Diss. (sammanfattning) Umeå : Umeå universitet, 2009. / Härtill 5 uppsatser.

Thesis (M.S.P.H.)--University of South Florida, 2009. / Title from PDF of title page. Document formatted into pages; contains 47 pages. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Doctoral)--Technische Universiteit Delft, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 221-244).

Thesis--University of Oklahoma. / Bibliography: leaves 36-40.

Thesis--University of Oklahoma. / Bibliography: leaves 33-36.

1.1\xWith the emphasis on particulate matter (PM) and persistent organic pollutants (POPs) from uncontrolled sources, this study focused on the ambient air pollution of e-waste recycling regions and the indoor air quality of urban areas in South China.;1.2\xIn the past decades, severe PM and POPs pollutions were recorded in e-waste recycling regions in China. Since the 2010s, more effective measures, stricter regulations and sophisticated dismantling technologies have been implemented in Guiyu and Qingyuan by local authorities. In this study, total suspended particles (TSP), fine particles (PM2.5), gas phase samples, and indoor settled dust were collected simultaneously in the primary recycling areas as well as reference sites in Guiyu and Qingyuan in August, 2013. The results showed that both PM, PCDD/Fs (polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and polychlorinated dibenzofurans) , PBDEs (polybrominated diphenyl ethers) and PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) in ambient air showed significantly reduced levels in the regions, compared with the former corresponding reports. The changed source patterns of the POPs confirmed the environmental effects of the implementation of stricter regulation and advanced technologies in these years. Nevertheless, the remained uncontrolled e-waste recycling activities in Guiyu, including plastics recycling and circuit board baking, still made significant influence to the air environment and resulted in alarming levels of PCDD/Fs (0.73~2.43 pg I-TEQ/m3) in the recycling areas. While in Qingyuan, high environmental PCBs burden was observed both in informal (1737 pg/m3) and formal recycling areas (1075 pg/m3), which could attribute to the uncontrolled dismantling of PCB-contained transformers. The estimated non-cancer risk for children and adults in the recycling regions were 2.7~25.2 and 1.2~3.2, respectively, and moderate cancer risk were found for the residents living in the recycling regions of Guiyu and the vicinage of the formal recycing factory (CR>10-4). The unacceptable estimated risk for both children and adults suggested unsafe air environments in the two recycling regions.;1.4\xCollectively, our results suggest unsatisfactory air quality in both e-waste recycling regions and common urban areas. The air problems could both attribute to the uncontrolled sources of the related spaces. The obtained results firstly indicated that a long way to solve e-waste issues and more effective measures are needed to control the contaminants release and the exposure to the local residents. Secondly, indoor air quality standard for fine particulate matters as well as associated toxicants such as PAHs is urgently needed to guide common populations and communities.;1.5\xKeywords: Air pollution; E-waste recycling; Urban areas; Indoor air; Ambient air; PM2.5; Persistent organic pollutants; Health risk assessment

Diss. (sammanfattning) Uppsala : Uppsala universitet, 2007. / Härtill 4 uppsatser.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Göteborg : Göteborgs universidtet, 2010. / Härtill 4 uppsatser.

