Helen ApSimon

Last updated

Professor

Helen ApSimon

CBE
Born
Helen Mary Hollingsworth

(1942-04-28) 28 April 1942 (age 81)
NationalityEnglish
CitizenshipUnited Kingdom
Alma mater Somerville College, Oxford
University of St Andrews
Scientific career
FieldsAir pollution studies
Institutions Imperial College London

Helen Mary ApSimon, CBE (born 28 April 1942) is an English air pollution scientist and academic. She is a Professor of Air pollution Studies at Imperial College London. Her research includes the impact of acid rain, nuclear accidents and fine particulates on human health and ecosystems.

Contents

Early life and education

Helen Mary Hollingsworth was born on 28 April 1942 in Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Leicestershire, England. [1] She was educated at Northampton High School, an all-girls private school in Northampton, Northamptonshire. [2] She went on to study Mathematics at Somerville College, Oxford, graduating MA in 1963. [3] She completed a PhD in astrophysics under Dick Carson at the University of St Andrews in 1966. In 1967, Helen Hollingsworth married Hugh ApSimon. He died in 1998. [1]

Research

ApSimon is a founding member and Chairman of the European Association for the Science of Air Pollution. ApSimon is well known for her research into the transport of radioactivity from the Chernobyl disaster. [4] [5] In the immediate aftermath, Russia issued a media blackout and ApSimon was one of few European scientists to detect rising radiation levels. [6] She modelled the nuclear fallout, calculating Chernobyl released 15 – 20 megacuries of Iodine-131 and 1 – 2 megacuries of caesium-137. [7] During the first few weeks after the disaster, ApSimon calculated the radioactive plum covered Scandinavia and the North coast of Europe. [8] She travelled to Hungary, Poland, Czechoslovakia and Bulgaria in 1988. [9]

ApSimon has also worked extensively for Task Forces under the UN ECE Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution, undertaking modelling and assessment of cost-effective strategies to reduce acidification, eutrophication, excess tropospheric ozone and fine particulate concentrations. [10] [11]

ApSimon is interested in the impact of urban air pollution on human health and ecosystems. [12] In 1995, she calculated the cost of building damage due to acidic European atmospheres. [13] In 1998, the UK Department of Environment, Transport and the Regions commissioned ApSimon to study investigate the cost-effectiveness of controlling the shipping emissions in the North Sea. [14] [12]

Publications

Memberships

ApSimon has been a member of several expert groups, including the National Expert Group on Transboundary Air Pollution, and the Air Quality Expert Group of DEFRA. [15] In 1999, ApSimon was a member of the Royal Society Global Environmental Research Committee. [16] In 2004, she contributed to the European Commission National Emission Ceilings Directive Review. [17] ApSimon was invited to chair a new Heathrow air quality expert review group in 2017. [18]

Honours

In the 2013 Queen's Birthday Honours, Helen ApSimon was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for services to air pollution science. [19] [20]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Acid rain</span> Rain that is unusually acidic

Acid rain is rain or any other form of precipitation that is unusually acidic, meaning that it has elevated levels of hydrogen ions. Most water, including drinking water, has a neutral pH that exists between 6.5 and 8.5, but acid rain has a pH level lower than this and ranges from 4–5 on average. The more acidic the acid rain is, the lower its pH is. Acid rain can have harmful effects on plants, aquatic animals, and infrastructure. Acid rain is caused by emissions of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide, which react with the water molecules in the atmosphere to produce acids.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pollution</span> Introduction of contaminants that cause adverse change

Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into the natural environment that cause adverse change. Pollution can take the form of any substance or energy. Pollutants, the components of pollution, can be either foreign substances/energies or naturally occurring contaminants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Exhaust gas</span> Gases emitted as a result of fuel reactions in combustion engines

Exhaust gas or flue gas is emitted as a result of the combustion of fuels such as natural gas, gasoline (petrol), diesel fuel, fuel oil, biodiesel blends, or coal. According to the type of engine, it is discharged into the atmosphere through an exhaust pipe, flue gas stack, or propelling nozzle. It often disperses downwind in a pattern called an exhaust plume.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chernobyl Exclusion Zone</span> Exclusion zone and disaster area in Ukraine

The Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Zone of Alienation is an officially designated exclusion zone around the site of the Chernobyl nuclear reactor disaster. It is also commonly known as the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, the 30-Kilometre Zone, or The Zone.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sustainable energy</span>

Energy is sustainable if it "meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." Most definitions of sustainable energy include considerations of environmental aspects such as greenhouse gas emissions and social and economic aspects such as energy poverty. Renewable energy sources such as wind, hydroelectric power, solar, and geothermal energy are generally far more sustainable than fossil fuel sources. However, some renewable energy projects, such as the clearing of forests to produce biofuels, can cause severe environmental damage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Human impact on the environment</span> Impact of human life on Earth and environment

