Exposure to PM4 in Homes with Tobacco Smoke in and around Katowice, Poland

The results of a PM4 (airborne particles with an aerodynamic diameter less than 4 µm) study in Katowice and in the surrounding area in homes with and without environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) are presented. It was found that the average concentration of PM4 inside the homes with ETS was between 126 µg m−3 (in Jaworzno) and 208 µg m−3 (in Katowice)—significantly higher than in the homes without smokers (55–65 µg m−3). The mean of the indoor to outdoor ratios (I/O) for PM4 varied greatly, ranging from 0.6 in the apartments without smokers in Katowice to 5.2 in the homes with smokers in Jaworzno. The highly polluted by ETS indoor air causes children aged 14–15 living in these homes to inhale from 2.5 to 6.6 mg of PM4 more per day than their peers living in non-ETS homes. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) was used to determine the surface chemical composition of the studied indoor airborne particles. Carbon, including elemental carbon, and oxygen-containing species dominated the particulate surface, with traces of Si, N, S, Na, Al, Zn, and K present. The surface layer of PM4 from the homes with ETS contains significantly more carbon and less oxygen than the airborne particles collected in the homes without smokers, which can be explained by the high emission of carbon during tobacco smoking.

Electrostatic Removal of Loose Particulate Surface Contamination from Historical Photographs / Elektrostatische Abnahme lose aufliegender partikulärer Verunreinigungen von historischen Photographien / Dissolution électrostatique des particules libres contaminant la surface de photographies historiques

This article discusses the use of electrostatic cleaning technology to remove loose particulate surface contamination - which here includes microbial contaminants such as spores, conidia and hyphal fragments - from two 19th century albumen photographs mounted on cardboard. The results of this study, obtained using light microscopy, SEM/EDX and microbiological methods, as well as conservators' visual evaluation, show that the technology is fundamentally suitable for removing microbial contamination from photographic prints and their cardboard mounts. Cleaning the surface four times with electrostatically charged foils reduced the microbial contamination by up to 70%. The surface of the albumen print, which is sensitive to abrasion, was not harmed, and its characteristic features were not changed. The photographs, which were partly delaminated from the cardboard support and the mechanically weakened cardboard, could be treated without creating any additional damage.

Investigation of Winter Atmospheric Aerosol Particles in Downtown Katowice using XPS and SEM

X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) was used to determine the surface chemical composition of atmospheric particles (PM-10 and PM-2.5), collected in downtown Katowice, Upper Silesia, Poland, in the winter season (November and December 2000). Carbon- and oxygen-containing species dominated the particulate surface with traces of N, S, Si, Cl, Na, Zn, Al, Cu, Fe, Ca, K, Mg, Pb, and P present. Additionally, the size, morphology, and chemical composition of about 300 of the individual atmospheric particles were analyzed by high-resolution scanning electron microscopy and electron probe microanalysis. A number of aluminosilicates and metallic elements such as Fe, K, Mg, Zn, as well as rare earth elements, were detected by SEM. The results obtained show that the analyzed aerosol is of natural and anthropogenic origin. Particles containing sulfur compounds as well as oxygen and sodium in downtown Katowice come mainly from the east and southeast sectors.