Impact of COVID-19 lockdown on the elemental profile of PM10 present in the ambient aerosol of an educational institute in Kolkata,India

Reduction in air pollution level was prime observation during COVID-19 lockdown globally. Here, the study was conducted to assess the impact of lockdown on the elemental profile of PM₁₀ in ambient aerosol to quantify the elemental variation. To quantify the variation, phase-wise sampling of air pollutants was carried out using the gravimetric method for PM₁₀, while NO₂ and SO₂ were estimated through the chemiluminescence and fluorescent spectrometric method respectively. The elemental constituents of PM₁₀ were carried out using an Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometer and their source apportionment was carried out using the Positive Matrix Factorization model. The results showed that PM₁₀, NO₂ and SO₂ reduced by 86.97%, 83.38%, and 88.60% respectively during the lockdown sampling phase. The highest mean elemental concentration reduction was found in Mn (97.47%) during the lockdown. The inter-correlation among the pollutants exhibited a significant association indicating that they originate from the same source. The metals like Mn and Cu were found at a higher concentration during the lockdown phase corresponding to vehicular emissions. The comparative analysis of the elemental profile of PM₁₀ concluded that the lockdown effectuated in reduction of the majority of elements present in an aerosol enveloping metropolitan like Kolkata.     

Impact of environmental and socio-economic stressors leading to unequal distribution of COVID-19 incidences in the state of Louisiana

Louisiana (LA) ranks fifth in the United States in cancer mortality rate. LA's infamous “cancer alley” is a well evidenced region near the southeast part of the Mississippi river surrounding the petrochemical hub of the state. LA has also experienced a high COVID-19 death rate and incidences compared to other states during the recent pandemic. In this study we analyzed publicly available datasets related to health and socio-economic parameters in LA to determine the factors triggering high incidences and deaths caused by COVID-19. Correlation analysis was performed to find the impact of different parameters on the outcome of COVID-19. Our analysis showed higher COVID-19 incidences in the parishes which are in and around the “cancer alley” with a correlation of r = 0.9. Interestingly, results also indicated a strong correlation (r = 0.9) between the death rates caused by asbestos toxicity to COVID-19 caused death rate. Furthermore, we found that office-administration related employment has a positive correlation to COVID-19 incidences in the “cancer alley.” However, we also found both white and black races are equally affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in the “cancer alley” region. In conclusion, our analysis strongly suggests that inhabiting “cancer alley” could significantly enhance the chances of getting affected by SARS-CoV-2 virus compared to other regions in LA.     

多氯联苯暴露对食蚊鱼CYP19ɑ 和VTGɑ 基因的表达及骨骼形态雄性化的影响

应用食蚊鱼细胞色素P450芳香化酶基因(CYP19%)和卵黄蛋白原基因(VTG%)m RNA转录水平为指标,研究微量多氯联苯(PCBs)长时间暴露对成年雌性食蚊鱼CYP19%基因和VTG%基因表达的影响,并评价其对雌性食蚊鱼产生的形态雄性化效应。采用静水暴露实验模式,分别设置0.08、0.4、2和10μg·L-1PCBs浓度,并设置对照组和平行组,定量测定14 d和28 d性腺CYP19%和肝脏VTG%m RNA表达水平的变化,以及对椎体脉棘发育的影响。暴露实验结果显示:1各PCBs浓度组(0.08、0.4、2和10μg·L-1PCBs)暴露均能抑制食蚊鱼CYP19%和VTG基因的表达,表明PCBs对食蚊鱼VTG%基因的抑制远大于对食蚊鱼CYP19%基因的抑制;20.4μg·L-1PCBs暴露显著地降低了食蚊鱼第15椎体脉棘的长度并降低第15、16椎体脉棘的L/D值,显示食蚊鱼出现骨骼形态雄性化,表明一定浓度的PCBs暴露会表现出抗雌激素效应。     

Environmental and public health co-benefits of consumer switches to immunity-supporting food

