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Humans spend the majority of their time indoors, where they are potentially exposed to hazardous pollutants. Within this context, over the past few years, there has been an upsurge of low-cost sensors (LCS) for the measurement of indoor air pollutants, motivated both by recent technological advances and by increased awareness of indoor air quality (IAQ) and its potential negative health impacts. Although not meeting the performance requirements for reference regulatory-equivalent monitoring indoors, LCS can provide informative measurements, offering an opportunity for high-resolution monitoring, emission source identification, exposure mitigation and managing IAQ and energy efficiency, among others. This article discusses the strengths and limitations that LCS offer for applications in the field of IAQ monitoring; it provides an overview of existing sensor technologies and gives recommendations for different indoor applications, considering their performance in the complex indoor environment and discussing future trends.

Chemical characterization of particulate matter (PM) measured along trafficked roads in Chennai city was performed during the winter season. Several heights, from 3 m to about 38 m above the ground level, and road geometries were taken into account. The daily average coarse (PM10) and fine (PM2.5) particles concentrations were in the range 72–110 (for PM10) and 34–57 μg/m3 (for PM2.5), depending on the site. Samples were analyzed in terms of inorganic ions using Ion Chromatography (IC) and elements by Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS). Results indicated the dominance of SO 4 2 − followed by Na + , Ca 2 + , NO 3 − and Cl − ions in the coarse fraction; similarly, in the fine fraction ion concentrations decreased in the following order: SO 4 2 − , NH 4 + , K + and Ca 2 + . Among the elements, crustal element (Al, Fe) and Zn concentrations were much higher (accounting about 90% of the total elemental concentration) than other toxic elements (Cr, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb, Sn, Ti and V). No element showed a significant dependence on height, expect for calcium at site ‘Velachery’ which contributed significantly to the abundance of the coarse fraction mass. In order to identify the major sources of air pollution, the collected data were analyzed using Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF), allowing to highlight five dominant pollution sources/factors: secondary PM, road traffic, biomass burning, sea spray and crustal erosion. Overall, the present study provided a new insight for the source apportionment of monitored pollutants in the Chennai city.

A chemical characterization of PM10 collected at hydrofoil exhaust stacks was performed conducting two on-board measuring campaigns, with the aim of assessing the ship emission impact on PM10 collected in the coastal area of Naples (Southern Italy) and providing information about the characteristics of this important PM emission source. Samples were analysed determining the contribution of different chemical parameters to PM10’s mass, which consisted of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) (0.10 ± 0.12%), total carbon (61.9% ± 20.0%, with 40.4% of organic carbon, OC, and 21.5% of elemental carbon, EC) and elemental fraction (0.44% ± 1.00%). Differences in terms of composition and chemical parameter profiles were observed between samples collected during offshore navigation (Off) and samples collected during shunting operations (SO), the latter of higher concern on a local scale. For SO samples, lower contributions of OC and EC were observed (39.7% and 19.6% respectively) compared to Off samples (41.5% and 24.2%), and an increase in terms of elements (from 0.32 to 0.51%) and PAHs (from 0.06 to 0.12%) concentrations was observed. In addition, enrichment factors (EFs) for some elements such as V, Zn, Cd, Cu, Ag and Hg as well as PAHs profile varied significantly between SO and Off. Data presented here were compared with data on chemical composition of PM10 sampled in a tunnel, in a background site and in an urban site in the city of Naples. Results indicated that shipping activities contributed significantly to the emission of V and, in some extent, Zn and Cd; in addition, PAH profiles indicated a greater contribution to urban PM10 from vehicular traffic than shipping emissions. These results can significantly contribute to the correct evaluation of the influence of shipping emission on PM10 generation in urban coastal areas and can be a useful reference for similar studies. The coastal area of Naples is an important example of the coexistence of residential, touristic and natural areas with pollutants emission sources including, among the others, shipping emissions. In this and similar contexts, it is important to distinguish the contribution of each emission source to clearly define environmental control policies.

