Abstract
The sources of gaseous and particulate (PM) pollutants in Polish cities are mainly: municipal sector, industry, emissions from the road transport and the upstream emission (pollution “flowing” to the cities, derived from emission sources located outside of cities). The residents of the cities are mainly exposed to air pollutants from low-emission sources (i.e. municipal sector and road traffic). In the paper, the results of the study from field campaign, conducted in January of 2016 in Wroclaw will be presented. During the field campaign the 24-h concentrations of submicron particulate matter (PM1 ) and 24-h concentrations of selected PM1 -bound heavy metals were determined. The cancer risk associated with inhalation exposure to arsenic, nickel, and cadmium to the city’s residents, based on the US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) standards methodology including the so-called lifelong chronic exposure of adult and child, was calculated. Measurements results showed that in Wroclaw during the winter season in 2016 the 24-h concentrations of PM1 -bound arsenic, nickel and cadmium ranged from 0.51 to 4.26 ng/m3 , 0.21–52.89 ng/m3 and 0.08–1.01 ng/m3 , respectively. Obtained calculations results of cancer risk values for inhalation exposure to arsenic were: for men: 6.11·10−6 , women: 7.30·10−6 , children: 14.90·10−6 , to nickel: for men: 1.91·10−6 , women: 2.29·10−6 , children: 4.67·10−6 , to cadmium: for men: 0.37·10−6 , women: 0.44·10−6 , children: 0.91·10−6 . The values obtained for inhalation exposure among children indicated the high potential risk of cancer, mainly for arsenic exposure.
Highlights
Air pollution contributes to the deterioration of the environment through the introduction of gaseous, liquid and solid substances into the atmosphere [1, 2]
The aim of the study was to analyse the variability of 24-h concentrations of PM1 (Dp ≤1 microns) and PM1-bound heavy metals, i.e. cadmium, arsenic and nickel and assessment of inhalation exposure of the residents of the selected area of the city of Wroclaw associated with the presence of the above heavy metals in PM1
Exposure to heavy metals such as cadmium, arsenic, and nickel may in the future be a potential cause of cancerous changes
Summary
Air pollution contributes to the deterioration of the environment through the introduction of gaseous, liquid and solid substances into the atmosphere [1, 2]. Cardiovascular disease is considered to be the main cause of death in the European Union, accounting for about 40% of all deaths. In Poland, the premature death caused by the cardiovascular disease is twice as high compared to other Western European countries [4]. The most often cardiovascular disease that occurs in society is hypertension. The factor responsible for the occurrence of cardiovascular disease is air pollution caused by particulate matter, PM2.5 (fine particulate matter; a fraction of atmospheric particles with aerodynamic diameter Dp not greater than 2.5 microns) and PM10 (Dp ≤ 10 microns) [5]. The emissions data from 2013 show that combustion processes outside the industry (51%), road transport (13%), combustion processes in the transformation of energy (10%), combustion processes in industry (7%), other vehicles and equipment (7%), waste management (5%), production processes (5%,) distribution of fossil fuels and their distribution (1%), the use of solvents and other products (1%) and agriculture (0.2%) are mainly responsible for the emission of PM2.5 [6]
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