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NINETEENTH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON MODELLING,
MONITORING AND MANAGEMENT OF AIR POLLUTION
AIR POLLUTION XIX
CONFERENCE CHAIRMEN
C. A. Brebbia
Wessex Institute of Technology, UK
J.W.S. Longhurst
University of the West of England, UK
V. Popov
INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC ADVISORY COMMITTEE
ORGANISED BY
SPONSORED BY
WIT Transactions on Ecology and the Environment
A. Berezin
C. Booth
C. Borrego
M. Jicha
F. Patania
E. Petrovsky
R. San Jose

WIT Transactions
Editorial Board
Transactions Editor
Carlos Brebbia
Wessex Institute of Technology
Ashurst Lodge, Ashurst
Southampton SO40 7AA, UK
Email: carlos@wessex.ac.uk
B Abersek University of Maribor, Slovenia
Y N Abousleiman University of Oklahoma,
USA
P LAguilar University of Extremadura, Spain
K S Al Jabri Sultan Qaboos University, Oman
E Alarcon Universidad Politecnica de Madrid,
Spain
AAldama IMTA, Mexico
C Alessandri Universita di Ferrara, Italy
D Almorza Gomar University of Cadiz,
Spain
B Alzahabi Kettering University, USA
J A C Ambrosio IDMEC, Portugal
A M Amer Cairo University, Egypt
S AAnagnostopoulos University of Patras,
Greece
M Andretta Montecatini, Italy
E Angelino A.R.P.A. Lombardia, Italy
H Antes Technische Universitat Braunschweig,
Germany
M AAtherton South Bank University, UK
A GAtkins University of Reading, UK
D Aubry Ecole Centrale de Paris, France
H Azegami Toyohashi University of
Technology, Japan
A F M Azevedo University of Porto, Portugal
J Baish Bucknell University, USA
J M Baldasano Universitat Politecnica de
Catalunya, Spain
J G Bartzis Institute of Nuclear Technology,
Greece
A Bejan Duke University, USA
M P Bekakos Democritus University of
Thrace, Greece
G Belingardi Politecnico di Torino, Italy
R Belmans Katholieke Universiteit Leuven,
Belgium
C D Bertram The University of New South
Wales, Australia
D E Beskos University of Patras, Greece
S K Bhattacharyya Indian Institute of
Technology, India
E Blums Latvian Academy of Sciences, Latvia
J Boarder Cartref Consulting Systems, UK
B Bobee Institut National de la Recherche
Scientifique, Canada
H Boileau ESIGEC, France
J J Bommer Imperial College London, UK
M Bonnet Ecole Polytechnique, France
C A Borrego University of Aveiro, Portugal
A R Bretones University of Granada, Spain
J A Bryant University of Exeter, UK
F-G Buchholz Universitat Gesanthochschule
Paderborn, Germany
M B Bush The University of Western
Australia, Australia
F Butera Politecnico di Milano, Italy
J Byrne University of Portsmouth, UK
W Cantwell Liverpool University, UK
D J Cartwright Bucknell University, USA
P G Carydis National Technical University of
Athens, Greece
J J Casares Long Universidad de Santiago de
Compostela, Spain
M A Celia Princeton University, USA
A Chakrabarti Indian Institute of Science,
India
A H-D Cheng University of Mississippi, USA

J Chilton University of Lincoln, UK
C-L Chiu University of Pittsburgh, USA
H Choi Kangnung National University, Korea
A Cieslak Technical University of Lodz,
Poland
S Clement Transport System Centre, Australia
M W Collins Brunel University, UK
J J Connor Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, USA
M C Constantinou State University of New
York at Buffalo, USA
D E Cormack University of Toronto, Canada
M Costantino Royal Bank of Scotland, UK
D F Cutler Royal Botanic Gardens, UK
W Czyczula Krakow University of
Technology, Poland
M da Conceicao Cunha University of
Coimbra, Portugal
L Dávid Károly Róbert College, Hungary
A Davies University of Hertfordshire, UK
M Davis Temple University, USA
A B de Almeida Instituto Superior Tecnico,
Portugal
E R de Arantes e Oliveira Instituto Superior
Tecnico, Portugal
L De Biase University of Milan, Italy
R de Borst Delft University of Technology,
Netherlands
G De Mey University of Ghent, Belgium
A De Montis Universita di Cagliari, Italy
A De Naeyer Universiteit Ghent, Belgium
W P De Wilde Vrije Universiteit Brussel,
Belgium
L Debnath University of Texas-Pan American,
USA
N J Dedios Mimbela Universidad de
Cordoba, Spain
G Degrande Katholieke Universiteit Leuven,
Belgium
S del Giudice University of Udine, Italy
G Deplano Universita di Cagliari, Italy
I Doltsinis University of Stuttgart, Germany
M Domaszewski Universite de Technologie
de Belfort-Montbeliard, France
J Dominguez University of Seville, Spain
K Dorow Pacific Northwest National
Laboratory, USA
W Dover University College London, UK
C Dowlen South Bank University, UK
J P du Plessis University of Stellenbosch,
South Africa
R Duffell University of Hertfordshire, UK
A Ebel University of Cologne, Germany
E E Edoutos Democritus University of
Thrace, Greece
G K Egan Monash University, Australia
K M Elawadly Alexandria University, Egypt
K-H Elmer Universitat Hannover, Germany
D Elms University of Canterbury, New Zealand
M E M El-Sayed Kettering University, USA
D M Elsom Oxford Brookes University, UK
F Erdogan Lehigh University, USA
F P Escrig University of Seville, Spain
D J Evans Nottingham Trent University, UK
J W Everett Rowan University, USA
M Faghri University of Rhode Island, USA
R A Falconer Cardiff University, UK
M N Fardis University of Patras, Greece
P Fedelinski Silesian Technical University,
Poland
H J S Fernando Arizona State University,
USA
S Finger Carnegie Mellon University, USA
J I Frankel University of Tennessee, USA
D M Fraser University of Cape Town, South
Africa
M J Fritzler University of Calgary, Canada
U Gabbert Otto-von-Guericke Universitat
Magdeburg, Germany
G Gambolati Universita di Padova, Italy
C J Gantes National Technical University of
Athens, Greece
L Gaul Universitat Stuttgart, Germany
A Genco University of Palermo, Italy
N Georgantzis Universitat Jaume I, Spain
P Giudici Universita di Pavia, Italy
F Gomez Universidad Politecnica de Valencia,
Spain
R Gomez Martin University of Granada,
Spain
D Goulias University of Maryland, USA
K G Goulias Pennsylvania State University,
USA
F Grandori Politecnico di Milano, Italy
W E Grant Texas A & M University,
USA
S Grilli University of Rhode Island, USA

R H J Grimshaw Loughborough University,
UK
D Gross Technische Hochschule Darmstadt,
Germany
R Grundmann Technische Universitat
Dresden, Germany
A Gualtierotti IDHEAP, Switzerland
R C Gupta National University of Singapore,
Singapore
J M Hale University of Newcastle, UK
K Hameyer Katholieke Universiteit Leuven,
Belgium
C Hanke Danish Technical University,
Denmark
K Hayami University of Toyko, Japan
Y Hayashi Nagoya University, Japan
L Haydock Newage International Limited, UK
A H Hendrickx Free University of Brussels,
Belgium
C Herman John Hopkins University, USA
I Hideaki Nagoya University, Japan
D A Hills University of Oxford, UK
W F Huebner Southwest Research Institute,
USA
J A C Humphrey Bucknell University, USA
M Y Hussaini Florida State University, USA
W Hutchinson Edith Cowan University,
Australia
T H Hyde University of Nottingham, UK
M Iguchi Science University of Tokyo, Japan
D B Ingham University of Leeds, UK
L Int Panis VITO Expertisecentrum IMS,
Belgium
N Ishikawa National Defence Academy, Japan
J Jaafar UiTm, Malaysia
W Jager Technical University of Dresden,
Germany
Y Jaluria Rutgers University, USA
C M Jefferson University of the West of
England, UK
P R Johnston Griffith University, Australia
D R H Jones University of Cambridge, UK
N Jones University of Liverpool, UK
D Kaliampakos National Technical
University of Athens, Greece
N Kamiya Nagoya University, Japan
D L Karabalis University of Patras, Greece
M Karlsson Linkoping University, Sweden
T Katayama Doshisha University, Japan
K L Katsifarakis Aristotle University of
Thessaloniki, Greece
J T Katsikadelis National Technical
University of Athens, Greece
E Kausel Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, USA
H Kawashima The University of Tokyo,
Japan
B A Kazimee Washington State University,
USA
S Kim University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA
D Kirkland Nicholas Grimshaw & Partners
Ltd, UK
E Kita Nagoya University, Japan
A S Kobayashi University of Washington,
USA
T Kobayashi University of Tokyo, Japan
D Koga Saga University, Japan
S Kotake University of Tokyo, Japan
A N Kounadis National Technical University
of Athens, Greece
W B Kratzig Ruhr Universitat Bochum,
Germany
T Krauthammer Penn State University, USA
C-H Lai University of Greenwich, UK
M Langseth Norwegian University of Science
and Technology, Norway
B S Larsen Technical University of Denmark,
Denmark
F Lattarulo Politecnico di Bari, Italy
A Lebedev Moscow State University, Russia
L J Leon University of Montreal, Canada
D Lewis Mississippi State University, USA
S lghobashi University of California Irvine,
USA
K-C Lin University of New Brunswick,
Canada
AA Liolios Democritus University of Thrace,
Greece
S Lomov Katholieke Universiteit Leuven,
Belgium
J W S Longhurst University of the West of
England, UK
G Loo The University of Auckland, New
Zealand
J Lourenco Universidade do Minho, Portugal
J E Luco University of California at San
Diego, USA
H Lui State Seismological Bureau Harbin,
China

C J Lumsden University of Toronto, Canada
L Lundqvist Division of Transport and
Location Analysis, Sweden
T Lyons Murdoch University, Australia
Y-W Mai University of Sydney, Australia
M Majowiecki University of Bologna, Italy
D Malerba Università degli Studi di Bari, Italy
G Manara University of Pisa, Italy
B N Mandal Indian Statistical Institute, India
Ü Mander University of Tartu, Estonia
H A Mang Technische Universitat Wien,
Austria
G D Manolis Aristotle University of
W J Mansur COPPE/UFRJ, Brazil
N Marchettini University of Siena, Italy
J D M Marsh Griffith University, Australia
J F Martin-Duque Universidad Complutense,
Spain
T Matsui Nagoya University, Japan
G Mattrisch DaimlerChrysler AG, Germany
F M Mazzolani University of Naples
“Federico II”, Italy
K McManis University of New Orleans, USA
A C Mendes Universidade de Beira Interior,
Portugal
R A Meric Research Institute for Basic
Sciences, Turkey
J Mikielewicz Polish Academy of Sciences,
Poland
N Milic-Frayling Microsoft Research Ltd,
UK
R A W Mines University of Liverpool, UK
C A Mitchell University of Sydney, Australia
K Miura Kajima Corporation, Japan
A Miyamoto Yamaguchi University, Japan
T Miyoshi Kobe University, Japan
G Molinari University of Genoa, Italy
T B Moodie University of Alberta, Canada
D B Murray Trinity College Dublin, Ireland
G Nakhaeizadeh DaimlerChrysler AG,
Germany
M B Neace Mercer University, USA
D Necsulescu University of Ottawa, Canada
F Neumann University of Vienna, Austria
S-I Nishida Saga University, Japan
H Nisitani Kyushu Sangyo University, Japan
B Notaros University of Massachusetts, USA
P O’Donoghue University College Dublin,
Ireland
R O O’Neill Oak Ridge National Laboratory,
USA
M Ohkusu Kyushu University, Japan
G Oliveto Universitá di Catania, Italy
R Olsen Camp Dresser & McKee Inc., USA
E Oñate Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya,
Spain
K Onishi Ibaraki University, Japan
P H Oosthuizen Queens University, Canada
E L Ortiz Imperial College London, UK
E Outa Waseda University, Japan
A S Papageorgiou Rensselaer Polytechnic
Institute, USA
J Park Seoul National University, Korea
G Passerini Universita delle Marche, Italy
B C Patten University of Georgia, USA
G Pelosi University of Florence, Italy
G G Penelis Aristotle University of
W Perrie Bedford Institute of Oceanography,
Canada
R Pietrabissa Politecnico di Milano, Italy
H Pina Instituto Superior Tecnico, Portugal
M F Platzer Naval Postgraduate School, USA
D Poljak University of Split, Croatia
V Popov Wessex Institute of Technology, UK
H Power University of Nottingham, UK
D Prandle Proudman Oceanographic
Laboratory, UK
M Predeleanu University Paris VI, France
M R I Purvis University of Portsmouth, UK
I S Putra Institute of Technology Bandung,
Indonesia
Y A Pykh Russian Academy of Sciences,
Russia
F Rachidi EMC Group, Switzerland
M Rahman Dalhousie University, Canada
K R Rajagopal Texas A & M University, USA
T Rang Tallinn Technical University, Estonia
J Rao Case Western Reserve University, USA
A M Reinhorn State University of New York
at Buffalo, USA
A D Rey McGill University, Canada
D N Riahi University of Illinois at Urbana-
Champaign, USA

