Main Dust Source Research Articles

Numerical simulation of the 18 February 2017 frontal dust storm over southwest of Iran using WRF-Chem, satellite imagery, and PM10 concentrations

In the past two decades, dust storms in the Middle East have caused many problems for people in the south and southwest regions of Iran. During this period, there has been an increase in the trend of strong dust storm activities in this region, even in non-summer seasons. In this research, the February 18, 2017 frontal dust storm over the Khuzestan province of Iran is studied in detail. Satellite images, synoptic data, PM10 data, aerosol index, and numerical simulation were used to analyze the event. The simulation results indicated that about 1.2 Tg of dust was emitted from the simulation area between 17–18 February 2017. About 0.2 Tg of the emitted dust was deposited in the simulation area during 17–18 February. Comparing the emission and deposition amounts showed that although the Khuzestan province had a contribution of about 1% to the total dust emission, it hosted about 16% of the total dry deposition. These results show that the main sources of dust in the Khuzestan province are external and it requires international cooperation and management.

Inferring iron oxides species content in atmospheric mineral dust from DSCOVR EPIC observations

Abstract. The iron-oxide content of dust in the atmosphere and most notably its apportionment between hematite (α-Fe2O3) and goethite (α-FeOOH) are key determinants in quantifying dust's light absorption, its top of atmosphere UV radiances used for dust monitoring, and ultimately shortwave dust direct radiative effects (DRE). Hematite and goethite column mass concentrations and iron-oxide mass fractions of total dust mass concentration were retrieved from the Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera (EPIC) measurements in the ultraviolet–visible (UV–Vis) channels. The retrievals were performed for dust-identified aerosol plumes using aerosol optical depth (AOD) and spectral imaginary refractive index provided by the Multi-Angle Implementation of Atmospheric Correction (MAIAC) algorithm over six continental regions (North America, North Africa, West Asia, Central Asia, East Asia, and Australia). The dust particles are represented as an internal mixture of non-absorbing host and absorbing hematite and goethite. We use the Maxwell–Garnett effective medium approximation with carefully selected complex refractive indices of hematite and goethite that produce mass fractions of iron oxides species consistent with in situ values found in the literature to derive the hematite and goethite volumetric/mass concentrations from MAIAC EPIC products. We compared the retrieved hematite and goethite concentrations with in situ dust aerosol mineralogical content measurements, as well as with published data. Our data display variations within the published range of hematite, goethite, and iron-oxide mass fractions for pure mineral dust cases. A specific analysis is presented for 15 sites over the main dust source regions. Sites in the central Sahara, Sahel, and Middle East exhibit a greater temporal variability of iron oxides relative to other sites. Niger site (13.52° N, 2.63° E) is dominated by goethite over Harmattan season with median of ~2 weight percentage (wt.%) of iron-oxide. Saudi Arabia site (27.49° N, 41.98° E) over Middle East also exhibited surge of goethite content with the beginning of Shamal season. The Sahel dust is richer in iron-oxide than Saharan and northern China dust except in Summer. The Bodele Depression area shows a distinctively lower iron-oxide concentration (~1 wt. %) throughout the year. Finally, we show that EPIC data allow to constrain the hematite refractive index. Specifically, we select 5 out of 13 different number of hematite refractive indices widely variable in published laboratory studies by constraining the iron-oxide mass ratio to the known measured values. Provided climatology of hematite and goethite mass fractions across main dust regions of the Earth will be useful for dust shortwave DRE studies and climate modeling.