Nos locais de trabalho, a qualidade do ar pode interferir na performance dos trabalhadores e no risco de doenças. Sabe-se que a qualidade do ar interior pode ser afetada pelos poluentes gerados no ambiente exterior. Nos hospitais, estes temas têm sido insuficientemente analisados e nas unidades de terapia intensiva eles ainda não foram investigados. Os objetivos deste estudo foram analisar a correlação entre os níveis de poluentes medidos dentro e fora das unidades de terapia intensiva e investigar a associação entre a qualidade do ar nas unidades e a saúde dos trabalhadores. Oito unidades de terapia intensiva localizadas em quatro hospitais diferentes foram incluídas neste estudo. Níveis de poluentes, temperatura e umidade relativa do ar foram medidos dentro e fora das unidades, simultaneamente, durante períodos de sete dias específicos para cada unidade. Monitores automáticos foram usados para o monitoramento do MP2,5, enquanto monitores passivos foram usados para as medidas de NO2 e O3. Um questionário de sintomas foi aplicado a cada trabalhador das unidades de terapia intensiva que concordou em participar do estudo. Para testar diferenças nos poluentes e nas variáveis meteorológicas em cada unidade (dentro e fora) adotamos o teste t de Student ou o teste U de Mann-Whitney. Para testar diferenças entre a unidades nós adotamos o teste de análise de variância para amostras independentes (ANOVA) e o teste HSD-Tukey, quando necessário. Adotamos os coeficientes de correlação de Pearson ou de Spearman para avaliar correlações entre as medidas interiores e exteriores em cada unidade. Para as associações entre os sintomas e o local de trabalho nós adotamos o teste de qui-quadrado de Pearson ou o teste exato de Fisher. A unidade 1 apresentou a maior média interior de MP2,5 (33,9 g/m3; Desvio Padrão - DP = 44,2), estatisticamente diferente das demais unidades (p < 0,05). Além disso, este valor foi quase 16 vezes maior do que a média de MP2,5 observada na unidade 6 (2,1 g/m3; DP = 3,4), a menos poluída. Em cinco unidades, as medidas interiores e exteriores de MP2,5 apresentaram correlações estatisticamente significativas (p < 0,05). Tanto para o NO2 quanto para o O3, os valores exteriores foram maiores do que os interiores e não ouve correlação entre eles. Entre os 18 sintomas investigados, dores nas costas, ombros e pescoço (65%), cefaléia (65%), cansaço e fadiga (62%), tensão e irritabilidade (58%), coriza (51%), espirros (45%), vista cansada (44%), olhos secos (42%), dor de garganta (38%), dificuldade de concentração (35%) e tosse (27%) foram os mais relatados. As freqüências de sintomas foram semelhantes em todas as unidades. Não foram observadas associações entre a qualidade do ar interior e os sintomas relatados. Estes resultados mostraram que o isolamento entre os ambientes internos e externos através dos sistemas de ar condicionado pode variar permitindo altas concentrações de partículas finas interiormente. Além disso, a falta de correlações entre os gases dentro e fora das unidades indica a presença de fontes interiores para os dois poluentes. Potenciais associações entre a qualidade do ar nas unidades e sintomas de doenças requerem investigações adicionais / In work facilities, air quality can interfere in workers performance and in diseases´ risk. It is well known that indoor air quality can be affected by pollutants generated outdoor. In hospitals these topics have been insufficiently investigated and in intensive care units they have not been explored yet. The aims of this study were to analyze the correlation between indoor and outdoor levels of air pollutants in intensive care units and investigating the association between indoor air quality and workers health. Eight intensive care units located in four different hospitals were included in this study. Indoor and outdoor levels of air pollutants, temperature and relative humidity were measured simultaneously in each unit along unit-specific seven-day periods. Automatic monitors were used to measure PM2.5 while passive samplers were adopted to measure both NO2 and O3. A questionnaire of symptom was applied to each intensive care unit worker that agreed in participating of the study. In order to test differences in pollutants and weather variables measurements intra-units (inside and outside) we adopted the Student t test or Mann-Whitney U test. To test differences inter-units we adopted one-way analysis of variance for independent samples (ANOVA) and the Tukeys Honestly Significantly Different post-hoc test when necessary. We adopted Pearson correlation coefficients or Spearman correlation coefficients to investigate correlations between indoor and outdoor measures. For associations between symptoms and place of work we adopted qui-square test or Fishers exact test. Unit 1 presented the highest indoor PM2.5 mean (33.9 g/m3; Standard Deviation-SD = 44.2) and it was statistically different from all other indoor measures (p < 0.05). Also, it was almost sixteen fold higher than indoor PM2.5 mean in unit 6 (2.1 g/m3; SD = 3.4), the cleanest one. In five units, indoor and outdoor levels of PM2,5 presented statistically significant correlations (p < 0.05). For both NO2 and O3, outside values were higher than those measured inside and there were no correlations between indoor and outdoor measures. From 18 investigated symptoms, pain in back, shoulders or neck (65%), headache (65%), tiredness or fatigue (62%), tension and irritability (58%), runny nose (51%), sneezing (45%), eyestrain (44%), dry eyes (42%), sore and dry throat (38%), difficult of concentrating (35%) and cough (27%) were the most reported. Frequency of symptoms were similar in all units. There were not associations between indoor air quality and reported symptoms. These results showed that isolation between indoor and outdoor environments through air conditioning systems may vary allowing high indoor concentrations of fine particles. Moreover, the lack of correlation between indoor and outdoor gaseous pollutants indicates the presence of indoor sources of both pollutants. Potential associations between indoor air quality and disease symptoms require additional investigation