B Ribas Spanish National Centre for
Environmental Health, Spain
K Richter Graz University of Technology,
Austria
S Rinaldi Politecnico di Milano, Italy
F Robuste Universitat Politecnica de
Catalunya, Spain
J Roddick Flinders University, Australia
A C Rodrigues Universidade Nova de Lisboa,
Portugal
F Rodrigues Poly Institute of Porto, Portugal
C W Roeder University of Washington, USA
J M Roesset Texas A & M University, USA
W Roetzel Universitaet der Bundeswehr
Hamburg, Germany
V Roje University of Split, Croatia
R Rosset Laboratoire d’Aerologie, France
J L Rubio Centro de Investigaciones sobre
Desertificacion, Spain
T J Rudolphi Iowa State University, USA
S Russenchuck Magnet Group, Switzerland
H Ryssel Fraunhofer Institut Integrierte
Schaltungen, Germany
S G Saad American University in Cairo, Egypt
M Saiidi University of Nevada-Reno, USA
R San Jose Technical University of Madrid,
Spain
F J Sanchez-Sesma Instituto Mexicano del
Petroleo, Mexico
B Sarler Nova Gorica Polytechnic, Slovenia
S A Savidis Technische Universitat Berlin,
Germany
A Savini Universita de Pavia, Italy
G Schmid Ruhr-Universitat Bochum, Germany
R Schmidt RWTH Aachen, Germany
B Scholtes Universitaet of Kassel, Germany
W Schreiber University of Alabama, USA
A P S Selvadurai McGill University, Canada
J J Sendra University of Seville, Spain
J J Sharp Memorial University of
Newfoundland, Canada
Q Shen Massachusetts Institute of Technology,
USA
X Shixiong Fudan University, China
G C Sih Lehigh University, USA
L C Simoes University of Coimbra, Portugal
A C Singhal Arizona State University, USA
P Skerget University of Maribor, Slovenia
J Sladek Slovak Academy of Sciences,
Slovakia
V Sladek Slovak Academy of Sciences,
Slovakia
A C M Sousa University of New Brunswick,
Canada
H Sozer Illinois Institute of Technology, USA
D B Spalding CHAM, UK
P D Spanos Rice University, USA
T Speck Albert-Ludwigs-Universitaet Freiburg,
Germany
C C Spyrakos National Technical University
of Athens, Greece
I V Stangeeva St Petersburg University,
Russia
J Stasiek Technical University of Gdansk,
Poland
G E Swaters University of Alberta, Canada
S Syngellakis University of Southampton, UK
J Szmyd University of Mining and Metallurgy,
Poland
S T Tadano Hokkaido University, Japan
H Takemiya Okayama University, Japan
I Takewaki Kyoto University, Japan
C-L Tan Carleton University, Canada
E Taniguchi Kyoto University, Japan
S Tanimura Aichi University of Technology,
Japan
J L Tassoulas University of Texas at Austin,
USA
M A P Taylor University of South Australia,
Australia
A Terranova Politecnico di Milano, Italy
A G Tijhuis Technische Universiteit
Eindhoven, Netherlands
T Tirabassi Institute FISBAT-CNR, Italy
S Tkachenko Otto-von-Guericke-University,
Germany
N Tosaka Nihon University, Japan
T Tran-Cong University of Southern
Queensland, Australia
R Tremblay Ecole Polytechnique, Canada
I Tsukrov University of New Hampshire, USA
R Turra CINECA Interuniversity Computing
Centre, Italy
S G Tushinski Moscow State University,
Russia
J-L Uso Universitat Jaume I, Spain
E Van den Bulck Katholieke Universiteit
Leuven, Belgium

D Van den Poel Ghent University, Belgium
R van der Heijden Radboud University,
Netherlands
R van Duin Delft University of Technology,
Netherlands
P Vas University of Aberdeen, UK
R Verhoeven Ghent University, Belgium
A Viguri Universitat Jaume I, Spain
Y Villacampa Esteve Universidad de
Alicante, Spain
F F V Vincent University of Bath, UK
S Walker Imperial College, UK
G Walters University of Exeter, UK
B Weiss University of Vienna, Austria
H Westphal University of Magdeburg,
Germany
J R Whiteman Brunel University, UK
Z-Y Yan Peking University, China
S Yanniotis Agricultural University of Athens,
Greece
A Yeh University of Hong Kong, China
J Yoon Old Dominion University, USA
K Yoshizato Hiroshima University, Japan
T X Yu Hong Kong University of Science &
Technology, Hong Kong
M Zador Technical University of Budapest,
Hungary
K Zakrzewski Politechnika Lodzka, Poland
M Zamir University of Western Ontario,
Canada
R Zarnic University of Ljubljana, Slovenia
G Zharkova Institute of Theoretical and
Applied Mechanics, Russia
N Zhong Maebashi Institute of Technology,
Japan
H G Zimmermann Siemens AG, Germany

Editors
C. A. Brebbia
J.W.S. Longhurst
V. Popov
Air Pollution XIX

Editors
C. A. Brebbia
J.W.S. Longhurst
V. Popov
Published by
WIT Press
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ISBN: 978-1-84564-528-1
eISBN: 978-1-84564-529-8
ISSN: (print) 1746-448X
ISSN: (on-line) 1743-3541
The texts of the papers in this volume were set individually by the authors or under their
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No responsibility is assumed by the Publisher, the Editors andAuthors for any injury and/or
damage to persons or property as a matter of products liability, negligence or otherwise, or
from any use or operation of any methods, products, instructions or ideas contained in the
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by the Editors or Authors of the material contained in its publications.
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recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the Publisher.

Preface
This volume contains the peer-reviewed papers accepted for the nineteenth
International Conference on Modelling, Monitoring and Management of Air
Pollution held on Malta in September 2011. This successful international meeting
builds upon the prestigious outcomes of the 18 preceding conferences beginning
with Monterrey, Mexico in 1993 and most recently in Kos, Greece in 2010. These
meetings have attracted outstanding contributions from leading researchers from
around the world. The presented papers have been permanently stored in the WIT
eLibrary as Transactions of the Wessex Institute (see http://library.witpress.com).
These collected conference papers provide an important record of the development
of science and policy pertaining to air pollution.
Despite the long history of attempts to manage the consequences of air pollution it
remains one of the most challenging problems facing the international community.
Air pollution is widespread and growing in importance and has clear and known
impacts on health and the environment.The human need for transport, manufactured
goods and services brings with it often unintended, but none the less real, impacts
on the atmospheric environment at scales from the local to the global. Whilst there
are good examples of regulatory successes in minimising such impacts the
continuing development of the global economy bring new pressures upon the ability
of the atmosphere to process pollutants and to safely remove them. Where the
natural processing systems of the atmosphere become overloaded and the systems
are unable to process inputs to the atmosphere at the rate they are added then
pollution results. This brings risks to human health and the environment. The
willingness of governments to move quickly to regulate air pollution is often
balanced by concerns over the economic impact of such regulation. This frequently
results in a lag between the scientific knowledge about the nature, scale and effect
of air pollution and the implementation of appropriate, targeted and timely
legislation.
Science remains the key to identifying the nature and scale of air pollution impacts
and is essential in the formulation of policy relevant information for regulatory

decision-making. Continuous improvements in our knowledge of the fundamental
science of air pollution and its application are necessary if we are to properly predict,
assess and mitigate the air pollution implications of emissions to the atmosphere.
Science must also be able to provide the evidence of improvements to air quality
that result from implementation of the mitigation measure or the control regulation.
The ability to assess and mitigate using the precautionary principle is a challenge
that science must grasp and position itself to convince decision makers that
uncertainty does not mean inertia. The outcomes of such activities must be peer-
reviewed but they must also be translatable into a suitable format to assist policy
makers in reaching sustainable decisions and to build public acceptance and
understanding of the nature and scale of the air pollution problem.
This important volume brings together contributions from scientist from around
the world to present recent work on various aspects of the air pollution phenomena.
Notable in each of the nineteen conferences in this series has been the opportunity
to foster scientific exchange between participants. New collaborations amongst
scientists and between scientists and policy makers or regulators have arisen through
contacts made in this series and each meeting has provided a further opportunity
for identifying new areas of air pollution science demanding collaborative
investigation.
Contributions in this the nineteenth volume in the series address a broad range of
urgent scientific and technical developments in our understanding of the cause,
consequence and management of air pollution. Specifically, papers presented at
Air Pollution 2011 provide new data or present critical reviews in the fields of
modelling, monitoring and management of air pollution, on emission sources, on
the effects of air pollution and on the economic costs of air pollution.
The Editors wish to thank the authors for their contributions and to acknowledge
the assistance of the eminent members of the International Scientific Advisory
Committee with the organisation of the conference and in particular for their support
in reviewing the submitted papers.
The Editors
Malta, 2011

Contents
Towards a new framework for air quality management in Nigeria
A. O. Olowoporoku, J. W. S. Longhurst, J. H. Barnes
& C. A. Edokpayi................................................................................................. 1
Section 1: Air pollution modelling
Impact of urban planning alternatives on air quality:
URBAIR model application
C. Borrego, P. Cascão, M. Lopes, J. H. Amorim, R. Tavares, V. Rodrigues,
J. Martins, A. I. Miranda & N. Chrysoulakis .................................................... 13
Air quality model for Barcelona
J. Lao & O. Teixidó ........................................................................................... 25
A comparison study between near roadway measurements and air pollutant
dispersion simulations using an improved line source model
R. Briant, C. Seigneur, M. Gadrat & C. Bugajny.............................................. 37
Regional on-line air pollution modelling system in highly complex terrain
P. Mlakar, M. Z. Božnar & B. Grašič................................................................ 47
Identification of potential sources and transport pathways of atmospheric PM10
using HYSPLIT and hybrid receptor modelling in Lanzhou, China
N. Liu, Y. Yu, J. B. Chen, J. J. He & S. P. Zhao................................................. 59
Performance evaluation of the ADMS-Urban model in predicting PM10
concentrations at the roadside in Chennai, India and Newcastle, UK
S. Nagendra, M. Khare, P. Vijay & S. Gulia ..................................................... 71
Coastal influences on pollution transport
D. Peake, H. Dacre & J. Methven ..................................................................... 81

Non-parametric nature of ground-level ozone and its dependence on nitrogen
oxides (NOx): a view point of vehicular emissions
S. Munir, H. Chen & K. Ropkins ....................................................................... 93
Prediction of TSP concentration in a metallurgical city of Brazil using
neural networks
M. M. C. Lima.................................................................................................. 105
Section 2: Monitoring and measuring
The use of mineral magnetic measurements as a particulate matter (PM) proxy
for road deposited sediments (RDS): Marylebone Road, London
C. A. Booth, C. J. Crosby, D. E. Searle, J. M. Khatib, M. A. Fullen,
A. T. Worsley, C. M. Winspear & D. A. Luckhurst.......................................... 117
Elemental carbon as an indicator to monitor the effectiveness of traffic
related measures on local air quality
M. H. Voogt, A. R. A. Eijk, M. P. Keuken & P. Zandveld................................ 129
AMEC multigas passive sampler: a green product for
cost-effectively monitoring air pollution indoors and outdoors
H. Tang, L. Burns, L. Yang & F. Apon ............................................................ 137
Influence of natural and anthropogenic sources on PM10 air concentrations
in Spain
M. S. Callén, J. M. López & A. M. Mastral ..................................................... 149
Infrared imaging Fourier-transform spectrometer used for
standoff gas detection
M. Kastek, T. Piątkowski & H. Polakowski..................................................... 161
POPs in ambient air from MONET network: global and regional trends
I. Holoubek, J. Klánová, P. Čupr, P. Kukučka, J. Borůvková, J. Kohoutek,
R. Prokeš & R. Kareš....................................................................................... 173
The EC QA/QC programmes for inorganic gas pollutants testing
M. Barbiere, A. Borowiak, F. Lagler, M. Gerboles, M. Kapus & C. Belis...... 185
GIS for data management of environmental surveys, carried out in
Biancavilla (CT) superfund experience
S. Bellagamba, F. Paglietti, V. Di Molfetta, F. Damiani & P. De Simone...... 199
BTEX concentrations in the atmosphere of the metropolitan area of
Campinas (São Paulo, Brazil)
A. C. Ueda & E. Tomaz ................................................................................... 211

The development of an ESEM based counting method for fine dust particles
and a philosophy behind the background of particle adsorption on leaves
M. Ottelé, W. J. N. Ursem, A. L. A. Fraaij & H. D. van Bohemen .................. 219
Synthesis of metal oxide nanostructure and its characterization
as gas pollutant monitoring
B. Yuliarto, M. Faizal, M. Iqbal, S. Julia & T. Nugraha ................................. 231
Buildings as sources of mercury to the atmosphere
G. F. M. Tan, E. Cairnsa, K. Tharumakulasingam, J. Lu & D. Yap................ 239
Occupational exposure to perchloroethylene in Portuguese dry-cleaning stores
S. Viegas .......................................................................................................... 247
Section 3: Air quality management
Health impact assessment of PM10 and EC in 1985–2008 in the city of
Rotterdam, The Netherlands
M. P. Keuken, P. Zandveld, S. van den Elshout, N. Janssen & G. Hoek ......... 257
Assessing air pollution risk potential: case study of the Tohoku
district, Japan
Y. A. Pykh & I. G. Malkina-Pykh..................................................................... 267
Assessing the potential for local action to achieve EU limit values
J. H. Barnes, T. J. Chatterton, E. T. Hayes, J. W. S. Longhurst
& A. O. Olowoporoku...................................................................................... 277
A procedure for the evaluation of the historical trend of atmospheric
pollution in an urban area
F. Murena & M. Urciuolo ............................................................................... 287
Section 4: Aerosols and particles
Correlation between the mass of PM2,5 and the chemical composition of acid
aerosols in the northwest of the metropolitan zone of Mexico City
Y. I. Falcón, E. Martinez & L. Cortes.............................................................. 301

Characteristics of aerosol particle size distributions in urban Lanzhou,
north-western China
Y. Yu, S. P. Zhao, D. S. Xia, J. J. He, N. Liu & J. B. Chen .............................. 307
Particulates in the atmosphere of Makkah and Mina valley during the
Ramadan and Hajj seasons of 2004 and 2005
A. R. Seroji....................................................................................................... 319
Section 5: Emissions studies
Effect of biodiesel and alkyl ether on diesel engine emissions
and performances
D. L. Cursaru, C. Tănăsescu & V. Mărdărescu .............................................. 331
Emissions of selected gas pollutants in the application of the
additive EnviroxTM
F. Bozek, J. Mares, H. Gavendova & J. Huzlik ............................................... 343
Non-thermal plasma abatement of trichloroethylene with DC
corona discharges
A. M. Vandenbroucke, A. Vanderstricht, M. T. Nguyen Dinh,
J.-M. Giraudon, R. Morent, N. De Geyter, J.-F. Lamonier & C. Leys ............ 353
Monitoring of atmospheric dust deposition by using a magnetic method
A. Kapička, E. Petrovský & H. Grison ............................................................ 363
Improving car environmental and operational characteristics using a
multifunctional fuel additive
E. Magaril........................................................................................................ 373
Section 6: Global and regional
Application of methanotrophic biofilters to reduce GHG generated by
landfill in Quebec City (Canada)
N. Turgeon, Y. Le Bihan, G. Buelna, C. Bourgault, S. Verreault, P. Lessard,
J. Nikiema & M. Heitz ..................................................................................... 387
A study of the atmospheric dispersion of an elevated release with
plume rise in a rural environment: comparison between field SF6 measurements
and computations of Gaussian models (Briggs, Doury and ADMS 4.1)
C. Leroy, F. Derkx, O. Connan, P. Roupsard, D. Maro, D. Hébert
& M. Rozet....................................................................................................... 399

Ozone pollution during stratosphere-troposphere exchange events
over equatorial Africa
K. Ture & G. Mengistu Tsidu .......................................................................... 411
Section 7: Economics of air pollution control
Environmental tools of atmospheric protection in the Czech Republic
O. Malíková & M. Černíková .......................................................................... 423
Environmentally related impacts on financial reporting:
the case of pollution permits in Czech legislative conditions
J. Horák & O. Malíková .................................................................................. 433
Section 8: Health effects
Analysis of lung cancer incidence relating to air pollution levels adjusting
for cigarette smoking: a case-control study
P. R. Band, H. Jiang & J. M. Zielinski ............................................................ 445
Comparison of fungal contamination between hospitals
and companies food units
C. Viegas, M. Almeida, C. Ramos, R. Sabino, C. Veríssimo & L. Rosado....... 455
Author Index.................................................................................................. 463

