Grzegorz Majewski

Exposure to Traffic-Related Air Pollutants as a Risk of Airway Obstruction

Dynamic increases in the number of vehicles, particularly in large urban areas, cause a visible decline in the average speed of cars. Street networks are not able to efficiently handle generated traffic, which could result in increasing levels of air pollutant emissions and consequently in a greater incidence of people suffering from respiratory diseases. This study presents the effects of investigations on the influence of traffic-related air pollutants on inhabitants of two Polish cities living in the proximity of busy roads. As a control group rural area residents were taken. In 2005-2006 and 2008-2009 respiratory function tests were conducted on a group of 3,506 people (including residents of non-urban areas). The investigation has shown that people living near busy urban roads had a significant increase in the risk of bronchi obstruction.

Origin-Oriented Elemental Profile of Fine Ambient Particulate Matter in Central European Suburban Conditions

Twenty-four-hour samples of fine ambient particulate matter (PM2.5; particles with aerodynamic diameters ≤2.5 µm) were collected in a suburban (quasi-rural) area in Racibórz (Poland) between 1 January 2011 and 26 December 2012. The samples were analyzed for the contents of 28 elements. Sources of PM2.5 were identified and the contribution of each source to the PM2.5 concentration was assessed using an enrichment factor (EF) analysis, a principal component analysis (PCA), and multi-linear regression analysis (MLRA). In the cold season (January–March and October–December 2011–2012), the mean ambient concentration of PM2.5 in Racibórz was 48.7 ± 39.4 µg·m−3, which was much higher than at other suburban or rural sites in Europe. Additionally the ambient concentrations of some toxic PM2.5-bound elements were also high, i.e., the mean ambient concentrations of PM2.5-bound As, Cd, and Pb were 11.3 ± 11.5, 5.2 ± 2.5, and 34.0 ± 34.2 ng·m−3, respectively. In the warm season (April–September 2011–2012), the PM2.5 and PM2.5-bound element concentrations in Racibórz were comparable to the concentrations noted at other suburban (or rural) sites in Europe. Our findings suggest that elemental composition and concentrations of PM2.5 in Racibórz are mainly influenced by anthropogenic emissions, i.e., the energy production based on coal and biomass combustion, traffic, and industry.

Risk of bronchi obstruction among non-smokers—Review of environmental factors affecting bronchoconstriction

In order to find relationship between exposure to traffic and traffic-related air pollutants, pulmonary function tests and a detailed questionnaire were conducted among 3997 selected inhabitants of Warsaw (Poland) and 988 residents of rural areas. Advanced statistical analyses (including GRM models, correspondence analysis and parametrical tests) have been completed. Statistically significant differences between average percentages of predicted values of pulmonary function parameters were found. Among urban area inhabitants the values of FEV1, MEF50 and FEV1/FVC were statistically significant (p<0.05) lower compared with the residents of rural areas (in the non-smoking group this differences were strong (p<0.001)). General linear regression models indicated that residence in the vicinity of urban busy roads fosters a decrease of spirometric parameters. Physical activity however has a positive effect on pulmonary function (exemplified by FEV1) and allows to reduce part of the negative health effects of traffic-related emissions. The results of the presented study demonstrate that long-term residence under the influence of heavy traffic and high concentrations of traffic-related air pollutants reduces respiratory function parameters, which may result in increased bronchial hyperresponsiveness.

Influence of Traffic-Related Air Pollutants on Lung Function

We investigated the influence of traffic-related air pollutants on respiratory function, with a focus on the non-smoking residents of the capital city of Warsaw in Poland, who lived close to busy streets. The results demonstrate that people living in some parts of the city show symptoms of bronchial obstruction over four times more often than those from the control group consisting of the inhabitants of a remote region in eastern Poland, with considerably less air pollution. Using multiple regression models it was shown that, apart from the place of living, the floor the apartment is situated on, the length of residence, allergy, and physical activity are the factors that significantly influence the forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) and the pseudo-Tiffenau index (FEV1/FVC).

