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Yarmoshenko IV, Malinovsky GP, Zhukovsky MV, Izgagin VS, Onishchenko AD, Vasilyev AV. Relationship between Ra-226 activity concentration in building materials and indoor radon concentration: An example of Russian high-rise residential buildings. J Environ Radioact 2024; 272:107345. [PMID: 38011765 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvrad.2023.107345] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2023] [Revised: 11/16/2023] [Accepted: 11/17/2023] [Indexed: 11/29/2023]
Abstract
The worldwide trend toward the construction of high-rise buildings with high energy efficiency highlights the role of building materials as a source of indoor radon in the modern urban environment. The aim of the study is to analyze the relationship between the Ra-226 activity concentration in building materials and indoor radon concentration using the example of multi-story buildings in Ekaterinburg. Measurements of the activity concentration of natural radionuclides in building materials were carried out using a new non-destructive method. A radon survey conducted early provided the data on indoor radon concentrations in the same apartments. The obtained Ra-226 activity concentrations in building materials in high-rise buildings were found to be relatively low, ranging from 9.1 to 51 Bq/kg. The typical radon entry rate by diffusion from building materials for modern Russian multi-story buildings can be accepted as equal to 0.5 Bq/(m3∙h) per 1 Bq/kg of Ra-226 activity concentration. Ra-226 in building materials has been shown to be a primary source of indoor radon in modern high-rise buildings, where this factor can cause indoor radon concentrations above the reference level of 100 Bq/m3 at low air exchange rates. The activity concentration of Ra-226 in building materials should be considered a separate parameter for regulation within the national radiation protection systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- I V Yarmoshenko
- Institute of Industrial Ecology UB RAS, Ekaterinburg, Russia.
| | - G P Malinovsky
- Institute of Industrial Ecology UB RAS, Ekaterinburg, Russia
| | - M V Zhukovsky
- Institute of Industrial Ecology UB RAS, Ekaterinburg, Russia
| | - V S Izgagin
- Institute of Industrial Ecology UB RAS, Ekaterinburg, Russia
| | - A D Onishchenko
- Institute of Industrial Ecology UB RAS, Ekaterinburg, Russia
| | - A V Vasilyev
- Institute of Industrial Ecology UB RAS, Ekaterinburg, Russia
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Zhao Y, Li H, Kubilay A, Carmeliet J. Buoyancy effects on the flows around flat and steep street canyons in simplified urban settings subject to a neutral approaching boundary layer: Wind tunnel PIV measurements. Sci Total Environ 2021; 797:149067. [PMID: 34346370 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.149067] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2021] [Revised: 06/21/2021] [Accepted: 07/12/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
The present wind tunnel particle image velocimetry (PIV) measurements document flows around flat and steep street canyons subject to thermal conditions at different levels, ranging from the Richardson number of 0.31 to 2.07. A steepness ratio, that is, the ratio of windward and leeward building heights, is proposed to characterise the geometrical influence of street canyons surrounded by buildings of non-uniform height. To study the thermal effects of building façades and ground on surrounding flow, surfaces of building models and the ground between them are heated up and maintained at three different temperatures to induce buoyant flows of different strength. The transition of the canyon flow from the typical rooftop shear-layer driven vortex to the buoyant plume type of flow is clearly revealed from the measurement results, which enhances the air removal that takes place at the roof-level of the two canyons. However, due to the different steepness of the canyons, the air removal rate from the steep canyon of a steepness ratio 2.52 is approximately 50% of that from the flat canyon with a steepness ratio of 1.53 in the buoyant plume-driven case because the downward flush flow along the windward façade suppresses the ascending plumes in the steep canyon. At the pedestrian level, the wind field is jointly dominated by the interplay between canyon-wide vortical flow and the buoyant plume rising ascending from the ground. The dynamics of non-isothermal flow in flat and steep canyons are revealed in detail, the implication of which is that the steepness of street canyons has to be considered in urban morphology planning, as well as in simplified geometrical representations of street canyons and in simplified urban canopy models.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yongling Zhao
- Department of Mechanical and Process Engineering, ETH Zürich, Zürich 8092, Switzerland.
