Health hazards related to conidia of Cladosporium—biological air pollutants in Poland, central Europe

The spores of Cladosporium Link. are often present in the air in high quantities and produce many allergenic proteins, which may lead to asthma. An aerobiological spore monitoring program can inform patients about the current spore concentration in air and help their physicians determine the spore dose that is harmful for a given individual. This makes it possible to develop optimized responses and propose personalized therapy for a particular sensitive patient. The aim of this study was to assess the extent of the human health hazard posed by the fungal genus Cladosporium. For the first time, we have determined the number of days on which air samples in Poland exceeded the concentrations linked to allergic responses of sensitive patients, according to thresholds established by three different groups(2800/3000/4000 spores per 1 m~3 of the air). The survey was conducted over three consecutive growing seasons(April–September, 2010–2012) in three cities located in different climate zones of Poland(Poznan, Lublin and Rzeszow). The average number of days exceeding 2800 spores per cubic meter(the lowest threshold) ranged from 61(2010) through 76(2011) to 93(2012), though there was significant variation between cities. In each year the highest concentration of spores in the air was detected in either Poznan or Lublin, both located on large plains with intensive agriculture. We have proposed that an effective, science-based software platform to support policy-making on air quality should incorporate biological air pollutant data,such as allergenic fungal spores and pollen grains.     

Chemical oxygen demand reduction of various wastewater types using magnetic field-assisted fenton reaction.

Constant magnetic field (CMF) was investigated for its potential to intensify chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal in wastewater when applied with a generalized Fenton reaction. Various types of industrial and domestic wastewater were tested in the experiment. A significant dependence was observed between the wastewater type, dose of reacting substances, time of exposure to CMF, effectiveness of COD removal, and the rate of the advanced oxidation process. The use of CMF resulted in the improvement of the treatment process; however, the efficiency depended to a great extent on the type of wastewater and characteristics of the contained organic matter. Domestic wastewater seemed to be most amenable to the applied treatment (82% COD reduction). The least reduction in COD occurred for wood industry wastewater. In the analyzed wastewater, intense oxidation was observed during the first 60 minutes of the process. Longer reaction time did not increase COD reduction, with the exception of wood industry wastewater. The experiment revealed the possibility of applying smaller doses of the Fenton's reagent, thereby keeping up unchanged treatment efficiency, provided that CMFs are applied.     

Quantification of carbon dioxide and methane emissions in urban areas: source apportionment based on atmospheric observations

Anthropogenic emissions of carbon dioxide (CO₂) and methane (CH₄) in the atmosphere constitute an important component of the related carbon budget. The main source of anthropogenic CO₂ is burning of fossil fuels, especially in densely populated areas. Similar emissions of CH₄ are associated with the agricultural sector, coal mining, and other human activities, such as waste management and storage and natural gas networks supplying methane to large urban, industrial centers. We discuss several methods aimed at characterizing and quantifying atmospheric loads and fluxes of CO₂ and CH₄ in Krakow, the second largest city in Poland. The methods are based on atmospheric observations of mixing ratios as well as isotopic composition of the investigated gases. Atmospheric mixing ratios of CO₂ and CH₄ were measured using gas chromatography (GC) and cavity ring-down spectroscopy (CRDS). The isotopic composition of CO₂ and CH₄ was analyzed using isotope ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS), accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS), and CRDS techniques. These data, combined with auxiliary information characterizing the intensity of vertical mixing in the lower atmosphere (height of the nocturnal boundary layer [NBL] and atmospheric ²²²Rn concentration), were further used to quantify emission rates of CO₂ and CH₄ in the urban atmosphere of Krakow. These methods provide an efficient way of quantifying surface emissions of major greenhouse gases originating from distributed sources, thus complementing the widely used bottom-up methodology based on emission statistics.