From inequitable to sustainable e-waste processing for reduction of impact on human health and the environment.

Recycling of electric and electronic waste products (e-waste) which amounted to more than 50 million metric tonnes per year worldwide is a massive and global operation. Unfortunately, an estimated 70-80% of this waste has not been properly managed because the waste went from developed to low-income countries to be dumped into landfills or informally recycled. Such recycling has been carried out either directly on landfill sites or in small, often family-run recycling shops without much regulations or oversights. The process traditionally involved manual dismantling, cleaning with hazardous solvents, burning and melting on open fires, etc., which would generate a variety of toxic substances and exposure/hazards to applicators, family members, proximate residents and the environment. The situation clearly calls for global responsibility to reduce the impact on human health and the environment, especially in developing countries where poor residents have been shouldering the hazardous burden. On the other hand, formal e-waste recycling has been mainly conducted in small scales in industrialized countries. Whether the latter process would impose less risk to populations and environment has not been determined yet. Therefore, the main objectives of this review are: 1. to address current trends and emerging threats of not only informal but also formal e-waste management practices, and 2. to propose adequate measures and interventions. A major recommendation is to conduct independent surveillance of compliance with e-waste trading and processing according to the Basel Ban Amendment. The recycling industry needs to be carefully evaluated by joint effort from international agencies, producing industries and other stakeholders to develop better processes. Subsequent transition to more sustainable and equitable e-waste management solutions should result in more effective use of natural resources, and in prevention of adverse effects on health and the environment.

Glossary on atmospheric electricity and its effects on biology.

There is an increasing interest to study the interactions between atmospheric electrical parameters and living organisms at multiple scales. So far, relatively few studies have been published that focus on possible biological effects of atmospheric electric and magnetic fields. To foster future work in this area of multidisciplinary research, here we present a glossary of relevant terms. Its main purpose is to facilitate the process of learning and communication among the different scientific disciplines working on this topic. While some definitions come from existing sources, other concepts have been re-defined to better reflect the existing and emerging scientific needs of this multidisciplinary and transdisciplinary area of research.

Background concentrations of benzene, potential long range transport influences and corresponding cancer risk in four cities of central Europe, in relation to air mass origination.

Benzene concentrations covering the three year period 2015-2017, were derived from four background monitoring stations located in Berlin (Germany), Budapest (Hungary), Mons (Belgium) and Torino (Italy), in order to calculate the corresponding Incremental Lifetime Cancer Risk (ILCR) of an average adult, associated with the inhalation of benzene. In addition, a cluster analysis of backward air mass trajectories was coupled with Potential Source Contribution Function (PSCF) model aiming to identify possible exogenous source regions of benzene affecting the four cities and also to allocate the ILCR in atmospheric circulation patterns. A potential health risk (ILCR>10-6) from benzene exposure was estimated in all four cities. In Berlin and Mons, an enhanced fraction of the ILCR was associated with Southeast short range trajectories of slow moving air masses, which were also related to extreme long range transport episodes. Furthermore, increased benzene concentrations in Budapest were observed during the prevalence of short range Southwest airflows, whilst PSCF model isolated the transboundary emission sources in the industrialized North Italy. Long range trajectories of fast moving marine air masses from North Atlantic, not influenced by anthropogenic emissions, improved the benzene related air quality in Berlin and Mons due to dispersion. No long range transport effects were confirmed in Torino.

Distinct atmospheric patterns and associations with acute heat-induced mortality in five regions of England.

The main objective of this paper was to identify possible acute heat-induced summer mortality in five regions of England namely the Yorkshire and the Humber, West Midlands, North East, North West and South East regions and reveal associations with specific air flows. For this purpose, backward air mass trajectories corresponding to daily episodes of increased temperatures were produced and divided to clusters, in order to define atmospheric pathways associated with warm air mass intrusions. A statistically significant at 95 % confidence interval increase in daily total mortality (DTMORT) was observed during the selected episodes at all five regions and thus, heat-induced mortality was indicated. The calculated raise was more intense in the West Midlands, North West and South East regions, whereas the results in the North East and Yorkshire and the Humber regions were less evident. Large fractions of thermal episodes, elevated average temperature values and higher average DTMORT levels were primarily associated with the short-medium range South West (SW) and/or East-South East (E-SE) trajectory clusters, suggesting relations among heat-induced mortality and specific atmospheric circulations. Short-medium length of SW and E-SE airflows, calculated by an application of Haversine formula along the centroid trajectory of each cluster, implies the arrival of slow moving air masses. Atmospheric stagnation could enhance human thermal stress due to low wind speed.