During COVID-19, there has been a surge in public interest for information on immunity-boosting foods. There is little scientific support for immunity-supporting properties of specific foods, but strong evidence for food choice impacts on other health outcomes (e.g. risk of non-communicable disease) and environmental sustainability. Here, we relate online recommendations for “immunity-boosting” foods across five continents to their environmental and human health impacts. More frequently recommended food items and groups are plant based and have lower land use and greenhouse gas emission impacts plus more positive health outcomes (reducing relative risks of mortality or chronic diet-related diseases) per serving of food. We identify trade-offs between environmental outcomes of increasing consumption of recommended food items, with aquatic environment impacts increasing with food recommendation frequency. People’s reliance on the Internet for health information creates an opportunity to consolidate behaviour change towards consuming foods with multiple co-benefits. Our study identifies win–win options for nudging online information-seeking behaviour towards more sustainable choices for terrestrial biodiversity conservation and human health.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13280-021-01693-w.     

我国新冠肺炎疫情期间医疗废物收集管理现状分析及对策研究

对全国抗击新型冠状病毒肺炎（COVID-19）疫情期间的医疗废物收集与管理现状进行分析,总结其存在的问题主要包括收集设施缺乏环境生物安全控制标准、基层人员对医疗废物管理不规范、医疗废物应急管理体系不完善等问题.为补齐防范重大公共事件中环境生物风险控制的短板,在现有收集技术、管理趋势的基础上进行分析,提出以下建议:①鼓励研究多种可广泛应用于一般生活垃圾、一般医疗垃圾以及高传染医疗废物,并对人类和生态环境无害的分类收集设施,可将生物安全控制技术融合至废物分类设施.②医疗废物合理规范管理是城市、乡村环境管理中的重点,但对于民用防疫废物的收集和处置方面仍有漏洞,应尽快制订新型冠状病毒类传染病重大公共事件的民用医疗废物管理应急标准.③为了对医废管理流程进行实时监管,可参考“工业互联网”“智慧环保”和“互联网+”,与“5G”技术结合构建“数据闭环-及时监管”数据库来提升收集与管理效率.      

杭州COVID-19期间大气VOCs体积分数变化特征

2019年12月1日至2020年3月31日新型冠状病毒肺炎(COVID-19)期间,采用Syntech Spectras GC955在线气相色谱仪对杭州市大气环境中挥发性有机物(VOCs)进行了在线连续监测,分析了 VOCs的组成特征、日变化规律和大气化学反应活性.结果表明,不同站点疫情前φ(总VOCs)均最高,一级响...     

新冠肺炎疫情期间医废收处人员防护措施及暴露风险调查研究

新型冠状病毒肺炎（COVID-19,简称“新冠肺炎”）疫情期间,医疗废物产生量急剧增加,给我国的医疗废物处置能力以及收运处置人员的防护带来了严峻考验.为研究医疗废物的收运、暂时贮存、处置等各环节工作人员的潜在风险及暴露防护措施,选取浙江省某典型医疗废物处置中心90名工作人员作为研究对象进行调查,分析了不同工种工作人员的个人防护水平,以及存在感染风险的物品或位置对其选择防护措施的影响.结果表明:在90名被调查者中,98.9%的工作人员在工作期间会佩戴医用防护口罩或全面罩和半面罩,87.5%的工作人员会穿工作服,79.6%的工作人员会佩戴工作帽,64.8%的工作人员会选择穿戴橡胶手套、防护靴来进行防护,近距离接触医疗废物时还会穿戴护目镜（55.7%）和防护服（33.0%）;单次任务结束后,100%的被调查者会选择用流水、肥皂、快速消毒剂或0.3%~0.5%的碘伏消毒液来清洗双手或洗澡清洁,94.3%的被调查者会对个人工作物品进行消毒;所有人员回家后均会采取洗手、消毒、衣物通风晾晒等防护措施;不同工种工作人员采取的个人防护措施主要与工作过程中可能触碰到的存在感染风险的物品或位置有关,其中可能触碰到周转箱（桶）或一次性包装容器外表面和内壁等高风险物品的工作人员更倾向于采取更高级别的防护措施.研究显示,此次调查中不同工种工作人员的防护合格率间存在显著性差异（P < 0.05）,未来需要制定更加详尽具体的政策规范,并加强对该从业人员的管理和培训,增强其防范意识,降低职业暴露风险.      

