Primary and secondary organic aerosol in an urban/industrial site: Sources, health implications and the role of plastic enriched waste burning

PM_(1)0 samples were collected from an urban/industrial site nearby Athens,where uncontrolled burning activities occur.PAHs,monocarboxylic,dicarboxylic,hydroxycarboxylic and aromatic acids,tracers from BVOC oxidation,biomass burning tracers and bisphenol A were determined.PAH,monocarboxylic acids,biomass burning tracers and bisphenol A were increased during autumn/winter,while BSOA tracers,dicarboxylic-and hydroxycarboxylic acids during summer.Regarding aromatic acids,different sources and formation mechanisms were indicated as benzoic,phthalic and trimellitic acids were peaked during summer whereas p-toluic,isophthalic and terephthalic were more abundant during autumn/winter.The Benzo[a]pyrene-equivalent carcinogenic power,carcinogenic and mutagenic activities were calculated showing significant(p<0.05)increases during the colder months.Palmitic,succinic and malic acids were the most abundant monocarboxylic,dicarboxylic and hydrocarboxylic acids during the entire sampling period.Isoprene oxidation was the most significant contributor to BSOA as the isoprene-SOA compounds were two times more abundant than the pinene-SOA(13.4±12.3 and 6.1±2.9 ng/m^3,respectively).Ozone has significant impact on the formation of many studied compounds showing significant correlations with:isoprene-SOA(r=0.77),hydrocarboxylic acids(r=0.69),pinene-SOA(r=0.63),dicarboxylic acids(r=0.58),and the sum of phthalic,benzoic and trimellitic acids(r=0.44).PCA demonstrated five factors that could explain sources including plastic enriched waste burning(30.8%),oxidation of unsaturated fatty acids(23.0%),vehicle missions and cooking(9.2%),biomass burning(7.7%)and oxidation of VOCs(5.8%).The results highlight the significant contribution of plastic waste uncontrolled burning to the overall air quality degradation.

Effects of zero burning waste on the quality of liquid fertilizer and vermicompost

Peatland is an important ecosystem in Indonesia.But in almost every dry season,drained peatlands have been subject to detrimental wildfires.As a response,the government has explicitly prohibited the burning of land since 2016.To clear the land of crop residues and conduct zero burning practices,one alternative method is to utilize the waste biomass to support the cultivation of earthworms(vermiculture).This study examined the quality of liquid fertilizers and compost produced from vermiculture using a completely randomized factorial design,consisting of two treatment factors.The first factor was worm type,with two species used in this research named Lumbricus rubellus and Eudrilus eugeniae.The second factor was the type of feed provided to the worms,comprising no feed(control),vegetable waste,and crop residue waste resulting from zero burning land preparation.The type of feed significantly affected the pH value of the liquid fertilizer produced by the vermiculture but did not significantly affect the nutrient contents(N,P,and K).The combination of the types of earthworms and types of feed significantly affected the pH value of the vermicompost.The combination of worm types and feed types had a significant effect on exchangeable Ca,but not on exchangeable Mg,Na,and K.In combination,green vegetable waste and Lumbricus rubellus produced the greatest effect on soil CEC.However,for Base Saturation,the control(no food)and Eudrilus eugeniae showed the highest value.Types of worms and types of feed had a significant effect on the exchangeable Mg,while the other three parameters made no significant differences.Zero burning waste and Eudrilus eugeniae provide a better exchangeable Ca and Mg.In contrast,no-feeding and Eudrilus eugeniae have a better effect on exchangeable Na and K.Types of worms and types of feed did not significantly affect the weight of worm colonies,but the addition of feed increased the weight of worms with the highest weight resulting from the use of zero burning waste feed.The results showed that crop residue wastes were potentially good as a feed for earthworms.

Inventory of primary emissions of selected persistent organic pollutants to the atmosphere in the area of Great Mendoza

The setting up of a country or region-based inventory is considered a crucial step toward the elimination of worldwide persistent organic pollutants(POPs)contamination.Moreover,the need of comparable emission inventories at city or region level is widely recognized to develop evidence-based policies accounting for the relation between emissions and institutional,socio-economic and demographic characteristics at small scale level.Due to the low spatial and temporal resolution of the available measurements,highly variable air concentrations of several POPs have been observed in Latin American and Caribbean countries.This paper presents a high resolution spatially disaggregated atmospheric emission inventory for selected POPs in order to assess the environmental fate of some of these compounds in a finer resolution.As study case we estimated releases to air of POPs in a typical mid-size urban conglomeration in Argentina.Inventoried compounds were total polychlorinated biphenyls(PCBs),total polybrominated diphenyl ethers(PBDEs),total dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane(DDT)on a sum basis,hexachlorobenzene(HCB)and dioxins and furans(PCDD/Fs),for which emissions were estimated in 0.92 kg/year,1.65 kg/year,4.2E-02 kg/year(total sum of congeners),0.86 kg/year and 4.4E-02 kg/year respectively,values that are in accordance with the geographic and economic context.Although emitting sources are quite varied,there are very clear trends,particularly in relation to open burning of municipal solid waste and agrochemical use as major contributors.Overall,the inventory provides valuable data for the analysis of the heterogeneity of POP emissions and the necessary inputs for air quality modeling.