Indoor PM from residential coal combustion: Levels, chemical composition, and toxicity.

Indoor air quality is crucial for human health due to the significant time people spend at home, and it is mainly affected by internal sources such as solid fuel combustion for heating. This study investigated the indoor air quality and health implications associated with residential coal burning covering gaseous pollutants (CO, CO and total volatile organic compounds), particulate matter, and toxicity. The PM chemical composition was obtained by ICP-MS/OES (elements), ion chromatography (water-soluble ions) and thermal-optical analysis (organic and elemental carbon).

Identifying key environmental factors to model Alt a 1 airborne allergen presence and variation.

Fungal spores, commonly found in the atmosphere, can trigger important respiratory disorders. The glycoprotein Alt a 1 is the major allergen present in conidia of the genus Alternaria and has a high clinical relevance for people sensitized to fungi. Exposure to this allergen has been traditionally assessed by aerobiological spore counts, although this does not always offer an accurate estimate of airborne allergen load.

Connection between Weather Types and Air Pollution Levels: A 19-Year Study in Nine EMEP Stations in Spain.

This study focuses on the analysis of the distribution, both spatial and temporal, of the PM (particulate matter with a diameter of 10 µm or less) concentrations recorded in nine EMEP (European Monitoring and Evaluation Programme) background stations distributed throughout mainland Spain between 2001 and 2019. A study of hierarchical clusters was used to classify the stations into three main groups with similarities in yearly concentrations: GC (coastal location), GNC (north-central location), and GSE (southeastern location). The highest PM concentrations were registered in summer.

Towards a model of wet deposition of bioaerosols: The raindrop size role.

Bioaerosols play a major role in the plant life of ecosystems. In addition, they have a profound impact on human health, since they may cause lung diseases or allergies. The key objective of this study is to assess the below cloud scavenging effect of rainfall on pollen concentration.

Towards a model for aerosol removal by rain scavenging: The role of physical-chemical characteristics of raindrops.

A one-year study was carried out in León, Spain, in order to characterize physically and chemically the precipitation. With the aim of studying the scavenging process of atmospheric pollutants, scavenging ratio and removal coefficients were calculated through physical parameters of raindrops (obtained by disdrometer data) and through chemical properties of aerosols. Finally, linear models for the prediction of the chemical composition of rainwater and the efficiency of the removal effect were established.

Characterization of aerosol sources in León (Spain) using Positive Matrix Factorization and weather types.

A one-year aerosol sampling campaign, between 2016 and 2017, was conducted in a suburban area of León city, Spain. An association between the Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF) results and air masses through circulation weather types was carried out, through the construction of linear models from the PM concentrations and its chemical composition. The aerosol sources, identified by PMF six-factor solution, were: traffic (29%), aged sea salt (26%), secondary aerosols (16%), dust (13%), marine aerosol (7%) and biomass burning (3%).

Nitrogen oxides and ozone in Portugal: trends and ozone estimation in an urban and a rural site.

This study provides an analysis of the spatial distribution and trends of NO, NO2 and O3 concentrations in Portugal between 1995 and 2010. Furthermore, an estimation model for daily ozone concentrations was developed for an urban and a rural site. NO concentration showed a significant decreasing trend in most urban stations.

Indoor aerosol size distributions in a gymnasium.

In this study, an indoor/outdoor monitoring program was carried out in a gymnasium at the University of Leon, Spain. The main goal was a characterization of aerosol size distributions in a university gymnasium under different conditions and sports activities (with and without magnesia alba) and the study of the mass fraction deposited in each of the parts of the respiratory tract. The aerosol particles were measured in 31 discrete channels (size ranges) using a laser spectrometer probe.

Particulate matter in the indoor and outdoor air of a gymnasium and a fronton.

An indoor/outdoor monitoring programme of PM10 was carried out in two sports venues (a fronton and a gymnasium). Levels always below 50 μg m(-3) were obtained in the fronton and outdoor air. Due to the climbing chalk and the constant process of resuspension, concentrations above 150 μg m(-3) were registered in the gymnasium.

Human mortality seasonality in Castile-León, Spain, between 1980 and 1998: the influence of temperature, pressure and humidity.

This study was carried out in the region of Castile and Leon, Spain, from 1980 to 1998 and analyzes the relationship between the number of monthly deaths caused by cardiovascular, respiratory and digestive diseases and three meteorological variables: temperature, pressure and humidity. One of the innovations in this study is the application of principal component analysis in a way that differs from its usual application: one single series representing the whole region was constructed for each meteorological variable from the series of eight weather stations. Annual and seasonal mortality trends were also studied.

Alternative statistical methods for interpreting airborne Alder (Alnus glutimosa (L.) Gaertner) pollen concentrations.

This paper reports on the behaviour of Alnus glutinosa (alder) pollen grains in the atmosphere of Ponferrada (León, NW Spain) from 1995 to 2006. The study, which sought to determine the effects of various weather-related parameters on Alnus pollen counts, was performed using a volumetric method. The main pollination period for this taxon is January-February.

Urticaceae pollen concentration in the atmosphere of North Western Spain.

Plants of the Urticaceae family can develop into a pest on soils enriched with nitrogen. Urticaceae pollen is a biohazard because it elicits severe pollinosis. Pollen grains were sampled by using a Lanzoni seven-day-recording trap from February 1995-December 2000 in the atmosphere of the city of Ponferrada (Leon, North Western Spain).