The ecosyndemic framework of the global environmental change and the COVID-19 pandemic.

The ecosyndemic theory combines the concept of 'synergy' with 'epidemic' and the term "eco" implies the role of the environmental changes. Each of the conditions enhances the negative impacts of the other in an additive way making our society more vulnerable and heightening individual risk factors. In this study, we analyze the mutually reinforcing links between the environment and health from the complexity angle of the ecosyndemic theory and propose the characterization of the COVID-19 pandemic as ecosyndemic. We use the term 'ecosyndemic' because the global environmental change contributes to local-scale, regional-scale and global-scale alterations of the Earth's systems. These changes have their root causes in the way that people interact with the physical, chemical, and biotic factors of the environment. These interactions disturb nature and the consequences have feedbacks in every living organism.

Methodology to measure atmospheric nanoparticles charge.

Atmospheric pollution has become a key aspect for sustainable development world-wide. Lack of measurements of atmospheric nanoparticles properties at different geographic locations limits the understanding of the role atmospheric particulate matter plays in multiple biophysical and environmental processes and its corresponding risks for human beings. This study presents a method to measure atmospheric primary nanoparticle, secondary nanoparticle and microparticle data. Moreover, a process for samples characterization is proposed combining different spectroscopy techniques.•The method allows researcher to collect, measure, store and characterize atmospheric nanoparticles properties including their electric charge.•A specific sample characterization is proposed, based on different techniques such as TEM and RAMAN spectroscopy.•The outcomes of the approach give science the chance to study new themes such as the importance of particulate matter charge in transmission of infectious respiratory diseases; the role of electric charge in pollutants deposition in the respiratory tract; the link between electric atmospheric charge of nanoparticles and meteorological variables.

Anatomy of the atmospheric emissions from the transport sector in Greece: trends and challenges.

Emissions of atmospheric pollutants are well-known for their adverse effects on air quality and public health. Additionally, GHG emissions are responsible for the so called "Radiating Forcing" leading to climate change and degradation of ecosystem services. In this work, we analyze the annual emission trends of various air pollutants, including GHGs, from all 4 sectors of transport (roads, aviation, navigation, and railway) in Greece during the 28-year period between 1990 and 2017, in order to examine the confounding dynamics among external forces, such as the major fiscal recession of 2008, and the GHG/pollutant emissions in the country. The analysis is performed with a suite of statistical tools consisting of bivariate correlation analysis, Mann-Kendall test, Sen's slope estimation, and Joinpoint regression analysis, in order to thoroughly study the trends of emissions. It is found that all transport sectors (except for the railway) show a significant increase in their emissions, despite the fiscal recession of 2008 that temporarily decelerated all aspects of economic activity in the country. Given the major share of transport in GHG emissions (37%) and air pollution in urban centers, it is essential that the road sector adapts to the new challenges, by means of switching to low-emission technologies and electromobilization. The same applies for the navigation and aviation sectors, which are known pillars of the tourist industry in the country.

Electric charge of atmospheric nanoparticles and its potential implications with human health.

This research presents a pilot project developed within the framework of the COST Action 15,211 in which atmospheric nanoparticles were measured in July 2018, in a maritime environment in the city of Santander in Northern Spain. ELPI® + (Electrical Low-Pressure Impactor) was used to measure nanoparticle properties (electric charge, number, size distribution and surface area) from 6 nm to 10,000 nm with 14 size channels. This study focused on the range between 6 and 380 nm. It considered atmospheric nanoparticle electric charge with surface area, deposited and number by size distribution at human respiratory tract regions in a standard person in Santander according to the human respiratory tract model of ICRP 94. An empirical distribution of nanoparticles deposited in the human respiratory tract model and its electric charge is presented for the city of Santander as the main output. Percentages of total and regional deposition in human respiratory tract model were calculated for the Atlantic climate. Nanoparticles have shown an alveolar surface area deposition plateau with a size distribution range between 6 nm to 150 nm. Negative charge of nanoparticles was clearly associated with primary atmospheric nanoparticles being mainly deposited in the alveolar region where a Brownian mechanism of deposition is predominant. We can demonstrate that electric charge may be a key element in explaining Brownian deposition of the smallest particles in the human respiratory tract and that it can be linked to theoretical positive and negative impacts on human health according to several biometeorological studies. To support our analysis, aerosol samples were characterized with transmission electron microscopy and Confocal Raman spectrometer to determinate morphology, size, chemical composition, and structure. The toxicological effects of the samples with the alveolar surface area had a greater deposition, remain to be studied.

