First published in 1987, Peter Brimblecombe's book provides an engaging historical account of air pollution in London, offering a fascinating insight into the development of air pollution controls against a changing social and economic background. He examines domestic and industrial pollution and their effects on fashions, furnishings, buildings and human health. The book ends with an intriguing analysis of the dangers arising from contemporary pollutants and a glimpse of what the future may hold for London.

Episodes of air pollution throughout the 20th and 21st centuries have had a huge influence socially, economically and politically. From the Great Smog of London to the Kuwait Oil Fires, and from the ashes of Mount St Helens to air pollution in Beijing, this book chronicles their enduring legacies in medicine, science and public policy. Using technical information and insight from witnesses directly involved in the incidents, ten key episodes are brought together to allow comparison and analysis.Written for students, academics and professionals of atmospheric physics and chemistry, environmental science, public policy and other clinical disciplines, Air Pollution Episodes provides the unique opportunity to understand and learn from the most famous and sometimes devastating incidences of air pollution globally.

Pollution damages materials, but it has changed dramatically in the past century, with a reduction in the concentration of corrosive primary pollutants in urban atmospheres. At the same time, architectural styles and types of materials have changed, as we have moved to more organically rich, photochemically active atmospheres. Contemporary pollutants have a greater potential to degrade organic coatings and polymers, which are of great importance to modern structures.Urban Pollution and Changes to Materials and Building Surfaces examines a range of materials, discussing the ways in which they are likely to be damaged by contemporary urban pollutants, with an emphasis on the effects of air pollution. A chapter on graffiti is also included.The wide scope covered means that this volume is suitable for readers from a broad background. It should be of interest to scientists and policymakers dealing with the effects of urban pollution, as well as undergraduate and graduate students working in this area.This book, with its wealth of information, is of exceedingly good value for readers who seek to understand more on the changes of materials and building surfaces by urban pollution.

First published in 1987, Peter Brimblecombe's book provides an engaging historical account of air pollution in London, offering a fascinating insight into the development of air pollution controls against a changing social and economic background. He examines domestic and industrial pollution and their effects on fashions, furnishings, buildings and human health. The book ends with an intriguing analysis of the dangers arising from contemporary pollutants and a glimpse of what the future may hold for London.

Air pollution damages materials, but it has changed dramatically in the past century, with a reduction in the concentration of corrosive primary pollutants in urban atmospheres. At the same time, architectural styles and types of materials have changed, as we have moved to more organically rich, photochemically active atmospheres.

Contemporary air pollutants have the potential to degrade organic coatings and polymers, which are of great importance to modern structures, while increasing amounts of fine diesel soot spoil the simple lines and smooth areas characteristic of many modern buildings.

This book examines a range of materials, discussing the ways in which they are likely to be damaged by air pollutants. It should be of interest to scientists and policymakers dealing with the effects of urban air pollution.

There is a growing need for cooperation between disciplines, not only to deal with the burning problems of the present, but to study the interaction of societies and their ecosystems in the past. In the 1970s studies in Environmental History were largely confined to North America. Recent years have brought about a vast increase in the "amount, the quality and the scope of scholarship on historical interactions between human (social and economic) de velopment and the biosphere in Europe, both East and West. This broad interest in environmental history may have been heightened and sharpened by the dangers of unbridled technology and unlimited growth, which are becoming more and more manifest. However, for several reasons it is still difficult to become familiar with the different approaches to this new and interdisciplinary of study. Many fields of thought - biology, anthropology, field geography, sociology and history - are involved; the relevant books and articles are hard to find and a coherent theoretical framework is still lacking, because the key issues have yet to be submitted to a thorough scholarly debate. It is hoped that the pre sent volume will make a contribution towards overcoming those shortcomings."

Acid rain is still with us. Although it is a problem that people have worked diligently to solve, there are still many problem areas throughout the world. In reality the focus of acid rain research has shifted, and this book adds new vision to the topic. It contains papers, selected from Acid Rain 2005, the 7th International Conference on Acid Deposition, that take a broad perspective of the issues, emphasizing a number of themes: - the emission, concentration and deposition of pollutants - nitrogen and trace elements in ecosystems and their effects on forests, water and soil - studies of material damage and recovery - critical loads.

This book is about the atmosphere and humanity's influence on it. For this new edition, Brimblecombe has rewritten and updated much of the book. In the early chapters, he discusses the geochemical, biological and maritime sources of the trace gases. Next, he examines the chemistry of atmospheric gases, suspended particles, and rainfall. After dealing with the natural atmosphere, he examines the sources of air pollution and its effects, with all scenarios updated from the last edition. Scenarios include decline in health, damage to plants and animals, indoor pollution, and acid rain. The final chapters, also revised, are concerned with the chemistry and evolution of the atmospheres of the planets of the solar system. Students with an interest in chemistry and the environmental sciences will find this book highly valuable.

This book is about the atmosphere and our influence on its composition. The early chapters look at the geochemical, biological and maritime sources of the trace gases and are followed by chapters on the chemistry of atmospheric gases, suspended particles and rainfall. After dealing with the natural atmosphere the book examines the sources of air pollution and its effects: decline in health, damage to plants and animals, and to constructional materials, indoor pollution, acid rain and global changes in carbon dioxide and methane. The final chapters are concerned with the chemistry and pollution of the upper atmosphere and the composition and evolution of the atmospheres of the planets of the solar system.