Surface properties of particles emitted from selected coal-fired heating plants and electric power stations in Poland : preliminary results

The surface properties of particles emitted from six selected coal-fi red power and heating plants in Poland have been studied in this work for the fi rst time. Samples were collected beyond the control systems. Surface composition of the size-distributed particles was obtained by photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The refl ection of the smallest, submicron particles was also measured to calculate their specifi c/mass absorption. The surface layer of the emitted particles was clearly dominated by oxygen, followed by silicon and carbon. The sum of the relative concentration of these elements was between 85.1% and 91.1% for coarse particles and 71.8–93.4% for fi ne/submicron particles. Aluminum was typically the fourth or fi fth, or at least the sixth most common element. The mass absorption of the submicron particles emitted from the studied plants ranged from 0.02 m2g-1 to 0.03 m2g-1. Only specifi c absorption obtained for the “Nowy Wirek” heating plant was signifi cantly higher than in other studied plants probably because the obsolete fi re grate is used in this heating plant. The obtained results suggest that the power/heating-plant-emitted fi ne particles contain less carbonaceous material/elemental carbon on their surfaces than those that are typical in urban air

Exposure to PM4 in homes with tobacco smoke in and around Katowice, Poland

The results of a PM4 (airborne particles with an aerodynamic diameter less than 4 m) study in Katowice and in the surrounding area in homes with and without environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) are presented. It was found that the average concentration of PM4 inside the homes with ETS was between 126 g m3 (in Jaworzno) and 208 g m3 (in Katowice)—significantly higher than in the homes without smokers (55–65 g m3). The mean of the indoor to outdoor ratios (I/O) for PM4 varied greatly, ranging from 0.6 in the apartments without smokers in Katowice to 5.2 in the homes with smokers in Jaworzno. The highly polluted by ETS indoor air causes children aged 14–15 living in these homes to inhale from 2.5 to 6.6 mg of PM4 more per day than their peers living in non-ETS homes. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) was used to determine the surface chemical composition of the studied indoor airborne particles. Carbon, including elemental carbon, and oxygen-containing species dominated the particulate surface, with traces of Si, N, S, Na, Al, Zn, and K present. The surface layer of PM4 from the homes with ETS contains significantly more carbon and less oxygen than the airborne particles collected in the homes without smokers, which can be explained by the high emission of carbon during tobacco smoking

Exposure to PM4 in Homes with Tobacco Smoke in and around Katowice, Poland

The results of a PM4 (airborne particles with an aerodynamic diameter less than 4 µm) study in Katowice and in the surrounding area in homes with and without environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) are presented. It was found that the average concentration of PM4 inside the homes with ETS was between 126 µg m−3 (in Jaworzno) and 208 µg m−3 (in Katowice)—significantly higher than in the homes without smokers (55–65 µg m−3). The mean of the indoor to outdoor ratios (I/O) for PM4 varied greatly, ranging from 0.6 in the apartments without smokers in Katowice to 5.2 in the homes with smokers in Jaworzno. The highly polluted by ETS indoor air causes children aged 14–15 living in these homes to inhale from 2.5 to 6.6 mg of PM4 more per day than their peers living in non-ETS homes. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) was used to determine the surface chemical composition of the studied indoor airborne particles. Carbon, including elemental carbon, and oxygen-containing species dominated the particulate surface, with traces of Si, N, S, Na, Al, Zn, and K present. The surface layer of PM4 from the homes with ETS contains significantly more carbon and less oxygen than the airborne particles collected in the homes without smokers, which can be explained by the high emission of carbon during tobacco smoking

Surface Properties of Particles Emitted from Selected Coal-Fired Heating Plants and Electric Power Stations in Poland: Preliminary Results

The surface properties of particles emitted from six selected coal-fired power and heating plants in Poland have been studied in this work for the first time. Samples were collected beyond the control systems. Surface composition of the size-distributed particles was obtained by photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS)

Consideration on the health risk reduction related to attainment of the new particulate matter standards in Poland: A top-down policy risk assessment approach

Policies can influence health of a population in various ways. Numerous epidemiological studies supported by toxicological investigations demonstrate a positive association between ambient concentrations of airborne particulate matter and increased adverse cardio-respiratory events, including morbidity and mortality. The aim of this paper was to present the concept of the top-down health policy risk assessment approach model developed to estimate the expected health risk reduction associated with policy aiming at attaining the new particulate matter ≤ 10 μm in diameter (PM10) standards in Poland. The top-down approach guides the analysis of causal chains from the policy to health outcomes. In this case study we tried to estimate the predicted health effects of the policy change over the past 20 years. Since Polish annual standard for PM10 changed from 50 μg/m3 in 1990 to 40 μg/m3 in 2010, we calculated the relative risk associated with decreasing PM10 in diameter to 10 μg/m3 in the annual level of PM10 for 6 adverse health effects. The relative risk slightly decreased for almost all adverse health effects, which means that the relative decrease in the incidence of health effects from the baseline incidence should range from about 0.5–0.6% for heart disease admissions to > 1% for respiratory admissions. The obtained results indicate that implementation of the new ambient air standards could influence improvement of the health status of Polish population. A top-down policy health risk assessment model can be one of the main tools in this process, providing harmonized guidance how to seek evidence-based information, which could serve policy-makers

Factors determining the concentration and chemical composition of particulate matter in the air of selected service facilities

The link between increased morbidity and mortality and increasing concentrations of particulate matter (PM) resulted in great attention being paid to the presence and physicochemical properties of PM in closed rooms, where people spends most of their time. The least recognized group of such indoor environments are small service facilities. The aim of this study was to identify factors which determine the concentration, chemical composition and sources of PM in the air of different service facilities: restaurant kitchen, printing office and beauty salon. The average PM concentration measured in the kitchen was 5-fold (PM4, particle fraction ≥ 4 μm) and 5.3-fold (TSP, total PM) greater than the average concentration of these PM fractions over the same period. During the same measurement period in the printing office and in the beauty salon, the mean PM concentration was 10- and 4-fold (PM4) and 8- and 3-fold (TSP) respectively greater than the mean concentration of these PM fractions in outdoor air. In both facilities the main source of PM macro-components, especially organic carbon, were chemicals, which are normally used in such places - solvents, varnishes, paints, etc. The influence of some metals inflow from the outdoor air into indoor environment of those facilities was also recognized

Factors determining the concentration and chemical composition of particulate matter in the air of selected service facilities

The link between increased morbidity and mortality and increasing concentrations of particulate matter (PM) resulted in great attention being paid to the presence and physicochemical properties of PM in closed rooms, where people spends most of their time. The least recognized group of such indoor environments are small service facilities. The aim of this study was to identify factors which determine the concentration, chemical composition and sources of PM in the air of different service facilities: restaurant kitchen, printing office and beauty salon. The average PM concentration measured in the kitchen was 5-fold (PM4, particle fraction ≥ 4 μm) and 5.3-fold (TSP, total PM) greater than the average concentration of these PM fractions over the same period. During the same measurement period in the printing office and in the beauty salon, the mean PM concentration was 10- and 4-fold (PM4) and 8- and 3-fold (TSP) respectively greater than the mean concentration of these PM fractions in outdoor air. In both facilities the main source of PM macro-components, especially organic carbon, were chemicals, which are normally used in such places - solvents, varnishes, paints, etc. The influence of some metals inflow from the outdoor air into indoor environment of those facilities was also recognized