The influence of daily weather types on the development and intensity of the urban heat island in two Mediterranean coastal metropolises.

In this study we investigated the association between daily weather types (WTs) and the Urban Heat Island (UHI) in two Mediterranean coastal metropolises. For this purpose, we employed an existing weather type classification scheme and examined which WTs influence or drive the intensity of the UHI. We used the gridded weather typing classification (GWTC), in which meteorological conditions at a single location are categorized in daily WTs. We compared these WTs with the maximum temperature differences between urban centers and rural areas in the two major metropolises of Greece (Athens and Thessaloniki). These metropolises have dissimilar geography and spatial planning as well as their urban climate characteristics have differences. We used two groups of temperature time series on a daily basis. One with high and the other with low temperature differences (upper 5% and lower 5% of the maximum temperature differences (ΔΤmax)) which reported the WTs that contribute to increase of UHI Intensity. We found that urban overheating was amplified during daytime under Humid, Humid Warm and Warm conditions in both Athens and Thessaloniki. As for nighttime, urban overheating is associated with Warm, Dry and Dry Warm conditions in Thessaloniki while in Athens increased under Humid, Humid Warm and Warm conditions.

Exposure to the road traffic noise in an urban complex in Greece: the quantification of healthy life years lost due to noise-induced annoyance and noise-induced sleep disturbances.

In the recent years, the environmental noise is a global issue of great concern. Especially, it is considered to be one of the most deleterious environmental risk factors for the human health and well-being in urban areas. In this study, we focus on the major source of the transportation noise in the modern-day urbanized societies, which is the road traffic noise. The study was performed in the urban complex in Thessaloniki-Neapoli in Greece, and the estimation of the road traffic noise levels was based on the CoRTN (Calculation of Road Traffic Noise) prediction method. In addition, we estimated the EBD (environmental burden of disease), in terms of DALYs (disability-adjusted life years), due to the annoyance and sleep disturbances associated with the exposure to road traffic noise. The estimation of the EBD was based on the strategic noise mapping in Thessaloniki-Neapoli as well as on the guidance document produced by the WHO (World Health Organization) for the quantitative assessment on the humans' health consequences of the environmental noise. Above all, the results revealed the magnitude of the health damage caused by the transportation noise.

Climate Change Adaptation Studies as a tool to ensure airport's sustainability: The case of Athens International Airport (A.I.A.).

A.I.A (Athens International Airport) is the first major transportation infrastructure in Greece. Environmental protection is a priority and AIA is committed to protect the environment and preventing or lessening negative impacts, through a comprehensive Environmental Policy and Procedures. The scope of this article is to perform a comprehensive risk assessment of climate-related risks to the direct and indirect operations of Athens International Airport and to its assets. To achieve that, we proceeded to collect and analyse the historical climate data as well as the future climate scenarios for the region in which the airport operates. Ιn addition, we prepared a questionnaire on the climatic conditions at the airport and the protection measures already in place. The questionnaire was shared with employees in key-positions, as well as to third parties. A round of interviews was held, with important conclusions to be drawn. Finally, we come up with a list of risks assessments, related to climate change, for the airport and some actions to be implemented in the next period.

Analyzing the local and climatic conditions affecting the urban overheating magnitude during the Heatwaves (HWs) in a coastal city: A case study of the greater Sydney region.

Urban overheating coincides with Heatwaves (HWs) and the thermal stress might get amplified in cities. To predict the interactions between urban overheating and HWs, the surface energy balance response to HWs is crucial. HW is a regional phenomenon and the climatic conditions may influence the local conditions to alter the energy budget contrast between a city and its adjacent peripheral areas. The interactions between the urban overheating and HWs are explored in a coastal city (Sydney Australia), also in the proximity of dry landmass, while considering the site characteristics, distance from the coast, and the population density. A positive response between urban overheating and HWs is reported. Advective heat flux in the form of a dualistic circulation system is found responsible for exacerbating the urban overheating magnitude (ΔT) during the HWs and altering the available energy balance. Land-coastal distance is also found as an important contributor in magnifying the urban-suburban temperature contrast. Considering the future urbanization in western Sydney, surfaces capable of retaining higher moisture content are prescribed to reduce the occurrence of extreme HW events. Activation of the ventilation corridor for the coastal wind penetration in western Sydney is another recommendation of this study.

