SEM-EDS-based rapid measurement and size-fractionated speciation of airborne particulate matter and associated metals utilizing plant leaves.

This study was conducted to assess particulate matter pollution and the accumulation of airborne toxic metals by studying the foliar deposition pattern in an urban environment. To this end, two commonly growing plants (Senna siamea (Lam.) H.

Environmental Factors Affecting Monoterpene Emissions from Terrestrial Vegetation.

Monoterpenes are volatile organic compounds that play important roles in atmospheric chemistry, plant physiology, communication, and defense. This review compiles the monoterpene emission flux data reported for different regions and plant species and highlights the role of abiotic environmental factors in controlling the emissions of biogenic monoterpenes and their emission fluxes for terrestrial plant species (including seasonal variations). Previous studies have demonstrated the role and importance of ambient air temperature and light in controlling monoterpene emissions, likely contributing to higher monoterpene emissions during the summer season in temperate regions.

Global distribution of microplastic contaminants in aquatic environments and their remediation strategies.

This review describes the occurrence and distribution of microplastics in freshwater and marine environments in recent years (2017-2022). Use of microplastics often results in contamination of aquatic environments, threatens biodiversity, and creates the need for environmental remediation. Such remediation strategies can involve primary, secondary, and tertiary treatments.

Plant specific emission pattern of biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs) from common plant species of Central India.

In this study, we examined 49 representative plant species of the Achanakmar-Amarkantak Biosphere Reserve (AABR) forest of Central India for emission of a number of biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs). The BVOCs emissions from seven plant species are reported here for the first time. The emission rates of different plant species were ranged from negligible to 80.

Benefits and limitations of biochar amendment in agricultural soils: A review.

Current agriculture faces multiple challenges due to rapid increases in food demand and environmental concerns. Recently, biochar application in agricultural soils has attracted a good deal of attention. According to literature findings, biochar has proven to play various beneficial roles with respect to the enhancement of crop yield as a fertilizer and soil quality as a soil conditioner.

Airborne foliar transfer of PM bound heavy metals in Cassia siamea: A less common route of heavy metal accumulation.

In order to investigate possible foliar transfer of toxic heavy metals, concentrations of Cd, Pb, and Fe were measured in samples of: Cassia siamea leaves (a common tree) Cassia siamea foliar dust, nearby road dust, and soil (Cassia siamea tree roots) at six different sites in/around the Bilaspur industrial area and a control site on the university campus. Bilaspur is located in a subtropical central Indian region. The enrichment factor (EF) values of Pb and Cd, when derived using the crustal and measured soil Fe data as reference, indicated significant anthropogenic contributions to Pb and Cd regional pollution.

Hazardous and odorous pollutants released from sewer manholes and stormwater catch basins in urban areas.

To learn more about the emission characteristics of odorants released from sewer manholes and stormwater catch basins (SCBs) in an urban environment, we measured the emission concentrations of major odorants including 22 target compounds designated as offensive odorants by the Korean Ministry of Environment (KMOE). All of our measurements were made from urban sewer manholes and SCBs in a highly commercialized location in Seoul, Korea. The results of our study were analyzed to identify the major odorants from such sources and to assess their contribution to odor intensity.

Investigation of the relationship between atmospheric mercury and concentrations of key greenhouse gases at a mountainous monitoring site.

The concentration of total gaseous mercury (TGM) was monitored, together with some key greenhouse gases (GHGs: carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and water (H2O) vapor) at hourly intervals at a mountainous monitoring site close to the highly industrialized city of Seoul, Korea. Correlations between the concentrations of Hg and those of the greenhouse gases were examined to assess their source characteristics and responses to changes in meteorological conditions. The mean Hg levels in this study (3.

Effects of sorbent materials on the cryofocusing analysis of gaseous reduced sulphur compounds.

The relative performance of different sorbent materials employed in the cryofocusing (e.g. in cold trap (CT) unit) stage was investigated at sub-ambient temperature by the thermal desorption (TD)-gas chromatography (GC)-pulsed flame photometric detector.

Major odorants released as urinary volatiles by urinary incontinent patients.

