[THE COMPARATIVE STRUCTURE OF ACUTE POISONINGS IN TWO CAPITAL CITIES OF THE SOUTH CAUCASUS REGION].

Objective - according to WHO, acute poisoning is one of the important public health global problems. At the same time, each geographic region is characterized by a unique epidemiological situation on acute poisoning. The aim of this study was to investigate and compare the main toxic-epidemiological parameters of the two largest cities of the South Caucasus - Baku and Tbilisi, and on the basis of the obtained data to develop a program on chemical safety and prevention of acute poisoning among population of the region. Data on all acute poisoned patients undergoing in-patient treatment in the hospitals of Baku and Tbilisi in 2009-2016 were placed in the standard forms and subjected to a comparative analysis. Diagnoses of toxicological patients were unified in accordance with ICD-10 (T36-T65). The total number of patients in this study was 13,292 in Baku and 14,229 in Tbilisi. The results of the study showed that in the both cities among toxicological hospitalizations dominated by cases of toxic effects of substances chiefly nonmedicinal as to source (62.13% in Tbilisi and 53.75% in Baku). However, with a detailed analysis of individual nosological units, we found significant and fundamental differences in the toxic-epidemiological profile of non-medicinal chemical poisoning in two capitals. For example, acute alcohol poisoning in Tbilisi was accounted for 24.26% of all intoxications, or 39,865 cases per 100,000 population. At the same time, alcohol intoxications in Baku were significantly less frequent, amounting to 4,454 hospitalizations per 100,000 population or 5.73% of all poisoning cases. Corrosive substances poisoning in Baku amounted 10.77% of all intoxication, while in Tbilisi it was significantly less - 3.86%. In Baku, the hospitalizations rate of acetic acid poisoning was 5.724 cases per 100.000 population, while in Tbilisi it was only 0.023 cases per 100.000 inhabitants. Toxic effects of carbon monoxide in Baku occupied 24.36% and in Tbilisi - 4.53% of all poisoning cases, which was 18.951 and 7.449 hospitalizations per 100.000 population, respectively. According to pesticide poisoning, hospitalization rates in Baku was 2,710 and in Tbilisi 6,906 cases per 100,000 population. Hospitalization of patients with envenomation in Tbilisi amounted to 5,901; and in Baku - 2,622 cases per 100,000 residents, respectively. In general, the hospitalization rate of intoxication with substances chiefly nonmedicinal as to source use in Tbilisi was 102,088 cases per 100,000 population, and in Baku - 41,817 cases per 100,000 residents respectively. This prospective toxic-epidemiological study revealed a significant incidence of acute intoxication in the two largest cities in the South Caucasus. However, there are considerable differences in the comparative profile and frequency of hospitalizations in patients with acute poisoning in Baku and Tbilisi over the period 2009-2016. The observed cases of mass and unusual intoxication during the study period make it necessary to create the unified network for the monitoring toxic-epidemiological situation and rapid information exchange on emerging toxicological risks in the South Caucasus region.

Instrumentation and Measurement Strategy for the NOAA SENEX Aircraft Campaign as Part of the Southeast Atmosphere Study 2013.

Natural emissions of ozone-and-aerosol-precursor gases such as isoprene and monoterpenes are high in the southeast of the US. In addition, anthropogenic emissions are significant in the Southeast US and summertime photochemistry is rapid. The NOAA-led SENEX (Southeast Nexus) aircraft campaign was one of the major components of the Southeast Atmosphere Study (SAS) and was focused on studying the interactions between biogenic and anthropogenic emissions to form secondary pollutants. During SENEX, the NOAA WP-3D aircraft conducted 20 research flights between 27 May and 10 July 2013 based out of Smyrna, TN. Here we describe the experimental approach, the science goals and early results of the NOAA SENEX campaign. The aircraft, its capabilities and standard measurements are described. The instrument payload is summarized including detection limits, accuracy, precision and time resolutions for all gas-and-aerosol phase instruments. The inter-comparisons of compounds measured with multiple instruments on the NOAA WP-3D are presented and were all within the stated uncertainties, except two of the three NO2 measurements. The SENEX flights included day- and nighttime flights in the Southeast as well as flights over areas with intense shale gas extraction (Marcellus, Fayetteville and Haynesville shale). We present one example flight on 16 June 2013, which was a daytime flight over the Atlanta region, where several crosswind transects of plumes from the city and nearby point sources, such as power plants, paper mills and landfills, were flown. The area around Atlanta has large biogenic isoprene emissions, which provided an excellent case for studying the interactions between biogenic and anthropogenic emissions. In this example flight, chemistry in and outside the Atlanta plumes was observed for several hours after emission. The analysis of this flight showcases the strategies implemented to answer some of the main SENEX science questions.

Mass spectral analysis of organic aerosol formed downwind of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill: field studies and laboratory confirmations.

In June 2010, the NOAA WP-3D aircraft conducted two survey flights around the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill. The Gulf oil spill resulted in an isolated source of secondary organic aerosol (SOA) precursors in a relatively clean environment. Measurements of aerosol composition and volatile organic species (VOCs) indicated formation of SOA from intermediate-volatility organic compounds (IVOCs) downwind of the oil spill (Science2011, 331, doi 10.1126/science.1200320). In an effort to better understand formation of SOA in this environment, we present mass spectral characteristics of SOA in the Gulf and of SOA formed in the laboratory from evaporated light crude oil. Compared to urban primary organic aerosol, high-mass-resolution analysis of the background-subtracted SOA spectra in the Gulf (for short, "Gulf SOA") showed higher contribution of C(x)H(y)O(+) relative to C(x)H(y)(+) fragments at the same nominal mass. In each transect downwind of the DWH spill site, a gradient in the degree of oxidation of the Gulf SOA was observed: more oxidized SOA (oxygen/carbon = O/C ∼0.4) was observed in the area impacted by fresher oil; less oxidized SOA (O/C ∼0.3), with contribution from fragments with a hydrocarbon backbone, was found in a broader region of more-aged surface oil. Furthermore, in the plumes originating from the more-aged oil, contribution of oxygenated fragments to SOA decreased with downwind distance. Despite differences between experimental conditions in the laboratory and the ambient environment, mass spectra of SOA formed from gas-phase oxidation of crude oil by OH radicals in a smog chamber and a flow tube reactor strongly resembled the mass spectra of Gulf SOA (r(2) > 0.94). Processes that led to the observed Gulf SOA characteristics are also likely to occur in polluted regions where VOCs and IVOCs are coemitted.

Organic aerosol formation downwind from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

A large fraction of atmospheric aerosols are derived from organic compounds with various volatilities. A National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) WP-3D research aircraft made airborne measurements of the gaseous and aerosol composition of air over the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico that occurred from April to August 2010. A narrow plume of hydrocarbons was observed downwind of DWH that is attributed to the evaporation of fresh oil on the sea surface. A much wider plume with high concentrations of organic aerosol (>25 micrograms per cubic meter) was attributed to the formation of secondary organic aerosol (SOA) from unmeasured, less volatile hydrocarbons that were emitted from a wider area around DWH. These observations provide direct and compelling evidence for the importance of formation of SOA from less volatile hydrocarbons.