Assessing Air Pollution Impacts

Air pollution is a problem affecting every part of our planet however, its global effects are poorly understood. This book provides the first truly global assessment of the scale of impacts of air pollution on crops and forests. The core of the book comprises assessments of the problem by experts from 12 different countries on every continent — describing the evidence of air pollution effects on crop yields and forest vitality with regard to environmental policies. These analyses are placed in the context of a global assessment of the scale of current and future air pollution levels, as well as in the socio-economic context of local production systems. Contents:Air Pollution Impacts on Crops and ForestsAir Pollution Impacts on Vegetation in Industrialised CountriesAir Pollution Impacts on Vegetation in Developing Countries Readership: Upper level graduates, graduate students and researchers in environmental science, botany and ecology, as well as environmental managers, agronomists and forest managers.

"The combination of scientific and institutional integrity represented by this book is unusual. It should be a model for future endeavors to help quantify environmental risk as a basis for good decisionmaking." â€"William D. Ruckelshaus, from the foreword. This volume, prepared under the auspices of the Health Effects Institute, an independent research organization created and funded jointly by the Environmental Protection Agency and the automobile industry, brings together experts on atmospheric exposure and on the biological effects of toxic substances to examine what is knownâ€"and not knownâ€"about the human health risks of automotive emissions.

A guide to the principles and methods of air quality assessment aimed at measuring population exposure to ambient air pollutants and estimating the effects on health. Addressed to policy-makers as well as scientists engaged in air quality monitoring, the book responds to the failure of most monitoring systems to provide data that are useful in estimating and managing threats to health. The need for exposure data on populations at special risk is also addressed. Throughout, emphasis is placed on methods of monitoring and modelling that are cost-effective, targeted, and appropriate to local and national conditions. The report has six chapters. The first introduces WHO activities related to air quality management and explains the need for monitoring systems capable of assessing health impact. The types of information required for health impact assessment are described in chapter two, which outlines several methods of monitoring and modelling that can be used to measure the level and distribution of exposure to air pollutants in populations, identify population groups with high exposure, and estimate adverse effects on health. Chapter three formulates a general concept of air quality assessment, offering advice on principles for designing a monitoring network, interpreting and reporting data, and solving problems with quality assurance. Also included is a comparison of the advantages, disadvantages, and costs of different methods for air quality monitoring. Against this background, the fourth and most extensive chapter describes specific methods for the monitoring of carbon monoxide, ozone, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, particulate matter, benzene, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, lead, and atmospheric cadmium. Monitoring strategies for each pollutant are presented according to a standard format, which covers health effects, sources and exposure patterns, monitoring methods, recommended strategies for monitoring and assessment, and a practical example. The remaining chapters offer advice on the collation, analysis, interpretation, and dissemination of data, and summarize the main conclusions and recommendations of the report. Detailed technical guidelines for the use of various methods and models are provided in a series of annexes. The report also reproduces the newly revised WHO air quality guidelines for Europe.

Air Quality Assessment and Management: A Practical Guide describes the techniques available for an assessment while detailing the concepts and methodologies involved. It reviews the principles of air quality management; primary sources of air pollution; impact of emissions on human health, flora and fauna; scoping of air quality impacts; baseline monitoring; impact prediction; impact significance; and pollution mitigation and control. Emphasis will be placed on the practical side of AQA, with numerous international case studies and exercises to aid the reader in their understanding of concepts and applications.

This report provides a comprehensive assessment of the economic consequences of outdoor air pollution in the coming decades, focusing on the impacts on mortality, morbidity, and changes in crop yields as caused by high concentrations of pollutants.