Air Pollution and Sex Hormone Levels among Mechanics in Brazzaville (Republic of Congo)

Air pollution is today a real concern across the world, responsible for around 7 million deaths per year around the world. It is currently involved in the appearance and worsening of several non-transmissible pathologies, making it an environmental, health, and societal problem. The objective of this work was to evaluate the effects of short-term exposure to air pollution on the level of sex hormones in mechanics. We conducted a cross-sectional, analytical, prospective case-control study in Brazzaville on 228 patients (76 cases and 152 controls) from June 2020 to December 2022, a period of 30 months. This study made it possible to evaluate, on the one hand, the level of sexual hormones in men exposed to automobile pollution according to the automated method (ELFA) on mini vidas and, on the other hand, the quality of the air by a colorimetric, punctual method on a Dräger tube coupled with a Dräger accuro pump. The results obtained made it possible to establish a statistically significant link between automobile pollutants (CO, CO2, NO2, SO2) and the increase in LH and FSH on the one hand and the decrease in testosterone on the other hand. We also noted that the concentrations of automotive pollutants during this study were all above the standards required by the WHO. Exposure to automobile pollutants affects the hypothalamic-pituitary axis and therefore disrupts the level of sex hormones.

Rapidly determining fuel pollution level of aviation lubricating oil 50-1-4Φby mid-infrared spectrometry

A series of aviation lubrication oil 50-1-4φ samples were prepared with different RP-3 content, and then these sam- ples were analyzed by Fourier transform mid-infrared spectrometer （FTIR）. The infrared region of 805--755 cm-1 was selected as quantitative area for determining fuel pollution level of aviation lubrication oil. Finally, correlation of the testing peak area and the fuel pollution level of corresponding samples were analyzed, and the regression equation was proposed. The results show that determining jet fuel pollution level of aviation lubricating oil by FTIR is feasible and reliable.

Assessment of pollution levels and human health risk of heavy metals in dust deposited on Yerevan＇s tree leaves (Armenia)

The total concentrations of Cd,As,Pb,Cr,Ni,Co,Zn,Cu,Ag,Hg,and Mo were determined in the atmospheric dust of the city of Yerevan by atomic absorption spectrometry(AAnalyst PE 800).Heavy metal pollution levels were evaluated by calculating geo-accumulation(I_(geo)) and summary pollution(Z_c) indices.Potential human health risk was assessed using the United States Environmental Protection agency's human health risk assessment model.The results show that mean contents of all elements tested except Ni and Cr were substantially higher than local geochemical background values.According to the I_(geo),Yerevan territory is strongly-to-extremely polluted by As,Ag,Hg,Mo,and Cd.The Z_c assessment indicated that very high pollution was detected in 36%of samples,high in 32%,average in 12%,and low in 20%.The health risk assessment revealed a noncarcinogenic risk(HI >1) for children at 13 samplings sites and for adults at one sampling site.For children the risk was due to elevated levels of Mo,Cd,Co,and As,while for adults,only Mo.Carcinogenic risk(>1:1,000,000) of As and Cr via ingestion pathway was observed in 25 and 14 samples,respectively.This study,therefore,is the base for further detailed investigations to organize problematic site remediation and risk reduction measures.

Cost-Effective Control of Ground-Level Ozone Pollution in and around Beijing

Ground level ozone pollution has become a significant air pollution problem in Beijing. Because of the complex way in which ozone is formed, it is difficult for policy makers to identify optimal control options on a cost-effective basis. This paper identi-fies and assesses a range of options for addressing this problem. We apply the Ambient Least Cost Model and compare the eco-nomic costs of control options, then recommend the most effective sequence to realize pollution control at the lowest cost. The study finds that installing of Stage II gasoline vapor recovery system at Beijing's 1446 gasoline stations would be the most cost-effective option. Overall, options to reduce ozone pollution by cutting ve-hicular emissions are much more cost-effective than options to "clean up" coal-fired power plants.

Investigation on Inorganic Pollution Level in Surface Sediments of Naples and Salerno Bay

In this study, superficial marine sediments collected from 96 sampling sites were analyzed for 53 inorganic elements. Each sample was digested in aqua regia and analyzed by ICP-MS. A developed multifractal inverse distance weighted (IDW) interpolation method was applied for the compilation of interpolated maps for both single element and factor scores distributions. R-mode factor analysis have been performed on 23 of 53 analyzed elements. The 3 factor model, accounting 84.9% of data variability, were chosen, The three elemental associations obtained have been very helpful to distinguish anthropogenic from geogenic contribution. The aim of this study is to distinguish distribution patterns of pollutants on the sea floor of NaplesandSalernobays. In general, local lithologies, water dynamic and anthropogenic activities determine the distribution of the analyzed elements. To estimate pollution level in the area, Italian guidance, Canadian sediment quality guidance and Long’s criteria are chosen to set the comparability. As the results shows, arsenic and lead may present highly adverse effect to living creatures.