Spatiotemporal variation in urban overheating magnitude and its association with synoptic air-masses in a coastal city.

Urban overheating (UO) may interact with synoptic-scale weather conditions. The association between meteorological parameters and UO has already been a subject of considerable research, however, the impact of synoptic-scale weather conditions on UO magnitude, particularly in a coastal city that is also near the desert landmass (Sydney) has never been investigated before. The present research examines the influence of synoptic-scale weather conditions on UO magnitude in Sydney by utilizing the newly developed gridded weather typing classification (GWTC). The diurnal, and seasonal variations in suburban-urban temperature contrast (ΔT) in association with synoptic-scale weather conditions, and ΔT response to synoptic air-masses during extreme heat events are investigated in three zones of Sydney. Generally, an exacerbation in UO magnitude was reported at daytime over the years, whereas the nocturnal UO magnitude was alleviated over time. The humid warm (HW), and warm (W) air-masses were found primarily responsible for exacerbated daytime UO during extreme heat events and in all other seasons, raising the mean daily maximum ΔT to 8-10.5 °C in Western Sydney, and 5-6.5 °C in inner Sydney. The dry warm (DW), and W conditions were mainly responsible for urban cooling (UC) at nighttime, bringing down the mean daily minimum ΔT to - 7.5 to - 10 °C in Western Sydney, and - 6 to - 7.5 °C in inner Sydney. The appropriate mitigation technologies can be planned based on this study to alleviate the higher daytime temperatures in the Sydney suburbs.

Dataset on the road traffic noise measurements in the municipality of Thessaloniki, Greece.

The continuous monitoring of environmental noise levels is deemed necessary, such in the strategic noise mapping or in the cohort studies. The environmental noise levels can be measured and analysed with the aid of various methods. In this article presents the method recommended by the European Union (EU). The data contain the road traffic noise level measurements in the Greater Thessaloniki area, Greece. The Leq noise measurements carried out at two different locations, the Urban Highway-Hot Spot area and the Residential area, for a 3 year measurement period. Also, the analysis was based on the environmental noise indicators Lday, Lden, Levening, Lnight.

Effects of road traffic noise on the prevalence of cardiovascular diseases: The case of Thessaloniki, Greece.

Road traffic noise is a growing challenge for human health in the last decades. World Health Organization (WHO) summarized the scientific evidence on side effects of noise on public health and wellbeing since 1999 in its publication "Guidelines for community noise". The WHO's documentation was completed in 2009 with the Night Noise Guidelines for Europe and in 2011 with the Burden of disease from environmental noise highlighting the negative effects of environmental noise on health. In this paper, we studied and presented the overall noise levels and the exposure of the population in the city of Thessaloniki, Greece. The estimation of the exposure to road traffic noise was based on the census data for a 15-year time period (e.g. 2000-2015). The quantification of the environmental burden of cardiovascular diseases, due to urban traffic noise, is calculated in terms of DALYs. The calculation is based on the morbidity and mortality data from the hypertensive, ischemic heart, and cerebrovascular diseases of the total population. Our analysis proved that the road traffic noise in Thessaloniki causes almost 2000 DALYs lost in the total population each year. Also, the exposure to road traffic noise was estimated by three measuring points, two of them located in the urban Thessaloniki (a high traffic highway and a residential area) and the third one situated in one urban background area in the urban outskirts of Thessaloniki. The noise levels were measured for a 24-h period during a 3 year time period for every measuring point. The imposed WHO noise levels were exceeded in both high traffic highway and residential areas for almost the whole time of the measurement period.

Identifying patterns of airborne pollen distribution using a synoptic climatology approach.

