21st International Conference on Modelling, Monitoring and Management of Air Pollution
3 - 5 June 2013Siena, Italy
Overview
The 21st International Conference on Modelling, Monitoring and Management of Air Pollution has taken place in Siena, Italy organised by the Wessex Institute of Technology and the University of the West of England. The conference took place in La Certosa di Pontignano, a unique old monastery in the outskirts of Siena which now belongs to the University, and has been renovated and converted into a conference centre.
The historic city of Siena is located in the beautiful region of Tuscany. Self-contained behind its fortified walls, the attractive cityscape rises at the meeting point of three hills. The focal point of city life is the spectacular Piazza del Campo, its fan-like shape fitting the natural slope of the ground, surrounded by renaissance Palazzos and restaurants. This provides a splendid backdrop for the Corsa del Palio, a fast and furious bareback horse race held twice a year dating back to the 15th Century.
This successful international conference builds upon the prestigious outcome of the 20 preceding conferences, beginning with Monterey, Mexico in 1993 and most recently held in A Coruña, Spain in 2012. These meetings have attracted outstanding contributions from leading researchers from around the world.
The papers submitted for presentation and included in the conference proceedings are permanently stored in the Wessex Institute library as WIT Transactions on Ecology and the Environment (http://library.witpress.com/). These collected papers provide an important record of the development of science and policy pertaining to air pollution. Undoubtedly the series has filled a significant need and the fact that it continues to grow meeting the demands of the discerning conference audience is testimony of the quality of the science and policy presented at the meetings.
The conference series has consistently acknowledged that science remains the key to identifying the nature and scale of air pollution impacts and reaffirmed that science is essential in the formulation of policy for regulatory decision-making. The series also recognised, at a very early stage, that science alone will not improve a polluted atmosphere. The scientific knowledge derived from well designed studies needs to be allied with further technical and economic studies in order to ensure cost effective and efficient mitigation. In turn, the science, technology and economic outcomes are necessary but not sufficient. Increasingly, the conference series has recognised that the outcome of such research needs to be contextualised within well formulated communication strategies that help policy makers and citizens to understand and appreciate the risks and rewards arising from air pollution management. Consequently, the series has enjoyed a wide range of high quality papers that develop the fundamental science of air pollution and an equally impressive range of presentations that places these new developments within the frame of mitigation and management of air pollution.
The conference was opened by Professor Jim Longhurst, Co-Chair of the meeting who referred to its history. He also encouraged the participants to appreciate the unique environment of La Certosa, including the frescos in its church and the beautiful gardens.
Carlos A Brebbia spoke afterwards about the aims of the Wessex Institute of Technology in disseminating information at international level. WIT has also developed unique research capabilities giving rise to computer packages now used by industry, particularly the boundary element software tools for problems such as the analysis of electrical fields, fracture mechanics and many others.
Carlos ended by explaining the new developments that have taken place in the Campus of WIT, located in the New Forest National Park. The emphasis, Carlos said, is in improving the facilities rather than increasing the number of researchers on site. WIT relies on an ever increasing international network of academics who constantly collaborate with the research and training activities of the Institute. This and the widespread use of the modern communication tools give WIT the potential to respond to the needs of industry as well as pursuing training at an advanced level.
Carlos concluded by thanking the participants for being at the conference and hoping that they will consider visiting the Institute campus in the near future.
Keynote Addresses
In addition to Jim Longhurst, a series of keynote addresses by well know colleagues were delivered, ie
- ‘Temporal and spatial distribution of mutagenic index of PM10 collected at Bangkok, Thailand’ by Siwatt Pongpiachan, National Institute of Development Administration, Thailand
- ‘Air quality modelling and cost-benefit analysis’ by Paolo Zannetti, Envirocomp, USA
- ‘Increasing carbon dioxide in earth’s atmosphere: what negative effects this has on biosphere and mankind’ by Francesco Patania, University of Catania, Italy
- ‘Mapping anthropogenic and natural volatile organic compounds around Estarreja Chemical Industrial Complex’ by Myriam Lopes, University of Aveiro, Portugal
- ‘Air quality study for Montenegro Pljevlja area’ by Carlo Trozzi
- ‘Chemical characterization of gaseous species from the pyrolysis process using scrap tyres’ by Suwichien Pongnailert, National Institute of Development Administration, Thailand
- ‘Airborne exposure in urban environments are socio-spatially distributed: the example of Berlin’ by Ulrich Franck, Helmoltz Centre for Environmental Research, Leipzig, Germany
Conference Topics
The papers presented at the conference and published in the book were classified as follows:
- Air pollution modelling
- Monitoring and measuring
- Aerosols and particles
- Emission studies
- Regional studies
Special Session on Air Pollution Problems in Thailand
A special session on Air Pollution problems in Thailand was organised by Siwatt Pongpiachan of National Institute of Development Administration, Thailand. It consisted, in addition to his above mentioned keynote address, of the following outstanding presentations:
- ‘Chemical characterization of gaseous species from the pyrolysis process using scrap tyres’
- ‘Enhancing public participation in air pollution management from coal-fired power plant projects in Thailand’
- ‘Application of Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) to alleviate air pollution and the other impacts from power plant development’
- ‘Factors affecting the implementation of government air pollution reduction and elimination policy: a case study of Map Ta Phut Industrial Estate, Rayong Province’
Social Occasions
La Certosa is serviced by a bus which the delegates used to visit Siena. In addition, a further night bus service was added by WIT for the delegates who wanted to have dinner in Siena.
The International Scientific Advisory Committee met over dinner hosted by WIT as a show of appreciation for their contribution to the conference. The restaurant prepared excellent regional dishes, accompanied by the outstanding wines by which Tuscany is renowned throughout the world.
The conference dinner took place in a restaurant in Siena renowned by the standards of its Tuscan cuisine. The restaurant has a panoramic view towards the centre of the town. The excellent fare was accompanied by the Chianti wines for which the region is famous throughout the world. A few informal speeches closed the banquet, expressing their satisfaction at the conference technical proceedings as well as the friendly atmosphere surrounding the meeting.
The next Air Pollution conference will take place in Opatija, Croatia from 7-9 July 2014
Conference Proceedings
The proceedings of Air Pollution 2013 - Air Pollution XXI, 320pp (Print ISBN: 978-1-84564-718-6; eISBN: 978-1-84564-719-3) are available from WIT Press. Orders can be placed on the WIT Press web site at www.witpress.com or by email:
Papers from the conference will also be hosted online at the WIT eLibrary as Volume 174 of WIT Transactions on Ecology and the Environment (ISSN: 1746-448X, Digital ISSN 1743-3541). For more details visit the WIT eLibrary at http://library.witpress.com
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