Particle and heavy metal accumulation by two plant species in a coal mining area of Odisha, India.

Mining activities lead to severe particulate matter (PM) pollution that consequently has a detrimental effect on ecosystem. A study was therefore conducted in a coal mining area of Odisha, India with an objective to assess the particulate matter pollution on the basis of differential aerodynamic size (PM10 and PM2.5) of the particles, the metallic (Zn and Fe) composition, and also to evaluate their nature of deposition on two identified plant species. The results suggest a significant variation in particle and heavy metal fractions in the ambient air of different sites (p < 0.05). Fe dominated the finer particle (PM2.5) fraction while Zn dominated the coarser counterpart (PM10) in the ambient air. When evaluated for the particle and heavy metal deposition on leaf surface, Shorea robusta performed better in trapping the coarser particles (PM10) while Holarrhena floribunda was found to be an efficient scrubber of the finer particles (PM2.5). Fe deposition on surface of leaves was comparatively higher than Zn irrespective of plant species or size fractions. Therefore, it is concluded that both S. robusta and H. floribunda should be planted in a schematic manner to tackle the particulate pollution in coal mining areas.

Particulate matter 10 µm (PM10), 2.5 µm (PM2.5) datasets gathered by direct measurement, low-cost sensor and by public air quality stations in Fontibón, Bogotá D.C., Colombia.

Concentration of particulate matter directly affects air quality and human health. Three sources of information were used in this work to generate datasets on this matter at the Fontibón county in Bogota D.C., Colombia. The first source was a Davis AirLinkⓇ low-cost sensor air quality readings for PM2.5, PM10 and meteorological variables. The sensor was installed in the referred area, collecting air quality readings for PM2.5, PM10, as well as temperature, relative humidity, dew point, wet bulb, and heat index as meteorological variables during the months of May to August 2022. The second source was collecting by direct measurement the PM10 particles using a TischⓇ Hi- Vol equipment, evaluated the concentration of particulate matter PM10 in the same place for 27 days. Finally, raw data was provided by the Bogotá's Environmental District Bureau (SDA), validating in this work the data readings for the years 2021 and 2022 from the two meteorological stations located in the same county, named "Fontibón" and "Móvil Fontibón", including Air quality data for PM2.5, PM10, Carbon Monoxide (CO), Ozone, Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2), Sulfur Dioxide (SO2) and the meteorological variables wind speed, wind direction, temperature, precipitation, relative humidity (RH) and Barometric pressure. A Machine Learning model was made to perform the mining and completeness of the missing data with an iterative imputation and with a regression model, and the Pearson, Spearman and Kendall correlation coefficients were calculated, using Python language.

Airborne particle accumulation and loss in pollution-tolerant lichens and its magnetic quantification.

Pollution-tolerant lichens are recognized ecological indicators of air pollution in cities, which can also collect airborne anthropogenic particles in their tissues. Harmful (sub)micron-sized magnetites are a ubiquitous component of air particle pollution, adversely impacting human health. In this work, in situ magnetic susceptibility κis of well-characterized ultrafine magnetite and lichen thalli were measured to quantify the amount of airborne magnetic particles (AMP) after calibration and to assess the lichen's decontamination over time. Up to 2850 magnetic measurements were carried out in twenty-nine transplanted lichens (collected in urban and clean areas) from winter 2020 to winter 2021. Before the transplants, their initial κis values were 0.23-9.45 × 10-5 SI, representing AMP contents of 0.1-4.6 mg in lichen thalli. After lichens were transplanted to a shared site, the magnetic signals evidenced short-term increases and long-term decreases. After three, five and nine months, the AMP loss is more pronounced for transplanted lichens from polluted (e.g., AMP_5-months loss = 0.59 mg) than clean (= 0.08 mg) sites. Rainfall influenced the lichen's decontamination between seasons. In situ measurements and lichens offer a valued and time-saving methodology for biomonitoring harmful airborne particles simply and effectively.

Simultaneous measurements of PM1 and PM10 aerosol scattering properties and their relationships in urban Beijing: A two-year observation.

