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In this study alumina and granulated activated carbon (GAC) are investigated as potential storm water filtration media by testing their heavy metal (i.e., As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, and Zn) removal efficiency in batch and column experiments at a starting pH of 6.5. However, only Cu removal results are presented here due to space concerns. It is found that the equilibrium time for Cu sorption is 2 h for both sorbents, and that the Freundlich adsorption isotherm moderately fits to the sorption data possibly due to the fact that the isotherm fails to take into account the competitive sorption as well as possible precipitation. The results also suggest the presence of humic acid (HA) suppresses the removal, while that of Fe colloids (FC) (FC) is insignificant.

The dissolved oxygen (DO) concentration is a central quality parameter for the performance of wet detention ponds used for storage and purification of storm water runoff from urban catchments and roads. A dry weather DO mass balance model was established for two ponds based on measured data and empirical relationships for the governing processes. The results of the DO model were used in a risk assessment for occurrence of low DO concentrations. An evaluation of design criteria for wet detention ponds was accomplished in terms of DO influencing parameters like water depth, temperature, and wind speed.

A wet pond in Oslo, Norway, receiving highway runoff was studied. The pond was equipped for continuous monitoring of inflow and outflow. Samples were collected over a 1-year period and analysed. The treatment performance was documented and an adverse effect of snowmelt runoff observed. The wet pond was modelled by routing the measured flow through the pond and simulating pollutant removal by first-order kinetics. The relative importance of the permanent pool of water and the design storm storage was assessed with respect to pollutant removal.

The paper discusses the prospects of finding the long-term mass balance on basis of short-term simulations. A step in this process is to see to which degree the mass balance equation can be closed by measurements. Accordingly the total accumulation of heavy metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in eight Danish detention ponds only receiving runoff from highways have been measured. The result shows that the incoming mass of heavy metals from short-term runoff events is accumulated. This is not observable in the same magnitude for the toxic organic compounds. The results also show that the accumulation rates significantly depend on the relative pond area (defined as the pond area divided by the catchment area). The conclusion is that the investigation indicates that a combination of short- and long-term viewpoints can close the mass balance for highway ponds with an acceptable accuracy.

Urbanization is rendering cities vulnerable to the impact of air pollution on human health. In Portugal, few studies have been conducted on this subject, making this type of approach all the more important. Oporto, our study object/case study, is the second most important city in the country. The aim of this preliminary paper is to assess the effects of the meteorological conditions and atmospheric pollutants on respiratory diseases (RD) and cardiovascular diseases (CVD) in Oporto throughout 2003. Air quality variables such as nitrogen dioxide (NO), nitrogen monoxide (NO), carbon monoxide (CO), ozone (O), and particulate matter (PM); and meteorological data such as temperature (T), humidity (Hr), precipitation, and solar radiation (I) were employed. A preliminary case selection of RD and CVD morbidity of individuals over 65 years of age was carried out, employing Pearson coefficient to correlate them with meteorological variables and air quality. The results showed a close relationship between the increase in RDs, such as pneumoconiosis, and the increase in PM, O, and NO in the summer months. The results showed a positive correlation between the cases of bronchitis and asthma, and the concentration of CO, NO; and a negative correlation with the variation in T and I as it was expected. In a thorough analysis it was realized that the meteorological conditions of lower T and higher values of Hr favoured the increase of RD. CVD conduction disturbances and dysrhythmia showed a positive correlation with NO (0.56, p = 0.05) and NO (0.68, p = 0.01). Hypertension (high blood pressure) and ischemic CVD were found to have a negative correlation with I, –0.64 and –0.55 ( = 0.05), respectively, without being significantly related with pollutants. As a preliminary study, this paper allows us to identify an association of RD and CVD conduction disturbance and dysrhythmia with the concentration increase of certain pollutants and extreme meteorological conditions.

This study presents the analysis of weather and air pollutant impacts on respiratory morbidity in São Paulo metropolitan area. The daily respiratory morbidity, caused by respiratory diseases (upper respiratory tract, AVAS, and lower tract, AVAI), was used in children under 13, using principal component analysis (CP). The preliminary results show a negative association between AVAS and AVAI, and temperatures, higher for AVAS. Ozone and AVAI were associated positively. AVAS and AVAI variances are both under meteorological influences and influenced by air pollutants where SO and PM play a role on AVAS variance, while ozone plays a role on AVAI variance.

In the São Paulo metropolitan region, like other world’s big urban centres, environmental monitoring plays a very important role, in view of the degradation of air quality. This work illustrates a case study of continuous monitoring of air pollutants using a differential optical absorption spectrometer (DOAS) associated with an Integrated Environmental Management System (AIRVIRO) in São Paulo, Brazil. The DOAS registered concentrations of benzene, toluene, - xilenes, O, SO, NO, NO, and HNO, and also of a meteorological station continuous data collection. Air quality databases from CETESB – State Environmental Authority were used for reference. Results of days with high concentration averages in winter are related to specific meteorological conditions and local traffic.

A Bayesian risk assessment to assess the potential adverse health effects of the exposure of children up to 6 years of age to urban trace elements in municipal playgrounds in Madrid was carried out. Bayesian statistical methods were used to adapt the distributions of some of the exposure variables taken from the literature to the specific exposure conditions found in the playgrounds of Madrid, Spain. The exposure variables borrowed from the scientific literature were revised with the population-specific data acquired through two limited surveys of 75 and 56 parents, respectively. The predictive distributions of two exposure variables, i.e., body weight and exposure frequency, were subsequently used to better define the distribution of risk estimates.

There is increasing awareness that improvements to urban water systems (UWS) should be based on an assessment of sustainability that safeguards the well-being of both humans and ecosystems. There is a need for coherent and participatory frameworks, which integrate existing assessment tools.

A combined framework for UWS assessment is presented here and tested by application in a case study in Accra (Ghana). The approach combines the results of interviews with, and questionnaires to consumers and stakeholders with data collection of environmental sustainability indicators (ESIs) for the UWS.

Safe water quality, safe access to water, and affordable water were identified as key criteria in the Accra dialogues, while healthy ecosystems and reducing environmental effects were considered least important. The ESI results reveal the need for an increased awareness and monitoring if the requirements of and challenges for a satisfactory UWS are to be met. The approach expands from existing methodologies towards a greater involvement of the general public and thereby provides a link between environmental sustainability and the service supply, and consumer perspectives.

A software tool (DRONE) has been developed to evaluate road traffic noise in a large area with the consideration of network dynamic traffic flow and the buildings. For more precise estimation of noise in urban network where vehicles are mainly in stop and go running conditions, vehicle sound power level (for acceleration/deceleration cruising and ideal vehicle) is incorporated in DRONE. The calculation performance of DRONE is increased by evaluating the noise in two steps of first estimating the unit noise database and then integrating it with traffic simulation. Details of the process from traffic simulation to contour maps are discussed in the paper and the implementation of DRONE on Tsukuba city is presented.