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In this study, simultaneous monitoring of indoor and outdoor Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) was carried out in a school, by both Radiello® cartridges and real-time monitors (Corvus, IonScience Ltd., Fowlmere UK). Moreover, an outdoor air quality assessment was performed with data from an air quality monitoring station (ARPA Puglia) located close to the school. In particular, VOCs, Benzene, Toluene, Ethylbenzene, and Xilenes concentrations, obtained by using Radiello® diffusive samplers, were monitored in two classrooms, two bathrooms, and outside of the school building for three weeks during winter 2019. Simultaneously, the Total VOC (TVOC) concentrations were measured by means of real-time monitors inside and outside the classroom in order to individuate the activation of sources during the sampling campaign days. The results evidence that indoor TVOC concentrations were bigger than those outdoors, this suggests the presence of indoor pollutant sources, both in the classrooms and the bathrooms. The results of our study can help the school management by the following recommendations: increasing ventilation in classrooms during school activities and after cleaning, involving students in discussions regarding the use of acrylic paints, permanent markers, perfumes and deodorants, and the limitation of smoking activities both in bathrooms and outdoor spaces.

IAQ assessment is a priority in oncology units where high air quality standards must be guaranteed to protect vulnerable patients. To fill the existing knowledge gap on IAQ in oncology units, extensive monitoring campaigns were performed inside two European oncology units (Bari in Italy, 24th February 2018–31st July 2019; Barcelona in Spain, 18th July-26th November 2018) for high temporal resolution monitoring of total volatile organic compounds (TVOCs), fine particulate matter (PM2.5), CO2 and other environmental parameters. Selected low-cost sensors (Corvus IAQ monitor, Speck, ZyAura CO2 monitor) were deployed. Laboratory and field inter-comparison of PM sensors with scientific-grade reference instruments was performed. TVOCs, PM2.5 and CO2 temporal profiles clearly show a regular weekday pattern with concentration peaks in daytime hours associated with higher human occupancy in the wards for scheduled chemotherapy treatments. Human occupancy (human emission and walking-induced particle resuspension), the administration of pharmaceutical products and the use of disinfectants and cleaning products predominantly affected TVOCs and PM2.5 concentrations in oncology wards. Although PM sensors showed low to moderate correlation with reference instruments (R2 = 0.34–0.66), this study provides additional evidence on their potential for inexpensive, real-time monitoring and detection of pollution events. Mitigation measures could be applied to improve IAQ in the investigated locations including more efficient scheduling, improved waiting room design and better ventilation strategies., The authors acknowledge the Oncology Institute Giovanni Paolo II I.R.C.C.S. in Bari (Italy) (Director Dr. Vito Antonio Delvino) and the Barcelona Pediatric Hospital (Mr. J. Medina). Moreover, special acknowledgements are for LabService Analytica srl (Dr. Antonio Fornaro) and the start-up Oscar by Energy for their precious assistance for the setting-up and the configuration of the integrated monitoring system at the oncology unit in Bari.

In this study an innovative sensing network consisting of eight photoionization detectors, meteorological sensors, a video camera and a telephonic system able to systematize the population complaints was developed for the monitoring of odor emissions. The development of monitoring approaches with high temporal and spatial resolution and actively involving citizens, is strategic in areas where relevant and also short-term emissive events frequently occur and the conventional approaches fail due to the high variability of fugitive emissions. Moreover, even if unpleasant odors are not necessarily direct triggers of health effects, they could be associated with the release of other harmful compounds. Monitoring approaches also involving citizens are thus strategic tools because odors annoyance perceived by population may be a potential health risk warning. Therefore, the developed sensing network was set up in Val d'Agri (Basilicata, Italy) where a petroleum pre-treatment plant (COVA) rises in a rural and inhabited area. The data collected during the monitoring campaign from the 16th February to the 30th July 2017, showed Total Volatile Organic Compounds (TVOCs) concentrations decreasing moving away from the plant and up to five times higher than levels registered in the closest municipality (Viggiano). Moreover, recurrent short-term critical events characterized by concentration values far above the average of the period and with maximum values ranging from 0.92 to 1.89 ppm, were registered in correspondence with high levels of benzene (up to 23.9 μg/m3) and anemometric conditions able to transport pollutants from COVA to each receptor site. The spatial and temporal distribution of TVOC concentrations proved to be affected by the distance from COVA, wind direction and industrial activities verified using video reportage and citizen claims. Therefore, the developed approach has proven to be a useful tool to credit people's perception of odors and also to quantify citizen exposure to VOCs during short-term events.

