Patterns related to the pollutant concentration data in the Metropolitan Area of Belo Horizonte, Brasil

Air pollution from human and industrial activities has been a major concern in recent years. Among the various pollutants found in the atmosphere, particulate matter (PM) and ozone (O3) show significant occurrences, with high concentrations in several urban centers frequently associated with environmental and public health problems. Therefore, this study uses the Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) technique and Tukey's test to investigate the patterns related to the variability of maximum daily concentrations of O3 and mean daily concentrations of particulate matter with a diameter inferior to 10 μm (PM10), registered between 2007 and 2012 through six sites in the Metropolitan Area of Belo Horizonte (MABH), Brazil. To this end, the data were analyzed using ANOVA arranged in a factorial scheme (6 x 4 x 2) with four repetitions per treatment, followed by Tukey’s test. In the ANOVA and Tukey's test, the first factor (A) represents the six air quality monitoring stations, the second (B) represents the seasons, and the third (C) the measurements carried out during working days and weekends. Seasonal variability patterns show higher concentrations of O3 in the Spring and PM10 in the Winter. The mean values for working days and weekends showed different patterns for the two pollutants. For PM10, the concentrations were higher during the working days when compared to the weekends. For O3, the weekend effect was found only in one of the stations. The profiles of vehicular and industrial emissions have been identified as a potential factor that led to these results.

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Characterization of Air-Quality Degradation Episodes of PM10 in the Metropolitan Area of São Paulo and Their Relationship with Meteorological Conditions

Environmental Sciences Proceedings ◽

10.3390/ecas2020-08143 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 4 (1) ◽

pp. 8

Author(s):

Maria C. Q. D. Oliveira ◽

Luciana V. Rizzo ◽

Anita Drumond

Keyword(s):

Air Quality ◽

Metropolitan Area ◽

Sao Paulo ◽

Meteorological Conditions ◽

Pollutant Emissions ◽

Maximum Temperature ◽

São Paulo ◽

Urban Centers ◽

Duration Distribution ◽

Air Quality Monitoring Stations

Air pollution is one of the main environmental problems in large urban centers, affecting people’s health and impacting quality of life. The Metropolitan Area of São Paulo (MASP) presents frequent exceedances of air-quality standards in inhalable particulate matter (PM10), a consequence of pollutant emissions modulated by meteorological conditions. This study aims to identify and characterize PM10persistent exceedance events (PEE) inthe MASP between 2005 and 2017, relating them to meteorological conditions. The criteria used to select the events were: (i) events that occurred in at least 50% of the air-quality monitoring stations chosen for this study and, (ii) among the events that met the first criterion, those with a duration equal to or greater than five days, which correspond to the 80% percentile of the event duration distribution. A total 71 persistent episodes of exceedance were selected. The results show that the exceedance of PM10 lasted up to 14 consecutive days and was predominant in the austral winter, accompanied by an increase in maximum temperature (T), a decrease in wind speed (WS) and relative humidity (RH), and a wind direction predominantly from the northwest during the peak concentration of the pollutant. On average, a concentration increase of 60% was observed at the peak of the PEE.

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Air quality analysis for a metropolitan area in Romania during the first half of 2021

MATEC Web of Conferences ◽

10.1051/matecconf/202235400066 ◽

2022 ◽

Vol 354 ◽

pp. 00066

Author(s):

Clementina Sabina Moldovan ◽

Liana-Simona Sbîrnă ◽

Sebastian Sbîrnă

Keyword(s):

European Union ◽

Particulate Matter ◽

Air Quality ◽

Metropolitan Area ◽

Quality Analysis ◽

The European Union ◽

Suspended Particulate ◽

Air Quality Monitoring Stations ◽

Matter Concentration

This paper aims to interpret and to use within a statistical analysis the concentration profiles of the main air pollutants – i.e., nitrogen oxides (NOx), sulfur dioxide (SO2), carbon monoxide (CO) and suspended particulate matter (PM10) – results recorded during the first half of 2021 by two air quality monitoring stations in Craiova, which is an important metropolitan area in Southern Romania. Another goal of the paper is finding the best numerical diffusion model to fit the recorded values for PM10, as this pollutant seems to be the major problem, because its daily average is often higher than the European Union threshold, meaning that imperative measures have to be taken for reducing particulate matter concentration in Craiova (like in other major Romanian metropolitan areas), in order for Romania to get the exoneration regarding air pollution from the European Union and, of course, for its citizens to improve the quality of their lives.

