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Abstract. The production and use of plastics increases rapidly as they are widely used in packaging, construction materials, furniture, foils, etc. As a consequence of their widespread use and often disposable character, vast streams of plastic wastes are continuously generated, a considerable fraction of which are combusted in households worldwide. In this paper, various types of commonly used plastics (PE, PET, PP, PU, PVC, PS, ABS), as well as treated wood samples (LDF) and firewood were combusted separately in a test stove under controlled conditions. The particulates emitted during the combustion test were collected on filters, and potential tracers for each waste type were identified by GC-MS, and their relative abundances were determined. The emission factor of 1,3,5-triphenylbenzene was found to be higher for polymers containing aromatic rings in their structure. The application of terphenyls and quarterphenyls as tracer compounds has also been investigated. The trimer of styrene was found to be a potential tracer for the combustion of polystyrene and/or styrene containing copolymers. Novel tracers were proposed for the burning of PET and furniture plates (LDF), which are among the most widely used waste types burned in households.

Abstract. It is a common practice in developing countries and in some regions of Europe that solid wastes generated in households (e.g. plastic beverage packaging and other plastic wastes, textile wastes, fibreboards, furniture, tyres, and coloured-paper waste) are burned in wood- or coal-fired stoves during the winter months. In Europe, the types and volume of municipal waste burned in households is virtually unknown because these activities are illegal and not recorded, with the exception of a few media reports or court cases. Even though particulate emissions from illegal waste burning pose a significant hazard to human health due to the combination of excessive emission factors (EFs) and uncontrolled chemical composition, there is scarce information on the specific EFs for PM10 and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the scientific literature. In this work, controlled combustion tests were performed with 12 different types of municipal solid waste, and particulate emissions were measured and collected for chemical analysis. Absolute EFs for PM10 and PAHs as well as the benzo(a)pyrene (BaP) toxicity equivalent of the latter are reported for the first time for the indoor combustion of 12 common types of municipal solid waste that are frequently burned in households worldwide. It was found that the PM10 emission factors from the combustion of wood-based waste samples were about twice that of firewood, whereas EFs in the range of 11–82 mg g−1 (a factor of 5–40 times higher than that of dry firewood under the same conditions) were obtained for different types of plastic waste. The latter were also found to emit exceptionally high quantities of PAHs, by a factor of 50–750 more than upon the combustion of dry firewood under the same conditions. Since the more toxic 4–6 ring PAHs were predominant in the particulate emission from plastic waste burning, BaP equivalent toxicity was up to 4100 times higher than that from wood combustion.

Diesel exhaust is one of the major sources of fine and ultra-fine particulate matter in urban air. Toxicity of diesel-powered engine emissions has been quite widely assessed; however, much less information is available on their ecotoxicity. In our study, the kinetic version of the Vibrio fischeri bioluminescence inhibition bioassay based on the ISO 21338:2010 standard was used to characterise the ecotoxicity of diesel-powered buses. It is a direct contact test in which solid samples are tested in suspension and test organisms are in direct contact with toxic particles. The age of the selected buses fell into a wide range; the oldest one was produced in 1987. Diesel engines of different emission standards (Euro0-Euro4) were included. Measured EC50 values of Euro0-Euro1 engine emissions fell into the same range, 1.24-0.96 μg ml(-1), respectively. On the contrary, emission of Euro4 vehicle proved to be non-toxic. Genotoxic potential of the samples was also estimated, using the colorimetric SOS-chromotest™. Genotoxicity was detected also for Euro0 and Euro1 buses, showing correlation with the ecotoxic potential. The fact that the particulates from Euro4 vehicles did not show ecotoxic/genotoxic effect implies that replacing old Euro1 and Euro2 buses can be a highly effective solution for reducing environmental hazard of automotive emissions. The whole-aerosol testing method is a cheap alternative that can be used in engine developments and emission control.

Abstract:© Versita Sp. z o.o. Keywords: Diesel exhaust particulates • Ecotoxicity • Kinetic luminescent bacteria test • Direct contact test Institute of Environmental Sciences, University of Pannonia, H-8200 Veszprém, HungaryAndrás Ács, Árpád Ferincz, Anikó Kovács, Beatrix Jancsek-Turóczi, András Gelencsér, Gyula Kiss, Nora Kováts * Short CommunicationDiesel exhaust is one of the major sources of fine and ultrafine particulate matter in urban air. Toxicity of diesel-powered engine emissions has been quite widely assessed, however, much less information is available on their ecotoxicity. In our study the kinetic version of the Vibrio fischeri bioluminescence inhibition bioassay, based on the ISO 21338:2010 standard, was used to characterise the ecotoxicity of diesel-powered cars. The method is sensitive enough to test the ecotoxic effect of the emission of individual vehicles. In general, significant positive correlation was found between ecotoxicity (expressed as Toxic Unit /TU/ values) and total carbon (TC) as well as between TU and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) concentrations.

