The organic carbon (OC) and elemental carbon (EC) collected by eight-stage air samplers over northern China during spring 2012 were determined to characterize the spatial variations, size distributions, and sources of carbonaceous aerosols. OC and EC had high concentration levels and spatial heterogeneity. Higher carbonaceous aerosol loadings were found in urban areas, and high concentrations of OC and EC were found in eastern parts of northern China, including Beijing, Taiyuan in Shanxi Province, Yucheng in Shandong Province, Xianghe in Hebei Province, and Shenyang in Liaoning Province. Except the Cele site, OC and EC at all the sites showed a bimodal distribution, peaking in the size of 0.4–0.7 and 4.7–5.8 μm. Carbonaceous aerosols in the fine mode in the urban areas are mostly presented in smaller sizes than those in the rural/regional background areas. For most sites, mass median aerodynamic diameter (MMAD) values in the fine particles for OC were higher than those for EC with the addition of semi-volatile organics. Good correlations between OC and EC in all the cities (5 in North China and 1 in northeast China) may suggest the impact of anthropogenic emissions on carbonaceous aerosols in the above regions.

Phytotoxic ozone (O₃) levels have been recorded in the Metropolitan Region of São Paulo (MRSP). Flux-based critical levels for O₃ through stomata have been adopted for some northern hemisphere species, showing better accuracy than with accumulated ozone exposure above a threshold of 40 ppb (AOT40). In Brazil, critical levels for vegetation protection against O₃ adverse effects do not exist. The study aimed to investigate the applicability of O₃ deposition model (Deposition of Ozone for Stomatal Exchange (DO₃SE)) to an O₃-sensitive tropical tree species (Psidium guajava L. ‘Paluma’) under the MRSP environmental conditions, which are very unstable, and to assess the performance of O₃ flux and AOT40 in relation to O₃-induced leaf injuries. Stomatal conductance (g ₛ) parameterization for ‘Paluma’ was carried out and used to calculate different rate thresholds (from 0 to 5 nmol O₃ m⁻² projected leaf area (PLA) s⁻¹) for the phytotoxic ozone dose (POD). The model performance was assessed through the relationship between the measured and modeled g ₛₜₒ. Leaf injuries were analyzed and associated with POD and AOT40. The model performance was satisfactory and significant (R ² = 0.56; P < 0.0001; root-mean-square error (RMSE) = 116). As already expected, high AOT40 values did not result in high POD values. Although high POD values do not always account for more injuries, POD₀ showed better performance than did AOT40 and other different rate thresholds for POD. Further investigation is necessary to improve our model and also to check if there is a critical level of ozone in which leaf injuries arise. The conclusion is that the DO₃SE model for ‘Paluma’ is applicable in the MRSP as well as in temperate regions and may contribute to future directives.

Cis-1,2,-dichloroethylene (cis-DCE) is a toxic, persistent contaminant occurring mainly as a daughter product of incomplete degradation of perchloroethylene (PCE) and trichloroethylene (TCE). This paper reports on abiotic reductive dechlorination of cis-DCE by mackinawite (FeS₁₋ₓ), a ferrous monosulfide, under variable geochemical conditions. To assess in situ abiotic cis-DCE dechlorination by mackinawite in the field, mackinawite suspensions prepared in a field groundwater sample collected from a cis-DCE contaminated field site were used for dechlorination experiments. The effects of geochemical variables on the dechlorination rates were monitored. A set of dechlorination experiments were also carried out in the presence of aquifer sediment from the site over a range of pH conditions to better simulate the actual field situations. The results showed that the suspensions of freshly prepared mackinawite reductively transformed cis-DCE to acetylene, whereas the conventionally prepared powder form of mackinawite had practically no reactivity with cis-DCE under the same experimental conditions. Significant cis-DCE degradation by mackinawite has not been reported prior to this study, although mackinawite has been shown to reductively transform PCE and TCE. This study suggests feasibility of using mackinawite for in situ remediation of cis-DCE-contaminated sites with high S levels such as estuaries under naturally achieved or stimulated sulfate-reducing conditions.

