Vertical particle concentration profiles around urban office buildings

Despite its role in determining both indoor and outdoor human exposure to anthropogenic particles, there is limited information describing vertical profiles of particle concentrations in urban environments, especially for ultrafine particles. Furthermore, the results of the few studies performed have been inconsistent. As such, this study aimed to assess the influence of vehicle emissions and nucleation formation on particle characteristics (particle number size distribution-PNSD and PM 2.5 concentration) at different heights around three urban office buildings located next to busy roads in Brisbane, Australia, and place these results in the broader context of the existing literature. Two sets of instruments were used to simultaneously measure PNSD, particle number (PN) and PM 2.5 concentrations, respectively, for up to three weeks at each building. The results showed that both PNSD and PM 2.5 concentration around building envelopes were influenced by vehicle emissions and new particle formation, and that they exhibited variability across the three different office buildings. During nucleation events, PN concentration in size range of <30 nm and total PN concentration increased (7-65% and 5-46%, respectively), while PM 2.5 concentration decreased (36-52%) with height. This study has shown an under acknowledged role for nucleation in producing particles that can affect large numbers of people, due to the high density and occupancy of urban office buildings and the fact that the vast majority of people's time is spent indoors. These findings highlight important new information related to the previously overlooked role of particle formation in the urban atmosphere and its potential effects on selection of air intake locations and appropriate filter types when designing or upgrading mechanical ventilation systems in urban office buildings. The results also serve to better define particle behaviour and variability around building envelopes, which has implications for studies of both human exposure and particle dynamics. © 2012 Author(s).

Ozone-initiated particle formation, particle aging, and precursors in a laser printer

An increasing number of researchers have hypothesized that ozone may be involved in the particle formation processes that occur during printing, however no studies have investigated this further. In the current study, this hypothesis was tested in a chamber study by adding supplemental ozone to the chamber after a print job without measurable ozone emissions. Subsequent particle number concentration and size distribution measurements showed that new particles were formed minutes after the addition of ozone. The results demonstrated that ozone did react with printer-generated volatile organic compounds (VOCs) to form secondary organic aerosols (SOAs). The hypothesis was further confirmed by the observation of correlations among VOCs, ozone, and particles concentrations during a print job with measurable ozone emissions. The potential particle precursors were identified by a number of furnace tests, which suggested that squalene and styrene were the most likely SOA precursors with respect to ozone. Overall, this study significantly improved scientific understanding of the formation mechanisms of printer-generated particles, and highlighted the possible SOA formation potential of unsaturated nonterpene organic compounds by ozone-initiated reactions in the indoor environment. © 2011 American Chemical Society.

Physicochemical characterization of particulate emissions from a compression ignition engine employing two injection technologies and three fuels

Alternative fuels and injection technologies are a necessary component of particulate emission reduction strategies for compression ignition engines. Consequently, this study undertakes a physicochemical characterization of diesel particulate matter (DPM) for engines equipped with alternative injection technologies (direct injection and common rail) and alternative fuels (ultra low sulfur diesel, a 20% biodiesel blend, and a synthetic diesel). Particle physical properties were addressed by measuring particle number size distributions, and particle chemical properties were addressed by measuring polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and reactive oxygen species (ROS). Particle volatility was determined by passing the polydisperse size distribution through a thermodenuder set to 300 °C. The results from this study, conducted over a four point test cycle, showed that both fuel type and injection technology have an impact on particle emissions, but injection technology was the more important factor. Significant particle number emission (54%–84%) reductions were achieved at half load operation (1% increase–43% decrease at full load) with the common rail injection system; however, the particles had a significantly higher PAH fraction (by a factor of 2 to 4) and ROS concentrations (by a factor of 6 to 16) both expressed on a test-cycle averaged basis. The results of this study have significant implications for the health effects of DPM emissions from both direct injection and common rail engines utilizing various alternative fuels.

