Increased demands for cleaner burning energy, coupled with the relatively recent technological advances in accessing unconventional hydrocarbon-rich geologic formations, have led to an intense effort to find and extract natural gas from various underground sources around the country. One of these sources, the Marcellus Shale, located in the Allegheny Plateau, is currently undergoing extensive drilling and production. The technology used to extract gas in the Marcellus Shale is known as hydraulic fracturing and has garnered much attention because of its use of large amounts of fresh water, its use of proprietary fluids for the hydraulic-fracturing process, its potential to release contaminants into the environment, and its potential effect on water resources. Nonetheless, development of natural gas extraction wells in the Marcellus Shale is only part of the overall natural gas story in this area of Pennsylvania. Conventional natural gas wells, which sometimes use the same technique, are commonly located in the same general area as the Marcellus Shale and are frequently developed in clusters across the landscape. The combined effects of these two natural gas extraction methods create potentially serious patterns of disturbance on the landscape. This document quantifies the landscape changes and consequences of natural gas extraction for Somerset County and Westmoreland County in Pennsylvania between 2004 and 2010. Patterns of landscape disturbance related to natural gas extraction activities were collected and digitized using National Agriculture Imagery Program (NAIP) imagery for 2004, 2005/2006, 2008, and 2010. The disturbance patterns were then used to measure changes in land cover and land use using the National Land Cover Database (NLCD) of 2001. A series of landscape metrics is also used to quantify these changes and is included in this publication.

关键词：天然气；景观；提取物；干扰；;破碎；方法论

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Results from 548,507 indoor radon tests from a database compiled by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, Bureau of Radiation Protection, Radon Division, are evaluated in this report in an effort to determine areas where concentrations of radon are highest. Indoor radon concentrations were aggregated according to geologic unit and hydrogeologic setting for spatial analysis. Indoor radon concentrations greater than or equal to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) action level of 4 picocuries per liter (pCi/L) were observed for 39 percent of the test results; the highest concentration was 1,866.4 pCi/L.

关键词：大气；空气污染；空气分析

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The basic principles of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agencys (EPA) Traceability Protocol for the Assay and Certification of Gaseous Calibration Standards (EPA, 1997) were developed jointly by EPA, the National Bureau of Standards (now National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)), and specialty gas producers over 30 years ago. At the time, commercially-prepared calibration gases were perceived as being too inaccurate and too unstable for use in calibrations and audits of continuous source emission monitors and ambient air quality monitors. The protocol was developed to improve their quality by establishing their traceability to NIST Standard Reference Materials (SRMs) and to provide reasonably priced products. This protocol established the gas metrological procedures for measurement and certification of these calibration gases for EPA's Acid Rain Program under 40 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 75, for the Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Program under 40 CFR Part 58, and for the Source Testing Program under 40 CFR Parts 60, 61, and 68. EPA required monitoring organizations implementing these programs (the regulated community) to use EPA Protocol Gases as their calibration gases. EPA revised the protocol to establish detailed statistical procedures for estimating the total uncertainty of these gases. EPA's Acid Rain Program developed acceptance criteria for the uncertainty estimate.

关键词：大气；气体成分；大气 保护

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This document consists of eight papers that explore the transport of toxic inhalation hazard materials, carbon dioxide and sulfur oxides emissions from container shipping, transportation asset sensitivity to extreme weather events and climate change, damage to offshore pipeline by ship factors, safety risk analysis of maritime transportation, spatial analysis of maritime accidents, human behavior in vessel maneuver simulations, and mariner near misses and design.

关键词：大气；人类活动；空气变化

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The U.S. Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration Nevada Field Office (NNSA/NFO) operates the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS) and North Las Vegas Facility (NLVF). From 1951 through 1992, the NNSS was the continental testing location for U.S. nuclear weapons. The release of radionuclides from NNSS activities has been monitored since the initiation of atmospheric testing. Limitation to underground detonations after 1962 greatly reduced radiation exposure to the public surrounding the NNSS. After nuclear testing ended in 1992, NNSS radiation monitoring focused on detecting airborne radionuclides from historically contaminated soils. These radionuclides are derived from re-suspension of soil (primarily by wind) and emission of tritium-contaminated soil moisture through evapotranspiration. Low amounts of legacy-related tritium are also emitted to air at the NLVF, an NNSS support complex in North Las Vegas. To protect the public from harmful levels of man-made radiation, the Clean Air Act, National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) (Title 40 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 61 Subpart H) (CFR 2010a) limits the release of radioactivity from a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) facility to that which would cause 10 millirem per year (mrem/yr) effective dose equivalent to any member of the public. This limit does not include radiation unrelated to NNSS activities. Unrelated doses could come from naturally occurring radioactive elements, from sources such as medically or commercially used radionuclides, or from sources outside of the United States, such as the damaged Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan in 2011.