Present‐Day Patagonian Dust Emissions: Combining Surface Visibility, Mass Flux, and Reanalysis Data

AbstractThe magnitude of the climatic forcing associated with mineral dust aerosols remains uncertain due in part to a lack of observations on dust sources. While modeling and satellite studies provide spatially extensive constraints, they must be supported by surface‐validating dust monitoring. Southern South America is the main dust source to the southern oceans (>45°S), a region of low biological productivity potentially susceptible to increased micronutrient fertilization through dust deposition, as well as one of the main dust sources to Antarctica, implying long‐range transport of dust from Patagonia and potentially affecting snow cover albedo. We present multiyear time series of dust‐related visibility reduction (DRVR) and dust mass flux in Patagonia. We find that local DRVR is partly controlled by long‐term (i.e., months) water deficit, while same‐day conditions play a smaller role, reflective of water retention properties of fine‐grained dust‐emitting soils in low‐moisture conditions. This is supported independently by reanalysis data showing that large‐scale dust outbreaks are usually associated with anomalously high long‐term water deficit. By combining visibility data, surface dust sampling, and particle dispersion modeling, we derive regional dust emission rates. Our results suggest that the inclusion of long‐term soil hydrologic balance parameterizations under low‐moisture conditions may improve the performance of dust emission schemes in Earth system models.

Characteristics of Dust Events in China from 2015 to 2020

As the main source of dust in Asia, China often suffers from dust events. The temporal and spatial characteristics of dust events change with the variations of geography, climate and human activities. Based on the criteria of selecting dust events proposed recently by the China Environmental Monitoring Station, the hourly concentration of PM10 and PM2.5 of 336 cities in China from 2015 to 2020 were used to study the temporal and spatial characteristics of dust events more accurately and objectively. The results showed that all of the dust events in China clearly decreased, but the strong dust events did not decrease. There were 334 cities that had dust events except Shenzhen and Dongguan, 299 cities were seriously polluted due to dust events, 134 cities encountered dust level III and 56 cities encountered dust level IV. The high frequencies of dust events were mainly distributed in Northern China, especially in Northwest China. The dust contribution of PM10 to the cities in Northwest China was more than 10% and about 5–10% for PM2.5. The most likely month for dust was May. The starting time of dust was bimodally distributed, and the most common starting time was 10:00–11:00 BJT, followed by 22:00–23:00 BJT. According to the PSCF (Potential Source Contribution Function) results, the dust potential source contribution of different cities mainly came from the northwest, and was mainly affected by Mongolia in addition to the local dust in China. In addition, Beijing was obviously affected by dust recirculation. This study is of great significance to the improvement of the forecast of dust weather and the warning of heavy pollution caused by dust events.

Investigation on dust dispersion during support movement in a fully mechanized mining face and the technology with support frame enclosure dust control

A fully mechanized mining face is characterized by serious dust pollution and dust is a major cause of pneumoconiosis that haunts numerous miners. For a fully mechanized face having large mining heights, the main dust source in the pavement area is produced by the moving support frame. To reduce the amount of dust during support's movement, the distribution and dissipation of dust in this process were studied by combining numerical simulations with underground measurements. The results showed that with an increase of the distance from the air inlet, the wind speed of the sidewalk in the fully mechanized face first increased, then decreased, and finally increased again. At the position of the coal cutter, the highest wind speed was 1.78 m/s and the average wind speed of the roadway was about 0.8 m/s. The dust concentration at the dust source was >1000 mg/m3. An area with a high dust concentration and having a length of 15 m was formed on the rooftop, together with a 50 m long dust belt with a dust concentration of 300 to 450 mg/m3 in the pavement area of 10 m from the dust source. Beyond the 45 m radius from the dust source, the dust concentration was stable at about 250 mg/m3. Based on the dust production characteristics of the support frame, an enclosed dust-guiding device was designed and structure-optimized. Based on the on-site field application test results, it was found that the device has a satisfactory dust-guiding effect during support movement and the dust suppression rate near the dust source reached 94.8%.

Application and validation of the fugitive dust source emission inventory compilation method in Xiong'an New Area, China

