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When cooking with biomass and fossil fuels, their incomplete burning can lead to air pollution, which can trigger pernicious effects on people's health, especially among the elderly, who are more vulnerable to toxic and harmful environmental damage. This study explored the association between different cooking fuel types and the risk of cancer and all-cause mortality among seniors constructing Cox regression models. Data were obtained by linking waves of 6, 7, and 8 of the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey, which included a total of 7269 participants who were 65 years old and over. Cooking fuels were categorized as either biomass, fossil, or clean fuels. And the effects of switching cooking fuels on death risk were also investigated using Cox regression models. The results indicate that, compared with the users of clean fuels, individuals using biomass or fossil fuels were at a greater death risk for cancer [HR (95% CI): biomass, 1.13 (1.05-1.20); fossil, 1.16 (1.06-1.25)] and all causes [HR (95% CI): biomass, 1.29 (1.16-1.42); fossil, 1.32 (1.22-1.50)]. Furthermore, compared with sustained users of biomass fuels, individuals converting from biomass to clean fuels significantly reduced death risk for cancer [HR (95% CI): 0.81 (0.72-0.95)] and all causes [HR (95% CI): 0.76 (0.64-0.93)]. Similarly, all-cause death risk [HR (95% CI): 0.77 (0.62-0.93)] was noticeably reduced among these participants converting from fossil to clean fuels than persistent users of fossil fuels. Subgroup analyses revealed that males had a greater cancer and all-cause death risk when exposed to unclean fuels. These findings can inform the development of policies and the implementation of measures related to cooking fuel use to promote the health of older people and reduce the burden of disease on society., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy is applied as a powerful analytic technique for the evaluation of the chemical composition of combustion aerosols emitted by off-road engines fuelled by diesel and biofuels. Particles produced by burning diesel, heated rapeseed oil (RO), RO with ethylhexylnitrate, and heated palm oil were sampled from exhausts of representative in-use diesel engines. Multicomponent composition of diesel and biofuel particles reveal the chemistry related to a variety of functional groups containing carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, sulfur, and nitrogen. The most intensive functionalities of diesel particles are saturated C-C-H and unsaturated C=C-H aliphatic groups in alkanes and alkenes, aromatic C=C and C=C-H groups in polyaromatics, as well as sulfates and nitrated ions. The distinguished features of biofuel particles were carbonyl C=O groups in carboxylic acids, ketones, aldehydes, esters, and lactones. NO2, C-N and -NH groups in nitrocompounds and amines are found to dominate biofuel particles. Group identification is confirmed by complementary measurements of organic carbon (OC), elemental carbon, and water-soluble ion species. The relationship between infrared bands of polar oxygenated and non-polar aliphatic functionalities indicates the higher extent of the surface oxidation of biofuel particles. Findings provide functional markers of organic surface structure of off-road diesel emission, allowing for a better evaluation of relation between engine, fuel, operation condition, and particle composition, thus improving the quantification of environmental impacts of alternative energy source emissions.

Materials and Methods: The levels and possible sources of 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were investigated in the surface sediments of Liaodong Bay, Bohai Sea, China., Results: The sum of 16 PAHs (∑PAH(16)) concentrations varied from 144.5 to 291.7 ng/g, with a mean value of 184.7 ng/g, indicating low PAH levels compared with reported values for other bays and rivers in China and developed countries. High concentrations of PAHs were observed in the Luan River Estuary and in the vicinity of Qinhuangdao, implying that sewage from the Luan River and shipping activities are important sources of PAHs in Liaodong Bay., Conclusion: An ecological risk assessment of PAHs, based on the effect range-low quotients, indicated that adverse biological effects caused by acenaphthene occasionally may take place in the sediments of Liaodong Bay. PAH source identification suggested that PAHs in most sediments were mainly from incomplete combustion of grass, wood, and coal. At other stations near the Luan River Estuary, both petrogenic and pyrogenic inputs were significant, and the petroleum-derived PAHs were mainly from shipping activities and discharge of pollutants via rivers.