Particulate matter (PM) is an important player in indoor air quality. Even though PM limit values are in force for more than a decade in Europe and reference methods are well in place for ambient air, measuring indoor PM concentration still remains a challenge and standardizing a measurement protocol is complex. As people stay most of their time indoors, indoor PM is of great interest in terms of public health, as concentration can be drastically different to the one outdoors. This review aims to provide key information to the indoor air monitoring communities, to better understand principal methods suitable for the analysis of indoor PM with their respective main influencing parameters. Advantages and drawbacks of each method are discussed and specific awareness is raised to avoid wrong data interpretation in specific situations. The inter-instrument deviation is also explained and, when possible, methods to correct are proposed., This publication is based upon work from COST Action CA17136 supported by COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology) (www.cost.eu) for which the authors are grateful. The support and original concept designed by Nicola Carslaw (University of York) is hereby, acknowledged. One of the authors (Regina M. B. O. Duarte) also wishes to acknowledge FCT/MCTES for the financial support to CESAM (UIDP/50017/2020 + UIDB/50017/2020 + LA/P/0094/2020) through national funds.

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.

In order to avoid SARS-CoV-2 transmission inside educational buildings and promote the safe reopening of schools, the Italian Government, in line with the other European countries and in accordance with the WHO recommendations, adopted a contingency plan including actions able to guarantee adequate air ventilation in classrooms. Therefore, in this pilot study, a surveillance activity based on the real-time monitoring of CO2 levels as a proxy of SARS-CoV-2 transmission risk, was conducted inside 9 schools (11 classrooms) located in Apulia Region (South of Italy) during the reopening of schools after the lockdown due to COVID-19 pandemic. More specifically, monitoring activities and data treatment were conducted to evaluate the initial scenario inside the classrooms (first stage of evaluation) and the potential improvements obtained by applying a detailed operating protocol of air ventilation based on specific actions and the simultaneous real time visualization of CO2 levels by non-dispersive infrared (NDIR) sensors (second stage of evaluation). Although, during the first evaluation stage, air ventilation through the opening of windows and doors was guaranteed, 6 (54%) classrooms showed mean values of CO2 higher than 1000 ppm and all classrooms exceeded the recommended CO2 concentration limit value of 700 ppm. The development and implementation of tailored ventilation protocol including the real time visualization of CO2 levels allowed to depict better scenariosAn overall improvement of CO2 levels was indeed registered for all classrooms where teachers were compliant and helpful in the management of the air ventilation strategy. Therefore, this study reports the first evidence-based measures demonstrating that, with the exception of few environments affected by structural limits, the real-time visualization and monitoring of CO2 concentrations allowes effective air exchanges to be implemented and contributes to prevent SARS-CoV-2 transmission. Moreover, on the basis of the monitoring outcomes and in order to ensure adequate air ventilation in educational buildings, a 4 level-risk classification including specific corrective actions for each level was provided.

Particulate matter (PM) is an important player of indoor air quality and a topic of great interest in terms of public health. Deciphering the complex chemical composition of indoor PM is critical to understand the association between particles components and a wide range of adverse health effects. Over the last decades, advanced analytical instrumentation has been produced capable of providing various levels of information on the chemical features of indoor PM. This article reviews the most promising of these sophisticated analytical techniques that could be employed in the identification of organic and inorganic constituents of indoor PM, including (high-resolution) mass spectrometry, organic, carbonaceous and ions analytical techniques, elemental analysis techniques such as atomic spectrometry and X-ray based methods, and surface analysis techniques. A distinction is made between online and offline instrumentation, focusing on their capabilities and how they are currently being used in the targeted and untargeted analysis of PM components. This review aims to provide the indoor air chemistry community with insights into the power of the different techniques available today, so that they can be used advantageously in future studies., Thanks are due to the European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST) through the financial support to COST Action INDoor AIR POLLution NETwork (INDAIRPOLLNET). One of the authors (Regina M. B. O. Duarte) also wishes to acknowledge FCT/MCTES for the financial support to CESAM (UIDP/50017/2020 + UIDB/50017/2020) through national funds, as well as to the Exploratory Research Project (IF/00798/2015/CP1302/CT0015, Investigator FCT Contract IF/00798/2015).

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.

