  Quadrupole radiation of an atom in an arbitrary environment is investigated
within classical as well as quantum electrodynamical approaches. Analytical
expressions for decay rates are obtained in terms of Green function of Maxwell
equations. The equivalence of both approaches is shown. General expressions are
applied to analyze the quadrupole decay rate of an atom placed between two half
spaces with arbitrary dielectric constant. It is shown that in the case when
the atom is close to the surface, the total decay rate is inversely
proportional to the fifth power of distance between an atom and a plane
interface.
