Air quality in urban environments [vol. 28] / editors, R.E. Hester and R.M. Harrison.

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Urban air quality is a topic which remains high on the scientific and political agenda. Concentrations of most air pollutants are higher in urban areas than in the surrounding rural regions, and given the high population densities, it is within urban areas that the majority of the population receive their air pollutant exposure. Despite the continued implementation of abatement measures, concentrations of air pollutants within urban areas frequently exceed health-based guidelines and stricter measures to restrict emissions are required. This comprehensive volume, written by authoritative authors, deals with the basic science of urban air pollution in relation to the sources and concentrations, and the atmospheric chemical and physical processes which determine those concentrations and lead to the formation of secondary pollutants by chemical reactions in the atmosphere. The health effects of urban air pollution are described as is the policy response designed to mitigate the problems. Some of the highest air pollutant exposures occur within underground railway systems and this topic is considered explicitly in its own chapter. With comprehensive coverage from sources through atmospheric processes, to human exposure and effects on health and the policy response, this topical work will be of interest to scientists and policy makers within this field as well advanced students.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

• Urban Air Pollution Climates throughout the World (p. 1)
• 1 Introduction (p. 1)
• 1.1 Emission and Formation of Urban Air Pollution (p. 2)
• 1.2 Urban Pollution Levels and Indicators (p. 3)
• 2 Sources in the Vicinity of the City (p. 4)
• 3 Impact of the Geography, Topography and Meteorology (p. 5)
• 3.1 Geography (p. 5)
• 3.2 Topography (p. 6)
• 3.3 Meteorology (p. 6)
• 4 Pollutant Dispersion in Urban Streets (p. 7)
• 5 Nitrogen Dioxide Pollution in Urban Areas (p. 8)
• 6 Particle Pollution in Urban Areas (p. 9)
• 6.1 Particle Mass Concentrations (p. 9)
• 6.2 Particle Number Concentrations (p. 11)
• 6.3 Importance of Measurement Location (p. 13)
• 6.4 Contribution from Natural Processes (p. 13)
• 7 Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAH) in Urban Areas (p. 13)
• 7.1 Sources and Emissions (p. 13)
• 7.2 Sampling Artefacts (p. 15)
• 7.3 Long Range Transport (p. 16)
• 7.4 Future Requirements (p. 16)
• 8 Trace Elements, including Heavy Metals in Urban Areas (p. 16)
• 8.1 Heavy Metals (p. 17)
• 8.2 Trace Elements (p. 17)
• 8.3 Recommendations for Modelling (p. 18)
• 9 Conclusions (p. 18)
• References (p. 19)
• Influences of Meteorology on Air Pollution Concentrations and Processes in Urban Areas (p. 23)
• 1 Introduction (p. 24)
• 2 The Polluted Urban Atmosphere (p. 26)
• 3 The Urban Canopy Layer (p. 29)
• 3.1 Emissions, Intra-Urban Variability and Data Sources (p. 29)
• 3.2 Flow Patterns within the Urban Canopy Layer (p. 30)
• 3.3 Street Canyons (p. 30)
• 3.4 Vertical Exchange Processes: Coupling the UCL to the UBL (p. 32)
• 4 Larger Scale Processes Affecting Urban Air Pollution (p. 33)
• 4.1 Mesoscale Flows (p. 34)
• 4.2 Regional Transport (p. 35)
• 4.3 Synoptic Scales (p. 36)
• 4.4 Global Scales and "Chemical Weather" (p. 37)
• 5 Conclusions (p. 37)
• Acknowledgements (p. 38)
• References (p. 38)
• Atmospheric Chemical Processes of Importance in Cities (p. 42)
• 1 Introduction (p. 43)
• 2 Emissions in the City Environment (p. 43)
• 3 Dynamic Considerations (p. 45)
• 4 Gas-phase Chemical Processing (p. 46)
• 4.1 NO x -Ozone Interactions (p. 46)
• 4.2 Oxidant Radicals and Ozone Production (p. 48)
• 4.3 Night-Time Processes (p. 50)
• 4.4 Timescales of Ozone Production (p. 51)
• 4.5 Analysis of Ozone Sources (p. 52)
• 4.6 Limits on Ozone Production: NO x -Limited and VOC-Limited (p. 52)
• 5 Modifications Particular to the Urban Environment (p. 54)
• 5.1 Radical Sources (p. 54)
• 5.2 VOC Speciation and Abundance (p. 56)
