Monday, May 28, 2007 AP scientists train on air quality evaluation
OVER 20 nuclear scientists from the Asia Pacific Region completed last Friday a three-day training course aimed to further sharpen their capability to measure air quality and source apportionment results.
The May 23-35 training in Manila was organized by the Philippine Nuclear Research Institute, which represents the Philippine government in the Regional Cooperation Programme (RCA) of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
May Ajero, coordinator of the Ambient Air Quality Unit of the Clean Air Initiative for Asian Cities (CAI-Asia) secretariat, said the agency's program on air pollution in the region is now almost 10 years in implementation.
The initial stage of the program had contributed to installation of skills and facilities to monitor air particulate matter and to identify their sources of origin using nuclear and other advanced techniques.
The program has increased use of meteorological models to map the particulates' pathways through the air and locate spatially the particulate source.
Quantitative and reliable knowledge of the sources of various pollutant emissions is important to ensure regulatory actions are taken on sources that are the most polluting and to ensure that the desired improvement of air quality is achieved.
The training course involved lectures and hands-on computer work where the scientists from governments in the Aspac region used their own data to apply the exercises.
The training ended with a half-day symposium on "Nuclear Analytical Techniques Applications in Air Pollution Studies: Case Studies for Selected Cities in the Asia Pacific Region."
Six case studies from Bangladesh, Indonesia, New Zealand, Pakistan, Philippines and Vietnam were presented showing practical use of highly sophisticated nuclear technology.
Dr. Philip Hopke of the Clarkson University, USA, one of the trainers in the course, also presented results of his own study using the same nuclear analytical techniques in evaluating air pollution impacts of ship emissions.
Ajero thanked the scientists and researchers involved in the IAEA/RCA program for their contribution to advancing the level of urban air quality management in their own countries and in the region by providing sound science as basis of policy making.
"The challenge is for scientists to come out of their laboratories and assist CAI-Asia in turning the results of the studies into useful input for decision-making - in identifying control strategies to reduce emissions and to evaluate the effectiveness of existing air quality regulations," Ajero said. (AMA)