Determination of Harmful Elements and Analysis of Pollution Level in Lysimachia christinae

[Objectives]To detect content of Pb,Cd,Hg,As,Cu,Zn,and Cr in Lysimachia christinae,and to analyze the pollution level.[Methods]Seven kinds of elements in L.christinae were determined by Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry and analyzed by single index and comprehensive index.[Results]The seven heavy metal elements showed good linearity in their respective concentration ranges.The recoveries of the samples were 84.5%-109.5%,and the RSD values were 2.30%-5.10%.Comparing the measured results of heavy metal elements with the limit values stipulated in the 2020 edition of the Chinese Pharmacopoeia and other standards,the Cr element in 19 batches of samples exceeded the standard,and the Zn element in 7 batches of samples exceeded the standard.The exceeding rates were 100.0%and 36.8%,respectively;the content of other heavy metal elements did not exceed the standard.The order of individual index from large to small was Cr,Zn,Cd,Hg,Cu,As,and Pb,and the average comprehensive pollution level was mild pollution and above.[Conclusions]L.christinae was mainly polluted by Cr,followed by Zn;this study can provide basic data for drafting of the limit standard for heavy metal elements in L.christinae.

Harmonic Pollution Level Assessment in Distribution System Using Extended Cloud Similarity Measurement Method

The purpose of harmonic pollution level assessment is to judge whether the harmonic pollution of a bus or a region is beyond the limit. Considering the fuzziness of the index criteria values caused by harmonic variation,this paper proposes an assessment method for harmonic pollution level based on the extended cloud similarity measurement. Firstly, according to the main characteristics of harmonic pollution, a set of evaluation index of harmonic pollution level is formed, including the total harmonic distortion rate of voltage,the fifth harmonic current RMS value, the seventh harmonic current RMS value,the eleventh harmonic current RMS value, and thirteenth harmonic current RMS value. Secondly, considering the group decision-making behavior of the harmonic pollution level assessment, the group eigenvalue method is utilized to integrate the weight of multiple operators and to calculate the comprehensive weight of the assessment index. On this basis, the harmonic pollution are divided into four levels, and the index criteria values are expressed as triangular fuzzy numbers. Besides, the fuzzy numbers are unified by the extended cloud.Finally, the extended cloud similarity and the Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) is utilized to get the evaluation results.The monitoring data of seven 10 kV buses in Guangzhou is adopted to verify the validity and rationality of the evaluation method.

Artificial Neural Network Modeling of Healthy Risk Level Induced by Aircraft Pollutant Impacts around Soekarno Hatta International Airport

Aircraft pollutant emissions are an important part of sources of pollution that directly or indirectly affect human health and ecosystems. This research suggests an Artificial Neural Network model to determine the healthy risk level around Soekarno Hatta International Airport-Cengkareng Indonesia. This ANN modeling is a flexible method, which enables to recognize highly complex non-linear correlations. The network was trained with real measurement data and updated with new measurements, enhancing its quality and making it the ideal method for this research. Measurements of aircraft pollutant emissions are carried out with the aim to be used as input data and to validate the developed model. The obtained results concerned the improved ANN architecture model based on pollutant emissions as input variables. ANN model processes variables—hidden layers—and gives an output variable corresponding to a healthy risk level. This model is characterized by a 4-10-1 scheme. Based on ANN criteria, the best validation performance is achieved at epoch 28 from 34 epochs with the Mean Squared Error (MSE) of 9 × 10-3. The correlation between targets and outputs is confirmed. It validated a close relationship between targets and outputs. The network output errors value approaches zero. Further research is needed with the aim to enlarge the scheme of the ANN model by increasing its input variables. This is one of the major key defining environmental capacities of an airport that should be applied by Indonesian airport authorities. These would institute policies to manage or reduce pollutant emissions considering population and income growth to be socially positive.

