Comparison Process of Blood Heavy Metals Absorption Linked to Measured Air Quality Data in Areas with High and Low Environmental Impact

Air pollution is a problem shared by the entire world population, and researchers have highlighted its adverse effects on human health in recent years. The object of this paper was the relationship between the pollutants' concentrations measured in the air and the quantity of pollutant itself inhaled by the human body. The area chosen for the study has a high environmental impact given the significant presence on the territory of polluting activities. The Acerra area (HI) has a waste-to-energy plant and numerous industries to which polluting emissions are attributed. This area has always been the subject of study as the numbers of cancer patients are high. A survey on male patients to evaluate the heavy metals concentrations in the blood was conducted in the two areas and then linked to its values aero-dispersed. Using the air quality data measured by the monitoring networks in two zones, one with high environmental impact (HI) and one with low environmental impact (LI), the chronicle daily intake (CDI) of pollutants inhaled by a single person was calculated. The pollutants considered in this study are PM10 and four heavy metals (As, Cd, Ni, Pb) constituting the typical particulates of the areas concerned. The CDI values calculated for the two zones are significantly higher in the HI zone following the seasonal pollution trend

Mitigation strategies for reducing air pollution

Today, it is increasingly recognized that air pollution hurts human health. Consequently, efficient mitigation strategies need to be implemented for substantial environmental and health co-benefits. A valid approach to reducing the air pollution effects on the environment and human health is proposed. Specific guidelines have been elucidated by differentiating them on the base of the final stakeholders (citizens, enterprises, and public authorities), of the emission sources (transport, household energy, industry, and energy generation sector, agriculture, and shipping area), and of the field of implementation (urban and extra-urban context). This paper can provide useful information for governments for the implementation of a strategic plan focused on emphasizing multi-pollutant emission reductions and overall air pollution-related risk

Spatial interpolation techniques for innovative air quality monitoring systems

New technologies for air quality measurement, including real-time on-road air quality monitoring systems (ROMs), have improved the spatial resolution of data. However, measured data can miss due to restricted traffic zones. Different algorithms can estimate the missing data in these points, using available measured data in the neighbourhood. In this study, the results of the applications of an interpolation method taking into account the effect of wind direction and intensity by means of a simple dispersion model is presented. Thanks to the large amount of data provided by the innovative dynamic monitoring system (ROM), the proposed model is able to return, with a good approximation, reliable PM10 and PM2.5 concentration values, with a resolution of 1 km

Pollution dispersion from a fire using a Gaussian plume model

A deterministic approach was used in this work to assess the PM2.5 pollutant dispersion in the air during a fire event. The pollution data were recorded with high time resolution by a monitoring station located 4 km South-West from the fire. The pollutant emission due to the fire was described as an equivalent stack having the height of the observed cloud of generated smoke. The pollutant dispersion was modelled by means of a Gaussian plume dispersion model. To this purpose, the unknown equivalent emission mass flow rate at the stack in the model was found out using the available experimental data of PM2.5 measured on the ground far away, considering the changing of the air stability between nighttime and daytime and the variable wind direction. Model results highlighted that the predicted maximum pollutant concentration was larger of an order of magnitude than the data value recorded at the monitoring station and exceeded the law limit value. A sensitivity analysis on the wind speed and the atmospheric stability conditions was performed as well to identify the worst case scenarios in case of a fire event. The main conclusion is that a dense network of measurement stations with high time resolution is necessary to properly monitor an area or to provide validation data for any predicting dispersion model in case of a pollutant release

Novel air pollution measurement system based on ethereum blockchain

The need to protect sensitive data is growing, and environmental data are now considered sensitive. The application of last-generation procedures such as blockchains coupled with the implementation of new air quality monitoring technology allows the data protection and validation. In this work, the use of a blockchain applied to air pollution data is proposed. A blockchain procedure has been designed and tested. An Internet of Things (IoT)-based sensor network provides air quality data in terms of particulate matter of two different diameters, particulate matter (PM)10 and PM2.5, volatile organic compounds (VOC), and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) concentrations. The dataset also includes meteorological parameters and vehicular traffic information. This work foresees that the data, recovered from traditional Not Structured Query Language (NoSQL) database, and organized according to some specifications, are sent to the Ethereum blockchain daily automatically and with the possibility to choose the period of interest manually. There was also the development of a transaction management and recovery system aimed at retrieving data, formatting it according to the specifications and organizing it into files of various formats. The blockchain procedure has therefore been used to track data provided by air quality monitoring networks unequivocally

Air pollution analysis during the lockdown on the city of Milan

From February 2020, the progressive adoption of measures to contain coronavirus’s contagion has resulted in a sudden change in anthropogenic activities in Italy, especially in Lombardy. From a scientific point of view, this situation represents a unique laboratory for understanding and predicting the consequences of specific measures aimed at improving air quality. In this work, the lockdown effect on Milan’s (Italy) air quality was analyzed. The PM10 and PM2.5 values were measured by the ARPA Lombardia, and the real‐time on‐road (ROM) air quality monitoring network indicates the seasonality of these pollutants, which typically record the highest values in the coldest months of the year. The 10‐year particulate matter concentrations analysis shows a PM10 reduction of 35% from 2010 to 2020. March 2020 data analysis shows an alternation of days with higher and lower particulate matter concentrations; values decrease in pollutants concentrations of 16%, respective to 2018. The complexity of the phenomena related to the atmospheric particulates formation, transport, and accumulation is highlighted by some circumstances, such as the Sahara dust events. The study showed that the trend of a general pollutant concentration reduction should be attributed to the decrease in emissions (specifically, from the transport sector) from the variation of meteorological and environmental conditions

Comparison process of air quality measurement systems applied to the context of cultural heritage

Air pollution is a problem that affects both human health and the state of historical artifacts. The interaction between pollutants and historical artifacts leads to a material degradation and therefore to the ruin of the artistic heritage. To define the impact of air quality on historic artifacts, it is necessary to measure these levels through an air quality measurement system. In this study the levels of particulate matter, PM10, PM2.5 and PM1, measured in the historic sanctuary of the Beata Vergine dei Miracoli in Saronno (Varese) were analysed using two measuring devices. Two air quality sensors, operating 24/24h and 7/7 days, were installed inside the sanctuary near the “Last Supper” wooden sculptural group realized during Renaissance period by Andrea da Corbetta and decorated by Alberto da Lodi. Similar concentration values and trends were observed with the two devices. Particulate matter levels were often above the recommended values for conservation and this may pose a threat to the artifacts present in the sanctuary. The two sensors return similar values in both trends and measured concentrations. From the analysis of the particulate matter levels it can be seen that they are high and sensitive to the activities, such as religious services, that take place in the sanctuary