Long-term assessment of ecological risk from deposition of elemental pollutants in the vicinity of the industrial area of Puchuncaví-Ventanas, central Chile

The present work investigates soil pollution by elemental contaminants and compares ecological risk indexes related to industrial activities for the case study of Puchuncaví-Ventanas: a relevant industrial zone located in central Chile. Selected elements (As, Pb, Cd, Ni, Hg, V, Mn, Zn, Sr, Sb, Cr, Co, Cu, K, and Ba) were analyzed during a long-term period (yearly sampling campaigns during 2007–2011), at 5 sampling stations representing different degrees of impact. PCA and cluster analysis allowed identifying a copper smelter and a coal-fired power plant complex asmajor pollution sources. Geoaccumulation index (Igeo), enrichment factor (EF), contamination factor (Cf), contamination degree (Cdeg), and integrated pollution index (IPI) are critically discussed for quantitative ecological risk assessment. Igeo, EFandCf indexes are producing comparable environmental information, showing moderate to high pollution risks in the area that demands furthermonitoring and adoption of prevention and remediation measures. Published in Science of the Total Environment. Read more

Ambient air levels and health risk assessment of benzo(a)pyrene in atmospheric particulate matter samples from low polluted areas: application of an optimized microwave extraction and HPLC-FL methodology

A new methodology involving a simple and fast pretreatment of the samples by microwave-assisted extraction and concentration by N2 stream, followed by HPLC with fluorescence detection, was used for determining the concentration of benzo(a)pyrene (BaP) in atmospheric particulate matter (PM10 fraction). Obtained LOD, 1.0 × 10−3 ng/m3, was adequate for the analysis of benzo(a)pyrene in the samples, and BaP recovery from PAH in Fine Dust (PM10-like) certified reference material was nearly quantitative (86 %). The validated procedure was applied for analyzing 115 PM10 samples collected at different sampling locations in the low-polluted area of Extremadura (Southwest Spain) during a monitoring campaign carried out in 2011–2012. BaP spatial variations and seasonal variability were investigated as well as the influence of meteorological conditions and different air pollutants concentrations. A normalized protocol for health risk assessment was applied to estimate lifetime cancer risk due to BaP inhalation in the sampling areas, finding that around eight inhabitants per million people may develop lung cancer due to the exposition to BaP in atmospheric particulates emitted by the investigated sources. Published in Environmental Science and Pollution Research. Read more