Dikaia Saraga

Wildfire risk and the extent of burned areas have been increasing in the Mediterranean region over recent decades, driven by high temperatures, low humidity, and extreme weather conditions intensified by climate change. Especially Greece, due to the country's diverse natural environment, has recently faced increasingly intense wildfires which have challenged firefighting efforts. The prediction of smoke dispersion can provide crucial information for enhancing fire management operations. In this study, an integrated Air Quality and Fire Modeling System based on WRF-SFIRE-Chem model has been developed to predict the wildfire spread, smoke dispersion and the distribution of PM ₁₀ and CO under specific weather conditions that significantly affect the fire by performing simulation scenarios on selected days—based on the Fire Weather Index (FWI) estimation—and specified fire ignition points. Two areas with specific interest were selected: i) the Samaria Gorge in Crete and ii) the cross-border forest area of Skopos in Western Macedonia. Results showed that the large-scale weather conditions and the local weather created by the fire, play a significant role in the pollutants’ dispersion and ground level concentrations. In the case of Samaria gorge, PM ₁₀ can reach up 11,238 μg/m ³ at Ksiloskalo and 4629 μg/m ³ at Agia Roumeli, and the ignition locations of the fire, even if in close distances, can result in different fire behavior and further to dissimilar smoke dispersion in the wider area. In the case of cross border area of Western Macedonia, PM ₁₀ can reach up to 2500μg/m ³ at Skopos village and 3000μg/m ³ at Agios Athanasios in the case of a wildfire event in the attached forest area. The developed fire and air quality modeling system, provides specialised understanding on the prevailing dispersion patterns of PM₁₀ and CO in the regions surrounding the areas of interest, for planning future fire risk management systems, designing efficiency cooperative prevention and evacuation strategies. Graphical Abstract

Ambient particulate matter (PM₁₀) and its chemical composition in polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were studied in areas of specific interest, between September 2015 and July 2016. The principal aim of this study was to assess the different PAH source profiles in each area, as well as their potential health risk. In particular, the studied areas were (a) the semiurban industrialized zone of the Municipality of Peloponnese (Meligalas, Messini) of Messinia prefecture, due to the intensive olive-productive activity in the extensive area, (b) the industrialized zone of Oinofyta in Voiotia prefecture, and (c) the urban/traffic center of Athens (Aristotelous). Intense spatial and seasonal variations in PAH levels were observed among the study areas collectively, but also for each one individually. During the winter period, the total PAHs average concentration was 11.45 and 9.84 ng/m³ at Meligalas–Skala (S1, S2 stations), 8.84 ng/m³ at Messini (S3 station), and 6.30 ng/m³ at the center of Athens (Aristotelous). During the summer campaign, the corresponding levels were 0.99, 1.20, and 0.70 ng/m³ (S1, S2, and S3 stations), and 5.84 ng/m³ (Aristotelous), respectively. The highest potential cancer risk of the PAHs mixture was estimated based on winter season measurements taken at the Municipality of Peloponnese. In order to determine PAH sources, two different source apportionment techniques were applied, i.e., diagnostic ratios (DRs) and the positive matrix factorization (PMF) model.

This study investigated the indoor environment quality (IEQ) of eight office buildings of interest due to: (a) their location at the region of Western Macedonia, Greece, which is an area characterized by aggravated air quality and is currently in a transition phase because of changes in the energy production strategy to reduce the use of lignite as an energy fuel; and (b) the survey’s timing, characterized by new working conditions implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic period. In-site measurements were performed to identify the indoor air pollutants to which the occupants were exposed, while questionnaires were collected regarding the participants’ perception of the working environment conditions, indoor air quality, and health symptoms. The statistical analysis results showed that the most-reported health symptoms were headache, dry eyes, and sneezing. The acceptance of new working conditions showed a significant correlation with their overall comfort and health perception. Occupants in offices with higher pollutant concentrations, such as NO₂, benzene and toluene, were more likely to report health symptoms. The evaluation of the plausible health risks for the occupants of the buildings with carcinogenic and no-cancer models showed that health problems could exist despite low pollutant concentration levels.

Particulate matter (PM) is an important player in indoor air quality. Even though PM limit values are in force for more than a decade in Europe and reference methods are well in place for ambient air, measuring indoor PM concentration still remains a challenge and standardizing a measurement protocol is complex. As people stay most of their time indoors, indoor PM is of great interest in terms of public health, as concentration can be drastically different to the one outdoors. This review aims to provide key information to the indoor air monitoring communities, to better understand principal methods suitable for the analysis of indoor PM with their respective main influencing parameters. Advantages and drawbacks of each method are discussed and specific awareness is raised to avoid wrong data interpretation in specific situations. The inter-instrument deviation is also explained and, when possible, methods to correct are proposed.

Industrial activities nearby residential areas lead to poor local air quality. Therefore, short-term exposure to an aggravated environment and the subsequent health effects should be the subject of further research. The purpose of this study is to estimate the health risks resulting from such exposure in population groups living in an industrialized area. The risk estimation was performed using different approaches suggested in relative literature. Monitoring of the air quality in an industrial zone of Attica was carried out including 24-h measurements of PM_2.5 and analysis of their chemical composition for Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons and heavy metals (Pb, Cd, As, Ni, Hg, Cu, Zn). Samples of Volatile Organic Compounds were also collected. Health effects on different population subgroups were estimated for the targeted pollutants through different mathematical approaches provided by the literature, taking into consideration different parameters (e.g., age, gender, exposure duration). Inhalation rate and body weight were important parameters to estimate the exposure dose of people, and they can vary greatly depending on the age, gender, and daily activity of the person under consideration. The results indicated that the risk for potential carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic effects varies depending on the applied methodology. In any case, the acceptable limits for cancer risk provided by the OEHHA, EPA, and WHO were not exceeded.

Particulate matter (PM) is an important player of indoor air quality and a topic of great interest in terms of public health. Deciphering the complex chemical composition of indoor PM is critical to understand the association between particles components and a wide range of adverse health effects. Over the last decades, advanced analytical instrumentation has been produced capable of providing various levels of information on the chemical features of indoor PM. This article reviews the most promising of these sophisticated analytical techniques that could be employed in the identification of organic and inorganic constituents of indoor PM, including (high-resolution) mass spectrometry, organic, carbonaceous and ions analytical techniques, elemental analysis techniques such as atomic spectrometry and X-ray based methods, and surface analysis techniques. A distinction is made between online and offline instrumentation, focusing on their capabilities and how they are currently being used in the targeted and untargeted analysis of PM components. This review aims to provide the indoor air chemistry community with insights into the power of the different techniques available today, so that they can be used advantageously in future studies.