Tracheobronchial and alveolar dose of submicrometer particles for different population age groups in Italy

Exposure to ultrafine particles (diameter less than 100 nm) is an important topic in epidemiological and toxicological studies. This study used the average particle number size distribution data obtained from our measurement survey in major micro-environments, together with the people activity pattern data obtained from the Italian Human Activity Pattern Survey to estimate the tracheobronchial and alveolar dose of submicrometer particles for different population age groups in Italy. We developed a numerical methodology based on Monte Carlo method, in order to estimate the best combination from a probabilistic point of view. More than 106 different cases were analyzed according to a purpose built sub-routine and our results showed that the daily alveolar particle number and surface area deposited for all of the age groups considered was equal to 1.5 x 1011 particles and 2.5 x 1015 m2, respectively, varying slightly for males and females living in Northern or Southern Italy. In terms of tracheobronchial deposition, the corresponding values for daily particle number and surface area for all age groups was equal to 6.5 x 1010 particles and 9.9 x 1014 m2, respectively. Overall, the highest contributions were found to come from indoor cooking (female), working time (male) and transportation (i.e. traffic derived particles) (children).

Influence of organic matter in road deposited particulates in heavy metal accumulation and transport

The research study discussed in the paper investigated the influence of organic matter on heavy metal adsorption for different particle size ranges of build-up solids. Samples collected from road surfaces were assessed for organic matter content, mineral composition, particle size distribution and effective cation exchange capacity. It was found that the organic matter plays a key role in >75µm particles in the adsorption of Zinc, Lead, Nickel and Copper, which are generated by traffic activities. Clay forming minerals and metal oxides of Iron, Aluminium and Manganese was found to be important for heavy metal adsorption to <75µm particles. It was also found that heavy metals adsorbed to organic matter are strongly bound to particles and these metal ions will not be bio-available if the chemical quality of the media remains stable.

Observation of new particle formation in subtropical urban environment

The aim of this study was to characterise the new particle formation events in a subtropical urban environment in the southern hemisphere. The study measured the number concentration of particles and its size distribution in Brisbane, Australia during 2009. The variation of particle number concentration and nucleation burst events were characterised as well as the particle growth rate which was first reported in urban environment of Australia. The annual average NUFP, NAitken and NNuc were 9.3 x 103, 3.7 x 103 and 5.6 x 103 cm-3, respectively. Weak seasonal variation in number concentration was observed. Local traffic exhaust emissions were a major contributor of the pollution (NUFP) observed in morning which was dominated by the Aitken mode particles, while particles formed by secondary formation processes contributed to the particle number concentration during afternoon. Overall, 65 nucleation burst events were identified during the study period. Nucleation burst events were classified into two groups, with and without particles growth after the burst of nucleation mode particles observed. The average particle growth rate of the nucleation events was 4.6 nm hr-1 (ranged from 1.79 – 7.78 nm hr-1). Case studies of the nucleation burst events were characterised including i) the nucleation burst with particle growth which is associated with the particle precursor emitted from local traffic exhaust emission, ii) the nucleation burst without particle growth which is due to the transport of industrial emissions from the coast to Brisbane city or other possible sources with unfavourable conditions which suppressed particle growth and iii) interplay between the above two cases which demonstrated the impact of the vehicle and industrial emissions on the variation of particle number concentration and its size distribution during the same day.

