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High airborne Alternaria spore concentrations measured in eastern Denmark have been associated with local agricultural sources. However, the density of agricultural areas is highest in western Denmark. This is the first report of airborne Alternaria spore concentrations obtained with Burkard volumetric spore sampler in western Denmark, Viborg. We compared the concentrations of airborne Alternaria spores and the patterns of air mass transport using HYSPLIT model between Copenhagen and Viborg for the seasons 2012–2015, with the main focus on the days with daily average Alternaria spore concentrations ≥ 100 s m −3 (high concentration days). Except for 2012, Annual Spore Integrals (ASIns) were on average 3335 s day m −3 higher in Viborg than in Copenhagen. The high concentration days during 2012–2015 occurred more frequently and with higher values in Viborg (96 days; mean = 381 s m −3 ) than in Copenhagen (79 days; mean = 270 s m −3 ). We found increased shares of trajectories coming from South-East on the high concentration days and increased shares of trajectories coming from the West and North-West on the days with concentrations below 100 s m −3 for both stations. July and August had the highest spore integrals matching the periods of grain harvesting in Denmark. The absence of the concurrent grain harvesting in Denmark was associated with the lowest ASIns in 2012. The results of this study support the hypothesis that local sources cause the main load of airborne Alternaria spore concentrations in Denmark; however, the contribution from the remote source areas in northern Germany, Poland and southern Sweden remains unquantified.

Cladosporium spp. are omnipresent moulds that grow on multiple substrates. Their spores possess a high allergenic potential. Currently, little is known about the incidence and the sources of airborne Cladosporium spores in Denmark. Air samples were collected between 31 May and 22 September 2015 in Viborg (Jutland, western Denmark). Eighteen out of 21 days with daily average concentrations exceeding the health-relevant threshold of 3000 Spores m−3, including the day with peak daily (13,553 Spores m−3) and 3-h concentrations (35,662 Spores m−3), occurred in August. The air masses that approached Viborg during the longest episode of elevated spore concentrations originated from northern Poland, the Baltics, passing over southern Sweden and the eastern Danish island of Zealand. The Cladosporium spore concentrations from Viborg were compared with the Cladosporium spore concentrations from the operational monitoring station in Copenhagen (Zealand, eastern Denmark). During the episode, concentrations in Viborg were on average 2268 spores m−3 higher than in Copenhagen. On the peak day between 8:00 and 15:00, concentrations in Viborg were 4–7 times higher than in Copenhagen, which we associated with grain crop harvesting in eastern Jutland. Elevated day time concentrations in Viborg on the days with daily average concentrations exceeding the threshold also indicate the local character of the sources.

Cladosporium spp. and Alternaria spp. spores are dominating the airspora of Denmark. Currently, little is known about the influence of climate change on the fungal spore abundance in the air. The aim of this study was to examine temporal changes in airborne Alternaria and Cladosporium spores over 26 years. This is the first report of long-term airborne Cladosporium spore occurrence in Denmark. Air spore concentrations were obtained with a Burkard volumetric spore sampler placed in Copenhagen, Denmark, during June–September, 1990–2015. The highest monthly Spore integrals (SIn) for Alternaria were measured in August, whereas for Cladosporium July SIn was nearly as high as August SIn. Average Alternaria seasonal spore integral (SSIn) was 8615 Spores day m−3, while average 3-month (July–September) Cladosporium SIn was 375,533 Spores day m−3. Despite increasing annual temperature and decreasing relative humidity, we found a decreasing trend for Alternaria seasonal SIn (Slope = − 277, R2 = 0.38, p < 0.05), Alternaria (Slope = − 31, R2 = 0.27, p < 0.05) and Cladosporium (Slope = − 440, R2 = 0.23, p < 0.05) annual peak concentrations. We did not find any statistically significant trends for airborne Alternaria seasonal characteristics and duration, and likewise for Cladosporium 3-month SIn and peak concentration dates. Mean temperature was the main meteorological factor affecting daily spore concentrations. However, effect of meteorological parameters on daily spore concentrations was stronger for Cladosporium (R2 = 0.41) than for Alternaria (R2 = 0.21). Both genera had diurnal peaks during the day hours, earlier for Cladosporium (11:30–14:30) and later for Alternaria (15:00–19:00). Although Alternaria and Cladosporium daily concentrations were moderately correlated (Spearman’s correlation coefficient: rs = 0.55, p < 0.05), their overall annual indices were different, which indicates different sources and different factors determining spore release. We explain temporal decreasing trends in Alternaria SSIn by growing urbanisation around Copenhagen and by changes in agricultural practices.

In recent years, residential wood combustion (RWC) has become a major source of ambient particulate matter (PM) in many developed countries, and in some of these countries even the largest source of primary particle emissions. While other sources of PM have been regulated intensively during the past decades, RWC has been subject to only minor regulation despite of its impact on climate and health. This review covers recent research publications on RWC contributions to ambient PM in different regions of Europe, North America and Australasia, and on key species associated with RWC. Furthermore, factors governing emissions from wood stoves (as the typical appliance used in residential heating) are evaluated. State-of-the-art methods for estimating RWC as a source of ambient PM are discussed. We conclude by highlighting important areas for future research and policies.