ObjectivesA number of studies have shown that the airborne transmission route could spread some viruses over a distance of 2 meters from an infected person. An epidemic model based only on respiratory droplets and close contact could not fully explain the regional differences in the spread of COVID-19 in Italy. On March 16th 2020, we presented a position paper proposing a research hypothesis concerning the association between higher mortality rates due to COVID-19 observed in Northern Italy and average concentrations of PM10exceeding a daily limit of 50 µg/m3.MethodsTo monitor the spreading of COVID-19 in Italy from February 24th to March 13th (the date of the Italian lockdown), official daily data for PM10levels were collected from all Italian provinces between February 9th and February 29th, taking into account the maximum lag period (14 days) between the infection and diagnosis. In addition to the number of exceedances of the daily limit value of PM10, we also considered population data and daily travelling information for each province.ResultsExceedance of the daily limit value of PM10appears to be a significant predictor of infection in univariate analyses (p10levels, while 62 out of 66 Southern provinces presented low PM10concentrations (p0>6.0, comparable with the highest values estimated for China.ConclusionA significant association has been found between the geographical distribution of daily PM10exceedances and the initial spreading of COVID-19 in the 110 Italian provinces.

In this study, data on the hourly concentrations of the total particle-bound Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (p-PAHs) collected between 1 August 2013 and 31 August 2014 by the air quality fence monitoring network of the biggest European steel plant, were analyzed. In contrast with what was predicted, the total p-PAH concentration did not decrease with distance from the steel plant, and higher concentrations were registered at the Orsini site, in the urban settlement, relative to the Parchi site, which is nearest to the coke ovens. Therefore, in order to identify and explain the cause of these high concentrations, a tailored monitoring experiment was carried out on a specific monitoring pathway by using a total p-PAHs monitor placed onto a cart. The real-time monitoring of the total p-PAH concentration on the road revealed to be a useful tool, which identified vehicular traffic as an important source of p-PAHs and highlighted the possible high short-term effect that vehicular traffic sources could have on the health of the exposed human population. Moreover, the study focused attention on the importance of the spatial representativeness of fixed monitoring stations, especially in a highly complex industrial area such as Taranto (Southern Italy).

In previous communications, we have hypothesized the possibility that SARS-CoV-2 virus could be present on particulate matter (PM) during the spreading of the infection, consistently with evidence already available for other viruses. Here, we present the first results of the analyses that we have performed on 34 PM10 samples of outdoor/airborne PM10 from an industrial site of Bergamo Province, collected with two different air samplers over a continuous 3-weeks period, from February 21st to March 13th. We can confirm to have reasonably demonstrated the presence of SARS-CoV-2 viral RNA by detecting highly specific RtDR gene on 8 filters in two parallel PCR analyses. This is the first preliminary evidence that SARS-CoV-2 RNA can be present on outdoor particulate matter, thus suggesting that, in conditions of atmospheric stability and high concentrations of PM, SARS-CoV-2 could create clusters with outdoor PM and, by reducing their diffusion coefficient, enhance the persistence of the virus in the atmosphere. Further confirmations of this preliminary evidence are ongoing, and should include real-time assessment about the vitality of the SARS-CoV-2 as well as its virulence when adsorbed on particulate matter. At the present, no assumptions can be made concerning the correlation between the presence of the virus on PM and COVID-19 outbreak progression. Other issues to be specifically addressed are the average concentrations of PM eventually required for a potential boost effect of the contagion (in case it is confirmed that PM might act as a carrier for the viral droplet nuclei), or even the theoretic possibility of immunization consequent to minimal dose exposures at lower thresholds of PM.

BackgroundAn epidemic model based only on respiratory droplets and close contact could not fully explain the regional differences in the spread of the recent severe acute respiratory syndrome COVID-19 in Italy, which was fast and dramatic only in Lombardy and Po Valley. On March 16th 2020, we presented a Position Paper proposing a research hypothesis concerning the association between higher mortality rates due to COVID-19 observed in Northern Italy and the peaks of particulate matter concentrations, frequently exceeding the legal limit of 50 µg/m3 as PM10 daily averageMethodsTo assess environmental factors related to the spread of the COVID-19 in Italy from February 24th to March 13th (the date when the lockdown has been imposed over Italy), official daily data relevant to ambient PM10 levels were collected from all Italian Provinces between February 9th and February 29th, taking into account the average time (estimated in 17 days) elapsed between the initial infection and the recorded COVID positivity. In addition to the number of exceedances of PM10 daily limit value, we considered also population data and daily travelling information per each Province.ResultsPM10 daily limit value exceedances appear to be a significant predictor (p < .001) of infection in univariate analyses. Less polluted Provinces had a median of 0.03 infection cases over 1000 residents, while most polluted Provinces had a median of 0.26 cases over 1000 residents. Thirty-nine out of 41 Northern Italian Provinces resulted in the category with highest PM10 levels, while 62 out of 66 Southern Provinces presented low PM10 concentrations (p< 0.001). In Milan, the average growth rate before the lockdown was significantly higher than Rome (0.34 vs. 0.27 per day, with a doubling time of 2.0 days vs. 2.6), suggesting a basic reproductive number R0>6.0, comparable with the highest values estimated for China.