The development of a refined fugitive dust emission inventory is vital for prevention and control of air pollution. In this study, a fugitive dust emission inventory of soil dust (SD), road dust (RD), and construction dust (CD) in Xiong'an New Area (XANA) for 2020 was developed by collecting activity data and combining remote sensing and field investigation data based on a popular compilation technology in China. The CALPUFF model was used to elucidate the contribution characteristics of dust sources to ambient particulate matter (PM), and the accuracy of the dust emission inventory compilation method was verified. The results show that the total emissions of PM10 and PM2.5 were 43,081.14 tons and 9701.69 tons, respectively. Meanwhile, RD and CD were the main emission sources, accounting for over 98.49% of the total emissions. The total contribution from the different types of dust sources to the ambient PM10 was 42.59 μg/m3 (29.38%), with the contribution of RD (32.63 μg/m3, 22.51%) being approximately three times that of CD (9.78 μg/m3, 6.74%). Roads were the main source of fugitive dust, but large-scale infrastructure construction was the main cause of the high emission and high contribution of RD. The results show that the emission inventory compilation method can be used to estimate the emissions of dust sources, while the method used to calculate the emission of SD may be more suitable for dry and semi-dry areas with less rainfall. It was also found that when the dust emissions stay stable, the contribution of dust sources to the ambient PM10 in different seasons can vary by 3–4 times. Therefore, under adverse meteorological conditions, it is necessary to strengthen the control of various dust sources and reduce the influence of human factors on them.

Contribution of the world's main dust source regions to the global cycle of desert dust

Abstract. Even though desert dust is the most abundant aerosol by mass in Earth's atmosphere, the relative contributions of the world's major source regions to the global dust cycle remain poorly constrained. This problem hinders accounting for the potentially large impact of regional differences in dust properties on clouds, the Earth's energy balance, and terrestrial and marine biogeochemical cycles. Here, we constrain the contribution of each of the world's main dust source regions to the global dust cycle. We use an analytical framework that integrates an ensemble of global aerosol model simulations with observationally informed constraints on the dust size distribution, extinction efficiency, and regional dust aerosol optical depth (DAOD). We obtain a dataset that constrains the relative contribution of nine major source regions to size-resolved dust emission, atmospheric loading, DAOD, concentration, and deposition flux. We find that the 22–29 Tg (1 standard error range) global loading of dust with a geometric diameter up to 20 µm is partitioned as follows: North African source regions contribute ∼ 50 % (11–15 Tg), Asian source regions contribute ∼ 40 % (8–13 Tg), and North American and Southern Hemisphere regions contribute ∼ 10 % (1.8–3.2 Tg). These results suggest that current models on average overestimate the contribution of North African sources to atmospheric dust loading at ∼ 65 %, while underestimating the contribution of Asian dust at ∼ 30 %. Our results further show that each source region's dust loading peaks in local spring and summer, which is partially driven by increased dust lifetime in those seasons. We also quantify the dust deposition flux to the Amazon rainforest to be ∼ 10 Tg yr−1, which is a factor of 2–3 less than inferred from satellite data by previous work that likely overestimated dust deposition by underestimating the dust mass extinction efficiency. The data obtained in this paper can be used to obtain improved constraints on dust impacts on clouds, climate, biogeochemical cycles, and other parts of the Earth system.

Delineation of potential hot spots of aeolian dust using normalized difference water index

Due to the drop in water levels during the monsoon season, the soil particles of the exposed riverbed of Zhuoshui River are easily suspended in the air, causing serious river dust problems and endangering the quality of life and health of local residents. Exposed riverbed is the main source of dust, and it affects PM10 concentration in air quality monitoring stations. In addition to meteorological conditions, the moisture content of the source dust is also an important factor. This study used satellite images from the lower river section (Bridge Ziqiang to Bridge Xibin) to extract the exposed riverbed, used the cluster analysis based on normalized difference water index (NDWI) to further classify the bare land into three categories, and then combined with meteorological factors to construct multi-regression models of PM10 (PM10 = 45.89W + 18.44T − 373.85; R2 = 0.64, p < 0.001 and PM10 = 21.80T + 39.70W + 37.2M2 − 646.25; R2 = 0.74, p < 0.001; W, wind speed; T, air temperature; M2, bare land with medium NDWI). The results showed that the meteorological factor interpretation rate was about 64%, and if the index of bare land with medium NDWI was included, the model interpretation rate could be increased to 74%, hence the M2 factor had a high influence on the PM10 concentration.