COVID-19疫情期间雄安地区VOCs的变化特征、臭氧生成潜势及来源解析

利用挥发性有机物(VOCs)在线监测数据对新冠肺炎疫情(COVID-19)期间(2019年12月25日～2020年2月24日)雄安地区环境空气中VOCs进行监测,探讨了疫情防控前、后VOCs的变化特征、臭氧生成潜势及来源解析.结果表明,疫情防控后φ(TVOCs)平均值为45.1×10-9,约为疫情防控前φ(TVOCs)...     

Characterization of the aerosol chemical composition during the COVID-19 lockdown period in Suzhou in the Yangtze River Delta, China

To control the spread of COVID-19, rigorous restrictions have been implemented in China, resulting in a great reduction in pollutant emissions. In this study, we evaluated the air quality in the Yangtze River Delta during the COVID-19 lockdown period using satellite and ground-based data, including particle matter (PM), trace gases, water-soluble ions (WSIs) and black carbon (BC). We found that the impacts of lockdown policy on air quality cannot be accurately assessed using MODIS aerosol optical depth (AOD) data, whereas the tropospheric nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) vertical column density can well reflect the influences of these restrictions on human activities. Compared to the pre-COVID period, the PM_2.5, PM₁₀, NO₂, carbon monoxide (CO), BC and WSIs during the lockdown in Suzhou were observed to decrease by 37.2%, 38.3%, 64.5%, 26.1%, 53.3% and 58.6%, respectively, while the sulfur dioxide (SO₂) and ozone (O₃) increased by 1.5% and 104.7%. The WSIs ranked in the order of NO₃^? > NH₄⁺ > SO₄^2- > Cl^? > Ca²⁺ > K⁺ > Mg²⁺ > Na⁺ during the lockdown period. By comparisons with the ion concentrations during the pre-COVID period, we found that the ions NO₃^?, NH₄⁺, SO₄^2?, Cl^?, Ca²⁺, K⁺ and Na⁺ decreased by 66.3%, 48.8%, 52.9%, 56.9%, 57.9% and 76.3%, respectively, during the lockdown, in contrast to Mg²⁺, which increased by 30.2%. The lockdown policy was found to have great impacts on the diurnal variations of Cl^?, SO₄^2?, Na⁺ and Ca²⁺.     

基于OMI数据的新冠疫情影响下福建省臭氧敏感性变化

基于OMI卫星数据,利用臭氧敏感性指示剂法研究了福建省及其九地市在COVID-19疫情影响下不同时间阶段大气臭氧敏感性特征以及不同情景下敏感性的变化规律.结果表明,在疫情前,福建省的大气臭氧生成控制区面积占比情况为VOC_S控制区占46.5%、协同控制区占25.0%、NO_x控制区占28.5%,以VOCs控制区为主,其中厦门市占比最高,南平市最低;在严控期,VOC_S控制区占29.5%、协同控制区占21.1%、NO_x控制区面积占49.4%,以NO_x控制区为主,其中宁德市占比最高,莆田市最低;在平稳期,VOC_S控制区占23.1%、协同控制区占29.1%、NO_x控制区占47.8%,以NO_x控制区为主,其中南平市占比最高,厦门市最低.与疫情前相比,严控期厦门市VOC_S控制区面积占比减少最多（38.1%）、最少的是三明市（7.9%）;从转化结果来看,第一类城市包括莆田市、泉州市、厦门市,敏感区变化受前体物HCHO、NO₂共同影响,而第二类城市主要受NO₂柱浓度变化影响.因此,第一类城市臭氧调控更加复杂.