Dr Paolo Zannetti from The EnviroComp Institute, USA visitied WIT to present a short course entitled ‘Air Quality Management’.
Over a period of two days, lectures were presented on the following topics:
- Introduction to Air Pollution Issues
- Scientific Understanding of Air Pollution Phenomena
- Air Quality Management in the US
- Air Quality Management in Europe
- Health Risks and Other Adverse Effects of Air Pollution
- Emergency Preparedness and Response - Case Studies
- Air Quality Modelling and Software
- Air Quality Management Tools and Software
This 2-day course covered the most important issues related to the management of air quality problems, with emphasis on the US and European regulations and experience.
On the first day, participants were introduced to the main issues related to air pollution, covering: historical perspectives, a review of air pollution levels throughout the world, the role and importance of laws and regulations, and the engineering challenge of achieving substantial reduction in air pollution levels by emission controls and new technologies. Moreover, the current scientific understanding of air pollution phenomena was examined, with discussion about the physical laws (e.g., atmospheric turbulence) and chemical transformations (e.g., photochemical smog and secondary aerosols). The discussion on the first day concludee with a description of air quality management practices and regulations in the US and Europe.
On the second day, the objective quantification of the adverse effects of air pollution (e.g., the impact on human health) and the available formulations used for assessing adverse effects and optimize emission controls in order to achieve maximum benefits was covered. Also, the issue of emergency preparedness and emergency response will be discussed, with the presentation of case studies and the analysis of actual episodes of accidental releases of plumes from fires and industrial accidents. Finally, the available software to be used for simulating air pollution and its adverse impacts, together with air quality management software was presented.
Dr. Paolo Zannetti is the President and Founder of EnviroComp Consulting, Inc. (www.envirocomp.com) and the non-profit EnviroComp Institute (www.envirocomp.org) and has performed studies and scientific research in environmental sciences for more than 35 years. Dr Zannetti received his Doctoral Degree in Physics from the University of Padova, Italy and was awarded the title of Qualified Environmental Professional (QEP). His professional experience has covered: Consulting Work (at AeroVironment, Inc., Monrovia, California; Exponent Failure Analysis Associates, Inc., Menlo Park, California; IBM Semea, Milan, Italy); Teaching (at the University of Padova, ltaly; University of California at Berkeley; Wessex Institute of Technology, Ashurst, UK; Polytechnic University of Bari, Italy); Research and Development (at the IBM Scientific Centers of Venezia, Italy, Palo Alto, California, and Bergen, Norway; Stanford University, California; ENEL RTN, Milano, Italy); Project Management (at the Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research, KISR); and Expert Testimony.
Dr. Zannetti’s major field of investigation and competence is air pollution. He has written more than 250 publications, including the first comprehensive book in Air Pollution Modelling, which was published in 1990. A 4-volume, multi-author, revised and expanded edition of this book is being published under Dr. Zannetti's direction and editorial management (www.envirocomp.org/aqm).
Dr. Zannetti has studied air quality problems all over the world, often using computer models to simulate the transport and fate of atmospheric chemicals. In most of these cases, he simulated the ambient concentrations caused by the emissions using his own computer models and/or those developed and recommended by government agencies, such as the US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA).
For more information, visit: http://www.envirocomp.com/people1/zannetti.html
Wessex Institute