PM10 emissions and PAHs: The importance of biomass type and combustion conditions.

The aim of the present work was to investigate the impact of biomass combustion with respect to conditions and fuel types on particle emissions (PM10) and their PAHs content. Special concern was on sampling, quantification and characterization of PM using different appliances, fuels and operating procedures. For this purpose different lab-scale burning conditions, two pellets stoves (8.5 and 10 kW) and one open fireplace were tested by using eight fuel types of biomass. An analytical method is described for the quantitative determination of 16 PAHs using liquid-liquid extraction and subsequent measurement by gas chromatography coupled to a mass spectrometer (GC-MS). Average PM10 emissions ranged from about 65 to 170 mg/m(3) at lab-scale combustions with flow oxygen at 13% in the exhaust gas, 85-220 mg/m(3) at 20% O2, 47-83 mg/m(3) at pellet stove of 10 kW, 34-69 mg/m(3) at pellet stove of 8.5 kW and 106-194 mg/m(3) at the open fireplace. The maximum permitted particle emission limit is 150 mg/m(3). Pellets originated from olive trees and from nonmixture trees were found to emit the lowest particulate matter in relation to the others, so they are considered healthiest and suitable for domestic heating reasons. In general, the results show that biomass open burning is an important PM10 and PAHs emission source.

Lung cancer risk from PAHs emitted from biomass combustion.

This study deals with the assessment of the cancer risk attributable to PAH exposure, attributable to the increased use of biomass for space heating in Greece in the winter of 2012-2013. Three fractions of particulates (PM1, PM2.5 and PM10) were measured in two sampling sites (urban/residential and traffic-influenced) followed by chemical analysis of 19 PAHs and levoglucosan (used as a biomarker tracer). PAH-induced lung cancer risk was estimated by a comprehensive methodology that incorporated human respiratory tract deposition modelling in order to estimate the toxic equivalent concentration (TEQ) at each target tissue. This allowed us to further differentiate internal exposure and risk by age groups. Results showed that all PM fractions are higher in Greece during the cold months of the year, mainly due to biomass use for space heating. PAH and levoglucosan levels were highly correlated, indicating that particles emitted from biomass combustion are more toxic than PM emitted from other sources. The estimated lung cancer risk was non-negligible for residents close to the urban background monitoring site. Higher risk was estimated for infants and children, due to the higher bodyweight normalized dose and the human respiratory tract (HRT) physiology. HRT structure and physiology in youngsters favor deposition of particles that are smaller and more toxic per unit mass. In all cases, the estimated risk (5.7E-07 and 1.4E-06 for the urban background site and 1.4E-07 to 5.0E-07 for the traffic site) was lower to the one estimated by the conventional methodology (2.8E-06 and 9.7E-07 for the urban background and the traffic site respectively) that is based on Inhalation Unit Risk; the latter assumes that all PAHs adsorbed on particles are taken up by humans. With the methodology proposed herein, the estimated risk presents a 5-7 times difference between the two sampling sites (depending on the age group). These differences could not have been identified had we relied only on conventional risk assessment method. Consequently, the actual cancer risk attributable to PAHs on PM emitted from biomass burning would have been significantly underestimated.

Total exposure to airborne particulate matter in cities: the effect of biomass combustion.

The study deals with the seasonal variability of PM exposure and the effect that biomass combustion has upon it in the urban environment. The study is based on measurements, chemical analyses and modeling results performed in Thessaloniki (Greece). The measurements campaign included the assessment of outdoor and indoor air quality and the evaluation of biomass use for domestic heating. The outdoor measurements highlighted a significant increase of PM10 (from 30.1 to 73.1 µg/m(3)) and PM2.5 (from 19.4 to 62.7 µg/m(3)) concentrations during the transition from the warm to the cold period of the year 2012 compared to 2011. The increase in ambient air PM during the winter was attributed to the use of biomass burning for space heating. The latter was verified by the presence of levoglucosan in the PM (concentrations up to 8 µg/m(3)), especially for samples taken from the urban background site. Outdoor PM concentrations were also modeled using an artificial neural network model taking into account major meteorological parameters; the latter explained more than 90% of PM10 and PM2.5 day-to-day variability. Indoor concentrations followed a similar pattern, while in the case of fireplace use, average daily concentrations rise to 10 µg/m(3) and 14 µg/m(3) for PM2.5 and PM10 respectively. Indoor air concentrations were affected the most by the ambient air particle infiltration. Indoor air quality went down after 3h of open fire biomass combustion for space heating. Personal exposure was significantly determined by overall indoor air quality. Yet, dynamic exposure analysis revealed that peaks of intake do not correspond to peaks of ambient air PM concentrations altering thus total exposure patterns. Thus, cost-effective public health protection has to aim at reducing the exposure profile of susceptible population sub-groups combining awareness raising, emission reduction measures and financial incentives to influence the choice of space heating systems.