Predicting annual average particulate concentration in urban areas.

Particulate matter concentrations are in most cities a major environmental problem. This is also the case in Greece where, despite the various measures taken in the past, the problem still persists. In this aspect, a cost efficient, comprehensive method was developed in order to help decision makers to take the most appropriate measures towards particulates pollution abatement.

Tensile and microindentation properties of maxillofacial elastomers after different disinfecting procedures.

Statement Of Problem: Daily disinfection of maxillofacial prosthesis may reduce their service-life and lead to replacement.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate possible alterations in the mechanical behavior of two maxillofacial elastomers after application of four different disinfection procedures.

Material And Methods: The materials tested were two maxillofacial elastomers, a commercially available polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and an experimental chlorinated polyethylene (CPE).

A study on the atmospheric concentrations of primary and secondary air pollutants in the Athens basin performed by DOAS and DIAL measuring techniques.

In this work an analysis of continuous Differential Optical Absorption Spectroscopy (DOAS) measurements of primary and secondary air pollutants (SO(2), NO(2) and O(3)) in the Athens basin is performed combined with Differential Absorption Lidar (DIAL) vertical ozone measurements obtained inside the Planetary Boundary Layer (PBL) and the lower free troposphere. The measurements took place during the period May 2005-February 2007, at the National Technical University of Athens Campus (200 m above sea level (asl.), 37.

Road traffic emissions impact on air quality of the Greater Athens Area based on a 20 year emissions inventory.

During the last decades, the Greater Athens Area (GAA), among many other urban agglomerations, faces atmospheric pollution problems mainly associated with high levels of particulates, nitrogen dioxide and ozone. The major pollution source for the GAA is road transportation. In this sense, the aim of this work was to investigate the existence of a direct relationship linking air pollutant concentration levels and road traffic emissions.

Land-use planning in the vicinity of major accident hazard installations in Greece.

Land-use planning, as concerns the prevention and limitation of the consequences of possible major accidents from industrial installations, is an essential mechanism for dealing with actual or potential conflicts between sources of risk, such as potentially hazardous industrial developments, and surrounding land-uses. The objective of this paper is to present a decision making methodology that is suitable for assisting urban and spatial planning in the vicinity of hazardous installations and therefore covers the directions of Article 12 of the European Council Directive 96/82/EC (the so-called SEVESO II directive). The proposed methodology was designed to address the particularities of the Greek case, regarding the type and availability of risk and spatial data.

Artificial neural network models as a useful tool to forecast human thermal comfort using microclimatic and bioclimatic data in the great Athens area (Greece).

The present study deals with the development and application of Artificial Neural Network (ANN) models as a tool for the evaluation of human thermal comfort conditions in the urban environment. ANNs are applied to forecast for three consecutive days during the hot period of the year (May-September) the human thermal comfort conditions as well as the daily number of consecutive hours with high levels of thermal discomfort in the great area of Athens (Greece). Modeling was based on bioclimatic data calculated by two widely used biometereorogical indices (the Discomfort Index and the Cooling Power Index) and microclimatic data (air temperature, relative humidity and wind speed) from 7 different meteorological stations for the period 2001-2005.

A combined MOIP-MCDA approach to building and screening atmospheric pollution control strategies in urban regions.

This article presents a methodological approach for the formulation of control strategies capable of reducing atmospheric pollution at the standards set by European legislation. The approach was implemented in the greater area of Thessaloniki and was part of a project aiming at the compliance with air quality standards in five major cities in Greece. The methodological approach comprises two stages: in the first stage, the availability of several measures contributing to a certain extent to reducing atmospheric pollution indicates a combinatorial problem and favors the use of Integer Programming.

The effect of environmental pollution on the respiratory system of lignite miners: a diachronic study.

Background: It is not known whether working in surface lignite mines can cause x-ray lesions or disorders of respiratory function.

Objectives: The aim of the study was to investigate the diachronic impact of environmental pollution on the respiratory system of lignite miners at mines in Eordea, Greece.

Methods: Cases of 199 workers (Group A) residing permanently in the Eordea valley and 151 (Group B) living outside the Eordea valley were studied during Phase I and then re-examined after three years (Phase II).

Urban emissions measured with aircraft.

Detailed knowledge of the quantity and composition of urban emissions is a prerequisite for successful application of atmospheric models to predict transport and distribution of primary and secondary air pollutants in the troposphere. We investigate the prospects and limitations of aircraft measurements in the determination of emission fluxes from urban areas. Our analysis focuses on data collected in September 1994 in and around Athens, Greece.

Emissions of air pollutants from the road transport sector in Greece: year to year variation and present situation.

It is common knowledge that atmospheric emissions of various pollutants, from mobile and stationary sources, affect quality of life and public health. The impact of these emissions can be of a small (urban smog) or regional scale (acid deposition, troposheric ozone), as a result of the transportation of pollutants in the atmosphere. In terms of a local scale, road traffic is considered to be the most important pollutants source.

An operational centre for managing major chemical industrial accidents.

The most important characteristic of major chemical accidents, from a societal perspective, is their tendency to produce off-site effects. The extent and severity of the accident may significantly affect the population and the environment of the adjacent areas. Following an accident event, effort should be made to limit such effects.

Neural network model for predicting peak photochemical pollutant levels.

In this paper, an attempt is made for the 24-hr prediction of photochemical pollutant levels using a neural network model. For this purpose, a model is developed that relates peak pollutant concentrations to meteorological and emission variables and indexes. The analysis is based on measurements of O3 and NO2 from the city of Athens.