AWE International | Issue 23
Articles you will find in this issue include:
Air Quality - an Overview
The importance of regulation and the accumulation of reliable data cannot be overestimated
Air quality continues to become a more and more pertinent issue to people as they get on with their busy lives. The quality of the air that we breathe means different things to different people. Of concern to all of us is the potential for negative effects to our health. Both UK and EU legislation1 recognises the ‘worst offenders’, namely sulphur dioxide, oxides of nitrogen, carbon monoxide, particulate matter and heavy metals including mercury and lead. Epidemiological studies, past and present have made the link between increased levels of pollution in the atmosphere and mortality rate. The ‘Great’ London Smog of December 1952 was accountable by some estimations for the premature death of up to 12,000 people2. The causes were stable atmospheric conditions, cold weather, but pertinently the release of enhanced masses of sulphur dioxide and particulate matter from domestic and industrial burning of coal and other solid fuels. The likelihood of such an event happening in the western world today is remote. The use of ‘cleaner’ fuels and tighter industrial regulation ensure that even under the most unfavourable meteorological conditions, major urban centres are not prone to the pea-soup conditions of yesteryear.
Author | Envirocare
Analysis of Water Samples
Automated Analysis of PAHs by HPLC in Drinking Water and Surface Water Samples
The Water Framework Directive (WFD) is a body of legislation that is geared towards achieving “good quality” status for all bodies of water throughout the EU by the year 2015.
Author | Ray Perkins, Paul Roberts and Pam Chamberlain
Chromatography - The Science of Separation
Measuring the radioactive noble gas Krypton using chromatography
Chromatography is the science of separation, with the analyte of interest being in a mobile phase, passing through a series of stationary phases. This allows the analyte to be isolated for quantification through a wide variety of techniques. This article looks at how chromatography is used to separate the noble gas krypton from air.
Author | Richard C Wilson
Dry Heat and Humidity
Laboratory environmental conditions as sources of error
Pipette performance has a direct impact on laboratory data integrity, and numerous variables affect the accuracy and precision of pipettes. Articles in this series have discussed pipetting error caused by mechanical failures1 and improper operator technique2, and how to avoid such error.
Author | A Bjoern Carle
Heavy Metals' Monitoring
Monitoring airborne heavy metals in rural areas
Much of the focus on measuring heavy metals in the ambient atmosphere has been to establish monitoring sites at locations close to local sources of heavy metals in industrial and urban areas. However, there is also a specific legislative requirement to monitor heavy metals in rural areas where concentrations are considerably lower. The Rural Heavy Metals Monitoring and Deposition Network determines the concentrations of heavy metals in samples of ambient air and rainwater collected at remote rural sites across the UK, which are not unduly influenced by local sources of anthropogenic emissions. This article describes the operation of this monitoring network and how the data are used to determine background levels of heavy metals in the UK (and thereby demonstrate compliance of the UK with the relevant EU legislation for rural areas), and in the quantification of heavy metal deposition from the atmosphere.
Author | Heath Malcolm and Alan Crossley
Monitoring of Industrial Noise
In this computerised age the saying ‘measuring is knowing’ still holds true
How environmental noise like industrial noise can be determined optimally depends on the situation and the scale in which goals with respect to noise control apply. Only for major industrial plants like manufacturing sites, petrochemical and pharmaceutical operations, construction sites and power stations and oil refineries, it is necessary and cost efficient to perform complex calculations and measuring (monitoring). Such a goal can be the reduction of the average noise emission in a certain area or at a single receiver position. In these cases an integral view of all aspects of environmental noise assists the policy makers in designing more effective policies concerning noise. An example of such a policy is the European guideline for mapping of environmental noise1.
Author | Ron Westerveld and Wim van Keulen
Soil Moisture Sensors and Applications
Conserving irrigation water, assessing water catchments and controlling diffuse environmental pollution at source
A considerable amount of water enters the soil through rainfall or irrigation and is removed by drainage, surface evaporation and plant root uptake. The balance of these flows determines the soil moisture status, which varies dynamically over time and down the soil profile. It is critical to all aspects of life, from food production to ecosystem diversity and from the playability of grass sports surfaces, to the spread of environmental pollutants. Increasingly, continuous monitoring of soil moisture is required for conserving irrigation water, assessing water catchments and controlling diffuse environmental pollution at source.
Author | Terry McBurney
As well as information about the following new Regulations