The aerosol scattering properties of submicron (PM1) and sub-10 µm particles (PM10) under dry conditions (RH <30%) were investigated in Beijing from 2018 to 2019. Using the simultaneous measurement of PM1 and PM10, the scattering properties of super micron (PM10-1) particles were also calculated. At 550 nm, the average of scattering coefficient (σsp) and asymmetry parameter (g) were 208.7 ± 204.9 Mm-1 and 0.61 ± 0.04 for PM10, 140.6 ± 130.2 Mm-1 and 0.60 ± 0.04 for PM1, and 69.8 ± 82.2 Mm-1 and 0.62 ± 0.04 for PM10-1, respectively, while the backscattering ratio (b) values were 0.13 ± 0.02 for PM10 and PM1, and 0.12 ± 0.02 for PM10-1. The mass scattering efficiencies (MSE) for PM10, PM1 and PM10-1 were 2.43 ± 2.37, 3.67 ± 0.96, and 1.73 ± 1.82 m2 g-1, respectively. In 2019, σsp decreased by approximately 18.4% for PM10, and 16.7% for PM1 compared with those in 2018, which was quite similar to the decrease of 17% and 19% for PM10 and PM2.5 mass concentrations during the same time period. The scattering Ångström exponent (SAE450/700), which was 1.88 ± 0.29 for PM1 and 1.50 ± 0.27 for PM10 indicated size distributions dominated by fine mode aerosols. This is also evidenced by the high submicron scattering ratio (Rsp) (71.1% ± 7.9%). The high SAE, Rsp, and high PM1 σsp in the study suggest that control of fine particle pollution is important to reduce overall PM pollution in urban Beijing. In addition, with an increase in σsp, b, Rsp, and SAE gradually decreased, while g and MSE increased. The clearly scattering coefficient-dependent MSE suggests that high aerosol loading and high MSE both play an important role in degraded visibility during heavy pollution periods.

Effect of COVID-19 pandemic on air quality: a study based on Air Quality Index.

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly affected economic activities all around the world. Though it took a huge amount of human breathes as well as increases unemployment, it puts a positive impression on the environment. To stop the speedy extend of this disease, the maximum Government has imposed a strict lockdown on their citizens which creates a constructive impact on the atmosphere. Air pollutant concentration has been investigated in this study to analyze the impact of lockdown on the environment. Based on the air pollutant concentration, Air Quality Index (AQI) is deliberated. The Air Quality Index indicates the most and least polluted cities in the world. A higher value of AQI represents the higher polluted city and a lesser value of Air Quality Index represents a less polluted city. The impact of lockdown on air quality has been studied in this work and it is observed that the air pollutant concentration has reduced in every city of the world during the lockdown period. It has been also detected that the PM2.5 and PM10 are the most affecting air concentrator which controls the air quality of all the selected places during and after lockdown.

Efficient data preprocessing, episode classification, and source apportionment of particle number concentrations.

Number concentration is an important index to measure atmospheric particle pollution. However, tailored methods for data preprocessing and characteristic and source analyses of particle number concentrations (PNC) are rare and interpreting the data is time-consuming and inefficient. In this method-oriented study, we develop and investigate some techniques via flexible conditions, C++ optimized algorithms, and parallel computing in R (an open source software for statistics and graphics) to tackle these challenges. The data preprocessing methods include deletions of variables and observations, outlier removal, and interpolation for missing values (NA). They do better in cleaning data and keeping samples and generate no new outliers after interpolation, compared with previous methods. Besides, automatic division of PNC pollution events based on relative values suites PNC properties and highlights the pollution characteristics related to sources and mechanisms. Additionally, basic functions of k-means clustering, Principal Component Analysis (PCA), Factor Analysis (FA), Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF), and a newly-introduced model NMF (Non-negative Matrix Factorization) were tested and compared in analyzing PNC sources. Only PMF and NMF can identify coal heating and produce more explicable results, meanwhile NMF apportions more distinctly and runs 11-28 times faster than PMF. Traffic is interannually stable in non-heating periods and always dominant. Coal heating's contribution has decreased by 40%-86% in recent 5 heating periods, reflecting the effectiveness of coal burning control.

Contribution of road dust from Low Impact Development (LID) construction sites to atmospheric pollution from heavy metals.