The present study focused on the determination of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylenes (BTEX) concentration levels in 97 refill liquids for e-cigs selected by the Italian National Institute of Health as representative of the EU market between 2013 and 2015 prior to the implementation of the European Union (EU) Tobacco Product Directive (TPD). Most of the e-liquids investigated (85/97) were affected by BTEX contamination, with few exceptions observed (levels below the limit of quantification (LOQ) of headspace-solid phase micro extraction-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (HS-SPME-GC-MS) methodology). Across brands, concentration levels ranged from 2.7 to 30,200.0 &micro, g/L for benzene, from 1.9 to 447.8 &micro, g/L for ethylbenzene, from 1.9 to 1,648.4 &micro, g/L for toluene and from 1.7 to 574.2 &micro, g/L for m,p,o-xylenes. The variability observed in BTEX levels is likely to be related to the variability in contamination level of both propylene glycol and glycerol and flavoring additives included. No correlation was found with nicotine content. Moreover, on a limited number of e-liquids, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry-olfactometry (GC-MS-O) analysis was performed, allowing the identification of key flavoring additives responsible of specific flavor notes. Among them, diacetyl is a flavoring additive of concern for potential toxicity when directly inhaled into human airways. The data reported are eligible to be included in the pre-TPD database and may represent a reference for the ongoing evaluation on e-liquids safety and quality under the current EU Legislation.

Polymer-based items may release Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) and odors indoors, contributing to the overall VOC inhalation exposure for end users and building occupants. The main objective of the present study is the evaluation of short-term inhalation exposure to VOCs due to the use of a personal care polymer-based item, namely, one of three electric heating bags, through a strategic methodological approach and the simulation of a &lsquo, near-to-real&rsquo, exposure scenario. Seventy two-hour test chamber experiments were first performed to characterize VOC emissions with the items on &lsquo, not-heating mode&rsquo, and to derive related emission rates. The polyester bag was revealed to be responsible for the highest emissions both in terms of total VOC and naphthalene emissions (437 and 360 &micro, g/m3, respectively), compared with the other two bags under investigation. Complementary investigations on &lsquo, heating mode&rsquo, and the simulation of the exposure scenario inside a 30 m3 reference room allowed us to highlight that the use of the polyester bag in the first life-cycle period could determine a naphthalene concentration (42 &micro, g/m3) higher than the reference Lowest Concentration of Interest (LCI) value (10 &micro, g/m3) reported in European evaluation schemes. The present study proposes a strategic methodological approach highlighting the need for the simulation of a realistic scenario when potential hazards for human health need to be assessed.

Currently people are aware of the risk related to pollution exposure. Thus odor annoyances are considered a warning about the possible presence of toxic volatile compounds. Malodor often generates immediate alarm among citizens, and electronic noses are convenient instruments to detect mixture of odorant compounds with high monitoring frequency. In this paper we present a study on pattern recognition on ambient air composition in proximity of a gas and oil pretreatment plant by elaboration of data from an electronic nose implementing 10 metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) sensors and positioned outdoor continuously during three months. A total of 80,017 e-nose vectors have been elaborated applying the self-organizing map (SOM) algorithm and then k-means clustering on SOM outputs on the whole data set evidencing an anomalous data cluster. Retaining data characterized by dynamic responses of the multisensory system, a SOM with 264 recurrent sensor responses to air mixture sampled at the site and four main air type profiles (clusters) have been identified. One of this sensor profiles has been related to the odor fugitive emissions of the plant, by using ancillary data from a total volatile organic compound (VOC) detector and wind speed and direction data. The overall and daily cluster frequencies have been evaluated, allowing us to identify the daily duration of presence at the monitoring site of air related to industrial emissions. The refined model allowed us to confirm the anomaly detection of the sensor responses.

