Cristina Mangia

Congenital anomalies among live births in a high environmental risk area—A case-control study in Brindisi (southern Italy)

Maternal exposure to ambient pollution has been increasingly linked to the risk of congenital anomalies (CAs) in the fetus and newborns. Recently, a descriptive study in the high environmental risk city of Brindisi (Italy) revealed an increased prevalence of total CAs, especially congenital heart disease (CHD) and ventricular septal defects (VSDs), both at the local level and in comparison with the pool of EUROCAT registries. This paper concerns a population-based case control study to investigate the association between maternal exposure to air pollutants - sulfur dioxide (SO2) and total suspended particulate (TSP) matter - and the risk of CA. Cases were newborns up to 28 days of age, born to mothers resident in Brindisi between 2001 and 2010, and discharged with a diagnosis of CA. Cases and controls were individually matched according to sex, socio-economic status of the census area of residence of the mother, and year of beginning of pregnancy. Up to four controls were extracted for each case. Concentration data from monitoring stations were used to estimate air pollution exposure. Each case and control was assigned pollutant concentration values as mean and 90th percentile of the daily average values during weeks 3-8 of pregnancy. Exposure as both continuous and categorical variables was considered and a conditional logistic regression model was constructed to quantify the odds ratios of exposure to air pollutants and the occurrence of total CAs, CHDs and VSDs. We found exposure to the 90th percentile of SO2 to be associated with CHDs (p for trend =0.01) and VSDs (p for trend <0.05). Findings for TSP were less consistent. In conclusion, in the studied area, maternal exposure to sulfur dioxide increased risk of CHD.

Differences between weekend and weekday ozone levels over rural and urban sites in Southern Italy.

Air quality data from a network of 11 monitoring stations in the Apulia region of southern Italy during the summer of 2005 reveal a high frequency of ozone law limit violations. Since ozone is a secondary pollutant, air quality control strategies aimed at reducing ozone concentration are not immediate. Herein, we analyse weekly changes in concentration levels of ozone (O3), nitrogen oxides (NOx), carbon monoxide (CO), and volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and evaluate how the differences in primary emissions cause changes in the production of ozone. The comparison between weekend and weekday levels of O3 and its precursors are direct evidence for the existence of the “ozone weekend effect.” This effect was observed at all stations with a considerable variation in the overall ozone magnitude, including both traffic stations and non-traffic stations. Data from VOC measurements at traffic stations primarily indicated elevated levels of benzene, toluene, and xylenes (BTX); all of these substances showed an overall decrease over the weekend. A single station indicated levels of non-methane hydrocarbon (NMHC) and PM10, both of which did not demonstrate any weekly cycle. Analysis of weekly and diurnal cycles of O3, NOx, CO, NMHC, and PM10 indicates that higher weekend ozone levels result from a reduction in the emission of nitrogen oxides on weekends in VOC-sensitive regimes. This indicates that a reduction in VOC and NOx levels would be more effective than NOx reduction alone. Our results underscore the need for improved and more efficient VOC measurements.

Modelling local winds over the Salento peninsula

A three-day mesoscale numerical simulation has been performed over the narrow Salento peninsula (south-eastern Italy) during summer conditions characterised by weak synoptic forcing. These atmospheric conditions favour the development of complex sea-breeze systems and convergence zones on the peninsula. The aim of this work is to investigate the ability of an atmospheric mesoscale model to reproduce the surface fields of meteorological variables in the presence of local-scale forcing and breeze circulations, which are fundamental in applications such as air pollution modelling and nowcasting. The modelled fields have been compared with available surface measurements and sodar data. Results indicate that the model can simulate the general mean wind field in a realistic way. The diurnal evolution of the wind is well reproduced and the maximum deviations mostly occur during the night, being associated with calm conditions. Statistical analysis indicates that the typical mean bias is found to be about 1 m s−1 for hourly averaged wind speed, less than 20° for wind direction and about 1°C for temperature. The root mean square error (rmse) varies from 1 to 3 m s−1 for wind speed, from 50° to 70° for wind direction, and is about 2.4°C for temperature. All the values of the numerical indexes are within ranges which are characteristic of those found for other state-of-the-art models applied to similar cases studies. Despite a good overall agreement between predictions and observations, some discrepancies were found in the individual profiles due both to the limited spatial representation of the local details and to the complex wind field which makes the space–time matching between the model and the observations quite critical. The structures of the thermal mixed layer and the breeze convergence zone are similar to numerical studies relative to more idealised conditions. Copyright

