New comprehensive approach for airborne asbestos characterisation and monitoring

Result code in IS VaVaI

<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F00216208%3A11310%2F18%3A10384534" target="_blank" >RIV/00216208:11310/18:10384534 - isvavai.cz</a>

Alternative codes found

RIV/61388980:_____/18:00494424 RIV/67985858:_____/18:00494424

Result on the web

<a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-018-2791-7" target="_blank" >https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-018-2791-7</a>

DOI - Digital Object Identifier

<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11356-018-2791-7" target="_blank" >10.1007/s11356-018-2791-7</a>

Result language

angličtina

Original language name

New comprehensive approach for airborne asbestos characterisation and monitoring

Original language description

High concentrations of airborne asbestos in the ambient air are still a serious problem of air quality in numerous localities around the world. Since 2002, elevated concentrations of asbestos minerals of unknown origin have been detected in the ambient air of Pilsen, Czech Republic. To determine the asbestos fibre sources in this urban air, a systematic study was conducted. First, 14 bulk dust samples were collected in Pilsen at nine localities, and 6 bulk samples of construction aggregates for gravel production were collected in a quarry in the Pilsen-Litice district. The quarry is the largest quarry in the Pilsen region and the closest quarry to the built-up urban area. X-ray diffraction of the asbestos minerals revealed that monoclinic amphibole (MA, namely actinolite based on subsequent SEM-EDX analysis) in the bulk samples accounted for &lt;1-33% of the mass and that the highest values were found in the bulk dust samples from the railway platform of the Pilsen main railway station. Simultaneously, 24-h samples of airborne particulate matter (PM) at three localities in Pilsen were collected. Actinolite was identified in 40% of the PM samples. The relationship between the meteorology and presence of actinolite in the 24 PM10 samples was not proven, probably due to the long sampling integration time. Therefore, highly time-and-size-resolved PM sampling was performed. Second, sampling of size-segregated aerosols and measurements of the wind speed (WS), wind direction (WD), precipitation (P) and hourly PM10, PM2.5 and PM1 were conducted in a suburban locality near the quarry in two monthly highly time-resolved periods (30, 60, 120min). Three/eight PM size fractions were sampled by a Davis Rotating-drum Uniform-size-cut Monitor (3/8DRUM) and analysed for the presences of asbestos fibres by scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDX). Asbestos fibre detection in highly time-resolved PM samples and current WD and WS determination allows the apportionment directionality of asbestos fibre sources. The number of critical actinolite asbestos fibres (length 5m and width &lt;3m, 3:1) increased with the PM1-10/PM10 and PM2.5-10/PM10 ratios, WS&gt;2ms(-1) and precipitation &lt;1mm. Additionally, the number of critical actinolite asbestos fibres was not related to a specific WD. Therefore, we conclude that the sources of airborne critical actinolite asbestos fibres in Pilsen&apos;s urban area are omnipresent. Frequent use of construction aggregates and gravel from the metamorphic spilite quarries in the Pilsen region and in many localities around the urban area is a plausible explanation for the omnipresence of the critical actinolite asbestos fibres concentration in Pilsen&apos;s ambient air. Mitigation strategies to reduce the concentrations of critical actinolite asbestos fibres must be developed. Continuous monitoring and performing SEM-EDX analysis of highly time-and-size-resolved PM samples, correlated with fast changing WS and WD, seems to be a strong tool for efficiently controlling the mitigation strategies of critical actinolite asbestos fibres.

Czech name

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Czech description

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Type

J_imp - Article in a specialist periodical, which is included in the Web of Science database

CEP classification

—

OECD FORD branch

10511 - Environmental sciences (social aspects to be 5.7)

Project

<a href="/en/project/GBP503%2F12%2FG147" target="_blank" >GBP503/12/G147: Centre for studies on toxicity of nanoparticles</a><br>

Continuities

P - Projekt vyzkumu a vyvoje financovany z verejnych zdroju (s odkazem do CEP)

Publication year

2018

Confidentiality

S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů

Name of the periodical

Environmental Science and Pollution Research

ISSN

0944-1344

e-ISSN

—

Volume of the periodical

25

Issue of the periodical within the volume

30

Country of publishing house

DE - GERMANY

Number of pages

9

Pages from-to

30488-30496

UT code for WoS article

000446844400066

EID of the result in the Scopus database

2-s2.0-85053273421