Urban air quality and real human exposure to chemical environmental stressors is an issue of high scientific and political interest. In an effort to find innovative and inexpensive means for air quality monitoring, the ability of car engine air filters (CAFs) to act as efficient samplers collecting street level air, to which people are exposed to, was tested. In particular, in the case of taxis, air filters are replaced after regular distances, the itineraries are almost exclusively urban, cruisingmode is similar and, thus, knowledge of the air flow can providewith an integrated city air sample. The present pilot study focused on polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), the most important category of organic pollutants associatedwith traffic emissions. Concentrations of ΣPAHs in CAFs ranged between 650 and 2900 μgCAF−1 , with benzo[b]fluoranthene, benzo[k]fluoranthene and indeno[123-cd]pyrene being themost abundant PAHs. Benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) ranged between 110 and 250 μgCAF−1 , accounting regularly for 5–15% of the total carcinogenic PAHs. The CAF PAH loads were used to derive road-level atmospheric PAH concentrations from a standard formula relating to the CAF air flow. Important parameters/assumptions for these estimates are the cruising speed and the exposure duration of each CAF. Based on information obtained fromthe garage experts, an average ‘sampled air volume’ of 48,750 m3 per CAF was estimated, with uncertainty in this calculation estimated to be about a factor of 4 between the two extreme scenarios. Based on this air volume, ΣPAHs ranged between 13 and 56 ng m−3 and BaP between 2.1 and 5.0 ng m−3 , suggesting that in-traffic BaP concentrations can be many times higher than the limit values set by the UK (0.25 ng m−3) and the European Union (1.0 ng m−3), for from active sampling stations normally cited on building roof tops or far from city centres. Notwithstanding the limitations of this approach, the very low cost, the continuous availability of very high amounts of “sample”,andthe “retroactivity” render it very useful and complementary to existing passive sam- pling techniques. This approach yields estimated air concentrations that reflect the pollutant concentrations to which taxi drivers, pedestrians, cyclists and road-related professionals are exposed.

Can car air filters be useful as a sampling medium for air pollution monitoring puroposes? / A. Katsoyiannis; A. Birgul; N. Ratola; A. Cincinelli; A. J. Sweetman; K. C. Jones. - In: ENVIRONMENT INTERNATIONAL. - ISSN 0160-4120. - STAMPA. - 48:(2012), pp. 65-70. [10.1016/j.envint.2012.06.011]

Can car air filters be useful as a sampling medium for air pollution monitoring puroposes?

CINCINELLI, ALESSANDRA;
2012

Abstract

Urban air quality and real human exposure to chemical environmental stressors is an issue of high scientific and political interest. In an effort to find innovative and inexpensive means for air quality monitoring, the ability of car engine air filters (CAFs) to act as efficient samplers collecting street level air, to which people are exposed to, was tested. In particular, in the case of taxis, air filters are replaced after regular distances, the itineraries are almost exclusively urban, cruisingmode is similar and, thus, knowledge of the air flow can providewith an integrated city air sample. The present pilot study focused on polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), the most important category of organic pollutants associatedwith traffic emissions. Concentrations of ΣPAHs in CAFs ranged between 650 and 2900 μgCAF−1 , with benzo[b]fluoranthene, benzo[k]fluoranthene and indeno[123-cd]pyrene being themost abundant PAHs. Benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) ranged between 110 and 250 μgCAF−1 , accounting regularly for 5–15% of the total carcinogenic PAHs. The CAF PAH loads were used to derive road-level atmospheric PAH concentrations from a standard formula relating to the CAF air flow. Important parameters/assumptions for these estimates are the cruising speed and the exposure duration of each CAF. Based on information obtained fromthe garage experts, an average ‘sampled air volume’ of 48,750 m3 per CAF was estimated, with uncertainty in this calculation estimated to be about a factor of 4 between the two extreme scenarios. Based on this air volume, ΣPAHs ranged between 13 and 56 ng m−3 and BaP between 2.1 and 5.0 ng m−3 , suggesting that in-traffic BaP concentrations can be many times higher than the limit values set by the UK (0.25 ng m−3) and the European Union (1.0 ng m−3), for from active sampling stations normally cited on building roof tops or far from city centres. Notwithstanding the limitations of this approach, the very low cost, the continuous availability of very high amounts of “sample”,andthe “retroactivity” render it very useful and complementary to existing passive sam- pling techniques. This approach yields estimated air concentrations that reflect the pollutant concentrations to which taxi drivers, pedestrians, cyclists and road-related professionals are exposed.
2012
48
65
70
A. Katsoyiannis; A. Birgul; N. Ratola; A. Cincinelli; A. J. Sweetman; K. C. Jones
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Utilizza questo identificatore per citare o creare un link a questa risorsa: https://hdl.handle.net/2158/648649
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