Exposure to ultrafine particles (UFP) may have adverse health effects. Central monitoring stations do not represent the personal exposure to UFP accurately. Few studies have previously focused on personal exposure to UFP. Sixty non-smoking residents living in Copenhagen, Denmark were asked to carry a backpack equipped with a portable monitor, continuously recording particle number concentrations (PN), in order to measure the real-time individual exposure over a period of similar to 48 h. A GPS logger was carried along with the particle monitor and allowed us to estimate the contribution of UFP exposure occurring in various microenvironments (residence, during active and passive transport, other indoor and outdoor environments) to the total daily exposure. On average, the fractional contribution of each microenvironment to the daily integrated personal exposure roughly corresponded to the fractions of the day the subjects spent in each microenvironment. The home environment accounted for 50% of the daily personal exposure. Indoor environments other than home or vehicles contributed with similar to 40%. The highest median UFP concentration was obtained during passive transport (vehicles). However, being in transit or outdoors contributed 5% or less to the daily exposure. Additionally, the subjects recorded in a diary the periods when they were at home. With this approach, 66% of the total daily exposure was attributable to the home environment. The subjects spent 28% more time at home according to the diary, compared to the GPS. These results may indicate limitations of using diaries, but also possible inaccuracy and miss-classification in the GPS data. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. (Less)

Exposure to particles in the fine and ultrafine size range has been linked to induction of low-grade systemic inflammation, oxidative stress and development of cardiovascular diseases. Declining levels of endothelial progenitor cells within systemic circulation have likewise been linked to progression of cardiovascular diseases. The objective was to determine if exposure to fine and ultrafine particles from indoor and outdoor sources, assessed by personal and residential indoor monitoring, is associated with altered levels of endothelial progenitor cells, and whether such effects are related to leukocyte-mediated oxidative stress. The study utilized a cross sectional design performed in 58 study participants from a larger cohort. Levels of circulating endothelial progenitor cells, defined as either late (CD34(+)KDR(+) cells) or early (CD34(+)CD133(+)KDR(+) cells) subsets were measured using polychromatic flow cytometry. We additionally measured production of reactive oxygen species in leukocyte subsets (lymphocytes, monocytes and granulocytes) by flow cytometry using intracellular 2',7'-dichlorofluoroscein. The measurements encompassed both basal levels of reactive oxygen species production and capacity for reactive oxygen species production for each leukocyte subset. We found that the late endothelial progenitor subset was negatively associated with levels of ultrafine particles measured within the participant residences and with reactive oxygen species production capacity in lymphocytes. Additionally, the early endothelial progenitor cell levels were positively associated with a personalised measure of ultrafine particle exposure and negatively associated with both basal and capacity for reactive oxygen species production in lymphocytes and granulocytes, respectively. Our results indicate that exposure to fine and ultrafine particles derived from indoor sources may have adverse effects on human vascular health.

BACKGROUND: Exposure to ambient air particulate matter (PM) has been linked to decline in pulmonary function and cardiovascular events possibly through inflammation. Little is known about individual exposure to ultrafine particles (UFP) inside and outside modern homes and associated health-related effects.METHODS: Associations between vascular and lung function, inflammation markers and exposure in terms of particle number concentration (PNC; d = 10-300 nm) were studied in a cross-sectional design with personal and home indoor monitoring in the Western Copenhagen Area, Denmark. During 48-h, PNC and PM2.5 were monitored in living rooms of 60 homes with 81 non-smoking subjects (30-75 years old), 59 of whom carried personal monitors both when at home and away from home. We measured lung function in terms of the FEV1/FVC ratio, microvascular function (MVF) and pulse amplitude by digital artery tonometry, blood pressure and biomarkers of inflammation including C-reactive protein, and leukocyte counts with subdivision in neutrophils, eosinophils, monocytes, and lymphocytes in blood.RESULTS: PNC from personal and stationary home monitoring showed weak correlation (r = 0.15, p = 0.24). Personal UFP exposure away from home was significantly inversely associated with MVF (1.3% decline per interquartile range, 95% confidence interval: 0.1-2.5%) and pulse amplitude and positively associated with leukocyte and neutrophil counts. The leukocyte and neutrophil counts were also positively and pulse amplitude negatively associated with total personal PNC. Indoor PNC and PM2.5 showed positive association with blood pressure and inverse association with eosinophil counts.CONCLUSIONS: The inverse association between personal exposure away from home and MVF is consistent with adverse health effects of UFP from sources outside the home and might be related to increased inflammation indicated by leukocyte counts, whereas UFP from sources in the home could have less effect.

The EU Air Quality Directive requires Member States to perform Air Quality Monitoring in order to assess ambient air quality for compliance checking with air quality limit values (http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2008:152:0001:0044:en:PDF). This monitoring needs to include areas with the highest concentrations to which the population is exposed, but also areas which are representative for the exposure of the general population; in both cases for the protection of human health as well as for protecting biodiversity in ecosystems. The current project aims at obtaining a detailed dataset for the spatial air pollution distribution in a very busy street, H.C. Andersens Boulevard in Copenhagen; a street where a monitoring site has already been in place for many years. The dataset will be established for the further development of the Operational Street Pollution Model (OSPM) developed at AU; the revised version OSPM includes new features like inhomogeneous distribution of the traffic on different lanes, slope of the street etc (see e.g. Ottosen et al. (2015)). An additional goal for the project is to explore the applicability of low-cost electrochemical sensors for describing pollution distributions in busy streets. The focus of the project is on nitrogen dioxide (NO¬2) for which concentrations in recent years have been exceeding EU limit values. The EU limit values have been exceeded since a change of lanes in the street moved traffic closer to the monitoring station. In order to get more detailed information about the traffic flow and its diurnal pattern, manual traffic counts have been performed over 24 hours. In addition a video camera has been installed on the roof of a building next to the street during the monitoring campaign. Measurements are carried out using passive samplers from Radiello (http://www.radiello.com/english/index_en.html) for weekly measurements and devices based on electrochemical sensors from Alphasense (http://www.alphasense.com/) with high temporal resolution. Data from the devices based on electrochemical sensors and the passive samplers will be carefully compared with high quality data obtained from the existing monitoring station (which is also operated by AU).References