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Ferruginous compounds in the airborne particulate matter of the metropolitan area of Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil

Environmental Science and Pollution Research ◽

10.1007/s11356-017-9613-1 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 24 (24) ◽

pp. 19683-19692 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Fernanda Vasconcelos Fonseca Tavares ◽

José Domingos Ardisson ◽

Paulo César Horta Rodrigues ◽

José Domingos Fabris ◽

Luis Eugenio Fernandez-Outon ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Particulate Matter ◽

Metropolitan Area ◽

Airborne Particulate Matter ◽

Minas Gerais ◽

Airborne Particulate ◽

Belo Horizonte

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Potential Role of Inflammation in Associations between Particulate Matter and Heart Failure

Current Pharmaceutical Design ◽

10.2174/1381612824666180110150550 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 24 (3) ◽

pp. 341-358 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Xiaotong Ji ◽

Yingying Zhang ◽

Guangke Li ◽

Nan Sang

Keyword(s):

Heart Failure ◽

Particulate Matter ◽

Inflammatory Response ◽

Heart Diseases ◽

Experimental Studies ◽

Epidemiological Studies ◽

Inflammatory Mechanism ◽

High Concentrations ◽

Future Work ◽

The Relationship

Recently, numerous studies have found that particulate matter (PM) exposure is correlated with increased hospitalization and mortality from heart failure (HF). In addition to problems with circulation, HF patients often display high expression of cytokines in the failing heart. Thus, as a recurring heart problem, HF is thought to be a disorder characterized in part by the inflammatory response. In this review, we intend to discuss the relationship between PM exposure and HF that is based on inflammatory mechanism and to provide a comprehensive, updated evaluation of the related studies. Epidemiological studies on PM-induced heart diseases are focused on high concentrations of PM, high pollutant load exposure in winter, or susceptible groups with heart diseases, etc. Furthermore, it appears that the relationship between fine or ultrafine PM and HF is stronger than that between HF and coarse PM. However, fewer studies paid attention to PM components. As for experimental studies, it is worth noting that coarse PM may indirectly promote the inflammatory response in the heart through systematic circulation of cytokines produced primarily in the lungs, while ultrafine PM and its components can enter circulation and further induce inflammation directly in the heart. In terms of PM exposure and enhanced inflammation during the pathogenesis of HF, this article reviews the following mechanisms: hemodynamics, oxidative stress, Toll-like receptors (TLRs) and epigenetic regulation. However, many problems are still unsolved, and future work will be needed to clarify the complex biologic mechanisms and to identify the specific components of PM responsible for adverse effects on heart health.

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Evolution of Gaseous and Particulate Pollutants in the Air: What Changed after Five Lockdown Weeks at a Southwest Atlantic European Region (Northwest of Spain) Due to the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic?

Atmosphere ◽

10.3390/atmos12050562 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (5) ◽

pp. 562

Author(s):

Jorge Moreda-Piñeiro ◽

Joel Sánchez-Piñero ◽

María Fernández-Amado ◽

Paula Costa-Tomé ◽

Nuria Gallego-Fernández ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Air Quality ◽

Road Traffic ◽

Statistical Significance ◽

Temporal Trends ◽

Air Pollutant ◽

Concentration Data ◽

Southwest Atlantic ◽

Pollutant Concentrations ◽

Air Quality Monitoring Stations ◽

Almost All

Due to the exponential growth of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in Spain (2020), the Spanish Government adopted lockdown measures as mitigating strategies to reduce the spread of the pandemic from 14 March. In this paper, we report the results of the change in air quality at two Atlantic Coastal European cities (Northwest Spain) during five lockdown weeks. The temporal evolution of gaseous (nitrogen oxides, comprising NOx, NO, and NO2; sulfur dioxide, SO2; carbon monoxide, CO; and ozone, O3) and particulate matter (PM10; PM2.5; and equivalent black carbon, eBC) pollutants were recorded before (7 February to 13 March 2020) and during the first five lockdown weeks (14 March to 20 April 2020) at seven air quality monitoring stations (urban background, traffic, and industrial) in the cities of A Coruña and Vigo. The influences of the backward trajectories and meteorological parameters on air pollutant concentrations were considered during the studied period. The temporal trends indicate that the concentrations of almost all species steadily decreased during the lockdown period with statistical significance, with respect to the pre-lockdown period. In this context, great reductions were observed for pollutants related mainly to fossil fuel combustion, road traffic, and shipping emissions (−38 to −78% for NO, −22 to −69% for NO2, −26 to −75% for NOx, −3 to −77% for SO2, −21% for CO, −25 to −49% for PM10, −10 to −38% for PM2.5, and −29 to −51% for eBC). Conversely, O3 concentrations increased from +5 to +16%. Finally, pollutant concentration data for 14 March to 20 April of 2020 were compared with those of the previous two years. The results show that the overall air pollutants levels were higher during 2018–2019 than during the lockdown period.

