Chemicals in European residences - Part I: A review of emissions, concentrations and health effects of volatile organic compounds (VOCs).

One of the more important classes of potentially toxic indoor air chemicals are the Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs). However, due to a limited understanding of the relationships between indoor concentrations of individual VOCs and health outcomes, there are currently no universal health-based guideline values for VOCs within Europe including the UK. In this study, a systematic search was conducted designed to capture evidence on concentrations, emissions from indoor sources, and health effects for VOCs measured in European residences.

Observations of the Morning Development of the Urban Boundary Layer Over London, UK, Taken During the ACTUAL Project.

The study of the boundary layer can be most difficult when it is in transition and forced by a complex surface, such as an urban area. Here, a novel combination of ground-based remote sensing and in situ instrumentation in central London, UK, is deployed, aiming to capture the full evolution of the urban boundary layer (UBL) from night-time until the fully-developed convective phase. In contrast with the night-time stable boundary layer observed over rural areas, the night-time UBL is weakly convective.

Evaluation of Urban Local-Scale Aerodynamic Parameters: Implications for the Vertical Profile of Wind Speed and for Source Areas.

Nine methods to determine local-scale aerodynamic roughness length and zero-plane displacement are compared at three sites (within 60 m of each other) in London, UK. Methods include three anemometric (single-level high frequency observations), six morphometric (surface geometry) and one reference-based approach (look-up tables). A footprint model is used with the morphometric methods in an iterative procedure.

Determining the ventilation and aerosol deposition rates from routine indoor-air measurements.

Measurement of air exchange rate provides critical information in energy and indoor-air quality studies. Continuous measurement of ventilation rates is a rather costly exercise and requires specific instrumentation. In this work, an alternative methodology is proposed and tested, where the air exchange rate is calculated by utilizing indoor and outdoor routine measurements of a common pollutant such as SO2, whereas the uncertainties induced in the calculations are analytically determined.