More than eight million premature deaths annually can be attributed to air pollution, with 99% of the world's population residing in areas below recommended air quality standards. Hence, the present study aimed to examine the association between primary DNA damage and air pollution data among 123 participants enrolled between 2011 and 2015 in Zagreb, Croatia. While most measured air pollutants adhered to regulatory limits, benzo[a]pyrene concentrations bound to PM exceeded them.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAtmospheric bulk and wet deposition samples were collected simultaneously at the background coastal site in the Eastern Middle Adriatic region in order to assess the impact of major ions (Cl, NO, SO, Na, K, NH, Mg, Ca) on deposition acidity and distinguish the main sources. Higher ion levels were observed during the cold period, especially for Cl, Na, Mg and K. Dust intrusion caused significant increases in levels of Ca, Mg and K, while open-fire events increased the levels of K.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAir pollution is recognized as one of the most serious public health issues worldwide and was declared to be a leading environmental cause of cancer deaths. At the same time, the cytokinesis-block micronucleus (CBMN) assay serves as a cancer predictive method that is extensively used in human biomonitoring for populations exposed to environmental contamination. The objective of this cross-sectional study is two-fold: to evaluate genomic instability in a sample (N = 130) of healthy, general population residents from Zagreb (Croatia), chronically exposed to different levels of air pollution, and to relate them to air pollution levels in the period from 2011 to 2015.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAtmospheric deposition (AD) of nutrients and its impact on the sea surface requires consideration of interfacial processes within the sea surface microlayer (SML), the ocean-atmosphere boundary layer of major importance for many global biogeochemical and climate-related processes. This study comprised a comprehensive dataset, including dissolved NO, NH and PO in ambient aerosol particles, wet deposition and sea surface samples collected from February to July 2019 at a central Adriatic coastal site. The aerosol mean concentration of dissolved nitrogen (DIN = NO + NH) and PO were 48.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe rajevo Canton Winter eld mpaign 2018 (SAFICA) was a project that took place in winter 2017-2018 with an aim to characterize the chemical composition of aerosol in the Sarajevo Canton, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), which has one of the worst air qualities in Europe. This paper presents the first characterization of the metals in PM (particulate matter aerodynamic diameters ≤10 μm) from continuous filter samples collected during an extended two-months winter period at the urban background Sarajevo and remote Ivan Sedlo sites. We report the results of 18 metals detected by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) and electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry (ETAAS).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFirst data on polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and nitro-aromatic compounds (NACs) in aerosols as well as of PAHs, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and NACs in bulk and wet atmospheric deposition samples were simultaneously obtained during 6-month-long field campaign at the costal central Adriatic area. Special attention was given to open-fire biomass burning episodes as extreme events common for the overall Mediterranean coastal area in order to gain a better understanding of the atmospheric variabilities and potential sources of trace organic pollutants in coastal environments. Diesel and gasoline combustion related to land and maritime traffic as well as occasional open-fire episodes (forest fires) were found to be the dominant pollution sources of PAHs in PM particles.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAerosol (PM), bulk deposition, sea surface microlayer (SML) and underlying water (ULW) samples were collected simultaneously during a field campaign at the middle Adriatic coastal site between February and July 2019, to assess the impact of atmospheric deposition (AD) of biologically relevant trace metals (TM) (Zn, Cu, Co, Ni, Cd and Pb) on the sea surface responses in an oligotrophic coastal region. Anthropogenic emissions from continental Europe, alongside local/regional domestic heating, likely affected the concentrations of Zn, Cd and Pb in aerosols during winter-early spring, while traffic emissions during the tourist season impacted Ni, Co and Cu aerosol concentrations. Additionally, open-fire biomass burning (BB) episodes caused considerable TM concentration increases, while Saharan dust intrusion in spring led to a 10-fold increase in Co concentrations in PM samples.