IAEA/RCA Progress Assessment Meeting of the RCA Project on Characterization and Source Identification of Particulate Air Pollution in the Asia Region will be held in Colombo, Sri Lanka on 25-29 August 2008 in association with the Government of Sri Lanka through the Atomic Energy Agency.

Pollution caused by airborne particulate matter (APM) is now being recognized as a local, regional and global problem with a serious impact on human health, particularly that of the young and the aged on visibility and on climate change. Air pollution generated in one region or country is often not restricted to that area but has an impact in adjacent countries or even across whole regions of the globe. Asia has its own specific air pollution issues such as the anthropogenic Asian Brown Haze, and Asian Dust, a phenomenon with natural origins in wind conditions over deserts in Mongolia and northern and western China.

Asia Brown Haze is a layer of air pollution that covers parts of the northern Indian Ocean, India, Pakistan, and parts of South Asia, Southwest Asia, and China. Asian Dust (also yellow dust, yellow sand, yellow wind, Korean dust or China dust storms) is a seasonal meteorological phenomenon which affects much of East Asia sporadically during the springtime months. The dust originates in the deserts of Mongolia and northern China and Kazakhstan where high-speed surface winds and intense dust storms kick up dense clouds of fine, dry soil particles. These clouds are then carried eastward by prevailing winds and pass over China, North and South Korea, and Japan. Major problems of this kind call for a regional approach to be adopted by the countries affected. The Asian region has also many local forms of air pollution, originating in urban and industrial sources.

The sensitive and speedy nuclear techniques, such as neutron activation analysis, X-ray fluorescence, and ion beam analysis and proton-induced X-ray emission, are unique tools for determining the character of APM. This type of data is ideally suited to source identification, source apportionment, and trans-boundary modeling.

The overall objective of this project is to contribute to the improvement of air quality in the RCA region by applying advanced nuclear analytical techniques to the assessment of APM pollution. The specific objectives are: (1) to obtain sufficient long-term data on fine and coarse APM to identify the anthropogenic and natural pollution sources and to assess the extent of their impact; (2) to obtain sufficient high-quality data from a sufficient number of Member States within the region covering the same time frame to facilitate a study of larger-scale trans-boundary pollution and transportation sources; and (3) to create a reliable high-quality region wide database that will enable government air-quality managers to make informed decisions on pollution abatement and control strategies.

For more detailed information, please contact Mr H.G.P. Karunaratne at karunaratne@aea.ac.lk or +9411-253-3427.