The re-suspension of road dust due to intense Low Impact Development (LID) construction activities may be a major contributor to atmospheric metal pollution. However, the distribution characteristics, mobility potential, and pollutant load of atmospheric particles at LID construction sites are not clear. Consequently, management practices to mitigate air pollution from LID construction are lacking. We investigated the atmospheric metal pollution from road dust produced during different construction stages of rain gardens and porous pavements and estimated the ecological risks posed by the heavy metals. Although concentrations of heavy metals in road dust at LID construction sites were lower than at sites without LID construction, the ecological risks posed by the atmospheric heavy metals at LID construction sites were generally higher due to the greater mass of road dust produced during LID construction. Hence, LID management practices should focus on the removal of road dust, especially finer particles (<44 µm) produced during early construction stages. In roads, the zones influenced by LID construction is related to road types based on traffic volume; these road types in descending order of zone influenced by LID construction are: arterial road (400-600 m) > collector road (100-150 m) > access road (50-100 m) > laneway (30-50 m). Based on the study sites, we estimate LID construction in China will contribute 2.31 and 6.23 times as much as the current load of atmospheric particles by 2020 and 2030; and we project atmospheric heavy metals will be 1.45-2.18 and 2.82-4.73 times greater than the current load by 2020 and 2030 from the intense LID construction. Based on our results, several regulatory recommendations are presented to mitigate air pollution at LID construction sites.

Determining the fluctuation of PM2.5 mass concentration and its applicability to Monin-Obukhov similarity.

In this manuscript, a method based on the nonlinear relationship between mass concentration of fine-particle and visibility is introduced to obtain the high-frequency mass concentration and vertical mass flux of PM2.5 during a haze pollution process. The high-frequency sampling was obtained using a visibility meter upgraded by our research group. To make the results more reliable, we restricted the service conditions of this method, that is, RH < 80% and the limited visibility value (15 km herein). The method was applied to a period of pollution from 27 December 2018 to 7 January 2019 at the Pingyuan site, located in the North China Plain. A 1-Hz fluctuation of the mass concentration of PM2.5 was obtained, as was the vertical turbulent flux of the mass concentration of PM2.5. The mean flux of the mass concentration of PM2.5 for the entire 13 days was 0.022 µg m-2 s-1. The turbulent fluxes in five short-term pollution cases lasting for several hours or several days were -0.015 µg m-2 s-1, -0.03 µg m-2 s-1, 0.053 µg m-2 s-1, 0.023 µg m-2 s-1 and 0.075 µg m-2 s-1. Then, the relationship between the absolute value of the vertical flux of PM2.5 mass concentration w'c'¯ and many turbulent variables showed that the vertical flux decreases exponentially with the increase of variables such as turbulent kinetic energy, standard deviation σu, σw, horizontal mean wind U, momentum flux τ and heat flux H. However, the absolute value of the vertical flux w'c'¯ was not affected by the value of the mass concentration of PM2.5. The turbulent characteristics of PM2.5 were also analysed. Under unstable conditions, the normalized standard deviation of PM2.5σc/C∗=20.07-zL-1/3, where c is mass concentration of PM2.5, C∗ is scale of PM2.5. The normalized spectra (nSPM2.5(n)/σc2) followed the Kolmogorov form, n-2/3, where n is frequency, and the co-spectra of deviation of vertical wind speed and mass concentration of PM2.5 (nCwPM2.5(n)/σwσc) was n-4/3. Finally, the universal function of the mass concentration of PM2.5 was calculated. The fitted curves for unstable and stable conditions were φczL=4.01-9.8zL-1/2 and φczL=4.01+1.2zL. Although the observed values of the universal function of the mass concentration of PM2.5 were widely scattered with respect to z/L, the trend is obvious. The measurements show that PM2.5 has similar properties to regular scalars such as potential temperature or water vapor. Particularly, the measurement shows a good trend to satisfy the traditional Monin-Obukhov similarity theory (MOST). However, further experiments should be implemented for verification and to provide a more accurate coefficient.

Inhalation bioaccessibility of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in heavy PM2.5 pollution days: Implications for public health risk assessment in northern China.