In this study, volatile urinary components were collected using three different types of samples from patients suffering from urinary incontinence (UI): (1) urine (A); (2) urine + non-used pad (B); and (3) urine + used pad (C). In addition, urine + non-used pad (D) samples from non-patients were also collected as a reference. The collection of urinary volatiles was conducted with the aid of a glass impinger-based mini-chamber method.

Volatile Organic Compounds in Ambient Air at Four Residential Locations in Seoul, Korea.

To investigate the environmental behavior of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in urban areas, their concentrations were measured at four urban monitoring sites (namely, N, S, E, and W) in Seoul, Korea (February to December 2009). A total of 27 compounds were quantified that consist of four chemical groups: aromatic (AR), halogenated aromatic, halogenated paraffin, and halogenated olefin. Results were evaluated by focusing on these four functional groups just mentioned and their summation term as total VOC (TVOC) along with several individual species (mainly AR species, that is, benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene).

Evaluation of the solid-phase extraction (SPE) cartridge method in combination with thermal desorption-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (TD-GC-MS) for the analysis of different VOCs in liquid matrices in varying pH conditions.

In this study, the solid-phase extraction (SPE) method combined with thermal desorption-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (TD-GC-MS) method is evaluated for the analysis of liquid-phase volatile organic compounds (LVOCs). Calibration experiments were performed on a number of polar and nonpolar LVOCs (including aromatic compounds, ester, ketones, and alcohol) as a function of solution pH. If the relative sensitivity of the SPE-TD-GC-MS method is compared between different VOCs across a wide range of pH (1, 4, 7, 10, and 13), optimum sensitivities for most VOCs are derived at the neutral pH.

Characteristics of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) emitted from a municipal waste treatment facility.

The emission concentrations of several chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) were measured from a municipal waste treatment facility (located in Seoul, Republic of Korea) to investigate the emission characteristics of CFCs in the urban environment. To this end, a total of five CFCs (CFC-10, CFC-11, CFC-20, CFC-30, and CFC-113) were analyzed by the thermal desorption-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (TD-GC-MS) method. The results of this study indicate that the formation of CFC-11 (8.

The modern paradox of unregulated cooking activities and indoor air quality.

Pollutant emission from domestic and commercial cooking activities is a previously neglected area of concern with respect to human health worldwide. Its health effects are relevant to people across the globe, not only those using low quality food materials in lesser-developed countries but also to more affluent people enjoying higher quality food in developed countries. Based on the available database of pollutant emissions derived from fire-based cooking, its environmental significance is explored in a number of ways, especially with respect to the exposure to hazardous vapors and particulate pollutants.

Analysis of volatile organic compounds released during food decaying processes.

A number of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) including acetone, methyl ethyl ketone, toluene, ethylbenzene, m,p-xylene, styrene, and o- xylene released during food decaying processes were measured from three types of decaying food samples (Kimchi (KC), fresh fish (FF), and salted fish (SF)). To begin with, all the food samples were contained in a 100-mL throwaway syringe. These samples were then analyzed sequentially for up to a 14-day period.

A combined application of thermal desorber and gas chromatography to the analysis of gaseous carbonyls with the aid of two internal standards.

In this study, a series of GC calibration experiments were conducted to examine the feasibility of the thermal desorption approach for the quantification of five carbonyl compounds (acetaldehyde, propionaldehyde, butyraldehyde, isovaleraldehyde, and valeraldehyde) in conjunction with two internal standard compounds. The gaseous working standards of carbonyls were calibrated with the aid of thermal desorption as a function of standard concentration and of loading volume. The detection properties were then compared against two types of external calibration data sets derived by fixed standard volume and fixed standard concentration approach.

An evaluation of volatile compounds released from containers commonly used in circulation of sports beverages.

In an effort to identify and quantify important volatile organic compounds (VOCs) released from sports beverage containers commonly used for storage and distribution, three brands of sports beverages with poly ethylene terephthalate (PET) and metal cans were analyzed through headspace-solid phase microextraction-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (HS-SPME-GC-MS). Out of 80 volatile compounds identified from all container types, I-limonene recorded the highest concentration (34.3-118 pmol mol(-1)) along with 12 other VOCs detected most frequently (more than 3 out of all 6 products) such as 2-methyl-6-methylene-2,7-octadiene, alpha-terpineol, decanaldehyde, and p-isopropyltoluene.