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Towards a new framework for air quality
management in Nigeria
A. O. Olowoporoku1
, J. W. S. Longhurst1
, J. H. Barnes1
& C. A. Edokpayi2
1
Air Quality Management Resource Centre,
University of the West of England, Bristol, UK
2
Department of Marine Sciences, Faculty of Science,
University of Lagos, Nigeria
Abstract
Since 1988 the Nigerian Government has introduced environmental legislation
aimed at reducing the atmospheric impact of various sources of pollution.
Emphasis has often been placed on mitigating pollution from the oil and gas
industry. However, various studies indicate significant ambient air pollution
from other sources due to vehicular traffic growth in urban areas, increased
reliance on petrol and diesel fuelled generators for electricity supply in homes
and other public facilities, uncontrolled open incineration of waste and major
thermal power stations within the city limits. In this paper, we make the case for
the establishment of risk-based air quality management approach based on
monitoring, modelling and assessment of these other sources. We outline four
important elements that should be considered in order to achieve this
recommended approach. These elements are conceptualised within the existing
institutional, organisational structures and capacity in Nigeria.
Keywords: Nigeria, air quality management, air pollution, air quality standards
and objectives, environmental legislation, environmental policy, NESREA,
traffic-related emissions.
1 Air pollution as an immediate concern
Nigeria has a population of 140 million people, a large percentage of which
reside in major cities such as Lagos, Kano, Abuja, Port Harcourt and Kaduna
(National Bureau of Statistics [1]). Lagos has been identified as one of the fastest
Air Pollution XIX 1
www witpress com, ISSN 1743-3541 (on-line)
WIT Transactions on Ecology and the Environment, Vol 147, © 2011 WIT Press
doi:10 2495/AIR110011

growing megacities in the world, with the potential of becoming the most
populous city in Africa by 2015 (Gandy [2]; Ibem [3]). However, the cost of
population growth is not limited to the demand for water, food and energy
resources, but also includes the effect of the increased use of such resources on
public health and quality of life. Urban population growth implies that the
residents of such cities will increase their demand for journeys through vehicular
transport means (Chatterton et al. [4]). Traffic-related pollutants, derived from
the use of vehicular transport modes such as cars, are associated with effects
ranging from poor public health, built and natural environmental degradation and
global climate change (Paulley [5]).
Studies have shown that the level of air pollution in Nigeria’s major cities is
at a level that could lead to respiratory and cardiovascular diseases in vulnerable
individuals (Ogunsola et al. [6]; Efe [7]). Without policy and legislative change
in air quality management, increasing numbers of Nigerians living and working
in its cities and sprawling urban settlements are at risk from poor air quality.
Therefore the policy response must include a rigorous, robust and well-informed
strategy of reducing the environmental, social and health impacts of air pollution.
Figure 1: Map of Nigeria showing major cities (US central intelligence
agency [8]).
2 Air Pollution XIX

2 Institutional and legislative context
The institutional and legislative frameworks for pollution control in Nigeria have
been viewed as inconsistent and too limited to address the scale and nature of
urban air pollution (Achi [9]). High population growth, mass migration to
unplanned urban developments and under-regulated industrial pollution in large
cities present clear and present threats to the environment as well as to the public
health of millions (Adegoroye [10]). Legal and regulatory frameworks are weak
and in most cases uncertain on the statutory responsibilities and duties of the
government with regard to environmental management and protection (Ogunba
[11]). The establishment of the Federal Environmental Protection Agency
(FEPA) Act in 1988 provided, for the first time, an attempt at coordinating a
statutory and institutional response to environmental pollution (Chokor [12]).
However, subsequent policies pursued by the government through the Agency
were reactive control measures. Most of the policies were directed at regulating
pollution from the oil and gas industries without adequate consideration for other
sources and their impacts in densely populated areas. (Adegoroye [10]; Ogunba
[11]).
The emergence of a new democratic government in 1999 brought, among
other things, new hopes for environmental management and protection in
Nigeria. The new government created a Federal Ministry of the Environment
(FMoE) with a more focused agenda of tackling issues of industrial and urban
pollution, marine and coastal resources degradation and the growing threat of
desertification. The ministry facilitated major reforms in the environmental
legislative and institutional framework. In 2007 the National Assembly repealed
the FEPA Act and replaced it with the National Environmental Standards and
Regulation Enforcement Agency (NESREA) Act (The Federal Government
Printer [13]). The new agency, NESREA, was given the primary responsibility
for all environmental laws, guidelines, policies and standards. Part II of the
NESREA Act provided statutory enforcement powers and functions of the
Agency (The Federal Government Printer [13]). This include responsibilities for
“compliance monitoring, the environmental regulations and standards on noise,
air, land, seas, oceans and other water bodies other than in the oil and gas
sector” (The Federal Government Printer [13]). The corporate strategic plan
document published by NESREA identified “improved air quality” as one of the
major environmental priorities within its corporate vision (NESREA [14]). In
December 2010 the agency undertook a consultation process on various National
Environmental Regulations including sections on the Control of Vehicular
Emissions from Petrol and Diesel Engines. The establishment of NESREA can
thus be seen as a progression from the previous laissez-faire approach to air
quality management of previous governments.
3 Air pollution from traffic-related and domestic sources
Pollutants from industrial sources, especially from the oil and gas sector in
Nigeria have been studied extensively. Sources of emissions include flared gases
Air Pollution XIX 3

in the Niger Delta, fumes from metal-smelting and cement works, fugitive gases
from other chemical and allied industries, and charred particulates and sulphur
dioxide emissions from the steel industries (Osuji and Avwiri [15]). These
pollutants are not usually confined to the emission point sources. For example,
pollutants from flared gases have been observed with concentrations beyond
recommended exposure limits in residential communities within 60 m range of
the emission source (Obanijesu et al. [16]). Existing Environmental Impact
Assessment (EIA) legislation and other pollution control policies have been
disproportionately focussed on regulating the oil and gas industries (Ogunba
[11]). Conspicuously ignored were the emerging problems from traffic growth,
unplanned urban settlements and dependence on wood and kerosene for
domestic energy.
Various studies conducted in Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Kano, Calabar,
and other major cities in Nigeria, attribute significant emissions to transport,
domestic and other industrial sources within close proximity of residential areas
(Faboye [17]; Iyoha [18]; Magbagbeola [19]; Oluyemi and Asubiojo [20]). A
large proportion of the population are increasingly exposed to air pollution due
to growth in vehicular transport and consequent congestion in urban areas,
increased reliance on petrol and diesel fuelled generators for electricity supply,
and uncontrolled open incineration of waste and major thermal power stations
within the city limits (Oluyemi and Asubiojo [20]). Pollution from exhaust pipes
is often recognisable without measurements, by reduced visibility, adverse smell
and eye irritation on most busy roads (Baumbach et al. [21]). In major cities
there are high concentrations of PM10, NO2, CO and VOCs with annual mean
concentrations many times greater than the WHO or the Nigerian Ministry of
Environment acceptable thresholds (Efe [7]; Koku and Osuntogun [22]).
A WHO study in 2007 indicated a growing trend in vehicular-derived air
pollution in Lagos due to traffic volume comprising of 2-stroke engines
motorcycles (which have higher emissions of particulate matter and un-burnt
hydrocarbons than other types of engines) and old imported vehicles (Taiwo
[23]). An earlier study also indicated high concentrations of aromatic
hydrocarbons, CO and PM especially in areas within close proximity of bus
stops and industries within and around Lagos (Baumbach et al. [21]). The level
of CO concentrations in Lagos has been shown to be higher than those found in
oil-producing cities in the Niger Delta (Abam and Unachukwa [24]). These
findings highlight the significance of other sources, such transport, to air
pollution beyond that of oil and gas operations. The UK National Centre for
Atmospheric Sciences conducted an aerial emissions estimate studies in Lagos
using the Atmospheric Research BAe146 aircraft (Capes et al. [25]). The results
showed that emissions are attributed to the evaporation of fuels, mobile
combustion and natural gas activities around the city. However, Nigeria is
among the few countries with no effective procedures or framework for
managing ambient air quality (Koku and Osuntogun [22]). There are no
coordinated or continuous assessments to inform an appropriate policy
framework to manage the local air pollution that residents of cities such as Lagos
routinely experience (Taiwo [23]).
4 Air Pollution XIX

4 Pathways to a Nigerian air quality management framework
While there are various complex political and economic issues that require
urgent attention by the Nigerian Government, the need to meet the challenges of
urban air pollution is also important. Unlike water, drug or food quality, the
impact of urban air pollution is non-discriminatory, and does not recognise the
broad social and economic stratum that separate Nigerians. Everyone breathes
the same air, including the most vulnerable groups – the children, the elderly and
the sick. Managing such a problem requires a cyclic and continuous process.
Figure 2 outlines four elements that will be required to initiate and develop a
management framework in Nigeria. These elements are conceptualised within
the existing institutional, organisational structures and capacity in Nigeria.
Figure 2: Key elements for developing an air quality management framework
in Nigeria.
4.1 Scientific enquiry and monitoring
First, there is a need for a government-led scientific inquiry to identify and
analyse both the spatial and temporal components of air pollution problems in
Nigeria. Such an enquiry will include systematic collation, evaluation and
development of an empirical evidence base for ambient air pollution.
Deployment of air quality monitoring stations will be necessary across major
cities and potential hotspots such as oil and gas production areas. Monitoring air
Air Pollution XIX 5

quality concentrations across the nation is pivotal to identifying the nature and
scale of the air pollution challenge, its sources and impacts. Understanding the
science of air pollution provides the ability to assess and mitigate the challenge
through robust and evidence-based policies. The body of knowledge on air
pollution in Nigeria can be shared and enhanced through research studies and
development of professional fora where collaborations and joint-working can be
encouraged. An important output of this will be a national emission inventory
providing required resources for subsequent air quality assessment, modelling
and management options.
4.2 Standards and objectives
The scientific recognition of the geography, scale and consequences of the air
pollution problem should lead to the determination of relevant standards and
objectives against which ambient air quality in Nigeria can be measured. A body
similar to the former UK Expert Panel on Air Quality Standards (EPAQS) could
be set up and facilitated by NESREA to provide independent advice on
concentrations of air pollution at which no or minimal health effects are likely to
occur in Nigeria. Although there are still uncertainties with regards to the science
of atmospheric pollution, there is sufficient evidence which links poor air quality
to a significant public health risk (COMEAP [26]). Based on the best available
epidemiological information, the government needs to establish a set of
numerical air quality standards and limit values for individual pollutants with the
potential to compromise public health. Pollutant concentrations should be risk-
assessed in relation the costs and benefits of required actions and expressed as air
quality objectives setting out the extent to which the government expects the
standards to be achieved within a specified timeframe (Longhurst et al. [27]).
4.3 Legislation and regulation
Since air quality standards and objectives are designed to protect public health,
there is therefore a need for appropriate air pollution regulations to guarantee
these standards and objectives. Proposed legislation on air pollution at the
National Assembly should include the introduction of regulations, which are
shaped by scientific and expert consensus on the definition of the problem. The
legislation should introduce a policy framework requiring routine monitoring,
assessment and management of ambient air quality to ensure the achievement
and maintenance of these standards and objectives. Statutory powers and duties
should be conferred on specific governmental institutions such as NESREA or
the Federal Ministry of the Environment with regards to air quality. Such powers
should include the prohibition and restriction of certain activities or vehicles, the
obtaining of information, the levying of fines and penalties, the hearing of
appeals and other criteria (HM Government [28]).
4.4 Management and evaluation
An important element of the framework is the implementation of legislative
requirements to achieve stated air quality objectives. Since the 1980s, the
6 Air Pollution XIX

Nigerian Government has introduced reactive legislation and developed
institutions aimed at reducing the environmental impact of industrial activities
(Chokor [12]). Apart from not being robust enough, subsequent policies
emanating from such laws were often impaired by limited technical capacity to
implement efficient enforcement and compliance regimes (Adegoroye [10]). For
example, there is no specific policy framework for managing or mitigating
emissions from light-duty and heavy-duty vehicles and trucks, which are thought
to be amongst the most significant contributors to air quality in Nigeria (Taiwo
[23]).
It is therefore evident that efficient air quality management in Nigeria will
rely on suites of proportionate and cost-effective evaluation and management
programmes to be undertaken at the local and national level as much as setting
standards and regulations. The management framework will need to take account
of economic efficiency, practicability, technical feasibility and timescales for
achieving legislated air quality objectives. The state government, along with
national agencies such as NESREA, will play an important role in setting out and
implementing such management procedures. These may include regular reviews
and assessments of air quality to identify whether the objectives have been, or
will be, achieved at specific geographic locations where public health is, or will
be, at risk, by the applicable date. Where applicable, the government should take
proactive responsibility for enforcing and implementing appropriate air quality
measures that will lead to the achievement of the objectives. This will include
source emissions control from both stationary (industries and domestic) and
mobile sources (such as transport).
5 Conclusions
Establishing an air quality management framework in Nigeria requires the
introduction of specific environmental policy reform and legislative changes
based on scientific understanding and analysis of the public health risks of air
pollution. This paper identifies four important elements that should be
considered in order to achieve this. The first element is the development of an
empirical evidence base for ambient air pollution through monitoring and
analysis of the nature and effect of air pollution problems in Nigeria. The second
is the establishment of numerical air quality standards and limit values for
individual pollutants with the potential to compromise public health. Third, there
is a need for robust legislation and regulations which will guarantee these
standards as well as conferring powers and duties on specific governmental
institutions such as NESREA and state government agencies with regards to air
quality. Last and more importantly, is the introduction of suites of proportionate
and cost-effective evaluation and management programmes to be undertaken at
the local and national level for achieving the air quality objectives.
Significant gains, in terms of quality of life and public health can be achieved
if a Nigerian air quality framework is put in place. There are also economic
benefits in developing the capacity of Nigerian environmental professional and
academic communities to undertake air quality assessment and modelling
Air Pollution XIX 7

services. The EIA of development projects such as road schemes, commercial
and residential developments, industrial developments, airports and mineral
extraction, especially in the oil and gas operations will be enhanced by such
skills and expertise leading to better environmental outcomes and improved air
quality.
References
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10 Air Pollution XIX