Submicron particle-bound polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the Polish teaching rooms: Concentrations, origin and health hazard

The goal of the work was to investigate the concentrations of the 16 US EPA priority polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) bound to submicrometer particles (particulate matter, PM1) suspended in the air of university teaching rooms and in the atmospheric air outside. Two teaching rooms were selected in two Polish cities, Gliwice, southern Poland, and Warsaw, central Poland, differing with regard to the ambient concentrations and major sources of PM and PAH. The variabilities of indoor and outdoor 24-hr concentrations of PM1-bound PAH, the ratio (I/O) of the indoor to outdoor 24-hr concentrations of PM1-bound PAH, probable sources of PAH and the level of the hazard from the mixture of the 16 PAH (ΣPAH) to humans at both sites were analyzed. In both Warsaw and Gliwice, the mean concentrations of PM1-bound ΣPAH were slightly higher in the atmospheric air than in the rooms. The indoor and outdoor concentrations of individual PAH in Gliwice were correlated, in Warsaw - they were not. Most probably, the lack of the correlations in Warsaw was due to the existence of an unidentified indoor source of gaseous PAH enriching PM1 in phenanthrene, fluorene, and pyrene. Although the ambient concentrations of PM1-bound PAH were low compared to the ones observed earlier at both sites, they were much higher than in other urbanized European areas. However, because of low mass share of heavy PAH in ΣPAH, the various indicators of the health hazard from the 16 PAH mixture were low compared to other regions.

Pulmonary Function and Incidence of Selected Respiratory Diseases Depending on the Exposure to Ambient PM10

It is essential in pulmonary disease research to take into account traffic-related air pollutant exposure among urban inhabitants. In our study, 4985 people were examined for spirometric parameters in the presented research which was conducted in the years 2008–2012. The research group was divided into urban and rural residents. Traffic density, traffic structure and velocity, as well as concentrations of selected air pollutants (CO, NO2 and PM10) were measured at selected areas. Among people who live in the city, lower percentages of predicted values of spirometric parameters were noticed in comparison to residents of rural areas. Taking into account that the difference in the five-year mean concentration of PM10 in the considered city and rural areas was over 17 μg/m3, each increase of PM10 by 10 μg/m3 is associated with the decline in FEV1 (forced expiratory volume during the first second of expiration) by 1.68%. These findings demonstrate that traffic-related air pollutants may have a significant influence on the decline of pulmonary function and the growing rate of respiratory diseases.

Uncertainty of Deardorff’s soil moisture model based on continuous TDR measurements for sandy loam soil

Abstract Knowledge on soil moisture is indispensable for a range of hydrological models, since it exerts a considerable influence on runoff conditions. Proper tools are nowadays applied in order to gain in-sight into soil moisture status, especially of uppermost soil layers, which are prone to weather changes and land use practices. In order to establish relationships between meteorological conditions and topsoil moisture, a simple model would be required, characterized by low computational effort, simple structure and low number of identified and calibrated parameters. We demonstrated, that existing model for shallow soils, considering mass exchange between two layers (the upper and the lower), as well as with the atmosphere and subsoil, worked well for sandy loam with deep ground water table in Warsaw conurbation. GLUE (Generalized Likelihood Uncertainty Estimation) linked with GSA (Global Sensitivity Analysis) provided for final determination of parameter values and model confidence ranges. Including the uncertainty in a model structure, caused that the median soil moisture solution of the GLUE was shifted from the one optimal in deterministic sense. From the point of view of practical model application, the main shortcoming were the underestimated water exchange rates between the lower soil layer (ranging from the depth of 0.1 to 0.2 m below ground level) and subsoil. General model quality was found to be satisfactory and promising for its utilization for establishing measures to regain retention in urbanized conditions.

Data Mining System for Air Quality Monitoring Networks

Abstract The use of quantitative methods, including stochastic and exploratory techniques in environmental studies does not seem to be sufficient in practical aspects. There is no comprehensive analytical system dedicated to this issue, as well as research regarding this subject. The aim of this study is to present the Eco Data Miner system, its idea, construction and implementation possibility to the existing environmental information systems. The methodological emphasis was placed on the one-dimensional data quality assessment issue in terms of using the proposed QAAH1 method - using harmonic model and robust estimators beside the classical tests of outlier values with their iterative expansions. The results received demonstrate both the complementarity of proposed classical methods solution as well as the fact that they allow for extending the range of applications significantly. The practical usefulness is also highly significant due to the high effectiveness and numerical efficiency as well as simplicity of using this new tool.

