Air pollution damages children’s health in many different ways, through both chronic and acute effects. The aims of our research are to reveal the indoor air quality levels in schools. Subject and indoor air measurements were performed in 34 primary schools located in the Central Anatolia region. PM10, PM2.5, CO2, CO, CH2O, relative humidity, temperature, and total bacteria and fungus levels were measured. In the urban region, mean PM1 was higher than the other regions(p=0.029). PM10 and PM2.5 were higher in schools in rural areas. According to CO2 measurements, only one school was identified to be below the upper limit recommended by the WHO. Total microorganism concentration was exceeded in 44.1% of classrooms. Indoor PM1, PM2.5, PM10, CO2, total bacteria and fungus levels were high and above recommended limits. Human activities, movements of students could be considered the most important indoor factors for particle matter increase. Indoor parameters could be lowered by organizing the school environment.

This study has used TOMS AI as well as the reanalysis dataset of thirty-four years (1979-2012) to investigate the influence of atmospheric circulation on dust transport during the Harmattan period in West Africa, using Aerosol Index (AI) data, obtained from various satellite sensors. Changes in Inter-Tropical Discontinuity (ITD), Sea Surface Temperature (SST) over the Gulf of Guinea, and North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) during Harmattan period (November-March) have been analyzed on daily basis with Harmattan dust mobilization as well as atmospheric circulation pattern being evaluated via a kernel density estimate that shows the relation between the two variables. The study has found out that strong north-easterly (NE) trade winds were over most of the Sahelian region of West Africa during the winter months with the maximum wind speed reaching 8.61 m/s in January. The strength of NE winds determines the extent of dust transport to the coast of Gulf of Guinea during winter. This study has also confirmed that the occurrence of the Harmattan chiefly depends on SST in Atlantic Ocean as well as ITD position, not to mention the strength of low level winds. However, it has been noted that NAO has limited effects on dust mobilization in West Africa, in shear contrast to North Africa where NAO is a strong factor in dust mobilization.

In the global COVID-19 epidemic, humans are faced with a new challenge. The concept of quarantine as a preventive measure has changed human activities in all aspects of life. This challenge has led to changes in the environment as well. The air quality index is one of the immediate concrete parameters. In this study, the actual potential of quarantine effects on the air quality index and related variables in Tehran, the capital of Iran, is assessed, where, first, the data on the pollutant reference concentration for all measuring stations in Tehran, from February 19 to April 19, from 2017 to 2020, are monitored and evaluated. This study investigated the hourly concentrations of six particulate matters (PM), including PM2.5, PM10, and air contaminants such as nitrogen dioxide (NO2), sulfur dioxide (SO2), ozone (O3), and carbon monoxide (CO). Changes in pollution rate during the study period can be due to reduced urban traffic, small industrial activities, and dust mites of urban and industrial origins. Although pollution has declined in most regions during the COVID-19 quarantine period, the PM2.5 rate has not decreased significantly, which might be of natural origins such as dust. Next, the air quality index for the stations is calculated, and then, the interpolation is made by evaluating the root mean square (RMS) of different models. The local and global Moran index indicates that the changes and the air quality index in the study area are clustered and have a high spatial autocorrelation. The results indicate that although the bad air quality is reduced due to quarantine, major changes are needed in urban management to provide favorable conditions. Contaminants can play a role in transmitting COVID-19 as a carrier of the virus. It is suggested that due to the rise in COVID-19 and temperature in Iran, in future studies, the effect of increased temperature on COVID-19 can be assessed. | peer reviewed

A simple new device for dry separation of fine particulate matter from bulk soil samples is presented here. It consists of a stainless steel tube along which a nitrogen flow is imposed, resulting in the displacement of particles. Taking into account particle transport, fluid mechanics, and soil sample composition, a tube 6-m long, with a 0.04-m diameter, was found best adapted for PM10 separation. The device rapidly produced several milligrams of particulate matter, on which chemical extractions with EDTA were subsequently performed to study the kinetic parameters of extractable metals. New Caledonian mining soils were chosen here, as a case-study. Although the easily extracted metal pool represents only 0.5–6.4 % of the total metal content for the elements studied (Ni, Co, Mn), the total concentrations are extremely high. This pool is therefore far from negligible, and can be troublesome in the environment. This dry technique for fine particle separation from bulk parent soil eliminates the metal-leaching risks inherent in wet filtration and should therefore ensure safe assessment of environmental quality in fine-textured, metal-contaminated soils.

