Chemical speciation of urban sediment particulates from Palermo

Geochemical mobility of toxic elements in soil and sedimets from Sicily

Focus on ambient levels of gas phase pollutants in the urban area of Palermo

Concentration and chemical partitioning of heavy metals in road dust from the urban and industrial area of Gela

Analisi del contenuto di metalli in traccia nella frazione PM10 del particolato atmosferico della città di Palermo.

Lifestyle influence on trace element contents in human scalp hair of young residents in different urban contexts. Preliminary results.

A causal relationship between earth material and human health, although not always proven, is highly plausible because many chemical elements in rocks and soils are directly inhaled by respiration or transmitted, via air, water and vegetation, into food chain and then to human body. It is well known that metals and metalloids may result essential to biochemical and physiological functions, but it is also well known that health problems may derive from either dietary deficiencies or excesses. Among the techniques employed to assess the exposure of living organisms to metals and metalloids present in the environment, the human biomonitoring has attracted the attention of investigators over th…

Coverage intervals for trace elements in human scalp hair are site and also gender-specific

Hair analysis is a powerful tool for assessing human exposure to metals and metalloids (MM). The basis for interpreting laboratory results lie on the use of coverage intervals (CI), computed between the 0.025 and 0.975 fractiles, from a well-defined group of reference individuals reflecting normal and healthy people. A critical point in efficient use of CI, when used for comparative decision-making processes, forensic and clinic considerations, is constituted by confounding factors as the specific living site of study population and gender of participants. Our study aims to demonstrate that hair levels of trace elements are site specific and also gender specific. We have taken into account …

Hydrogeochemistry and Water Balance of the Lake “Biviere di Gela” in the Gela Area.

Prospezione geochimica sulle risorse idriche sotterranee e superficiali della Provincia di Palermo: costituenti inorganici maggiori, minori ed in traccia. Risultati preliminari.

Is it really necessary to consume bottled waters? A comparative study between the physico-chemical characteristics of sicilian bottled mineral waters and tap waters

Time series of PM2.5, PM2.5–10, PM10 and their interrelationships in the airborne particulate matter from Palermo.

Trace elements in hair of urban schoolboys: a diagnostic tool in environmental risk assessment.

Hair analysis may represent a means to quantify the relationship between human exposure to metal contamination and the environmental conditions of workplaces or residence sites. Hair are stable and their composition does not change over short time period. Furthermore, sampling procedure is very easy, requires no specific professional skills, is painless and non-invasive. 334 hair samples were collected from Caucasian children 11-13 years old, of both genders, without colored or treated hair, living in several Sicilian towns characterized by different geochemical environments: urban (Palermo), volcanic (Etna), mining area (Antillo-Fiumedinisi), industrial site (Pace del Mela), uncontamined a…

GEOCHIMICA E AMBIENTE

Trace elemental composition of PM2.5 atmospheric aereosol in Palermo urban area

Metal distribution in organic and inorganic fractions of soils from Sicily

XANES spectra for Cr, Cu and Sb in airborne particulate matter and brake pads.

Traffico autoveicolare e nuove forme di contaminazione ambientale. Il rilascio, trasporto e solubilità del Platino e del Palladio nell’ambiente, Parte I

Contribution of water soluble ionic species to size-differentiated airborne particulate matter

Traffico autoveicolare e nuove forme di contaminazione ambientale. Il rilascio, trasporto e solubilità del Platino e del Palladio nell’ambiente, Parte II.

Influence of industrial activity on metal and metalloid contents in scalp hair of adolescents

Petrochemical industries represent a controversial although important economical resource. They offer a great deal of job opportunities producing also a development of several areas. However, such kind of industrial plants are responsible for the change of the environmental background through the emission of toxic pollutants such as metalsmetalloids and organic compounds. People living in cities close to such industrial plants are particularly exposed to a severe environmental decline, which implies the deterioration of the quality of air, soil, water and food with the consequent human health concerns. The municipalities of Gela (GL) and Pace del Mela (PM), located respectively along the Me…

Metalli in traccia nella polvere urbana

Can we consider a natural environment always of high quality and adequate to protect population from potential risks of health threats?

The question posed in the title arise because the current knowledge suggests that there are important, both beneficial and adverse, relationships between natural environment and human health. The human body obtains metals and metalloids from diet, some of which are derived from local foodstuffs and municipal water supplies, and it is therefore plausible that areas characterized by various types of bedrock and superficial materials, upon which food is grown and water drained, provide different availabilities of trace elements. The present study aimed at elucidating whether the degree of human exposure to trace elements is subject to changes in local environmental factors. This hypothesis was…

Hydrogeochemical and isotopic characterization of the lacustrine system “Biviere di Gela” (Sicily): preliminary results