This study provides the first estimate of dry deposition fluxes of criteria air pollutants (SO2 and NOx) across the Three Northern Regions Shelter Forest (TNRSF) region in Northern China and their long-term trends from 1982 to 2010 using the inferential method. Dry deposition velocities of SO2 and NOx increased in many places of the TNRSF up to 118.2% for SO2 and 112.1% for NOx over the last three decades due to the increased vegetation coverage over the TNRSF. The highest atmospheric deposition fluxes of SO2 and NOx were found in the Central-North China region, followed by the Northeast and the Northwest China regions of the TNRSF. A total of 820,000 t SO2 and 218,000 t NOx was estimated to be removed from the atmosphere through dry deposition process over the TNRSF from 1982 to 2010. About 50% of the total removal occurred in the Central-North China region. The estimated total SO2 and NOx dry deposition fluxes from 1982 to 2010 between a TNRSF site in this region and an adjacent farmland outside the TNRSF showed that the fluxes of these two chemicals at the TNRSF site were the factors of 2–3 greater than their fluxes in the farmland.

Few studies have evaluated the effects of ambient air pollution and temperature in triggering out-of-hospital coronary deaths (OHCDs) in China. We evaluated the associations of air pollution and temperature with daily OHCDs in Shanghai, China from 2006 to 2011. We applied an over-dispersed generalized additive model and a distributed lag nonlinear model to analyze the effects of air pollution and temperature, respectively. A 10 μg/m3 increase in the present-day PM10, PM2.5, SO2, NO2 and CO were associated with increases in OHCD mortality of 0.49%, 0.68%, 0.88%, 1.60% and 0.08%, respectively. A 1 °C decrease below the minimum-mortality temperature corresponded to a 3.81% increase in OHCD mortality on lags days 0–21, and a 1 °C increase above minimum-mortality temperature corresponded to a 4.61% increase over lag days 0–3. No effects were found for in-hospital coronary deaths. This analysis suggests that air pollution, low temperature and high temperature may increase the risk of OHCDs.

Atmospheric deposition in the Athabasca Oil Sands Region decreased exponentially with distance from the industrial center. Throughfall deposition (kg ha−1 yr−1) of NH4–N (.8–14.7) was double that of NO3–N (.3–6.7), while SO4–S ranged from 2.5 to 23.7. Gaseous pollutants (NO2, HNO3, NH3, SO2) are important drivers of atmospheric deposition but weak correlations between gaseous pollutants and deposition suggest that particulate deposition is also important. The deposition (eq ha−1) of base cations (Ca + Mg + Na) across the sampling network was highly similar to N + S deposition, suggesting that acidic deposition is neutralized by base cation deposition and that eutrophication impacts from excess N may be of greater concern than acidification. Emissions from a large forest fire in summer 2011 were most prominently reflected in increased concentrations of HNO3 and throughfall deposition of SO4–S at some sites. Deposition of NO3–N also increased as did NH4–N deposition to a lesser degree.

The validity of using the Air Pollution Index (API) to assess health impacts of air pollution and potential modification by individual characteristics on air pollution effects remain uncertain. We applied distributed lag non-linear models (DLNMs) to assess associations of daily API, specific pollution indices for PM10, SO2, NO2 and the weighted combined API (APIw) with mortality during 2003–2011 in Guangzhou, China. An increase of 10 in API was associated with a 0.88% (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.50, 1.27%) increase of non-accidental mortality at lag 0–2 days. Harvesting effects appeared after 2 days’ exposure. The effect estimate of API over lag 0–15 days was statistically significant and similar with those of pollutant-specific indices and APIw. Stronger associations between API and mortality were observed in the elderly, females and residents with low educational attainment. In conclusion, the API can be used to communicate health risks of air pollution.

Short-term effects of air pollution on mortality have been well documented in the literature worldwide. Less is known about which subpopulations are more vulnerable to air pollution. We conducted a case-only study in Hong Kong to examine the potential effect modification by personal characteristics and specific causes of death. Individual information of 402,184 deaths of non-external causes and daily mean concentrations of air pollution were collected from 2001 to 2011. For a 10 μg/m3 increase of pollution concentration, people aged ≥∇65 years (compared with younger ages) had a 0.9–1.8% additional increase in mortality related to PM, NO2, and SO2. People dying from cardiorespiratory diseases (compared with other non-external causes) had a 1.6–2.3% additional increase in PM and NO2 related mortality. Other subgroups that were particularly susceptible were females and those economically inactive. Lower socioeconomic status and causes of cardiorespiratory diseases would increase the likelihood of death associated with air pollution.

Small amounts (0.15wt%) of platinum and palladium were incorporated in porous, high surface area, ultra–stable H–USY–Zeolite by ion exchange method, and their catalytic activity was studied for carbon monoxide (CO) oxidation reaction, under various conditions of industrial importance. The catalyst was characterized by p–XRD, chemical analysis, SEM, TEM, evaluated for catalytic activity using a steady state, fixed bed catalytic reactor. The catalysts show high CO oxidation activity and it was possible to convert 0.044 mmols of CO per gram of catalyst at 120 °C, at a space velocity of 60 000 h−1 and with 100 ppm CO concentration in feed gas. The high catalytic activity of this noble metal catalyst also appears to be a factor of porous structure of zeolite facilitating mass transfer; high surface area as well as highly dispersed catalyst sites of palladium and platinum on zeolite structure. Introduction of acidic sites in zeolites probably makes them more resistant towards SO2, while their surface area and pore characteristics make this catalyst efficient even under high space velocity conditions, thus suggesting the potential of larger pore size zeolites over conventional porous materials for industrial applications.