• 5.3 Primary Emissions of NO 2 (p. 57)
• 6 Particulate Phase Chemistry (p. 58)
• 6.1 Chemical Composition (p. 59)
• 6.2 Secondary Particle Formation (p. 59)
• 6.3 Other Impacts of Aerosol (p. 61)
• 7 Modelling Urban Atmospheric Chemistry (p. 61)
• 8 Conclusions (p. 62)
• References (p. 62)
• Air Pollution in Underground Railway Systems (p. 65)
• 1 Introduction (p. 65)
• 2 Physical and Chemical Properties (p. 67)
• 2.1 Particle Mass and Number Concentrations (p. 67)
• 2.2 Time Variation (p. 69)
• 2.3 Chemical Composition (p. 71)
• 2.4 Size Distributions (p. 75)
• 2.5 Morphology and Speciation (p. 76)
• 3 Emission Sources (p. 78)
• 4 Consequences for Human Health (p. 80)
• 5 Conclusions (p. 82)
• Acknowledgements (p. 83)
• References (p. 83)
• Human Exposure: Indoor and Outdoor (p. 85)
• 1 Introduction (p. 86)
• 2 Characteristics of Outdoor and Indoor Exposure (p. 87)
• 2.1 Outdoor Exposure (p. 87)
• 2.2 Indoor Exposure (p. 88)
• 2.3 Time-Activity Patterns (p. 89)
• 2.4 Indoor-Outdoor Relationships (p. 89)
• 3 Exposure Assessment (p. 90)
• 3.1 Exposure Monitoring (p. 90)
• 3.1.1 Monitoring Networks (p. 90)
• 3.1.2 Personal Monitoring (p. 92)
• 3.1.3 Biomonitoring (p. 93)
• 3.2 Exposure Modelling (p. 94)
• 3.2.1 Proximity and Buffer Zone Models (p. 95)
• 3.2.2 Dispersion and Photochemical Air Quality Models (p. 96)
• 3.2.3 Geostatistical Interpolation and Land-Use Regression Models (p. 98)
• 3.2.4 Receptor-Oriented Models (p. 99)
• 3.2.5 Time-Activity (or Micro-Environmental) Modelling (p. 99)
• 3.3 Modelling Uncertainty (p. 100)
• 4 Evidence from Personal Exposure Surveys in Urban Areas (p. 101)
• 4.1 North American Studies (p. 101)
• 4.2 European Studies (p. 102)
• 5 Role of Exposure Assessment in Regulatory Control of Air Pollution (p. 103)
• 6 Conclusions (p. 104)
• References (p. 104)
• Health Effects of Urban Pollution (p. 108)
• 1 Introduction (p. 109)
• 2 Exposure to Air Pollutants (p. 109)
• 3 Epidemiological Approaches (p. 110)
• 3.1 Time-Series Studies (p. 110)
• 3.2 Intervention Studies (p. 113)
• 3.3 Cohort Studies (p. 113)
• 4 Particulate Matter (p. 114)
• 5 Nitrogen Dioxide (p. 116)
• 6 Sulfur Dioxide (p. 118)
• 7 Ozone (p. 120)
• 8 Carbon Monoxide (p. 122)
• 9 Carcinogenic Air Pollutants found in Urban Areas (p. 123)
• References (p. 124)
• The Policy Response to Improving Urban Air Quality (p. 129)
• 1 Introduction (p. 130)
• 2 Policy and the Evidence Base after the Smog Episodes of 1952 and 1962 (p. 130)
• 3 The Development of Strategies in the UK and Europe (p. 134)
• 4 Policy Instruments which Reduce Emissions (p. 137)
• 5 Future Developments in Air Quality Management Policies (p. 139)
• 5.1 Exposure Reduction (p. 139)
• 5.2 Links and Co-benefits with Climate Change Policies (p. 142)
• Disclaimer (p. 145)
• References (p. 145)
• Subject Index (p. 146)

Author notes provided by Syndetics

The series has been edited by Professors Hester and Harrison since it began in 1994.

Professor Roy Harrison OBE is listed by ISI Thomson Scientific (on ISI Web of Knowledge) as a Highly Cited Researcher in the Environmental Science/Ecology category. He has an h-index of 54 (i.e. 54 of his papers have received 54 or more citations in the literature). In 2004 he was appointed OBE for services to environmental science in the New Year Honours List. He was profiled by the Journal of Environmental Monitoring (Vol 5, pp 39N-41N, 2003). Professor Harrison's research interests lie in the field of environment and human health. His main specialism is in air pollution, from emissions through atmospheric chemical and physical transformations to exposure and effects on human health. Much of this work is designed to inform the development of policy.

Now an emeritus professor, Professor Ron Hester's current activities in chemistry are mainly as an editor and as an external examiner and assessor. He also retains appointments as external examiner and assessor / adviser on courses, individual promotions, and departmental / subject area evaluations both in the UK and abroad.