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Atmos Pollut Res 2022 Jul 11;13(7):101474. Epub 2022 Jun 11.

Department of Geography and Anthropology, Kennesaw State University, 1000 Chastain Road, Kennesaw, GA, 30144, USA.

The COVID-19 disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus first identified in December 2019 has resulted in millions of deaths so far around the world. Controlling the spread of the disease requires a good understanding of the factors (e.g. Read More

Atmos Pollut Res 2022 Jul 6;13(7):101473. Epub 2022 Jun 6.

School of Chemistry and Physics, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia.

The spread of respiratory diseases via aerosol particles in indoor settings is of significant concern. The SARS-CoV-2 virus has been found to spread widely in confined enclosures like hotels, hospitals, cruise ships, prisons, and churches. Particles exhaled from a person indoors can remain suspended long enough for increasing the opportunity for particles to spread spatially. Read More

Atmos Pollut Res 2022 Jul 31;13(7):101463. Epub 2022 May 31.

Department of Occupational Health and Safety Engineering, Health Faculty, Arak University of Medical Sciences, Arak, Iran.

Exposure to air pollution can exacerbate the severe COVID-19 conditions, subsequently causing an increase in the death rate. In this study, we investigated the association between long-term exposure to air pollution and risks of COVID-19 hospitalization and mortality in Arak, Iran. Air pollution data was obtained from air quality monitoring stations located in Arak, including particulate matter (PM), nitrogen dioxide (NO), sulfur dioxide (SO), ozone (O) and carbon monoxide (CO). Read More

Atmos Pollut Res 2022 Jun 14;13(6):101452. Epub 2022 May 14.

State Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Simulation & Pollution Control, School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China.

To avoid the spread of COVID-19, China implemented strict prevention and control measures, resulting in dramatic variations in air quality. Here, we applied a machine learning algorithm (random forest model) to eliminate meteorological effects and characterize the high-resolution variation characteristics of air quality induced by COVID-19 in Beijing, Wuhan, and Urumqi. Our RF model estimates showed that the highest decrease in deweathered PM in Wuhan (-43. Read More

Atmos Pollut Res 2022 Jun 28;13(6):101438. Epub 2022 Apr 28.

Transport, Health and Urban Design Research Lab, Melbourne School of Design, The University of Melbourne, Parkville VIC 3010, Australia.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, most countries implemented public health ordinances that resulted in restricted mobility and a resultant change in air quality. This has provided an opportunity to quantify the extent to which carbon-based transport and industrial activity affect air quality. However, quantification of these complex effects has proven to be difficult, depending on the stringency of restrictions, country-specific emission source profiles, long-term trends and meteorological effects on atmospheric chemistry, emission levels and in-flow from nearby countries. Read More

Atmos Pollut Res 2022 Jun 26;13(6):101424. Epub 2022 Apr 26.

Key Laboratory of Regional Climate-Environment for Temperate East Asia (RCE-TEA), Institute of Atmospheric Physics (IAP), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Beijing, 100029, China.

A regional air quality model system (RAQMS) driven by the Weather Research and Forecasting model (WRF) is applied to investigate the distribution and evolution of mineral dust and anthropogenic aerosols over China in April 2020, when air quality was improved due to reduced human activity during the COVID-19 epidemic, whereas dust storms began to attack China and deteriorated air quality. A dust deflation model was developed and improved mineral dust prediction. Model validation demonstrated that RAQMS was able to reproduce PM, PM and aerosol components reasonably well. Read More

Atmos Pollut Res 2022 May 18;13(5):101419. Epub 2022 Apr 18.

Key Laboratory for Urban Habitat Environmental Science and Technology, School of Urban Planning and Design, Peking University, Shenzhen, 518055, PR China.

Atmospheric pollution studies have linked diminished human activity during the COVID-19 pandemic to improve air quality. This study was conducted during January to March (2019-2021) in 332 cities in China to examine the association between population migration and air quality, and examined the role of three city attributes (pollution level, city scale, and lockdown status) in this effect. This study assessed six air pollutants, namely CO, NO, O, PM, PM, and SO, and measured meteorological data, with-in city migration (WCM) index, and inter-city migration (ICM) index. Read More

Atmos Pollut Res 2022 Mar;13(4):1-101385

U.S. EPA ORD/CEMM, 109 T.W. Alexander Dr., MD 81, Research Triangle Park, NC, USA.

