Browsing by Author "Monteiro, A."
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- Air contaminants in animal production – poultry casePublication . Viegas, C.; Viegas, S.; Monteiro, A.; Carolino, E.; Sabino, R.; Verissimo, C.A descriptive study was developed in order to assess air contamination caused by fungi and particles in seven poultry units. Twenty seven air samples of 25 litters were collected through impaction method. Air sampling and particle concentration measurement were performed in the pavilions’ interior and also outside premises, since this was the place regarded as reference. Simultaneously, temperature and relative humidity were also registered. Regarding fungal load in the air from the seven poultry farms, the highest value obtained was 24040 CFU/m3 and the lowest was 320 CFU/m3. Twenty eight species/genera of fungi were identified, being Scopulariopsis brevicaulis (39.0%) the most commonly isolated species and Rhizopus sp. (30.0%) the most commonly isolated genus. From the Aspergillus genus, Aspergillus flavus (74.5%) was the most frequently detected species. There was a significant correlation (r=0.487; p=0.014) between temperature and the level of fungal contamination (CFU/m3). Considering contamination caused by particles, in this study, particles with larger dimensions (PM5.0 and PM10) have higher concentrations. There was also a significant correlation between relative humidity and concentration of smaller particles namely, PM0.5 (r=0.438; p=0.025) and PM1.0 (r=0.537; p=0.005). Characterizing typical exposure levels to these contaminants in this specific occupational setting is required to allow a more detailed risk assessment analysis and to set exposure limits to protect workers’ health.
- Comparison of indoor and outdoor fungi and particles in poultry unitsPublication . Viegas, C.; Viegas, S.; Monteiro, A.; Carolino, E.; Sabino, R.; Verissimo, C.A descriptive study was developed in order to compare indoor and outdoor air contamination caused by fungi and particles in seven poultry units. Twenty eight air samples of 25 litters were collected through the impaction method on malt extract agar. Air sampling and particles concentration measurement were done in the interior and also outside premises of the poultries’ pavilions. Regarding the fungal load in the air, indoor concentration of mold was higher than outside air in six poultry units. Twenty eight species / genera of fungi were identified indoor, being Scopulariopsis brevicaulis (40.5%) the most commonly isolated species and Rhizopus sp. (30.0%) the most commonly isolated genus. Concerning outdoor, eighteen species/genera of fungi were isolated, being Scopulariopsis brevicaulis (62.6%) also the most isolated. All the poultry farms analyzed presented indoor fungi different from the ones identified outdoors. Regarding particles’ contamination, PM2.5, PM5.0 and PM10 had a statistically significant difference (Mann-Whitney U test) between the inside and outside of the pavilions, with the inside more contaminated (p=.006; p=.005; p=.005, respectively). The analyzed poultry units are potential reservoirs of substantial amounts of fungi and particles and could therefore free them in the atmospheric air. The developed study showed that indoor air was more contaminated than outdoors, and this can result in emission of potentially pathogenic fungi and particles via aerosols from poultry units to the environment, which may post a considerable risk to public health and contribute to environmental pollution.
- A cost-efficiency and health benefit approach to improve urban air qualityPublication . Miranda, A.I.; Ferreira, J.; Silveira, C.; Relvas, H.; Duque, L.; Roebeling, P.; Lopes, M.; Costa, S.; Monteiro, A.; Gama, C.; Sá, E.; Borrego, C.; Teixeira, J.P.When ambient air quality standards established in the EU Directive 2008/50/EC are exceeded, Member States are obliged to develop and implement Air Quality Plans (AQP) to improve air quality and health. Notwithstanding the achievements in emission reductions and air quality improvement, additional efforts need to be undertaken to improve air quality in a sustainable way - i.e. through a cost-efficiency approach. This work was developed in the scope of the recently concluded MAPLIA project "Moving from Air Pollution to Local Integrated Assessment", and focuses on the definition and assessment of emission abatement measures and their associated costs, air quality and health impacts and benefits by means of air quality modelling tools, health impact functions and cost-efficiency analysis. The MAPLIA system was applied to the Grande Porto urban area (Portugal), addressing PM10 and NOx as the most important pollutants in the region. Four different measures to reduce PM10 and NOx emissions were defined and characterized in terms of emissions and implementation costs, and combined into 15 emission scenarios, simulated by the TAPM air quality modelling tool. Air pollutant concentration fields were then used to estimate health benefits in terms of avoided costs (external costs), using dose-response health impact functions. Results revealed that, among the 15 scenarios analysed, the scenario including all 4 measures lead to a total net benefit of 0.3M€·y(-1). The largest net benefit is obtained for the scenario considering the conversion of 50% of open fire places into heat recovery wood stoves. Although the implementation costs of this measure are high, the benefits outweigh the costs. Research outcomes confirm that the MAPLIA system is useful for policy decision support on air quality improvement strategies, and could be applied to other urban areas where AQP need to be implemented and monitored.