Characterisation of volatile organic compounds and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the ambient air of steelworks

Biomass fuels and coke plants are important sources of human exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, benzene and toluene

“…However, no significant trends (up or downward) were observed in the concentrations of BT metabolites in the urine from the three worker sub-groups. BT is volatile and therefore subject to dispersion by the wind, moving it away from the plant areas and precluding any significantly different urinary exposures (Ciaparra et al, 2009). Our results validated the previous studies (Ranzi et al, 2013).…”

Emission and profile characteristic of volatile organic compounds emitted from coke production, iron smelt, heating station and power plant in Liaoning Province, China

“…Exhaust gases were sampled from the stacks and analyzed by the US EPA Method 18 integrated bag method, and it was found that toluene, 1,2,4-trimethylbenzene, isopentane, m,p-xylene, 1-butene, ethylbenzene, and benzene were the predominant VOC species in these processes. Ciaparra et al(2009) measured the aromatic hydrocarbons within the boundary of a coking plant in the UK, using differential optical absorption spectrometry. It was found that benzene concentrations determined in the vicinity of a coke plant were comparable to some urban locations and were 20-fold lower than in refineries.…”

Source apportionment of indoor PM10 in Elderly Care Centre

“…Considering the scale of the problem, the need of increasing the knowledge seems urgent. During the last few decades, source apportionment studies have been done in outdoor environments, which explain the existence of well-known outdoor emission sources and fingerprints (Farinha et al 2004;Freitas et al 2005;Ciaparra et al 2009;Almeida et al 2013a). However, the composition of indoor PM is very complex, with similarities but also differences to outdoor aerosols, leading to a totally different type of sources.…”