Despite promising results obtained in the early diagnosis of several pathologies, breath analysis still remains an unused technique in clinical practice due to the lack of breath sampling standardized procedures able to guarantee a good repeatability and comparability of results. The most diffuse on an international scale breath sampling method uses polymeric bags, but, recently, devices named Mistral and ReCIVA, able to directly concentrate volatile organic compounds (VOCs) onto sorbent tubes, have been developed and launched on the market. In order to explore performances of these new automatic devices with respect to sampling in the polymeric bag and to study the differences in VOCs profile when whole or alveolar breath is collected and when pulmonary wash out with clean air is done, a tailored experimental design was developed. Three different breath sampling approaches were compared: (a) whole breath sampling by means of Tedlar bags, (b) the end-tidal breath collection using the Mistral sampler, and (c) the simultaneous collection of the whole and alveolar breath by using the ReCIVA. The obtained results showed that alveolar fraction of breath was relatively less affected by ambient air (AA) contaminants (p-values equal to 0.04 for Mistral and 0.002 for ReCIVA Low) with respect to whole breath (p-values equal to 0.97 for ReCIVA Whole). Compared to Tedlar bags, coherent results were obtained by using Mistral while lower VOCs levels were detected for samples (both breath and AA) collected by ReCIVA, likely due to uncorrected and fluctuating flow rates applied by this device. Finally, the analysis of all data also including data obtained by explorative analysis of the unique lung cancer (LC) breath sample showed that a clean air supply might determine a further confounding factor in breath analysis considering that lung wash-out is species-dependent.

The COVID-19 pandemic caused the shutdown of entire nations all over the world. In addition to mobility restrictions of people, the World Health Organization and the Governments have prescribed maintaining an inter-personal distance of 1.5 or 2 m (about 6 feet) from each other in order to minimize the risk of contagion through the droplets that we usually disseminate around us from nose and mouth. However, recently published studies support the hypothesis of virus transmission over a distance of 2 m from an infected person. Researchers have proved the higher aerosol and surface stability of SARS-COV-2 as compared with SARS-COV-1 (with the virus remaining viable and infectious in aerosol for hours) and that airborne transmission of SARS-CoV can occur besides close-distance contacts. Indeed, there is reasonable evidence about the possibility of SARS-COV-2 airborne transmission due to its persistence into aerosol droplets in a viable and infectious form. Based on the available knowledge and epidemiological observations, it is plausible that small particles containing the virus may diffuse in indoor environments covering distances up to 10 m from the emission sources, thus representing a kind of aerosol transmission. On-field studies carried out inside Wuhan Hospitals showed the presence of SARS-COV-2 RNA in air samples collected in the hospitals and also in the surroundings, leading to the conclusion that the airborne route has to be considered an important pathway for viral diffusion. Similar findings are reported in analyses concerning air samples collected at the Nebraska University Hospital. On March 16th, we have released a Position Paper emphasizing the airborne route as a possible additional factor for interpreting the anomalous COVID-19 outbreaks in northern Italy, ranked as one of the most polluted areas in Europe and characterized by high particulate matter (PM) concentrations. The available information on the SARS-COV-2 spreading supports the hypothesis of airborne diffusion of infected droplets from person to person at a distance greater than two meters (6 feet). The inter-personal distance of 2 m can be reasonably considered as an effective protection only if everybody wears face masks in daily life activities.

Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is a rare neoplasm, mainly caused by asbestos exposure, with a high mortality rate. The management of patients with MPM is controversial due to a long latency period between exposure and diagnosis and because of non-specific symptoms generally appearing at advanced stage of the disease. Breath analysis, aimed at the identification of diagnostic Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) pattern in exhaled breath, is believed to improve early detection of MPM. Therefore, in this study, breath samples from 14 MPM patients and 20 healthy controls (HC) were collected and analyzed by Thermal Desorption-Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (TD-GC/MS). Nonparametric test allowed to identify the most weighting variables to discriminate between MPM and HC breath samples and multivariate statistics were applied. Considering that MPM is an aggressive neoplasm leading to a late diagnosis and thus the recruitment of patients is very difficult, a promising data mining approach was developed and validated in order to discriminate between MPM patients and healthy controls, even if no large population data are available. Three different machine learning algorithms were applied to perform the classification task with a leave-one-out cross-validation approach, leading to remarkable results (Area Under Curve AUC = 93%). Ten VOCs, such as ketones, alkanes and methylate derivates, as well as hydrocarbons, were able to discriminate between MPM patients and healthy controls and for each compound which resulted diagnostic for MPM, the metabolic pathway was studied in order to identify the link between VOC and the neoplasm. Moreover, five breath samples from asymptomatic asbestos-exposed persons (AEx) were exploratively analyzed, processed and tested by the validated statistical method as blinded samples in order to evaluate the performance for the early recognition of patients affected by MPM among asbestos-exposed persons. Good agreement was found between the information obtained by gold-standard diagnostic methods such as computed tomography CT and model output.

In order to avoid SARS-CoV-2 transmission inside educational buildings and promote the safe reopening of schools, the Italian Government, in line with the other European countries and in accordance with the WHO recommendations, adopted a contingency plan including actions able to guarantee adequate air ventilation in classrooms. Therefore, in this pilot study, a surveillance activity based on the real-time monitoring of CO2 levels as a proxy of SARS-CoV-2 transmission risk, was conducted inside 9 schools (11 classrooms) located in Apulia Region (South of Italy) during the reopening of schools after the lockdown due to COVID-19 pandemic. More specifically, monitoring activities and data treatment were conducted to evaluate the initial scenario inside the classrooms (first stage of evaluation) and the potential improvements obtained by applying a detailed operating protocol of air ventilation based on specific actions and the simultaneous real time visualization of CO2 levels by non-dispersive infrared (NDIR) sensors (second stage of evaluation). Although, during the first evaluation stage, air ventilation through the opening of windows and doors was guaranteed, 6 (54%) classrooms showed mean values of CO2 higher than 1000 ppm and all classrooms exceeded the recommended CO2 concentration limit value of 700 ppm. The development and implementation of tailored ventilation protocol including the real time visualization of CO2 levels allowed to depict better scenariosAn overall improvement of CO2 levels was indeed registered for all classrooms where teachers were compliant and helpful in the management of the air ventilation strategy. Therefore, this study reports the first evidence-based measures demonstrating that, with the exception of few environments affected by structural limits, the real-time visualization and monitoring of CO2 concentrations allowes effective air exchanges to be implemented and contributes to prevent SARS-CoV-2 transmission. Moreover, on the basis of the monitoring outcomes and in order to ensure adequate air ventilation in educational buildings, a 4 level-risk classification including specific corrective actions for each level was provided.

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.

The relevance of airborne exposure to SARS-CoV-2 in indoor environments is a matter of research and debate, with special importance for healthcare low-risk settings. Experimental approaches to the bioaerosol sampling are neither standardized nor optimized yet, leading in some cases to limited representativity of the temporal and spatial variability of viral presence in aerosols. Airborne viral viability moreover needs to be assessed. A study has been conducted collecting five 24-h PM10 samples in a COVID-19 geriatric ward in late June 2020, and detecting E and RdRp genes by RT-qPCR with a Ct between 36 and 39. The viral RNA detection at Ct = 36 was related to the maximal numerosity of infected patients hosted in the ward. Lacking a direct infectivity assessment for the collected samples an experimental model has been defined, by seeding twelve nasopharyngeal swab extracts from COVID-19 positive patients on Vero E6 cells; only the four extracts with a viral load above E+10 viral copies (approximately Ct

