Information regarding chemical pollutant levels in farmed fish and shellfish, along with the risks associated with their consumption is still scarce. This study was designed to assess levels of exposure to 21 trace elements in fish (Dicentrarchus labrax), mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis) and oysters (Crassostrea gigas) collected from aquaculture marine ecosystems of the northwestern Mediterranean Sea. Metal concentrations showed great variability in the three species; the highest values of the nonessential elements As and Cd were found in oysters while the highest levels of Al, Pb and V were found in mussels. The essential elements Cu, Mn and Zn were highest in oysters, but Fe, Cr, Ni, Se, Co and Mo levels were highest in mussels. Fish had the lowest concentrations for all trace elements, which were at least one order of magnitude lower than in bivalves. The rare earth elements cerium and lanthanum were found at higher levels in mussels than in oysters, but undetectable in fish. The maximum values set by European regulations for Hg, Cd and Pb were never exceeded in the examined samples. However, comparing the estimated human daily intakes (EHDIs) with the suggested tolerable copper and zinc intakes suggested a potential risk for frequent consumers of oysters. Similarly, people who consume high quantities of mussels could be exposed to concentrations of Al that exceed the proposed TWI (tolerable weekly intake).

Surface and building runoff can significantly contribute to the total metal loading in urban runoff waters, with potential adverse effects on the receiving ecosystems. The present paper analyses the corrosion-induced metal dissolution (Fe, Mn, Cr, Ni, Cu) from weathering steel (Cor-Ten A) with or without artificial patinas, exposed for 3 years in unsheltered conditions at a marine urban site (Rimini, Italy). The influence of environmental parameters, atmospheric pollutants and surface finish on the release of dissolved metals in rain was evaluated, also by means of multivariate analysis (two-way and three-way Principal Component Analysis). In addition, surface and cross-section investigations were performed so as to monitor the patina evolution. The contribution provided by weathering steel runoff to the dissolved Fe, Mn and Ni loading at local level is not negligible and pre-patination treatments seem to worsen the performance of weathering steel in term of metal release. Metal dissolution is strongly affected by extreme events and shows seasonal variations, with different influence of seasonal parameters on the behaviour of bare or artificially patinated steel, suggesting that climate changes could significantly influence metal release from this alloy. Therefore, it is essential to perform a long-term monitoring of the performance, the durability and the environmental impact of weathering steel.

Urban and peri-urban forests provide a multitude of Ecosystem Services to the citizens. While the capacity of removing carbon dioxide and gaseous compounds from the atmosphere has been tested, their capacity to sequestrate particles (PM) has been poorly investigated. Mediterranean forest ecosystems are often located nearby or inside large urban areas. This is the case of the city of Rome, Italy, which hosts several urban parks and is surrounded by forested areas. In particular, the Presidential Estate of Castelporziano is a 6000 ha forested area located between the Tyrrhenian coast and the city (25 km downtown of Rome). Under the hypothesis that forests can ameliorate air quality thanks to particle deposition, we measured fluxes of PM1, 2.5 and 10 with fast optical sensors and eddy covariance technique. We found that PM1 is mainly deposited during the central hours of the day, while negligible fluxes were observed for PM 2.5 and 10. A Hybrid Single–Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory model (HYSPLIT v4) simulated PM emission from traffic areas in the city of Rome and showed that a significant portion of PM is removed by vegetation in the days when the plume trajectory meets the urban forest.