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe determination of the effects of cadmium and mercury on the growth, biomass productivity and phytoremediation potential of Miscanthus × giganteus (MxG) grown on contaminated soil was the main aim of this paper. The use of bioenergy plants as an innovative strategy in phytotechnology gives additional benefits, including mitigation and adaptation to climate change, and soil remediation without affecting soil fertility. An experiment was set up as a randomized complete block design with the treatments varied in concentrations of Cd (0, 10 and 100 mg kg soil) and Hg (0, 2 and 20 mg kg soil) added to the soil.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis study examined a method for determination of rhodium (Rh), palladium (Pd) and platinum (Pt) in particulate matter using standard solutions, model samples and certified reference materials (NIST 1648a and ERM CZ120). The method was based on microwave digestion followed by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The results showed that the stability of the standard solution mixture of Rh, Pd and Pt was better when chlorides were present in the solution.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe anthropogenic impact on the terrestrial environment of the Plitvice Lakes National Park (PLNP) was investigated through the analysis of three groups of major contaminants (persistent organochlorine pollutants including 15 organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) and 17 polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), trace elements/heavy metals (6 major and 23 trace constituents), and anthropogenic radionuclides ((90)Sr, (134)Cs, and (137)Cs)) in three terrestrial compartments (soil, air, and bioindicators of air contamination) during 2011-2013. The correlation coefficients of element mass fractions with soil properties indicated that total Fe and Al minerals, soil organic matter (OM), and organic carbon (OC) content affected the mass fractions of most trace elements in the topsoils. The annual and spatial distributions of heavy metals in total deposited matter (TDM) indicated that the metals came from natural sources and long-range transfer of particulate matter.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArh Hig Rada Toksikol
September 2012
Central gas station of the natural gas borehole system Podravina is located near the village Molve. It delivers more than a quarter of total energy used in Croatia to its consumers. Over the years, adapting technology to increasingly demanding and rigorous standards in environmental protection has become paramount.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPolycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are a large group of organic compounds consisting of two or more condense aromatic rings. They are products of incomplete combustion or pyrolysis of organic matter. Because some PAHs such as Benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) are proven carcinogens and mutagens, it is necessary to continuously monitor their concentrations in the air, water, and soil.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBull Environ Contam Toxicol
May 2011
Spatial and temporal distribution of arsenic levels in soil during the 9 year monitoring period was investigated on four different soil types in the area of the gas borehole system Podravina in Croatia. Arsenic levels in the PM(10) particle fraction were measured periodically at the same locations for 3 years. Arsenic levels in soil significantly depended on soil types.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBull Environ Contam Toxicol
December 2010
Monitoring of zinc in total suspended particulate matter (TSPM) started in Zagreb, Croatia in 1972 at two measuring sites, located in the city centre and in the northern part of the city. Monitoring of zinc concentrations in PM₁₀ started in the northern part of the city in 2003. The obtained data show a decreasing trend of zinc in TSPM.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBull Environ Contam Toxicol
May 2010
Mercury concentrations in air were measured at three measuring sites in the vicinity of a waste dump Jakusevec in Zagreb, Croatia over a 4-year period, from the beginning to the end of remediation. Measurements at the beginning of the remediation show that the concentrations of mercury at all three measuring sites were relatively high. Annual mercury mass concentrations in 2001 were between 17 and 445 ng m(-3).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOzone concentrations were measured at three sites in Zagreb (Croatia) in the summer of 2005. Two measuring sites were in urban areas, while the third site was in a rural area about 30 km to the south from the centre of Zagreb. Hourly ozone averages varied between 1 microg m(-3) and 209 microg m(-3).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArh Hig Rada Toksikol
September 2002
This paper describes the application of static headspace gas chromatography in determining benzene in urine. The method was analytically validated for sensitivity (DL = 42 ng/l), repeatability (RSD = 3% and 4%), and accuracy (71%), and was applied in measuring urine benzene in nonsmokers (N = 14) and smokers (N = 18). All urine samples had measurable benzene concentrations.
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