Particulate air pollution and health effects for cardiovascular and respiratory causes in Temuco, Chile: A wood-smoke-polluted urban area

Temuco is one of the most highly wood-smoke-polluted cities in the world. Its population in 2004 was 340,000 inhabitants with 1587 annual deaths, of which 24% were due to cardiovascular and 11% to respiratory causes. For hospital admissions, cardiovascular diseases represented 6% and respiratory diseases 13%. Emergency room visits for acute respiratory infections represented 28%. The objective of the study presented here was to determine the relationship between air pollution from particulate matter less than or equal to 10 μm in aerodynamic diameter (PM10; mostly PM2.5, or particulate matter <2.5 μm in aerodynamic diameter) and health effects measured as the daily number of deaths, hospital admissions, and emergency room visits for cardiovascular, respiratory, and acute respiratory infection (ARI) diseases. The Air Pollution Health Effects European Approach (APHEA2) protocol was followed, and a multivariate Poisson regression model was fitted, controlling for trend, seasonality, and confounders for Temuco during 1998-2006. The results show that PM10 had a significant association with daily mortality and morbidity, with the elderly (population >65 yr of age) being the group that presented the greatest risk. The relative risk for respiratory causes, with an increase of 100 μg/m3 of PM10, was 1.163 with a 95% confidence interval (CI) of 1.057-1.279 for mortality, 1.137 (CI 1.096-1.178) for hospital admissions, and 1.162 for ARI (CI 1.144-1.181). There is evidence in Temuco of positive relationships between ambient particulate levels and mortality, hospital admissions, and ARI for cardiovascular and respiratory diseases. These results are consistent with those of comparable studies in other similar cities where wood smoke is the most important air pollution problem. Copyright 2009 Air & Waste Management Association

Methodology for informed design of sustainable tourism accommodation in Chile's 9th Region the Gateway to Patagonia

Lying between Chile's agricultural Central Valley and the wilds of Patagonia, the micro region of Araucania Andina, is seeing a rise in both national and international tourism. With its snow-capped volcanoes, national parks, native forests and indigenous Mapuche culture, the region offers a wide range of activities to the Special Interest Tourist. The development of winter sports facilities and the growth in Northern Hemisphere visitors during the austral winter is extending the season, in what was previously predominantly a destination for Chilean summer holidaymakers. The tourism infrastructure must therefore respond to provide comfortable, energy efficient, sustainable accommodation during both the cold wet winters and short hot summers, meeting the expectations of an ever more demanding international market. The government funded research project 'Sustainable Construction System and Energy Efficiency for Special Interest Tourist Infrastructure in the Araucania Andina,' FONDEF Regional D10R1003, aims to provide the knowledge needed by the local tourist industry to achieve this goal. This paper presents the methodology and outcomes of the project, including the study of local vernacular architecture, post occupation evaluation of existing infrastructure, bioclimatic analysis, environmental and technical assessment of insulation and construction materials, digital simulation of proposals and the construction of physical test cells. The resulting proposal is a system of timber-framed walls, insulated with sheep's wool, finished externally with a ventilated facade. It is hoped that this prefabricated system, in conjunction with best practice guidelines for construction and management, should enable a sustainable future for the region's tourism. At the same time, the methodology provides a replicable template that has already been applied in other regions of the country. (C) 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd

Chemistry in Context for engineering students at UCT: Transformation from a villain to a princess

The Universidad Catolica de Temuco (Araucania region, Chile) has experienced substantial changes in recent years: today, young people with a poor academic background, who are also digital natives, are enrolled in it. In this scenario, fostering deep learning in all students, the teachers have been given the task of implementing active learning methodologies with ICT incorporation. Specifically, the faculty that teaches 'Chemistry in Context' to engineering students decided to transform (re-design) of this course, which included the implementation of active learning strategies such as the flipped classroom, instead of traditional lectures, and guided inquiry to change the laboratory work. This article explains how the new strategies were implemented, and it shows results which were obtained by contrasting students' performance (based on the grades) before and after the transformation process. After the transformation, the approval rate nearly doubled and the dropout rate reduced from 40% to 17% in 2017. In the case of the laboratory work, although the tasks were more complex guided inquiry showed much better grades. These results can be attributed to the students working to build their learning, to the fact that the laboratory grade had a more significant percentage of the final grade and to the fact that students had to do all the experimental work as a mandatory activity otherwise they would fail the course. It was found that the flipped classroom will be successful if students value autonomous work and act accordingly

Indoor PM2.5 in an urban zone with heavy wood smoke pollution: The case of Temuco, Chile