Human exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in indoor environments can be particularly relevant because people spend most of their time inside buildings, especially in homes. This study aimed to investigate the most important particle-bound PAH sources and exposure determinants in PM2.5 samples collected in 19 homes located in northern Italy. Complementary information about ion content in PM10 was also collected in 12 of these homes. Three methods were used for the identification of PAH sources and determinants: diagnostic ratios with principal component and hierarchical cluster analyses (PCA and HCA), chemical mass balance (CMB) and linear mixed models (LMMs). This combined and tiered approach allowed the infiltration of outdoor PAHs into indoor environments to be identified as the most important source in winter, with a relevant role played by biomass burning and traffic exhausts to be identified as a general source of PAHs in both seasons. Tobacco smoke exhibited an important impact on PAH levels in smokers' homes, whereas in the whole sample, cooking food and natural gas sources played a minor or negligible role. Nitrate, sulfate and ammonium were the main inorganic constituents of indoor PM10 owing to the secondary formation of ammonium sulfates and nitrates.

The seasonal accumulations of perfluorinated substances (PFAS), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) were measured in a 10 m shallow firn core from a high altitude glacier at Mt. Ortles (Italy, 3830 m above sea level) in South Tyrol in the Italian Eastern Alps. The most abundant persistent organic pollutants of each group were perfluorobutanoic acid (PFBA), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA) (for PFASs); BDE 47, BDE 99, BDE 209 (for PBDEs) and phenanthrene (PHE), fluoranthene (FLA) and pyrene (PYR) (for PAHs). All compounds show different extents of seasonality, with higher accumulation during summer time compared to winter. This seasonal difference mainly reflects meteorological conditions with a low and stable atmospheric boundary layer in winter and strong convective activity in summer, transformation processes during the transport of chemicals and/or post-depositional alterations. Change in the composition of the water-soluble PFCAs demonstrates the influence of meltwater percolation through the firn layers.

The distribution, inventory, and potential risk of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), including Hexachlorocyclohexanes (HCHs) and Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethanes (DDTs), and their correlation with soil properties and anthropogenic factors were investigated in soils of the Campanian Plain. The total concentrations of HCHs and DDTs ranged from 0.03 to 17.3 ng/g (geometric mean: GM = 0.05 ng/g), and 0.08–1231 ng/g (GM = 14.4 ng/g), respectively. In general, the concentration of OCPs in farmland and orchards was higher than on land used for non-agricultural purposes. There are significant differences in the concentration of OCPs in the soils across the region, more specifically, the Acerra-Marigliano conurbation (AMC) and Sarno River Basin (SRB) are recognized as severely OCP-contaminated areas. The recent application of technical HCHs and DDTs in large quantities appears unlikely in light of the ratio of α-HCH/β-HCH and p,p′-DDT/p,p′-DDE, and the prohibition of the use of these chemicals in Italy nearly forty years ago. The clear correlation between the concentration of DDTs and organic carbon suggests a typical secondary distribution pattern. The mass inventory of OCPs in soils of the Campanian Plain is estimated to have a GM of 17.3 metric tons. There is no clear evidence linking the impact of geographical distribution of OCPs on the incidence of cancer, and the 95% confidence interval of total incremental lifetime cancer risk (TILCR) data falls below the internationally accepted benchmark value of 1 × 10−5.

The most advanced epidemiological studies on health effects of air pollution assign exposure to individuals based on residential outdoor concentrations of air pollutants measured or estimated at the front-door. In order to assess to what extent this approach could cause misclassification, indoor measurements were carried out in unoccupied rooms at the front and back of a building which fronted onto a major urban road. Simultaneous measurements were also carried out at adjacent outdoor locations to the front and rear of the building. Two 15-day monitoring campaigns were conducted in the period June–December 2013 in a building located in the urban area of Bologna, Italy. Particulate matter metrics including PM2.5 mass and chemical composition, particle number concentration and size distribution were measured. Both outdoor and indoor concentrations at the front of the building substantially exceeded those at the rear. The highest front/back ratio was found for ultrafine particles with outdoor concentration at the front door 3.4 times higher than at the rear. A weak influence on front/back ratios was found for wind direction. Particle size distribution showed a substantial loss of particles within the sub-50 nm size range between the front and rear of the building and a further loss of this size range in the indoor data. The chemical speciation data showed relevant reductions for most constituents between the front and the rear, especially for traffic related elements such as Elemental Carbon, Iron, Manganese and Tin. The main conclusion of the study is that gradients in concentrations between the front and rear, both outside and inside the building, are relevant and comparable to those measured between buildings located in high and low traffic areas. These findings show high potential for misclassification in the epidemiological studies that assign exposure based on particle concentrations estimated or measured at subjects’ home addresses.

