Historical inventories and future scenarios of multiple hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) emissions from the iron and steel production industry in China.

Iron and steel production (ISP) is one of significant atmospheric pollution emission sources in China. With the implementation of ultra-low emission (ULE) standards, a detailed and new updated emission inventory is urgently needed for better understanding of the temporal trends and spatial variation of emission characteristics. In this study, a unit-based comprehensive emission inventory of multiple hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) for the Chinese ISP spanned from 2012 to 2021, including the conventional pollutants, 13 kinds of Trace elements as well as 2 unconventional but toxic pollutants (PCDD/Fs, F), was dedicatedly developed by integrating dynamic localized emission factors with unit-based information of both the detailed activity level and abatement technology application.

Effects of combined exposure to PM, O, and NO on health risks of different disease populations in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region.

Air pollution adversely affects people's health. Under the current background of compound air pollution in China, the emission reduction potential of air pollution control has significantly decreased, and there are few studies on multi-pollutant emission reduction and synergistic effects. PM, O, and NO have caused the enormous disease burden and health risks.

Tracking Carbon and Ammonia Emission Flows of China's Nitrogen Fertilizer System: Implications for Domestic and International Trade.

China is the world's largest producer, consumer, and exporter of synthetic nitrogen (N) fertilizer. To assess the impact of domestic demand and international exports, we quantified the life-cycle COeq and ammonia (NH) emissions by tracking carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) flows from coal/gas mining through ammonia production to N fertilizer production, application, and export. In 2020, China's N fertilizer system emitted 496.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon and its adducts in peripheral blood: Gene and environment interaction among Chinese population.

Background: Benzo(a)pyrene (B[a]P) is the most widely concerned polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), which metabolizes benzo(a)pyrene-7,8-dihydrodiol-9,10-epoxide (BPDE) in vivo to produce carcinogenic effect on the body. Currently, there is limited research on the role of the variation of metabolic enzymes in this process.

Methods: We carried out a study including 752 participants, measured the concentrations of 16 kinds PAHs in both particle and gaseous phases, urinary PAHs metabolites, leukocyte BPDE-DNA adduct and serum BPDE- Albumin (BPDE-Alb) adduct, and calculated daily intake dose (DID) to assess the cumulative exposure of PAHs.

Numerical Study on Chemical Kinetic Characteristics of Counterflow Diffusion Flame Extinction of Methane/Ammonia/Air Flame under High Pressure or Air Preheating Temperature.

Green ammonia has become an increasingly popular fuel in recent years because of its combustion process without carbon oxide release. Adding ammonia to methane fuel for co-combustion has become one of the important research topics in the current combustion field. In the present study, the CH/NH/Air counterflow diffusion flame was taken as the research object, and Chemkin-2019 R3 software was used to explore and analyze the flame extinction limit and chemical kinetics characteristics under different ammonia mixing ratios, initial pressures, and air preheating temperatures.

Structure-activity relationships, product species distribution and the mechanism of effect of multi-component flue gas on Hg adsorption and oxidation over CuO/ACs.

A series of Cu-doped activated cokes (CuO/ACs) were synthesized an impregnation method and applied for the removal of elemental mercury (Hg). Structure-activity relationships between Hg removal and CuO/AC surface characteristics were identified. Hg removal over CuO/AC occurs through a combination of physisorption and chemisorption and is mainly dominated by chemisorption.

MMP-3 mediates copper oxide nanoparticle-induced pulmonary inflammation and fibrosis.

Background: The increasing production and usage of copper oxide nanoparticles (Nano-CuO) raise human health concerns. Previous studies have demonstrated that exposure to Nano-CuO could induce lung inflammation, injury, and fibrosis. However, the potential underlying mechanisms are still unclear.

Longitudinal mass loads of phthalate esters in sewage sludge and their association with public health and social measures for COVID-19 control in Beijing.

