Tag Archives: HUMAN HEALTH

Poor smoke does not equal poor risk: All solid fuels identified to produce ultrafine particles

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University of Galway-led research has discovered that when low smoke manufactured fuels are burnt, they emit minute ultrafine particles which may be even more detrimental to human health.

The Ryan Institute at the University conducted several controlled burn experiments with peat, wood, “low-smoke” manufactured products, such as “low-smoke” coal – since 2022, banned in domestic stoves – and several domestic heating fuels to figure out precisely what various domestic fuels emit to the air.

The scientists quantified the smoke with sophisticated equipment that relies on monitoring the number of particles that are generated, their size, and their composition.

The team also took real-life measurements of air in Dublin and Birr, Co Offaly over a period of several years and thus they were able to compare lab results and what people actually breath in during periods of winter pollution.

With the help of these measurements and known statistical fingerprinting methods and proven lung-deposition models, the researchers were able to determine the most harmful contribution of fumes by different fuels and how deep these particles may enter the respiratory system.

The findings – the ones witnessed in a low smoke zone in Ireland and applicable in the rest of Europe and with immense implications on the regions that are in an extremely rapid transition like those in China and India – indicate that the EU, international and national regulatory frameworks must react quicker to the accumulating body of scientific evidence.

This study was published in Nature Geosciences.

This was a research conducted by the Centre of Climate and Air Pollution Studies, Ryan Institute, University of Galway, in conjunction with Irish, Chinese, Australian and USA partners.

Director of the Centre of Climate and Air Pollution Studies, Professor Jurgita Ovadnevaite at the Ryan Institute, University of Galway, stated: “In an attempt to reduce the amount of particulate mass, our research indicates that emissions of the smallest particles have been inadvertently increased and this could be even more detrimental to the human condition than the larger ones. These ultrafine particles of the low smoke fuels get to the deepest point of the lungs, then to the cardiovascular system and it even gets to the brain.

On this basis, we highlight why we should abandon residential solid fuel burning as one of the broader societal goals to decarbonise the economy by 2050.

The research also reveals that there is a serious necessity to revise EU and International air quality standards and cover ultrafine particles in the list of pollutants so that the mass concentration may be managed without an increase in the number of ultrafine particles.

In the study, it is shown that the substitution of smoky fuels with the low-smoke counterparts doubles and even triples the amount of ultrafines emissions.

Taking into account the fact that the smaller ultrafine particles are capable of penetrating more deeply into the lungs and settling there, the newly recorded trend can offset some of the benefits of the reduction in smoke emission. Rather than decreasing the total exposure of the human being to ultrafine particles by decreasing the total mass of the particulate matter (PM), it leads to a subsequent increase in the number of ultrafine particles and, possibly, health effects.

Air pollution/Photo:en.wikipedia.org

Literature indicates that the concentrations of the number of particles in the air are greatly (ten times) underrated in the existing air quality models.
Air pollution causes a number of several million premature deaths every year around the world. One of the greatest factors contributing to this frightening statistic is exposure to airborne fine particulate matter (PM2.5; less than 2.5 um in diameter). PM2.5 pollution is associated with over 1,700 premature deaths per year even in Ireland, which is commonly viewed to have clean air. Ultrafine particles (smaller than 100 nm in diameter), in comparison to PM2.5, cause more severe pulmonary inflammation and long-term lung retention because of their potential to penetrate deep to the respiratory tract even through the bloodbrain barrier. They become more toxic with diminishing size, greater specific surface area, constituents that are bound on the surface and their intrinsic physical characteristics.

Although the health impact of ultrafine particles continues to be identified as a health issue in the European policy, with the recent amendment of the Ambient Air Quality Directive (EU 2024/2881), the first time that includes the obligatory monitoring of ultrafine particles in the Member States. This research contributes to the literature that the directive should extend further and establish binding regulatory limit values of ultrafine particles.

The Centre for Climate and Air Pollution Studies, University of Galway, offers evidence to policymakers in the country and EU, aiding in the formulation of air-quality standards, emission-reduction policies and planning of climate actions. Its effort is the foundation of the ability of Ireland to comply with new regulatory standards, such as the new EU regulations on the ultrafine particle monitoring.