| | - Haiwei Li
- Department of Mechanical and Process Engineering, ETH Zürich, Zürich 8092, Switzerland
| | - Aytaç Kubilay
- Department of Mechanical and Process Engineering, ETH Zürich, Zürich 8092, Switzerland
| | - Jan Carmeliet
- Department of Mechanical and Process Engineering, ETH Zürich, Zürich 8092, Switzerland
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Mazur K, Roman K, Wardal WJ, Borek K, Barwicki J, Kierończyk M. Emission of harmful gases from animal production in Poland. Environ Monit Assess 2021; 193:341. [PMID: 33999318 PMCID: PMC8128852 DOI: 10.1007/s10661-021-09118-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/27/2020] [Accepted: 05/02/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
The aim of the study was to present the scale of greenhouse gas emissions from animal production, and to provide test results from different housing systems. In three free stall buildings, two with slurry in deep channels and one with cattle in cubicles staying on shallow litter concentration of ammonia and carbon dioxide were measured in summer season by using dedicated equipment from Industrial Scientific Research. Air exchange was calculated on the base of balance carbon dioxide method. This method was used in order to estimate the air flow rate. Concentrations of ammonia and CO2 were measured as the base for air exchange and ammonia emission rates. Ammonia emissions were product of ammonia concentration and air exchange rate. Temperature and relative humidity were measured to establish microclimate conditions in buildings tested to show the overall microclimatic situation in buildings. Differences between ammonia emission rates were observed in both housing systems. The highest ammonia emission rate was equal to 2.75 g·h-1·LU-1 in well-ventilated cattle barn with the largest herd size.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kamila Mazur
- Institute of Technology and Life Sciences, Branch in Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Kamil Roman
- Institute of Wood Sciences and Furniture, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Witold Jan Wardal
- Institute of Technology and Life Sciences, Branch in Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Kinga Borek
- Institute of Technology and Life Sciences, Branch in Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Jan Barwicki
- Institute of Technology and Life Sciences, Branch in Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Marek Kierończyk
- Institute of Technology and Life Sciences, Branch in Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland
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Rohra H, Pipal AS, Tiwari R, Vats P, Masih J, Khare P, Taneja A. Particle size dynamics and risk implication of atmospheric aerosols in South-Asian subcontinent. Chemosphere 2020; 249:126140. [PMID: 32065995 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2020.126140] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2019] [Revised: 02/04/2020] [Accepted: 02/05/2020] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Presented here are size-resolved aerosol measurements conducted using cascade impactor set at breathing zone in indoor-outdoor residential microenvironments. PM2.5 contributed about 64-80% of PM10 in which over 29% of mass was shared by PM0.25. Total PM concentration varied from 261 ± 22 μg/m3 (indoors) to 256 ± 64 μg/m3 (outdoors) annually; whilst summer and monsoon demonstrated 1.2- and 1.9- times lower concentration than winters. The measured metals ranged between 9% (in PM2.5-10) to 18% (in PM1-2.5) of aerosol concentration; whereby crustal elements dominated coarse fractions with relatively higher proportion of toxic elements (Ba, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Ni) in ultrafine range. Considering lognormal particle size distribution (PSD), accumulation mode represented the main surface area during entire monitoring period (Mass Median Aerodynamic Diameter (MMAD) < 1). PSD of metal species reflected their different emission sources with respect to season integrated samples. High air exchange conditions permitted the shift of indoor PSD pattern closer to that of outdoor air while low ventilation in winters reflected modal shift of metals (Pb, Mg. K) towards larger size particles. Relative surge towards smaller diameter size of soluble metal fraction relative to the total concentration of toxic elements was noted on an annual basis with high infiltration capacity of smaller size particulates (Finf =1.36 for ultrafine particles in summers) identified through indoor-outdoor regression analysis. Principal Component Analysis identified sources such as vehicular traffic, combustion, crustal emission with activities viz. smoking and those involving use of electric appliances.