Section 1
Air pollution
modelling

Impact of urban planning alternatives on air
quality: URBAIR model application
C. Borrego1
, P. Cascão1
, M. Lopes1
, J. H. Amorim1
, R. Tavares1
,
V. Rodrigues1
, J. Martins1
, A. I. Miranda1
& N. Chrysoulakis2
1
CESAM & Department of Environment and Planning,
University of Aveiro, Portugal
2
Foundation for Research and Technology, Hellas, Greece
Abstract
In the last decades, the study of the urban structure impacts on the quality of life
and on the environment became a key issue for urban sustainability. Nowadays
the relevance of urban planning for the improvement of the interactions between
different land uses and economic activities, and also towards a more sustainable
urban metabolism, is consensually accepted. A major interest relies on
understanding the role of planning on induced mobility patterns and thereafter on
air quality, particularly related with the increasing use of private cars. This is one
of the main objectives of BRIDGE, a research project funding by the European
Commission under the 7th
Framework Programme and focused on “SustainaBle
uRban plannIng Decision support accountinG for urban mEtabolism”.
In this scope, and to evaluate the impact on air quality due to different city
planning alternatives (PA), the urban scale air quality modelling system URBAIR
was applied to selected areas in Helsinki (Finland), Athens (Greece) and Gliwice
(Poland), to estimate traffic related emissions and induced pollutant concentration
of different air pollutants, in a hourly basis for the entire year of 2008.
For the Helsinki study case the results suggest that urban traffic and building
placement considered on the different PA have an influence on local air quality
despite no significant concentration levels. In the Athens case study some PA
induce a decrease on traffic flows with an improvement of the air quality over
the domain. On the contrary, other leads to an increase of PM10 in selected hot-
spots. The simulations for the Gliwice study case show minor changes between
the baseline and the PA, since the proposed interventions do not imply major
changes in traffic flows.
Air Pollution XIX 13
doi:10 2495/AIR110021

URBAIR applications allowed a comparative analysis between current
situation and predefined PA in terms of the number of exceedances to air quality
thresholds and other parameters established in European legislation. The results
provide important information to urban planners and policy makers to choose the
best PA according to quality of life standards pursuit by the local authorities.
Keywords: sustainability, urban planning, air quality modelling, traffic
emissions, integrated air quality system, decision support system.
1 Introduction
In the last decades the study of the urban structure impacts on the quality of life
and on the environment became a key issue for urban sustainability. Several
studies recognize the importance of urban planning for the improvement of the
interactions between different land uses and economic activities, and also
towards a more sustainable urban metabolism [1]. Urban structure (sprawl or
compact) is intimately related with urban fluxes (incoming and outgoing) of
material, energy, information, people, etc. [2]. A major interest relies on
understanding the role of planning on induced mobility patterns and thereafter on
air quality, particularly related with the increasing use of private cars [3].
According to the European Environmental Agency [4] most EU Member
States still do not comply with the PM10 limit values (for which the attainment
year was 2005 according to Directive 1999/30/EC). Especially in urban areas,
the exceedance of the daily mean PM10 limit value is not only a compliance
problem but also has important potential adverse effects on human health.
The most critical issue for NO2 compliance in European countries is the
exceedance of the annual NO2 limit value in urban areas, particularly at
measurement stations close to streets [5].
In this context, the current challenge to urban planners and environmental
engineers is to reverse the impacts on environment and human health resulting
from the problematic cohabitation between intense road traffic and high
population densities, as a way to promote a better quality of life to urban
populations.
Air quality models proves to be an important tool to assess the impact of
urban planning alternatives on traffic patterns, on urban air quality allowing the
identification and study of hot spots and helping on the definitions of new urban
configurations to improve the quality of life for citizens [6–8]. At the same time,
the rapid and continuous growth of hardware capabilities opens a vast number of
new possibilities to air quality models, especially through the development of
online tools, to be implemented in new Decision Support Systems (DSS).
2 Methodology
This work presents the development of the Urban Air Quality system (URBAIR)
and its implementation, as an on-line tool, into a multi-purpose DSS for
sustainable urban planning. In the core of URBAIR system is a second
generation Gaussian model, which has been enhanced with a number of

functionalities, namely the estimation of road traffic emissions. The model
provides air quality patterns for a given spatial domain and time period (usually
one year, in compliance with the European Legislation (Directive 2008/50/CE)
for different air pollutants, namely: particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter
smaller than 10 µm (PM10), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), sulphur dioxide (SO2) and
carbon monoxide (CO).
Because of the capability to simulate the effect of buildings geometry on air
pollutants dispersion, URBAIR offers the possibility to assess the impact of
urban planning strategies and traffic management scenarios on air quality.
2.1 URBAIR system description
URBAIR system integrates a set of pre-processors of urban geometry,
meteorological information and air pollutants emission data in a single tool
specifically developed to run online in a Decision Support System (DSS) build
under a GIS platform. The URBAIR structure is organized into 4 modules as
schematically shown in figure 1.
Figure 1: URBAIR system architecture.
The emission module allows the estimation of road traffic emissions using the
code of the Transport Emission Model for Line Sources (TREM) [6], which has
been integrated into URBAIR. Because topography and build-up structures
characteristics have a significant influence on the dispersion of atmospheric
pollutants, in particular in urban areas, transport and dispersion of the emitted air
pollutants (gaseous and particles) is modelled applying an improved version of
the second generation Gaussian model POLARIS [9], which allows to account
for the presence of buildings in the dispersion simulation. In this sense, URBAIR

requires also the characterization of the spatial variation of terrain surface
elevation, buildings 3D coordinates and emission sources location and
dimensions, which are usually provided by Geographical Information System
maps. The geographic module relies on a Cartesian coordinate system, in which
regular and discrete gridded data can be used to characterize and spatially
distribute terrain, receptors and sources. Representative terrain-influence heights
and ‘projected’ building structures influence are determined following widely
used modelling approaches. Topography is specified in the form of terrain
heights at receptor locations. The influence of buildings on air pollutants
dispersion depends on the orientation of the obstacle relating to the source, the
wind direction and the shape of the building.
The meteorological pre-processor calculates the parameters needed by the
dispersion model, namely the atmospheric turbulence characteristics, mixing
heights, friction velocity, Monin-Obukhov length and surface heat flux. The
meteorological data needed for this pre-processing stage can be provided by
mesoscale meteorological models, or alternatively surface measurements and
upper air soundings databases can be used.
Meteorological information, geographic and geometric data, and road traffic
fluxes constitute the major categories of input data needed by the integrated air
quality system URBAIR. The output data includes the estimated emissions from
road traffic and pollutant concentration at user-specified receptor points or
spatially distributed over a regular grid. The first version of URBAIR was
designed for line sources since there are the most important ones in urban
environments. New model developments include elevated point sources (such as
industrial facilities and combustion activities for residential and services sectors).
Different mean averaged concentration values can be defined, depending on the
evaluation purposes.
2.2 Study cases description
URBAIR system was applied to three European urban areas, selected BRIDGE
project case studies, with distinct characteristics namely on dimension and
planning attributes: Helsinki, Athens, and Gliwice. With the objective of
evaluating the impact on air quality due to different city structure design options,
different PA were simulated.
The study areas were defined based on detailed information relating the
baseline situation and the proposed planning alternatives using ArcGIS maps.
Traffic is considered as the main pollutant source in the study areas.
Emissions are calculated by the pre-processor TREM using traffic counts
provided by each city and average speeds. In URBAIR roads are spatially
discretized by defining an adequate number of point sources along each road.
Previous sensibility analysis has demonstrated that a spacing of 10 to 15 meters
between adjacent point sources guarantees the needed accuracy in the
representation of the roads existing in the domain.
Meteorological input data, including vertical profiles, were obtained from the
WRF mesoscale model simulations over the different case studies domains.

The intervention area in Helsinki is located in the forest area between current
housing of Meri-Rastila and Vartiokylä Bay. The planning objectives for this
area are: to provide new housing for the growing metropolitan areas; to provide
places of work mixed with housing; to deal with demographic polarization; to
move towards more owned dwellings and bigger apartments; to improve
services; to maintain sufficient and continuous recreation and habitats; and to
improve accessibility to nature areas [10].
Three planning alternatives have been proposed with varying combinations of
housing density and office space, and differing relative footprints. These
alternatives consider three different building configurations with different
number of new roads and, consequently, of traffic fluxes.
The URBAIR computational domain, with approximately 4000×4000 m2
, and
a spatial resolution of 100×100 m2
, was defined at the centre of the study area.
For the current situation (baseline) the urban built-up area was simplified by
considering 234 grouped buildings with different configurations both in
geometry and heights. PA1 considers a total of 251 grouped buildings, while in
PA2 and PA3, 254 and 263 building blocks, respectively, were defined. All the
alternatives imply an increase on the number of roads (see Figure 2).
The Athens case study is focused on the municipality of Egaleo, which lies in
the Western part of Athens. Five main road axes divide the area in four quarters.
One of the quarters is an industrial degraded area called Brownfield (Figure 3).
The total area of Egaleo is 650 ha. The intervention area is centred at the
Brownfield industrial area. The computational domain has an area of
approximately 4000×4000 m2
, with a spatial resolution of 100×100 m2
. Built-up
geometry was simplified by grouping the existing buildings in 151 blocks. No
simulations were carried out for PA1, because no changes in urban planning or
traffic are foreseen. PA2 implies an increase in the number of buildings. Traffic
fluxes were assumed as identical to nearby roads in the Egaleo area. PA3
considers the conversion of the intervention area into a green zone.
Consequently, a reduction of 90% in traffic in relation to nearby roads was
assumed.
Gliwice is a city with an old Town in the central part and residential districts
around the centre, with a total area of 134 km2
[6]. The alternatives include:
PA1) the construction of a sports hall, which will entail an additional load of
people in the area; PA2) the construction of a centre for new technologies, a 7-
storey building incorporating sustainable energy use (e.g. heat energy from solar
collectors, energy recovery, etc.); and PA3) the development of both projects
considered in PA1 and PA2. The case study will be mainly assessed with regard
to the environmental load in the area (particularly from the point of view of
emissions and resource use) and the transport and economic implications to the
city.
The URBAIR computational domain, with 5400×5400 m2
and a spatial
resolution of 100×100 m2
, was centred at the intervention zone. 92 rearranged
building blocks were defined in URBAIR for the baseline situation. PA1 and
PA2 considers the construction of only one additional building (the sports hall
and the centre for new technologies, respectively), while for PA3 both were

defined in URBAIR (Figure 5). The most significant change is the increase of
traffic flows due to foreseen attraction of public.
3 Air quality results for baseline and planning alternatives
In Figure 2, PM10 simulation results for Helsinki on 25th
July 2008 are presented
for baseline situation and PA1, PA2 and PA3.
Figure 2: Comparison of 1.5 m high horizontal 24 hour average [PM10]
fields in Helsinki domain, on 25th
July 2008 for: a) baseline,
b) PA1, c) PA2 and d) PA3. Red rectangle indicates the
intervention area. (See online for colour version.)
Comparing the results observed in Figure 2 it is possible to conclude that
despite the changes on the number of roads and respective traffic fluxes, and also
on the number and location of buildings, the different alternatives do not induce
significant modifications on the dispersion patterns. However, and according to
the simulations, PA2 and PA3 have a higher influence over the [PM10] in the
intervention area and, particularly in PA3, in an area located to the north of the
new buildings and roads. In general, [PM10] over the domain stay within the
limit value established on legislation for 24 hours average (50 µg.m-3
), although
some hot-spots are visible where concentrations reach values of 90 µg.m-3
for
this particular summer day.
a) b)
c) d)

fields in Athens domain, on 22nd
September 2008 for: a) baseline,
b) PA2, c) PA3.
Figure 3 presents the simulation results for a specific summer day in Athens,
for [PM10] levels, one of the most critical pollutants in this area.
Analysing the results presented in figure 3, it is clear that PA3 is the one that
presents better results in the intervention area regarding [PM10]. Values as high
as 130 µg m-3
were obtained for all the situations, with a strong reduction in the
intervention area for PA3.
Athens is the only city case in which an air quality monitoring station is
located within the study area. Figure 4 presents a time series of simulated and
measured [PM10] during the year of 2008. Observed air quality levels were
acquired at the Aristotelous air quality monitoring station. The simulated values
are from a specific cell of the domain which corresponds to the location of the
referred air quality station.
In general, simulated values reasonably follow the trend of measured
concentrations. However, some underestimation tendency was observed.
Possible reasons are the lack of information relating background concentrations
and local emission point sources, as well as the no consideration of particulate
matter resuspension (only direct exhaust emissions were considered). It can be
also inferred from the analysis of Figure 4 that both measured and simulated
PM10 concentrations show several exceedances to the legislated limit value of
50 µg m-3
.
a) b)
c)

Figure 4: Comparison of measured and simulated [PM10] in the Aristotelous
air quality station for the year 2008 (XY coordinates: 2800 m;
2000 m).
fields in Gliwice domain, on 2nd
January 2008 for: a) baseline,
b) PA1, c) PA2, d) PA3.
a) b)
c) d)