Inhalation Exposure to PM-Bound Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons Released from Barbecue Grills Powered by Gas, Lump Charcoal, and Charcoal Briquettes

The present study seeks to define the possible cancer risk arising from the inhalation exposure to particle (PM)-bound polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) present in barbecue emission gases and to compare the risk depending on the type of fuel used for grill powering. Three types of fuel were compared: liquid propane gas, lump charcoal, and charcoal briquettes. PM2.5 and PM2.5-100 were collected during grilling. Subsequently, 16 PAHs congeners were extracted from the PM samples and measured quantitatively using gas chromatography. The content of PM-bound PAHs was used to calculate PAHs deposition in the respiratory tract using the multiple path particle dosimetry model. Finally, a probabilistic risk model was developed to assess the incremental lifetime cancer risk (ILCR) faced by people exposed to PAHs. We found a distinctly greater PAHs formation in case of grills powered by charcoal briquettes. The summary concentration of PAHs (Σ16PAH) ranged from <0.002 μg/m3 (gas grill) to 21.52 μg/m3 (grill powered by briquettes). Daily exposure of a grill operator, while grilling meat, to PM2.5-bound PAHs, adjusted to benzo[a]pyrene toxicity equivalent (BaPeq), was 326.9, 401.6, and 0.04 ng/d for lump charcoal, charcoal briquettes, and gas powered grill, respectively. Exposure to PAHs emitted from charcoal briquettes was four orders of magnitude greater than that for gas grill. The ILCR followed a log-normal distribution, with a geometric mean of 8.38 × 10-5 for exposure to PM2.5-bound PAHs emitted from gas grills unloaded with food and as high as 8.68 × 10-1 for the grills loaded with food over charcoal briquettes. The estimated cancer risk for people who would inhale barbecue particles for 5 h a day, 40 days a year exceeds the acceptable level set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. We conclude that the type of heat source used for grilling influences the PM-bound PAHs formation. The greatest concentration of PAHs is generated when grilling over charcoal briquettes. Loading grills with food generates conspicuously more PAHs emissions. Traditional grilling poses cancer risk much above the acceptable limit, as opposed to much less risk involving gas powered grills.

Effect of a different degree of anthropogenic transformation on the formation of bioclimatic conditions – Warsaw case study

Abstract Effect of a different degree of anthropogenic transformation on the formation of bioclimatic conditions - Warsaw case study. The purpose of the work is to evaluate the variability of bioclimatic conditions and their diversity in areas of a different degree of anthropogenic transformation. An important element of the work is to determine frequency of certain biothermal conditions in the analysed areas, strongly exposing the human body to heat and causing thermal stress of a various intensity. The most important meteorological parameter considered in this paper was the air temperature, because out of physical stimuli it is the one which is most intensely perceived, especially when its fluctuations occur at short-time intervals. The research was based on the meteorological data made available by the Voivodship Inspectorate of Environmental Protection (WIOŚ). The data come from automated measurement stations operating as part of air quality monitoring system, located in different districts of Warsaw and outside the city. Each of the stations is marked by individual features resulting from a different degree of anthropogenic transformation of the closest surroundings Streszczenie Wpływ terenów o różnymi stopniu przekształcenia antropogenicznego na kształtowanie się warunków bioklimatycznych na przykładzie Warszawy. Celem pracy jest ocena zmienności warunków bioklimatycznych i ich zróżnicowania na terenach o różnym stopniu przekształcenia antropogenicznego. Ważnym elementem pracy jest określenie częstości występowania określonych warunków biotermicznych na analizowanych obszarach, silnie obciążających gorącem organizm człowieka i wywołujących stres ciepła o różnym natężeniu. Elementem meteorologicznym zastosowanym w opracowaniu jest temperatura powietrza, bowiem jest najintensywniej od czuwalna spośród bodźców fizycznych, zwłaszcza gdy jej wahania występują w krótkich odstępach czasowych. Dane uwzględnione w opracowaniu pochodzą z automatycznych stacji pomiarowych, działających na ramach monitoringu jakości powietrza i zlokalizowanych w różnych dzielnicach Warszawy oraz poza granicami miasta. Każda ze stacji charakteryzuje się indywidualnymi cechami ze względu na różny stopień przekształcenia antropogenicznego najbliższego otoczenia stacji