabelecer uma ligação conceptual entre o conhecimento científico actual sobre a qualidade do ar ambiente e seus possíveis efeitos sobre a saúde humana e o papel essencial da comunicação na construção desse conhecimento, na promoção da aprendizagem e mudança de comportamentos, nomeadamente de crianças ao nível do 1CEB para que possam, no quotidiano, melhorar as suas práticas e intervir, a seu modo, nos seus contextos de vida para uma melhor qualidade da sua existência humana e social. Apesar de, nas últimas décadas, a qualidade do ar nas cidades ter melhorado significativamente, em particular na Europa, no período pós Revolução Industrial, persistem hoje em dia em várias metrópoles concentrações elevadas de poluentes atmosféricos, nomeadamente de ozono e partículas, que obrigam, de acordo com a Directiva-Quadro da Qualidade do Ar, à emissão de alertas à população. São diversas as patologias que podem ser exacerbadas pela inalação de ar ambiente onde estejam presentes concentrações mais ou menos elevadas de poluentes atmosféricos. Um grupo particular de risco são as crianças; em especial, as crianças portadoras de doenças respiratórias, sendo a asma brônquica associada a taxas de morbilidade apreciáveis e representando a principal causa de internamento em crianças com doença crónica. O conhecimento sobre a qualidade do ar e a sua importância na promoção da saúde, pode contribuir para promover a mudança de comportamentos no sentido da construção de práticas quotidianas autoprotectoras, possibilitando desta forma uma diminuição nos indicadores de doença. Portugal dispõe desde há alguns anos, de um sistema de informação online sobre a qualidade do ar ambiente; diariamente, está disponível a previsão do Índice da Qualidade do Ar, calculado com base na concentração de diversos poluentes e apresentado sob a forma de um código de cores. No entanto, informar não é sinónimo de comunicar. O acesso à informação, por si só, não garante que a comunicação ocorra, nem a construção do conhecimento científico. A investigação empírica desenvolvida no âmbito da dissertação que se apresenta utiliza a metodologia de investigação-acção. Explora estratégias de comunicação e aprendizagem sobre a qualidade do ar ambiente e seus impactes na saúde, potenciadoras da compreensão e construção de conhecimento científico e da participação activa das crianças envolvidas na situação. O estudo de caso foi desenvolvido com uma amostra de crianças com idades entre os 9 e os 10 anos e realizado em contexto extracurricular. Os resultados da avaliação realizada indiciam a ocorrência de aprendizagens, nomeadamente, no que respeita aos poluentes partículas e ozono, possíveis estratégias de autoprotecção respiratória e medidas que contribuem para a melhoria da qualidade do ar ambiente. Estes resultados indiciam, mais ainda, a importância da adopção de estratégias co-participativas de comunicação da ciência da qualidade do ar e colocam em questão o enfoque na mera transmissão de conhecimento, aqui se sugerindo a necessidade: (1) da existência de uma rotina educativa diária nas escolas de consulta do índice da qualidade do ar; (2) do desenvolvimento e divulgação de recursos pedagógicos na temática da qualidade do ar e promoção da saúde respiratória dirigidos, nomeadamente, aos alunos e professores do 1CEB, pais e profissionais de saúde. ABSTRACT: This dissertation seeks to linking current scientific knowledge on ambient air quality and its health effects, and the utmost communication role in building knowledge and promoting learning and behavioural change, namely with primary school children, so that they can act and improve their daily acting routines, contributing to a wider and better human and social existence. Although improvements in urban air quality occurred over the last decades, particularly in Europe after the Industrial Revolution, high levels of atmospheric pollutants remain nowadays, namely for ozone and particulate matter, which oblige the issue of alerts, according to the European Air Quality Regulation. Several diseases can be exacerbated due to the inhalation of polluted urban air. Children are at particular risk, especially those with pre-existing respiratory diseases; in these subjects, asthma is strongly linked with morbidity rates and constitutes hospital admissions main cause. Knowing the air quality and its relevance on the health status, can contribute to promote change behaviour regarding self protective daily routines, and preventing morbidity. Portugal has implemented, a few years ago, an ambient air quality online information system; an Air Quality Index based on several atmospheric pollutants concentrations is provided on a daily basis, through a colour code. Yet, informing and communicate are no synonyms. Having access to information, by itself, does not guarantee communication to occur, nor scientific knowledge to be built. This dissertation explores learning and communication strategies related to ambient air quality and its impacts, targeted for children, which can contribute in building participatory scientific knowledge. A case-study involving 9 to 10 years old children in extracurricular context is presented. The conducted evaluation allowed to spotting learning related to ozone and particulate matter, respiratory self protective daily routines and self actions that contribute to ambient air quality improvement. Moreover, this results seem to point the relevance of adopting co-participatory science communication strategies on air quality, and questions mere knowledge transmission, suggesting the need of: (1) promoting an educational routine of a daily access to the Air Quality Index; (2) developing educational materials regarding air quality and respiratory health promotion targeted, namely, at primary schools students and teachers, parents and health care providers