Airborne (PM2.5) with aerodynamic diameter ≤ 2.5 µm was collected from 4 types of cities in northeast China during the heating period. The objectives of this study were to assess the concentrations variation of PM2.5-bound 12 carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH12), to study the influence of simulated lung fluids on bioaccessibility of PAH12 and to estimate the variation of lifetime excess cancer risk to the residents, artificial lysosomal fluid (ALF) and Gamble's solution were used. The number of lifetime excess cancer cases (determined by California Environmental Protection Agency method) as a result of PAH12 exposure (total concentration) was 4.00-430 (provincial central cities), 24.0-261 (energy-mining cities), 17.0-109 (forested city), and 20.0-69.0 (agricultural city) per million people, which relatively corresponded to a 92.2% and 96.2%, 92.6% and 97.3%, 92.2% and 94.2%, and 86.5% and 92.6% decrease after considering bioaccessibility following 24-h of Gamble's solution and ALF extraction, respectively. Phenanthrene (Phe), dibenz[a,h]anthracene (DahA) and benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) were found to be the most bioaccessible types of PAH12 after the Gamble's solution and ALF extraction in the PM2.5 samples from all the studied cities. Based on the point-estimate approach, short-term predictions of pulmonary toxicity caused by potential inhalation of airborne PM into the pulmonary system might be overestimated if bioaccessibility of PM2.5-bound PAH12 is not fully evaluated.

Modifications of exposure to ambient particulate matter: Tackling bias in using ambient concentration as surrogate with particle infiltration factor and ambient exposure factor.

Numerous epidemiological studies explored health risks attributed to outdoor particle pollution. However, a number of these studies routinely utilized ambient concentration as a surrogate for personal exposure to ambient particles. This simplification ignored the difference between indoor and outdoor concentrations of outdoor originated particles and may bias the estimate of particle-health associations. Intending to avoid the bias, particle infiltration factor (Finf), which describes the penetration of outdoor particles in indoor environment, and ambient exposure factor (α), which represents the fraction of outdoor particles people are truly exposed to, are utilized as modification factors to modify outdoor particle concentration. In this study, the probabilistic distributions of annually-averaged and seasonally-averaged Finf and α were assessed for residences and residents in Beijing. Finf of a single residence and α of an individual was estimated based on the mechanisms governing particle outdoor-to-indoor migration and human time-activity pattern. With this as the core deterministic model, probabilistic distributions of Finf and α were estimated via Monte Carlo Simulation. Annually-averaged Finf of PM2.5 and PM10 for residences in Beijing tended to be log-normally distributed as lnN(-0.74,0.14) and lnN(-0.94,0.15) with geometric mean value as 0.47 and 0.39, respectively. Annually-averaged α of PM2.5 and PM10 for Beijing residents also tended to be log-normally distributed as lnN(-0.59,0.12) and lnN(-0.73,0.13) with geometric mean value as 0.55 and 0.48, respectively. As for seasonally-averaged results, Finf and α of PM2.5 and PM10 were largest in summer and smallest in winter. The obvious difference between these modification factors and unity suggested that modifications of ambient particle concentration need to be considered in epidemiological studies to avoid misclassifications of personal exposure to ambient particles. Moreover, considering the inter-individual difference of Finf and α may lead to a brand new perspective of particle-health associations in further epidemiological study.

Respiratory illness and air pollution from the steel industry: the case of Piquiá de Baixo, Brazil (Preliminary report).

BACKGROUND: This report is based on an independent study carried out by medical professionals of the Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori (National Cancer Institute) in Milan, Italy, and  aimed to assess the incidence of respiratory diseases in a Brazilian community (Piquiá de Baixo, in the city of Açailandia) exposed to extreme air pollution in connection to a local steel manufacturing plant. The study has the objective to contribute to the existing literature on the health risks associated with fine particle pollution (PM2.5) due to steel production with data from Brazil. METHODS: The study is based on a cross-sectional sample of the resident population of Piquiá de Baixo age 16 or over consisting of 220 people. We collected data about the health conditions of participant subjects in two ways: a) medical history questionnaires and b) clinical assessment of respiratory function through spirometry testing. The results were evaluated based on comparative studies. RESULTS: According to the spirometric tests performed, 28 % of the sample population suffers from respiratory pathologies (for the most part of restrictive rather than obstructive nature). This incidence rate is between six and two times higher than those reported in similar studies carried out in other countries (which range between 4.6 and 14.5 %). In addition, the incidence rate is also significantly high in light of the fact that our sample population did not include the category of subjects most at risk for pulmonary disorders in connection to air pollution caused by the Piquiá steel processing complex: in other words, men and women employed in the steel mills or in connection with their industrial cycle (as many as 434 Piquiá residents age 16 and over were unable to participate to our study due to "work-related reasons"). CONCLUSIONS: In light of the above considerations, we believe that our findings contribute to the existing literature on the correlation between pulmonary disease and air pollution in industrialized areas, while warranting further scientific research on the public health consequences of industrial production in Piquiá de Baixo. In turn, on the ethical plane, we believe that research of this nature strengthens the need to advocate for more severe environmental and health policies aimed at limiting the hazards associated with the steel industry in Piquiá and in similar contexts around the world.