Lead Pollution Research of Resident Children around Some Industrial Park

Lead is an important toxic heavy metal among environment pollution. Some industrial parks were founded in 2005 including non-ferrous metal processing and smelting plants. In order to identify the consequence of lead pollution on children around the industry park, blood samples of neighboring children were collected and analyzed in laboratory. The results showed that the involved children have suffered serious harms from Pb pollution. Almost 75% of the children＇s blood lead levels （BLLs） exceeded the limit of normal blood lead. Worse still, 26.17% of them were at the level of Moderate lead poisoning. The group aged 0-7 showed more susceptibility to Pb than that aged 8-14. Only 19.05% of the children aged 0-7 were at the level of normal blood lead, compared with 45.45% in the group aged 8-14. There was no significant difference between the values of blood lead concentration for male and female or among different age groups. Some approaches, which include controlling the Pb pollution from the industry park and safeguarding the residents, esp. the children were suggested.

Investigation on Water Pollution of Four Rivers in Coastal Wetland of Yellow River Estuary

[Objective] The study aimed at analysing water pollution of four rivers in coastal wetland of Yellow River estuary. [Method] Taking four seriously polluted rivers (Guangli River, Shenxian Ditch, Tiao River and Chao River) in coastal wetland of Yellow River estuary as study objects, water samples were collected from the four rivers in May (dry period), August (wet period) and November (normal period) in 2009 and 2010 respectively, then pollution indices like nutritive salts, COD, chlorophyll-a, petroleum, etc. were measured. Afterwards, the status quo of water pollution was assessed based on Nemero index and comprehensive trophic level index (TLI), so as to find out the integral status quo of water quality of wetland rivers and damages to aquatic ecological environment. [Result] On the whole, water pollution of four rivers in coastal wetland of Yellow River estuary was serious, in the eutrophication state, and the main pollutants were TN, TP, NH+4-N and petroleum. In addition, excessive N and P in the four rivers resulted in water eutrophication of Bohai Bay, so further leading to ride tide, which destroyed the coastal ecological environment of Bohai Sea. Moreover, compared with historical data, water pollution by nitrogen and phosphorus became more serious, while there was no obvious aggravation in the water pollution by petroleum. In a word, water pollution wasn’t optimistic on the whole. [Conclusion] The research could provide theoretical bases for the protection and utilization of river water in coastal wetland of Yellow River estuary and its coastal sea area.

Traffic Noise Pollution： Spectra Characteristics and Windows Sound Insulation in Laboratory and Field Measurements

The traffic spectra influence on indoor noise through windows is evaluated with laboratory and field measurements. Different traffic noise spectra were registered and reproduced, simulating the outdoor traffic conditions through different windows. Spectrum adaptation terms for the recorded spectra were different from the ones obtained from the Standards, showing that Normative gives a safe evaluation of the Weighted Sound Insulation Index. In field measurements, the level abatements calculated from the Facade Acoustic Insulation Index corrected with the adaptation terms shows that the ones from the Standard do not give a good approximation, while if the level abatements is calculated using the adaptation terms from the registered spectra, a more reliable approximation is achieved. Furthermore, comparing the level abatements for two windows having both Rw equal to 41 dB, very different values were obtained at different frequencies; therefore to characterize acoustic performances of windows, sound insulation curves are also needed. The correlation between the mean difference between adaptation terms calculated from the standard and the one between abatements obtained with pink noise and the ones obtained with the registered spectra is good, but different for road traffic and trains. In both, the difference diminishes when the difference between the abatements increases.

Assessment of Indoor and Outdoor Noise Pollution at a University Hospital Based on Acoustic Measurements and Noise Mapping

This paper describes an analysis of the sound pressure levels at the exterior façade and inside the Hospital de Clínicas of the Federal University of Paraná. Measurements were taken at a total of 45 points, 24 at the exterior facade and 21 points inside the hospital on all the floors of the main building and in the maternity building. These 45 measurements were used to calculate the acoustic map of the hospital, which is located on General Carneiro Street, in the city of Curitiba, state of Paraná, Brazil. A comparison of the measured outdoor sound pressure levels against those established by Curitiba Municipal Law No. 10625 revealed that they all exceeded the daytime limit of 55 dB(A) permitted for areas around hospitals. The indoor sound pressure measurements and the noise levels for acoustic comfort established by the Brazilian technical standard ABNT NBR 10152 were compared, indicating that all the measured points, including those in the neonatal intensive care unit, exceeded the established limit of 35 dB(A) to 45 dB(A).

Kinetics of low level chemiluminescence from plant leaf smoked by air pollutants

The kinetics of low level chemiluminescence from Chinese white polpar leaf smoked by CO and two gaseous mixture of SO 2 and CO or SO 2, NO x and CO, and their luminescence intensity formula were described. The comparison of the results indicated that three kinds of the gaseous compounds could cause no changes of the substantial nature of foliar biophoton emission. However, they made the luminescence intensity, including I o (1) and I o (2) , altered in a certain degree, and the changes caused by the fumigation of CO and the mixed gas of SO 2 and CO were different from that made by the gaseous mixture of SO 2, NO x and CO in τ′ and τ″ of the photo induced luminescence from plant leaf.

