The European project OFFICAIR aimed to broaden the existing knowledge regarding indoor air quality (IAQ) in modern office buildings, i.e., recently built or refurbished buildings. Thirty-seven office ...buildings participated in the summer campaign (2012), and thirty-five participated in the winter campaign (2012−2013). Four rooms were investigated per building. The target pollutants were twelve volatile organic compounds, seven aldehydes, ozone, nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter <2.5μm (PM2.5). Compared to other studies in office buildings, the benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene concentrations were lower in OFFICAIR buildings, while the α-pinene and d-limonene concentrations were higher, and the aldehyde, nitrogen dioxide and PM2.5 concentrations were of the same order of magnitude. When comparing summer and winter, significantly higher concentrations were measured in summer for formaldehyde and ozone, and in winter for benzene, α-pinene, d-limonene, and nitrogen dioxide. The terpene and 2-ethylhexanol concentrations showed heterogeneity within buildings regardless of the season. Considering the average of the summer and winter concentrations, the acetaldehyde and hexanal concentrations tended to increase by 4–5% on average with every floor level increase, and the nitrogen dioxide concentration tended to decrease by 3% on average with every floor level increase. A preliminary evaluation of IAQ in terms of potential irritative and respiratory health effects was performed. The 5-day median and maximum indoor air concentrations of formaldehyde and ozone did not exceed their respective WHO air quality guidelines, and those of acrolein, α-pinene, and d-limonene were lower than their estimated thresholds for irritative and respiratory effects. PM2.5 indoor concentrations were higher than the 24-h and annual WHO ambient air quality guidelines.
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•VOCs, aldehydes, O3, NO2 and PM2.5 were measured in 37 office buildings in 2 seasons.•The α-pinene and d-limonene concentrations were higher compared to those from past studies.•The indoor concentrations in summer and winter varied significantly.•An influence of floor level on indoor concentrations was observed for some pollutants.•An evaluation of IAQ in terms of respiratory health effects was performed.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZRSKP
This review aimed to provide an overview of the characterisation of indoor air quality (IAQ) during the sleeping period, based only on real life conditions’ studies where, at least, one air pollutant ...was considered. Despite the consensual complexity of indoor air, when focusing on sleeping environments, the available scientific literature is still scarce and falls to provide a multipollutants’ characterisation of the air breathed during sleep. This review, following PRISMA’s approach, identified a total of 22 studies that provided insights of how IAQ is during the sleeping period in real life conditions. Most of studies focused on carbon dioxide (77%), followed by particles (PM2.5, PM10 and ultrafines) and only 18% of the studies focused on pollutants such as carbon monoxide, volatile organic compounds and formaldehyde. Despite the high heterogeneity between studies (regarding the geographical area, type of surrounding environments, season of the year, type of dwelling, bedrooms’ ventilation, number of occupants), several air pollutants showed exceedances of the limit values established by guidelines or legislation, indicating that an effort should be made in order to minimise human exposure to air pollutants. For instance, when considering the air quality guideline of World Health Organisation of 10 µg·m−3 for PM2.5, 86% of studies that focused this pollutant registered levels above this threshold. Considering that people spend one third of their day sleeping, exposure during this period may have a significant impact on the daily integrated human exposure, due to the higher amount of exposure time, even if this environment is characterised by lower pollutants’ levels. Improving the current knowledge of air pollutants levels during sleep in different settings, as well as in different countries, will allow to improve the accuracy of exposure assessments and will also allow to understand their main drivers and how to tackle them.
Urban vegetable gardens are very often a feature of cities that want to offer their citizens a more sustainable lifestyle by producing their own food products. However, cities can have significant ...pollution levels (or pollution hotspots) due to specific sources of pollution, such as traffic. Among the various pollutants, microplastics (MPs) are emerging as a consensual concern due to the awareness of the environmental contamination, their bioaccumulation potential and human intake, and, consequently unknown human health impacts. The present study compared the content of MPs in lettuce plants cultivated in Lisbon urban gardens with those cultivated in a rural area, as well as samples bought in supermarkets. Microplastics were detected in all washed leaves, with mean levels ranging from 6.3 ± 6.2 to 29.4 ± 18.2 MPs/g. Lettuce grown in urban gardens from areas with high traffic density showed higher MPs levels. Weak positive Spearman's rank correlations were found between MPs content and concentrations of Cu and S (determined by Particle Induced X-Ray Emission, PIXE), suggesting a possible role of traffic contribution to MPs levels, as both elements are considered traffic-source tracers. These results contribute to shed light on the MP contamination of vegetables grown in such urban environments, that may represent a potential MP exposure route through the dietary intake, corresponding to a 70% increase in annual MP intake compared to lettuces bought in supermarkets.