Standards and guidelines as defined by various international agencies are employed by the researchers to evaluate an acceptable quality of air in indoor as well as outdoor environments. The main objective of this paper is to establish a comprehensive review of Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) guidelines and other standard values that are implemented currently. For this purpose, the present study summarizes the main standards and guidelines related to key indoor air pollutants and levels of thermal comfort developed by different agencies around the world. These agencies and organizations include the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air– Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), the Hong Kong Environmental Protection Department (HKEPD), the World Health Organization (WHO), and the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) of Australia. Common indoor air pollutants that are found to frequently affect indoor populations are, carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), formaldehyde (HCHO), carbon monoxide (CO), sulfur dioxide (SO2), and particulate matter in sizes <2.5 and 10 μm (PM2.5 and PM10, respectively). Other factors that affect IAQ are the moisture content of the air (i.e., relative humidity), the temperature of the indoor air, and the air speed or movement. Sick building syndrome (SBS) describes the various interactions between these major pollutants and factors of IAQ that cause adverse health effects on humans. In addition, this paper reviews various stipulated guidelines that are implemented by the relevant regulatory institutions and agencies to prevent SBS.

The paper presents the results of long–term measurements of rain chemistry in the woodland area of the Wielkopolski National Park (Western Poland) experiencing some human impact. The ions predominating in precipitation turned out to be those of ammonium and sulfates, which is indicative of human impact related with agriculture and animal breeding as well as with SO2 emissions. In the period 2002–2013 it is possible to identify, for both precipitation and throughfall, statistically significant decreasing trends in the concentrations and deposition of sulfates, ammonium and potassium, and an increasing trend for fluoride. Both bulk deposition and throughfall of N was higher than that of S. The deposition of nitrogen with throughfall was near to the critical load. High levels of acid–forming ions were observed in both, the winter and late–spring seasons, which proves not only the impact of heating but also of the local industry. Notable is the simultaneous occurrence of extremely high levels of acid–forming ions in some precipitation events, which might have many important implications for the soil, water and biota. There was a change in the pattern of atmospheric chemistry observed as a statistically significant downward trend in the rates of ionic concentration equivalents.

An elementary school is an important public place for children and it is where they spend most of their days. The objective of this study was to survey the environmental conditions at schools and to assess the relationship between air pollution and allergic diseases using the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood questionnaire. Nine elementary schools were selected and subsequently classified into three groups. The selection included two schools with no traffic-related or other pollutants, four schools situated near roads with six lanes, and three schools situated near beltways. Allergic diseases were assessed in a total of 6301 students. School zones with critical exposure to pollutants were selected within each school and were evaluated based on the levels of particulate matter, fine particulate matter, ozone, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide and black carbon. O3 and PM10 exposures were significantly associated with the prevalence of lifetime symptoms and diagnosis of asthma. O3 and PM10 exposures were also associated with lifetime symptoms, diagnosis, and 1-year physician diagnosis prevalence of allergic rhinitis. BC exposure was significantly associated with the rates of 1-year treatment of disease for allergic rhinitis. For schools located near sources of air pollution, the prevalence of lifetime symptoms for atopic dermatitis was significantly increased. Some symptoms of allergies were significantly increased at schools surrounded by a higher traffic volume. This study provides additional evidence that exposure to school zone air pollutants and traffic volume put school children at risk for childhood allergic diseases. Thus, strategies and actions are necessary to protect children in schools from exposure to environmental pollutants. In addition, future analysis to evaluate the relationship between traffic-related air pollution and the development of allergic diseases at more advanced ages are needed to confirm or refute these associations.

Trace elements in particulate matter associated with coal industries hold high risk to human health. Understanding the contents and occurrences of modes of these elements as well as their contribution to particulate toxicity is significant both environmentally and pathologically. A total of 24 PM10 samples were collected in Pingdingshan City, a coal industrial city in North China, in both winter and summer of 2008. An inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP–MS) was used to determine the concentrations of 12 trace elements associated with coal industries (Cr, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Mo, Cd, Sn, Sb, Tl, Pb, and Bi) in PM10 samples. The results indicated that the trace element concentrations were higher in winter than in summer; due mainly to more coal combustion during winter and to the different meteorological conditions of these two seasons. The soluble proportions of these trace elements compared with total values of intact whole samples were higher in winter than in summer, and this difference was attributed mainly to more SO2 reacting with pre–existing particles to form soluble particles in winter. Of all the analyzed elements, Ni, Tl, Sb, Mo, and Cd occurred mainly in the soluble state (>50% in the soluble fraction), Cr, Cu, Zn, and As occurred in both the soluble and insoluble state (20% to 50% in the soluble fraction), and Sn, Pb, and Bi occurred mainly in the insoluble state (<20% in the soluble fraction). A plasmid DNA assay indicated that winter samples had higher toxicity than summer samples. The correlation of PM10 toxicity (TD50 value) with the contribution of various trace elements to DNA damage (trace element concentration) was further analyzed, and the results indicated that PM10 toxicity was caused mainly by the soluble fractions of trace elements, including those of Ni, Pb, Cu, Cd, As, Zn, Cr, and Tl, which were the major toxic trace elements in Pingdingshan PM10.