A survey of aerosol research in European community programmes

Abstract

In the European Commission's 3rd Framework Programme (1990–1994) of community research and technological development, aerosol problems are of particular importance in the specific programmes Environment, Nuclear Fission Safety (with emphasis on Reactor Safety and on the Decommissioning of Nuclear Installations), Industrial and Materials Technologies, and Measurement and Testing. Under Environment, significant efforts are directed towards monitoring natural and anthropogenic aerosols in the atmosphere, understanding the role played by aerosols in ecosystem regulation, and the development of techniques to reduce aerosol emission from industrial plants. To ensure Nuclear Fission Safety, investigations are necessary to identify the mechanisms and determine the quantities of fission product aerosols released in the event of an accident and to develop measures for aerosol retention in such cases. The release of radioactive aerosols from nuclear installations in case of fire has been studied, and methods of aerosol abatement by acoustic techniques are under investigation. In decommissioning of nuclear installations the problem of aerosol formation and dispersion arises during dismantling operations. Industrial and Materials Technologies require information on aerosols ranging from welding fumes, asbestos fibres, lead compounds and quartz particles to aerosol/vapour mixtures of toxic products, aerosols from biotechnology industries and airborne micro-organisms. Finally, for Measurement and Testing, reference aerosols are needed for calibration purposes and to improve and harmonize particle counting and characterisation. A brief summary of examples for each of the above activities, carried out in the form of EC cost shared actions or at the Commission's Joint Research Centre, will be given, together with a description of some aerosol problems still to be solved.