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Factorization methods applied to characterize the sources of volatile organic compounds in Montreal, Quebec

100%

Porada E., Kousha T.

International Journal of Occupational Medicine and Environmental Health

2015

vol. 29

issue 1

15-39

Objectives The study objective was to assemble emission characteristics of the sources of the ambient volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and to elaborate methods of organizing them into the sources’ chemical profiles. Material and Methods The UNMIX – sensor modeling method from the U.S. Environment Protection Agency (EPA) – was used to process the VOC concentration data acquired over the years 2000–2009 for 175 VOC species in 4 air quality monitoring stations in Montreal, Quebec. Results The method enabled to assess VOC emissions from the typically distributed sources existing in urban environment and VOC occurrences characterizing the local, or point-like, sources. The distributed sources were inextricably associated with hydrocarbons from exhaust, heavier hydrocarbons from contaminated urban soil, fugitive evaporations of gasoline and liquefied petroleum gases (LPG), leakage from the industrial and commercial use of solvents, and the inert, ozone depleting gases permeating urban atmosphere. The sources’ profiles were charted involving 60–120 VOC species per source. Spatial distribution of the sources was examined. Conclusions The UNMIX application and the source profiling methods, by building robust chemical profiles of VOC sources, provided information that can be used to assign the measured VOC emissions to physical sources. This, in turn, provides means of assessing the impact of environmental policies, on one hand, and of industrial activities on the other hand on VOC air pollution.

Ambient ozone and bacterium Streptococcus: A link between cellulitis and pharyngitis

81%

Valacchi G., Porada E., Rowe B. H.

International Journal of Occupational Medicine and Environmental Health

2015

vol. 28

issue 4

771-774

Objectives Ambient air pollution, as many publications indicate, may have associations with skin condition. The aim of this study has been to examine such common relations for cellulitis and pharyngitis. The hypothesis is that ambient ground-level ozone may help bacteria to penetrate skin or throat. Material and Methods We used the emergency department (ED) visits data in Edmonton, Canada for the period from 1992 (April) to 2002 (March). We retrieved all the diagnosed ED visits for cellulitis and pharyngitis. Case-crossover design was used to study potential association between ozone and those visits. Conditional logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratios (OR) and their 95% confidence intervals (95% CI). Results The results are reported for the interquartile range (IQR = 17.9 ppb) for 8 h maximum ozone. Positive and statistical significant results were obtained as follows: for lags from 0 to 3 (OR = 1.07, 95% CI: 1.03–1.12, lag 2); for lags from 0 to 6 days (OR = 1.08, 95% CI: 1.03–1.12, lag 3); for lags from 0 to 4 (OR = 1.06, 95% CI: 1.03–1.09, for lag 2 and 3). Conclusions The findings suggest the response to exposure to ambient ground-level ozone for skin and pharyngitis considered separately and jointly.

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2 International Journal of Occupational Medicine and Environmental Health

2 Porada E.

1 Kousha T.

1 Rowe B. H.

1 Valacchi G.

2 2015

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Factorization methods applied to characterize the sources of volatile organic compounds in Montreal, Quebec

Ambient ozone and bacterium Streptococcus: A link between cellulitis and pharyngitis