Nowadays, no a standard method for the determination of particulate bound nitro-PAHs (NPAHs) has been developed. Existing methods include complex sampling and extraction procedures. Moreover, their sensitivity does not allow to analyze daily PM10 samples, affecting the temporal resolution of NPAH concentrations. In this study an analytical method for the quantification of NPAHs on half 47 mm-filter samples of daily PM10 was developed and validated. NPAHs were recovered by microwave-assisted extraction, and analyzed by using a gas chromatography-triple quadrupole mass spectrometry in MRM mode. The analytical performance for 14 NPAHs (2-nitrofluorene, 9-nitroanthracene, 9-nitrophenantrene, 3-nitrophenantrene, 2-nitroanthracene, 3-nitrofluoranthene, 1-nitropyrene, 2,7-dinitrofluorene, 7-nitrobenzo[a]anthracene, 6-nitrochrysene, 1,3-dinitropyrene, 1,8-dinitropyrene, 1,6-dinitropyrene, 6-nitrobenza[a]pyrene) was investigated. Recovery extraction percentage exceeded 95% for all target compounds in the range between 0.25 and 10 ng/mL. The repeatability, expressed as Relative Standard Deviation percentage (RSD%) of five determinations, was less than 10% for target compounds except for 2,7-dinitrofluorene, 1,3- and 1,8-dinitropyrene (RSD%

The present study was aimed at determining airborne concentrations of PAHs, Nitro-/Oxy-PAHs and elements in industrial and urban areas of Taranto, a site of environmental risk in Southern Italy, after the issue of strategic measures for air pollution mitigation and control by the Italian Environment Ministry in 2012. A PM2.5 sampling campaign was carried out from 9 to 28 December 2014 at eight receptor sites, two placed in the urban settlement and five included in the high spatial resolution fence monitoring network of the biggest European steel plant. The integration of collected data with meteorological parameters and source apportionment analysis by Positive Matrix Factorization and bivariate polar plots allowed to discriminate among emission sources and estimate their contributions. Evidence on the effect of distinct processes (homogenization, sintering) occurring inside the steel plant on airborne concentrations of PAHs and selected elements was provided. The impact of emissions from the steel plant &ldquo, core&rdquo, on the surrounding area was observed at receptor sites downwind to it. Moreover, the extent of the effectiveness of mitigation measures, partially applied at the moment of study&rsquo, s beginning, was demonstrated by mean and peak pollutant concentrations at all receptor sites up to one order of magnitude lower than those documented prior to 2012.

An artificial neural network (ANN) was developed and tested to forecast PM 10 daily concentration in two contrasted environments in NE Spain, a regional background site (Montseny), and an urban background site (Barcelona-CSIC), which was highly influenced by vehicular emissions. In order to predict 24-h average PM 10 concentrations, the artificial neural network previously developed by Caselli et al. (2009) was improved by using hourly PM concentrations and deterministic factors such as a Saharan dust alert. In particular, the model input data for prediction were the hourly PM 10 concentrations 1-day in advance, local meteorological data and information about air masses origin. The forecasted performance indexes for both sites were calculated and they showed better results for the regional background site in Montseny (R 2 = 0.86, SI = 0.75) than for urban site in Barcelona (R 2 = 0.73, SI = 0.58), influenced by local and sometimes unexpected sources. Moreover, a sensitivity analysis conducted to understand the importance of the different variables included among the input data, showed that local meteorology and air masses origin are key factors in the model forecasts. This result explains the reason for the improvement of ANN's forecasting performance at the Montseny site with respect to the Barcelona site. Moreover, the artificial neural network developed in this work could prove useful to predict PM 10 concentrations, especially, at regional background sites such as those on the Mediterranean Basin which are primarily affected by long-range transports. Hence, the artificial neural network presented here could be a powerful tool for obtaining real time information on air quality status and could aid stakeholders in their development of cost-effective control strategies.

