Animal agricultural activities can be a significant source of pollutants affecting the health of farmers and neighboring communities. The main objective of this research was to improve the air quality by reducing the interior concentrations of emitting pollutants such as particulate matter (PM) and ammonia (NH3) within forced-ventilated fattening pig barns in order to improve the working conditions for human and the living conditions for animals as well as to have less impact on the surrounding environment. The mitigation techniques were a recirculating air scrubber and spraying of a water-oil mixture. The reduction efficiencies of the two mitigation techniques for PM and NH3 concentrations inside the barns were investigated. Two air scrubbers were mounted in a barn occupied with 515 pigs. A water-oil mixture spraying system with two different nozzles geometries was installed in a barn with 680 pigs. The data obtained from the mitigation system was compared with that obtained from a control barn with the same animal capacity and conditions. The results indicated that the average reduction efficiencies were 63% for total PM, 61% for PM10 and 32% for NH3. The results indicated that the average reduction efficiencies of the spraying system for the whole periods were 74% for total PM, 72% for PM10 and 19.5% for NH3 when using small nozzles and 44% for total PM, 39% for PM10 and 16% for NH3 when using large nozzles. The spraying system reduced the germs and fungal spore concentrations by 14 and 58%, respectively.

Metalcasting involves having a molten metal poured in a hollow mould to produce metal objects. These moulds are generally made of sand and are chemically bonded, clay-bonded, or even unbounded. There are many binder systems used. Binders based on furfuryl resins constitute currently the highest fraction in the binders no-bake group. Moulding sand, after knocking out the cast, is partially reclaimed, and the remaining part, known as waste foundry sand is used or stored outside the foundry. In this case, the environment hazardous organic compounds and metals can be leached from the moulding sand, thus causing pollution of water and soil. Also during the casting moulds with molten metal, they emit pyrolysis gases containing many different compounds, often dangerous from the BTEX and PAH group, which has adverse impacts on the environment and workers. The article presents the results of research on the impact of the regenerate addition to the moulding sand matrix on emitted gases and the degree of threat to the environment due to leaching of hazardous components. Therefore, for the total assessment of the moulding sands harmfulness, it is necessary to perform investigations concerning the dangerous substances elution into the environment during their management and storage, as well as investigations concerning emissions of hazardous substances (especially from the BTEX and PAHs group) during moulds pouring, cooling, and casting knocking out. Both kinds of investigations indicated that reclaimed sand additions to moulding sands have significantly negative influence on the environment and working conditions.

The air quality of three different microenvironments (school, dwelling, and coffee bar) located in the city of Rome, Italy, was assessed. Indoor and outdoor concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) associated with PM₂.₅ particles were determined during an intensive 3-week sampling campaign conducted in March 2013. In interiors, total particulate PAHs ranged from 1.53 to 4.96 ng/m³ while outdoor air contained from 2.75 to 3.48 ng/m³. In addition, gaseous toxicants, i.e., NO₂, NO ₓ , SO₂, O₃, and BTEX (benzene, toluene, ethyl-benzene, and xylene isomers), were determined both in internal and external air. To solve the origin of indoor and outdoor PAHs, several source apportionment methods were applied. Multivariate analysis revealed that emissions from motor vehicles, biomass burning for heating purposes, and soil resuspension were the major sources of PAHs in the city. No linear correlation was established between indoor and outdoor values for PM₂.₅ and BTEX; the respective indoor/outdoor concentration ratios exceed unity except for PM₂.₅ in the no smoking home and benzene in all school floors. This suggests that important internal sources such as tobacco smoking, cleaning products, and resuspension dust contributed to indoor pollution. Using the monitoring stations of ARPA Lazio regional network as reference, the percentage within PAH group of benzo[a]pyrene, which is the WHO marker for the carcinogenic risk estimates, was ca. 50 % higher in all locations investigated.

This work investigates influence of different aluminosillicate nanoparticles (NPs) which are found in air in selected workplaces on the properties of the phospholipid (DPPC) monolayer at air–saline interface considered as ex vivo model of the lung surfactant (LS). The measurements were done under physiological-like conditions (deformable liquid interface at 37 °C) for NP concentrations matching the calculated lung doses after exposure in the working environment. Measured surface pressure–area (π–A) isotherms and compressibility curves demonstrated NP-induced changes in the structure and mechanical properties of the lipid monolayer. It was shown that hydrophilic nanomaterials (halloysite and bentonite) induced concentration-dependent impairment of DPPC’s ability of attaining high surface pressures on interfacial compression, suggesting a possibility of reduction of physiological function of natural LS. Hydrophobic montmorillonites affected DPPC monolayer in the opposite way; however, they significantly changed the mechanical properties of the air–liquid interface during compression. The results support the hypothesis of possible reduction or even degradation of the natural function of the lung surfactant induced by particle–phospholipid interactions after inhalation of nanoclays. Presented data do not only supplement the earlier results obtained with another LS model (animal-derived surfactant in oscillating bubble experiments) but also offer an explanation of physicochemical mechanisms responsible for detrimental effects which arise after deposition of inhaled nanomaterials on the surface of the respiratory system.

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) were measured in air (TSP and PM₂.₅) and dust samples collected from 16 households and the corresponding workplaces of eight volunteer citizens in Shanghai, China. The PBDEs concentrations in the workplace air (mean: 281 ± 126 pg m⁻³) were over two times higher than those in the household (121 ± 44.0 pg m⁻³), while the mean levels of PBDEs in dust were 995 ± 547 and 544 ± 188 ng g⁻¹ for workplace and household, respectively. BDE209 was the most abundant congener in all samples. PBDEs appeared to be composed of mostly small particles. The C ₚₐᵣₜᵢcₗₑ/C dᵤₛₜ ratios of less brominated PBDEs in PM₂.₅ were higher than those in TSP, while the values were approximately constant for the more brominated PBDEs. A correlation analysis by network indicated different sources and behavior of the PBDE congeners. The results of a cluster analysis were displayed on a heat map that specified the source and abundance of each PBDE congener. The daily PBDE exposure via dust ingestion was the predominant part of the total intake and was more than 10 times higher than the intake via inhalation.