Publications by authors named "U Olofsson"
Airborne quasi-ultrafine particle samples were collected from different outdoor sites in Barcelona (NE Spain, 35 samples) and the Valencia subway (about 400 km south of Barcelona, 3 samples). Locations and schedules were designed to cover cold and warm seasons and to represent the impact of different types of transport (cars, trains, ships, and planes). Extracts from PTFE filters (methanol:dichloromethane 1:2) were used to test toxic effects in human cell lines (Induction of reactive oxygen species, inflammatory response) and in zebrafish embryos (expression of xenobiotic response-related genes, cyp1a1, gsa1 and hao1).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRoad traffic is an important source of urban air pollutants. Due to increasingly strict controls of exhaust emissions from road traffic, their contribution to the total emissions has strongly decreased over time in high-income countries. In contrast, non-exhaust emissions from road vehicles are not yet legislated and now make up the major proportion of road traffic emissions in many countries.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe dominant road traffic particle sources are wear particles from the road and tire interface, and from vehicle brake pads. The aim of this work was to investigate the effect of road and brake wear particles on pulmonary function and biomarkers in isolated perfused rat lungs. Particles were sampled from the studded tire wear of three road pavements containing different rock materials in a road simulator; and from the wear of two brake pad materials using a pin-on-disk machine.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArticle Synopsis
- Exposure to particulate matter (PM), particularly ultrafine particles (UFPs) from different transport modes, has been linked to various negative health effects, but the specific toxicity levels and health impacts from each mode remain unclear.
- The review focuses on toxicological and epidemiological studies comparing UFPs from vehicle exhaust (like diesel and biodiesel), shipping, aviation, and subway systems, demonstrating that inhalation of these particles can affect not just lung health but also cardiovascular and brain functions.
- Limited studies exist on the toxicity of UFPs from different sources, but findings suggest a need for more research to better understand the health implications of source-specific nanoparticles and their relative potencies across various transport modes.
Disc brake systems are widely used on commercial vehicles for braking. The brake pads are usually replaced by new ones before being totally worn out. Current methods to deal with the replaced brake pads include landfill and combustion, resulting in a huge waste of resources and increase of CO footprint.
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