ABSTRACT
The aim of this paper is to give an overview of the research in the area of air pollution, carried out exclusively at the Institute for Medical Research and Occupational Health and performed by the scientists of the Institute. For the past fifty years, air quality has been studied at work, in the ambient air of urban and industrial areas, and in various indoor environments without occupational exposure. Methods for sampling and measuring air pollutants have been introduced or developed and verified. The behaviour and the fate of air pollutants in the environment have also been investigated. Since the primary goal of the studies was to assess the extent of human exposure to air pollutants, the data were used to calculate the risk for various population groups. A dynamic model of exposure for various population groups relied on calculations of collected data, taking into account time spent in various microenvironments. This text describes the cooperation of the Institute with other institutions and agencies on the national and international level and outlines the current and prospective activities.
Subject(s)
Air Pollution , Croatia , Humans , ResearchABSTRACT
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons are products of incomplete combustion of organic compounds in the environment or a consequence of human activities. They can be found in all environmental media. Although they are present in rather low concentrations they have been receiving increasing attention lately. Some of them have been proven carcinogens and mutagens. Sensitive analytical methods that are presently available have made the monitoring of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons practicable. This paper is a review of their chemical structures, nomenclature and biological actions. Their distribution and levels in the environment are described, with special emphasis on the fate and behaviour of these compounds in the atmosphere, as well as on studies of personal exposure.
Subject(s)
Environmental Exposure , Environmental Pollutants/analysis , Polycyclic Compounds/analysis , HumansABSTRACT
Samples of suspended particulate matter, collected at four sites in Zagreb during the heating season were analysed for the content of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Data were analysed with special reference to indicators of car traffic contribution the BghiPer/BaP and Cor/BaP ratios. Taking 1.5 as a borderline value for the BghiPer/BaP ratio, a significant influence of car traffic on air pollution by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons was noticed at a site close to a petrol station. Our data were compared with the BghiPer/BaP and Cor/BaP ratios from other countries. A similar relationship of the ratios between urban and traffic near sites was obtained.
Subject(s)
Air Pollutants/analysis , Polycyclic Compounds/analysis , Seasons , Croatia , Heating , Vehicle EmissionsABSTRACT
Twelve polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons were measured in samples of airborne particles collected in the town of Zenica in the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina every third or fourth day throughout the year. The concentrations were especially high in winter when in addition to permanent industrial emissions those from individual heating systems were also present and when owing to climatic and orographical circumstances temperature inversions occurred more frequently. The profiles of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons i.e. their ratios to benzo-a-pyrene did not demonstrate great seasonal variations with the exception of fluoranthene and pyrene. The mean annual concentrations (winter to summer concentration ratios) were higher than in the areas where there was no permanent source of emissions.
Subject(s)
Air Pollutants/analysis , Polycyclic Compounds/analysis , Seasons , YugoslaviaABSTRACT
The aim of this investigation was to evaluate a simplified version of an HPLC method for the determination of PAH in suspended particles collected from small air volumes indoors, outdoors or in personal exposure measurements. The simplification consisted in: (a) collecting PAH by low-volume samplers; (b) extracting PAH ultrasonically; and (c) omitting separation of interfering substances before analysis by HPLC. The results show that the introduction of these modifications affords a considerable reduction in analysis time and solvent expenditure, without affecting the quality of measurement.
ABSTRACT
Carbon monoxide concentrations were measured in six shops situated in narrow busy streets of the city centre for ten days in winter and ten days in summer and correlated with the measurements simultaneaously performed at an outdoor background reference point. The correlation was significant for four out of six shops in winter, but not in summer. Day-to-day variations seemed to be influenced by gross contamination due to changing weather conditions whereas differences in concentration levels from site to site were strongly influenced by the proximity and density of traffic. The exposure of a pedestrian in winter was in good correlation with background outdoor levels and it was considerably lower than that of a car driver driving though the city.
ABSTRACT
Whatman No. 1 filters impregnated with a 3% solution of oxalic acid in ethanol which are used for elimination of ammonia from the air stream before entering the absorber for collecting SO2, were tested for a possible application (a) in the spectrophotometric determination of ammonia with Nessler's reagent and (b) in the reflectometric determination of smoke. It was shown that impregnated filters were as suitable for the determination of ammonia as absorbing solution and as applicable for smoke measurement as untreated filters. Further, the advantage of using impregnated filters for sampling ammonia lies in avoiding the interference of organic vapours which may occur, if absorbing solution is used.
ABSTRACT
CO concentrations were measured in five kindergartens, one children's hospital and two homes for aged, practically without indoor sources, all situated in the city centre, for ten random days in winter and ten in summer. The indoor CO concentrations were the result of the distance from and the traffic density in the nearest street, of general pollution level, seasonal differences, day-to-day variations and daily cycle of air pollution, the vicinity of traffic having a dominant influence. Therefore location of institutions for sensitive population groups in old city centres within a block of houses seems to be a suitable solution as far as exposure to CO is concerned.
ABSTRACT
Simultaneous measurements of CO and respirable particles (RP) at outdoor network stations and of personal exposure in a sample of twelve volunteers were carried out during the winter and summer season of 1980/81 in order to evaluate how well personal exposure can be assessed from outdoor network station data.The results have shown that personal exposure of our subjects to both CO and RP is in best correlation with exposure at home where subjects spend in the average nearly 70% of their time. While personal exposure to CO can hardly be related to outdoor CO levels, personal exposure to RP is in fair agreement with simultaneously measured outdoor concentrations in winter (but not in summer). A large intercept on WAE axis of the WAE/RP relationship indicates that a considerable part of personal exposure to RP should be attributed to particles which are not of indoor origin. This part does not follow the seasonal and day-to-day changes in outdoor RP concentration and causes a negative, but highly significant correlation between WAE/RP ratio and RP.