Meteorological feedback and eco-environmental impact of Asian dust: A simulation study

Wind-blown dust plays a crucial role in air quality, biogeochemical cycles, and climate change. In East Asia, one of the main dust source regions in the world, dust storms frequently engulf eastern China, with a substantial negative effect on air pollution and the ecological environment. By integrating multiple observations and the online coupled meteorology-chemistry model WRF-Chem, a severe dust storm event originating from the Gobi Desert in early May 2017 is comprehensively analyzed from the perspective of emission estimation, meteorological feedback, and the possible impact on the ecological environment. We optimize the size distribution of dust aerosol by applying local observations to better represent dust emission and regional transport in the model. Both the observations and simulations indicate that the dust storm broke out with PM10 concentrations exceeding 1500 μg/m3 in the source region of the Gobi Desert, and was quickly transported downwind, deteriorating the air quality of cities in northern and eastern China. Moreover, we find that the dust storm significantly perturbed the temperature stratification, since mineral dust is a radiatively active aerosol and can absorb both short- and long-wave radiation. The upper dust layer at an altitude of around 2–3 km became warmer by 1–2 °C while the surface temperature decreased by about 2 °C, making the planetary boundary layer more stable and indirectly aggravating local air pollution near the ground in eastern China. Furthermore, during this event, a large amount of dust deposition increased ocean primary productivity, with the maximum Chlorophyll-a concentration rising from 4 to 14 mg/m3 in the central area of the Yellow Sea. This study highlights the critical impact of Asian dust pollution on air quality and marine ecosystems in downwind areas.

Health risk assessment and source apportionment of heavy metals in atmospheric dustfall in a city of Khuzestan Province, Iran.

The heavy metals in the atmospheric particulate matters are now considered a risk for humans and the environment. The purpose of this study was to assess the concentration, source apportionment, and health risk of heavy metals in atmospheric dustfall in Dezful City of Khuzestan Province, Iran. The dustfall samples were collected from five locations every month for one year (2018-2019). The heavy metals ( lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), iron (Fe), and nickel (Ni)) contents of dustfall samples were determined by ICP-OES. The monthly mean of dustfall for five sampling locations was 22.81 ± 21.9 ton.km- 2.month- 1. The mean concentrations of the examined heavy metals were assessed as Fe > Cr > Ni > Pb > Cd. The highest enrichment level belonged to Cd (59.35 ± 128.18) and all heavy metals had enrichment levels beyond 10. The HI (Hazard Index) values were less than one and there was no significant non-carcinogenic risk due to these heavy metals. For children, Ni showed the most HI with a value of 0.205. The calculations demonstrate that the obtained values of cancer risk in both groups are less than the acceptable range (10- 6 to 10- 4). The PMF (Positive Matrix Factorization) results indicated four main sources of pollutants, namely, vehicular exhaust, industrial, road dust, and nonferrous smelting. The results of the study revealed that industrial activities and traffic play crucial roles in increasing the heavy metals contamination of dustfall in Dezful City.

New Inventory of Dust Emission Sources in Central Asia and Northwestern China Derived From MODIS Imagery Using Dust Enhancement Technique

AbstractThe first inventory of dust emission sources in Central Asia and northwestern China (35–50°N, 50–100°E) derived from the twice daily MODIS imagery from 2003 to 2012 is presented. A high‐resolution (1 km) dust enhancement product was generated to produce maps of dust point sources (DPS), indicating geographical locations of the observed dust emissions, and gridded data sets of dust emission frequencies. About 13,500 DPS were detected over an area of ∼5 × 106 km2, however, their distribution was uneven. The highest frequency of DPS occurred in the northern and eastern Taklimakan, in the Aralkum, and in the regions, which were not widely reported in literature before, the Balkh delta in northern Afghanistan and the pre‐Aral, from the northern Caspian coast to the Betpak‐Dala desert in Kazakhstan. South of the Aral, DPS were mainly associated with fluvial features: drying lakes, dry river beds, alluvial deposits and agricultural activity which is closely linked to water availability in this arid region. In the pre‐Aral and Balkhash‐Junggar regions, land damaged by wildfire was the main source of dust. In China and eastern Kazakhstan dust emissions peaked in spring; in Central Asia and western Kazakhstan—in summer. The Aralkum was active throughout the year with a positive trend in emission frequency over the study period. Locations of DPS did not always correlate with high atmospheric optical depth (AOD) particularly west of the Aral and in the southern Taklimakan where few DPS were detected despite the high AOD values. This was attributed to dust transport from the upwind sources.