In figure 5 the PM10 simulation results are presented for Gliwice study case
on 2nd
January 2008 for baseline situation and PA1, PA2 and PA3.
Comparing the results obtained for the baseline situation and planning
alternatives, no major differences in [PM10] are visible, showing that the
implementation of the new buildings and the increase in traffic fluxes forecast in
the nearby roads do not have a significant impact in [PM10].
In order to have a better understanding on the influence of the different
alternatives on air quality, table 2 shows the maximum simulated concentrations
of PM10, CO, NO2 and SO2 in Helsinki, Athens and Gliwice during 2008. This
value corresponds to the maximum concentration calculated by URBAIR for a
height of 1.5 meters above ground.
From the analysis of the results shown in Table 1 it is possible to conclude
that for Helsinki the planning alternatives do not have an influence in the
maximum simulated concentrations despite the construction of new roads.
Regarding Athens study case, PA2 will lead, according to the simulations, to an
increase of the maximum concentrations for all the pollutants considered, while
PA3 supports a decrease of the peak concentration when compared with the
baseline situation. In Gliwice, baseline scenario and PA1 present the same
results, while PA2 and PA3 have lower maximum values.
Table 1: Maximum simulated concentrations of PM10, CO, NO2 and SO2
at 1.5 meters high for Helsinki, Athens and Gliwice in 2008.
Study case Baseline
Planning alternative
1 2 3
PM10 [μg.m-3
]
Helsinki 227 227 227 227
Athens 248 - 253 222
Gliwice 37 37 42 42
CO [μg m-3
]
Helsinki 1531 1531 1532 1532
Athens 5045 - 5526 4995
Gliwice 451 451 461 461
NO2 [μg.m-3
]
Helsinki 230 230 230 230
Athens 382 - 388 370
Gliwice 58 58 68 68
SO2 [μg m-3
]
Helsinki 84 84 84 84
Athens 236 - 240 228
Gliwice 30 30 36 36
Another analysis was made in terms of the number of exceedances to the limit
value of simulated pollutants during the entire year of 2008 for a specific cell of
the domain for each study case. This analysis is presented is Table 2. The
selected computational cell in Athens and Gliwice corresponds to the location of

the air quality station, although in the latter measurements are not available for
2008. In Helsinki, the selected cell corresponds to the centre of the domain.
Table 2: Number of exceedances to PM10, CO, NO2 and SO2 in Helsinki,
Athens and Gliwice during 2008.
Study case Baseline
Planning alternative Compliance with the
Directive?
1 2 3
PM10
Limit value: 50 μg.m-3
[24 hours average] with 35 exceedances allowed
Helsinki 0 0 0 0 y
Athens 122 - 122 96 n
Gliwice 0 0 0 0 y
CO
Limit value: 10 mg m-3
[8 hours moving averages]
Helsinki 0 0 0 0 y
Athens 0 - 0 0 y
Gliwice 0 0 0 0 y
NO2
Limit value: 200 μg m-3
[1 hour average] with 18 exceedances allowed
Helsinki 0 0 0 0 y
Athens 5 - 5 3 y
Gliwice 0 0 0 0 y
SO2
Limit value: 350 μg m-3
[1 hour average] with 24 exceedances allowed
Helsinki 0 0 0 0 y
Athens 0 - 0 0 y
Gliwice 0 0 0 0 y
With the analysis based on the selected cell for each study case, only for the
pollutant PM10 in Athens study case were found exceedances in terms of the
number permitted by the European legislation. For NO2 some exceedances were
forecast but within the accomplishing criteria established in legislation.
However, if the selected cell was in a different location, the situation could
change and more exceedances might be found. Despite the number of
exceedances is beyond the allowed number permitted by the legislation, in PA3
there is a reduction on their number for PM10.
With the analysis based on the selected cell for each study case, only in
Athens study case and for PM10 were found exceedances to the limit value.
Despite the number of exceedances is beyond the allowed number, PA3 can
potentially lead to an improvement on the local air quality.
4 Conclusions
URBAIR applications allowed a comparative analysis between current situations
and predefined planning alternatives in terms of the number of exceedances to air
quality thresholds and other parameters established in European legislation. In
general, it was concluded from the comparisons of simulated concentrations with

measured data that URBAIR presents some underestimation tendency. Among
the reasons for this behaviour the followings issues can be raised:
• Background concentrations and local emission point sources were not
considered, due to lack of information;
• Except for Athens study case, average hourly traffic fluxes were
calculated from annual values;
• Only exhaust emissions were considered (i.e., the contribution of particles
resuspension was not taken into account);
• Road traffic emissions were estimated based on vehicles count and
average speed. This methodology does not allow accounting for the
emissions during traffic jams, which can be relevant, especially in Athens,
during the peak hours;
• Also the contribution of natural events, which can be relevant in some air
pollution episodes, was not considered.
Despite the small scale of the considered planning alternatives in terms of
project dimension and the area of intervention, the results provide important
information to urban planners and policy makers to choose the best planning
solution according to quality of life standards pursuit by the local authorities.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to acknowledge the financial support of the BRIDGE
Project by the European Commission under the 7th
Framework Programme, and
the Portuguese Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education, through
the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT), for the Post-Doc grant of
J. H. Amorim (SFRH/BPD/48121/2008) and for the financial support of project
INSPIRAR (PTDC/AAC-AMB/103895/2008), supported in the scope of the
Competitiveness Factors Thematic Operational Programme (COMPETE) of the
Community Support Framework III and by the European Community Fund
FEDER.
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Newsletter.pdf

Air quality model for Barcelona
J. Lao & O. Teixidó
Energy & Air Quality Department, Barcelona Regional, Spain
Abstract
Some cities and metropolitan areas have a hard time complying with EU
regulations regarding certain pollutant concentration levels. In 2008, Barcelona’s
monitoring stations reported NO2 levels above the EU limit of 40 µg/m3
. This
paper shows the process and results of NO2 dispersion analysis in Barcelona
using 2008 as the base year, as well as the results of the 2020 forecast. Barcelona
City Council has drawn up an air-quality model as part of the “PECQ” (Energy,
Climate Change and Air Quality Plan for Barcelona 2011-2020) to help decision
makers implement actions aimed at reducing NO2. In the first stage, a real
inventory of vehicles was performed, recording over 90,000 vehicle plates and
also measuring 42,000 actual emissions via Remote Sensing Devices. We
discovered that the vehicles on the road are newer than the city census vehicles.
We also found out that real-world vehicle emissions are 16.2% higher than
COPERT. We used GIS tools to compile the geographical inventory of
emissions inside and outside the city. The base-year results show that 65.6% of
NO2 concentration levels come from vehicles, 8.6% from the residential and
commercial, 4.8% from industry, including heat and power production close to
the city, 2.1% from Barcelona Port, and 0.1% from Barcelona Airport. The local
background contribution was calculated as 10.1% and the regional background
accounts for 8.6%. The PECQ Plan will run projects from 2011 until 2020 aimed
at reducing NOX emissions in various sectors. Improvements in vehicle
technology are also expected. The 2020 forecast scenario shows that NO2
concentration levels will drop by 35% to reach EU standards.
Keywords: air quality, air pollution modelling, validation, Barcelona, dispersion
modelling, NO2, NOX, PECQ, emission inventory, RSD.
1 Introduction
The Barcelona PECQ 2011-2020 (acronym in Catalan of Barcelona’s Energy,
Climate Change and Air Quality Plan [1]) is an action plan directed by Barcelona
doi:10 2495/AIR110031

city council and developed by Barcelona Regional (a public company) together
with the City Council. The general objectives are: to reduce the increase in
energy consumption, to reduce the increase in greenhouse-gas emissions
associated with the municipality, and to improve air quality in the city, especially
as regards NO2 and PM10, with a specific reduction target of 26% for NOX and
39% for PM10 emissions, in order to achieve European objectives for air-quality
levels.
The PECQ methodology includes a historical analysis of energy, GHG
emissions and air quality in Barcelona city, plus a battery of projects and
proposals for the next 10 years. It also contains the expected future scenario,
including an in-depth dispersion modelling analysis of the city and its
surroundings. The PECQ includes other interesting aspects such as the analysis
of social attitudes towards energy consumption, and the effects of the PECQ
Action Plan on the local and regional economy. The PECQ development process
also included extensive consultation with citizens and stakeholders, from the
design stage through to drafting of the Action Plan.
This paper will focus on the NO2 air-quality model for the city of Barcelona.
We will show the methodology, validation process, results of the base case
(2008) and Barcelona’s expected air quality by 2020 according to the various
policies and measures adopted under the PECQ Action Plan.
2 Barcelona air quality
Like other cities, Barcelona exceeds the annual average NO2 concentration
thresholds established by the EU to protect human health. This means that cities,
regions and countries must adopt new strategies, on various levels, aimed at
improving air quality in metropolitan areas. This includes vehicle manufacturers,
legislators, citizens, companies, and so on.
For years, Barcelona City Council and other public bodies have been working
to improve air quality through various measures involving industry and power
plants and by promoting renewable energy. Examples of this include the Solar
Thermal Bylaw [2] of 1999 or the application of the Barcelona Energy
Improvement Plan (2001-2010) [3].
Given that the main source of pollutants is road transport, Barcelona
metropolitan area has made remarkable efforts to achieve a modal split change.
This has included promoting the integration of public transport fares and the
improvement of public transport networks (bus, metro, trams). Barcelona has
also expanded the city’s bicycle network and created “Bicing” – a public bicycle-
rental service with a very low-cost flat rate. Another measure was to increase the
roll-out of parking meters for surface parking, in order to make private transport
systems less competitive.
Despite all the policies designed to make public transport more attractive and
to stimulate the modal split change from private vehicles to the public system,
there is still some way to go, since the city does not yet fall within the air-quality
standards set by Europe. The EU limit value for annual average nitrogen dioxide
concentration in 2009 was 42 µg/m3
(including a tolerance margin of 2 µg/m3

applicable in 2009). Four out of a total of six measurement stations inside the
city exceeded the annual average limit.
As shown in Figure 1, NO2 station measurements for Barcelona city and
surrounding municipalities exceed EU NO2 limits, meaning that new initiatives
are required.
Figure 1: Annual average NO2 concentration at measurement stations in
Barcelona and surroundings (2009).
3 Barcelona urban air-dispersion model
Within the PECQ, in order to focus the Action Plan most effectively, it was
essential to determine what activities and sectors are responsible for high NO2
concentration levels. A detailed inventory of emissions by sectors has been
developed for the base case year 2008 and distributed throughout the territory.
This emission inventory was one of the key inputs of the Barcelona Air-
Dispersion Model, a tool that helps decision-makers know what is happening
with air quality and what needs to be done in order to improve it.
3.1 Methodology
For atmospheric dispersion modelling we used ADMS-Urban [4], developed by
CERC in the UK. ADMS-Urban allowed us to calculate NO2 concentration
levels based on a Gaussian dispersion model with photochemical reactions and
an integrated street canyon model. The entire model is fully integrated in a
50 µg/m3
62 µg/m3
46 µg/m3
63 µg/m3
44 µg/m3
40 µg/m3
Sant Adrià
de Besòs
Barcelona:
Parc Vall
d’Hebrón
Barcelona:
Gràcia-St
Gervasi
Barcelona:
Eixample
Barcelona:
Ciutadella
Santa Coloma
de Gramenet
Barcelona -
Poblenou
51 µg/m3
44 µg/m3
Montcada i
Reixac
41 µg/m3
Barcelona:
Sants
43 µg/m3
L’Hospitalet de
Llobregat
42 µg/m3
Cornellà de
Llobregat
45 µg/m3
El Prat de
Llobregat
46 µg/m3
Badalona
©
Barcelona
Regional,
2010

Geographical Information System (GIS) database of emission sources, terrain
configurations and other relevant aspects.
The main features of the dispersion model used are:
 Specific dispersion model for urban and metropolitan areas with
resolution down to street level.
 Includes a meteorological pre-processing model.
 Uses the “FlowStar” module, a processing module designed for hourly
flows and turbulence for high-resolution complex plots.
 Can use hourly, daily and monthly input profile schedules for each source
emission.
 Works with the OSPM model, specifically to assess the “Street Canyon”
effect resulting from the recirculation of air turbulence among buildings.
 Uses the GRS chemistry scheme, a semi-empirical photochemical model
which includes the reactions of NO, NO2, O3 and many organic
compounds.
After gathering the data and in order to map an air-quality model, a high-
resolution grid was created with up to 150,000 virtual grid points across the
territory, plus 50,000 points next to roads using “intelligent gridding” software
capability. The result was a mean grid resolution of 35.2 metres in outlying parts
of the city and an estimated mean grid resolution of 17.6 metres in the city centre
in order to ensure higher accuracy. More than twelve processors were used,
working constantly for 30 days. Figure 7 (left) shows the map of NO2
concentration levels after model calibration for 2008. Keep in mind that reality is
more complex than the “typical profiles” or mean behaviours introduced in the
model. Therefore, unusual traffic jams, fires, construction work, unknown
emissions, and other situations can cause deviations between the models and
actual data, meaning that model calibration must always be carried out.
Actual hourly data from the measurement stations was also compared with
modelling results for virtual point detectors. Table 1 shows a comparison of
annual mean values and Figure 6 contains a monthly example of hourly
comparison.
3.2 Characteristics and emissions of vehicles in Barcelona
Since the road transport sector is the main emitter of pollutants, the PECQ
established a clear difference with previous studies of vehicle emissions. A real-
world characterisation of traffic was developed in order to find out what types of
vehicles are driven around the city, as well as their emissions. It is important to
mention that previous studies used the vehicle census of the city [5]. We will
show below that there is a major “gap” between the traffic on the streets and
what is listed in the city census via road tax. An example of this is that the
vehicles that use the streets everyday are newer on average than the census
vehicles. This is a key point for drawing up effective policies and calculating
related NOX reductions. It is also important to have a better idea of actual
emissions in order to obtain a better estimate in the air-dispersion model.

Since it is a diffuse sector, traffic emissions must be determined indirectly,
based on vehicle km/year, total number of vehicles, average speed, and
methodologies based on emission factors (EF) by vehicle characteristics (fuel
type, engine size, weight and technology of the vehicle), such as CORINAIR
[6]/COPERT [7].
To improve EF methodology, Barcelona City Council conducted an ad-hoc
study [8] over 32 days in May and June 2009, setting up 16 roadside points for
measuring vehicle exhaust emissions, with a detector system called “RSD”
(Remote Sensing Device [9]). This technology can detect pollutant emissions
from vehicle exhaust pipes instantly and in a non-intrusive manner, using
infrared and ultraviolet light according to the Lambert-Beer law. This means that
vehicles do not have to modify their normal driving patterns and thousands of
vehicle license plates and exhaust vehicle emission data can be gathered in just a
few hours. The emission data shows the actual emissions of the vehicles, unlike
other methodologies based on standard emission factors, and the license plate
shows the vehicle type. This makes it possible to know the brand, vehicle model,
technical characteristics (power, weight, fuel, age, etc.), and city of residence
(census). We gathered 90,000 vehicle license plates and emissions data for more
than 42,000 vehicles after RSD exhaust data validation.
This study revealed some important aspects:
 The average age of all vehicles is 5.7 years.
 The cars driving around the city are newer (with an avg. age of 5.53
years) than the city vehicle census (9.13 years). This does not mean that
the census does not work properly. The difference only shows that older
vehicles get driven less than newer vehicles or, in other words, that
people who use their car every day tend to have newer vehicles.
 Petrol cars are older (7.58 years) than diesel cars (4.43 years) due to a
social trend. In Spain, it is typical to buy a diesel car if your annual
mileage is very high, so daily car users buy more diesel cars than
weekend car users.
 The pre-EURO class displays an interesting behaviour pattern. 20% of the
cars in the city vehicle census are pre-EURO; by contrast, the EURO
class only represents 8% of cars driven daily in the city streets.
 The taxi fleet has an average age of 3.4 years, and the average age of
trucks is 6.5 years.
 The most common fuel used by vehicles in the city is diesel at 55.1%,
followed by petrol at 44.1%, biodiesel at 0.6% and, finally, natural gas at
0.3%.
 52% of the vehicles come from outside Barcelona city (they are not
included in the municipal census). As for cars, 51% come from outside
the city. In this group, 41% are petrol cars and 56% are diesel cars, since
it is more cost-efficient to own a diesel car if your annual mileage is very
high, as diesel is cheaper and more efficient than petrol. This makes sense
considering that 62% [10] of daily car trips in Barcelona are made by
people that live outside the city and commute in to work (or vice-versa).
This is a very important point, since municipal policies focusing on diesel

