Release of Nanoparticles in the Environment and Catalytic Converters Ageing.

A Three-Way Catalyst (TWC) contains a cordierite ceramic monolith coated with a layer of AlO, CeZrO and platinoids mixture. Under standard operation, the platinoid concentration decreases, exposing the remaining washcoat structure. After that particle release stage, the sintering process follows where the crystalline CeZrO solution is broken and begins to separate into ZrO and CeO phases.

Effects of Untreated Drinking Water at Three Indigenous Yaqui Towns in Mexico: Insights from a Murine Model.

Background: Reports in a northwestern Mexico state linked arsenic (As) in drinking water to DNA damage in people from indigenous communities. However, this correlation remains under discussion due to unknown variables related to nutrition, customs, and the potential presence of other metal(oid)s.

Methods: To determine this association, we sampled water from three Yaqui towns (Cócorit, Vícam, and Pótam), and analyzed the metals by ICP-OES.

Identification of refractory zirconia from catalytic converters in dust: An emerging pollutant in urban environments.

Using catalytic converters is one of the most effective methods to control vehicle emissions. A washcoat of cerium oxide-zirconia (CeO-ZrO) has been used to enhance the performance of the catalytic converter device. To date, the prevalence of this material in the environment has not been assessed.

Identification of inhalable rutile and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) nanoparticles in the atmospheric dust.

Addressing the presence of rutile nanoparticles (NPs) in the air is a work in progress, and the development of methodologies for the identification of NPs in atmospheric dust is essential for the assessment of its toxicological effects. To address this issue, we selected the fast growing desertic city of Hermosillo in northern Mexico. Road dust (n = 266) and soils (n = 10) were sampled and bulk Ti-contents were tested by portable X-ray fluorescence.

Metal bioaccessibility, particle size distribution and polydispersity of playground dust in synthetic lysosomal fluids.

Inhalation of playground dust-derived fine particles in schoolyards poses a risk from exposure to metal(oids) and minerals. In this work, we obtained the total concentration and bioaccessibility of metal(oids) with Gamble Solution (GS) and Artificial Lysosomal Fluid (ALF) synthetic solutions, simulating the extracellular neutral pH environment of the lung and the intracellular conditions of the macrophage, respectively. Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), and Dynamic Light Scattering analysis (DLS) techniques were used to characterize particles with a size smaller than 2.

Source apportionment and environmental fate of lead chromates in atmospheric dust in arid environments.

The environmental fate of lead derived from traffic paint has been poorly studied in developing countries, mainly in arid zones. For this purpose, a developing city located in the Sonoran desert (Hermosillo, Mexico), was chosen to conduct a study. In this paper the lead chromate (crocoite) sources in atmospheric dust were addressed using a combination of Raman microspectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and Pb isotope measurements.