Wildland Fire in Ecosystems Effects of Fire on Air

This state-of-knowledge review about the effects of fire on air quality can assist land, fire, and air resource managers with fire and smoke planning, and their efforts to explain to others the science behind fire-related program policies and practices to improve air quality. Chapter topics include air quality regulations and fire; characterization of emissions from fire; the transport, dispersion, and modeling of fire emissions; atmospheric and plume chemistry; air quality impacts of fire; social consequences of air quality impacts; and recommendations for future research

Investigation of environmental indices from the Earth Resources Technology Satellite

The author has identified the following significant results. Land use change, water quality, and air quality indices have been calculated from analysis of ERTS-1 multispectral scanning imagery and computer compatible tapes. Specifications have been developed and discussed for an ERTS-1 environmental monitoring system which help to serve the information needs of environmental managers at the Federal, state, regional, and local level. General conclusions of the investigation are that ERTS-1 data is very useful in land use mapping and updating to 10-15 categories, and can provide an overall measure of air and water turbidity; however, more and better ground truth and possibly additional spacecraft sensors will be required if specific air and water pollutants are to be quantified from satellite data

Visual analytics of flight trajectories for uncovering decision making strategies

In air traffic management and control, movement data describing actual and planned flights are used for planning, monitoring and post-operation analysis purposes with the goal of increased efficient utilization of air space capacities (in terms of delay reduction or flight efficiency), without compromising the safety of passengers and cargo, nor timeliness of flights. From flight data, it is possible to extract valuable information concerning preferences and decision making of airlines (e.g. route choice) and air traffic managers and controllers (e.g. flight rerouting or optimizing flight times), features whose understanding is intended as a key driver for bringing operational performance benefits. In this paper, we propose a suite of visual analytics techniques for supporting assessment of flight data quality and data analysis workflows centred on revealing decision making preferences

A conceptual approach to determine optimal indoor air quality: A mixture experiment method

Achieving good air quality in large residential and commercial buildings continues to be a top priority for owners, designers, building managers and occupants. The challenge is even greater today. There are many new materials, furnishing, products and processes used in these buildings that are potential source of contaminations and pollutants. A common problem to the indoor and outdoor environments is that of exposure to mixtures of air pollutants. Researchers and practitioners tend to focus on single pollutants (e.g. CO2, PM2.5) ignoring the mixtures combined effect. Fashion dictates to study the pollutant most thoroughly talked about. Distinguishing the effects of such co-pollutants is difficult. The conclusions about which component of a mixture is actually producing a given effect are sometimes less soundly based than could be wished. It is especially important in considering the indoor mixture of air pollutants as this mixture may be entirely different from those found outside. Exposures to raised levels of air pollutants can damage health, for example carbon monoxide can cause death and significant lasting disability. Controlling levels of indoor air pollutants is therefore important, as good indoor air quality is essential to health. There are three strategies for achieving acceptable indoor air quality: ventilation, source control and cleaning/filtration. Depending on the building and the specific characteristics of the location, these strategies can be used singly or in combination. However, mixture experiment would throw more light and understanding into indoor air composition and interaction properties and the combine effects it has on human health. Mixture experiments have been used extensively in other industries, for example the pharmaceutical industry and the agrochemical industry, for the production of tablets and the control of plant diseases and pests. Developing a mixture model for the internal microclimate for a particular building type and/or location may help us in developing better indicators, standards and policy document in the near future, when the levels of pollutants concentration can be successfully predicted

Demand Controlled Ventilation for Improved Humidity Control

Recently introduced technology makes it possible to continuously monitor for humidity in numerous building areas using a multi-point indoor air quality (IAQ) monitoring system. The shared sensor, multiparameter system makes it easier for facility managers to control humidity in their buildings. By continually measuring both dewpoint and C02 levels throughout the facilities, outside air can be minimized without exceeding recommended IAQ guidelines