Rivers and effluents have been identified as major pathways for microplastics of terrestrial sources. Moreover, lakes of different dimensions and even in remote locations contain microplastics in striking abundances. This study investigates concentrations of microplastic particles at two lakes in central Italy (Lake Bolsena, Lake Chiusi). A total number of six Manta Trawls have been carried out, two of them one day after heavy winds occurred on Lake Bolsena showing effects on particle distribution of fragments and fibers of varying size categories. Additionally, 36 sediment samples from lakeshores were analyzed for microplastic content. In the surface waters 2.68 to 3.36 particles/m3 (Lake Chiusi) and 0.82 to 4.42 particles/m3 (Lake Bolsena) were detected, respectively. Main differences between the lakes are attributed to lake characteristics such as surface and catchment area, depth and the presence of local wind patterns and tide range at Lake Bolsena. An event of heavy winds and moderate rainfall prior to one sampling led to an increase of concentrations at Lake Bolsena which is most probable related to lateral land-based and sewage effluent inputs. The abundances of microplastic particles in sediments vary from mean values of 112 (Lake Bolsena) to 234 particles/kg dry weight (Lake Chiusi). Lake Chiusi results reveal elevated fiber concentrations compared to those of Lake Bolsena what might be a result of higher organic content and a shift in grain size distribution towards the silt and clay fraction at the shallow and highly eutrophic Lake Chiusi. The distribution of particles along different beach levels revealed no significant differences.

Concentrations of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) were measured for an entire year in the region of Tuscany, Italy. Passive air samplers consisting of polyurethane foam (PUF) disks were deployed over four sampling periods of 3–5 months from April 2008 to July 2009 in urban (n = 6) and rural (n = 4) sites. The aim of the study was to characterize the spatial and seasonal variations in selected POPs. The POP concentrations (pg m−3) in the air were dominated by dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane and metabolites (DDTs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (∑7PCBs). DDTs, and ∑7PCBs showed a clear decreasing urban > rural gradient. The concentrations of DDTs and PCBs were up to 10 and 6 times higher, respectively, in urban sites than in rural sites. ∑7PCBs showed a significant correlation with the urbanized areas located <5 km around the sampling sites. For hexachlorocyclohexanes (HCHs), α-HCH concentrations were similar at both sampling sites and were found to be quite uniform during the four sampling periods. Seasonal fluctuations were observed for DDTs, and ∑7PCBs, with the highest concentrations observed during period 4 (summer–spring); this is most likely due to a temperature-driven re-emission from local sources. These findings were also supported by an air back trajectory analysis in the study area. This study contributes new information about POP levels in the Italian atmosphere and demonstrates the feasibility of using PUF disks to simultaneously assess seasonal concentrations at different sampling sites.

Superficial sediments were taken at the port of Cagliari (Sardinia, Italy), which includes the oil terminal of one of the largest oil refineries in the Mediterranean. Significant trace metal concentrations were found in the whole port area. Sequential extraction of metals from the different sediment fractions (BCR method) showed a higher risk of remobilisation for Cd, which is mostly bound to the exchangeable fraction. Foraminiferal density and richness of species were variable across the study area. The living assemblages were characterized by low diversity in samples collected close to the port areas. Ammonia tepida and bolivinids, which were positively correlated with concentrations of heavy metals and organic matter content, appeared to show tolerance to the environmental disturbance. The sampling sites characterized by the highest values of biotic indices were located far from the port areas and present an epiphytic and epifaunal biocoenosis.