Restructuring of carbonaceous particles upon exposure to organic vapours

Recent research has described the restructuring of particles upon exposure to organic vapours; however, as yet hypotheses able to explain this phenomenon are limited. In this study, a range of experiments were performed to explore different hypotheses related to carbonaceous particle restructuring upon exposure to organic and water vapours, such as: the effect of surface tension, the role of organics in flocculating primary particles, as well as the ability of vapours to “wet” the particle surface. The change in mobility diameter (dm) was investigated for a range carbonaceous particle types (diesel exhaust, petrol exhaust, cigarette smoke, candle smoke, particles generated in a heptane/toluene flame, and wood smoke particles) exposed to different organic (heptane, ethanol, and dimethyl sulfoxide/water (1:1 vol%) mixture) and water vapours. Particles were first size-selected and then bubbled through an impinger (bubbler) containing either an organic solvent or water, where particles trapped inside rising bubbles were exposed to saturated vapours of the solvent in the impinger. The size distribution of particles was simultaneously measured upstream and downstream from the impinger. A size-dependent reduction in dm was observed when bubbling diesel exhaust, particles generated in a heptane/toluene flame, and candle smoke particles through heptane, ethanol and a dimethyl sulfoxide/water (1:1 vol %) mixture. In addition, the size distributions of particles bubbled through an impinger were broader. Moreover, an increase of the geometric standard deviation (σ) of the size distributions of particles bubbled through an impinger was also found to be size-dependent. Size-dependent reduction in dm and an increase of σ indicate that particles undergo restructuring to a more compact form, which was confirmed by TEM analysis. However, bubbling of these particles through water did not result in a size-dependent reduction in dm, nor in an increase of σ. Cigarette smoke, petrol exhaust, and wood smoke particles did not result in any substantial change in dm, or σ, when bubbled through organic solvents or water. Therefore, size-dependent reduction in the dm upon bubbling through organic solvents was observed only for particles that had a fractal-like structure, whilst particles that were liquid or were assumed to be spherical did not exhibit any reduction in dm. Compaction of fractal-like particles was attributed to the ability of condensing vapours to efficiently wet the particles. Our results also show that the presence of an organic layer on the surface of fractal-like particles, or the surface tension of the condensed liquid do not influence the extent of compaction.

Could BFFB mode breath aerosol play a role in H5N1 transmission?

Recent findings concerning exhaled aerosol size distributions and the regions in the respiratory tract in which they are generated could have significant implications for human to human spread of lower respiratory tract-specific infections. Even in healthy people, measurable quantities of aerosol are routinely generated from the Lower Respiratory Tract (LRT) during breathing(1-3). We have found that there at least three modes in the exhaled aerosol size distribution of healthy adults(4) (see Figure 1). These modes each have a characteristic size and arise from different parts of the respiratory tract. The respiratory bronchioles produce aerosol during breathing, the larynx during speech and the oral cavity also during speech. The model of the resulting droplet size distribution is therefore called the Bronchial Laryngeal Oral (B.L.O.) tri-modal model of expired aerosol.

Airborne particle concentrations at schools measured at different spatial scales

Potential adverse effects on children health may result from school exposure to airborne particles. To address this issue, measurements in terms of particle number concentration, particle size distribution and black carbon (BC) concentrations were performed in three school buildings in Cassino (Italy) and its suburbs, outside and inside of the classrooms during normal occupancy and use. Additional time resolved information was gathered on ventilation condition, classroom activity, and traffic count data around the schools were obtained using a video camera. Across the three investigated school buildings, the outdoor and indoor particle number concentration monitored down to 4 nm and up to 3 m ranged from 2.8×104 part cm-3 to 4.7×104 part cm-3 and from 2.0×104 part cm-3 to 3.5×104 part cm-3, respectively. The total particle concentrations were usually higher outdoors than indoors, because no indoor sources were detected. I/O measured was less than 1 (varying in a relatively narrow range from 0.63 to 0.74), however one school exhibited indoor concentrations higher than outdoor during the morning rush hours. Particle size distribution at the outdoor site showed high particle concentrations in different size ranges, varying during the day; in relation to the starting and finishing of school time two modes were found. BC concentrations were 5 times higher at the urban school compared with the suburban and suburban-to-urban differences were larger than the relative differences of ultrafine particle concentrations.

Particle nucleation in urban subtropical atmosphere

New particle formation (NPF) and growth have been observed in different environments all around the world and NPF affects the environment by forming cloud condensation nuclei (CCN). Detailed characterisation of NPF events in a subtropical urban environment is the main aim of this study. Particle size distribution (PSD) of atmospheric aerosol particles in range 9-414 nm were measured using a Scanning Mobility Particle Sizer (SMPS), within the framework of the “Ultrafine Particles from Traffic Emissions and Children’s Health” (UPTECH) study, which seeks to determine the relationship between exposure to traffic related ultrafine particles and children’s health (http://www.ilaqh.qut. edu.au/Misc/UPTECH%20Home.htm). The UPTECH study includes measurements of air quality, meteorological and traffic parameters in 25 randomly selected state primary school within the Brisbane metropolitan area, in Queensland, Australia. Measurements at 17 schools have been completed so far.

