Metal(loid) bioaccessibility and risk assessment of ashfall deposit from Popocatépetl volcano, Mexico.

Ash emission from volcanic eruptions affects the environment, society, and human health. This study shows the total concentration and lung bioaccessible fraction of eight potential toxic metal(loid)s in five Popocatépetl ashfall samples. Mineralogical phases and particle size distribution of the ashfall were analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) techniques, respectively.

Tracking fine particles in urban and rural environments using honey bees as biosamplers in Mexico.

This work explores the efficiency of honey bees (Apis mellifera) as biosamplers of metal pollution. To understand this, we selected two cities with different urbanization (a medium-sized city and a megacity), and we collected urban dust and honey bees captured during flight. We sampled two villages and a university campus as control areas.

Characterization and Polydispersity of Volcanic Ash Nanoparticles in Synthetic Lung Fluid.

The inhalation of natural nanoparticles (NPs) emitted from volcanic activity may be a risk to human health. However, the literature rarely reports the fate and response of NPs once in contact with lung fluids. In this work, we studied the particle size distribution of ashfall from Popocatépetl volcano, Mexico.

The wild plant Gnaphalium lavandulifolium as a sentinel for biomonitoring the effects of environmental heavy metals in the metropolitan area of México Valley.

Biomonitoring is a valuable tool for assessing the presence and effects of air pollutants such as heavy metals (HM); due to their toxicity and stability, these compounds can affect human health and the balance of ecosystems. To assess its potential as a sentinel organism of HM pollution, the wild plant Gnaphalium lavandulifolium was exposed to four sites in the metropolitan area of México Valley (MAMV): Altzomoni (ALT) Coyoacán (COY), Ecatepec (ECA), and Tlalnepantla (TLA) during 2, 4, and 8 weeks, between October and November 2019. Control plants remained under controlled conditions.

Health risk assessment of gaseous elemental mercury (GEM) in Mexico City.

Emissions of gaseous elemental mercury (GEM or Hg) from different sources in urban areas are important subjects for environmental investigations. In this study, atmospheric Hg measurements were conducted to investigate air pollution in the urban environment by carrying out several mobile surveys in Mexico City. This work presents atmospheric concentrations of GEM in terms of diurnal variation trends and comparisons with criteria for pollutant concentrations such as CO, SO, NO, PM, and PM.

Biomonitoring of airborne trace elements using transplanted lichens around a paper industry (Morelia, Mexico).

The deposition of trace elements around a pulp and paper industry in Morelia, Mexico, was evaluated using two lichen species as biomonitors. Samples of the foliose lichen Flavopunctelia praesignis and the fruticose lichen Usnea ceratina were collected in two remote areas and transplanted at different distances and directions from the pollution source. Lichen samples were exposed for 4 months (1) around the industrial area and (2) in their native habitats (control sites).

Gaseous Elemental Mercury (GEM) in the Mexico City Metropolitan Area.

This paper presents atmospheric gaseous elemental mercury (GEM) data recorded during two short-term monitoring surveys in the Mexico City Metropolitan Area (MCMA) at 12th May 2019 and at 22nd May 2020, during conditions of low and high human activity respectively. Results, although they are limited, can be considered as the representative range of exposure to GEM of the inhabitants of MCMA; differences in results reveal the impact of human activities on GEM background levels (2.53 and 3.

Robinsonecio gerberifolius as a sentinel organism for atmospheric pollution by heavy metals in several sites of Mexico city and its metropolitan area.

Evaluate the effect of heavy metals (HM) on sentinel organisms such as vascular plants represent a model to estimate toxic hazard due to environmental pollution. In the present study, the plant Robinsonecio gerberifolius was used to evaluate the toxic effects of the HM contained in the leaves of plants that were exposed to 4 different sites in Mexico city and its metropolitan area, during the rainy and dry seasons in the period 2017-2019. The comet assay to evaluate genotoxicity revealed an increase with respect to control (p < 0.

Historical trends of metals concentration in PM collected in the Mexico City metropolitan area between 2004 and 2014.

In this work, we report metals concentrations in 80 PM samples collected at four sites in the Mexico City Metropolitan Area (MCMA): Tlalnepantla (NE), Xalostoc (NE), Merced (C), and Pedregal (S), during the dry/cold season (October to January) for the 2004-2014 period. Mean PM mass concentration (66.1 µg m) significantly exceeds the annual mean air quality guidelines recommended by the World Health Organization.

Mercury, Platinum, Antimony and Other Trace Elements in the Atmospheric Environment of the Urban Area of Mexico City: Use of Ficus benjamina as Biomonitor.

The application of Sb, Pt and Hg in the development of new strategic technologies has increased significantly in recent years. This study evaluates the impact of vehicular traffic on the rise in emission of Sb, Pt and Hg in the atmospheric environmen of Mexico City and their correlation to Co, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, V and Zn. Ficus benjamina leaves were collected as biomonitor of atmospheric metals deposited in areas exposed to heavy vehicular traffic.

Metal(loid) exposure on children from a historical metallurgical site.