cars (emitting more pollutants than petrol cars) included in the municipal
census will not be as effective as regional policies.
According to EURO class, 39.2% of vehicles are EURO IV, 34.8% are
EURO III, 14.4% are EURO II, 5.5% are EURO I and 5.6% are pre-EURO. It
should be noted that the number of EURO V vehicles is symbolic – 0.4% – since
this classification only applied to buses and trucks in 2009 (not to cars, vans or
motorcycles) and the measurements were taken in mid-2009. The segments with
the highest percentage of EURO II vehicle and older are petrol vans (LDV) with
44.2%, diesel buses and coaches with 34.7%, and petrol cars with 32.1%.
Figure 2: Average age of different categories of vehicles (left) and EURO
class distribution of vehicles driving around city streets.
© Barcelona Regional, 2010.
As mentioned above, we gathered actual exhaust pipe emissions from 42,000
vehicles driving around the streets of Barcelona, and we compared actual
emissions from the “RSD” system with COPERT methodology. The average
result was that RSD measured 16.2% higher NOX emissions than COPERT
considering the same number of vehicles in city driving mode, with an average
speed of 21.3 km/h and the weather conditions for May/June.
RSD actual vehicle emission data with the annual share of vehicular traffic
shows that 34.2% of vehicle NOX emissions are from cars (29.3% from diesel
cars and 4.9% from petrol cars), followed by vans (LDV) 17.4%, medium and
heavy trucks (MDV and HDV) 15.7%, motorcycles and mopeds 12.3% (in
Barcelona, 22.8% of all private transport is by motorbike), private buses and
coaches 12.2%, and local public buses 8.2%. The average emission factor for
total traffic was 1.1297 grams of NOX per kilometre. Figure 3 shows total
emissions and emission ratio by vehicle class, and Figure 4 contains the
distribution according to mobility, vehicle emission and trips.
Average age (in years) of vehicles in Barcelona
7,58
4,43
1,38
5,53
5,54
9,14
5,64
5,85
7,11
6,55
6,85
7,41
4,86
3,58
5,66
0 2 4 6 8 10
CARS (Petrol)
CARS (Diesel)
CARS (Híbrid)
CARS (mean)
MOTORB KES (Petrol)
LDV (Petrol)
LDV (Diesel)
LDV (mean)
MDV (Diesel)
HDV (Diesel)
MDV + HDV (mean)
BUS+COACH (Diesel)
BUS (Natural Gas)
Special vehicles
MEAN
years
EURO Class distribution of vehicle traffic in
Barcelona (2008): 4.439,16 Mveh-km/year
Pre-EURO
5,6%
EURO I
5,5%
EURO II
14,4%
EURO III
34,8%
EURO IV
39,2%
EURO V
0,4%

Figure 3: NOX emissions and emission ratio by vehicle type for Barcelona.
© Barcelona Regional, 2010.
Figure 4: Related share of NOX emissions (sorting criteria), PM10 emissions,
mobility (veh-km) and trips. © Barcelona Regional, 2010.
3.3 Barcelona 2008 emissions inventory
Database quality is one of the most important aspects of air-quality modelling.
All the emission sources input into the air-dispersion model are shown below.
The base-case year for the emissions inventory is 2008.
 Road transport: we used the COPERT emission model plus the XTRA
RSD recorded exhaust emission factors in order to include actual
emissions from vehicles. Hourly, daily, weekly and monthly traffic
profiles were also used.
 Residential and commercial: we used the CORINAIR emission factor to
estimate NOX emissions from natural gas and LPG. Hourly and monthly
profiles were also implemented for this sector.
 Industry and power plants: Actual emissions data for isolated emission
sources with continuous environmental control was used. Other industrial
emissions were estimated using CORINAIR methodology.
NOx emissions of vehicles in Barcelona by vehicle type (2008). TOTAL: 5.014,72 tn/year [COPERT+RSD] [total mean (♦): 1,1297 g/km]
0,2711
0,8982
0,0064
0,6074 0,8311
1,3240
4,4817
11,0090
9,9671
8,6364
0
200
400
600
800
1.000
1.200
1.400
1.600
CAR (Petrol) CAR (Diesel) CAR (Hybrid) MOTORB KE
(Petrol)
LDV (Petrol) LDV (Diesel) MDV (Diesel) HDV (Diesel) NTERURBAN
BUS (Diesel)
URBAN BUS
(Diesel+NatGas)
tn NOx/any
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
g/km
25,6%
16,1%
20,3%
8,3%
16,7%
5,2%
5,3%
6,6%
12,2%
12,3%
10,8%
8,2%
5,0%
4,9%
29,3%
0,9%
11,5%
4
,
2
%
10,6%
1,0%
11
%
36,9%
14,2%
1
,4%
22,8%
11
%
12%
33,0%
21,1%
3,3%
29,3%
16,7%
CARS (Diesel)
LDV (Diesel)
NTERCITY BUS (Diesel)
MOTORB KES (Petrol)
HDV (Diesel)
URBAN BUS (Diesel+NatGas)
MDV (Diesel)
CARS (Petrol)
LDV (Petrol)
veh-km
NOx (sorting criteria)
PM
trips
Colours w th horizontal
stripes when the main
function of the vehicle is to
transport goods, not
people.

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different content

her; of all the faces, animate and inanimate, that looked downward
with smiles, or upward with admiration, in that crowded gallery,
there was but one to me, and that one, was Constance Beverley's.
I have a confused recollection of much hand-shaking and "How-
do-you-do's?" and many expressions of wonder at our meeting
there, of all places in the world, which did not strike me as so very
extraordinary after all. And Valèrie was so enchanted to make Miss
Beverley's acquaintance; she had heard so much of her from Victor,
and it was so delightful they should all be together in Vienna just at
this gay time; and was as affectionate and demonstrative as woman
always is with her sister; and at the same time scanned her with a
comprehensive glance, which seemed to take in at once the charms
of mind and body, the graces of nature and art, that constituted the
weapons of her competitor. For women are always more or less
rivals; and with all her keenness of affections and natural softness of
disposition, there is an unerring instinct implanted in the breast of
every one of the gentler sex, which teaches her that her normal
state is one of warfare with her kind--that "her hand is against every
woman, and every woman's hand against her."
I dared not look in Miss Beverley's face as I shook her hand; I
fancied her voice was harder than it used to be. I was sure her
manner to me was as cold as the merest forms of politeness would
admit. She took Victor's arm, however, with an air of empressement
very foreign to the reserve which I remembered was so
distinguishing a characteristic in her demeanour. I heard her
laughing at his remarks, and recalling to him scenes in London and
elsewhere, which seemed to afford great amusement to themselves
alone. Even Ropsley looked graver than usual, but masked his

astonishment, or whatever it was, under a great show of civility to
Valèrie, who received his attentions, as she did those of every
stranger, with a degree of pleasure which it was not in her nature to
conceal. Sir Harry fell to my share, and I have a vague recollection
of his being more than ever patronising and paternal, and full of
good advice and good wishes; but the treasures of his wisdom and
his little worldly sarcasms were wasted on a sadly heedless ear.
I put him into his carriage, where she was already seated. I
ventured on one stolen look at the face that had been in my dreams,
sleeping and waking, for many a long day. It was pale and sad; but
there was a hard, fixed expression that I did not recognise, and she
never allowed her eyes to meet mine.
How cold the snowy streets looked; and the dull grey sky, as we
walked home to our hotel--Victor and Ropsley on either side of
Valèrie, whilst I followed, soberly and silently, in the rear.
CHAPTER XXVIII
LA DAME AUX CAMELLIAS
"My dear, you must go to this ball," said Sir Harry to his daughter, as
they sat over their morning chocolate in a spacious room with a
small glazed stove, very handsome, very luxurious, and very cold.
"You have seen everything else here; you have been a good deal in
society. I have taken you everywhere, although you know how
'going out' bores me; and now you refuse to go to the best thing of
the year. My dear, you must!"

"But a masked ball, papa," urged Constance. "I never went to
one in my life; indeed, if you please, I had rather not."
"Nonsense, child, everybody goes; there's your friend Countess
Valèrie wild about it, and Victor, and even sober Vere Egerton, but of
course he goes in attendance on the young Countess--besides,
Ropsley wishes it."
Constance flushed crimson, then grew white, and bit her lip.
"Captain Ropsley's wishes have nothing to do with me, papa," said
she, with more than her usual stateliness; "I do not see what right
he has to express a wish at all."
Sir Harry rose from his chair; he was getting very feeble in his
limbs, though he stoutly repudiated the notion that he grew a day
older in strength and spirits. He walked twice across the room, went
to his daughter's chair, and took her hand in his. She knew what was
coming, and trembled all over.
"My dear child," said he, with a shaky attempt at calmness, and
a nervous quivering of his under lip--for loving, obedient, devoted as
she was; Sir Harry stood in awe of his daughter--"you remind me I
wish to speak to you on the subject of Captain Ropsley, and his
intimacy with ourselves. Constance, has it never occurred to you
what all this must eventually lead to?"
She looked up at him with her clear, shining eyes, and replied--
"It has, papa, and I quite dread the end of it."
"You know, dear, how I have encouraged him," continued her
father, without noticing the unpropitious remark; "you can guess my
wishes without my speaking more plainly. He is an excellent fellow--
clever, popular, agreeable, and good-looking. There can be no
objection, of course, on your side. I think your old father has not

done so badly for you after all--eh, Constance?" and Sir Harry made
a feeble attempt at a laugh, which stopped, and, as it were, "went
out" all of a sudden.
She looked him full in the face. Truth shone brightly in the
depths of those clear eyes.
"Papa," said she, slowly and steadily, "do you really mean you
wish me to--to marry Captain Ropsley?"
"You ladies jump at conclusions very fast," answered the
Baronet, still striving, shakingly, to be jocose. "Rem acu tetigisti. Ha,
ha! I have not forgotten my Latin, or that I was young once, my
dear. You have run your needle into the very heart of the matter, you
little witch! That is indeed my earnest wish and intention."
He changed at once into a tone of majestic and
uncompromising decision, but he only looked at her askance, and
once more left his place to amble up and down the room. She never
took her eye off his face.
"And suppose I should tell you, papa, that I cannot comply with
your wish; that I hate and loathe the very sight of the man whom
you would make my husband; that I fear and distrust his intimacy
with you more than anything in the world; that I implore you, papa,
dear papa, to give up this dreadful idea; that for this once, and once
only, you would listen to me, be guided by me, and, at any sacrifice,
that you would break immediately and for ever with that bad,
reckless, unprincipled man--what should you say then?"
She looked at him for an instant with a vague sort of half-hope
in her truthful, shining eyes; but it was more resignation than
disappointment that clouded her face over immediately afterwards.

"Say, my dear," answered the Baronet, gaily, but his teeth were
set tight as he spoke; "why I should say that my girl was a romantic
little fool, instead of one of the cleverest women of my
acquaintance; or, more likely still, I should say she was joking, in
order to try her father's patience and indulgence to the utmost.
Listen to me, Constance. I have reasons of my own for wishing to
see you married--of course I mean well married, and safely settled
in life--never mind what they are; it may be that I am getting old,
and feel that I have not much time to lose. Well, I have promised
you to Ropsley--of course with your own consent. In these days we
don't lock up our refractory children, or use force when persuasion
alone is necessary. Heaven forbid!" Sir Harry said it with an
expression of countenance somewhat contradictory of his language.
"But I feel sure I need only point out to you what my wishes are to
have your sincere co-operation. You behaved so well once before,
you will behave well this time. Constance, I am not used to entreat;
you cannot surely refuse me now?"
She burst into tears
"Oh, papa," she said, "anything--anything but this."
He thought to try the old sarcastic mood that had done him
good service with many a woman before.
"What, we are premature, are we, Miss Beverley? We cannot
forget old days and childish absurdities. We must, of course, be
more sensitive than our boyish adorer. Psha! my dear, it's perfectly
absurd; why, you can see with your own eyes that Vere Egerton is
hopelessly entangled with that bold Hungarian girl, and I can tell
you, to my certain knowledge, that he is to marry her forthwith.
What she can see in his ugly face is more than I can make out; but

this I suppose is prejudice on my part. Good Heaven! Constance, are
you really afraid of seeing them together to-night? You! my
daughter! the proud Miss Beverley?"
The old reprobate knew how to manage a woman still. He had
served a long apprenticeship to the trade, and paid pretty dearly for
his lessons in his time.
She did not cry now.
"Papa, I will go to the ball," was all she said; and Sir Harry
thought it wiser to push matters no further for the present.
Our little party had been established in Vienna for several weeks
when the above-mentioned conversation took place; and the De
Rohans were living on terms of close intimacy with the Beverleys.
Ropsley made no secret of his engagement to Constance, and
bestowed all the attentions of a future husband on the unwilling girl
with a tact which made escape impossible. Victor took his place as
an old friend by her side, and she seemed to find the more pleasure
in his society that it relieved her from the Guardsman's sarcastic
though amusing conversation, and, as I once overheard her remark,
with a deep sigh, "reminded her of old times." Valèrie and I were, as
usual, inseparable; but there was something of late in the manner of
the young Countess which grated on my feelings. She was gay,
volatile, demonstrative as ever; but I missed those fits of
abstraction, that restless, preoccupied air which seems so charming
when we fancy we can guess the cause; and altogether I never was
so much in danger of falling in love with Valèrie as now, when,
piqued, hopeless, and miserable, I felt I was uncared for by every
one on earth--even by her. I was one too many in the party. Sir
Harry seemed worldly, sharp, and in good spirits, as usual. Ropsley

scheming, composed, self-contained, and successful. Victor lively,
careless, and like his former self again. Constance haughty and
reserved, habitually silent, and preserving an exterior of icy
calmness. Valèrie sparkling, triumphant, and coquette as possible.
Only Bold and I were out of spirits; the old dog resenting with truly
British energy the indignity of an enforced muzzle, without which no
animal of his species was allowed to go at large in the streets of
Vienna; whilst his master was wearied and ill at ease, tired of an
aimless, hopeless life, and longing for the excitement of action, or
the apathy of repose.
Such were the ingredients of the party that dined together at
that well-known hotel rejoicing in the appellation of "Munsch," on
the day of the masked ball, to which all Vienna meant to go, to be
mystified for pleasure, and have its secrets told and its weaknesses
published for amusement.
Many were the glances of admiration cast at our table, and
many, I doubt not, were the comparisons made between the stately
beauty of the Englishwoman and the brilliant charms of her
Hungarian friend. I sat next to Valèrie, and opposite Miss Beverley--
the latter scarcely ever spoke to me now, and, save a formal
greeting when we met and parted, seemed completely to ignore my
existence; but she tolerated Bold, and the dog lay curled up under
the table at her feet, keeping watch and ward over her--faithful
Bold!--as he used to do long, long ago. Ropsley held forth upon the
political state of Europe; and although Victor and Sir Harry
expressed loudly their admiration of his sentiments, and the lucid
manner in which he expressed them, I have yet reason to believe
that, as he spoke in English, a very garbled and eccentric translation

of his remarks reached the imperial and kingly bureau of police.
Constance and Valèrie seemed to have some secret understanding
which called forth a smile even on the pale face of the former, whilst
the latter was exuberant in mirth and spirits, and was ardently
anticipating the pleasures of the ball. I was roused from my dreamy
state of abstraction by her lively voice.
"Vere," she exclaimed, with a sly glance across the table at her
friend, "we are engaged for the first dance, you know."
She always called me "Vere," now, in imitation of her brother.
"Are we?" was my somewhat ungallant reply. "I was not aware
of it, I do not think I shall go to the ball."
"Not go to the ball!" exclaimed Valèrie; "and I have told you the
colour of my dress and everything. Not go to the ball! do you hear
him, Victor? do you hear him, Sir Harry? do you hear him, Captain
Ropsley?"
"We can hardly believe it," replied the latter, with a quiet smile;
"but, Countess Valèrie, he does not deserve your confidence: will
you not tell us what your dress is to be?"
"Nobody but Vere," persisted the Countess, with another arch
smile at Constance; "you know he is engaged to me, at least for this
evening. But he is cross and rude, and deserves to be mystified and
made unhappy. But seriously, Vere, you will go? Ask him, Miss
Beverley; he won't refuse you, although he is so ungallant towards
me."
Constance looked up for a moment, and in a dry, measured
voice, like a child repeating a lesson, said, "I hope you will go, Mr.
Egerton;" and then resumed the study of her plate, paler and more
reserved than ever.