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Spatial Analysis (Measurements at Heights of 10 m and 20 m above Ground Level) of the Concentrations of Particulate Matter (PM10, PM2.5, and PM1.0) and Gaseous Pollutants (H2S) on the University Campus: A Case Study

Atmosphere ◽

10.3390/atmos12010062 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (1) ◽

pp. 62

Author(s):

Robert Cichowicz ◽

Maciej Dobrzański

Keyword(s):

Spatial Distribution ◽

Hydrogen Sulfide ◽

Particulate Matter ◽

Air Quality ◽

Spatial Analysis ◽

Ground Level ◽

Leeward Side ◽

High Concentration ◽

Above Ground Level ◽

High Concentrations

Spatial analysis of the distribution of particulate matter PM10, PM2.5, PM1.0, and hydrogen sulfide (H2S) gas pollution was performed in the area around a university library building. The reasons for the subject matter were reports related to the perceptible odor characteristic of hydrogen sulfide and a general poor assessment of air quality by employees and students. Due to the area of analysis, it was decided to perform measurements at two heights, 10 m and 20 m above ground level, using measuring equipment attached to a DJI Matrice 600 unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). The aim of the measurements was air quality assessment and investigate the convergence of the theory of air flow around the building with the spatial distribution of air pollutants. Considerable differences of up to 63% were observed in the concentrations of pollutants measured around the building, especially between opposite sides, depending on the direction of the wind. To explain these differences, the theory of aerodynamics was applied to visualize the probable airflow in the direction of the wind. A strong convergence was observed between the aerodynamic model and the spatial distribution of pollutants. This was evidenced by the high concentrations of dust in the areas of strong turbulence at the edges of the building and on the leeward side. The accumulation of pollutants was also clearly noticeable in these locations. A high concentration of H2S was recorded around the library building on the side of the car park. On the other hand, the air turbulence around the building dispersed the gas pollution, causing the concentration of H2S to drop on the leeward side. It was confirmed that in some analyzed areas the permissible concentration of H2S was exceeded.

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Multi-Oxygenated Organic Compounds in Fine Particulate Matter Collected in the Western Mediterranean Area

Atmosphere ◽

10.3390/atmos12010094 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (1) ◽

pp. 94

Author(s):

Esther Borrás ◽

Luis Antonio Tortajada-Genaro ◽

Francisco Sanz ◽

Amalia Muñoz

Keyword(s):

Particulate Matter ◽

Carboxylic Acids ◽

Organic Compounds ◽

Organic Pollutants ◽

Mediterranean Area ◽

Western Mediterranean ◽

Anthropogenic Sources ◽

Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry ◽

Industrial Emissions ◽

Tetradecanoic Acid

The chemical characterization of aerosols, especially fine organic fraction, is a relevant atmospheric challenge because their composition highly depends on localization. Herein, we studied the concentration of multi-oxygenated organic compounds in the western Mediterranean area, focusing on sources and the effect of air patterns. The organic aerosol fraction ranged 3–22% of the total organic mass in particulate matter (PM)2.5. Seventy multi-oxygenated organic pollutants were identified by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry, including n-alkanones, n-alcohols, anhydrosugars, monocarboxylic acids, dicarboxylic acids, and keto-derivatives. The highest concentrations were found for carboxylic acids, such as linoleic acid, tetradecanoic acid and, palmitic acid. Biomarkers for vegetation sources, such as levoglucosan and some fatty acids were detected at most locations. In addition, carboxylic acids from anthropogenic sources—mainly traffic and cooking—have been identified. The results indicate that the organic PM fraction in this region is formed mainly from biogenic pollutants, emitted directly by vegetation, and from the degradation products of anthropogenic and biogenic volatile organic pollutants. Moreover, the chemical profile suggested that this area is interesting for aerosol studies because several processes such as local costal breezes, industrial emissions, and desert intrusions affect fine PM composition.

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Geochemical study of submicron particulate matter (PM1) in a metropolitan area

Geoscience Frontiers ◽

10.1016/j.gsf.2020.12.011 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Ismael L. Schneider ◽

Elba C. Teixeira ◽

Guilherme L. Dotto ◽

Diana ◽

Cheng-Xue Yang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Particulate Matter ◽

Metropolitan Area ◽

Geochemical Study

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Winter Ozone Pollution in Utah’s Uinta Basin is Attenuating

Atmosphere ◽

10.3390/atmos12010004 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (1) ◽

pp. 4

Author(s):

Marc L. Mansfield ◽

Seth N. Lyman

Keyword(s):

Ground Level ◽

Ambient Air ◽

Quality Standard ◽

Ozone Pollution ◽

Uinta Basin ◽

Concentration Data ◽

Previous Decade ◽

High Concentrations ◽

Ambient Air Quality Standard ◽

Ozone Precursor

High concentrations of ground-level ozone have been observed during wintertime in the Uinta Basin of western Utah, USA, beginning in 2010. We analyze existing ozone and ozone precursor concentration data from 38 sites over 11 winter seasons and conclude that there has been a statistically significant (p < 0.02) decline in ozone concentration over the previous decade. Daily exceedances of the National Ambient Air Quality Standard for ozone (70 ppb) have been trending downward at the rate of nearly four per year. Ozone and NOx concentrations have been trending downward at the rates of about 3 and 0.3 ppb per year, respectively. Concentrations of organics in 2018 were at about 30% of their values in 2012 or 2013. Several markers, annual ozone exceedance counts and median ozone and NOx concentrations, were at their largest values in the period 2010 to 2013 and have never recovered since then. We attribute the decline to (1) weakening global demand for oil and natural gas and (2) more stringent pollution regulations and controls, both of which have occurred over the previous decade. We also see evidence of ozone titration when snow cover is absent.

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