Nos locais de trabalho, a qualidade do ar pode interferir na performance dos trabalhadores e no risco de doenças. Sabe-se que a qualidade do ar interior pode ser afetada pelos poluentes gerados no ambiente exterior. Nos hospitais, estes temas têm sido insuficientemente analisados e nas unidades de terapia intensiva eles ainda não foram investigados. Os objetivos deste estudo foram analisar a correlação entre os níveis de poluentes medidos dentro e fora das unidades de terapia intensiva e investigar a associação entre a qualidade do ar nas unidades e a saúde dos trabalhadores. Oito unidades de terapia intensiva localizadas em quatro hospitais diferentes foram incluídas neste estudo. Níveis de poluentes, temperatura e umidade relativa do ar foram medidos dentro e fora das unidades, simultaneamente, durante períodos de sete dias específicos para cada unidade. Monitores automáticos foram usados para o monitoramento do MP2,5, enquanto monitores passivos foram usados para as medidas de NO2 e O3. Um questionário de sintomas foi aplicado a cada trabalhador das unidades de terapia intensiva que concordou em participar do estudo. Para testar diferenças nos poluentes e nas variáveis meteorológicas em cada unidade (dentro e fora) adotamos o teste t de Student ou o teste U de Mann-Whitney. Para testar diferenças entre a unidades nós adotamos o teste de análise de variância para amostras independentes (ANOVA) e o teste HSD-Tukey, quando necessário. Adotamos os coeficientes de correlação de Pearson ou de Spearman para avaliar correlações entre as medidas interiores e exteriores em cada unidade. Para as associações entre os sintomas e o local de trabalho nós adotamos o teste de qui-quadrado de Pearson ou o teste exato de Fisher. A unidade 1 apresentou a maior média interior de MP2,5 (33,9 g/m3; Desvio Padrão - DP = 44,2), estatisticamente diferente das demais unidades (p < 0,05). Além disso, este valor foi quase 16 vezes maior do que a média de MP2,5 observada na unidade 6 (2,1 g/m3; DP = 3,4), a menos poluída. Em cinco unidades, as medidas interiores e exteriores de MP2,5 apresentaram correlações estatisticamente significativas (p < 0,05). Tanto para o NO2 quanto para o O3, os valores exteriores foram maiores do que os interiores e não ouve correlação entre eles. Entre os 18 sintomas investigados, dores nas costas, ombros e pescoço (65%), cefaléia (65%), cansaço e fadiga (62%), tensão e irritabilidade (58%), coriza (51%), espirros (45%), vista cansada (44%), olhos secos (42%), dor de garganta (38%), dificuldade de concentração (35%) e tosse (27%) foram os mais relatados. As freqüências de sintomas foram semelhantes em todas as unidades. Não foram observadas associações entre a qualidade do ar interior e os sintomas relatados. Estes resultados mostraram que o isolamento entre os ambientes internos e externos através dos sistemas de ar condicionado pode variar permitindo altas concentrações de partículas finas interiormente. Além disso, a falta de correlações entre os gases dentro e fora das unidades indica a presença de fontes interiores para os dois poluentes. Potenciais associações entre a qualidade do ar nas unidades e sintomas de doenças requerem investigações adicionais / In work facilities, air quality can interfere in workers performance and in diseases´ risk. It is well known that indoor air quality can be affected by pollutants generated outdoor. In hospitals these topics have been insufficiently investigated and in intensive care units they have not been explored yet. The aims of this study were to analyze the correlation between indoor and outdoor levels of air pollutants in intensive care units and investigating the association between indoor air quality and workers health. Eight intensive care units located in four different hospitals were included in this study. Indoor and outdoor levels of air pollutants, temperature and relative humidity were measured simultaneously in each unit along unit-specific seven-day periods. Automatic monitors were used to measure PM2.5 while passive samplers were adopted to measure both NO2 and O3. A questionnaire of symptom was applied to each intensive care unit worker that agreed in participating of the study. In order to test differences in pollutants and weather variables measurements intra-units (inside and outside) we adopted the Student t test or Mann-Whitney U test. To test differences inter-units we adopted one-way analysis of variance for independent samples (ANOVA) and the Tukeys Honestly Significantly Different post-hoc test when necessary. We adopted Pearson correlation coefficients or Spearman correlation coefficients to investigate correlations between indoor and outdoor measures. For associations between symptoms and place of work we adopted qui-square test or Fishers exact test. Unit 1 presented the highest indoor PM2.5 mean (33.9 g/m3; Standard Deviation-SD = 44.2) and it was statistically different from all other indoor measures (p < 0.05). Also, it was almost sixteen fold higher than indoor PM2.5 mean in unit 6 (2.1 g/m3; SD = 3.4), the cleanest one. In five units, indoor and outdoor levels of PM2,5 presented statistically significant correlations (p < 0.05). For both NO2 and O3, outside values were higher than those measured inside and there were no correlations between indoor and outdoor measures. From 18 investigated symptoms, pain in back, shoulders or neck (65%), headache (65%), tiredness or fatigue (62%), tension and irritability (58%), runny nose (51%), sneezing (45%), eyestrain (44%), dry eyes (42%), sore and dry throat (38%), difficult of concentrating (35%) and cough (27%) were the most reported. Frequency of symptoms were similar in all units. There were not associations between indoor air quality and reported symptoms. These results showed that isolation between indoor and outdoor environments through air conditioning systems may vary allowing high indoor concentrations of fine particles. Moreover, the lack of correlation between indoor and outdoor gaseous pollutants indicates the presence of indoor sources of both pollutants. Potential associations between indoor air quality and disease symptoms require additional investigation