Maria Tutino

Arpa Puglia, Bari, Italy · Direzione Generale - Unità Ambiente e Salute

Polymer-based items may release Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) and odors indoors, contributing to the overall VOC inhalation exposure for end users and building occupants. The main objective of the present study is the evaluation of short-term inhalation exposure to VOCs due to the use of a personal care polymer-based item, namely, one of three...

Background: Particulate matter (PM) is the most efficient vehicle for the inhalation and absorption of toxic substances into the body. Method: The present study was aimed at testing the hypothesis that PM10 samples collected on quartz filters exert an angiogenic activity in vivo in the chick embryo chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) assay. Results:...

This study provided a useful approach for assessing the impact of industrial sources on surrounding, especially in a sensitive industrial area as Taranto (South of Italy). Taranto is one of the most industrialized Italian towns, where several emission sources operate simultaneously in proximity to the urban settlement. An intensive monitoring campa...

This study aims to investigate the air quality in primary school placed in district of Taranto (south of Italy), an area of high environmental risk because of closeness between large industrial complex and urban settlement. The chemical characterization of PM2.5 was performed to identify origin of pollutants detected inside school and the compariso...

The selection of proper compounds to include in perfumes’ formulation is of particular interest for the perfume industry. Essential oils and perfumes are subject to quality control as well as to chemical characterization; therefore, GC/MS-O methodology can be considered a useful tool for research purposes and/or for improving industrial manufacturi...

Nowadays, no a standard method for the determination of particulate bound nitro-PAHs (NPAHs) has been developed. Existing methods include complex sampling and extraction procedures. Moreover, their sensitivity does not allow to analyze daily PM10 samples, affecting the temporal resolution of NPAH concentrations. In this study an analytical method f...

Around 50% of the world’s population, particularly in developing countries, uses biomass as one of the most common fuels. Biomass combustion releases a considerable amount of various incomplete combustion products, including particulate matter (PM) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The paper presents the results of Indoor Air Quality (IA...

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine whether the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) pattern in colorectal cancer (CRC) patients is modified by curative surgery for a potential application in the oncologic follow-up. Background: CRC has been proved to induce metabolic derangements detectable by high through-output techniques in exhale...

A VOC monitoring was carried out inside and outside a multi-storey car park in order to characterize the emission profile of vehicular traffic source in an indoor environment. BTEX, and in particular toluene, were the most abundant compounds in all monitored sites, with different compositions between indoor parking areas and outdoor sites. The moto...

Solvent- and water-based wood stains were monitored using a small test emission chamber in order to characterize their emission profiles in terms of Total and individual VOCs.. The study of concentration-time profiles of individual VOCs enabled to identify the compounds emitted at higher concentration for each type of stain, to examine their decay...

Exhaled breath contains thousands of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in gaseous form, which may be used as markers of airway inflammation and lung disease. Electronic noses enable quick and real-time pattern analysis of VOC spectra. It has been shown that the exhaled breath of patients with obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) differs from that of non-...

In recent years, the use of synthetic materials in building and furnishing, the adoption of new lifestyles, the extensive use of products for environmental cleaning and personal hygiene have contributed to the deterioration of indoor air quality and introduced new sources of risk to humans. Indoor environments include home, workplaces such as offic...

A high time-resolved monitoring campaign of bulk deposition of PAHs and metals was conducted near the industrial area and at an urban background site in province of Taranto (Italy) in order to evaluate the impact of the biggest European steel plant. The deposition fluxes of the sum of detected PAHs at the industrial area ranged from 92 to 2432 ng m...

This study shows the direct effect of atmospheric particulate matter on plant growth. Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) plants were grown for 18d directly on PM10 collected on quartz fiber filters. Organic and elemental carbon and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) contents were analyzed on all the tested filters. The toxicity indicators (i.e.,...

The atmosphere is a carrier on which some natural and anthropogenic organic and inorganic chemicals are transported, and the wet and dry deposition events are the most important processes that remove those chemicals, depositing it on soil and water. A wide variety of different collectors were tested to evaluate site-specificity, seasonality and dai...