I heard Bold's tail wagging against the floor. "What have I done
to offend her," I thought, "that she will thus scarcely even deign to
speak to me?" I bowed constrainedly, and said nothing; but the
torture was beginning to get more severe than I could bear, and
making an excuse that I should be late for the opera, whither none
of my companions were going, I hurried from the table, Valèrie
giving me as I rose a camellia from her bouquet, and charging me to
return it to her at the ball. "I shall count upon you, Vere," she said,
as I adjusted it in my coat, "and keep myself disengaged."
I threaded my way through the dirty streets to the opera. I
ensconced myself in the corner of the De Rohans' box; and resting
my head on my hand, I began to reflect for the first time for many
weeks on my position and my prospects. I could not conceal from
myself that I was no longer justified in living on the terms of
intimacy with Victor and his sister which had so long constituted
such an agreeable distraction in my life. It was evident that Valèrie
considered me in the light of something more than a friend, and it
was due to the lady, to her brother, and to myself, that such a
misconception should be rectified at once and for ever. I was well
aware in my heart of hearts that Constance Beverley was still, as she
would always be, the idol of my life, but I was too proud to confess
this even to myself. It was evident that she cared no longer for the
friend of her childhood, that she was totally indifferent as to what
became of the nameless, ill-starred adventurer who had once
presumed to ask her to be his; and I ground my teeth as I told
myself I was too proud, far too proud, to care for any woman that
did not care for me. But I could not lead this life of inaction and
duplicity any longer. No, I was well now, I was able to walk again

(and I thought of my gentle nurse with a sigh). I would not go to
the ball to-night; I would leave Vienna to-morrow; it was far better
not to see Miss Beverley again, better for me at least, and ought I
not to consult my own interest first? Others were selfish. I would be
selfish too! Even Valèrie, I had no doubt, was just like all other
women; she wouldn't care, not she! And yet she was a frank, open-
hearted girl, too. Poor Valèrie! And mechanically I placed the
camellia she had given me to my lips, and raised my eyes to
examine the house for the first time since my entrance.
What was my surprise to remark the action I have just
described imitated exactly by a lady in a box opposite mine, but
whose face was so turned away from me, and so masked, moreover,
by a bouquet she held in her hand, that I could not identify her
features, or even make out whether she was young or old,
handsome or plain! All I could see was a profusion of rich brown
hair, and a well-turned arm holding the bouquet aforesaid, with the
odours of which she seemed much gratified, so perseveringly did she
apply it to her face. After a short interval, I adjusted my opera-glass
and took a long survey of the flower-loving dame. As soon as she
was sure she had attracted my attention, she once more applied the
white camellia to her lips with much energy and fervour, still,
however, keeping her face as far as possible turned away from me,
and shaded by the curtains of her box. Three times this absurd
pantomime was enacted. So strong a partiality for so scentless a
flower as the camellia could not be accidental; and at last I made up
my mind that, in all probability, she mistook me for somebody else,
and would soon find out her error without my giving myself any
further trouble on the subject. I had too much to occupy my own

mind to distress myself very long about the Dame aux Camellias;
and I turned my attention to the stage, to seek relief, if only for half-
an-hour, from the thoughts that were worrying at my heart.
The ballet of Sattinella was being enacted, and a man must
have been indeed miserable who could entirely withdraw his
attention from the magnificent figure of Marie Taglioni, as she
bounded about in the character of that fire-born Temptress, a very
impersonation of grace, symmetry, beauty, and diablerie. The moral
of the piece is very properly not developed till the end, and it is too
much to expect of a human heart that it shall sympathise with the
unfortunate victim of Satan's charming daughter as long as his
tortures are confined to performing wondrous bounds towards the
footlights in her fiendish company, and resting her diabolical form
upon his knee in the most graceful and bewitching attitude that was
ever invented below, and sent up expressly for the delectation of a
Viennese audience. Neither did I think the "first male dancer" very
much to be pitied when he was inveigled into a beautiful garden by
moonlight, where he discovered the whole corps de ballet arranged
in imitation of statues, in the most fascinating of poses plastiques,
and so well drilled as scarcely even to wink more than the very
marble it was their part to represent. Soft music playing the whole
time, and fountains, real fountains, spouting and splashing the entire
depth of the stage, constituted the voluptuous accessories of the
scene, and it was not till the senses of the spectators had been
thoroughly entranced by beauty and melody--by all that could
fascinate the eye and charm the ear, that the whole spectacle
changed to one of infernal splendour; the fountains becoming
fireworks, the pure and snowy statues turning to gorgeous she-

devils of the most diabolical beauty and fierceness, whilst Sattinella
herself, appearing in a bewitching costume of crimson and flames,
carried off the bewildered victim of her blandishments, to remain
bound to her for ever in the dominions of her satanic father.
Having once got him, it is understood that she will never let him
go again, and I could not pity him very sincerely notwithstanding.
The opera was over, the company rapidly departing, and I stood
alone at the stove in the crush-room, wondering why the house was
not burnt down every time this beautiful ballet was performed, and
speculating lazily between whiles as to whether I was ever likely to
witness an opera again. I was one of the last spectators left in the
house, and was preparing to depart, when a female figure, cloaked
and hooded, passed rapidly under my very nose, and as she did so,
pressed a camellia to her lips in a manner which admitted of no
misconception as to her motive. I could not see her face, for a black
satin hood almost covered it, but I recognised the rounded arm and
the handsome bouquet which I had before remarked in the opposite
box. Of course I gave instantaneous chase, and equally of course
came up with the lady before she reached her carriage. She turned
round as she placed her foot on the step, and dropped her fan upon
the muddy pavement; I picked it up, and returned it to her with a
bow. She thanked me in French, and whispered hurriedly, "Monsieur
will be at the Redouten-Saal to-night?" I was in no humour for an
adventure, and answered "No." She repeated in a marked manner,
"Yes, monsieur will be at the ball; monsieur will find himself under
the gallery of the Emperor's band at midnight. De grâce, monsieur
will not refuse this rendezvous."

"I had not intended to go," was my unavoidable reply, "but of
course to please Madame it was my duty to make any sacrifice. I
would be at the appointed place at the appointed time."
She thanked me warmly and earnestly. "She had travelled night
and day for a week, the roads were impassable, frightful, the fatigue
unheard of. She had a migraine, she had not slept for nights, and
yet she was going to this ball. I would not fail her, I would be sure to
be there. Adieu--no, au revoir."
So the carriage drove off, splashing no small quantity of mud
over my face and toilet. As I returned to my hotel to dress, I
wondered what was going to happen now.
CHAPTER XXIX
"A MERRY MASQUE"
It was a beautiful sight, one calculated to inspire feelings of mirth
and gaiety, even in a heart ill at ease with itself. Such a ball-room as
the Redouten-Saal is perhaps hardly to be seen elsewhere in Europe.
Such music I will venture to say can only be heard in Vienna, where
the whole population, from the highest to the lowest, seem to live
only that they may dance. Everybody knows the effect of brilliant
light on the animal spirits; the walls of these magnificent rooms are
of a pale fawn colour, almost approaching to white--the very shade
that best refracts and enhances the effect of hundreds of wax
candles, shedding their soft radiance on the votaries of pleasure
below. No wonder people are in good spirits; no wonder they throng

the spacious halls, or parade the long galleries above, and looking
down from their elevated position, pass many a pointed jest and
humorous sally on the varied scene that crowds the floor below. No
wonder they frequent the refreshment-rooms that skirt these
galleries, and flirt and talk nonsense, and quiz each other with the
cumbrous vivacity of the Saxon race. When I entered from the quiet
street I was dazzled by the glare, and almost stupefied by the hum
of many voices, and the pealing notes of one of those waltzes which
Strauss seems to have composed expressly to remind the fallen
children of Adam of their lost Paradise. From a boy music has made
me melancholy--the sweeter the sadder; and although it is a morbid
unmanly feeling, which I have striven hard to overcome, it has
always conquered me, it will always conquer me to the last. I felt
bitterly out of place amongst these pleasure-worshippers. What had
I to do here, where all were merry and full of enjoyment? My very
dress was out of keeping with the scene, for I was one of a very
small minority in civil attire. Gorgeous uniforms, white, blue, and
green, glittered all over the ball-room; for in Austria no officer
nowadays ever appears out of uniform; and as an army of six
hundred thousand men is officered almost exclusively from the
aristocracy, the fair ball-goers of Vienna find no lack of partners in
gaudy and warlike attire. The ladies were all masked; not so their
respective cavaliers, it being part of the amusement of these balls
that the gentler sex alone should appear incognito, and so torment
their natural prey at more than their usual advantage; thus many a
poisoned dart is planted, many a thrust driven securely home,
without a chance of a parry or fear of a return. Though Pity is
represented in a female garb, it seems to me that woman, when she

does strike, strikes harder, straighter, swifter, more unsparingly than
man. Perhaps she suffers as much as she inflicts, and this makes her
ruthless and reckless--who knows? if so, she would rather die than
acknowledge it. These are not thoughts for a ball, and yet they
crowded on me more and more as I stood under the musicians'
gallery, gazing vacantly at the throng.
Victor and his party had not yet arrived. I was sure to
distinguish them by Ropsley's scarlet uniform, and I was also sure
that in such an assemblage of military connoisseurs the costume of
Queen Victoria's body-guard would attract observation and remark
that could not pass unnoticed even by so preoccupied a spectator as
myself. Besides, I knew the colour of Valèrie's dress; it was to be
pink, and of some fabric, beautiful exceedingly, of which I had
forgotten the name as soon as told. I was consequently sure of
finding them whenever I wished, so I stood quietly in my corner, and
watched the crowd go by, without caring to mingle in the stream or
partake of the amusements every one else seemed to find so
delightful. How poor and vapid sounded the conversation of the
passers-by; how strained the efforts at wit; how forced and
unnatural the attempts at mystification! The Germans are too like
ourselves to sustain for any length of time the artificial pace of
badinage and repartee. It is not the genius of the nation, and they
soon come to a humble jog-trot of old trite jokes, or, worse still,
break down completely, and stop once for all. The only man that
seemed in his element was a French attaché, and he indeed entered
into the spirit of the thing with a zest and enthusiasm of truly
Parisian origin. Surrounded by masks, he kept up a fire of witticism,
which never failed or diminished for an instant; like the juggler who

plays with half-a-dozen balls, now one, now another, now all up in
air at once. The Frenchman seemed to ask no respite, to shrink from
no emergency; he was little, he was ugly, he was not even
gentleman-like, but he was "the right man in the right place," and
the ladies were enchanted with him accordingly. Surrounded by his
admirers, he was at a sufficient distance for me to watch his
proceedings without the risk of appearing impertinent, and so I
looked on, half amused at his readiness, half disgusted with his
flippancy, till I found my attention wandering once more to my own
unprofitable and discontented thoughts.
"Mouton gui rêve," said a voice at my elbow, so close that it
made me start.
I turned rapidly round, and saw a lady standing so near that her
dress touched mine, masked, of course, and thoroughly disguised in
figure and appearance. Had it not been for the handsome arm and
the camellia she held to her lips, I should not have recognised her as
the lady I had spoken to at the door of the Opera, and who had
appointed to meet me at this very spot--a rendezvous which, truth
to tell, I had nearly forgotten.
"Mouton gui rêve," she repeated, and added, in the same
language, "Your dreams must be very pleasant if they can thus
abstract you from all earthly considerations, even music and
dancing, and your duty towards the fair sex."
"Now what can this woman want with me? I wish she would let
me alone," was my inward thought: but my outward expression
thereof was couched in more polite language.
"Dreaming! of course I was dreaming--and of Madame; so
bright a vision, that I could hardly hope ever to see it realised. I

place myself at Madame's feet as the humblest of her slaves."
She laughed in my face. "Do not attempt compliments," she
said, "it is not your métier. The only thing I like about you English is
your frankness and straight-forward character. Take me upstairs. I
want to speak seriously to you. Don't look so preoccupied."
At this instant I recognised Ropsley's scarlet uniform showing to
great advantage on his tall person in the distance; I could not help
glancing towards the part of the room in which I knew the pink
dress was to be found, for the pink dress would of course have
entered with Ropsley, and where the pink dress was there would be
another, whom, after to-night, I had resolved never, never to see
again.
My mysterious acquaintance had now hooked herself on to my
arm, and as we toiled up the stairs it was necessary to say
something. I said the first thing that occurred to me. "How did you
know I was an Englishman?" She laughed again.
"Not by your French," she answered; "for without compliment,
you speak it as well as I do; but who except an Englishman would
go to sleep with his eyes open in such a place as this? who else
would forget such a rendezvous as I gave you here? who else, with
a pretty woman on his arm (I am a pretty woman, though I don't
mean to unmask), would be longing to get away, and hankering
after a pink dress and a black domino at the other end of the room?
You needn't wince, my friend; I know all your secrets. You were in
the seventh heaven when I interrupted you. I wish you would come
down to earth again."
I will not say where I wished she would go down to, but I
answered gravely and politely enough--"It was not to tell me this

you stopped your carriage after the opera to-night; tell me how I
can serve you--I am at the disposition of Madame, though I am at a
loss to discover what she means by her pink dresses and black
dominoes."
"I will not laugh at you for being serious," she replied. "I am
serious myself now, and I shall be for the next ten minutes. Frankly,
I know you; I know all about you. I know the drawing-room at
Edeldorf, and I know Valèrie de Rohan--don't look so frightened,
your secret is safe with me. Be equally frank, Monsieur l'Interprète,
and interpret something for me, under promise of secrecy. You are
an Englishman," she added, hurriedly, her manner changing
suddenly to one of earnestness, not unmixed with agitation; "can I
depend upon you?"
"Implicitly, Madame," was my reply.
"Then tell me why Victor de Rohan is constantly at the Hôtel
Munsch with his foreign friends; tell me why he is always in
attendance on that proud young lady, that frigid specimen of an
English 'meess'? Is it true, I only ask you--tell me, is it true?"
Agitated as was the questioner, her words smote home to her
listener's heart. How blind I had been, living with them every day,
and never to see it! while here was a comparative stranger, one at
least who, by her own account, had been absent from Vienna for
weeks, and she was mistress of the details of our every-day life; she
had been watching like a lynx, whilst I was sleeping or dreaming at
my post; well, it mattered little which, now. The hand that held her
bouquet was shaking visibly, but her voice was steady and even
slightly sarcastic as she read her answer in my face, and resumed--

