Airborne Pollen, Allergens, and Proteins: A Comparative Study of Three Sampling Methods

Nowadays, there is a wide range of different methods available for the monitoring of pollen and allergens, but their relative efficiency is sometimes unclear, as conventional pollen monitoring does not thoroughly describe pollen allergenicity. This study aims to evaluate airborne pollen, allergen, and protein levels, associating them with meteorological and chemical parameters. The sampling was performed in Bologna (Italy) during the grass flowering period, with three different devices: a Cyclone sampler (CS), a Dicothomous sampler (DS), and a Berner impactor (BI). Total proteins were extracted from aerosol samples, and grass allergens Phl p 1 and Phl p 5 were quantified by ELISA. Airborne Poaceae pollen concentrations were also evaluated, using a Hirst-type trap. Proteins and allergens collected by CS resulted about ten times higher than those collected by the other two instruments, possibly due to their different cut-offs, while DS and BI results appeared consistent only for the total proteins collected in the fine fraction (1.3 vs. 1.6 mu g/m(3)). Airborne proteins correlated neither with Poaceae pollen nor with its aeroallergens, while aeroallergens correlated with pollen only in the coarse particulate, indicating the presence of pollen-independent aeroallergens in the fine particulate, promoted by high wind speed

Risk mapping for the sustainable protection of cultural heritage in extreme changing environments

Cultural heritage is widely recognized to be at risk due to the impact of climate change and associated hazards, such as events of heavy rain, flooding, and drought. User-driven solutions are urgently required for sustainable management and protection of monumental complexes and related collections exposed to changes of extreme climate. With this purpose, maps of risk-prone areas in Europe and in the Mediterranean Basin have been produced by an accurate selection and analysis of climate variables (daily minimum and maximum temperature-Tn and Tx, daily cumulated precipitation-RR) and climate-extreme indices (R20mm, R95pTOT, Rx5 day, CCD, Tx90p) defined by Expert Team on Climate Change Detection Indices (ETCCDI). Maps are available to users via an interactive Web GIS (Geographic Information System) tool, which provides evaluations based on historical observations (high-resolution gridded data set of daily climate over Europe-E-OBS, 25 km) and climate projections (regional climate models-RCM, ~12 km) for the near and far future, under Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP) 4.5 and 8.5 scenarios. The tool aims to support public authorities and private organizations in the decision making process to safeguard at-risk cultural heritage. In this paper, maps of risk-prone areas of heavy rain in Central Europe (by using R20mm index) are presented and discussed as example of the outputs achievable by using the Web GIS tool. The results show that major future variations are always foreseen for the 30-year period 2071-2100 under the pessimistic scenario (RCP 8.5). In general, the coastal area of the Adriatic Sea, the Northern Italy, and the Alps are foreseen to experience the highest variations in Central Europe

Air pollution impact on carbonate building stones in Italian urban sites⋆

In spite of the widely recognized negative effect of air pollution on stone used in historic building heritage located in urban areas and the numerous studies internationally developed on this topic, gaps still remain in measuring deposition fluxes on architectural surfaces and developing proper tools for short- and long-term management of cultural heritage in polluted areas in a changing environment. Two-years long field exposure tests with model samples are currently under execution in Italian cities characterized by different environmental conditions, as a non-invasive methodological approach for investigating the impact of urban pollution on carbonate stones (marble and limestone). Several analytical techniques (both physical and chemical) are used for characterising the state of degradation of the exposed stone specimens while aerosol monitoring campaigns allow to compare the atmospheric components with those actually accumulate on samples surface. After a description of the methodological approach of this study and a general environmental characterisation of each selected site, results of aerosol monitoring campaigns (including bioaerosol) and colorimetric analyses performed during the whole period of exposure in Bologna are here presented and discussed

Air pollution impact on stones in urban environment : a multidisciplinary approach