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IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
This study evaluated the temporal variability of the concentrations of pollutants (namely, NO2, O3, PM2.5, PM10 and SO2) in an urban-industrial area of mainland Portugal during two decades (from 2001 ...to 2020), to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the levels of these atmospheric pollutants. Mean levels of pollutants in 2020 were compared with those measured in the six previous years (2014–2019). A significant improvement in air quality, namely regarding PM10 and NO2, was found and it can be attributable to the restrictions of anthropogenic activities (such as traffic) promoted during the March–May 2020 national lockdown that occurred due to the pandemic. Significant and expressive reductions of 44.0% and 40.3% were found in April 2020 for NO2 and PM10, respectively, showing the impact of local traffic in the study area. A similar trend of reduction for these pollutants was also found in the following months. However, ozone levels did not show the same trend, with significant increases in several months after the lockdown period, highlighting other contributions to this pollutant. This unique period can be considered as a living lab, where the implementation of strict measures due to COVID-19 confinement promoted the reduction of anthropogenic activities and allowed us to understand more comprehensively their impact on local air quality.
Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) is a public and occupational health concern, as we are exposed to air pollutants daily given that we spend a great amount of our time in indoor environments. IAQ can be ...affected by numerous factors, from outdoor pollutants that get indoors through ventilation to building materials, furnishings, and activities carried by the building occupants. Exposure to air pollutants has been linked to a panoply of adverse effects on our health, well-being, and performance. The aim of this study was to assess the IAQ in grocery stores (GSs) in the municipality of Cascais in the Lisbon metropolitan area (Portugal) to characterize the workers’ occupational exposure to air pollutants. The study was conducted in 13 small “family” grocery stores. The IAQ monitoring campaign was conducted using low-cost sensor technologies and focused on several parameters, namely: carbon dioxide (CO2), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5), temperature (T), and relative humidity (RH). Overall, the IAQ of the studied GSs complied with Portuguese legislation, except for PM2.5, where 23% of GSs presented levels above the established limit value. The mean inhaled dose of workers during a workday was estimated to be 157.7 ± 57.2 μg for PM2.5 and 165.8 ± 56.0 μg for PM10. The IAQ assessment allowed the identification of the best strategies to improve worker experience in indoor workplace environments.
People spend most of their time in indoor environments and, consequently, these environments are more significant for the contribution of the daily pollutant exposure than outdoors. In case of ...children, a great part of their time is spent at school. Therefore, evaluations of this microenvironment are important to assess their time-weighted exposure to air pollutants.The aim of this study was to assess the children exposure to bioaerosols at schools from two different types of areas, urban and rural. A methodology based upon passive sampling was applied to evaluate fungi, bacteria and pollens, simultaneously with active sampling for fungi and bacterial assessment. Results showed very good correlations between sampling methods, especially for summer season. Passive sampling methodologies presented advantages such as no need of specific and expensive equipment, and they allow achieving important qualitative information.The study was conducted in different periods of the year to study the seasonal variation of the bioaerosols. Fungi and pollen presented higher levels during the summer time whereas bacteria did not present a seasonal variation. Indoor to outdoor ratios were determined to assess the level of outdoor contamination upon the indoor environment. Levels of fungi were higher outdoor and bacteria presented higher concentrations indoors.Indoor levels of bioaerosols were assessed in primary schools of urban and rural areas, using the active method along with a passive sampling method. Very good correlations between methods were found which allow the use of the passive sampling method to supply important and reliable qualitative information of bioaerosols concentrations in indoor environments. Seasonal variation in bioaerosols concentrations were found for fungi and pollen. Concentrations of fungi and bacteria above AMV (Acceptable Maximum Value) were found for most of the studied classrooms showing the importance of this microenvironment for the high exposure of children to bioaerosols.
