Client: University of Vienna, Institute of Experimental Physics

Date: 02/1995-06/1996

Location: Austria

Description:

Influence of polluted air on the appearance of historic buildings.

It is a particularly important research project for Europe, as many historic valuable buildings are exposed to a very aggressive atmosphere and research is being done on the exploration of the mechanisms involved in the formation and the rapid development of different aerosol ponds and the changes in the surface structure by the particles.

The danger to heritage from air pollution comes from two main sources –gases that increase the corrosively of the atmosphere and black particles that dirty light-colored surfaces. The main mechanism of the former occurs when acid chemicals are incorporated into rain, snow, fog or mist. Familiar as “acid rain”, the “acid” comes from oxides of Sulphur and nitrogen, largely products of domestic and industrial fuel burning and related to tow strong acids: sulphuric acid and nitric acid.

Sulphur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (Nox) released from power stations and other sources from acids where the weather is wet, which fall to the Earth as precipitation and damage both heritage materials and human health.

Related published articles:

1. The effect of air pollution on tissue structure of Alfalfa and Bean (2009). Zahlan R., Nizam A. A. and Meslmani Y.; Journal of Damascus university for basic sciences, 2009, Vol. 25, No.2, pp. 71-88.
2. The relationship between the vertical distribution of the Boundary Layer Ozone and preexisting NOx concentrations (2007). Meslmani Yousef, An Junlin, Wang Yuesi and Hu Fei 12th International Conference of the Pacific Basin Consortium for Environment & Health Sciences. 26th -29th October 2007; Peking University, Beijing – China.
3. Influence of Cement Dust Emission on Olive trees around Tartous cement factory in Syria: A case study for the eastern Mediterranean region (2007). Meslmani Y., Al-Oudat M., Al Kharfan K., Al Shamali K.; 14th International Symposium on Environmental Pollution and its Impact on Life in the Mediterranean Region with focus on Environment and Health. 10-14 October, 2007; Seville – Spain.
4. Properties of nitrate, sulfate and ammonium in typical polluted atmospheric aerosols (PM10) in Beijing (2007). Zhang Kai, Wang Yuesi, Wen Tianxue, Meslmani Yousef and Murray Frank; Atmospheric Research, March 2007. Volume 84, Issue 1, pp. 67-77.
5. Effect of using unleaded gasoline on lead concentration in air, soil and plants in Damascus-Syria (2006). Meslmani Y., Al-Oudat. Eighth Arab Conference on the peaceful uses of Atomic Energy. 3 – 7 December 2006, Amman-Jordan.
6. Review of Air Quality in Syria: 1999-2006. Meslmani Yousef; Environmental Protection Division, Atomic Energy Commission of Syria. AECS-PR/Rss 697; September, 2006.
7. Studies on water-soluble salts in PM10 during the heavy pollution process in Beijing China (2006). ZHANG Kai, WANG Yue-si, WEN Tian-xue, HU Bo, LIU Guang-ren and MESLMANI Yousef; Environmental Science. 2006 Vol. 26 No.4, pp.385-389.
8. The effects of cement dust on olive trees in the area surrounding Tartous cement factory (2005). Meslmani Y., Al-Aoudat M., Al-kharfan K.; 3rd International Symposium on Air Quality. Management at Urban, Regional and Global Scales, 26–30 September 2005, Istanbul– Turkey.
9. Influence of polluted air on Alfalfa (2005). Zahlan R., Nizam A. A. and Meslmani Y.; Journal of Damascus university for basic sciences, Vol. 21, No. 2, 2005, pp. 189-205.
10. Some Trends Related to Air Pollution in Damascus (2004). Meslmani Yousef; Management of Environmental Quality: an International Journal, Vol. 15 No. 4, 2004, pp. 353-363.
11. Dust full study in the surrounding area of a cement factory and determination of the major elements of the dust fall using Neutron Activation Analysis, NAA (2004). Meslmani Y. and Al-Oudat M.; Seventh Arab Conference on the peaceful uses of Atomic Energy, 4–8 December 2004, Sanaa–Yemen.
12. Proposal of Air Quality Program for Damascus City (2004). Meslmani Yousef; International Conference on Atmospheric Pollution, Dubai International Convention Center, 21–24 February 2004. Dubai – UAE.
13. View of Air pollution problem in Damascus (2002). Meslmani Yousef; European-Arabian Conference for the Environment, 10–14 October 2002, Rostock, Germany.
14. Investigation of Environmental Aerosol by Atomic Force Microscopy (1995). Friedbacher G., Grasserbauer M., Meslmani Y., Klaus N. and Higatsberger M. J.; Analytical Chemistry, Vol. 67, No. 10, May 15, 1995, pp. 1754-1749.