Search results for " biomonitoring"

Trace elements mobility in soils from the active hydrothermal area of Nisyros (Greece)

2014

Nisyros Island, Greece, is a stratovolcano known for its intense hydrothermal activity. On June 2013, during a multidisciplinary field campaign, soil samples were collected in the caldera area to determinate the main mineralogical paragenesis and to investigate the distribution of trace elements concentrations and the possible relationship to the contribution of deep originated fluids. Soil samples were analysed with XRD and for the chemical composition of their leachable (deionized water) and near total (microwave digestion) fraction both for major and trace elements. All data were compared to a local background soil. The results allow to divide the samples in 2 groups: Lakki Plain and Ste…

Active moss monitoring allows to identify and track distribution of metal(loid)s emitted from fumaroles on Vulcano Island, Italy

2014

Abstract Volatile metal(loid)s are known to be emitted from volcanoes worldwide. We tested the suitability of active moss monitoring for tracking volatile metal(loid)s released from the fumarolic field on Vulcano Island, Italy, and differentiated fumaroles from other sources of gaseous and particulate trace elements such as sea spray and soil. Metal(loid) accumulation on the mosses per day did depend neither on the state of the exposed moss (dead or living) nor exposure time (3, 6, or 9 weeks). After collection, mosses were digested with either HNO3/H2O2 or deionized water and analyzed by ICP-MS. While for most elements both extraction methods yielded similar concentrations, higher concentr…

Risk assessment of exposure to organic chemicals in children and mothers using human biomonitoring

2022

Today, global chemical manufacturing is increasing each year, making environmental pollution and exposure to chemicals a serious public health problem linked to the development of many non-genetic diseases. Approximately, 70 % of chemicals consumed in Europe in 2019 were hazardous for human health. These harmful substances can enter to the food chain and remain in the environment, making humans exposed to them mainly by ingestion, inhalation or dermal exposure. Consequently, exposure to chemicals should be continuously monitored for assuring health protection of citizens by two ways: i) studying their presence in environmental compartments, such as water, food, soil or air, by environmental…

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

2010

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…

Air Quality Assessment by the Determination of Trace Elements in Lichens (Xanthoria calcicola) in an Industrial Area (Sicily, Italy)

2022

This study provides data on variation in the content of metals and metalloids measured in the lichens (Xanthoria calcicola Oxner) collected in the Syracusan petrochemical complex (Sicily, Italy) which is considered one of the largest in Europe. Concentrations of eighteen trace elements measured in the lichens that were collected from 49 different points were analyzed using an inductively coupled plasma (ICP-MS) device. The concentrations of the typical elements of industrial emissions (As, Cr, Ni, and V) highlight the environmental criticality that exists in the study area. The interpretation of the data in terms of multi-element statistical analysis (FA) and enrichment factor (EFs) proved …

Lead isotopes in biological matrices to identify potential sources of contamination: the case study of Sulcis-Iglesiente district (SW Sardinia, Italy)

2017

The Sulcis-Iglesiente district has been, until recently, one of the most important Italian polymetallic mining areas for the extraction of lead. Located close to the town of Iglesias, the San Giorgio area constitutes a dramatic example of an area affected by intense mine pollution. Epidemiological studies regarding the mining areas of Sardinia have indicated the Sulcis-Iglesiente as a typical example of how dispersion of metal can affect human health. We have chosen this peculiar area to evaluate whether a supposed prolonged and continuous exposure to high lead concentration can be detected by means of a bio-monitoring procedure that uses the analysis of human scalp hair and the measurement…

Modelling of mercury emissions from large solid fuel combustion and biomonitoring in Cz-Pl border region

2016

Tightening of norms for air protection leads to a development of new and significantly more effective techniques for removing particulate matter, SOx and NOx from flue gas which originates from large solid fuel combustion. Recently, it has been found that combinations of these environmental technologies can also lead to the reduction of mercury emissions from coal power plants. Now the greatest attention is paid especially to the coal power plant in Opatovice nad Labem, close to Hradec Kralove. Its system for flue gas dedusting was replaced by a modern type of cloth fabric filter with the highest particle separation efficiency which belongs to the category of BAT. Using this technology, tog…

Biomonitoring aktywny z zastosowaniem mchów w pobliżu Miasteczka Śląskiego

2017

Celem przeprowadzonych badań była ocena przyrostu stężeń wybranych analitów w próbkach mchów. Badania biomonitoringowe zanieczyszczenia aerozolu atmosferycznego prowadzono na terenie miejscowości Miasteczko Śląskie (województwo śląskie). Potencjalnym emitorem zanieczyszczeń na obszarze badań jest Huta Cynku „Miasteczko Śląskie”. Zastosowano metodę biomontoringu aktywnego (metoda woreczkowa), wykorzystując mchy z gatunku Pleurozium schreberi (rokietnik pospolity). Metale ciężkie w próbkach mchów oznaczono za pomocą absorpcyjnej spektrometrii atomowej (AAS). Wyniki badań zinterpretowano, wyznaczając współczynnik akumulacji względnej (RAF). Podczas prowadzenia eksperymentu uwzględniono odległo…

Wpływ warunków prowadzenia eksperymentu na wyniki badań biomonitoringowych z zastosowaniem mchów

2017

Active biomonitoring (moss-bags) of volcanic emissions on Mt. Etna

2011

Biomonitoring may be defined as the use of organisms and biomaterials (biomonitors) to obtain information on certain characteristics of a particular medium (atmosphere, hydrosphere etc.). In particular, mosses accumulate large amounts of trace metals, making them good bioaccumulators to estimate atmospheric pollution. The moss-bags technique, introduced in the early 1970’, has become very popular. Such active biomonitoring technique is particularly useful in highly polluted areas and has been extensively used in industrial and/or urban areas to examine deposition patterns and to recognize point sources of pollution. The main objective of this study, which represents the first application of…