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers in indoor air during waste TV recycling process.

Recycling process for waste TV sets mainly consists of dismantling, printed wiring board (PWB) heating, PWB recycling, and plastic crushing in formal recycling plant. Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) contained in waste TV sets are released to indoor air. Air samples at 4 different workshops were collected to measure the PBDEs concentrations in both gaseous and particulate phases. The mean concentrations of ∑PBDEs in indoor air were in the range of 6780-2,280,000 pg/m(3). The highest concentration in gaseous phase (291,000 pg/m(3)) was detected in the PWB heating workshop. The ∑12PBDEs concentrations in PM2.5 and PM10 at the 4 workshops ranged in 6.8-6670 µg/g and 32.6-6790 µg/g, respectively. The gas-particle partitioning of PBDEs was disrupted as PBDEs were continuously released during the recycling processes. Occupational exposure assessment showed that only the exposure concentration of BDE-47 (0.118 µg/kg/day) through inhalation in the PWB heating workshop for workers without facemask exceeded the reference dose (0.1 µg/kg/day), posing a health hazard to workers. All the results demonstrated that recycling of TV sets was an important source of PBDEs emission, and PBDEs emission pollution was related to the composition of TV sets, interior dust, and recycling process.

Comparative study on particle pollution to the solution in the ampoule wrapped and broken by non-woven fabrics and medical gauze / 中华护理杂志

Objective To compare the particle pollution to the solution in the ampoule wrapped and broken by non-woven fabrics and medical gauze.Methods Totally 200 pcs of sterile water for injection(2 ml/pc) were randomly divided into the experimental group and the control group,with 100 pcs for each.For the experimental group,the ampoules were wrapped and broken by disinfected non-woven fabrics.For the control group,the ampoules were wrapped and broken by medical gauze.The solution was sucked from the ampoule with a 10 ml syringe and injected into a measuring cup for testing.Results The quantity of particles in the solution in the experimental group was less than that in the control group,and the difference was statistically significant (P＜0.05).Conclusion Wrapping and breaking the ampoule by disinfected non-woven fabrics can reduce particle pollution to the solution,and this method is easy to practice.

Symptoms and medication use in children with asthma and traffic-related sources of fine particle pollution.

BACKGROUND: Exposure to ambient fine particles [particulate matter < or = 2.5 microm diameter (PM(2.5))] is a potential factor in the exacerbation of asthma. National air quality particle standards consider total mass, not composition or sources, and may not protect against health impacts related to specific components. OBJECTIVE: We examined associations between daily exposure to fine particle components and sources, and symptoms and medication use in children with asthma. METHODS: Children with asthma (n = 149) 4-12 years of age were enrolled in a year-long study. We analyzed particle samples for trace elements (X-ray fluorescence) and elemental carbon (light reflectance). Using factor analysis/source apportionment, we identified particle sources (e.g., motor vehicle emissions) and quantified daily contributions. Symptoms and medication use were recorded on study diaries. Repeated measures logistic regression models examined associations between health outcomes and particle exposures as elemental concentrations and source contributions. RESULTS: More than half of mean PM(2.5) was attributed to traffic-related sources motor vehicles (42%) and road dust (12%). Increased likelihood of symptoms and inhaler use was largest for 3-day averaged exposures to traffic-related sources or their elemental constituents and ranged from a 10% increased likelihood of wheeze for each 5-microg/m(3) increase in particles from motor vehicles to a 28% increased likelihood of shortness of breath for increases in road dust. Neither the other sources identified nor PM(2.5) alone was associated with increased health outcome risks. CONCLUSIONS: Linking respiratory health effects to specific particle pollution composition or sources is critical to efforts to protect public health. We associated increased risk of symptoms and inhaler use in children with asthma with exposure to traffic-related fine particles.