Read More:

Belém COP30 delivers climate finance boost and a pledge to plan fossil fuel transition

The Oil Shock Lesson: Why Energy Diversification Is Back On The Global Agenda

How to detect nanoplastics present in air

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Large pieces of plastic can break down into nanosized particles that often find their way into the soil and water. Perhaps less well known is that they can also float in the air. It’s unclear how nanoplastics impact human health, but animal studies suggest they’re potentially harmful. As a step toward better understanding the prevalence of airborne nanoplastics, researchers have developed a sensor that detects these particles and determines the types, amounts and sizes of the plastics using colorful carbon dot films.

The researchers will present their results today at the fall meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS). ACS Fall 2022 is a hybrid meeting being held virtually and in-person Aug. 21–25, with on-demand access available Aug. 26–Sept. 9. The meeting features nearly 11,000 presentations on a wide range of science topics.

“Nanoplastics are a major concern if they’re in the air that you breathe, getting into your lungs and potentially causing health problems,” says Raz Jelinek, Ph.D., the project’s principal investigator. “A simple, inexpensive detector like ours could have huge implications, and someday alert people to the presence of nanoplastics in the air, allowing them to take action.”

Of the many well-documented risks of dirty air, one potential danger is lesser known: chronic kidney disease. Learn about new research and how to protect yourself. CREDIT: Michigan Medicine

Millions of tons of plastic are produced and thrown away each year. Some plastic materials slowly erode while they’re being used or after being disposed of, polluting the surrounding environment with micro- and nanosized particles. Nanoplastics are so small — generally less than 1-µm wide — and light that they can even float in the air, where people can then unknowingly breathe them in. Animal studies suggest that ingesting and inhaling these nanoparticles may have damaging effects. Therefore, it could be helpful to know the levels of airborne nanoplastic pollution in the environment.

Previously, Jelinek’s research team at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev developed an electronic nose or “e-nose” for monitoring the presence of bacteria by adsorbing and sensing the unique combination of gas vapor molecules that they release. The researchers wanted to see if this same carbon-dot-based technology could be adapted to create a sensitive nanoplastic sensor for continuous environmental monitoring.

Carbon dots are formed when a starting material that contains lots of carbon, such as sugar or other organic matter, is heated at a moderate temperature for several hours, says Jelinek. This process can even be done using a conventional microwave. During heating, the carbon-containing material develops into colorful, and often fluorescent, nanometer-size particles called “carbon dots.” And by changing the starting material, the carbon dots can have different surface properties that can attract various molecules.

To create the bacterial e-nose, the team spread thin layers of different carbon dots onto tiny electrodes, each the size of a fingernail. They used interdigitated electrodes, which have two sides with interspersed comb-like structures. Between the two sides, an electric field develops, and the stored charge is called capacitance. “When something happens to the carbon dots — either they adsorb gas molecules or nanoplastic pieces — then there is a change of capacitance, which we can easily measure,” says Jelinek.

Then the researchers tested a proof-of-concept sensor for nanoplastics in the air, choosing carbon dots that would adsorb common types of plastic — polystyrene, polypropylene and poly(methyl methacrylate). In experiments, nanoscale plastic particles were aerosolized, making them float in the air. And when electrodes coated with carbon-dot films were exposed to the airborne nanoplastics, the team observed signals that were different for each type of material, says Jelinek. Because the number of nanoplastics in the air affects the intensity of the signal generated, Jelinek adds that currently, the sensor can report the amount of particles from a certain plastic type either above or below a predetermined concentration threshold. Additionally, when polystyrene particles in three sizes — 100-nm wide, 200-nm wide and 300-nm wide — were aerosolized, the sensor’s signal intensity was directly related to the particles’ size.

The team’s next step is to see if their system can distinguish the types of plastic in mixtures of nanoparticles. Just as the combination of carbon dot films in the bacterial e-nose distinguished between gases with differing polarities, Jelinek says it’s likely that they could tweak the nanoplastic sensor to differentiate between additional types and sizes of nanoplastics. The capability to detect different plastics based on their surface properties would make nanoplastic sensors useful for tracking these particles in schools, office buildings, homes and outdoors, he says.