Understanding the mechanisms of pollen release and dispersion in the atmosphere is of high importance, not only for getting an insight on the patterns of movement of these biological particles that are necessary for plants' reproduction, but also because exposure to airborne pollen is a major concern for respiratory allergies worldwide. In this work, a synoptic circulation-to-environment classification method was adopted to elucidate the relationship between distinct atmospheric patterns and pollen levels for the 11 most abundant but also allergenic taxa in Thessaloniki, Greece, for the 15-year period 1987-2001. It was found that the NW1 depressional weather type is associated with the "low winter pollen season" and high levels of pollen from Carpinus spp., Corylus spp., Cupressaceae, Platanus spp., Pinaceae, Quercus spp. and Urticaceae. In contrast, the SW1 cyclonic type is linked to the "high spring-summer pollen season" and high levels of pollen from Oleaceae and Urticaceae. On the other hand, anticyclonic weather is associated with the "summer-autumn pollen season" and high levels of Poaceae and Chenopodiaceae pollen in the atmosphere. Regional transport of Alnus pollen is linked to a strong high-pressure system centered over Italy, giving light NE winds over northern Greece. These findings shed light to the synoptic climatology of airborne pollen in Thessaloniki and could feed early-warning systems for alerting vulnerable groups of the allergic population.

Electrical characterization of circulation weather types in Northern Spain based on atmospheric nanoparticles measurements: A pilot study.

The electrical component of the atmosphere is a key element to understand bio-effects of atmospheric processes. In this paper an attempt was made to find possible interactions between air masses arriving in Santander, Northern Spain, and electrical properties of nanoparticles measured in this zone. A methodological approach is proposed to characterize electrically the predominant weather types in the study area. An electrical low pressure impactor device (ELPI®+) was used to measure atmospheric particles net charge and particle net charge distribution in real time in July 2018, among other parameters. Data from two specific channels [0.054-0.071 µm] and [2.5-3.0 µm] has been initially used. Atmospheric circulation was defined attending to two, subjective and objective, weather type classifications. Back trajectories of nanoparticles were also computed by the Hybrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory model. Results confirm that atmospheric nanoparticles charge varies according to their size. The highest mean absolute charge is associated with local circulation in Santander for both channels. The studied nanoparticles show a quicker reaction to weather conditions than microparticles. They also have a significant correlation with meteorological variables for 18 synoptic groups found, but humidity. Microparticles [2.5-3.0 µm] are negatively related with air humidity, mainly with S-SE circulation pattern.

Bayesian algorithm implementation in a real time exposure assessment model on benzene with calculation of associated cancer risks.

The objective of the current study was the development of a reliable modeling platform to calculate in real time the personal exposure and the associated health risk for filling station employees evaluating current environmental parameters (traffic, meteorological and amount of fuel traded) determined by the appropriate sensor network. A set of Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) was developed to predict benzene exposure pattern for the filling station employees. Furthermore, a Physiology Based Pharmaco-Kinetic (PBPK) risk assessment model was developed in order to calculate the lifetime probability distribution of leukemia to the employees, fed by data obtained by the ANN model. Bayesian algorithm was involved in crucial points of both model sub compartments. The application was evaluated in two filling stations (one urban and one rural). Among several algorithms available for the development of the ANN exposure model, Bayesian regularization provided the best results and seemed to be a promising technique for prediction of the exposure pattern of that occupational population group. On assessing the estimated leukemia risk under the scope of providing a distribution curve based on the exposure levels and the different susceptibility of the population, the Bayesian algorithm was a prerequisite of the Monte Carlo approach, which is integrated in the PBPK-based risk model. In conclusion, the modeling system described herein is capable of exploiting the information collected by the environmental sensors in order to estimate in real time the personal exposure and the resulting health risk for employees of gasoline filling stations.

Measurements of benzene and formaldehyde in a medium sized urban environment. Indoor/outdoor health risk implications on special population groups.

In the present study, the results of a measurement campaign aiming to assess cancer risk among two special groups of population: policemen and laboratory technicians exposed to the toxic substances, benzene and formaldehyde are presented. The exposure is compared to general population risk. The results show that policemen working outdoor (traffic regulation, patrol on foot or in vehicles, etc.) are exposed at a significantly higher benzene concentration (3-5 times) than the general population, while the exposure to carbonyls is in general lower. The laboratory technicians appear to be highly exposed to formaldehyde while no significant variation of benzene exposure in comparison to the general population is recorded. The assessment revealed that laboratory technicians and policemen run a 20% and 1% higher cancer risk respectively compared to the general population. Indoor working place air quality is more significant in assessing cancer risk in these two categories of professionals, due to the higher Inhalation Unit Risk (IUR) of formaldehyde compared to benzene. Since the origin of the danger to laboratory technicians is clear (use of chemicals necessary for the experiments), in policemen the presence of carbonyls in indoor air concentrations due to smoking or used materials constitute a danger equal to the exposure to traffic originated air pollutants.