Remote Zones Air Quality. Persistent Organic Pollutants: Sources, Sampling and Analysis

Concern about air quality has been rising since the Industrial Revolution and the so-called “Second Industrial Revolution” characterized by internal combustion engine, electrical technology and above all synthesis of new chemicals. Since then mankind has been facing the consequences of its thoughtless release of pollutants in atmosphere, consequences as reducing smog, acid rains and photochemical smog. Notwithstanding the seriousness of single episodes, these were local, or at most regional, phenomena. Nowadays, the variety of pollutants and the extent of pollution is greater than even in history, and air pollution problems are reaching up to global scale. In the last decades, it was established that manmade chemicals, such as polychlorinated biphenyls, chlorofluorocarbons and volatile chlorinated hydrocarbons, were present even in the remotest zones of the Earth, according to their volatility and half-life. This evidence stimulated the scientific community to monitor air quality of remote zones, areas considered a short time ago as uncontaminated. This chapter deals with different sampling and analysis techniques for persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in the atmosphere of remote zones. Features, sources and environmental fate of POPs are presented in the first section. The second section focuses on logistic and experimental difficulties connected to surveys in remote zones. The third section focuses on recent developments and improvements concerning sampling and analytical methods for POPs in air. The most significant findings on the presence of POPs in remote zones are shown in the last section

Indoor Air Quality. Volatile Organic Compounds: Sources, Sampling and Analysis

Since the 70s research has found in Europe and in the United States that individuals spend between 70 and 90% of their time indoors. Health studies have found that exposures to a variety of air pollutants indoors can be substantially higher than outdoors, even in urban environment. Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) are often more important, depending by their continue emission from many sources and their diffusion properties. In order to evaluate the occupants discomfort and health effects and developing guidelines and standards, Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) assessment and control is an essential step; IAQ assessment will complain: Sources, Sampling Methods, Analysis and Data Meanin

Respiratory parameters at varied altitudes in intermittent mining work

Objectives: Workers in the mining industry in altitude are subjected to several risk factors, e.g., airborne silica and low barometric pressure. The aim of this study has been to assess the risks for this work category, evaluating single risk factors as airborne silica, altitude and work shift, and relating them with cardiovascular and ventilatory parameters. Material and Methods: Healthy miners employed in a mining company, Chile, working at varied altitudes, and subjected to unusual work shifts, were evaluated. Cardiovascular and respiratory parameters were investigated. Exposure to airborne silica was evaluated and compared to currently binding exposure limits. Results: At varied altitudes and work shifts, alterations emerged in haemoglobin, ventilation and respiratory parameters, related to employment duration, due to compensatory mechanisms for hypoxia. Haemoglobin increased with altitude, saturation fell down under 90% in the highest mines. The multiple linear regression analysis showed a direct relationship, in the higher mine, between years of exposure to altitude and increased forced vital capacity percent (FVC%), and forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1). An inverse relationship emerged between forced vital capacity (FVC) and years of exposure to airborne silica. In the workplace Mina Subterrànea (MT-3600), statistically significant inverse relationship emerged between the Tiffeneau index and body weight. Conclusions: The working conditions in the mining industry in altitude appeared to be potentially pathogenic; further investigations should be realized integrating risk assessment protocols even in consideration of their undeniable unconventionality

Idrocarburi clorurati volatili in aria. Determinazione del rapporto di concentrazione atmosfera/ambiente acquatico