Human impact on the environment refers to changes to biophysical environments and to ecosystems, biodiversity, and natural resources caused directly or indirectly by humans. Modifying the environment to fit the needs of society is causing severe effects including global warming, environmental degradation, mass extinction and biodiversity loss, ecological crisis, and ecological collapse. Some human activities that cause damage to the environment on a global scale include population growth, rapid economic growth, overconsumption, overexploitation, pollution, and deforestation. Some of the problems, including global warming and biodiversity loss, have been proposed as representing catastrophic risks to the survival of the human species.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Norwegian Institute for Air Research</span>

The NILU – Norwegian Institute for Air Research or NILU is one of the leading specialized scientific laboratories in Europe researching issues related to air pollution, climate change and health. It is an independent nonprofit institution, established in 1969, staffed by scientists, engineers and technicians with specialized expertise for working on air pollution problems. The staff do more than two hundred projects annually for research councils, industries, international banks and local, national and international authorities and organizations. Its first director was Brynjulf Ottar.

The Atmospheric Dispersion Modelling Liaison Committee (ADMLC) is composed of representatives from government departments, agencies and private consultancies. The ADMLC's main aim is to review current understanding of atmospheric dispersion and related phenomena for application primarily in the authorization or licensing of pollutant emissions to the atmosphere from industrial, commercial or institutional sites.

An emission inventory is an accounting of the amount of pollutants discharged into the atmosphere. An emission inventory usually contains the total emissions for one or more specific greenhouse gases or air pollutants, originating from all source categories in a certain geographical area and within a specified time span, usually a specific year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Air pollution</span> Presence of dangerous substances in the atmosphere

Air pollution is the contamination of air due to the presence of substances in the atmosphere that are harmful to the health of humans and other living beings, or cause damage to the climate or to materials. It is also the contamination of indoor or outdoor surrounding either by chemical activities, physical or biological agents that alters the natural features of the atmosphere. There are many different types of air pollutants, such as gases, particulates, and biological molecules. Air pollution can cause diseases, allergies, and even death to humans; it can also cause harm to other living organisms such as animals and food crops, and may damage the natural environment or built environment. Air pollution can be caused by both human activities and natural phenomena.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southeast Asian haze</span> Fire-related air pollution issue

The Southeast Asian haze is a fire-related recurrent transboundary air pollution issue. Haze events, where air quality reaches hazardous levels due to high concentrations of airborne particulate matter from burning biomass, have caused adverse health, environmental and economic impacts in several countries in Southeast Asia. Caused primarily by slash-and-burn land clearing, the problem flares up every dry season to varying degrees and generally is worst between July and October and during El Niño events. Transboundary haze in Southeast Asia has been recorded since 1972 with the 1997 and 2015 events being particularly severe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Radioecology</span> Ecology concerning radioactivity within ecosystems

Radioecology is the branch of ecology concerning the presence of radioactivity in Earth’s ecosystems. Investigations in radioecology include field sampling, experimental field and laboratory procedures, and the development of environmentally predictive simulation models in an attempt to understand the migration methods of radioactive material throughout the environment.

In the study of air pollution, a critical load is defined as "a quantitative estimate of an exposure to one or more pollutants below which significant harmful effects on specified sensitive elements of the environment do not occur according to present knowledge".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nuclear power debate</span> Controversy over the use of nuclear power

The nuclear power debate is a long-running controversy about the risks and benefits of using nuclear reactors to generate electricity for civilian purposes. The debate about nuclear power peaked during the 1970s and 1980s, as more and more reactors were built and came online, and "reached an intensity unprecedented in the history of technology controversies" in some countries.

The 1999 Gothenburg Protocol to Abate Acidification, Eutrophication and Ground-level Ozone is a multi-pollutant protocol designed to reduce acidification, eutrophication and ground-level ozone by setting emissions ceilings for sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, volatile organic compounds and ammonia to be met by 2010. As of August 2014, the Protocol had been ratified by 26 parties, which includes 25 states and the European Union.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Environmental impact of the energy industry</span>

The environmental impact of the energy industry is significant, as energy and natural resource consumption are closely related. Producing, transporting, or consuming energy all have an environmental impact. Energy has been harnessed by human beings for millennia. Initially it was with the use of fire for light, heat, cooking and for safety, and its use can be traced back at least 1.9 million years. In recent years there has been a trend towards the increased commercialization of various renewable energy sources. Scientific consensus on some of the main human activities that contribute to global warming are considered to be increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases, causing a warming effect, global changes to land surface, such as deforestation, for a warming effect, increasing concentrations of aerosols, mainly for a cooling effect.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Air pollution in the United Kingdom</span> Overview of the air pollution in the UK

Air pollution in the United Kingdom has long been considered a significant health issue, and it causes numerous other environmental problems such as damage to buildings, forests, and crops. Many areas, including major cities like London, are found to be significantly and regularly above legal and recommended pollution levels. Air pollution in the UK is a major cause of diseases such as asthma, lung disease, stroke, cancer, and heart disease, and is estimated to cause forty thousand premature deaths each year, which is about 8.3% of deaths, while costing around £40 billion each year.

