Syllabus - ENE 428 – Introduction to Air Quality - USC Web Services

ENE 526 Air pollutants: Properties, Behavior and Measurement
2010 Fall Semester — Course Syllabus
Class Sessions Thursday 6:30-9:10pm KAP 138
Professor Dr. Zhi Ning, Research Assistant Professor
Office RTH 415
Phone (213) 821-5961
Email ning@usc.edu
Office Hours 2-5pm, email to set up an appointment
Webpage http://www-rcf.usc.edu/~ning/
Teaching Assistant Kalam Cheung
Office RTH 517
Phone 213.740.4030
Email kalamche@usc.edu
Office Hours Wednesday 3-6pm, RTH 517
Prerequisites None
Textbook
References
Course Description
Course Objectives
No textbook is required.
Comprehensive class notes will be provided to the students.
Hinds, W.C. Aerosol Technology: Properties, Behavior and Measurement of Airborne
Particles John Wiley & Sons, New York, (1982).
Seinfeld, J.H. Atmospheric physics and chemistry of air pollution. John Wiley & Sons, New
York, (1986).
Gaseous and particulate air pollutants, their measurement and instrumentation methods,
and their effects on the environment and human health; studies on toxicity and risk
assessment of selected pollutants.
Air pollutants are a complex mixture of gases and particles. They undergo transformations,
deposit in different sizes of the human respiratory tract, and have different impacts on the
environment. This course is designed to offer engineers fundamental and practical
education on the characteristics, sources, sampling and measurement methods of air
pollutants. In addition, the health impacts of environmental contaminants are discussed,
and the concept of risk assessment is introduced.
Final grade schema is based on the following percentages of graded coursework :
Participation 10 %
Homework and class project 40 %
Midterm (open book) 20 %
Final Exam (open book) 30 %
Total 100 %

ENE 526 Air pollutants: Properties, Behavior and Measurement
2010 Fall Semester — Course Syllabus
Class Schedule
Class Meetings Weeks
to cover
Week THU topics Topics
Overview and Introduction to Exposure Assessment
Assignments Due Dates
1 8/26 1 This part includes a description of air pollutants, and an overview of exposure
and risk assessment.
2
3
9/2
9/9
2 Gaseous Pollutants
Gas-phase pollutants, their characteristics and methods for their measurement
are discussed in this section.
4 9/16 3-4 Particulate Pollutants
5 9/23
Particulate pollution is discussed extensively in this session. The complexity of
the nature of particulate pollutants makes it necessary to devote four lectures
6 9/30
on the subject.
7 10/7
8 10/14 1-2
9 10/21
10 10/28 1-2
11 11/4
12 11/11 1
13 11/18 2
The Atmosphere
The role of the atmosphere as a medium for pollutant transport is discussed. A
brief discussion on the Gaussian dispersion model is given. The use of
compartmental models to describe the behavior of pollutants in an outdoor or
indoor environment is presented. Point and line sources are discussed.
Indoor Air Pollution
This section will present the difference between outdoor, indoor and personal
exposures. Sources of measurement errors will be discussed. Particular
emphasis will be spent on pollutants partitioned between gas and particulate
phases, which are difficult to sample properly.
Respiratory Deposition of Environmental Contaminants
This section will discuss fundamental aspects of respiratory deposition of
particulate and gas phase pollutants. The role of the pollutants phase and
chemical composition on the uptake and site of deposition in the respiratory
tract will be explained. Inhalable and respirable sampling strategies will be
presented.
Principles of Risk Assessment
This section will begin with a discussion on hazard identification. EPA, NIOSH
and IARC approaches for classification of carcinogens are reviewed. Dose
response relationships and toxicity are discussed.
The concepts of No-Effect Level and Low-Effect Level are presented.
Approaches for extrapolating risk from animal to human will be covered. Risk
assessment for non-carcinogens is also discussed. Case studies for specific
toxic compounds will be presented in this section as examples.
14 11/25 Thanksgiving Holiday – no class
15 12/2 Principles of Risk Assessment (cont.)
16 12/9 Final Exam

ENE 526 Air pollutants: Properties, Behavior and Measurement
STATEMENT ON ACADEMIC INTEGRITY
2010 Fall Semester — Course Syllabus
USC seeks to maintain an optimal learning environment. General principles of academic honesty include the concept
of respect for the intellectual property of others, the expectation that individual work will be submitted unless
otherwise allowed by an instructor, and the obligations both to protect one’s own academic work from misuse by
others as well as to avoid using another’s work as one’s own.
All students are expected to understand and abide by these principles. SCampus, the Student Guidebook, contains
the Student Conduct Code in Section 11.00, while the recommended sanctions are located in Appendix A:
http://www.usc.edu/dept/publications/SCAMPUS/gov/. Students will be referred to the Office of Student Judicial
Affairs and Community Standards for further review, should there be any suspicion of academic dishonesty. The
Review process can be found at: http://www.usc.edu/student-affairs/SJACS/.
STATEMENT FOR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES
Any student requesting academic accommodations based on a disability is required to register with Disability
Services and Programs (DSP) each semester. A letter of verification for approved accommodations can be obtained
from DSP. Please be sure the letter is delivered to me (or to TA) as early in the semester as possible.
DSP Contact Information
Office location: STU 301
Hours open: 8:30 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. — Monday - Friday.
Phone number: (213) 740-0776