Search results for " Pollution"

Up in the air: links between the environment and cardiovascular disease

2019

An Epidemiological Study to Investigate Links between Atmospheric Pollution from Farming and SARS-CoV-2 Mortality.

2022

Exposure to atmospheric particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide has been linked to SARS-CoV-2 infection and death. We hypothesized that long-term exposure to farming-related air pollutants might predispose to an increased risk of COVID-19-related death. To test this hypothesis, we performed an ecological study of five Italian Regions (Piedmont, Lombardy, Veneto, Emilia-Romagna and Sicily), linking all-cause mortality by province (administrative entities within regions) to data on atmospheric concentrations of particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10) and ammonia (NH3), which are mainly produced by agricultural activities. The study outcome was change in all-cause mortality during March–Apri…

Possible markers of traffic-related emissions

2007

Looking for robust indicators of motor vehicle emissions it has been found that brake wear and linings are significant contributors of Cu, Mo and Sb to air particulate matter. These trace elements, whose mutual ratios in airborne particulate matter resulted quite different from those in crustal material, appear to be available fingerprinting tools to identify the contribution of on-road vehicles to traffic-derived particulate matter. In this study, the results of analytical determinations of Cu, Mo and Sb on PM(10), PM(2.5), vegetation and brake dust samples, together with gas (CO, NOx) concentrations, are discussed. Highly significant correlations among Cu, Sb and Mo were observed in parti…

Perturbation of metabolic pathways mediates the association of air pollutants with asthma and cardiovascular diseases.

2018

Background: Epidemiologic evidence indicates common risk factors, including air pollution exposure, for respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, suggesting the involvement of common altered molecular pathways. Objectives: The goal was to find intermediate metabolites or metabolic pathways that could be associated with both air pollutants and health outcomes (“meeting-in-the-middle”), thus shedding light on mechanisms and reinforcing causality. Methods: We applied a statistical approach named ‘meet-in-the-middle’ to untargeted metabolomics in two independent case-control studies nested in cohorts on adult-onset asthma (AOA) and cardio-cerebrovascular diseases (CCVD). We compared the results …

A new preprocessing tool of ECMWF data for CALMET forecasting simulations

2019

Today, strategies for emergency preparedness, in presence of accidental scenarios in high-risk plants with releases into the atmosphere, have become a priority. To achieve this goal, it is important to have forecast meteorological data in local areas to use in dispersion and transport models and so to respond in advance emergency situations. The paper reports results of research performed to develop a new tool, called FORCALM that is capable to elaborate European Centre for Medium-Range Forecasts (ECMWF) forecast data to use for simulations by CALMET/CALPUFF modeling system. A case study, relevant to an accident occurred in Mediterranean Refinery at Milazzo (Italy), has been examined to val…

Case study: inorganic pollutants associated with particulate matter from an area near a petrochemical plant.

2004

The area of Gela (Sicily, Italy) contains one of the largest petroleum refineries in Europe and also has several oil fields both on land and offshore. This paper discusses how the oil refinery and traffic-related air pollution affect the chemical composition of airborne particulate matter over the town of Gela, using pine needles and urban road dust as the means of survey. Forty-one samples of pine needles from Pinus halepensis (Mill.) and two composite samples of roadway dust, each subdivided into six size fractions, were analyzed for major and trace elements. Information on the natural or anthropogenic origin of the observed heavy metals was deduced from factor analysis and element distri…

Survey data regarding perceived air quality in Australia, Brazil, China, Ghana, India, Iran, Italy, Norway, South Africa, United States before and du…

2020

The dataset deals with the air quality perceived by citizens before and during the enforcement of COVID-19 restrictions in ten countries around the world: Australia, Brazil, China, Ghana, India, Iran, Italy, Norway, South Africa and the United States. An online survey conveniently translated into Chinese, English, Italian, Norwegian, Persian, Portuguese collected information regarding the perceived quality of air pollution according to a Likert scale. The questionnaire was distributed between 11-05-2020 and 31-05-2020 and 9 394 respondents took part. Both the survey and the dataset (stored in a Microsoft Excel Worksheet) are available in a public repository. The collected data offer the peo…

Dust, Metals and Metalloids in the Environment: From Air to Hair .

2013

Billions tons of particulate matter, made up of inorganic and organic compounds, are released every year into the atmosphere, from both anthropogenic and natural sources. The latter, which include geogenic material from erosion, agriculture, sea spray and volcanic activity, account for about 97% of the total mass of particles. The contribution of anthropogenic sources, about 3%, is more pronounced in industrialised and also in urban areas, where vehicular traffic is one of the most important sources. When examining the health impact, in addition to mass level and size, two other main characteristics of particulate matter need to be considered: its nature and chemical composition. These para…

Voltammetric Analysis of Platinum in Environmental Matrices

2014

This article will summarize measurement data for Pt in different environmental samples obtained by the authors using a recently developed approach by voltammetric analysis. A fast accumulation of platinum and rhodium in the environmental and biological matrices has been observed in the last few years and concern has arisen about potential environmental and health risks. Voltammetry was used for the determination of Pt and Rh in airborne particulate collected in Palermo, Italy. Possible interferences by other environmental metals have also been evaluated. All samples show concentrations of Pt and Rh above average upper crust values. The Pt and Rh concentrations in particulate samples collect…

Analysis of the traffic management policy measures adopted in the central business district of Palermo

2005

his research analyses the effects on air quality produced by the traffic management measures adopted in the Central Business District of Palermo (i.e. park price, the closure to traffic of Maqueda Road, etc.). Weather data series, pollutant concentrations data series (1997-2003) and the traffic data collected in 2003 were analysed by using different regression statistical models, to appraise the effectiveness of the traffic management policies adopted by City Council, understanding also the cause/effect relationships among the pollutant concentrations (CO, NO2, O3, C6H6 and PM10) and the traffic flows variations over time