The importance of road traffic, residential heating and meteorological conditions as major drivers of urban PM₁₀ concentrations during air pollution critical episodes has been assessed in the city of Florence (Italy) during the winter season. The most significant meteorological variables (wind speed and atmospheric stability) explained 80.5–85.5 % of PM₁₀ concentrations variance, while a marginal role was played by major emission sources such as residential heating (12.1 %) and road traffic (5.7 %). The persistence of low wind speeds and unstable atmospheric conditions was the leading factor controlling PM₁₀ during critical episodes. A specific PM₁₀ critical episode was analysed, following a snowstorm that caused a “natural” scenario of 2-day dramatic road traffic abatement (−43 %), and a massive (up to +48 %) and persistent (8 consecutive days) increase in residential heating use. Even with such a strong variability in local PM₁₀ emissions, the role of meteorological conditions was prominent, revealing that short-term traffic restrictions are insufficient countermeasures to reduce the health impacts and risks of PM₁₀ critical episodes, while efforts should be made to anticipate those measures by linking them with air quality and weather forecasts.

Based on the daily records from 16 cities around the eastern Tien Shan (Tianshan Mountains), central Asia from 2007 to 2013, the spatial pattern and seasonal/interannual variation of urban particulate matter up to 10 μm in size (PM₁₀) concentrations and influencing factors were analyzed. Annual mean PM₁₀concentrations (±standard deviation) in most cities on the northern slope mainly range from 55 ± 28 μg/m³to 92 ± 75 μg/m³, and those on the southern slope range between 96 ± 65 and 195 ± 144 μg/m³. PM₁₀concentrations are maxima in winter on the northern slope, while they maximize in springtime on the southern slope. There is an increasing trend in annual mean concentrations during the period 2007–2013, which is not statistically significant at the 0.05 level. Urban PM₁₀concentration in the study region is jointly influenced by anthropogenic emission and regional natural processes, especially dust events and precipitation. The northern slope usually has heavy anthropogenic air pollution (mostly in winter) and relatively rich precipitation especially in summer, and the southern slope always suffers more frequent dust events (mostly in spring) and less precipitation. Modeled back-trajectory indicated that the Taklimakan desert source can greatly increase the PM₁₀concentration on the southern slope, and the mountain ranges may hinder the transport of dust to the northern slope.

The combined exposure of arsenic (As) and cadmium (Cd) causes more pronounced renal toxicity. The study aimed to evaluate the level of As and Cd in biological samples (blood and urine) of adults males, age ranged (30–50 years) exposed referent (ER) and exposed kidney patients (EKP), consumed contaminated drinking water of lake and smoking local cigarettes manufactured by tobacco plants grown on agricultural soil, irrigated with contaminated lake water. For comparative purpose age matched nonexoposed referent (NR) and nonexposed kidney patient (NKP), consumed municipal treaded water and smoking branded cigarette were also selected. The As and Cd levels in drinking water, biological samples, tobacco of branded and nonbranded cigarettes were analyzed using electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry. The As and Cd concentrations in lake water were higher than the permissible limit recommended by the World Health Organization for drinking water. The As and Cd levels in local cigarette tobacco were found to be 3- to 4-folds higher than branded cigarettes. The biochemical parameters especially urinary N-acetyl-β-glucosaminidase (NAG) of ER, EKP, ER, and EKP subjects were studied as a biomarkers of renal dysfunction. The NAG values were found to be higher in EKP as compared to NKP (p < 0.01). The linear regressions showed higher correlations between As and Cd concentrations in water versus blood and urine samples of EKP (r = 0.71–0.78 and 0.68–0.72), as compared to NKP (p < 0.05).