Spatial variability of air pollutants in the city of Taranto, Italy and its potential impact on exposure assessment

Epidemiological studies typically use monitored air pollution data from a single station or as averaged data from several stations to estimate population exposure. In industrialized urban areas, this approach may present critical issues due to the spatial complexities of air pollutants which are emitted by different sources. This study focused on the city of Taranto, which is one of the most highly industrialized cities in southern Italy. Epidemiological studies have revealed several critical situations in this area, in terms of mortality excess and short-term health effects of air pollution. The aims of this paper are to study the variability of air pollutants in the city of Taranto and to interpret the results in relation to the applicability of the data in assessing population exposure. Meteorological and pollution data (SO2, NO2, PM10), measured simultaneously and continuously during the period 2006–2010 in five air quality stations, were analyzed. Relative and absolute spatial concentration variations were investigated by means of statistical indexes. Results show significant differences among stations. The highest correlation between stations was observed for PM10 concentrations, while critical values were found for NO2. The worst values were observed for the SO2 series. The high values of 90th percentile of differences between pairs of monitoring sites for the three pollutants index suggest that mean concentrations differ by large amounts from site to site. The overall analysis supports the hypothesis that various parts of the city are differently affected by the different emission sources, depending on meteorological conditions. In particular, analysis revealed that the influence of the industrial site may be primarily identified with the series of SO2 data which exhibit higher mean concentration values and positive correlations with wind intensity when the monitoring station is downwind from the industrial site. Results suggest evaluating the population exposure to air pollutants in industrialized cities by taking into account the possible zones of influence of different emission sources. More research is needed to identify an indicator, which ought to be a synthesis of several pollutants, and take into account the meteorological variables.

Sixteen-year air quality data analysis of a high environmental risk area in Southern Italy

The Brindisi area is characterized by the presence of industries with high environmental impact, located along its eastern border. Epidemiological studies have revealed several critical situations: two short-term (2003–2005) epidemiological studies have shown that PM10 and NO2 are adversely associated with daily hospital admissions: one of the two pointed to the associations with wind blowing from the southern, eastern and western sectors. This study aims to expand the time span of available air quality data in order to provide a more complete and extensive epidemiological study. Multi-year series (from 1992 to 2007) of SO2, NO2, and TSP concentration data are presented and analyzed. Data show a significant downward trend of SO2 from 1992 to 2007, while for the TSP series, the downward trend is limited to the period 1992–1994. Marked seasonal trends are evident for all three pollutants, especially for NO2 and TSP. The NO2 series shows higher levels in winter. Inversely, the TSP series shows its maximum values during the summer months, associated with a moderate correlation with temperature and a poor correlation with other pollutants. Analysis of the series for wind sectors revealed the influence of the industrial site and of the harbor. The concentration series exhibit high concentration values and stronger correlations between them and with meteorology for wind blowing from the eastern sectors. Overall analysis supports the hypothesis of a different origin for TSP during the year and for different wind regimes and therefore possible size and chemical differences in TSP, which should be further investigated due to their health implications.