Building air quality

"Managing a building is a difficult and complex job. There are many competing demands -- health and safety, building maintenance, housekeeping, and communications with occupants and tenants. Building owners and managers are under pressure to contain or reduce operating costs and increase revenues. Such fiscal pressures can easily draw attention and resources away from important elements of building management such as indoor air quality (IAQ). Over the past twenty years, indoor air quality has emerged as a major concern for building owners and managers. As the public recognizes the importance of healthy, comfortable and productive indoor environments, its awareness and demand for good IAQ increases. People spend about 90 percent of their time indoors and air within homes and other buildings can be more polluted than the outside air, even in the largest and most industrialized cities. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) studies that compare risks of environmental threats to public health consistently rank indoor air pollution (including secondhand smoke, radon, organic compounds and biological pollutants) among the top five. Maintaining a healthy and comfortable indoor environment in any building requires integrating many components of a complex system. Indoor air problems are preventable and solvable and practical guidance on how to manage your building for good indoor air quality is available. The core of EPA's large buildings IAQ management practices guidance is contained in Building Air Quality: A Guide for Building Owners and Facility Managers (BAQ), widely recognized as one of the best references of its type since publication in 1991 (see Appendix 1 [PDF file; 1 page - 67 KB] for ordering information). Much of what BAQ recommends you will recognize as common principles of good facility management. It is organized as a comprehensive reference volume, by subject area. As such, BAQ is extremely useful in learning the principles of IAQ and how to manage a building for good IAQ. It is also a helpful resource if problems occur or if more detailed information is needed. However, despite BAQ's wide availability, EPA and other organizations continue to learn about indoor air problems that could have been easily prevented or fixed by implementing good building management practices. It is worth noting that the guidance emphasizes changing how you operate and maintain your building, not increasing the amount of work or cost of maintaining your building. Good IAQ does not have to compete with other building management priorities; in fact, it can enhance some. For example, the efficiencies gained by keeping your HVAC system clean and better controlled both enhance IAQ and reduce energy costs. To promote the use of these straightforward practices to improve IAQ, EPA and other leaders in the IAQ field developed this 8-step Building Air Quality Action Plan (BAQ Action Plan). This additional resource meets the needs of building owners and managers who want an easy-to-understand path for taking their building from current conditions and practices to the successful institutionalization of good IAQ management practices. The BAQ Action Plan leads you through a logical set of steps to achieve the goal of better indoor air quality in your building. There is broad agreement that both documents, BAQ and the BAQ Action Plan, used together, can significantly improve IAQ and reduce the likelihood of IAQ problems, thus lowering health risks, increasing comfort and productivity, and reducing exposure to liability from IAQ problems." - NIOSHTIC-2NIOSHTIC No 20000219"To be used with Building air quality: a guide for building owners and facilities managers."Cover title.Shipping list no.: 98-0374-P."June 1998.""EPA 402-K-98-001."Includes bibliographical references

Air Pollution Management: A Multivariate Analysis of Citizens' Perspectives and Their Willingness to Use Greener Forms of Transportation

The present research aims to understand how air pollution can be managed by public authorities, both central and local, starting from citizens’ perspectives on the issue. Air quality is a real problem, affecting people at multiple levels. Thus, we introduced the following variables to better understand the problem and to be able to formulate theoretical and practical implications for public management: the involvement of authorities in reducing air pollution; the involvement of citizens in reducing air pollution; financial incentives for citizens and companies for adopting behaviors that reduce air pollution; green investments in the city; the impact of air pollution on the community; and the need for independent bodies to monitor air pollution. The research methodology used is partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) and the required data were gathered from issuing a survey to citizens from the most important cities in Romania where pollution poses important challenges for the community and for the authorities. The results are useful to public managers in local and central institutions for creating better strategies meant to reduce air pollution, increase air quality, and improve the quality of the citizens’ lives

Air Pollution and Outdoor Recreation on Urban Trails: A Case Study of the Elizabeth River Trail, Norfolk, VA

Poor air quality represents a significant health risk, especially when recreating outdoors in urban parks and trails. It is important for managers of urban parks and trail to understand how potential visitors’ perceptions of air quality and health risks and benefits may affect visitation. The goal of this study was to investigate temporal variance in air quality along the Elizabeth River Trail, an urban trail located in Norfolk, Virginia, as well as trail users’ perceptions of air quality and of health benefits in relation to trail use. The researcher rode a bicycle with a Dylos DC1700-PM mobile air quality monitor mounted to it along the 16.9-km (10mi) trail for 10 weeks to collect PM2.5 and PM10 data. The following spring, a visitor use survey was conducted with ERT users, measuring perceived health outcomes and perceived air quality, as well as other experiential factors. Two repeated-measures analyses of variance (ANOVAs) were used to determine whether there were significant differences in average PM density at different times of day or days of the week. PM was higher (p \u3c .001) between 11am-1pm and on weekends. Perceived air quality and health outcomes were regressed onto self-reported trail use. Perceived health outcomes, but not perceived or preferred air quality, significantly predicted trail use, p = .006. Results suggest that whereas motivation directly predicts recreational choices, experiential factors may do so only under specific circumstances, such as when air quality is very poor. Further research is merited to determine how experiential factors can best be integrated with other theories of motivation to understand recreational decision-making

Attitudes expressed in online comments about environmental factors in the tourism sector: an exploratory study

The object of this exploratory study is to identify the positive, neutral and negative environment factors that affect users who visit Spanish hotels in order to help the hotel managers decide how to improve the quality of the services provided. To carry out the research a Sentiment Analysis was initially performed, grouping the sample of tweets (n = 14459) according to the feelings shown and then a textual analysis was used to identify the key environment factors in these feelings using the qualitative analysis software Nvivo (QSR International, Melbourne, Australia). The results of the exploratory study present the key environment factors that affect the users experience when visiting hotels in Spain, such as actions that support local traditions and products, the maintenance of rural areas respecting the local environment and nature, or respecting air quality in the areas where hotels have facilities and offer services. The conclusions of the research can help hotels improve their services and the impact on the environment, as well as improving the visitors experience based on the positive, neutral and negative environment factors which the visitors themselves identified