Monitoring of firefighters exposure to smoke during fire experiments in Portugal

Forest fires represent a serious threat to public security in Europe due to the large burned area. Moreover, smoke pollution due to forest fire events is an important public health issue for the communities directly affected, and particularly for the personnel involved in firefighting operations. Aiming to contribute to the scientific knowledge concerning firefighters exposure to forest fires smoke, data of individual exposure to carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, volatile organic compounds, and particulate matter were obtained during experimental field fires for a group of 10 firefighters equipped with portable “in continuum” measuring devices. Measured values are very high exceeding the Occupational Exposure Standard limits, in particular for peak limit thresholds. These are the first measurements and analysis of firefighter's individual exposure to toxic gases and particles in fire smoke experiments in Europe. However, they already indicate that urgent measures to avoid these levels of exposure are needed.     

Transport impacts on atmosphere and climate: Land transport

Emissions from land transport, and from road transport in particular, have significant impacts on the atmosphere and on climate change. This assessment gives an overview of past, present and future emissions from land transport, of their impacts on the atmospheric composition and air quality, on human health and climate change and on options for mitigation.In the past vehicle exhaust emission control has successfully reduced emissions of nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, volatile organic compounds and particulate matter. This contributed to improved air quality and reduced health impacts in industrialised countries. In developing countries however, pollutant emissions have been growing strongly, adversely affecting many populations. In addition, ozone and particulate matter change the radiative balance and hence contribute to global warming on shorter time scales. Latest knowledge on the magnitude of land transport's impact on global warming is reviewed here.In the future, road transport's emissions of these pollutants are expected to stagnate and then decrease globally. This will then help to improve the air quality notably in developing countries. On the contrary, emissions of carbon dioxide and of halocarbons from mobile air conditioners have been globally increasing and are further expected to grow. Consequently, road transport's impact on climate is gaining in importance. The expected efficiency improvements of vehicles and the introduction of biofuels will not be sufficient to offset the expected strong growth in both, passenger and freight transportation. Technical measures could offer a significant reduction potential, but strong interventions would be needed as markets do not initiate the necessary changes. Further reductions would need a resolute expansion of low-carbon fuels, a tripling of vehicle fuel efficiency and a stagnation in absolute transport volumes. Land transport will remain a key sector in climate change mitigation during the next decades.     

Occurrence and sources of selected phenolic endocrine disruptors in Ria de Aveiro,Portugal

Background, aim and scope  

Ria de Aveiro (Portugal) is a shallow coastal lagoon of high economic and ecological importance. Hardly any data on its chemical pollution by polar organic pollutants are available in literature. This study focused on the presence and sources of a series of phenolic endocrine-disrupting compounds (EDCs) in this area, including parabens, alkylphenolic compounds and bisphenol-A (BPA). A number of possible sources of pollution are present in the area, including the large harbours present in the lagoon, the city of Aveiro and the rivers discharging into the area. A recently constructed submarine wastewater outfall, located a few kilometres from the lagoon inlet has also been suggested as a possible source of pollution to Ria de Aveiro in several publications. The aim of the current field study was to investigate the occurrence and main sources of phenolic endocrine disruptors in Ria de Aveiro.     

Heavy metal and trace elements in riparian vegetation and macrophytes associated with lacustrine systems in Northern Patagonia Andean Range

Vegetation associated with lacustrine systems in Northern Patagonia was studied for heavy metal and trace element contents, regarding their elemental contribution to these aquatic ecosystems. The research focused on native species and exotic vascular plant Salix spp. potential for absorbing heavy metals and trace elements. The native species studied were riparian Amomyrtus luma, Austrocedrus chilensis, Chusquea culeou, Desfontainia fulgens, Escallonia rubra, Gaultheria mucronata, Lomatia hirsuta, Luma apiculata, Maytenus boaria, Myrceugenia exsucca, Nothofagus antarctica, Nothofagus dombeyi, Schinus patagonicus, and Weinmannia trichosperma, and macrophytes Hydrocotyle chamaemorus, Isöetes chubutiana, Galium sp., Myriophyllum quitense, Nitella sp. (algae), Potamogeton linguatus, Ranunculus sp., and Schoenoplectus californicus. Fresh leaves were analyzed as well as leaves decomposing within the aquatic bodies, collected from lakes Futalaufquen and Rivadavia (Los Alerces National Park), and lakes Moreno and Nahuel Huapi (Nahuel Huapi National Park). The elements studied were heavy metals Ag, As, Cd, Hg, and U, major elements Ca, K, and Fe, and trace elements Ba, Br, Co, Cr, Cs, Hf, Na, Rb, Se, Sr, and Zn. Geochemical tracers La and Sm were also determined to evaluate contamination of the biological tissues by geological particulate (sediment, soil, dust) and to implement concentration corrections.     