Analysis of Micro Organic Compound Pollution in Major City River Reaches of the Main Stem of the Changjiang River

It has become general for surface waters being polluted by micro organic compounds. In order to know the current pollution situation and the properties of micro organic compounds in the Changjiang River, a test was performed on micro organic compounds in the water, bottom material and fish bodies which were sampled from major city river reaches of the Changjiang River. Based on the test result, researchers described and analyzed the sorts, concentration level and distribution features of micro organic compounds. A comprehensive evaluation was conducted by adopting the method of MEG (Multimedia Environmental Goals). The study indicated that ① the water body of major city river reaches of the Changjiang River has been generally polluted. In the test, totally 12 types with 308 kinds of organic compounds were detected. The main pollutants were paraffins, PAHs and lipids; and ② micro organic pollutant content in fish bodies was generally higher than that in bottom material which is in turn higher than that in water; and ③ pollution is relatively severe in the river reaches of mid-to-large comprehensive industrial cities with fairly great TAS (Total Ambient Severity) of public health and ecological system.

Responses of acrocarpous moss communities to heavy metal(Fe,Mn,Cd)and sulfur pollution in the Changgou carbonate manganese ore,SW China

Bryophyte communities have been widely used to monitor and assess heavy metal pollution in soil,air and water.However,the unique value of acrocarpous moss in monitoring environmental pollution and the harm of non-metallic sulfur to human health caused by carbonate manganese mining were seldom considered in previous studies.This study investigated the heavy metal and sulfur pollution level by soil and moss sample collection in Changgou manganese ore and its surrounding environment in the Zunyi area,Guizhou Province,China.By means of cluster analysis,diversity analysis,correlation analysis and redundancy analysis,the relationship between dominant moss communities and major pollutants were analyzed.The results showed that there were pollutants such as iron(Fe),manganese(Mn),cadmium(Cd),sulfur(S)and others in the 500 meters buffer zone centered on Changgou manganese ore.The ore sorting area and waste rock accumulation area were considered as the most seriously polluted,followed by the ore outlet area and ore transport line,at last the miners’living area and vegetable planting area were the least polluted.A total of 23 species of moss communities were identified in the Changgou manganese ore area,among which 9 were dominant,including Bryum blindii Bruch&Schimp.(Bry.bli),Weissia planifolia Dix(Wei.pla)-Bry.bli,Bryum caespiticium Hedw.(Bry.cae),Bryum pallescens Schleicher ex Schw?gr.(Bry.pal),Didymodon longicostatus X.J.Li et Iwats(Did.lon),Weissia brachycarpa(Nees&Hornsch.)Jur.(Wei.bra),Trichostomum brachydontium Bruch.(Tri.bra),Bryum argenteum Hedw.(Bry.arg)Wei.bra and Bryum algovicum Sendt.ex M?ll.Hal.(Bry.alg),all of which are from the acrocarp species.Bry.cae showed a strong tolerance to S,Did.lon to Fe,Bry.pal to Cd and Bry.bli to Mn.There was a significant correlation between the main polluting elements and the dominant bryophyte community(P<0.05),indicating a high biological indicator value.Together,our results can provide the scientific basis for soil pollution monitoring and human health risk assessment in carbonate manganese mining areas.

A Survey of Noise Pollution in Ado-Ekiti Metropolis Using Mobile Phone

Noise is considered as the most pervasive pollutant, it constitutes the most disturbing among the city pollutants and is a serious urban crisis in Ado Ekiti metropolis. Noise pollution was monitored at five different locations in Ado-Ekiti, the capital town of Ekiti State of Nigeria. The study was done using a Virtual Instrument;a Sound Pressure Level mobile application installed on a mobile phone. The equivalent noise level using A-weighting was taken every fifteen minutes in each location between 6:00 am and 9:00 pm and the LAeq,T of each location was calculated. Maximum LAeq,6h of 105.40 dB was obtained in marketplace between 6:00 am and 12:00 pm while the minimum value of LAeq,6h obtained for a residential area in the same period is 69.51 dBA. The residents are exposed to average noise levels of 75 - 98 dB (A) or more every day which is higher than the recommended value of 60 dBA by WHO. This is very dangerous to the health of the people in these areas, and the results obtained in this study are useful as reference and guideline for future regulations on noise limit to be implemented for urban areas in Nigeria.