Contamination and Potential Risk Assessment of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) and Heavy Metals in House Settled Dust Collected from Residences of Young Children

House settled dust (HSD) contains various hazardous materials, including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and metals. Exposure to toxicants contained in HSD is of paramount concern especially in the case of young children, due to their particular behavioral characteristics. In this context, extracts of sieved vacuum cleaner dust from 20 residences with young children were examined for the presence of PAHs and trace metals, in Athens, Greece. The results indicated that PAHs and metals were ubiquitous in the studied residences. The calculated enrichment factors (EF) of trace metals indicated that Cu, Se, Zn, Hg, Cd, and Pb were mainly of anthropogenic. According to the PCA analysis, the main sources of household dust were: smoking inside the houses, combustion processes, resuspension of soil dust, and vehicle traffic. In general, the cancer risk due to PAHs exposure was found lower than the threshold value. The ingestion of house dust was the most important route of exposure to metals. The dose of almost all elements for the children was found 1–2 orders of magnitude lower than the corresponding reference values. Both the carcinogenic and noncarcinogenic risks of exposure were within the safety limits.

Impact of dust events on the optimization of photovoltaic-wind hybrid system in desert

Reliable optimization of renewable energy systems has to be adapted to the installation site and its environmental factors. In dust event sources, the impact of dust on solar irradiance or on system’s production is not usually taken into consideration during optimization of photovoltaic (PV) or PV-wind hybrid systems. The first objective of this paper was to make observatory studies on wind velocity and lifting of Saharan dust that characterize Algerian desert which allowed us to extract a wind threshold for each event in our desert site. The second objective was to quantify this dust suspension and its negative impact, up to 47.46% on global solar irradiance (GSI) and 48.95% on photovoltaic yield effects were observed. The third and main objective of this paper was evaluating changes in optimized system when the dust impact was taken into account. To achieve that we adjusted GSI satellite data on HOMER software to dust presence, and then we run an optimization on HOMER with its GSI database and the new data, this data adjustment leads to a significant expansion of 13.70% on the size of PV generator, also 7.66% and 7.68% increase on the investment expenses and cost of energy respectively. Results obtained on this paper can be used to make PV-hybrid system’s technical and financial optimization in the main Algerian dust source trustworthy.

Capability of Superspheroids for Modeling PARASOL Observations Under Dusty‐Sky Conditions

AbstractA comprehensive dust‐particle geometry model is highly required for accurate computations of optical parameters in radiative transfer simulations and relevant remote sensing applications. In this study, a superspheroidal model is proposed for simulating polarized radiation at the top of the atmosphere (TOA) under dusty‐sky conditions. The superspheroidal model has one more degree of freedom than the spheroidal model. Sensitivity studies are first conducted to investigate how the additional freedom in the superspheroidal dust model affects the polarized signals at the TOA followed by an examination of the impact of particle size, complex refractive index, and surface properties on these polarized signals. The applicability of the superspheroidal model is then assessed for 11 selected dust events in three main dust source regions (namely, North Africa, Middle East, and the Taklamakan Desert). Specifically, the normalized polarized radiance as observed by the Polarization and Anisotropy of Reflectances for Atmospheric Sciences coupled with Observations from a Lidar (PARASOL) are compared with simulations from an adding‐doubling vector radiative transfer model. It is found that the concave superspheroidal model with large roundness parameters achieves favorable performances in fitting the angular distribution of the PARASOL polarized radiance. The optimal roundness parameter is found to be 2.6–3.0 and is consistent with recent comparison of the simulated scattering matrices and their laboratory measurement counterparts. These findings support the potential applicability of the superspheroidal model for polarized remote sensing applications.