Organic and elemental carbon (OC-EC) were measured in 360 PM2.5 samples collected from April 2012 to February 2013 at six provinces in the Veneto region, to determine the factors affecting the carbonaceous aerosol variations. The 60 daily samples have been collected simultaneously in all sites during 10 consecutive days for 6 months (April, June, August, October, December and February). OC ranged from 0.98 to 22.34 μg/m(3), while the mean value was 5.5 μg/m(3), contributing 79% of total carbon. EC concentrations fluctuated from 0.19 to 11.90 μg/m(3) with an annual mean value of 1.31 μg/m(3) (19% of the total carbon). The monthly OC concentration gradually increased from April to December. The EC did not vary in accordance with OC. However the highest values for both parameters were recorded in the cold period. The mean OC/EC ratio is 4.54, which is higher than the values observed in most of the other European cities. The secondary organic carbon (SOC) contributed for 69% of the total OC and this was confirmed by both the approaches OC/EC minimum ratio and regression. The results show that OC, EC and SOC exhibited higher concentration during winter months in all measurement sites, suggesting that the stable atmosphere and lower mixing play important role for the accumulation of air pollutant and hasten the condensation or adsorption of volatile organic compounds over the Veneto region. Significant meteorological factors controlling OC and EC were investigated by fitting linear models and using a robust procedure based on weighted likelihood, suggesting that low wind speed and temperature favour accumulation of emissions from local sources. Conditional probability function and conditional bivariate probability function plots indicate that both biomass burning and vehicular traffic are probably the main local sources for carbonaceous particulate matter emissions in two selected cities.

In recent years the use of synthetic materials in building and furnishing, the adoption of new lifestyles, the extensive use of products for environmental cleaning and personal hygiene have contributed to the deterioration of the indoor air quality (IAQ) and introduced new sources of risk to humans. Indoor environments include home work places such as offices, public buildings such as hospitals, schools, kindergartens, sports halls, libraries, restaurants and bars, theatres and cinemas and finally cabins of vehicles. Indoor environments in schools have been of particular public concern. According to recent studies, children aged between 3 and 14 spend 90 % of the day indoors both in winter and summer. Adverse environmental effects on the learning and performance of students in schools could have both immediate and lifelong consequences, for the students and for society. In fact, children have greater susceptibility to some environmental pollutants than adults, because they breathe higher volumes of air relative to their body weights and their tissues and organs are actively growing. This review describes methods for the assessment of indoor air quality in schools. To this aim, monitoring strategies for sampling and measurement of indoor air pollutants will be discussed. The paper’s goal involves four major points: (1) characteristics of indoor environments, chemical pollutants and their sources within school; (2) monitoring strategies; (3) sampling and analysis techniques; (4) an overview of findings from scientific literature. Finally, we summarize available knowledge about IAQ in schools highlighting key gaps and suggesting priority topics and strategies for research. Moreover, it provides useful tools to support the stakeholder for development of strategies of prevention and mitigation in school environments in order to improve the indoor air quality.

A VOC monitoring was carried out inside and outside a multi-storey car park in order to characterize the emission profile of vehicular traffic source in an indoor environment. BTEX, and in particular toluene, were the most abundant compounds in all monitored sites, with different compositions between indoor parking areas and outdoor sites. The motor vehicle exhaust and gasoline vapor emission in these enclosed parking garages were characterized by diffusion or degradation phenomena different from those that occur in urban areas as the BTEX compositions, their ratios and their reactivity with OH and with NO3 radicals demonstrate. In detail, xylenes/BTEX and ethylbenzene/BTEX ratios in indoor environments were twice than those in outdoor ones, while toluene/BTEX ratio resulted half than that obtained in outdoor sites. In this work, BTEX concentrations depend both on number of vehicles, on vehicular characteristics (age, emission control technology, fuel quality etc.) and on factors related to the characteristics of parking facilities (volume of the monitored areas, indoor or open facilities, ventilation systems, size and maintenance). However, it was found that the external contribution (intrusion of pollutants from outdoor and from the other floors) and the influence of mixing air (removal of pollutants by ventilation and air exchange) on BTEX concentrations were not significant if inside the multi-storey car park there was a strong source (due to the number of vehicles) such happened in the first and second floors and along the ramp that connected them.