Air pollution is the major responsible for the formation of damage layers on stone monuments and historic buildings in urban areas (Bonazza and Sabbioni, 2016). Among widely used building materials, marble and limestone were selected in previous studies on pollution impact, thanks to their chemical homogeneity (mainly comincia posed by calcium carbonate) and low porosity. The effects of pollution have been heretofore assessed by analyzing samples collected from historic buildings or performing tests in simulation chamber and/or in field but gaps still remain in measuring deposition fluxes on materials and developing proper tools for long-term management of cultural heritage. Moreover, the possible effects on built heritage of the current atmosphere poorer than in the past of SO2 but richer of NOx and organic compounds (mainly released by vehicular traffic) should be considered. Field exposure tests with model samples are currently under execution in Italian cities characterized by different environmental conditions as a non invasive methodological approach for studying the impact of urban pollution on carbonate stones. The methodological approach selected for this investigation as well as first available results are here discussed. Marble (Carrara Marble) and limestone (Red Verona Marble) were selected as model samples as they were widely used as construction and ornamental elements in historic Italian architecture. They will be exposed at least for 2 years in Bologna, Ferrara, and Florence. Preference for samples exposure were given to sites located outdoor, partially sheltered from the rain wash-out, in areas strongly affected by pollution due to vehicular traffic. Galvanized metallic racks was prepared to host samples with different exposure orientations: horizontal, oblique (tilted with 45\ub0 slope) and vertical, in order to identify how positioning may reflect on deposition and removal of pollutants. The exposed samples will undergo mineralogical, petrographic and geochemical analyses (Optical Microscopy, Scanning Electron Microscopy coupled with Energy Dispersive X-ray Analysis, Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry, Ion Chromatography analysis and Thermal-chemical methodology using a CHNSO combustion analyzer (Ghedini et al., 2006)) at predefined time intervals to characterise the products derived from pollutants-stone interaction in terms of typology, origin and impact on stone. Moreover, the integration with colorimetric analysis will allow to identify a connection between the deposited soluble and carbon fractions and changes of colorimetric parameters, for setting up damage functions. Simultaneously passive sampling of aerosol has been designed by the exposure of filters while seasonal environmental monitoring campaigns of particulate matter will allow to compare the quantity of soluble ions and carbon fractions present into atmosphere with that actually accumulated on samples surface. Additionally, monitoring campaigns of bioaerosol has been planned in Bologna in order to quantify the microbial load (fungi and bacteria) in air. Data of environmental monitoring campaigns as well as results of analyses carried out after the first year of exposure will be also reported

Characterisation of atmospheric pollution near an industrial site with a biogas production and combustion plant in southern Italy

Although biogas production can have some benefits, there is a research gap on potential influence of biogas plant emissions on local air quality, thus an accurate and comprehensive evaluation of impacts of this technology is needed. This study deals with this issue by means of a characterisation of air pollution near an industrial area including a biogas production (from biomass) and combustion plant located in South Italy. The methodology consists in advanced statistical analysis on concentration of gaseous pollutants, particles concentration and size distribution in number and mass, and PM2.5 chemical composition. High-temporal resolution measurements, supported by ancillary meteorological parameters, and source apportionment of PM2.5 using Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF) receptor model, are performed. The integrated approach provides the emissive picture consisting in different anthropogenic sources (i.e. traffic, biomass burning, and industrial facilities) with particular focus on biogas plant emissions. Results showed that CO and nitrogen oxides were influenced by vehicular traffic and biomass combustion, however, a contribution of the plant to NO was observed. SO2 was influenced mainly by transport from the industrial zone, but a second local contribution compatible with the emissions of the biogas plant was detected. Number particle concentrations were analysed in four size ranges: nanoparticles (D < 0.05 μm), ultrafine particles (D < 0.3 μm), accumulation (0.3 < D < 1 μm) and coarse particles (D > 1 μm). Nanoparticles and ultrafine particles were mainly influenced by vehicular traffic and biomass burning, instead, a contribution of the plant was individuated in the accumulation mode. PMF5 identified the contribution of six sources: crustal (14.7% ± 2.1% of measured PM2.5); marine aerosol (aged) (12.9% ± 2.3%); biomass burning (32.8% ± 1.4%); secondary sulphate (19.7% ± 2.4%); primary industrial emissions (5.4% ± 2.3%); traffic and secondary nitrate (17.0% ± 3.9%). The plant is likely to contribute to both sources, the industrial and the traffic plus secondary nitrate

Source apportionment of PM2.5 and of its oxidative potential in an industrial suburban site in South Italy

Some studies suggested a role of the atmospheric particulate matter (PM) and of its oxidative potential (OP) in determining adverse health effects. Several works have focused on characterisation of source contributions to PM OP, mainly using three approaches: correlation between OP and chemical markers of specific sources; use of OP as input variable in source apportionment with receptor models; and multi-linear regression (MLR) between OP and source contributions to PM obtained from receptor models. Up to now, comparison of results obtained with different approaches on the same dataset is scarce. This work aims to perform a OP study of PM2.5 collected in an industrial site, located near a biogas production and combustion plant (in southern Italy), comparing different approaches to investigate the contributions of the different sources to OP. The PM2.5 samples were analysed for determining ions, metals, carbonaceous components, and OP activity with the DTT (dithiotreitol) assay. Results showed that OP normalised in volume (DTTV) is correlated with carbonaceous components and some ions (NO3−, and Ca2+) indicating that PM of combustion, secondary, and crustal origin could contribute to the OP activity. The source apportionment, done with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)—Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF5.0) model, identified six sources: secondary sulphate; biomass burning; industrial emissions; crustal; vehicle traffic and secondary nitrate; and sea spray. A MLR analysis between the source’s daily contributions and the daily DTTV values showed a reasonable agreement of the two approaches (PMF and MLR), identifying the biomass burning and the vehicle traffic and secondary nitrate as the main sources contributing to DTTV activity