Correlation study of air pollution and cardio-respiratory diseases through NAA of an atmospheric pollutant biomonitor

Lichen biomonitoring of seasonal outdoor air quality at schools in an industrial city in Thailand

Poor air quality in school environments causes adverse health effects in children and decreases their academic performance. The main objective of this study was to use lichens as a biomonitoring tool for assessing outdoor air quality at schools in the industrial area of Laem Chabang municipality in Thailand. Thalli of the lichen Parmotrema tinctorum were transplanted from an unpolluted area to nine schools in the industrial area and to a control site. The lichens were exposed for four periods in the dry, hot, early rainy, and late rainy seasons, for 90 days each. The concentrations of 14 elements, including As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Mo, Ni, Pb, Sb, Ti, V, and Zn, were determined using inductively coupled plasma‒mass spectrometry (ICP‒MS), and 8 physiological parameters were measured. The concentrations of all 14 investigated elements were clearly higher at the schools than at the control site. The contamination factors (CFs) suggested that 9 out of the 14 elements, including As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Mo, Pb, Sb, and Ti, heavily contaminated the school environments, especially Pb, the concentration of which was 3 to 11 times higher than at the control site. The most polluted time was the hot season as evidenced by the investigated elements, and the least polluted time was the late rainy season. The pollution load indices (PLIs) demonstrated that schools in the inner and middle zones clearly had higher pollution loads than the schools in the outer zone during the rainy seasons, while the hot and dry seasons showed similar pollution levels in all zones. The vitality indices (VIs) showed that the lower lichen vitalities at most schools were observed during the dry season and at the schools in the inner and middle zones. Accordingly, the air performance indices (APIs) revealed that poorer air quality at most schools was found during the dry season and at the schools in the inner and middle zones. This study clearly showed that the transplanted lichen P. tinctorum was an effective bioindicator of air quality in school environments. The results illustrated that all studied schools were contaminated by air pollutants; therefore, improving air quality at the schools is crucial and should be an urgent issue for maintaining good health and may benefit children's academic achievements and careers in the long run.

The use of Parmotrema tinctorum (Parmeliaceae) as a bioindicator of air pollution

Abstract Air quality monitoring by automatic stations, although efficient, does not allow evaluating the effects of pollution on living organisms and communities. Thus, the aim of the present study was to use lichens of the Parmotrema tinctorum species in active air quality biomonitoring. We used a new methodology of chlorosis area analyses in QGis software, as low-cost and complementary tool to physicochemical methods. Samples of the aforementioned species were exposed to atmospheric pollution for 30 consecutive days in the dry and rainy seasons, in urban and industrial regions. The chlorosis rate (34% of the lichen thalli, on average) and the accumulation of sulfur (1.1 g.kg-1, on average) were higher in the samples of lichens exposed in the industrial region, in the dry season. There was a moderate-to-high positive correlation between chlorosis rate and lichen content of nitrogen, sulfur, iron and zinc, in the dry season, mainly with sulfur (r = 0.71). The results confirmed the sensitive of P. tinctorum to atmospheric pollution, even after a short exposure time. Such new active biomonitoring methodology (chlorosis analysis in the QGis) can be used in future studies of air quality assessment by environmental and health surveillance managers.

Pollutant gas and particulate material emissions in ethanol production in Brazil: social and environmental impacts

The replacement of fossil-based fuels by renewable fuels (biofuels) was proposed in the IPCC report, as an alternative to reduce greenhouse gas emission and reach out to a low-carbon economy. On this perspective, the Brazilian government had implemented a renewable energy program based on the use of ethanol in the transport sector. This work evaluates the scenario of pollutant gas emissions and particulate material that comes from the biomass burning process involved in ethanol production cycle, in the city of Campos dos Goytacazes, Brazil. The gases and particulate material emitted by sugarcane and bagasse burning processes-the last one in energy co-generation mills-were analyzed. A laboratory-controlled burning of both samples was realized in an oven with temperature ramp from 250 to 400 °C, at a regular rate of 50 °C. The gas samples were collected directly from the oven's exhaust pipe. The particulates obtained were the residual material taken out of the burned samples: a powder with the aspect of soot. A photoacoustic spectroscopy system coupled with quantum cascade laser and electrochemical analyzers was used to measure the emission of polluting gases such as N₂O, CO₂, CO, NO_x (NO, NO₂), and SO₂ in ppmv range. Fluorescent X-ray spectrometry was applied to evaluate the chemical composition of particulate material, enabling the identification of elements such as Si, Al, Ca, K, Fe, S, P, Ti, Mn, Cu, Zn, Sc, V, Cu, and Sr.

Sarcoidosis in an Italian province. Prevalence and environmental risk factors

BACKGROUND AND AIM

Sarcoidosis is a systemic granulomatous inflammatory disease whose causes are still unknown and for which epidemiological data are often discordant. The aim of our study is to investigate prevalence and spatial distribution of cases, and identify environmental exposures associated with sarcoidosis in an Italian province.

METHODS

After georeferentiation of cases, the area under study was subdivided with respect to Municipality and Health Districts and to the altitude in order to identify zonal differences in prevalence. The bioaccumulation levels of 12 metals in lichen tissues were analyzed, in order to determine sources of air pollution. Finally, the analysis of the correlation between metals and between pickup stations was performed.

RESULTS

223 patients were identified (58.3% female and 41.7% male of total) and the mean age was 50.6±15.4 years (53.5±15.5 years for the females and 46.5±14.4 for the males). The mean prevalence was 49 per 100.000 individuals. However, we observed very heterogeneous prevalence in the area under study. The correlations among metals revealed different deposition patterns in lowland area respect to hilly and mountain areas.

CONCLUSIONS

The study highlights a high prevalence of sarcoidosis cases, characterized by a very inhomogeneous and patchy distribution with phenomena of local aggregation. Moreover, the bioaccumulation analysis was an effective method to identify the mineral particles that mostly contribute to air pollution in the different areas, but it was not sufficient to establish a clear correlation between the onset of sarcoidosis and environmental risk factors.

Tillandsia usneoides: a successful alternative for biomonitoring changes in air quality due to a new highway in São Paulo, Brazil

Tillandsia usneoides is an aerial epiphytic bromeliad that absorbs water and nutrients directly from the atmosphere by scales covering its surface. We expanded the use of this species as a broader biomonitor based on chemical and structural markers to detect changes in air quality. The usefulness of such comprehensive approach was tested during the construction and opening of a highway (SP-21) in São Paulo State, Brazil. The biomonitoring study was performed from 2009 to 2012, thus comprising the period during construction and after the highway inauguration. Metal accumulation and structural alterations were assessed, in addition to microscopy analyses to understand the metal chelation in plant tissues and to assess the causes of alterations in the number and shape of scale cells. Altogether, our analyses support the use of this species as a wide biomonitor of air quality in urbanized areas.