Extreme air pollution events:Modeling and prediction

In order to get prepared for the coming extreme pollution events and minimize their harmful impacts, the first and most important step is to predict their possible intensity in the future. Firstly, the generalized Pareto distribution （GPD） in extreme value theory was used to fit the extreme pollution concentrations of three main pollutants： PM10, NO2 and SO：, from 2005 to 2010 in Changsha, China. Secondly, the prediction results were compared with actual data by a scatter plot. Four statistical indicators： EMA （mean absolute error）, ERMS （root mean square error）, IA （index of agreement） and R2 （coefficient of determination） were used to evaluate the goodness-of-fit as well. Thirdly, the return levels corresponding to different return periods were calculated by the fitted distributions. The fitting results show that the distribution of PM10 and SO2 belongs to exponential distribution with a short tail while that of the NOe belongs to beta distribution with a bounded tail. The scatter plot and four statistical indicators suggest that GPD agrees well with the actual data. Therefore, the fitted distribution is reliable to predict the return levels corresponding to different return periods. The predicted return levels suggest that the intensity of coming pollution events for PM10 and SO2 will be even worse in the future, which means people have to get enough preparation for them.

Assessment of Noise Pollution along Two Main Avenues in Curitiba, Brazil

In this study, noise pollution assessments were performed along Marechal Deodoro Avenue and Batel Avenue, which are two major thoroughfares in the city of Curitiba, Brazil. Eleven points were evaluated at Batel Avenue and 16 points at Marechal Deodoro Avenue. The results of the noise level measurements and the calculation of noise maps indicated that both thoroughfares are acoustically polluted. The simulated and measured noise levels, in the 27 evaluated points, exceed the limits established by law 10,625 of the city of Curitiba, which establishes acceptable levels for the comfort of the population in the external environment. With regard to the traffic composition in the areas under study, the vehicle flow was found to consist mostly of light vehicles, representing 88% of the total flow along Batel Avenue and 85% on Marshal Deodoro Street. Based on the noise maps and measured noise levels, it was found that the entire length of Marshal Deodoro Avenue and Batel Avenue are strongly affected by street noise, which is readily explained by the constant traffic, high vehicle flow (number of vehicles/hour) and high vehicle speed at some points of these thoroughfares.

Analysis of Road Traffic Noise Pollution around a University in Binzhou

The number of automobiles in the urban area of Binzhou City continues to increase,and traffic noise pollution is increasingly serious. In this study,noise pollution on Huanghe 5 Road near the south gate of Binzhou University was monitored. The results showed that the road noise pollution on Huanghe 5 Road was relatively serious on the whole,especially in the peak periods of traffic flow in the morning and afternoon,because the increase in the number of pedestrians brought inconvenience to traffic,thereby resulting in an increase in car whistle.

Pollution Characteristics and Health Risk Assessment of Heavy Metals in PM2.5 during Winter in the Suburb of Cangzhou, China

The heavy metals in atmospheric fine particles are of great concern to human health. To understand the pollution characteristics and health risks of heavy metals in particulate matter with an aerodynamic equivalent diameter ≤2.5 μm (PM2.5) during winter in the suburb of Cangzhou, PM2.5 samples were collected with an intelligent medium-flow atmospheric particulate matter sampler from January to February 2019. The Fe, Cu, Mn, Pb and Zn contents in PM2.5 were determined via inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). The sources and health risks of heavy metals in PM2.5 were analysed via the enrichment factor (EF) method and the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) health risk assessment model. The results showed that the average PM2.5 concentration in the suburb of Cangzhou reached 71.6 μg/m3, ranging from 23.7 to 169.5 μg/m3. The exceeding standard rate was 29.4% during the sampling period. The PM2.5 concentration during the nighttime was higher than that during the daytime. The heavy metal concentrations in PM2.5 decreased in the order of Fe > Mn > Zn > Cu > Pb, and the Fe, Mn, Pb and Zn concentrations decreased in the order of clean days < pollution days < heavy pollution days. The Fe and Mn concentrations were higher during the daytime than those during the nighttime, while the Cu, Pb and Zn concentrations were higher during the nighttime than those during the daytime. EF analysis revealed that Zn, Pb and Cu were significantly enriched, and Pb was highly enriched on heavy pollution days with increasing pollution degree. The enrichment level of heavy metals during the nighttime was higher than that during the daytime. Health risk assessment demonstrated that Mn posed non-carcinogenic risks to both adults and children, following the sequence of clean days < pollution days < heavy pollution days. Pb posed a carcinogenic risk to adults on heavy pollution days. The study revealed that the pollution levels of heavy metals in PM2.5 in the suburb of Cangzhou were low, and Pb and Mn in PM2.5 posed certain health risks to the population.