Temuco is a mid-size city representative of severe wood smoke pollution in southern Chile; however, little is known about the indoor air quality in this region. A field measurement campaign at 63 households in the Temuco urban area was conducted in winter 2014 and is reported here. In this study, indoor and outdoor (24-hr) PM2.5 and its elemental composition were measured and compared. Infiltration parameters and outdoor/indoor contributions to indoor PM2.5 were also determined. A statistical evaluation of how various air quality interventions and household features influence indoor PM2.5 was also performed. This study determined median indoor and outdoor PM2.5 concentrations of 44.4 and 41.8 μg/m3, respectively. An average infiltration factor (0.62 ± 0.06) was estimated using sulfur as a tracer species. Using a simple mass balance approach, median indoor and outdoor contributions to indoor PM2.5 concentrations were then estimated as 12.5 and 26.5 μg/m3, respectively; therefore, 68% of indoor PM2.5 comes from outdoor infiltration. This high percentage is due to high outdoor pollution and relatively high household air exchange rates (median: 1.06 h−1). This study found that S, Br and Rb were dominated by outdoor contributions, while Si, Ca, Ti, Fe and As originated from indoor sources. Using continuous indoor and outdoor PM2.5 measurements, a median indoor source strength of 75 μg PM2.5/min was estimated for the diurnal period, similar to literature results. For the evening period, the median estimate rose to 135 μg PM2.5/min, reflecting a more intense wood burning associated to cooking and space heating at night. Statistical test results (at the 90% confidence level) support the ongoing woodstove replacement program (reducing emissions) and household weatherization subsidies (reducing heating demand) for improving indoor air quality in southern Chile, and suggest that a cookstove improvement program might be helpful as well. In the city of Temuco, southern Chile, 68% of indoor PM2.5 comes from severe outdoor pollution due to intensive wood burning, enhanced by poor household building standards and fuel povert

Particulate Air Pollution and Health Effects for Cardiovascular and Respiratory Causes in Temuco, Chile: A Wood-Smoke-Polluted Urban Area

Temuco is one of the most highly wood-smoke-polluted cities in the world. Its population in 2004 was 340,000 inhabitants with 1587 annual deaths, of which 24% were due to cardiovascular and 11% to respiratory causes. For hospital admissions, cardiovascular diseases represented 6% and respiratory diseases 13%. Emergency room visits for acute respiratory infections represented 28%. The objective of the study presented here was to determine the relationship between air pollution from particulate matter less than or equal to 10 mu m in aerodynamic diameter (PM10; Mostly PM2.5 or particulate matter 65 yr of age) being the group that presented the greatest risk. The relative risk for respiratory causes, with an increase of 100 mu g/m(3) of PM10, was 1.163 with a 95% confidence interval (CI) of 1.057-1.279 for mortality, 1.137 (CI 1.096-1.178) for hospital admissions, and 1.162 for ARI (CI 1.144-1.181). There is evidence in Temuco of positive relationships between ambient particulate levels and mortality, hospital admissions, and ARI for cardiovascular and respiratory diseases. These results are consistent with those of comparable studies in other similar cities where wood smoke is the most important air pollution problem

Health risks caused by short term exposure to ultrafine particles generated by residential wood combustion: A case study of Temuco,Chile

Temuco is one of the most highly wood smoke polluted cities in Chile; however, there is scarce evidence of respiratory morbidity due to fine particulate matter. We aimed to estimate the relationship between daily concentration of ultrafine particles (UFP), with an aerodynamic diameter <= 0.1 mu m, and outpatient visits for respiratory illness at medical care centers of Temuco, Chile, from August the 20th, 2009 to June the 30th, 2011. The Air Pollution Health Effects European Approach (APHEA2) protocol was followed, and a multivariate semi-parametric Poisson regression model was fitted with GAM techniques using R-Project statistical package; controlling for trend, seasonality, and confounders. The daily UFP were measured by a MOUDI NR-110 sampler. We found that results of the statistical analyses show significant associations between UFP and respiratory outpatient visits, with the elderly (population years), being the group that presented the greatest risk An interquartile increase of 4.73 mu g/m3 in UFP (lag 5 days) was associated with respiratory outpatient visits with a relative risk (RR) of 1.1458 195% Cl (1.0497-1.2507)]for the elderly. These results show novel findings regarding the relevance of daily UFP concentrations and health risk, especially for susceptible population in a wood smoke polluted city. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Obtaining PAHs Concentration Ratios and Molecular Markers for Residential Wood Combustion: Temuco, a Case Study

It is known that residential wood combustion (RWC) is an important source of fine particle emissions. The purpose of this work was to characterize the chemical composition of the particulate matter present in the Temuco urban atmosphere during winter, specifically the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) profile, because PAHs are considered to be among the key compounds in particulate matter toxicity. During the 2008 winter monitoring campaign, samples of particulate matter with aerodynamic diameters of 10 (PM10) and 2.5 (PM2.5) mm were taken on days with contamination episodes. Sixteen U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)PAH compounds were extracted with toluene and determined by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The results show that phenantrene was the predominant compound associated with particulate matter, at a concentration range between 300 and 600 ng/m 3, 18 times higher than the second most abundant PAH compound. High-molecular-mass compounds such as dibenz[a,h]anthracene, benzo[g,h,i]perylene, and indeno[1,2,3,c,d]pyrene were also found, but they were minorities in the set. It was recognized from the PAH concentration ratios of the Temuco atmospheric aerosol that the main contamination source was in fact residential wood combustion; although not all the concentration ratios evaluated match the reported reference values, probably due to the kind of biomass used, the characteristics of Chilean heating appliances and climate