"What I have heard, then, is true, and Count de Rohan is indeed
an enviable man. You need not say another word, Monsieur
l'Interprète, I am satisfied. I thank you for your kindness. I thank
you for your patience; you may kiss my hand;" and she gave it me
with the air of a queen. "I am an old friend of his and of his family; I
shall go and congratulate him; you need not accompany me. Adieu!
good sleep and pleasant dreams to you."
I followed her with my eyes as she moved away. I saw her walk
up to Victor, who had a lady in blue, Constance, of course, upon his
arm. She passed close by him and whispered in his ear. He started,
and I could see that he turned deadly pale. For an instant he
hesitated as if he would follow her, but in a twinkling she was lost
amongst the crowd, and I saw her no more that night.
I threaded my way to where Ropsley in his scarlet uniform was
conversing with a knot of distinguished Austrian officers; they were
listening to his remarks with attention, and here, as elsewhere, in
the ball-room at Vienna as in the playground at Everdon, it seemed
natural that my old school-fellow should take the lead. Sir Harry was
by his side occasionally putting in his word, somewhat mal-à-propos,
for though a shrewd capable man, foreign politics were a little out of
Sir Harry's depth. Behind him stood the much-talked-of pink dress;
its wearer was closely masked, but I knew the flowers she held in
her hand, and I thought now was the time to bid Valèrie a long
farewell. She was a little detached from her party, and I do not think
expected me so soon, for she started when I spoke to her, but
bowed in acquiescence, and put her arm within mine when I
proposed to make the tour of the room with her, although, true to
the spirit of a masquerade, not a word escaped her lips. I led her up

to the galleries, and placed a seat for her apart from the crowd. I did
not quite know how to begin, and contrary to her wont, Valèrie
seemed as silently disposed as myself. At last I took courage, and
made my plunge.
"I have asked to speak to you, to wish you good-bye," I said. "I
am going away to-morrow. For my own sake I must stay here no
longer. I am going back to the East. I am well now, and anxious to
be on service again. I have stayed in the Fatherland far too long as it
is. To-morrow at daybreak Bold and I must be en route for Trieste." I
paused; she winced, and drew in her breath quickly, but bowed her
head without speaking, and I went on--"Mine has been a strange lot,
and not a very happy one; and this must account to you for my
reserved, unsociable conduct, my seeming ingratitude to my best
and kindest friends. Believe me, I am not ungrateful, only unhappy. I
might have been, I ought to have been a very different man. I shall
to-night bid you farewell, perhaps for ever. You are a true friend; you
have always borne and sympathised with me. I will tell you my
history; bear and sympathise with me now. I have been a fool and
an idolater all my life; but I have been at least consistent in my folly,
and true in my idolatry. From my earliest boyhood there has been
but one face on earth to me, and that one face will haunt me till I
die. Was it my fault, that seeing her every day I could not choose
but love her? that loving her I would have striven heart and soul, life
and limb, to win her? And I failed. I failed, though I would have
poured out my heart's blood at her feet. I failed, and yet I loved her
fondly, painfully, madly as ever. Why am I an exile from my country--
a wanderer on the face of the earth--a ruined, desperate man? Why,
because of her. And yet I would not have it otherwise, if I could. It is

dearer to me to sorrow for her sake, than it could ever have been to
be happy with another. Valèrie, God forbid you should ever know
what it is to love as I have done. God forbid that the feeling which
ought to be the blessing and the sunshine of a life should turn to its
blight and its curse! Valèrie!"
She was shaking all over; she was weeping convulsively under
her mask: I could hear her sobs, and yet I was pitiless. I went on. It
was such a relief in the selfishness of my sorrow, to pour out the
pent-up grief of years, to tell any one, even that merry, light-hearted
girl, how bitterly I had suffered--how hopeless was my lot. It was
not that I asked for sympathy, it was not that I required pity; but it
seemed a necessity of my being, that I should establish in the ears
of one living witness the fact of my great sorrow, ere I carried it
away with me, perhaps to my grave. And all this time the melody of
the "Weintrauben" was pealing on, as if in mockery. Oh, that waltz!
How often she had played it to me in the drawing-room at Beverley!
Surely, surely, it must smite that cold heart even now.
My companion's sobs were less violent, but she grasped the
bouquet in her hand till every flower drooped and withered with the
pressure.
"Valèrie," I continued, "do not think me vain or presumptuous. I
speak to you as a man who has death looking him in the face. I am
resolved never to return. I am no braver than my neighbours, but I
have nothing on earth to live for, and I pray to die. I can speak to
you now as I would not dare to speak if I thought ever to look in
your face again. You have been my consoler, my sister, my friend.
Oh, I could have dared to love you, Valèrie; to strive for you, to win
you, had I but been free. You are, perhaps, far worthier than that

proud, unfeeling girl, and yet--and yet--it cannot be. Farewell,
Valèrie, dear Valèrie; we shall never meet again. You will be happy,
and prosperous, and beloved; and you will think sometimes of the
poor wounded bird whose broken wing you healed, only that it
might fly away once more into the storm. As for me, I have had no
future for years. I live only in the past. Bold and I must begin our
wanderings again to-morrow--Bold whom she used to fondle, whom
I love for her sake. It is not every man, Countess Valèrie, that will
sacrifice his all to an idea, and that idea a false one!"
"Stop, Vere!" she gasped out wildly; "hush, for mercy's sake,
hush!"
Oh! that voice, that voice! was I dreaming? was it possible? was
I mad? Still the wild tones of the "Weintrauben" swelled and sank
upon mine ear; still the motley crowd down below were whirling
before my sight; and as surely as I saw and heard, so surely was it
Constance Beverley who laid her hand in mine, and tearing down
her mask, turned upon me a look so wild, so mournful, so unearthly,
that, through all my astonishment, all my confusion, it chilled me to
the heart. Many a day afterwards--ay, in the very jaws of death, that
look haunted me still.
"So true," she muttered; "oh, misery, misery! too late."
"Forgive me, Miss Beverley," I resumed, bitterly, and with cold
politeness; "this communication was not intended for you. I meant
to bid Countess Valèrie farewell. You have accidentally heard that
which I would have died sooner than have told you. It would be
affectation to deny it now. I shall not annoy you any further. I
congratulate you on your many conquests, and wish you good-bye."
She was weeping once more, and wrung my hand convulsively.

"Vere, Vere," she pleaded, "do not be so hard upon me; so
bitter, so mocking, so unlike yourself. Spare me, I entreat you, for I
am very miserable. You do nob know how I am situated. You do not
know how I have struggled. But I must not talk thus now."
She recovered her self-command with a strong effort, and pale
as death, she spoke steadily on.
"Vere, we may not make our own lot in life; whatever is, is for
the best. It is too late to think of what might have been. Vere, dear
Vere, you are my brother--you never can be more to me than a dear,
dear brother."
"Why not?" I gasped, for her words, her voice, her trembling
frame, her soft, sweet, mournful looks, had raised once more a
legion of hopes that I thought were buried for ever in my breast;
and despite my cruel taunts, I loved her, even whilst I smote, as the
fierce human heart can love, and tear, and rend, and suffer the
while, far, far more keenly than its victim.
"Because I am the promised wife of another. Your friend, Count
de Rohan, proposed for me this very day, and I accepted him."
She was standing up as she said it, and she spoke in a steady
measured voice; but she sat down when she had finished, and tried
to put her mask on again. Her fingers trembled so that she could not
tie the strings.
I offered her my arm, and we went downstairs. Not a word did
we exchange till we had nearly reached the place where Sir Harry
was still standing talking to Victor de Rohan. Ropsley, in his scarlet
uniform, was whirling away with a lady in a blue dress, whose figure
I recognised at once for that of the Countess Valèrie. It was easy to
discover that the young ladies, who resembled each other in size

and stature, had changed dresses; and the Countess, to enhance
the deception, had lent her bouquet to her friend. I was giddy and
confused, like a man with his death-hurt, but pride whispered in my
ear to bear it in silence and seeming unconcern.
Three paces more would bring us to Sir Harry. I should never
see her again. In a short time she might perhaps read my name in
the Gazette, and then hard, haughty, false as she was, she would
like to know that I had been true to her to the last. No, I would not
part with her in anger; my better angel conquered, and I wrung her
hand, and whispered, "God bless you, Constance." "God bless you,
Vere," she replied; and the pressure of those soft trembling fingers
thrilled on mine for many a day.
I recollect but little more of that ball in the Redouten-Saal. I
believe I congratulated Victor on his approaching marriage. I believe
I wished Valèrie good-bye, and was a little disappointed at the
resignation with which she accepted my departure. I have a vague
impression that even Ropsley, usually so calm, so selfish, so
unsympathising, accompanied me home, under the impression that I
was ill. My mind had been overstrung, and I walked about like a man
in a dream. But morning came at last, and with my cased sword
under my arm, and Bold in a leash at my feet, I stood on the
platform of the railway-station, waiting for the departure of my train.
An English servant, in the well-known livery, touched his hat as he
put a letter into my hand. Miser that I was! I would not read it till I
was fairly settled in the carriage. Little thought the faded belle, with
her false front, opposite me, or the fat man, with a seal-ring on his
fore-finger, by my side, how that scrap of paper was all my wealth
on earth; but they were honest Germans, and possessed that truest

of all politeness, which does as it would be done by. No inquisitive
regards annoyed me during its perusal; no impertinent sympathy
remarked on the tears which I am ashamed to say fell thick and fast
upon it ere it closed. I have it by me now, that yellow well-worn
paper. I have read those delicate womanly characters by scorching
sunlight, by the faint glimmer of a picket's lantern, far away on the
boundless sea, cramped and close in the stifling tent. If indeed
"every bullet has its billet," and any one of them had been destined
to lodge in my bosom, it must have found its way right through that
fragile shield--ay, carried in with it the very words which were
ineffaceably engraven on my heart. No wonder I can remember it
all. Here it is:--
"Vere, you must not judge me as men are so prone to judge women-
-harshly, hastily, uncharitably. We are not all frivolous, selfish, and
fond of change, caring only for our amusements, our conquests, as
you call them, and our enmities. You were bitter and cruel to me last
night. Indeed, indeed, I feel you had a right to be so, Vere. I am so,
so sorry for you. But you must not think I have treated you unkindly,
or with want of confidence. Remember how you have avoided me
ever since we came to Vienna; remember how you have behaved to
me as a stranger, or at most a mere acquaintance; how you have
never once inquired about my prospects, or alluded to old times.
Perhaps you were right; perhaps you felt hurt, proud, and angry;
and yet, Vere, I had expected better things from you. Had I been in
your place I think I could have forgiven, I think I could have cared
for, sympathised with, and respected one whom I was forbidden to
love. If I were a man, it seems to me that I should not place

happiness, however great, as the one sole aim of my existence; that
I should strive to win honour and distinction, to benefit my fellow-
men, and above all, to fulfil my duty, even with no higher reward
here below than my own approval. Vere, when a man feels he is
doing right, others think so too. I could be proud, oh! so proud, of
my brother. Yes, Vere, it is my turn to implore now, and I entreat
you let me be a sister, a very dear sister to you. As such I will tell
you all my griefs, all my doings; as such I can confide in you, write
to you, think of you, pray for you, as indeed I do, Vere, every
morning and evening of my life. And now let us dismiss at once and
for ever the thoughts of what might have been. The past is beyond
recall--the present, as you used to say, does not exist. The future
none can call their own. There is but one reality in life, and that is
Right. Vere, I have done right. I have followed the path of duty.
Brother, I call upon you for your help along the rough steep way;
you have never failed me yet, you will not fail me now.
"You know my mother died when I was very young. Since then
my father has fulfilled the duties of both parents towards his child.
As I have grown older and seen more of the world, I have been
better able to appreciate his affection and devotion to myself. A little
girl must have been a sad clog upon a man like my dear father, a
high-spirited gentleman, fond of the world, fond of society, fond of
pleasure. Besides, had it not been for me, he would have married
again, and he preferred to sacrifice his happiness to his child. Can I
ever repay him? No. Whatever may have been his faults, he has
been a kind, kind father to me. I will tell you all frankly, Vere, as this
is the last time the subject can ever be mentioned between us. Had
I been free to choose, I would have been yours. I am not ashamed--

nay, I am proud to own it. But you know how impossible it was, how
absolutely my father forbade it. To have disobeyed him would have
been wicked and ungrateful. I feel that even you would not have
respected me had I done so. But of late he has become most
anxious to see me settled in life. From his own hints, and Captain
Ropsley's open assertions, it seems this alone can stave off some
dreadful evil. I do not understand it. I only know I am bound to do
all in my power for papa; and that he is entangled with that bad,
unprincipled man I feel convinced. Oh, Vere, it might have been far,
far worse. In accepting Count de Rohan I have escaped a great and
frightful danger. Besides, I esteem him highly, I like his society, I
admire his open, honourable character. I have known him all my life;
he is your oldest friend--I need not enlarge upon his merits to you.
His sister, too, is a charming, frank-hearted girl. From all I heard,
from all I saw, I had hoped, Vere, that she had effaced in your mind
the unhappy recollections of former days. She is beautiful,
accomplished, and attractive; can you wonder that I believed what I
was told, and judged, besides, by what I saw? Even now we might
be related. You seem to like her, and she would make any one
happy. Forgive me, Vere, forgive me for the suggestion. It seems so
unfeeling now, whilst I have your tones of misery ringing in my ears;
and yet, Heaven knows, your happiness is the wish nearest my
heart. Consult only that, and I shall be satisfied. To hear of your
welfare, your success, will make me happy. I cannot, I must not
write to you again. You yourself would not wish it. I ought to write
no more now. I feel for you, Vere; I know how you must suffer, but
the steel must be tempered in the fire, and it is through suffering
that men learn to be great and good. There are other prizes in life

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