Cyanobacterial Potential for Restoration of Loess Surfaces through Artificially Induced Biocrusts

Loess is a highly porous and easily erosive aeolian sediment covering approximately 10% of the Earth’s surface. The weak vegetation cover and high wind speeds in many of these regions make loess sediment the main source of dust in the atmosphere. Dust particles deteriorate air quality and affect soils, crops, water systems, and animal and human health. The commonly used method for combating desertification is revegetation. However, planting various vascular plant species in loess landscapes did not show any long-lasting positive effects. This study aims to assess the potential of cyanobacterial strains for the restoration of exposed loess surfaces through the assisted development of biological loess crusts (BLCs). Isolated cyanobacterial loess strains were screened for the traits (toxicity, biomass and polysaccharide production) desirable for their use in restoration purposes. By simulating semi-arid environmental conditions in specially designed chambers, the potential of cyanobacterial loess strains for assisted development of BLCs and the mechanisms of loess stabilization have been evaluated by chlorophyll a accumulation and microscopic examination. It was confirmed that cyanobacteria have the ability to interact with loess particles resulting in BLC formation, which keeps the particles immobilized and the sediment below the particles stabilized.

Physical Crust Formation on Sandy Soils and Their Potential to Reduce Dust Emissions from Croplands

The sandy croplands in the Free State have been identified as one of the main dust sources in South Africa. The aim of this study was to investigate the occurrence and strength of physical soil crusts on cropland soils in the Free State, to identify the rainfall required to form a stable crust, and to test their impact on dust emissions. Crust strength was measured using a fall cone penetrometer and a torvane, while laboratory rainfall simulations were used to form experimental crusts. Dust emissions were measured with a Portable In-Situ Wind Erosion Laboratory (PI-SWERL). The laboratory rainfall simulations showed that stable crusts could be formed by 15 mm of rainfall. The PI-SWERL experiments illustrated that the PM10 emission flux of such crusts is between 0.14% and 0.26% of that of a non-crusted Luvisol and Arenosol, respectively. The presence of abraders on the crust can increase the emissions up to 4% and 8% of the non-crusted dust flux. Overall, our study shows that crusts in the field are potentially strong enough to protect the soil surfaces against wind erosion during a phase of the cropping cycle when the soil surface is not protected by plants.

Middle and Late Pleistocene loess of the Western Ciscaucasia: Stratigraphy, lithology and composition

Due to the high preservation of the loess series and the availability of coastal outcrop sections loess cover of Western Ciscaucasia has ample opportunities for spatial paleogeographical reconstructions for the Middle and Late Pleistocene. Currently, the level of knowledge on the structure and composition of the loess-paleosol sequences of Western Ciscaucasia remains unequal. The Azov coast is studied in more detail in comparison with the inner part of the region. The structure and composition of the loess-paleosol sequences of different parts of Western Ciscaucasia (the Sea of Azov coast and western macroslope of the Stavropol Upland) for the Middle and Late Pleistocene are compared. Comparison of the key sections are based on litho- and pedostratigraphy, magnetic susceptibility, grain size, elemental and mineral composition, and luminescence dating. Recent results of luminescence dating allowed correcting the structure of the Mezin pedocomplex (S1). It was found out that this pedocomplex includes three phases of soil formation (S1SS1, S1SS2, S1SS3), which approximately correspond to the warm stages of marine isotope stage 5 (MIS 5) – 5a, 5c, 5e. In all sections, a clear trend towards an increase in the accumulation rates over the last three climatic macrocycles is observed. The last interglacial-glacial macrocycle (MISs 2–5) is characterized by the most significant increase in average accumulation rates, which were ∼1.8 times higher compared to MISs 6–7 and ∼2.3 times higher than during the MISs 8–9. A likely reason for the regional increase in the average dust accumulation rate was the directional increase in climate aridity. The patterns of the spatial distribution of the loess thickness and material composition indicate that the main source of aeolian dust is situated in the east. We suppose that the main sources of dust are sand masses of the alluvial plains of Lover Volga, Terek, Kuma and Kura rivers in the Caspian lowland. The Lower Don sandy province is reconstructed to be a secondary source. Dust is blown from the sandy terraces of the Don, and in the past - from the Don deltas, during the period when the Sea of Azov dried up.

