Protection of the environment has been of public concern for many years in Italy and many institutions here are involved in this field. However, the advantages offered by the improvement of the quality of the environment are not always considered in economic terms, even though a rigorous evaluation of the relationships between economy and environment should help us to better understand how protection of the environment is related to economic development and social benefits.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) concentrations in PM10 and PM2.5 particles were measured at 14 monitoring sites (12 for PM10 and 2 for PM2.5), located in the Metropolitan Area of Costa Rica, from January to November 2013. High-volume air samplers with pretreated quartz filters were used to collect the particles. The analytical determination was carried out using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The most abundant PAHs were benzo[a]anthracene, indeno(1,2,3-cd)pyrene, dibenz[a,h]anthracene and acenaphthylene. Ratios obtained by correlating the concentration of some PAHs, both PM10 and PM2.5, suggest that gasoline and diesel vehicles are the main sources in the area being studied. This is consistent with the results obtained when applying the positive matrix factorization (PMF) analysis, since vehicles accounted for 62–74% of total emissions in the area; burning wood fuel was the second source of emissions, contributing between 7 and 15%; and road dust was third, with almost 8%. | Se midieron las concentraciones de hidrocarburos aromáticos policíclicos (HAP) en partículas PM10 y PM2.5 en 14 sitios de monitoreo (12 para PM10 y 2 para PM2.5), ubicados en el Área Metropolitana de Costa Rica, de enero a noviembre de 2013. Alto volumen Se utilizaron muestreadores de aire con filtros de cuarzo pretratados para recoger las partículas. La determinación analítica se realizó mediante cromatografía líquida de alta resolución (HPLC). Los HAP más abundantes fueron benzo [a] antraceno, indeno (1,2,3-cd) pireno, dibenz [a, h] antraceno y acenaftileno. Los ratios obtenidos al correlacionar la concentración de algunos HAP, tanto de PM10 como de PM2,5, sugieren que los vehículos de gasolina y diésel son las principales fuentes en el área de estudio. Esto es consistente con los resultados obtenidos al aplicar el análisis de factorización matricial positiva (PMF), ya que los vehículos representaron 62-74% de las emisiones totales en el área; la quema de leña fue la segunda fuente de emisiones, contribuyendo entre el 7 y el 15%; y el polvo de la carretera ocupó el tercer lugar, con casi el 8%. | Universidad Nacional, Costa Rica | Laboratorio de Análisis Ambiental. Facultad de Ciencias Ambientales. Universidad Nacional, Costa Rica

In August 2017, after Hurricane Harvey made landfall, almost 52 inches of rain fell during a three-day period along the Gulf Coast Region of Texas, including Harris County, where Houston is located. Harris County was heavily impacted with over 177,000 homes and buildings (approximately 12 percent of all buildings in the county) experiencing flooding. The objective of this study was to measure 13 heavy metals in soil in residential areas and to assess cancer and non-cancer risk for children and adults after floodwaters receded. Between September and November 2017, we collected 174 surface soil samples in 10 communities, which were classified as “High Environmental Impact” or “Low Environmental Impact” communities, based on a composite metric of six environmental parameters. A second campaign was conducted between May 2019 and July 2019 when additional 204 soil samples were collected. Concentrations of metals at both sampling campaigns were higher in High Environmental Impact communities than in Low Environmental Impact communities and there was little change in metal levels between the two sampling periods. The Pollution Indices of lead (Pb), zinc, copper, nickel, and manganese in High Environmental Impact communities were significantly higher than those in Low Environmental Impact communities. Further, cancer risk estimates in three communities for arsenic through soil ingestion were greater than 1 in 1,000,000. Although average soil Pb was lower than the benchmark of the United States Environmental Protection Agency, the hazard indices for non-cancer outcomes in three communities, mostly attributed to Pb, were greater than 1. Health risk estimates for children living in these communities were greater than those for adults.

Carcinogenic and neurotoxic polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are environmentally ubiquitous and have been widely investigated. However, little is understood regarding their pollution status, sources, and potential risk to persons in public transportation microenvironments (PTMs). We collected 60 dust samples from PTMs and then selected four materials typical of bus interiors to determine the sources of PBDEs in dust using principal component analysis coupled with Mantel tests. We then evaluated the risk of PBDEs to public health using Monte Carlo simulations. We found that PBDE concentrations in dust were 2-fold higher in buses than at bus stops and that brominated diphenyl ether (BDE)-209 was the main pollutant. The number of buses that passed through a bust stop contributed to the extent of PBDE pollution, and the primary potential sources of PBDEs in dust were plastic handles and curtains inside buses; BDE-209 and BDE-154 were the main contributors of pollution. We found that health risk was 8-fold higher in toddlers than in adults and that the reference doses of PBDEs in dust were far below the United States Environmental Protection Agency limits. Our findings provide a scientific basis that may aid in preventing PBDE pollution and guiding related pollution management strategies in PTMs.

The Amazon coastal zone has become contaminated with organic pollutants, such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). However, information about their distribution and sources in this area is scarce, despite increasing deforestation and oil exploitation. Therefore, individual PAHs were analysed in the sediments of the Oyapock estuary, which is located in the Amazon coastal zone. This study provides information about the spatial and short-term temporal distributions of PAHs and discusses the major sources of PAHs to better understand the anthropogenic processes occurring in adjacent areas. The concentrations of all sixteen priority PAHs defined by the US EPA (United States Environmental Protection Agency, ∑₁₆PAHs) ranged from 10.9 to 138.8 ng g⁻¹ with a mean and standard deviation = 37.9 ± 20.5 and indicated that this estuary is not contaminated, while the mean levels were similar to those found in other Amazon regions and pristine areas along the coast of Brazil. No significant differences were found in the sedimentary PAHs levels between the wet and dry sampling campaigns, despite the different climatic conditions. Diagnostic ratios, positive matrix factorization (PMF) and cluster analysis have shown that the majority of the investigated PAHs were derived from combustion processes (at least 55.1%, as estimated by the PMF model). Localized source inputs from oil and its by-products concomitantly with natural/biogenic sources appear to be secondary sources. The PAH contribution from biomass and wood combustion was approximately 13.6% and was relatively lower than other regions of the Amazon that are undergoing massive biomass burning. As the first study of PAHs in this region, this study provides vital information on the healthy state of the estuary and can serve as a baseline for assessing the impacts of acute oil disasters or the chronic input of PAHs as a result of human settlements.