New Insight into the Measurements of Particle-Bound Metals in the Urban and Remote Atmospheres of the Sarajevo Canton and Modeled Impacts of Particulate Air Pollution in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Standards for levels of lead in soil and dust around the world

Lead poisoning is a serious environmental health problem in every country in the world. Exposure to lead results in neurocognitive and behavioral changes, has adverse effects on the immune system, causes anemia, hypertension and perturbs other organ systems. The effects of lead poisoning are most critical for children because their bodies are growing and developing, and particularly because agents that reduce cognitive function and attention span as well as promote disruptive behavior will have life-long consequences. Lead exposure, especially to children, is a major health disparity issue. If the next generation starts with reduced cognitive ability, there will be significant barriers for development of skills and country-wide development. While there are many sources of exposure to lead, the commonest source is lead in soil and dust. Since lead is an element, it does not go away and past releases of lead into the environment remain as soil and dust contamination. This is an especially important route of exposure to children because children regularly play in soil and are exposed via hand-to-mouth activity. In addition to indoor sources of lead, contaminated soil is tracked on shoes or feet and blown by air currents into homes, accumulating in household dust which is a major source of exposure for both children and adults. The purpose of this review is to determine standards presumed to be health protective for lead and dust in different countries. We find that many countries have no standards for lead in soil and dust and rely on standards set by the World Health Organization or the US Environmental Protection Agency, and these standards may or may not be enforced. There is considerable variation in standards set by other countries.

Impact of cultivating different Ocimum species on bioaerosol bacterial communities and functional genome at an agricultural site

The effects of the surrounding environment on the bacterial composition of bioaerosol were well documented for polluted and contaminated sites. However, there is limited data on the impact of plant species, especially those that produce aromas, on bioaerosol composition at agricultural sites. Hence, the aim of this study is to evaluate the variability in bacterial communities present in bioaerosol samples collected from agricultural sites with aroma-producing crops. For this, PM2.5, PM10, and bioaerosol samples were collected from agricultural fields growing Ocimum [two varieties of O. sanctum (CIM-Aayu and CIM-Angana)] and O. kilimandscharicum (Kapoor), nearby traffic junctions and suburban areas. PM2.5 and PM10 concentrations at the agricultural site were in between the other two polluted sites. However, bioaerosol concentration was lower at agricultural sites than at other sites. The culturable bacteria Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus tequilensis, and Staphylococcus saprophyticus were more prevalent in agricultural sites than in other areas. However, the composition of non-culturable bacteria varied between sites and differed in three fields where Ocimum was cultivated. The CIM-Aayu cultivated area showed a high bacterial richness, lower Simpson and Shannon indices, and a distinctive metabolic profile. The sites CIM-Angana and CIM-Kapoor had a higher abundance of Aeromonas, while Pantoea and Pseudomonas were present at CIM-Aayu. Acinetobacter, Staphylococcus, and Bacillus were the dominant genera at the other two sites. Metabolic profiling showed that the CIM-Aayu site had a higher prevalence of pathways related to amino acid and carbohydrate metabolism and environmental information processing compared to other sites. The composition of bioaerosol among the three different Ocimum sites could be due to variations in the plant volatile and cross-feeding nature of bacterial isolates, which further needs to be explored.

Health risk assessment of heavy metals in PM2.5 and PM10 in Sarajevo air, Bosnia and Herzegovina

The concentrations of eight heavy metals (Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb and Zn) associated with PM2.5 and PM10 in Sarajevo air, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) have been studied. A total of 136 PM2.5 and PM10 samples were simultaneously collected from 21 February to 11 November 2020. Metal contents were determined by atomic absorption spectrometry, flame (FAAS) and electrothermal (ETAAS) techniques. The mean concentrations of metals in PM10 are 2.93 ng/m3 (Cd), 7.21 ng/m3 (Cr), 12.02 ng/m3 (Cu), 126 ng/m3 (Fe), 20.74 ng/m3 (Mn), 6.98 ng/m3 (Ni), 8.74 ng/m3 (Pb) and 128 ng/m3 (Zn). In PM2.5 samples the mean concentrations of Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni and Zn are 0.39, 4.06, 2.26, 110, 0.63, 1.93 and 5.28 ng/m3, respectively. Pb was not detected in PM2.5 samples. Strong correlation was obtained for metal pairs Mn-Cu in PM10 and moderate for Ni-Fe in PM2.5. The health risk assessment shows that the adult population of Sarajevo is at increased lifetime risk of experiencing cancer because of exposure to Cd concentrations in PM10.

Towards sustainable and net-zero cities: A review of environmental modelling and monitoring tools for optimizing emissions reduction strategies for improved air quality in urban areas

Climate change is a defining challenge for today's society and its consequences pose a great threat to humanity. Cities are major contributors to climate change, accounting for over 70% of global greenhouse gas emissions. With urbanization occurring at a rapid rate worldwide, cities will play a key role in mitigating emissions and addressing climate change. Greenhouse gas emissions are strongly interlinked with air quality as they share emission sources. Consequently, there is a great opportunity to develop policies which maximize the co-benefits of emissions reductions on air quality and health. As such, a narrative meta-review is conducted to highlight state-of-the-art monitoring and modelling tools which can inform and monitor progress towards greenhouse gas emission and air pollution reduction targets. Urban greenspace will play an important role in the transition to net-zero as it promotes sustainable and active transport modes. Therefore, we explore advancements in urban greenspace quantification methods which can aid strategic developments. There is great potential to harness technological advancements to better understand the impact of greenhouse gas reduction strategies on air quality and subsequently inform the optimal design of these strategies going forward. An integrated approach to greenhouse gas emission and air pollution reduction will create sustainable, net-zero and healthy future cities.

Associating Air Pollution with Cytokinesis-Block Micronucleus Assay Parameters in Lymphocytes of the General Population in Zagreb (Croatia)

Air pollution is recognized as one of the most serious public health issues worldwide and was declared to be a leading environmental cause of cancer deaths. At the same time, the cytokinesis-block micronucleus (CBMN) assay serves as a cancer predictive method that is extensively used in human biomonitoring for populations exposed to environmental contamination. The objective of this cross-sectional study is two-fold: to evaluate genomic instability in a sample (N = 130) of healthy, general population residents from Zagreb (Croatia), chronically exposed to different levels of air pollution, and to relate them to air pollution levels in the period from 2011 to 2015. Measured frequencies of CBMN assay parameters were in agreement with the baseline data for the general population of Croatia. Air pollution exposure was based on four factors obtained from a factor analysis of all exposure data obtained for the examined period. Based on the statistical results, we did not observe a significant positive association between any of the CBMN assay parameters tested and measured air pollution parameters for designated time windows, except for benzo(a)pyrene (B[a]P) that showed significant negative association. Our results show that measured air pollution parameters are largely below the regulatory limits, except for B[a]P, and as such, they do not affect CBMN assay parameters’ frequency. Nevertheless, as air pollution is identified as a major health threat, it is necessary to conduct prospective studies investigating the effect of air pollution on genome integrity and human health.