Investigating of primary components and source apportionment of persistent organic pollutants of indoor dust

A number of studies have pointed out the occurrence of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in indoor dust from different commercial and residential settings, but limited studies exist on the apportionment of their potential sources. This study aims to determine the levels and apportion of possible sources of 14 polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and also 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) which are the most abundant POPs found in indoor dusts. A total of 90 indoor dust samples were collected from the homes located in different districts of Kocaeli, Turkey, between February and April, 2016. The total concentrations of PBDEs (Σ14PBDEs) were measured in the range of 11.74 ng g−1 and 2484 ng g−1 with a median value of 207.4 ng g−1, while the concentration of Σ16PAHs was between 21.6 and 11274 ng g−1, and the median value was 927.6 ng g−1. Possible sources of PAHs and PBDEs indoors were extracted with the EPA Positive Matrix Factorization 5 model and identified with the information gathered from both the applied questionnaires and literature. Coal/biomass combustion was found to be highest contributor to measured PAHs while the emission of commercial penta-BDE was the main source of PBDEs indoor dust in Kocaeli. The findings from this study obviously indicate the mitigation of these main sources can be effective in improving the indoor air quality.

Self-reported disease symptoms of stone quarry workers exposed to silica dust in Ghana.

Background and aimsUnderstanding the importance of using personal protective equipment (PPE) and the influence of work‐post (working distance to main dust source—crusher) in stone quarries is vital for designing tailored interventions in minimizing workers' exposure to silica dust. Nonetheless, studies on silica dust and disease symptoms in Ghana are nascent. This study assessed how work‐post and use of required PPE jointly influence exposure to silica dust and disease symptoms in Ghana.MethodsGeneralized linear models (complementary log‐log regression) were fitted to cross‐sectional survey data of 524 stone quarry workers in Ghana to assess the joint effect of work‐post and PPE usage on self‐reported disease symptoms while controlling for relevant compositional and contextual factors.ResultsStone quarry workers who work between 1‐100 m and beyond 100 m from the crusher with the required PPE were 90% and 87% respectively less likely to report eye irritation compared with their counterparts who work between 1 and 100 m from the crusher without the required PPE. Individuals who work between 1‐100 m and beyond 100 m from the crusher with the required PPE were 94% and 95% respectively less likely to report breathing difficulty compared with the reference group. Workers who work between 1‐100 m and beyond 100 m from the crusher with the required PPE were 97% and 99% respectively less likely to report coughing compared with the reference group. Workers who work between 1‐100 m and beyond 100 m from the crusher with the required PPE were 93% and 97% respectively less likely to report common cold compared with their counterparts who work between 1 and 100 m from the crusher without the required PPE.ConclusionThere are adverse health implications for people who work in silica dust polluted environments, suggesting the need for a national safety and health policy to target them.

Investigation of the dustiness of various zones of a metropolis and a set of measures to reduce the negative impact of dust on living organisms

One of the negative factors that affects human health is dust. Particularly high dust exposure in megacities. There are no unambiguous approaches to solving this problem. A lot depends on the geographical location of the metropolis. Therefore, for each city, it is necessary to conduct personal research on the situation with the formation of dust from various objects in the climatic conditions of the city. In addition, the composition of urban dust is complex, which depends on many factors. In the study, it is necessary to determine the main sources of dust and the possibility of reducing their activity. It is also necessary to establish the nature of the medium (e.g. dispersion system, etc.) in which dust is present. An important point is the chemical composition of the dust. It is especially important to know about the presence of dangerous chemical elements or radioactive particles in it. The paper shows that wind flows on the one hand contribute to reducing the level of dust, on the other hand, when it is polluted, they sharply worsen the environmental situation. In modern cities, a decrease in green spaces, especially trees, is planned. This fact also needs to be considered as one of the options for reducing dust load. Special attention should be paid to the methods of rapid monitoring of the air environment in real time. Their use will help in time to take the necessary measures to block dust sources.