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Affiliation(s)
- Himanshi Rohra
- Department of Chemistry, Dr B.R. Ambedkar University, Agra, 282002, India.
| | - Atar S Pipal
- Department of Chemistry, Dr B.R. Ambedkar University, Agra, 282002, India.
| | - Rahul Tiwari
- Department of Chemistry, Dr B.R. Ambedkar University, Agra, 282002, India.
| | - Pawan Vats
- Centre of Atmospheric Science, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, New Delhi, 110016, India.
| | - Jamson Masih
- Department of Chemistry, Wilson College, Mumbai, 400007, India.
| | - Puja Khare
- Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (CIMAP), Lucknow, 226015, India.
| | - Ajay Taneja
- Department of Chemistry, Dr B.R. Ambedkar University, Agra, 282002, India.
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Chen A, Gall ET, Chang VWC. Indoor and outdoor particulate matter in primary school classrooms with fan-assisted natural ventilation in Singapore. Environ Sci Pollut Res Int 2016; 23:17613-17624. [PMID: 27234837 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-016-6826-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2015] [Accepted: 05/02/2016] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
We conducted multiday continuous monitoring of indoor and outdoor particulate matter (PM) in classrooms with fan-assisted natural ventilation (NV) at five primary schools in Singapore. We monitored size-resolved number concentration of PM with diameter 0.3-10 μm at all schools and alveolar deposited surface area concentrations of PM with diameter 0.01-1.0 μm (SA0.01-1.0) at two schools. Results show that, during the monitoring period, schools closer to expressways and in the downtown area had 2-3 times higher outdoor PM0.3-1.0 number concentrations than schools located in suburban areas. Average indoor SA0.01-1.0 was 115-118 μm(2) cm(-3) during periods of occupancy and 72-87 μm(2) cm(-3) during unoccupied periods. There were close indoor and outdoor correlations for fine PM during both occupied and unoccupied periods (Pearson's r = 0.84-1.0) while the correlations for coarse PM were weak during the occupied periods (r = 0.13-0.74). Across all the schools, the size-resolved indoor/outdoor PM ratios (I/O ratios) were 0.81 to 1.58 and 0.61 to 0.95 during occupied and unoccupied periods, respectively, and average infiltration factors were 0.64 to 0.94. Average PM net emission rates, calculated during periods of occupancy in the classrooms, were lower than or in the lower range of emission rates reported in the literature. This study also reveals that indoor fine and submicron PM predominantly come from outdoor sources, while indoor sources associated with occupancy may be important for coarse PM even when the classrooms have high air exchange rates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ailu Chen
- School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Ave, Singapore, 639798, Singapore
- SinBerBest Program, Berkeley Education Alliance for Research in Singapore (BEARS), 1 CREATE WAY, University Town, 138602, Singapore City, Singapore
| | - Elliott T Gall
- School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Ave, Singapore, 639798, Singapore
- SinBerBest Program, Berkeley Education Alliance for Research in Singapore (BEARS), 1 CREATE WAY, University Town, 138602, Singapore City, Singapore
- Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, Portland State University, Portland, OR, 97201, USA
| | - Victor W C Chang
- School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Ave, Singapore, 639798, Singapore.
- SinBerBest Program, Berkeley Education Alliance for Research in Singapore (BEARS), 1 CREATE WAY, University Town, 138602, Singapore City, Singapore.
