Debris Flow Monitoring System and Observed Event in Taiwan:A Case Study at Aiyuzi River

Since 2002, the Soil and Water Conservation Bureau, which is responsible for the conservation and administrative management of hillside in Taiwan, has been cooperating with Feng Chia University. Together, they have successfully carried out the establishment and maintenance of 13 fixed debris flow monitoring stations over the island and 2 mobile debris flow monitoring stations. During July 2004, a powerful southwest air current brought by Mindulle Typhoon caused serious flood in central and southern Taiwan. This paper aims to describe the establishment of debris flow monitoring systems in Taiwan and the observation of the debris flow event during Mindulle Typhoon at Aiyuzi River in Shenmu Village, Nantou County by the monitoring station.

Health Risk Impacts of Exposure to Airborne Metals and Benzo(a)Pyrene during Episodes of High PM10 Concentrations in Poland

Objective To check whether health risk impacts of exposure to airborne metals and Benzo（a） Pyrene during episodes of high PM10 concentrations lead to an increased number of lung cancer cases in Poland. Methods In this work, we gathered data from 2002 to 2014 concerning the ambient concentrations of PM10 and PM10-bound carcinogenic Benzo（a）pyrene [B（a）P] and As, Cd, Pb, and Ni. With the use of the criterion of the exceedance in the daily PM10 mass concentration on at least 50% of all the analyzed stations, the PM10 maxima’s were selected. Lung cancer occurrences in periods with and without the episodes were further compared. Results During a 12-year period, 348 large-scale smog episodes occurred in Poland. A total of 307 of these episodes occurred in the winter season, which is characterized by increased emissions from residential heating. The occurrence of episodes significantly （P 〈 0.05） increased the concentrations of PM10-bound carcinogenic As, Cd, Pb, Ni, and B（a）P. During these events, a significant increase in the overall health risk from those PM10-related compounds was also observed. The highest probability of lung cancer occurrences was found in cities, and the smallest probability was found in the remaining areas outside the cities and agglomerations. Conclusion The link between PM pollution and cancer risk in Poland is a serious public health threat that needs further investigation.

Variations in traffic-related polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in PM2.5 in Kanazawa, Japan, after the implementation of a new vehicle emission regulation

A three-year sampling campaign was conducted at a roadside air pollution monitoring station in the urban area of Kanazawa, Japan. Due to a new emission regulation, PAHs levels decreased over the sampling campaign, exhibiting values of 706 ± 413 pg/m^(3) in 2017, 559 ±384 pg/m^(3) in 2018, and 473 ± 234 pg/m^(3) in 2019. In each year, similar seasonal variations in PAHs levels were observed, with higher levels observed in winter and lower levels in summer. Among the PAHs isomer ratios, we observed that the ratio of benzo[b]fluoranthene(BbF) and benzo[k]fluoranthene(BkF), [Bb F]/([BbF] + [BkF]), and the ratio of indeno[1,2,3-cd]pyrene(IDP) and benzo[ghi]perylene(BgPe), [IDP]/([BgPe] + [IDP]), showed stability over the sampling campaign and were less affected by the new emission regulation, seasonal variations, and regional characteristics. When using the combined ratio ranges of 0.66-0.80([Bb F]/[BbF] + [BkF]) and 0.26-0.49([IDP]/[Bg Pe] + [IDP]), traffic emissions were clearly distinguished from other PAHs emission sources. Principal component analysis(PCA) and positive matrix factorization(PMF) were also performed to further analyse the characteristics of traffic-related PAHs. Overall, this study affirmed the effectiveness of the new emission regulation in the reduction of PAHs emissions and provided a combined range for identifying PAHs traffic emission sources.