The data obtained in this study represent a comprehensive assessment of human exposure to metal(loids) enriched in the environment, derived from metallurgical activities in Cedral, a town in North-Central Mexico. A multi-elemental analysis (As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn and Sb) shows high metal(loid) content in environmental media (tailings samples, dust samples and particulate matter < 2.5 µm collected in the urban area).

Moss (Hypnum amabile) as biomonitor of genotoxic damage and as bioaccumulator of atmospheric pollutants at five different sites of Mexico City and metropolitan area.

Mexico City has been classified as one megacity, its altitude, thermal inversions, and high seasonal radiation are factors that prevent dispersion of pollutants, which effects are detrimental to health. Therefore, it is important to have an organism that allows evaluate the damage caused by such exposure, as is the case of mosses that obtain nutrients from the atmosphere; this property makes them excellent biomonitors to evaluate genotoxic damage caused by exposure to pollutants, in addition to its large accumulation capacity. For these reasons and to relate the effects of atmospheric pollution with a biological response, we propose to use the moss Hypnum amabile as a bioaccumulator of atmospheric pollutants and biomonitor of the genotoxic effect that the air pollution can induce it through the comet assay.

Insectivorous bats as biomonitor of metal exposure in the megalopolis of Mexico and rural environments in Central Mexico.

The Megalopolis of Mexico is one of the largest cities in the world and presents substantial problems of metal pollution. Insectivorous bats that inhabit this city are potentially exposed to metals and could therefore serve as a good biomonitor. We collected 70 adult male individuals of Tadarida brasiliensis (Chiroptera: Molossidae) from two areas inside the Megalopolis (Cuautitlán and Xochimilco) and two rural environments in Central Mexico (Tequixquiac and Tlalcozotitlán).

Spatial and temporal distribution of metals in PM during 2013: assessment of wind patterns to the impacts of geogenic and anthropogenic sources.

The Mexico City Metropolitan Area (MCMA) was the object of a chemical elemental characterization (Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Co, Ni, Cu, Mo, Ag, Cd, Sb, Pb, La, Sm, Ce, and Eu) of PM collected during 2013 and analyzed by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Sampling campaigns were carried out at five locations simultaneously-northwest, northeast, center, southwest, and southeast-during dry-warm season (April), rainy season (August), and dry-cold season (November). By means of enrichment factor (EF) and principal component analysis (PCA), it was possible to attribute the analyzed elements to geogenic and anthropogenic sources, as well as to identify a group of elements with mixed provenance sources.

Atmospheric PM Mercury in the Metropolitan Area of Mexico City.

In this study, atmospheric mercury concentration in airborne particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter ≤ 2.5 µm (PM) was analyzed by ICP-MS. Samples were collected in the Mexico City Metropolitan Area (MCMA), during 2013, in five locations, Northwest, Northeast (NE), Central, Southwest and Southeast, along three seasons: dry warm, rainy, and dry cold (DC).

Recognition of the importance of geogenic sources in the content of metals in PM collected in the Mexico City Metropolitan Area.

The study of airborne metals in urban areas is relevant due to their toxic effects on human health and organisms. In this study, we analyzed metals including rare earth elements (REE) in particles smaller than 2.5 μm (PM), collected at five sites around the Mexico City Metropolitan Area (MCMA), during three periods in 2011: April (dry-warm season, DW), August (rainy season, R), and November (dry-cold season, DC).

"Microscopic evidences of heavy metals distribution and anatomic alterations in breaching-leaves of Cupressus lindleyi growing around mining wastes".

In this article a study of the distribution of heavy metals in Cupressus lindleyi breaching-leaves was done in Taxco, Guerrero. At the same, heavy metals micro-localization was conducted in the breaching-leaves to understand the structural changes provoked by mining waste on plants. The most abundant contaminants in soils, tailings and different plant organs (roots, stems, and leaves) were Zn, Mn, and Pb.

Platinum in PM2.5 of the metropolitan area of Mexico City.

The increase in platinum (Pt) in the airborne particulate matter with size ≤2.5 µm (PM2.5) in urban environments may be interpreted as result of the abrasion and deterioration of automobile catalyst.

Assessment of atmospheric metal pollution in the urban area of Mexico City, using Ficus benjamina as biomonitor.

Concentrations of vanadium, chromium, cobalt, nickel, copper, zinc, antimony, and lead were measured in Ficus benjamina leaves from the Mexico City urban area in order to assess their enrichment against background values. The instrumental analysis was performed using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry and the analytical method was tested using two certified reference materials from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (1547 Peach Leaves and 1573a Tomato Leaves). Enrichment factors were calculated, i.

Spatial distribution of heavy metals in top soils around the industrial facilities of Cromatos de México, Tultitlan Mexico.

The environmental damage caused by industrial activities in Cromatos de México, (Tultitlán, México) has been evaluated in terms of heavy metal concentrations in topsoils of the surrounding area. The concentrations of lead, copper and zinc demonstrate a significant enrichment with respect to unpolluted levels. Their maximum enrichment factors are 37.