A study concerning the chemical characterization of PM2.5 sampled indoors of a primary school, which burns wood for classrooms’ heating, was conducted in a rural area of Portugal. A Partisol ...sequential sampler was placed inside of a classroom, to collect PM2.5 during the day, which corresponds to the occupied period, and during the night. The collected PM2.5 was characterized by Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis to determine the concentration of chemical elements and by Ion Chromatography to measure Water Soluble Ions. High PM2.5 concentrations were found principally during the occupied periods (100 ± 71 μg m−3). A source apportionment study was performed by means of Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF) analysis. Results showed that four factors contributed for PM2.5 concentration whereas one factor was associated exclusively with a mixture of indoor sources: wood burning, re-suspension of soil and chalk. During classes, this indoor factor contributed for 60% of the total PM2.5 concentration. This study showed that children are exposed to high levels of PM2.5 and indicated the existence of an indoor air quality problem associated with specific indoor sources and poor ventilation.
•Characterization of PM2.5 in a classroom where wood-burning is used for heating.•High levels of PM2.5 concentrations were found.•The use of source apportionment tools applied indoors to identify emission sources.•An indoor and complex source of PM2.5 was identified.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK
This study provides a seasonal elemental characterisation of native lichens collected in rural areas of Portugal affected by charcoal kilns, using nuclear analytical techniques and electric ...conductivity. In autumn, it was possible to identify high levels of electric conductivity near the site with charcoal kilns due to higher oxidative stress of the lichens’ membrane. Typical chemical elements associated with emissions of wood burning, such as S and P, also presented the highest contents near the charcoal kilns. However, the same phenomenon was not found in spring. Residential areas presented the highest levels of S and P probably due to the impact of biomass burning from home heating that occurred during the winter period. Overall, lichens were found to be enriched with elements that can be attributable to non-crustal sources, namely, sea salt spray (Cl and Na), fertilisers used in agriculture (P and Ca) and wood burning (P and S).
L. subsp.
is an endemic species of the Eastern Mediterranean region with several uses in traditional medicine. The present study aims to explore the unknown properties of
investigating the ...nutritional content as well as the antioxidant, anticancer, antituberculosis, antiwrinkle, anti-acne, hyper/hypo-pigmentation and antibacterial activities. Mineral content, nutritional value, the composition and antioxidant properties of the essential oil, the antityrosinase, the antibacterial activity and anti-elastase potential of the extract, were evaluated. The antiproliferative activity of
against cervical cancer (HeLa), human melanoma (UCT-Mel-1), human hepatocellular carcinoma (HepG2) and human epidermoid carcinoma (A431) was investigated. Cytotoxic effects on normal human keratinocyte (HaCat) and kidney epithelial (Vero) cell lines were also determined.
exhibited high nutritional value of proteins and minerals (K, P, Mg, Fe, Zn, Cu). The most abundant components of the essential oil were found to be α-pinene, β-phelladrene, valeranone, β-pinene and sabinene. The ethanolic extract of
displayed moderate antioxidant potential and antibacterial activity against
Noteworthy elastase and moderate anticancer potential against the human liver cancer cell line (HepG2) was observed with IC
values of 57.18 ± 3.22 μg/mL and 64.27 ± 2.04 μg/mL respectively. The noteworthy
activity of
could be due to the presence of flavonoids and phenols in the leaves, having high nutritional value.
could potentially be useful to reduce the appearance of wrinkles and for the treatment of liver cancer. The moderate antibacterial, antioxidant and elastase activity of the plant can be linked to the traditional use of
for the treatment of wounds and inflammation.
This study evaluated the emissions of specific indoor sources usually present in Portuguese dwellings in order to understand their impact on the indoor air quality. With this aim, three typical ...activities were studied including home heating using two types of fireplaces (open and closed) and biofuels (pinewood and briquettes), cooking styles (frying and boiling) in different types of kitchen appliances, and several levels of bread toasting. The levels of specific pollutants were found to be above the established Portuguese limit values including VOCs, formaldehyde, and particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10). Although these emissions are transient and short in duration, the resulting concentrations are high and can severely impact the occupants’ daily exposure. Besides promoting good ventilation, the choice of residential appliances with low emissions should be taken into account. In addition, it is important that occupants perform specific activities following the best practices so that their exposure to pollutants is minimized.
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