Intermittency ratio : a metric reflecting short-term temporal variations of transportation noise exposure

Most environmental epidemiology studies model health effects of noise by regressing on acoustic exposure metrics that are based on the concept of average energetic dose over longer time periods (i.e. the Leq and related measures). Regarding noise effects on health and wellbeing, average measures often cannot satisfactorily predict annoyance and somatic health effects of noise, particularly sleep disturbances. It has been hypothesized that effects of noise can be better explained when also considering the variation of the level over time and the frequency distribution of event-related acoustic measures, such as for example, the maximum sound pressure level. However, it is unclear how this is best parametrized in a metric that is not correlated with the Leq, but takes into account the frequency distribution of events and their emergence from background. In this paper, a calculation method is presented that produces a metric which reflects the intermittency of road, rail and aircraft noise exposure situations. The metric termed intermittency ratio (IR) expresses the proportion of the acoustical energy contribution in the total energetic dose that is created by individual noise events above a certain threshold. To calculate the metric, it is shown how to estimate the distribution of maximum pass-by levels from information on geometry (distance and angle), traffic flow (number and speed) and single-event pass-by levels per vehicle category. On the basis of noise maps that simultaneously visualize Leq, as well as IR, the differences of both metrics are discussed

Sources of Pharmaceuticals in Water

This chapter focuses on the increasing environmental apprehensions and persistence of numerous organic contaminants so-called emerging contaminants (ECs), including biologically active elements from pharmaceutical source industries. Several types of diverse pharmaceutical-related compounds are being detected in environmental matrices and wastewater treatment units. Owing to this broader occurrence, transformation, and detection of pharmaceutical-related compounds in water matrices, people and legislative authorities are now more concerned about potential sources and ecological consequences of ECs. This is mainly because the free movement of ECs in water matrices is posing noteworthy adverse effects on human, aquatic animals, and naturally occurring plants, even at minimal concentrations. So far, several detection and treatment processes have been proposed and exploited against numerous pharmaceutical-related ECs. The useful and side effects of pharmaceutical-related compounds have been extensively inspected. Owing to this substantial research gap, the sources and environmental persistence of pharmaceutical-related ECs and their direct/indirect adverse effects have now been the topic of intensive studies. From the surface water perspective, wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are the major source of pharmaceutical-related ECs. The current chapter spotlights the widespread occurrence, numerous sources, and transportation fate of pharmaceutical-related ECs in water matrices.The work is a part of the project entitled “Contaminantes emergentes y priori-tarios en las aguas reutilizadas en agricultura: riesgos y efectos en suelos, produc-ción agrícola y entorno ambiental” funded by CSIC-Tecnologico de Monterrey under iLink program. All listed authors are also grateful to their representative universities/institutes for providing literature facilities.Peer reviewe