An investigation of gaseous and particulate emissions from compression ignition engines operated with alternative fuels, injection technologies, and combustion strategies

Whilst the compression ignition (CI) engine exhibits many design advantages relative to its spark ignition engine counterpart; such as: high thermal efficiency, fuel economy and low carbon monoxide and hydrocarbon emissions, the issue of Diesel Particulate Matter (DPM) emissions continues to be an unresolved problem for the CI engine. Primarily, this thesis investigates a range of DPM mitigation strategies such as alternative fuels, injection technologies and combustion strategies conducted with a view to determine their impact on the physico-chemical properties of DPM emissions, and consequently to shed light on their likely human health impacts. Regulated gaseous emissions, Nitric oxide (NO), Carbon monoxide (CO), and Hydrocarbons (HCs), were measured in all experimental campaigns, although the major focus in this research program was on particulate emissions...

Airborne concentration of Volatile Organic Compounds in school environment in Brisbane

Traffic emissions are considered as a major source of pollutants, particularly ultrafine particles, in the urban environment. There is an increased concern about airborne particles not only because of their environmental effects but also due to their potential adverse health effects on humans. There have been a number of studies related to the number concentration and size distribution of these particles but studies on the chemical composition of aerosols, especially in the school environment, are very limited. Mejia et. al (2011) reviewed studies on the exposure to and impact of air pollutants on school children and found that there were only a handful of studies on this topic. Therefore, the main focus of this research is on an analysis of the chemical composition of airborne particles, as well as source apportionment and the quantification of ambient concentrations of organic pollutants in the vicinity of schools, as a part of “Ultrafine Particles from Traffic Emissions on Children’s Health” (UPTECH) project. The aim of the present study was to find out the concentrations of different Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) in both outdoor and indoor locations from six different schools in Brisbane.

Influence of filtration on I/O particle concentration ratios at urban office buildings

Epidemiological research has consistently shown an association between fine and ultrafine particle concentrations, and increases in both respiratory and cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. These particles, often found in vehicle emissions outside buildings, can penetrate inside via their envelopes and mechanically ventilated systems. Indoor activities such as printing, cooking and cleaning, as well as the movement of building occupants are also an additional source of these particles. In this context, the filtration systems of mechanically ventilated buildings can reduce indoor particle concentrations. Several studies have quantified the efficiency of dry-media and electrostatic filters, but they mainly focused on the particle size range > 300 nm. Some others studied ultrafine particles but their investigations were conducted in laboratories. At this point, there is still only limited information on in situ filter efficiency and an incomplete understanding of filtration influence on I/O ratios of particle concentrations. To help address these gaps in knowledge and provide new information for the selection of appropriate filter types in office building HVAC systems, we aimed to: (1) measure particle concentrations at up and down stream flows of filter devices, as well as outdoor and indoor office buildings; (2) quantify efficiency of different filter types at different buildings; and (3) assess the impact of these filters on I/O ratios at different indoor and outdoor source operation scenarios.

GABAergic modification of myopic and hyperopic ocular tissue effects on scleral fibroblast growth