Regionalization of climate scenarios impacts on maize production and the role of cultivar and planting date as an adaptation strategy

Understanding climate change and its impacts on crops is crucial to determine adaptation strategies. Simulations of climate change impacts on agricultural systems are often run for individual sites. Nevertheless, the scaling up of crop model results can bring a more complete picture, providing better inputs for the decision-making process. The objective of this paper was to present a procedure to assess the regional impacts of climate scenarios on maize production, as well as the effect of crop cultivars and planting dates as an adaptation strategy. The focus region is Santa Catarina State, Brazil. The identification of agricultural areas cultivated with annual crops was done for the whole state, followed by the coupling of soil and weather information necessary for the crop modeling procedure (using crop model and regional circulation models). The impact on maize yields, so as the effect of adaptation strategies, was calculated for the 2012–2040 period assuming different maize cultivars and planting dates. Results showed that the exclusion of non-agricultural areas allowed the crop model to correctly simulate local and regional production. Simulations run without adaptation strategies for the 2012–2040 period showed reductions of 11.5–13.5 % in total maize production, depending on the cultivar. By using the best cultivar for each agricultural area, total state production was increased by 6 %; when using both adaptation strategies—cultivar and best planting date—total production increased by 15 %. This analysis showed that cultivar and planting date are feasible adaptation strategies to mitigate deleterious effects of climate scenarios, and crop models can be successfully used for regional assessments.     

Use of thermal desorption-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (TD-GC-MS) on identification of odorant emission focus by volatile organic compounds characterisation

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from several different municipal solid wastes’ treatment plants in Mallorca (Spain) have been analysed by thermal desorption-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (TD-GC-MS). Ambient (immission) air was collected during February and March 2011 by active sampling onto sorbents Tenax™ TA and Carboxen™ 1000. The study presents the chemical characterisation of 93 volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from an overall set of 84 immission air samples. 70 VOCs were positively identified.The linear fit for all 93 external standard calibration, from 10 mg L⁻¹ to 150 mg L⁻¹ (n = 4), was within the range 0.974 < r² < 0.998. Limits of detection of the method (LOD) for all the standards were within the range 1.1-4,213 pg, as the absolute standard amount spiked into sorbent tubes in 1 μL standard mixture (dissolved in methanol).Overall results stated systematic correlation between waste’s nature and VOCs’ air composition. Organic wastes show main contribution of terpenes, waste water sludge residues’ of reduced sulphured compounds (RSCs) and municipal solid wastes show contribution of a wide sort of VOCs. The use of a chemometric approach for variable’s reduction to 12 principal components enables evaluation of similarities and dissimilarities between facilities. PCA clearly related samples to its corresponding facility on the basis of their VOCs composition and the ambient temperature.     

Catalytic ozonation of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid using alumina in the presence of a radical scavenger

Using a laboratory-scale mixed reactor, the performance of alumina in degrading 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid with ozone in the presence of tert-butyl alcohol radical scavenger was studied. The operating variables investigated were the dose of alumina catalyst and solution pH. Results showed that using ozone and alumina leads to a significant increase in 2,4-D removal in comparison to non-catalytic ozonation and adsorption processes. The observed reaction rate constants (k(obs)) for 2,4-D during ozonation were found to increase linearly with increasing catalyst dose. At pH 5, the k(obs) value increased from 19.3 to 26 M(-1) s(-1) and 67 M(-1) s(-1) when varying the alumina dose from 1 to 2 and 4 g L(-1), respectively. As pH was increased, higher reaction rates were observed for both non-catalytic ozonation and catalytic ozonation processes. Thus, at pH 3 and using a catalyst dose of 8 g L(-1), the k(obs) values for non-catalytic ozonation and catalytic ozonation processes were 3.4 and 58.9 M(-1) s(-1), respectively, whereas at pH 5 reaction rate constants of 6.5 and 128.5 M(-1) s(-1) were observed, respectively. Analysis of total organic carbon suggested that catalytic ozonation with alumina achieved a considerable level of mineralization of 2,4-D. Adsorption of 2,4-D on alumina was found to play an important role in the catalytic ozonation process.     