New results are presented from wind tunnel studies performed at the United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA), which include cases with solid roadside barriers of varying heights and cases with varying distances between the line source (roadway) and a 6-m-tall barrier. Read More

Atmos Pollut Res 2021 Dec;12(12):None

CICERO Center for International Climate Research, Postboks 1129 Blindern, 0318, Oslo, Norway.

With the international goals of the Paris Agreement and the growing number of time-bound national goals for emissions reductions, reliable estimates of CO emissions are becoming more and more important. In particular, reducing the time lag of these estimates and producing short-term projections are gaining importance as the remaining time until mitigation deadlines becomes shorter. The Global Carbon Project has been producing a current-year projection of global CO emissions since 2012, introducing a sub-projection for the European Union in 2018. Read More

Atmos Pollut Res 2021 Dec 27;12(12):101247. Epub 2021 Oct 27.

Key Laboratory for Aerosol-Cloud-Precipitation of China Meteorological Administration, Collaborative Innovation Center on Forecast and Evaluation of Meteorological Disasters, Nanjing University of Information Science &Technology, Nanjing, 210044, China.

The diverse climate types and the complex anthropogenic source emissions in China lead to the great regional differences of air pollution mechanisms. The COVID-19 lockdown has given us a precious opportunity to understand the effect of weather conditions and anthropogenic sources on the distribution of air pollutants in different climate zones. In this study, to understand the impact of meteorological and socio-economic factors on air pollution during COVID-19 lockdown, we divided 358 Chinese cities into eight climate regions. Read More

Atmos Pollut Res 2021 Sep 21;12(9):101176. Epub 2021 Aug 21.

Seoul Metropolitan Government Research Institute of Public Health and Environment, Seoul, South Korea.

With the spread of the COVID-19 virus globally, cities worldwide have implemented unprecedented social distancing policies to mitigate infection rates. Many studies have demonstrated that improved air quality and reduced carbon emissions have resulted from the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet, questions remain regarding changes in atmospheric CO concentrations because of the complex cycles involving the interaction of CO with the natural environment. Read More

Atmos Pollut Res 2021 Sep 17;12(9):101172. Epub 2021 Aug 17.

Department of Periodontics, College of Dentistry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.

The declaration of COVID-19 pandemic by the WHO initiated a series of lockdowns globally that varied in stringency and duration; however, the spatiotemporal effects of these lockdowns on air quality remain understudied. This study evaluates the global impact of lockdowns on air pollutants using tropospheric and ground-level indicators over a five-month period. Moreover, the relationship between air pollution and COVID-19 cases and mortalities was examined. Read More

Atmos Pollut Res 2021 Mar 11;12(3):292-301. Epub 2021 Jan 11.

Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA.

This study characterizes the hygroscopic and chemical nature of aerosols originating from ten locations (4 outdoors and 6 indoors) around the Gol-E-Gohar (GEG) iron ore mine (Iran), including an assessment of how hygroscopic growth alters particulate deposition in the respiratory system. Aerosols collected on filters in three diameter (D) ranges (total suspended particulates [TSP], D ≤ 10 μm [PM], and D ≤ 2.5 μm [PM]) were analyzed for chemical and hygroscopic characteristics. Read More

Atmos Pollut Res 2021 Feb;12(2):367-374

Jacobs Technology Inc., Research Triangle Park, NC, USA.

This paper presents an analysis of data from a wind tunnel study conducted to examine the dispersion of emissions at the edges of near-road noise barriers. The study is motivated by the concern that a barrier positioned downwind of a roadway may guide highly polluted plumes along the barrier leading to heightened concentrations as the plume spills around and downwind of the barrier end. The wind tunnel database consists of measurements of dispersion around a simulated roadway segment with various noise barrier configurations. Read More

Atmos Pollut Res 2021 ;12(1):148-158

Eurofins Frontier Global Sciences, 5755 8 St. E, Tacoma, Washington 98424.

Gaseous oxidized mercury (GOM) dry deposition measurements using surrogate surface passive samplers were collected at six sites in the Four Corners area, U.S.A. Read More

Atmos Pollut Res 2021 Mar 7;12(3):136-145. Epub 2021 Feb 7.

School of Resource and Environmental Science, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430079, Hubei, China.