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Van Ryswyk K, Wallace L, Fugler D, MacNeill M, Héroux MÈ, Gibson MD, Guernsey JR, Kindzierski W, Wheeler AJ. Estimation of bias with the single-zone assumption in measurement of residential air exchange using the perfluorocarbon tracer gas method. Indoor Air 2015; 25:610-9. [PMID: 25399878 PMCID: PMC4674977 DOI: 10.1111/ina.12171] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2014] [Accepted: 11/10/2014] [Indexed: 05/22/2023]
Abstract
UNLABELLED Residential air exchange rates (AERs) are vital in understanding the temporal and spatial drivers of indoor air quality (IAQ). Several methods to quantify AERs have been used in IAQ research, often with the assumption that the home is a single, well-mixed air zone. Since 2005, Health Canada has conducted IAQ studies across Canada in which AERs were measured using the perfluorocarbon tracer (PFT) gas method. Emitters and detectors of a single PFT gas were placed on the main floor to estimate a single-zone AER (AER(1z)). In three of these studies, a second set of emitters and detectors were deployed in the basement or second floor in approximately 10% of homes for a two-zone AER estimate (AER(2z)). In total, 287 daily pairs of AER(2z) and AER(1z) estimates were made from 35 homes across three cities. In 87% of the cases, AER(2z) was higher than AER(1z). Overall, the AER(1z) estimates underestimated AER(2z) by approximately 16% (IQR: 5-32%). This underestimate occurred in all cities and seasons and varied in magnitude seasonally, between homes, and daily, indicating that when measuring residential air exchange using a single PFT gas, the assumption of a single well-mixed air zone very likely results in an under prediction of the AER. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS The results of this study suggest that the long-standing assumption that a home represents a single well-mixed air zone may result in a substantial negative bias in air exchange estimates. Indoor air quality professionals should take this finding into consideration when developing study designs or making decisions related to the recommendation and installation of residential ventilation systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- K Van Ryswyk
- Air Health Science Division, Health Canada, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | | | | | - M MacNeill
- Air Health Science Division, Health Canada, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - M È Héroux
- Air Health Science Division, Health Canada, Ottawa, ON, Canada
- Present address: World Health Organization, European Centre for Environment and Health, Bonn, Germany
| | - M D Gibson
- Department of Process Engineering and Applied Science, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada
| | - J R Guernsey
- Community Health and Epidemiology, Faculty of Medicine, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada
| | - W Kindzierski
- School of Public Health, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada
| | - A J Wheeler
- Air Health Science Division, Health Canada, Ottawa, ON, Canada
- School of Natural Sciences, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, WA, Australia
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Fijałkowska-Lichwa L. Short-term radon activity concentration changes along the Underground Educational Tourist Route in the Old Uranium Mine in Kletno (Sudety Mts., SW Poland). J Environ Radioact 2014; 135:25-35. [PMID: 24768713 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvrad.2014.03.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2013] [Revised: 03/16/2014] [Accepted: 03/17/2014] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
Short-term (222)Rn activity concentration changes along the Underground Educational Tourist Route in the Old Uranium Mine in Kletno were studied, based on continuous measurements conducted between 16 May 2008 and 15 May 2010. The results were analysed in the context of numbers of visitors arriving at the facility in particular seasons and the time per day spent inside by staff and visitors. This choice was based on partially published earlier findings (Fijałkowska-Lichwa and Przylibski, 2011). Results for the year 2009 were analysed in depth, because it is the only period of observation covering a full calendar year. The year 2009 was also chosen for detailed analysis of short-term radon concentration changes, because in each period of this year (hour, month, season) fluctuations of noted values were the most visible. Attention has been paid to three crucial issues linked to the occurrence and behaviour of radon and to the radiological protection of workers and visitors at the tourist route in Kletno. The object of study is a complex of workings in a former uranium mine situated within a metamorphic rock complex in the most radon-prone area in Poland. The facility has been equipped with a mechanical ventilation system, which is turned on after the closing time and at the end of the working day for the visitor service staff, i.e. after 6 p.m. Short-term radon activity concentration changes along the Underground Educational Tourist Route in the Old Uranium Mine in Kletno are related to the activity of the facility's mechanical ventilation. Its inactivity in the daytime results in the fact that the highest values of (222)Rn activity concentration are observed at the time when the facility is open to visitors, i.e. between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. The improper usage of the mechanical ventilation system is responsible for the extremely unfavourable working conditions, which persist in the facility for practically all year. The absence of appropriate radiological protection (i.e. preventive measures like shortening working day, dosimetric measurements in the workplace) is a serious problem in the Kletno adit.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lidia Fijałkowska-Lichwa
- Wrocław University of Technology, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Institute of Geotechnics and Hydrotechnics, Division of Engineering and Environmental Geology, 50- 370 Wrocław, Wybrzeże S. Wyspiańskiego 27, Poland.
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