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Readers will be introduced to the most common sampling and analytical techniques that are being used indoors for air quality monitoring though the simultaneous determination of several air pollutants (i.e., inorganic and organic gaseous contaminants and airborne particulate matter) and the possible challenges encountered by implementing them. Thus, i) personal exposure equipment; (ii) portable multipollutant monitors; and (iii) fixed monitoring devices have been reviewed. Besides, compiling the most common modular arrangements of instruments, multipollutant analysis approaches through time-integrated and continuous sampling performed during field campaigns organized in several indoor environments in the frame of collaborative research projects are hereby also presented. Our aim was not to compile a comprehensive review on approaches used for multipollutant indoor air quality monitoring but instead to give an overview of potentially useful instrumentation. Discussion on instruments useful for the determination of radicals and bioaerosols as well as use of sensors has been voluntary minimized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Breast milk was taken at different stages of lactation from 27 healthy lactating women living in Budapest and its metropolitan area with ages comprising between 25 and 41 years who exclusively breastfed their full-term newborns. Samples were subjected to microwave-assisted (MW) acid digestion in PTFE vessels containing quartz microvials. After fine-tuning of the MW-assisted acid digestion method by determination of total organic carbon content of the digested samples, the volume ratio for sample: 67% by weight HNO3 : 30% by weight H2O2 solutions = 1 : 2 : 1 proved to be suitable for determination of As, Cd and Pb by inductively coupled plasma sector field mass spectrometer. Mercury concentration was <0.4 µg/L in all samples. The order of Cd, As and Pb mean concentration in the samples were 0.188 ± 0.071 μg/L < 0.41 ± 0.20 μg/L < 1.74 ± 0.77 μg/L, respectively. Mean and median concentration of As and Pb data generally grouped into two-week intervals of lactation decreased by about 25–35% after two months. Moreover, statistically significant increase was observed for Pb concentration with the age of the mothers according to paired sample t-test almost 20 years after the prohibition of the marketing of leaded gasoline in the European Union and about 40 years after the ban on Pb pipes for drinking water delivery in Hungary (Pearson's correlation coefficient 0.8285; t < t p at p < 0.05). However, according to our dietary intake estimations, no other threat for newborns fed by exclusive breastfeeding was detected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stabilization capacity of 5% by weight lignite added in three particle size ranges (<0.5; 0.5–1.0 and 1.0–2.0 mm) to acidic (pH = 5.0) or calcareous (pH = 7.7) sandy soil samples of <2 mm grain size artificially contaminated with 375 mg/kg Cr(III) was assessed through fit-for-purpose leaching tests performed with CH3COOH, NH2OH·HCl and EDTA. About 90% and 60% of Cr(III) were immobilized in calcareous and acidic soils per se, respectively. Although the point of zero charge measurements (pHpZC≈4.5) indicated that lignite could effectively bind positively charged Cr hydroxo complexes at the pH of the calcareous soil, the application of lignite is unnecessary due to the low solubility of these species. Although the acidic soil mobilizes Cr, the addition of lignite has been proven to stabilize it. The phytoavailable Cr fraction in the soils per se was about 10–25%. In spite of the mobilization of Cr by acidic soil, the phytoavailable Cr concentration decreased to about half when the lignite particle size was either 0.5–1.0 or 1.0–2.0 mm. Lignite was suitable for Cr stabilization in acidic soil in a close particle size range, ensuring the dispersibility needed to enhance efficient Cr transfer from the contaminated soil to the stabilizer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to identify determinants of aldehyde and volatile organic compound (VOC) indoor air concentrations in a sample of more than 140 office rooms, in the framework of the European OFFICAIR research project. A large field campaign was performed, which included (a) the air sampling of aldehydes and VOCs in 37 newly built or recently retrofitted office buildings across 8 European countries in summer and winter and (b) the collection of information on building and offices' characteristics using checklists. Linear mixed models for repeated measurements were applied to identify the main factors affecting the measured concentrations of selected indoor air pollutants (IAPs). Several associations between aldehydes and VOCs concentrations and buildings' structural characteristic or occupants' activity patterns were identified. The aldehyde and VOC determinants in office buildings include building and furnishing materials, indoor climate characteristics (room temperature and relative humidity), the use of consumer products (eg, cleaning and personal care products, office equipment), as well as the presence of outdoor sources in the proximity of the buildings (ie, vehicular traffic). Results also showed that determinants of indoor air concentrations varied considerably among different type of pollutants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The bulk analysis of single feathers of 263 feathers belonging to 238 individuals of a migratory passerine (collared flycatcher, Ficedula albicollis, originating from a breeding population in the Pilis-Visegrád Mountains in Hungary) by inductively coupled plasma sector field mass spectrometry (ICP-SF-MS) for determination of elements after proper dissolution allowed the quantitative determination of 38 elements. Calcium, Mg, Mn, Fe, and Zn were found to have a quantitative determination frequency larger than 80 % and a concentration greater than 100 μg/g. Among ecotoxicologically relevant elements, Ni, Cd, Hg, and Pb could be determined in more than 55 % of the tail feather samples. The concentration of Hg with a quantification limit of 0.006 μg/g and Pb with that of 0.015 μg/g was higher than 1 and 10 μg/g, respectively, in more than 80 % of the investigated samples, but generally lower than levels that could cause adverse behavioral effects. The principal component analyses of elemental concentration data followed by the application of general linear models revealed that, for male collared flycatchers, the concentration of Sn, Pb, Ni, Sr, Mg, Zn, Ba, and Sc differed significantly in the wing and tail feathers collected from the same individuals. With females, only the Ca and Sc concentration showed a significant difference between wing and tail feathers. Moreover, the concentration of rare earth elements, V, Fe, Sr, Mg, Mn, Zn, Pb, and Ba in tail feathers allowed differentiation between sexes while the concentration of Se, Bi, and Sc between yearling and adult male individuals. At the same time, Sc differentiated age categories in females. Distribution of major elements along the rachis of feathers could be monitored by laser ablation ICP-SF-MS after normalization of the intensities to either C or S signals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interest in studying leaching of toxic (in)organic contaminants such as antimony (Sb) and phthalate esters into drinking water increased because of the ever growing market of water bottled in polyethylene terephthalate (PET) packaging material. Possible contamination sources of drinking water contained in PET bottles are hereby reviewed. Instrumental analytical methods suitable for Sb and phthalate ester determination in drinking water and PET material are also presented. Outcomes on leaching of Sb and phthalate esters into drinking water are grouped according to storage time, exposure to heat/light, sample pH, and PET bottle volume. Methods for estimation of toxicological activity of water in PET bottles are also compiled. Normally, Sb and phthalate ester concentrations in drinking water do not exceed the health limit values in force. Although excellent detection limits can be achieved for phthalate ester determination, due to their ubiquity, results are primarily affected by laboratory cross-contamination. Recent investigations suggest that drinking water stored in PET bottles does not possess either genotoxic or estrogenic activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]