Purpose: Myopia is a common eye disorder affecting up to 90% of children in South East Asia and 30% of the population worldwide. Myopia of high severity is a leading cause of blindness around the world (4th to 5th most common). Changes and remodelling of the sclera i.e. increase cellular proliferation & increase protein synthesis within scleral cells (↑ scleral DNA) and thinning and lose of extracellular matrix of sclera (↓ scleral GAG synthesis) have been linked to myopic eye growth in animal models. Signals acting on the sclera are thought to originate in the retina, and are modulated by the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) with limited evidence suggesting that the RPE can modify scleral cell growth in culture. However, the mechanism of retinal signal transmission and the role of posterior eye cup tissue, including the RPE, in mediating changes in scleral fibroblast growth during myopia development are unclear. Retinal transmitter systems are critically involved in pathways regulating eye growth, which ultimately lead to alterations in the sclera if eye size is to change. A dopaminergic agonist and muscarinic antagonists decrease the proliferation of scleral chondrocytes when co-cultured with chick’s retinal pigment epithelium (RPE). GABA receptors have recently been localised to chick sclera. We therefore hypothesised that posterior eye cup tissue from myopic eyes would stimulate and from hyperopic eyes would inhibit growth of scleral fibroblasts in vitro and that GABAergic agents could directly interact with scleral cells or indirectly modify the effects of myopic and hyperopic posterior eye cup tissue on scleral fibroblast growth. Method: Fibroblastic cells obtained from 8-day-old chick sclera were used to establish cell banks. Two major experiments were performed. Experiment 1: To determine if posterior eye cup tissues from myopic eye stimulates and hyperopic eye inhibits scleral cell proliferation, when co-cultured with scleral cells in vitro. This study comprised two linked experiments, i) monocular visual treatments of FDM (form-deprivation myopia), LIM (lens-induced myopia) and LIH (lens-induced hyperopia) with assessment of the effect of full punch eye cup tissue on DNA and GAG synthesis by cultured chick scleral fibroblasts, and ii) binocular visual treatments comprising LIM and LIH with assessment of the effect of individual layers of eye cup tissues (neural retina, RPE and choroid) on cultured chick scleral fibroblasts. Visual treatment was applied for 3 days. Experiment 2: To determine the direct interaction of GABA agents on scleral cell growth and to establish whether GABA agents modify the stimulatory/inhibitory effect of myopic and hyperopic posterior eye cup tissues on cultured scleral cell growth in vitro. Two linked experiments were performed. i) GABA agonists (muscimol and baclofen) and GABA antagonists (bicuculine (-), CGP46381 and TPMPA) were added to scleral cell culture medium to determine their direct effect on scleral cells. ii) GABAergic agents (agonists and antagonists) were administered to scleral fibroblasts co-cultured with posterior eye cup tissue (retina, RPE, retina/RPE, RPE/choroid). Ocular tissues were obtained from chick eyes wearing +15D (LIH) or -15D lenses (LIM) for 3 days. In both experiments, tissues were added to hanging cell culture insert (pore size 1.0ìm) placed over each well of 24 well plates while scleral cells were cultured in DMEM/F12, Glutamax (Gibco) plus 10% FBS and penicillin/streptomycin (50U/ml)) and fungizone (1.25ug/ml) (Gibco), at seeding density of 30,000 cells/well at the bottom of the well and allowed to grow for 3 days. Scleral cells proliferation rate throughout the study was evaluated by determining GAG and DNA content of scleral cells using Dimethylmethylene blue (DMMB) dye and Quant-iTTm Pico Green® dsDNA reagent respectively. Results and analysis: Based on DNA and GAG content, there was no significant difference in tissue effect of LIM and LIH eyes on scleral fibroblast growth (DNA: 8.4 ± 1.1μg versus 9.3 ± 2.3 μg, p=0.23; GAG: 10.13 ± 1.4 μg versus 12.67 ± 1.2 μg, F2,23=6.16, p=0.0005) when tissues were obtained from monocularly treated chick eyes (FDM or +15D lens or -15D lens over right eyes with left eyes untreated) and co-cultured as full punch. When chick eyes were treated binocularly with -15D lens (LIM) right eye and +15D lens (LIH) left eyes and tissue layers were separated, the retina from LIM eyes did not stimulate scleral cell proliferation compared to LIH eyes (DNA: 27.2 ± 6.7 μg versus 23.2 ± 1.5 μg, p=0.23; GAG: 28.1 ±3.7 μg versus 28.7 ± 4.2 μg, p=0.21). Similarly, the LIH and LIM choroid did not produce a differential effect based on DNA (LIM 46.9 ± 6.4 μg versus LIH 53.5 ± 4.7 μg, p=0.18), however the choroid from LIH eyes induced higher scleral GAG content than from LIM eyes (32.5 ± 6.7 μg versus 18.9 ± 1.2 μg, p=0.023). In contrast, the RPE from LIM eyes caused a significant increase in fibroblast proliferation whereas the RPE from LIH eyes was relatively inhibitory (72.4 ± 6.3 μg versus 27.9 ± 2.3 μg, F1, 6=69.99, p=0.0005). GAG data were opposite to DNA data e.g. the RPE from LIH eyes increased (33.7 ± 7.9 μg) while the RPE from LIM eyes decreased (28.2 ± 3.0 μg) scleral cell growth (F1, 6=13.99, p=0.010). Based on DNA content, GABA agents had a small direct effect on scleral cell growth; GABA agonists increased (21.4 ± 1.0% and 18.3 ± 1.0% with muscimol and baclofen, p=0.0021), whereas GABA antagonists decreased fibroblast proliferation (-23.7 ± 0.9% with bicuculine & CGP46381 and -28.1 ± 0.5% with TPMPA, p=0.0004). GABA agents also modified the effect of LIM and LIH tissues (p=0.0005).The increase in proliferation rate of scleral fibroblasts co-cultured with tissues (RPE, retina, RPE/retina and RPE/choroid) from LIM treated eyes was enhanced by GABA agonists (muscimol: 27.4 ± 1.2%, 35.8 ± 1.6%, 8.4 ± 0.3% and 11.9 ± 0.6%; baclofen: 27.0 ± 1.0%, 15.8 ± 1.5%, 16.8 ± 1.2% and 15.4 ± 0.4%, p=0.014) whereas GABA antagonists further reduced scleral fibroblasts growth (bicuculine: -52.5 ± 2.5%, -36.9 ± 1.4%, -37.5 ± 0.6% and -53.7 ± 0.9%; TPMPA: 57.3 ± 1.3%, -15.7 ± 1.2%, -33.5 ± 0.4% and -45.9 ± 1.5%; CGP46381: -51.9 ± 1.6%, -28.5 ± 1.5%, -25.4 ± 2.0% and -45.5 ± 1.9% respectively, p=0.0034). GAG data were opposite to DNA data throughout the experiment e.g. GABA agonists further inhibited while antagonists relatively enhanced scleral fibroblasts growth for both LIM and LIH tissue co-culture. The effect of GABA agents was relatively lower (p=0.0004) for tissue from LIH versus LIM eyes but was in a similar direction. There was a significant drug effect on all four tissue types e.g. RPE, retina, RPE/retina and RPE/choroid for both LIM and LIH tissue co-culture (F20,92=3.928, p=0.0005). However, the effect of GABA agents was greatest in co-culture with RPE tissue (F18,36=4.865, p=0.0005). Summary and Conclusion: 1) Retinal defocus signals are transferred to RPE and choroid which then exert their modifying effect on scleral GAG and DNA synthesis either through growth stimulating factors or directly interacting with scleral cells in process of scleral remodeling during LIM and LIH visual conditions. 2) GABAergic agents affect the proliferation of scleral fibroblasts both directly and when co-cultured with ocular tissues in vitro.

The El Chichon stratospheric cloud : solid particulates and settling rates

Sampling of the El Chichón stratospheric cloud in early May and in late July, 1982, showed that a significant proportion of the cloud consisted of solid particles between 2 μm and 40 μm size. In addition, many particles may have been part of larger aggregates or clusters that ranged in size from < 10 μm to > 50 μm. The majority of individual grains were angular aluminosilicate glass shards with various amounts of smaller, adhering particles. Surface features on individual grains include sulfuric acid droplets and larger (0.5 μm to 1 μm) sulfate gel droplets with various amounts of Na, Mg, Ca and Fe. The sulfate gels probably formed by the interaction of sulfur-rich gases and solid particles within the cloud soon after eruption. Ca-sulfate laths may have formed by condensation within the plume during eruption, or alternatively, at a later stage by the reaction of sulfuric acid aerosols with ash fragments within the stratospheric cloud. A Wilson-Huang formulation for the settling rate of individual particles qualitatively agrees with the observed particle-size distribution for a period at least four months after injection of material into the stratosphere. This result emphasizes the importance of particle shape in controlling the settling rate of volcanic ash from the stratosphere.