Abstract. It is a common practice in the developing countries and in some regions of Europe that solid wastes generated in the households (e.g. plastic beverage packaging and other plastic wastes, textile wastes, fibreboards, furniture, tyres, and coloured paper waste) are burned in wood- or coal-fired stoves during the winter months. In Europe, the types and volume of municipal waste burned in households is virtually unknown because these activities are illegal and not recorded, with the exception of a few media reports or court cases. Even though particulate emissions from illegal waste burning pose an unprecedented hazard to human health due to the combination of excessive emission factors (EFs) and uncontrolled chemical composition, there is scarce information on the specific emission factors for PM10 and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the scientific literature. In this work, controlled combustion tests were performed with 12 different types of municipal solid waste and particulate emissions were measured and collected for chemical analysis. Absolute emission factors for PM10 and PAHs as well as the benzo(a)pyrene toxicity equivalent of the latter are reported for the first time for the indoor combustion of 12 common types of municipal solid waste that are frequently burned in households worldwide.

Objectives: Air quality in the stables is characterized by elevated level of dust and aeroallergens which are supposed to directly cause or exacerbate several respiratory disorders. The most often recognized problem is recurrent airway obstruction (RAO), previously known as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). There is some indication that aeroallergens (among them endotoxins) may also cause inflammation in human airways and may exceed safe levels in stables. Monitoring studies have covered mainly the determination of the concentration of respirable particles and of culturable fungi and their toxins. However, these particles do not only directly affect the respiratory system, but might act as a carrier conveying toxic contaminants and biological agents such as bacteria. In a typical, 20-horse Hungarian stable, microbial community of respirable fraction of resuspended dust has been characterized to reveal if these particles convey hazardous pathogenic bacteria, posing risk to either horses or staff. Material and Methods: Resuspended dust was sampled using a mobile instrument. The instrument contains a PARTISOL-FRM model 2000 sampler that was operated at a flow rate of 16.7 l/min and a cyclone separator which collected the particulate matter with an aerodynamic size between 1 μm and 10 μm (PM 1-10 ) fraction. Microbial taxa were identified by culture-independent next generation sequencing (NGS) of variable 16S ribosomal ribonucleic acid (rRNA) gene regions. Results: In total, 1491 different taxa were identified, of them 384 were identified to species level, 961 to genus level. The sample was dominated by common ubiquitous soil and organic material-dwelling taxa. Conclusions: Pathogens occurred at low abundance, and were represented by mostly facultative human pathogens, with the prevalence of Staphylococcus species.

This paper discusses the diurnal variation and the interdependences between the physical, chemical and toxicological characteristics of atmospheric carbonaceous particulate matter (CPM) and co-emitted gaseous components. Measurements were carried out at two different urban sites during a 2-month period. On-line measured parameters were optical absorption coefficients (OAC), total number concentration (TNC), mass concentration of CPM and the concentration of gaseous species (CO, NO x and BTEX). Off-line analyses were carried out on filters collected with 6-hour time resolution. The concentrations of elemental carbon (EC), organic carbon (OC), total carbon (TC), levoglucosan (LG) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) were determined. The ecotoxicity of CPM was assessed by the Vibrio Fischeri marine bioluminescence inhibition bioassay (ISO 21338:2010). We found (r > 0.498) positive and wavelength dependent correlation between the CPM related parameters based on optical response (OAC, AAE) and thermal stability (TC, EC, OC, OC/TC). We also revealed weak (r = 0.309) or moderate (r = 0.448) correlation between the AAE and the ecotoxicity data indicating that carbonaceous fraction of the ambient particulate matter has ecotoxicological impact. Based on the determined correlations, we propose the applicability of the AAE determined by multi wavelength photoacoustic measurements as a possible candidate for first-screening the toxicological impact of optically active carbonaceous ambient particulate matter. The strengths and the limitations of this methodology are both discussed here.