关键词：大气；有害气体；大气污染

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A greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory is a systematic approach to account for the production and release of certain gases generated by an institution from various emission sources. The gases of interest are those that climate science has identified as related to anthropogenic global climate change. This document presents an inventory of GHGs generated during Fiscal Year (FY) 2012 by Idaho National Laboratory (INL), a Department of Energy (DOE)-sponsored entity, located in southeastern Idaho. In recent years, concern has grown about the environmental impact of GHGs. This, together with a desire to decrease harmful environmental impacts, would be enough to encourage the calculation of an inventory of the total GHGs generated at INL. Additionally, INL has a desire to see how its emissions compare with similar institutions, including other DOE national laboratories. Executive Order 13514 requires that federal agencies and institutions document reductions in GHG emissions.

关键词：大气；温室气体；全球变暖

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Energy-related carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in 2012 were the lowest in the United States since 1994, at 5.3 billion metric tons of CO2 (see figure above). With the exception of 2010, emissions have declined every year since 2007.

关键词：大气；温室气体；环境保护

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Increased demands for cleaner burning energy, coupled with the relatively recent technological advances in accessing unconventional hydrocarbon-rich geologic formations, have led to an intense effort to find and extract natural gas from various underground sources around the country. One of these sources, the Marcellus Shale, located in the Allegheny Plateau, is currently undergoing extensive drilling and production. The technology used to extract gas in the Marcellus Shale is known as hydraulic fracturing and has garnered much attention because of its use of large amounts of fresh water, its use of proprietary fluids for the hydraulic-fracturing process, its potential to release contaminants into the environment, and its potential effect on water resources. Nonetheless, development of natural gas extraction wells in the Marcellus Shale is only part of the overall natural gas story in this area of Pennsylvania. Conventional natural gas wells, which sometimes use the same technique, are commonly located in the same general area as the Marcellus Shale and are frequently developed in clusters across the landscape. The combined effects of these two natural gas extraction methods create potentially serious patterns of disturbance on the landscape. This document quantifies the landscape changes and consequences of natural gas extraction for Somerset County and Westmoreland County in Pennsylvania between 2004 and 2010. Patterns of landscape disturbance related to natural gas extraction activities were collected and digitized using National Agriculture Imagery Program (NAIP) imagery for 2004, 2005/2006, 2008, and 2010. The disturbance patterns were then used to measure changes in land cover and land use using the National Land Cover Database (NLCD) of 2001. A series of landscape metrics is also used to quantify these changes and is included in this publication.

关键词：大气；天然气开采；能源利用

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In 1963, the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC), predecessor to the US Department of Energy (DOE), implemented Operation Roller Coaster on the Tonopah Test Range (TTR) and an adjacent area of the Nevada Test and Training Range (NTTR) (formerly the Nellis Air Force Range (NAFR)). Operation Roller Coaster consisted of four tests in which chemical explosions were detonated in the presence of nuclear devices to assess the dispersal of radionuclides and evaluate the effectiveness of storage structures to contain the ejected radionuclides. These tests resulted in dispersal of plutonium over the ground surface downwind of the test ground zero. Three tests, Clean Slate 1, 2, and 3, were conducted on the TTR in Cactus Flat; the fourth, Double Tracks, was conducted in Stonewall Flat on the NTTR. DOE is working to clean up and close all four sites. Substantial cleaned up has been accomplished at Double Tracks and Clean Slate 1. Cleanup of Clean Slate 2 and 3 is on the DOE planning horizon for some time in the next several years.

关键词：大气；空气检测；气候变化

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The Special Analytical Studies Group at the 222-S Laboratory (222-S) examined the particulate recovered from a series of samples from the annular space of tank 241-AY-102 (AY-102) using solid phase characterization (SPC) methods. These include scanning electron microscopy (SEM) using the ASPEX1 scanning electron microscope, X-ray diffraction (XRD) using the Rigaku2 MiniFlex X-ray diffractometer, and polarized light microscopy (PLM) using the Nikon3 Eclipse Pol optical microscope. The SEM is equipped with an energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer (EDS) to provide chemical information. Gary A. Cooke conducted the SEM analysis, John Pestovich performed the XRD analysis, and Dr. Heinz Huber performed the PLM examination. The results and conclusion of these analyses are presented here.

关键词：大气；空气污染；颗粒物

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