Acute effects of urban and industrial pollution in a government-designated “Environmental risk area”: the case of Brindisi, Italy

Exposure to air pollutants has been associated with increased hospital admissions (HAs) for respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. This work describes a short-term epidemiological study in Brindisi, a highly industrialized town in Southern Italy. The effects of daily exposure to PM10 and NO2 on daily HAs for cardiac, respiratory, and cerebrovascular diseases were investigated by means of a case-crossover design in the period 2001–2007. Results showed positive associations between PM10 and HAs for cardiac and respiratory diseases and between NO2 and HAs for all the categories of diseases considered, particularly among females. Although not statistically significant, increased risk was observed for wind blowing from the port and the industrial area. Findings confirm the health risks associated with ambient air pollution exposure, even though NO2 and PM10 concentrations were below the legal limits. This may be due to the complex scenario of emissions in the area, which should be better investigated.

Secondary Particulate Matter Originating from an Industrial Source and Its Impact on Population Health

Epidemiological studies have reported adverse associations between long-term exposure to ambient particulate matter (PM2.5) and several health outcomes. One issue in this field is exposure assessment and, in particular, the role of secondary PM2.5, often neglected in environmental and health risk assessment. Thus, the aim of this work was to evaluate the long-term environmental and health impact of primary and secondary PM2.5 concentrations originating from a single industrial source. As a case study, we considered a coal power plant which is a large emitter of both primary PM2.5 and secondary PM2.5 precursors. PM2.5 concentrations were estimated using the Calpuff dispersion model. The health impact was expressed in terms of number of non-accidental deaths potentially attributable to the power plant. Results showed that the estimated secondary PM2.5 extended over a larger area than that related to primary PM2.5 with maximum concentration values of the two components well separated in space. Exposure to secondary PM2.5 increased significantly the estimated number of annual attributable non-accidental deaths. Our study indicates that the impact of secondary PM2.5 may be relevant also at local scale and ought to be considered when estimating the impact of industrial emissions on population health.

WRF-chem Simulation of a Saharan dust Outbreak over the Mediterranean Regions

A fully coupled meteorology-chemistry-aerosol model (WRF-Chem) is applied to simulate the Saharan dust outbreak over the Mediterranean regions. Two dust emission schemes, namely, those of Jones et al., (2010), and Shao (2001) are evaluated using the the GOCART aerosol model. To investigate the performance of each dust emission scheme, a case study was carried out for a Mediterranean dust event that took place between 21 and 23 May 2014. Considering the time average Aerosol Optical Depth, simulation results reproduced satisfactorily the outbreak and transport pattern of dust plumes. However, the estimated dust emission amounts in each scheme differ greatly due to the presence of several tuning parameters, that must be adjusted considering satellite and ground based experimental data.

Dispersion models and air quality data for population exposure assessment to air pollution

Evaluating the extent of exposure to chemicals in absence of continuous measurements of their concentration in air and direct measures of personal exposure is crucial for epidemiological studies. Dispersion models can be a useful tool for reproducing spatio-temporal distribution of contaminants emitted by a specific source. However, they cannot easily be applied to short-term epidemiological studies because they require precise information on daily emission scenarios for a long time, which are generally not available. The aim of this study was to better assess the exposure in the industrial area of Brindisi, which suffers from various critical epidemiological situations, by integrating air pollution concentration data, emissions and model simulations concerning a specific point source. The results suggest that in the absence of direct exposure data and detailed information on specific pollutants associated to an emission, population exposure may be better assessed by taking into account proxy pollutants and the wind (direction and speed) as a potential health effects modifier.

Modelling wet and dry depositions of PCDD/F releases from industrial plants in Apulia, Southern Italy

The modelling system RAMS/CALMET/CALPUFF was used to simulate the atmospheric dispersion and deposition of dioxins emitted from industrial sources over the Province of Lecce (Italy). Comparison between data and predictions shows that the model reasonably simulates the deposition patterns. Dry deposition of PCDD/F extends mainly downwind of the sources following the prevailing wind direction. Wet deposition of PCDD/F is limited to the neighborhood of the emission sources and is associated with the highest PCDD/F deposition values.