Lockdowns implemented in response to COVID-19 have caused an unprecedented reduction in global economic and transport activity. In this study, variation in the concentration of health-threatening air pollutants (PM, NO, and O) pre- and post-lockdown was investigated at global, continental, and national scales. We analyzed ground-based data from >10,000 monitoring stations in 380 cities across the globe. Read More

Atmos Pollut Res 2021 Mar 2;12(3):302-306. Epub 2021 Jan 2.

Department of Laboratory Sciences, School of Allied Medical Sciences, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

This study investigated the presence of SARS-CoV-2 in air of public places such as shopping centers, a post office, banks, governmental offices, and public transportation facilities including an airport, subways, and buses in Tehran, Iran. A total of 28 air samples were collected from the eight groups of public and transportation locations. The airborne particle samples were collected on PTFE or glass fiber filters using two types of samplers with flow rates of 40 and 3. Read More

Atmos Pollut Res 2021 Feb 28;12(2):316-329. Epub 2020 Nov 28.

School of Public Health, Shanxi Medical University, No. 56 Xinjian South Street, Taiyuan, 030001, China.

The COVID-19 virus outbreak has been declared a "global pandemic". Therefore, "lockdown" was issued in affected countries to control the spread of the virus. To assess air pollution during and after lockdowns, this study selected pandemic hotspots in China (Wuhan), Japan (Tokyo), the Republic of Korea (Daegu), and India (Mumbai) and compared the Air Quality Index (AQI) in these areas for the past three years. Read More

Atmos Pollut Res 2020 Oct 25;11(10):1870-1881. Epub 2020 Jul 25.

Division of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Lewis-Clark State College, Lewiston, ID, USA.

The Lewis-Clark Valley is a rural area that includes the cities of Lewiston, Idaho and Clarkston, Washington and the surrounding areas. The largest industry in the Lewis-Clark Valley is a pulp paper mill located in Lewiston which emits particulate matter and odorous sulfur air pollutants. This study analyzed the Lewis-Clark Valley air composition and seasonal, temporal and spatial variations of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from 2017 to 2018 to determine potential health risks of the paper mill emissions to the surrounding community. Read More

Atmos Pollut Res 2021 Feb 2;12(2):84-92. Epub 2020 Nov 2.

Institute of Statistics, Graz University of Technology, Kopernikusgasse 24/III, 8010, Graz, Austria.

Analysis of near-surface measurements at several measuring points in Graz, Austria, reveals the impact of restrictive measures during the COVID-19 pandemic on the emission of atmospheric pollutants. We quantify the effects at traffic hotspots, industrial and residential areas. Using historical data collected over several years, we are able to account for meteorological and seasonal confounders. Read More

Atmos Pollut Res 2020 Sep 4;11(9):1481-1486. Epub 2020 Jun 4.

Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, Departments of Microbiology and Immunology, And Biochemistry and Biophysics University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27955, USA.

Piston powered aircraft burning leaded gasoline contribute ~70% of the lead in the atmosphere in the US. The physical size, composition, and structure of aircraft exhaust particles containing lead dibromide are poorly understood and heretofore have not been examined directly by electron microscopy (EM), in particular when captured from an aircraft in flight. To accomplish this, exhaust samples were trapped on EM supports within 10-15 ms of exiting the aircraft exhaust pipe. Read More

Atmos Pollut Res 2021 Jan 7;12(1):437-445. Epub 2020 Oct 7.

CNR -- National Research Council of Italy, Collegio Carlo Alberto, Via Real Collegio, 30-10024, Moncalieri, Torino, Italy.

The pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is generating a high number of infected individuals and deaths. One of the current questions is how climatological factors and environmental pollution can affect the diffusion of COVID-19 in human society. This study endeavours to explain the relation between wind speed, air pollution and the diffusion of COVID-19 to provide insights to constrain and/or prevent future pandemics and epidemics. Read More

Atmos Pollut Res 2021 Jan 25;12(1):124-133. Epub 2020 Aug 25.

Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Instituto de Investigaciones Atmosféricas, Diego de Robles y Av. Interoceánica, Quito, Ecuador.