Tipping Elements in the Arctic Marine Ecosystem

The Arctic marine ecosystem contains multiple elements that present alternative states. The most obvious of which is an Arctic Ocean largely covered by an ice sheet in summer versus one largely devoid of such cover. Ecosystems under pressure typically shift between such alternative states in an abrupt, rather than smooth manner, with the level of forcing required for shifting this status termed threshold or tipping point. Loss of Arctic ice due to anthropogenic climate change is accelerating, with the extent of Arctic sea ice displaying increased variance at present, a leading indicator of the proximity of a possible tipping point. Reduced ice extent is expected, in turn, to trigger a number of additional tipping elements, physical, chemical, and biological, in motion, with potentially large impacts on the Arctic marine ecosystem.     

Patterns of mercury and methylmercury bioaccumulation in fish species downstream of a long-term mercury-contaminated site in the lower Ebro River (NE Spain)

Since the 19th century, large amounts of industrial waste were dumped in a reservoir adjacent to a chlor-alkali plant in the lower Ebro River (NE Spain). Previous toxicological analysis of carp populations inhabiting the surveyed area have shown that the highest biological impact attributable to mercury pollution occurred downstream of the discharge site. However, mercury speciation in fish from this polluted area has not been addressed yet. Thus, in the present study, piscivorous European catfish (Silurus glanis) and non-piscivorous common carp (Cyprinus carpio) were selected, to investigate the bioavailability and bioaccumulation capacities of both total mercury (THg) and methylmercury (MeHg) at the discharge site and downstream points. Multiple Correspondence Analysis (MCA) was applied to reduce the dimensionality of the data set, and Multiple Linear Regression (MLR) models were fitted in order to assess the relationship between both Hg species in fish and different variables of interest. Mercury levels in fish inhabiting the dam at the discharge site were found to be approximately 2-fold higher than those from an upstream site; while mercury pollution progressively increased downstream of the hot spot. In fact, both THg and MeHg levels at the farthest downstream point were 3 times greater than those close to the waste dump. This result clearly indicates downstream transport and increased mercury bioavailability as a function of distance downstream from the contamination source. A number of factors may affect both the downstream transport and increased Hg bioavailability associated with suspended particulate matter (SPM) and dissolved organic carbon (DOC).     

Mercury, lead and cadmium in human milk in relation to diet, lifestyle habits and sociodemographic variables in Madrid (Spain)

Background

Although breastfeeding is the ideal way of nurturing infants, it can be a source of exposure to toxicants. This study reports the concentration of Hg, Pb and Cd in breast milk from a sample of women drawn from the general population of the Madrid Region, and explores the association between metal levels and socio-demographic factors, lifestyle habits, diet and environmental exposures, including tobacco smoke, exposure at home and occupational exposures.

Methods

Breast milk was obtained from 100 women (20 mL) at around the third week postpartum. Pb, Cd and Hg levels were determined using Atomic Absorption Spectrometry. Metal levels were log-transformed due to non-normal distribution. Their association with the variables collected by questionnaire was assessed using linear regression models. Separate models were fitted for Hg, Pb and Cd, using univariate linear regression in a first step. Secondly, multivariate linear regression models were adjusted introducing potential confounders specific for each metal. Finally, a test for trend was performed in order to evaluate possible dose-response relationships between metal levels and changes in variables categories.

Results

Geometric mean Hg, Pb and Cd content in milk were 0.53 μg L⁻¹, 15.56 μg L⁻¹, and 1.31 μg L⁻¹, respectively. Decreases in Hg levels in older women and in those with a previous history of pregnancies and lactations suggested clearance of this metal over lifetime, though differences were not statistically significant, probably due to limited sample size. Lead concentrations increased with greater exposure to motor vehicle traffic and higher potato consumption. Increased Cd levels were associated with type of lactation and tended to increase with tobacco smoking.

Conclusions

Surveillance for the presence of heavy metals in human milk is needed. Smoking and dietary habits are the main factors linked to heavy metal levels in breast milk. Our results reinforce the need to strengthen national food safety programs and to further promote avoidance of unhealthy behaviors such as smoking during pregnancy.