Sonochemical decomposition of perfluorooctane sulfonate and perfluorooctanoic acid.

Perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) are shown to be globally distributed, environmentally persistent, and bioaccumulative. Although the toxicities of these compounds were reported, the cleanup procedure from the environment is not developed because of their inertness. In this report the sonochemical degradations of PFOS and PFOA to the products through the fission of the perfluorocarbon chains were observed and the half-life times of the PFOS and PFOA degradations under an argon atmosphere determined to be 43 and 22 min, respectively.

A case study for wintertime observation of atmospheric particulates by an eye-safe laser radar.

Atmospheric particulates were monitored on a typical high concentration day in early winter in Osaka, Japan, using a compact and portable eye-safe laser radar system. The height of mixing layer was about 0.4 km at 8:00 and gradually increased to 0.

Relationship between indoor and outdoor carbonaceous particulates in roadside households.

Concentrations of particulate matter (PM) and carbonaceous particulates in indoor and outdoor air at roadside private households were measured in Osaka, Japan. The particulate samples were collected on filters using a portable AND sampler capable of separating particles into three different size ranges: over 10 microm, 2-10 microm (coarse) and below 2 microm (fine) in aerodynamic diameter. The filters were weighed and then analyzed for elemental carbon (EC) and organic carbon (OC) by thermal oxidation using a CHN CORDER.

Evaluation of factors influencing diffusion of pollutant loads in urban highway runoff.

Many studies have identified the first flush phenomenon and runoff characteristics. The purpose of this study is to elucidate which parameters influence the runoff pollutant loads. Eight runoff events during the period from May 1999 to September 2000 were investigated.