The present study aims to evaluate the impact of e-cig second-hand aerosol on indoor air quality in terms of ultrafine particles (UFPs) and potential inhalation exposure levels of passive bystanders. E-cig second-hand aerosol characteristics in terms of UFPs number concentration and size distribution exhaled by two volunteers vaping 15 different e-liquids inside a 49 m3 room and comparison with tobacco smoke are discussed. High temporal resolution measurements were performed under natural ventilation conditions to simulate a realistic exposure scenario. Results showed a systematic increase in UFPs number concentration (part cm&minus, 3) related to a 20-min vaping session (from 6.56 &times, 103 to 4.01 &times, 104 part cm&minus, 3), although this was one up to two order of magnitude lower than that produced by one tobacco cigarette consumption (from 1.12 &times, 105 to 1.46 &times, 105 part cm&minus, 3). E-cig second-hand aerosol size distribution exhibits a bimodal behavior with modes at 10.8 and 29.4 nm in contrast with the unimodal typical size distribution of tobacco smoke with peak mode at 100 nm. In the size range 6&ndash, 26 nm, particles concentration in e-cig second-hand aerosol were from 2- (Dp = 25.5 nm) to 3800-fold (Dp = 9.31 nm) higher than in tobacco smoke highlighting that particles exhaled by users and potentially inhaled by bystanders are nano-sized with high penetration capacity into human airways.

Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is a rare neoplasm related to asbestos exposure and with high mortality rate. The management of patients with MPM is complex and controversial, particularly with regard to early diagnosis. In the last few years, breath analysis has been greatly implemented with this aim. In this review the strengths of breath analysis and preliminary results in searching breath biomarkers of MPM are highlighted and discussed, respectively. Through a systematic electronic literature search, collecting papers published from 2000 until December 2018, fifteen relevant scientific papers were selected. All papers considered were prospective, comparative, observational case–control studies although every single one pilot and based on a relatively small number of samples. The identification of diagnostic VOCs pattern, through breath sample characterization and the statistical data treatment, allows to obtain a strategic information for clinical diagnostics. To date the collected data provide just preliminary information and, despite the promising results and diagnostic accuracy, conclusions cannot be generalized due to the limited number of individuals included in each cohort study. Furthermore none of studies was externally validated, although validation process is a necessary step towards clinical implementation. Breathomics-based biomarker approach should be further explored to confirm and validate preliminary findings and to evaluate its potential role in monitoring the therapeutic response.

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%

Background The burden of COVID-19 was extremely severe in Northern Italy, an area characterized by high concentrations of particulate matter (PM), which is known to negatively affect human health. Consistently with evidence already available for other viruses, we initially hypothesized the possibility of SARS-CoV-2 presence on PM, and we performed a first experiment specifically aimed at confirming or excluding this research hyphotesys. Methods We have colelcted 34 PM10 samples in Bergamo area (the epicenter of the Italian COVID-19 epidemic) by using two air samplers over a continuous 3-weeks period. Filters were properly stored and underwent RNA extraction and amplification according to WHO protocols in two parallel blind analyses performed by two different authorized laboratories. Up to three highly specific molecular marker genes (E, N, and RdRP) were used to test the presence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA on particulate matter. Results The first test showed positive results for gene E in 15 out of 16 samples, simultaneously displaying positivity also for RdRP gene in 4 samples. The second blind test got 5 additional positive results for at least one ofthe three marker genes. Overall, we tested 34 RNA extractions for the E, N and RdRP genes, reporting 20 positive results for at least one of the three marker genes, with positivity separately confirmed for all the three markers. Control tests to exclude false positivities were successfully accomplished. Conclusion This is the first evidence that SARS-CoV-2 RNA can be present on PM, thus suggesting a possible use as indicator of epidemic recurrence., Highlights • COVID-19 burden seems more severe in areas with high concentrations of PM. • Particulate matter is already known to have negative effects on human health. • This is the first evidence that SARS-CoV-2RNA can be found on particulate matter.

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.

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 indoor air quality and introduced new sources of risk to humans. Indoor environments include home, workplaces such as offices, public buildings such as hospitals, schools, kindergartens, sports halls, libraries, restaurants and bars, theaters 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. Moreover, 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. In this review, the authors explore the methodological approaches used for the assessment of air quality in schools: monitoring strategies, sampling and analysis techniques and summarizing an overview of main findings from scientific literature concerning the most common pollutants found in school environments.

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.

