Air Pollution: Monitoring, Assessment and Control

Organisation profile

Trinity College Dublin is Ireland's leading University, which has been inspiring generations of brilliant thinkers for over 400 years.

Training aim

This course is designed to learners to the field of air pollution science, identifying the current challenges in the field and key background knowledge in the provision of clean air for society and the environment. It explores the use of air pollution modelling to predict concentrations in various settings and to assess the impacts of policy changes, modern technology, or developments.

Learning objectives

Learning outcomes will include developing capacity to:

• Describe key concepts relating to air pollution science and its application to environmental engineering.

• Assess, apply, and evaluate differing forms of air pollution models for the prediction of concentrations in the atmosphere.

• Appraise differing approaches to the control of air pollution for indoor and outdoor settings and in urban and industrial settings.

• Discuss the development and application of national emissions inventories and projections.

• Measure air pollution concentrations in practice to identify the advantages and limitations of differing monitoring approaches.

• Critically assess an environmental impact assessment of new infrastructure developments from an air pollution perspective.

Course outline

• This micro-credential deals with the development of environmental impact assessment in relation to air pollution in infrastructure developments, using several case studies (e.g., incineration, construction projects, roads, etc).

• We will examine the development of national emissions inventories and the projection of pollution into the future using forecasting techniques.

• We will appraise the physical measurement of air pollutants using field equipment.

Trainer's profile

Prof. McNabola is a Professor in Energy and the Environment at the Dept of Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering, TCD. His research interests lie in the field of Environmental Fluid Dynamics where he has applied this expertise in air pollution, energy efficiency and/or water services sectors. He has been active in this field of research for over 15 years. Prof. McNabola teaches at postgraduate and undergraduate levels in the subject areas of hydraulics, air pollution and renewable energy. He holds a qualification in teaching and learning at third level and has been involved in teaching activities in Italy and India. Prof. McNabola is a Visiting Reader at the Global Centre for Air Research(GCARE), at the Dept of Civil and Environmental Engineering in the University of Surrey, UK. He is also a Colaborador Honorario (Adjunct Professor) at the Hydraulic division of the Agronomy Department at University of Córdoba, Spain. Prof. McNabola is an Associate Editor for the international journal, Transport Research Part D: Transport and the Environment. He is also a regular reviewer for journals such as Renewable Energy, Atmospheric Environment, Water Resources Management, etc. Prof. McNabola has been awarded 38 separate research projects since 2008 amounting to over 7.35 M• in personal research funding. Prof. McNabola has a h-index of 37 and an i-10 index of 86. He leads a group of 5 PhD students and 5 postdoctoral researchers and is involved, primarily as the lead partner and principal investigator, in a number of national and international collaborative projects, funded by Horizon Europe, Science Foundation Ireland, Enterprise Ireland, INTERREG ERDF, SEAI and the EPA

Course duration

12 Weeks

Assessment & certification

There are three assessment components:

• Personal exposure monitoring and modelling study (50%)

• Work-based assessment report of air pollution mitigation initiative, considering application of monitoring, modelling, and control (25%)

• Background and regional air quality assessment (25%).

A Micro-credential worth 5 credits on the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS) and 125 hours CPD credit.

Who should attend

This micro-credential will appeal to working professionals in the public or private sector responsible for air quality monitoring and assessment, with responsibilities in air quality reporting, or who have a role in air pollution mitigation and adaptation in either the indoor or outdoor environment.