Distributed generation (DG) is generally defined as the operation of many small stationary power generators throughout an urban air basin. Although DG has the potential to supply a significant portion of the increased power demands in California and the rest of the United States, it may lead to increased levels of in-basin pollutants and adversely impact urban air quality. This study focuses on...

Air quality is a serious and worsening problem in the rapidly growing cities of sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). However, the lack of ambient monitoring data, and particularly urban roadside concentrations for particulate matter in SSA cities severely hinders our ability to describe temporal and spatial patterns of concentrations, characterize exposure–response relationships for key health outcomes, e...

Income inequality is rising in China at the same time that urban air pollution remains high. Households can purchase market products such as masks and air filters to protect themselves from pollution. Using a unique data set of Internet purchases, we document that households invest more in such products when ambient pollution levels exceed key alert thresholds. Richer people are more likely to ...

OBJECTIVES To quantify the mortality burden attributed to urban outdoor air pollution in South Africa in 2000. DESIGN The study followed comparative risk assessment (CRA) methodology developed by the World Heath Organization (WHO). In most urban areas, annual mean concentrations of particulate matter (PM) with diameters less than 10 microm (PM10) from monitoring network data and PM with diame...

More than 80% of people living in urban areas who monitor air pollution are exposed to air quality levels that exceed limits defined by the World Health Organization (WHO). Although all regions of the world are affected, populations in low-income cities are the most impacted. According to average annual levels of fine particulate matter (PM2.5, ambient particles with aerodynamic diameter of 2.5...

During the winter of 1994, the association between daily changes in air pollution and in the respiratory health of children 7 to 12 yr of age were studied in Kuopio, Finland. Seventy-four children with asthmatic symptoms and 95 children with cough only, living either in urban or suburban areas, were followed for 3 mo. During the study period, the mean daily concentration of particulate air poll...

The paper describes an ontology for air pollution analysis and control, AIR_POLLUTION_Onto, and presents its use in two case studies, an expert system, and a multiagent system, both dedicated to monitoring and control of air pollution in urban regions.

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) have been determined to be human risk factors in urban environments, as well as primary contributors to the formation of photochemical oxidants. Ambient air quality measurements of 54 VOCs including hydrocarbons, halogenated hydrocarbons and carbonyls were conducted in or near 13 urban locations in the United States during September 1996 to August 1997. Air sam...

The Yangtze River Delta (YRD) has experienced rapid urbanization and dramatic economic development since 1978 and the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration (YRDUA) has been one of the three largest urban agglomerations in China. We present evidence of a significant urban heat island (UHI) effect on climate warming based on an analysis of the impacts of the urbanization rate, urban population,...