This study examines the concentrations and population-normalized mass loads (PNML) of five phthalate esters (PAEs) and four metabolites (mPAEs) in 390 sewage sludge samples collected from two municipal wastewater treatment plants in Beijing between July 2020 and June 2023, amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Through GC/MS analysis, the compounds were simultaneously quantified, with peak concentrations in 2020. Bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) and mono(2-ethyl-5-oxohexyl) phthalate emerged as predominant PAE and mPAE congeners with concentrations of 78.

Recycling and reuse of waste agricultural plastics with hydrothermal pretreatment and low-temperature pyrolysis method.

Recycling and reuse of agricultural plastics is an urgent worldwide issue. In this work, it is shown that low-density polyethylene (PE) typically used in mulch films can be converted into high-capacity P and N adsorbents through a two-step method that uses hydrothermal pretreatment (180 °C, 24 h) followed by pyrolysis at 500 °C with Ca(OH) additive. CaPE@HC500 materials prepared with the proposed two-step method were found to have high adsorption capacities for phosphate (263.

Low-level ambient ozone exposure associated with neutrophil extracellular traps and pro-atherothrombotic biomarkers in healthy adults.

Background And Aims: Uncertainty of the causality determinations for ambient ozone (O) on cardiovascular events is heightened by the limited understanding of the mechanisms involved in humans. We aimed to examine the pro-atherothrombotic impacts of O exposure and to explore the potential mediating roles of dysfunctional neutrophils, focusing on neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs).

Methods: A longitudinal panel study of 152 healthy adults was conducted in the cool to cold months with relatively low levels of O between September 2019 and January 2020 in Beijing, China.

Air quality and health benefits for different heating decarbonization pathways in China.

The urgent need for decarbonization in China's heating system, comprised of approximately one hundred thousand boilers, is imperative to meet climate and clean air objectives. To formulate national and regional strategies, we developed an integrated model framework that combines a facility-level emission inventory, the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) model, and the Global Exposure Mortality Model (GEMM). We then explore the air quality and health benefits of alternative heating decarbonization pathways, including the retirement of coal-fired industrial boilers (CFIBs) for replacement with grid-bound heat supply systems, coal-to-gas conversion, and coal-to-biomass conversion.

Gas migration characteristics in vehicle tank under different ventilation conditions.

In recent years, due to the frequent occurrence of accidents in confined space operations, horizontal ammonia tank trucks with higher accident frequencies were selected for numerical simulation research through comparative analysis. The ammonia concentration variation characteristics of horizontal ammonia tank cars were simulated under four conditions: natural ventilation with 0° incoming air, natural ventilation with 45° incoming air, mechanical ventilation with extraction, and mechanical ventilation with compression. The results indicate that natural ventilation requires 48 h to reduce the ammonia concentration to a safe range for operation, while mechanical ventilation reduces the ammonia concentration to infinity and approaches zero within 30 min according to regulations, making the working environment safer; Set up monitoring points inside the tank to monitor the gas disturbance inside the tank at different wind speeds.

Screening the phytotoxicity of micro/nanoplastics through non-targeted metallomics with synchrotron radiation X-ray fluorescence and deep learning: Taking micro/nano polyethylene terephthalate as an example.

Microplastics (MPs) and nanoplastics (NPs) are global pollutants with emerging concerns. Methods to predict and screen their toxicity are crucial. Elemental dyshomeostasis can be used to assess toxicity of environmental pollutants.

A research on urban disaster resilience assessment system for rainstorm and flood disasters: A case study of Beijing.

Under the background of global climate change, rainstorm and flood disasters have become the most serious cataclysm. Under the circumstances of an increasingly severe risk situation, it is necessary to enhance urban disaster resilience. Based on the disaster resilience process of prevention, absorption, and enhancement, and considering the safety factors such as personnel, facility, environment and management, this paper forms a dual dimension of the urban disaster resilience assessment model covering the key elements of urban disaster response and the core capacity of urban disaster recovery.