Ogni anno centinaia di migliaia di tonnellate di idrocarburi clorurati volatili (VCHC) sono immesse in atmosfera, a causa del largo impiego che tali composti trovano in vari processi industriali e commerciali. Grazie alle loro proprietà chimico-fisiche (in particolare volatilità e persistenza) e al loro tempo di vita medio moderatamente lungo, i VCHC si diffondono dalle aree industrializzate e raggiungono le zone più remote della Terra come il continente antartico. Questa diffusione su larga scala avviene attraverso un trasporto a lungo raggio veicolato dall'atmosfera e dalle correnti oceaniche, in particolare attraverso un processo noto come ciclo di distillazione e frazionamento globale. Alla luce della riscontrata tossicità e ubiquità dei VCHC appare evidente l’importanza di un monitoraggio continuato in atmosfera e in ambiente acquatico e di uno studio puntuale della distribuzione di queste sostanze tra i compartimenti ambientali. Informazioni rilevanti soprattutto quando si riferiscono alla presenza e al comportamento dei VCHC in zone remote e caratterizzate da particolari condizioni ambientali come l’Antartide dove, a causa delle basse temperature, i contaminanti restano intrappolati e possono dar luogo a fenomeni di accumulo. In questo lavoro di dottorato è stata pertanto realizzata e ottimizzata una linea analitica per la determinazione dei VCHC in aria a livello pptV (10-12 L/L) basata sull'accoppiamento di un cryofocusing trap injector con un gascromatografo a sua volta interfacciato con uno spettrometro di massa operante in modalità SIM (CTI-GC-MS). Inoltre è stato messo a punto un metodo di campionamento di aria adatto a determinazioni a livello di tracce e compatibile con le condizioni climatiche antartiche. Con tali metodi sono stati prelevati e analizzati campioni di aria di differente origine, sia italiani che antartici; i VCHC sono stati rinvenuti in tutti i campioni con concentrazioni che variano da unità a centinaia di pptV. Impiegando poi anche la tecnica adatta all'analisi dei VCHC nelle matrici acquose sono stati analizzati campioni di aria, acqua e neve prelevati contemporaneamente allo scopo di determinare oltre alla composizione, il rapporto di concentrazione atmosfera/ambiente acquatico dei VCHC. È stato inoltre studiato come tale rapporto cambi passando da una zona temperata e industrializzata come l’Italia a una zona polare e remota come l’Antartide. In tal senso tale lavoro ha lo scopo di portare un notevole contributo alla comprensione del comportamento ambientale dei composti in studio, dei loro meccanismi di trasporto e distribuzione tra atmosfera e ambiente acquatico. Tra l’altro attualmente non esiste uno studio specifico sul comportamento dei VCHC relativamente alle caratteristiche climatiche antartiche, di conseguenza tali dati potrebbero essere un utile supporto all'elaborazione teorica dei modelli di distribuzione e destino ambientale

Comparison of atmosphere/aquatic environment concentration ratio of volatile chlorinated hydrocarbons between temperate regions and Antarctica

For the purpose of understanding the transport and deposition mechanisms and the air-water distribution of some volatile chlorinated hydrocarbons (VCHCs), their atmosphere/aquatic environment concentration ratio was evaluated. In addition, for the purpose of differentiating VCHC behaviour in a temperate climate from its behaviour in a polar climate, the atmosphere/aquatic environment concentration ratio evaluated in matrices from temperate zones was compared with the concentration ratio evaluated in Antarctic matrices. In order to perform air samplings also at rigid Antarctic temperatures, the sampling apparatus, consisting of a diaphragm pump and canisters, was suitably modified. Chloroform, 1,1,1-trichloroethane, tetrachloromethane, 1,1,2-trichloroethylene and tetrachloroethylene were measured in air, water and snow using specific techniques composed of a purpose-made cryofocusing-trap-injector (for air samples) and a modified purge-and-trap injector (for aqueous samples) coupled to a gas chromatograph with mass spectrometric detection operating in selected ion monitoring mode. The VCHCs were retrieved in all the investigated matrices, both Italian and Antarctic, with concentrations varying from tens to thousands of ng m(-3) in air and from digits to hundreds of ng kg(-1) in water and snow. The atmosphere/aquatic environment concentration ratios were always found to be lower than 1. In particular, the Italian air/water concentration ratios were smaller than the Antarctic ones, by reason of the higher atmospheric photochemical activity in temperate zones. On the other hand, the Antarctic air/snow concentration ratios proved to be largely in favour of snow with respect to the Italian ratios, thus corroborating the hypothesis of a more efficient VCHC deposition mechanism and accumulation on Antarctic snow. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved