Long-term phenol, cresols and BTEX monitoring in urban air.

This paper reports the results of a long-term monitoring of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylenes (BTEX), phenol and cresols in the air of Padua during a wide period of the year 2007 using two radial passive samplers (Radiello system) equipped with BTEX- and phenol-specific cartridges. Two sites were monitored, one in the industrial area and one close to the town centre. Relevant pollution episodes have been observed during both the winter and summer periods.

2-methylanthraquinone as a marker of occupational exposure to teak wood dust in boatyards.

A new gas chromatographic/mass spectrometric (GC/MS) method was developed to detect 2-methylanthraquinone (2-MeA) in wood dust. 2-MeA is present in teak wood (a suspected human carcinogen) but not in oak, beech, mahogany, birch, ash or pine. The method involved collection of workplace dust on filters and extraction of 2-MeA with methanol and GC/MS analysis.

Contamination of dry foods with trimethyldiphenylmethanes by migration from recycled paper and board packaging.

Contamination of foods with trimethyldiphenylmethanes is reported and the origin is shown to be migration from food packaging materials of which the use of recycled carbonless copy paper was found to be the major source. This chemical is one of the solvents used in the carbonless copy paper and its presence in food and the environment has not been previously identified. In this paper we have pursued previous studies on diisopropylnaphthalenes and hydrogenated terphenyls contamination from packaging and now report the identification of this new food contaminant and present evidence of its source.

A brush fire forensic case.

In Italy, every summer forest fires attract public attention due to the number of victims, the intensity of the fires, the areas devastated, the environmental damage and the loss of property. Excluding some fires by natural causes, other causes are related to the social, economic, and productive profile of the territory. The erroneous expectation is that wooded areas destroyed by fire can then be used for private interests.

Chemical evidence and risks associated with soybean and rapeseed meal fermentation.

The storage and transport of cereals and foodstuffs present recurrent problems. They may be attacked by insects or, under certain conditions, they may undergo spontaneous fermentation. Insect attack is normally avoided by fumigants, while fermentation, which depends on parameters such as temperature and humidity, is more difficult to stop and can produce chemical compounds which irremediably modify the nutritional and compositional properties of foodstuff.