High-precision spatio-temporal variations and future perspectives of multiple air pollutant emissions from Chinese biomass-fired industrial boilers.

Biomass-fired industrial boilers (BFIBs) are one of the neglected and important anthropogenic sources of air pollutants. A comprehensive boiler-based emission inventory of multiple air pollutants from BFIBs in China in 2020 was first developed based on the activity level database and updated emission factors. Results showed that national emissions of air pollutants from BFIBs in 2020 were estimated to be 11.

Research on psychophysiological characteristics of construction workers during consciously unsafe behaviors.

Workers' unsafe behavior is a primary cause leading to falling accidents on construction sites. This study aimed to explore how to utilize psychophysiological characteristics to predict consciously unsafe behaviors of construction workers. In this paper, a psychological questionnaire was compiled to measure risky psychology, and wireless wearable physiological recorders were employed to real-timely measure the physiological signals of subjects.

Prevalence of insulin resistance in Chinese solar greenhouse and field workers: evidence from a solar greenhouse and field workers study.

Evidence suggests that agricultural workers are at higher risk of insulin resistance (IR), but few studies have investigated IR in solar greenhouse workers, who are exposed to higher concentrations of agricultural risk factors than traditional agricultural workers. A prevalence study was conducted in a greenhouse vegetable farm in China. In total, 948 participants were enrolled in this study.

Tracking Carbon Flows from Coal Mines to Electricity Users in China Using an Ensemble Model.

Accurately tracking carbon flows is crucial for preventing carbon leakage and allocating responsibility for reducing COeq emissions. In this study, we developed an ensemble model to effectively track carbon flows within China's power system. Our approach integrates coal quality tests, individual power plant datasets, a dynamic material-energy flow analysis model, and an extended version of an interconnected power grid model that incorporates transmission and distribution (T&D) losses.

Tracking Carbon Flows in China's Iron and Steel Industry.

Accurately tracking carbon flows is the first step toward reducing the climate impacts of the iron and steel industry (ISI), which is still lacking in China. In this study, we track carbon flows from coal/mineral mines to end steel users by coupling the cross-process material and energy flow model, point-based emission inventory, and interprovincial trade matrices. In 2020, ISI emitted 2288 Tg of CO equivalent (COeq, including CH and CO), 96% of which came from energy use and 4% from raw material decomposition.

Evaluation of the health risk using multi-pollutant air quality health index: case study in Tianjin, China.

Introduction: Air pollution imposes a significant burden on public health. Compared with the popular air quality index (AQI), the air quality health index (AQHI) provides a more comprehensive approach to measuring mixtures of air pollutants and is suitable for overall assessments of the short-term health effects of such mixtures.

Methods: We established an AQHI and cumulative risk index (CRI)-AQHI for Tianjin using single-and multi-pollutant models, respectively, as well as environmental, meteorological, and daily mortality data of residents in Tianjin between 2018 and 2020.

Determination of 25 quaternary ammonium compounds in sludge by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry.

With the pandemic of COVID-19, the application of quaternary ammonium compounds (QACs), which can be used in SARS-CoV-2 disinfection products, has increased substantially. QACs cumulated in sewer system are ultimately deposited and enriched in sludge. QACs in the environment can adversely affect human health and the environment.

Mechanisms, Techniques and Devices of Airborne Virus Detection: A Review.

Airborne viruses, such as COVID-19, cause pandemics all over the world. Virus-containing particles produced by infected individuals are suspended in the air for extended periods, actually resulting in viral aerosols and the spread of infectious diseases. Aerosol collection and detection devices are essential for limiting the spread of airborne virus diseases.

Copper-based nanoparticles against microbial infections.

Drug-resistant bacteria and highly infectious viruses are among the major global threats affecting the human health. There is an immediate need for novel strategies to tackle this challenge. Copper-based nanoparticles (CBNPs) have exhibited a broad antimicrobial capacity and are receiving increasing attention in this context.