Determination of hazardous VOCs and nicotine released from mainstream smoke by the combination of the SPME and GC-MS methods.

In this study, the contents of nicotine and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in mainstream smoke (MSS) were analyzed using samples of four cigarette types consisting of two common brands (R and E) with full (F) and light (L) flavor, coded with R-F, R-L, E-F, and E-L. These cigarettes were also analyzed after removing the filter portions with the assignment of a new sample code of (N) as the third letter (e.g.

A review of methods for the determination of reduced sulfur compounds (RSCs) in air.

The importance of reduced sulfur compounds (RSCs) in air is well-known for its significant effect on global atmospheric chemistry and malodor and quality of life. In this review, methodological approaches commonly employed for the analysis of RSCs such as hydrogen sulfide, methane thiol, dimethyl sulfide, carbon disulfide, and dimethyl disulfide in air are described. To this end, we focus on gas chromatography (GC) because it is the most feasible, frequently used, and widely accepted approach for the analysis of RSC in air.

Comparative analysis of odorous volatile organic compounds between direct injection and solid-phase microextraction: development and validation of a gas chromatography-mass spectrometry-based methodology.

In this study, the feasibility of GC-MS was evaluated for the quantification of odorous volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in environmental samples. These included methyl ethyl ketone, isobutyl alcohol, methyl isobutyl ketone, and butyl acetate plus benzene, toluene, and xylene (BTX). For this purpose, the gaseous standard for these VOCs were analyzed by GC-MS with the aid of both direct injection (DI) into the GC injector and solid-phase microextraction (SPME).

Analytical bias among different gas chromatographic approaches using standard BTX gases and exhaust samples.

In this study, the analytical compatibility of the gas chromatographic (GC) approach was evaluated through a cross-calibration exercise. To this end, three aromatic volatile organic compounds (VOCs: benzene, toluene, and p-xylene (BTX)) were simultaneously analyzed with four individual instrumental setups (type I = GC with MS plus solid phase microextraction (SPME) method, II = GC with flame ionization detection (FID) plus SPME, III = fast GC-FID plus SPME, and IV = GC-FID plus air server/thermal desorption (AS/TD) method). A comparison of basic quality assurance (QA) data revealed considerable differences in DL values among the methods with moderate variabilities in the intercompound sensitivity.

Airborne mercury pollution from a large oil spill accident on the west coast of Korea.

Atmospheric mercury pollution was recognized after a large oil spill on the west coast of Korea on 7 December 2007. In this study, the concentrations of gaseous elemental mercury (GEM: Hg(0)) in air were measured both shortly after the oil spill ( approximately 100h) and 1month after the accident near the accident site. When the Hg concentration levels were compared between two seashore sites and two parallel sites offshore, the values tend to decrease further offshore.

BBQ charcoal as an important source of mercury emission.

In this study, the environmental significance of mercury emission has been investigated with respect to the use of the barbecue (BBQ) charcoal. For this purpose, emission gas samples collected from a total of 11 barbecue charcoal products commonly available in the Korean market were analyzed. All of these products consist of both domestic (4 types) and imported products (7 types from three countries).

The fundamental properties of the direct injection method in the analysis of gaseous reduced sulfur by gas chromatography with a pulsed flame photometric detector.

In this study, the fundamental aspects of gas chromatography with a pulsed flame photometric detector were investigated through the calibration of gaseous reduced sulfur compounds based on the direct injection method. Gaseous standards of five reduced sulfur compounds (hydrogen sulfide, methane thiol, dimethyl sulfide, carbon disulfide, and dimethyl disulfide) were calibrated as a function of injection volume and concentration level. The results were evaluated by means of two contrasting calibration approaches: fixed standard concentration method (variable volumetric injection of standard gases prepared at a given concentration) and fixed standard volume method (injection of multiple standards with varying concentrations at a given volume).