To elucidate the molecular composition and sources of organic aerosols in Central Asia, carbonaceous compounds, major ions, and 15 organic molecular tracers of total suspended particulates (TSP) were analyzed from September 2018 to August 2019 in Dushanbe, Tajikistan. Extremely high TSP concentrations (annual mean ± std: 211 ± 131 μg m⁻³) were observed, particularly during summer (seasonal mean ± std: 333 ± 183 μg m⁻³). Organic carbon (OC: 11.9 ± 7.0 μg m⁻³) and elemental carbon (EC: 5.1 ± 2.2 μg m⁻³) exhibited distinct seasonal variations from TSP, with the highest values occurring in winter. A high concentration of Ca²⁺ was observed (11.9 ± 9.2 μg m⁻³), accounting for 50.8% of the total ions and reflecting the considerable influence of dust on aerosols. Among the measured organic molecular tracers, levoglucosan was the predominant compound (632 ± 770 ng m⁻³), and its concentration correlated significantly with OC and EC during the study period. These findings highlight biomass burning (BB) as an important contributor to the particulate air pollution in Dushanbe. High ratios of levoglucosan to mannosan, and syringic acid to vanillic acid suggest that mixed hardwood and herbaceous plants were the main burning materials in the area, with softwood being a minor one. According to the diagnostic tracer ratio, OC derived from BB constituted a large fraction of the primary OC (POC) in ambient aerosols, accounting for an annual mean of nearly 30% and reaching 63% in winter. The annual contribution of fungal spores to POC was 10%, with a maximum of 16% in spring. Measurements of plant debris, accounting for 3% of POC, divulged that these have the same variation as fungal spores.

Studies on the human body burden of dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs) in populations around municipal solid waste incinerators (MSWIs) in China are limited. The objective of this study was to assess the potential adverse health effects of an 8-year MSWI on the surrounding population and identify possible exposure pathways. We hypothesized that the MSWI would result in different environmental impacts and population health outcomes between upwind and downwind of its 3 km vicinity. We conducted a 10-year retrospective mortality survey on the population surrounding the MSWI. Then, we selected 50 residents aged 50 years or older on each of the upwind and downwind sides of MSWI to test serum PCDD/Fs. Meanwhile, environmental and food exposures to PCDD/Fs were tested for selected residents. The age-adjusted mortality rates were significantly higher for residents downwind than upwind, but no significant difference was found in the standardized mortality ratio before and after the MSWI operation. The toxic equivalents (TEQ) and major congeners of PCDD/Fs were significantly higher in the sera of the downwind residents than in the upwind. The PCDD/Fs in air, soil, dust, and vegetables on the downwind side were not significantly different from those on the upwind side, but the mean concentrations of PCDD/Fs in downwind hen eggs was significantly higher than those from upwind. In conclusion, downwind residents living within 3 km of the MSWI had higher age-adjusted mortality and serum level of PCDD/Fs than upwind residents. This higher mortality rate among downwind residents was not associated with MSWI. However, the higher levels of PCDD/Fs in downwind hen eggs suggest that the downwind population dioxin exposure was related to their location.

A recently identified chemical, 2-((4-Methylpentan-2-yl)amino)-5-(phenylamino)cyclohexa-2,5-diene-1,4-dione (6PPD-quinone; 6PPD-Q), is a transformation product of an additive used in the manufacture of tire rubber and causes acute lethality in coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) in urban watersheds. Despite its potential presence and ecotoxicity in receiving waters worldwide, information on the occurrence and fate of 6PPD-Q is limited. Here, we investigated the concentrations of 6PPD-Q and its parent chemical, 6PPD, in road dust collected from arterial and residential roads in Tokyo, Japan from May to October 2021. 6PPD-Q concentrations were highest from May to June, when atmospheric ozone concentrations are the highest in Japan; a correlation between 6PPD-Q and photochemical oxidants, as an alternative to ozone, corroborated this finding. We also found that 6PPD-Q concentrations at photochemical oxidant concentrations ranging from 35 to 47 ppbv were higher in dust collected from roads with high traffic volumes (i.e., arterial roads; median: 8.6 μg/g-OC) than in dust collected from roads with lower traffic volumes (i.e., residential roads; median: 6.3 μg/g-OC), indicating that 6PPD-Q is generated from traffic-related sources. We also found that 6PPD-Q was leached from dust particles within a few hours, with a log partitioning coefficient between organic carbon and water (KOC) of 3.2–3.5. The present results will help to understand the environmental occurrence, fate, and behavior of 6PPD-Q.