Waste management in Kazakhstan is an important concern within the country, considering the billions of tons of industrial waste produced yearly, the currently less-than-optimal state of solid waste management, and existing toxins remaining from both pollutants and Kazakhstan's historical position as the USSR's testing grounds for rockets and nuclear weapons. Kazakhstan has very few services for recycling solid waste, and waste management is currently dealt with using regional programs.

Air Quality Expert Group (AQEG) is an official committee of scientific advisers who provide independent advice on air pollutants to the UK government's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). The group is drawn mostly from academia and consists of about a dozen atmospheric chemists and other environmental scientists. AQEG also advises government officials and ministers on air quality issues, suggests priority areas for future work, and advises on changes in international policy. AQEG was created in 2001, consolidating the work of a number of previous advisory groups including the Quality of Urban Air Review Group, Airborne Particles Expert Group, and Expert Panel on Air Quality Standards.

References

  1. 1 2 "Apsimon, Prof. Helen Mary, (born 28 April 1942), Professor of Air Pollution Studies, Imperial College London, since 2001". ApSimon, Prof. Helen Mary. Who's Who 2018 . Oxford University Press. 1 December 2017. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.274668.
  2. ↑ "Alumna of the Year 2017 nominee profile: Helen ApSimon, Northampton High School". Girls' Day School Trust. 12 April 2017. Retrieved 2 February 2018.
  3. ↑ "College Report 2012-13". Issuu. Retrieved 2 February 2018.
  4. ↑ Don., Rittner (2003). A to Z of scientists in weather and climate. New York: Facts On File. ISBN   978-1438109244. OCLC   234234840.
  5. ↑ Apsimon, Helen M.; Wilson, Julian (1 January 1991). "The application of numerical models to assess dispersion and deposition in the event of a nuclear accident". Journal of Forecasting. 10 (1–2): 91–103. doi:10.1002/for.3980100106. ISSN   1099-131X.
  6. ↑ "The Legacy and Findings of the Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster, Global Concerns – BBC World Service". BBC. Retrieved 2 February 2018.
  7. ↑ "Chernobyl: the grim statistics of cancer". New Scientist. 14 August 1986. Retrieved 2 February 2018.
  8. ↑ Vandecasteele, C.M. (October 1996). "INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE: "TEN YEARS AFTER THE CHERNOBYL CATASTROPHE"" (PDF). UNESCO.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  9. ↑ "Helen Apsimon's Story | Winston Churchill Memorial Trust". www.wcmt.org.uk. Retrieved 2 February 2018.
  10. ↑ "Professor Helen ApSimon" . Retrieved 2 September 2019.
  11. ↑ "Alumna of the Year 2017 nominee profile: Helen ApSimon, Northampton High School". Girls' Day School Trust. 12 April 2017. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
  12. 1 2 Air pollution modeling and its application XIV. Gryning, Sven-Erik., Schiermeier, Francis A., NATO/CCMS International Technical Meeting on Air Pollution Modeling and its Application (24th : 2000 : Boulder, Colo.). New York: Kluwer Academic. 2001. ISBN   978-0306474606. OCLC   559433711.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  13. ↑ Brimblecombe, Peter (23 November 2015). Urban pollution and changes to materials and building surfaces. Brimblecombe, Peter, 1949–. London. ISBN   978-1783268863. OCLC   947143726.
  14. ↑ Air pollution science for the 21st century. Austin, Jill, 1953 March 24-, Brimblecombe, Peter, 1949–, Sturges, W. T. (1st ed.). Amsterdam: Elsevier. 2002. ISBN   978-0080526904. OCLC   162131001.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  15. ↑ "EQUA Index – Who are we? | EQUA INDEX | Independent real world driving data". equaindex.com. Retrieved 2 February 2018.
  16. ↑ "Helen ApSimon". royalsociety.org. Retrieved 2 February 2018.
  17. ↑ "National Emission Ceilings Directive Review" (PDF). European Commission. 2014. Retrieved 2 February 2018.
  18. ↑ Davies, Phil (29 June 2017). "Heathrow staff incentivised to buy low-emission cars". Travel Weekly. Retrieved 19 February 2018.
  19. ↑ "Queen's birthday honours list 2013: GCB, DBE and CBE". The Guardian. 14 June 2013. Retrieved 19 February 2018.
  20. ↑ "Air pollution professor awarded CBE – Air Quality News". Air Quality News. 17 June 2013. Retrieved 2 February 2018.
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