Standardisation of a European measurement method for organic carbon and elemental carbon in ambient air: results of the field trial campaign and the determination of a measurement uncertainty and working range.

The European Committee for Standardisation (CEN) Technical Committee 264 'Air Quality' has recently produced a standard method for the measurements of organic carbon and elemental carbon in PM2.5 within its working group 35 in response to the requirements of European Directive 2008/50/EC. It is expected that this method will be used in future by...

Swimming pool attendance and respiratory symptoms and allergies among Dutch children

Objectives: To describe associations among swimming, respiratory health, allergen sensitisation and Clara cell protein 16 (CC16) levels in Dutch schoolchildren. Trichloramine levels in swimming pool air were determined to assess potential exposure levels. Methods: Respiratory health and pool attendance information was collected from 2359...

On the controllability and energy sensitivity of heat-integrated desiccant adsorption dryers

This work studies the controllability of heat-integrated zeolite adsorption dryers. Mean product moisture content, temperature and vitamin C concentration (representative of product quality) are considered as controlled variables. Set-point tracking and disturbance rejection controllability metrics are considered in addition to energy...

Long-term effects of traffic-related air pollution on mortality in a Dutch cohort (NLCS-AIR study)

Background: Several studies have found an effect on mortality of between-city contrasts in long-term exposure to air pollution. The effect of within-city contrasts is still poorly understood. Objectives: We studied the association between long-term exposure to traffic-related air pollution and mortality in a Dutch cohort. Methods: We used data...

Setting an indoor air exposure limit for formaldehyde: Factors of concern

The paper aims to evaluate the indoor air limit of 1 μg/m3 (0.8 ppb) formaldehyde as advised by the European Commission [the INDEX project; Kotzias, D., Koistinen, K., Kephalopoulos, S., Schlitt, C., Carrer, P., Maroni, M., Jantunen, M., Cochet, C., Kirchner, S., Lindvall, T., McLaughlin, J., Mølhave, L., de Oliveira Fernandes, E., Seifert, B.,...

Elements that contribute to healthy building design

Background: The elements that contribute to a healthy building are multifactorial and can be discussed from different perspectives. Objectives: We present three viewpoints of designing a healthy building: the importance of sustainable development, the role of occupants for ensuring indoor air quality, and ongoing developments related to indoor...

A revised estimate of copper emissions from road transport in UNECE-Europe and its impact on predicted copper concentrations

Comparisons of measured and model-predicted atmospheric copper concentrations show a severe underestimation of the observed concentrations by the models. This underestimation may be (partly) due to underestimated emissions of copper to air. Since the phase out of asbestos brake lining material, the composition of brake lining material has...

Occupational exposure of hairdressers to [14C]-para-phenylenediamine-containing oxidative hair dyes: A mass balance study

We monitored the exposure of hairdressers to oxidative hair dyes for 6 working days under controlled conditions. Eighteen professional hairdressers (3/day) coloured hairdresser's training heads bearing natural human hair (hair length: approximately 30 cm) for 6 h/working day with a dark-shade oxidative hair dye containing 2% [14C]-para...

In search of a common European approach to a healthy indoor environment

Increasingly, policymakers in Europe and around the world are realizing the importance of healthy indoor environments for public health. Certain member states of the European Union (EU) have already achieved successes in improving indoor environmental quality, such as controlling certain contaminants (e.g., environmental tobacco smoke) or...

Rapid detection of fungal α-amylase in the work environment with a lateral flow immunoassay

Background: Occupational allergen exposure assessment usually requires airborne dust sampling at the worksite followed by dust extraction and enzyme immunoassay (EIA) analysis at the laboratory. Use of semiquantitative lateral flow immunoassays (LFIAs) may allow a more rapid detection procedure with direct on-site demonstration of a bioallergen...

Dermal exposure assessment to benzene and toluene using charcoal cloth pads

Charcoal cloth pads have been used to assess volatile chemicals on the skin in a laboratory setting; however, they have not yet been applied to measure dermal exposure in occupational settings. This study aimed at evaluating whether charcoal pads can be used to assess dermal exposure to benzene and toluene in workers of a petrochemical plant....

An experimental study to investigate the feasibility to classify paints according to neurotoxicological risks: Occupational air requirement (OAR) and indoor use of alkyd paints

The concept of occupational air requirement (OAR), representing the quantity of air required to dilute the vapor concentration in the work environment resulting from 11 product to a concentration below the occupational exposure limit (OEL), was considered to have potential to discriminate between paints that can and cannot be used safely. The...

International issues on human health effects of exposure to chemical mixtures

In this article, we highlight new developments and recent studies concerning adverse human health effects related to chemical mixtures. One group of activities comprises the development of a new computer program for analyzing mixture studies and a mathematical model as a basis for combination rules that predict the toxicity of mixtures. Other...

Determination of source contributions to ambient volatile organic compound concentrations in Berlin

During three measuring campaigns in June, July, and August 1996, volatile organic compound (VOC) concentrations were measured at a rural background site, a city residential site, and a street site in Berlin. In addition, samples were taken near relevant sources of VOCs. The measurements covered the volatile hydrocarbons in the range C1-C14 and...

Crystallisation of mixtures of ammonium nitrate, ammonium sulphate and soot

Crystallisation of laboratory aerosols of ammonium nitrate and of internal mixtures of this salt with ammonium sulphate were investigated using humidity controlled nephelometry. The aerosol was produced via nebulizing of solutions and then dried to 25% RH, which is a realistic minimum value for ambient air. Pure ammonium nitrate and aerosols...

Dissipation of aerosols from greenhouse air after application of pesticides using a low-volume technique implications for safe re-entry

The application of pesticides using Low-Volume (LV) techniques (volume rate < 50 l/ha) is of growing interest for crop protection in greenhouses. An important LV-technique is the Low Volume Mister (LVM), generating fine droplets (volume mean (aerodynamic) diameter varying from 14 up to 32 μm). Field experiments in a commercial greenhouse have...

The actual insulation of multilayer clothing

The effect of geometric factors on insulation was calculated mathematically for standing humans. It was found that internal radiative heat transfer in an ensemble was significant for insulation, that intrinsic clothing insulation is a useful concept only for indoor climates, and that shape plays a minor role. The literature agrees closely on...