The COVID-19 lockdown presented a peculiar opportunity to study a shift in the photochemical regime of ozone production in Quito (Ecuador) before and after mobility restrictions. Primary precursors such as NO and CO dropped dramatically as early as 13 March 2020, due to school closures, but ambient ozone did not change. In this work we use a chemical box model in order to estimate regimes of ozone production before and after the lockdown. Read More

Atmos Pollut Res 2021 Jan 17;12(1):23-35. Epub 2020 Aug 17.

School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia.

The impacts of poor air quality on human health are becoming more apparent. Businesses and governments are implementing technologies and policies in order to improve air quality. Despite this the PM air quality in the mining town of Moranbah, Australia, has worsened since measurements commenced in 2011. Read More

Atmos Pollut Res 2020 Jun;11(6):81-86

Jacobs Technology Inc., Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, USA.

Select volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were measured in the vicinity of chemical facilities and other operations in the Rubbertown industrial area of Louisville, Kentucky (USA) using modified EPA Methods 325A/B passive sampler tubes. Two-week, time-integrated passive samplers were deployed at ten sites which were aggregated into three site groups of varying distances from the Rubbertown area facilities. In comparison to canister data from 2001 to 2005, two of the sites suggested generally lower current VOC levels. Read More

Atmos Pollut Res 2020 Jul 21;11(7):1127-1141. Epub 2020 Apr 21.

School of Studies in Chemistry, Pt. Ravishankar Shukla University, Raipur, 492010, Chhattisgarh, India.

To study the influence of fireworks in atmospheric aerosols and their effect on health during the extreme firework days, fireworks tracer metals and carbonaceous species in size-distributed aerosols in the lower troposphere at Raipur in eastern central India were investigated during the 2018 Deepawali festival. Aerosol samples were collected, before Deepawali period (BDP, n = 5), during Deepawali period (DDP, n = 5) and after Deepawali period (ADP, n = 5). Bimodal size-distribution with intense fine mode peak was found for Na during DDP. Read More

Atmos Pollut Res 2020 Feb;11(2):225-233

European Commission-Joint Research Centre, Directorate for Energy, Transport and Climate, 21027, Ispra, Italy.

In this study, PM concentrations together with the water-soluble ionic compounds and total elements were simultaneously measured at 16 sites in the city of Varese located in Northern Italy within a domain of 2 × 2 km. The center point of this domain consisted of an existing urban air quality monitoring station. The representativeness of the monitoring station for PM mass and chemical composition was estimated using a methodology relying on statistical/geostatistical analyses. Read More

Atmos Pollut Res 2018 Nov;9(6):1184-1193

Systems Research Institute, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland.

Background: Ambient air pollution and associated adverse health effects are among most acute environmental problems in many cities worldwide. The intake fraction () approach can be applied for evaluating the health benefits of reducing emissions, especially when rapid decisions are needed. Intake fraction is a metric that represents emission-to-intake relationship and characterizes abatement of exposure potential attributed to specific emission sources. Read More

Atmos Pollut Res 2017 Mar 3;8(2):374-382. Epub 2016 Nov 3.

Département de géographie, Université Laval, Quebec City, Quebec, Canada.

This article evaluates the concentrations of particulate matter (PM) and some of its chemical speciation such as sulfate, organic carbon, black carbon and sea salt particles simulated at the surface by Version 1 of the Aerosol Reanalysis of NASA's Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Application (MERRAero) over Europe. Measurement data from the European Monitoring and Evaluation Programme database were used. The concentrations of coarse PM (PM), fine PM (PM), sulfate and black carbon particles are overall well simulated, despite a slight and consistent overestimation of PM concentration, and a slight and consistent underestimation of PM and sulfate concentrations throughout most of the year. Read More

Atmos Pollut Res 2017 Nov;8(6):1023-1030

Jacobs Technologies, Inc., Research Triangle Park, NC, USA.

Mobile monitoring is a strategy to characterize spatially and temporally variable air pollution in areas near sources. EPA's Geospatial Measurement of Air Pollution (GMAP) vehicle - an all-electric vehicle is outfitted with a number of measurement devices to record real-time concentrations of particulate matter and gaseous pollutants - was used to map air pollution levels near the Port of Charleston in South Carolina. High-resolution monitoring was performed along driving routes near several port terminals and rail yard facilities, recording geospatial coordinates and concentrations of pollutants including black carbon, size-resolved particle count ranging from ultrafine to coarse (6 nm-20 μm), carbon monoxide, and nitrogen dioxide. Read More