This paper analyses elemental (EC), organic (OC) and total carbon (TC) concentration in PM2.5 and PM10 samples collected over the last few years within several national and European projects at 37 remote, rural, urban, and traffic sites across the Italian peninsula.The purpose of the study is to obtain a picture of the spatial and seasonal variability of these aerosol species in Italy, and an insight into sources, processes and effects of meteorological conditions.OC and EC showed winter maxima and summer minima at urban and rural locations and an opposite behaviour at remote high altitude sites, where they increase during the warm period due to the rising of the Planetary Boundary Layer (PBL). The seasonal averages of OC are higher during winter compared to summer at the rural sites in the Po Valley (from 1.4 to 3.5 times), opposite to what usually occurs at rural locations, where OC increases during the warm period. This denotes the marked influence of urban areas on the surrounding rural environment in this densely populated region.The different types of sites exhibit marked differences in the average concentrations of carbonaceous aerosol and OC/EC ratio. This ratio is less sensitive to atmospheric processing than OC and EC concentrations, and hence more representative of different source types. Remote locations are characterised by the lowest levels of OC and especially EC, with OC/EC ratios ranging from 13 to 20, while the maximum OC and EC concentrations are observed at road-traffic influenced urban sites, where the OC/EC ratio ranges between 1 and 3. The highest urban impacts of OC and EC relative to remote and rural background sites occur in the Po Valley, especially in the city of Milan, which has the highest concentrations of PM and TC and low values of the OC/EC ratio. •We compared OC and EC data from different sites across the Italian Peninsula.•OC and EC concentration maxima occur during winter and minima during summer at all except remote sites.•Higher OC levels characterize the Po Valley compared to the rest of Italy both during summer and winter.•Biomass burning for residential heating strongly affects winter OC concentrations in the Po Valley.•Carbonaceous matter contribution to PM2.5 ranges between 37% at rural and 47% at traffic sites, on an annual basis

Chemical composition data (ionic fraction, carbonaceous compounds and Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons) for PM2.5 were acquired during 2005–2007 years by seasonal sampling campaigns performed at six urban sites in Apulia Region. In addition, an industrial site was considered. Discriminant Function Analysis, Principal Component Analysis and Absolute Principal Component Scores were applied to dataset in order to identify PM2.5 sources and to estimate their contributions to samples mass. Three main sources were obtained for the urban sites: combustion processes, natural sources and secondary particulate. Moreover, the application of Principal Component Analysis on chemical and meteorological data highlighted the influence of temperature and relative humidity on natural sources, and the relevance of pressure on secondary particulate content. In PM2.5, secondary particulate contributed on average with 78% to total mass, while combustion processes and natural sources accounted, respectively, 15% and 6.5% of the fine fraction mass. For this reason the secondary background should be taken into account in order to suggest the efficient abatement strategies to improve local air quality in South of Italy.

Around 50% of the world’s population, particularly in developing countries, uses biomass as one of the most common fuels. Biomass combustion releases a considerable amount of various incomplete combustion products, including particulate matter (PM) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The paper presents the results of Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) measurements in six houses equipped with wood burning stoves or fireplaces as heating systems. The houses were monitored for 48-h periods in order to collect PM10 samples and measure PAH concentrations. The average, the maximum and the lowest values of the 12-h PM10 concentration were 68.6 μg/m3, 350.7 μg/m3 and 16.8 μg/m3 respectively. The average benzo[a]pyrene 12-h concentration was 9.4 ng/m3, while the maximum and the minimum values were 24.0 ng/m3 and 1.5 ng/m3, respectively. Continuous monitoring of PM10, PAHs, Ultra Fine Particle (UFP) and Total Volatile Organic Compounds (TVOC) was performed in order to study the progress of pollution phenomena due to biomass burning, their trends and contributions to IAQ. The results show a great heterogeneity of impacts on IAQ in terms of magnitude and behavior of the considered pollutants’ concentrations. This variability is determined by not only different combustion technologies or biomass quality, but overall by different ignition mode, feeding and flame management, which can also be different for the same house. Moreover, room dimensions and ventilation were significant factors for pollution dispersion. The increase of PM10, UFP and PAH concentrations, during lighting, was always detected and relevant. Continuous monitoring allowed singling out contributions of other domestic sources of considered pollutants such as cooking and cigarettes. Cooking contribution produced an impact on IAQ in same cases higher than that of the biomass heating system.

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.