Recent time series studies have indicated that daily mortality and morbidity are associated with particulate matters. However, about the relative effects and its seasonal patterns of fine particulate matter constituents is particularly limited in developing Asian countries. In this study, we examined the role of particulate matters and its key chemical components of fine particles on both mortality and morbidity in Beijing. We applied several overdispersed Poisson generalized nonlinear models, adjusting for time, day of week, holiday, temperature, and relative humidity, to investigate the association between risk of mortality or morbidity and particulate matters and its constituents in Beijing, China, for January 2005 through December 2009. Particles and several constituents were associated with multiple mortality or morbidity categories, especially on respiratory health. For a 3-day lag, the nonaccident mortality increased by 1.52, 0.19, 1.03, 0.56, 0.42, and 0.32 % for particulate matter (PM)₂.₅, PM₁₀, K⁺, SO₄²⁻, Ca²⁺, and NO₃⁻ based on interquartile ranges of 36.00, 64.00, 0.41, 8.75, 1.43, and 2.24 μg/m³, respectively. The estimates of short-term effects for PM₂.₅ and its components in the cold season were 1 ~ 6 times higher than that in the full year on these health outcomes. Most of components had stronger adverse effects on human health in the heavy PM₂.₅ mass concentrations, especially for K⁺, NO₃⁻, and SO₄²⁻. This analysis added to the growing body of evidence linking PM₂.₅ with mortality or morbidity and indicated that excess risks may vary among specific PM₂.₅ components. Combustion-related products, traffic sources, vegetative burning, and crustal component and resuspended road dust may play a key role in the associations between air pollution and public health in Beijing.

Fertilization is important to increase crop yields, but long-term application of fertilizers probably aggravated the risk of heavy metals in acidic soils. In this study, the effect of 22-year fertilization and cropping on accumulation, availability, and uptake of heavy metals in red soil was investigated. The results showed that pig manure promoted significantly cadmium (Cd) accumulation (average 1.1 mg kg⁻¹), nearly three times higher than national soil standards and, thus, increased metal availability. But the enrichment of heavy metals decreased remarkably by 50.5 % under manure fertilization, compared with CK (control without fertilization). On the contrary, chemical fertilizers increased greatly lead (Pb) availability and Cd activity; in particular, exceeding 85 % of soil Cd became available to plant under N (nitrogen) treatment during 9–16 years of fertilization, which correspondingly increased their enrichment by 29.5 %. Long-term application of chemical fertilizers caused soil acidification and manure fertilization led to the increase in soil pH, soil organic matter (SOM), and available phosphorus (Olsen P), which influenced strongly metal behavior in red soil, and their effect had extended to deeper soil layer (20∼40 cm). It is advisable to increase application of manure alone with low content of heavy metals or in combination with chemical fertilizers to acidic soils in order to reduce toxic metal risk.

In this study, the occurrence and concentrations of PAHs in dust samples, which were collected from the traffic police cabins/working spots, located on the main busy roads of Lahore (TP-L) and Rawalpindi (TP-R) cities (Punjab province, Pakistan) and from the public transport vehicles in the same cities (named as AM-L and AM-R, respectively) were determined. The mean and median concentrations of ∑PAHs were observed in the following descending order: AM-L (1340 and 774 ng g⁻¹ d.w., respectively), TP-L (866 and 854 ng g⁻¹ d.w.), TP-R (504 and 379 ng g⁻¹ d.w.), and AM-R (393 and 290 ng g⁻¹ d.w. Source apportionment of the soil/dust-bound PAHs was also performed. In all the sampling areas, the diagnostic ratios, principal component analysis (PCA) followed by multiple linear regression (MLR) analysis indicated signatures of mixed sources of PAHs (including vehicular exhaust emission, gasoline/diesel, and coal/wood combustion). Estimated results of incremental lifetime cancer risk (ILCR) indicated that the traffic policemen and drivers, especially those in the urban area of Lahore, were at high risk of cancer via routes of dust ingestion and dermal contact. The results of this research could be very useful for the local Government in order to control the exposure and promote actions to alleviate PAH contamination and to manage health both at work places in the big cities of Pakistan.

Tributyltin is listed as one of the priority substances in the European Water Framework Directive (WFD). Despite its decreasing input in the environment, it is still present and has to be monitored. In the European Metrology Research Programme project ENV08, a sensitive and reliable analytical method according to the WFD was developed to quantify this environmental pollutant at a very low limit of quantification. With the development of such a primary reference method for tributyltin, the project helped to improve the quality and comparability of monitoring data. An overview of project aims and potential analytical tools is given.