In order to assess indoor air quality (IAQ), two 1-week monitoring campaigns of volatile organic compounds (VOC) were performed in different areas of a multistorey shopping mall. High-spatial-resolution monitoring was conducted at 32 indoor sites located in two storehouses and in different departments of a supermarket. At the same time, VOC concent...

The gas chromatography-olfactometry (GC-O) methodology couples traditional gas chromatographic analysis with sensory detection in order to identify odor active compounds in complex mixtures. Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) emitted from materials and consumer products can affect indoor air quality (IAQ) in terms of odor annoyance and other adverse...

In recent years the use of synthetic materials in building and furnishing, the adoption of new lifestyles, the extensive use of products for environmental cleaning and personal hygiene have contributed to the deterioration of the indoor air quality (IAQ) and introduced new sources of risk to humans. Indoor environments include home work places such...

In the South of Italy, it is common for farmers to burn pruning waste from olive trees in spring. In order to evaluate the impact of the biomass burning source on the physical and chemical characteristics of the particulate matter (PM) emitted by these fires, a PM monitoring campaign was carried out in an olive grove. Daily PM10 samples were collec...

Children are more sensitive to pollutants than adults and yet they spend large amounts of time in school environments where they are exposed to unknown levels of indoor pollutants. This study investigated the concentrations of the most abundant volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in eight naturally ventilated school buildings in Italy. The schools we...

The gas chromatography-olfactometry (GC-O) technique couples traditional gas chromatographic analysis with sensory detection in order to study complex mixtures of odorous substances and to identify odor active compounds. The GC-O technique is already widely used for the evaluation of food aromas and its application in environmental fields is increa...

An assessment of the fugitive emission impact on ambient air PM, PAHs and metal concentrations was performed in a residential area near the biggest European steel plant. A careful experimental design was developed to characterize fugitive emissions produced by the integrated steel plant. A PM10 and PM2.5 monitoring campaign was conducted at three s...

An annual monitoring campaign of VOCs, consisting of twelve sampling periods, was carried out from June 2008 to June 2009 in Modugno, a city located in the Apulia region (Southern Italy), in order to assess the urban air quality, identify the main emission sources, and quantify the cancer and no-cancer risk attributable to inhalation exposures. Mon...

An effective screening tool for colorectal cancer is still lacking. Analysis of the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) linked to cancer is a new frontier in cancer screening, as tumour growth involves several metabolic changes leading to the production of specific compounds that can be detected in exhaled breath. This study investigated whether pati...

Atmospheric particulate matter (PM) characterizes the atmospheric air quality. PM particles can adsorb and include several toxic air pollutants of urban areas. The current study aimed to develop an experimental procedure to assess the toxicity of the pollutants on PM10 by means of the comet assay on earthworms directly exposed to PM10 collecting fi...

The combustion of pruning residues of olive trees in field is a common practice in South of Italy. Since fields are usually close to densely populated areas, the biomass burning emission may cause seasonally increasing exposure to air pollutants and may present a potential health risk for the population. The goal of this work was to carry out the c...

A screening monitoring campaign of volatile organic compounds (VOC) was conducted in the main cities of the metropolitan area of Bari, south-eastern Italy, in order to evaluate the impact of the vehicular traffic on the urban air quality. VOC were sampled with diffusive samplers suitable for thermal desorption. The monitoring was planned considerin...

The chemical composition of PM 10 samples collected during a monitoring campaign performed at five Apulia Region sites (Torchiarolo, Galatina, Taranto-Tamburi, Palagiano and Montalbano-Ostuni) was investigated. Ionic fraction, metals, carbonaceous compounds and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were determined for all samples. The PM concentr...

Chemical composition data (ionic fraction, carbonaceous compounds and Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons) for PM2.5 were acquired during 2005–2007years by seasonal sampling campaigns performed at six urban sites in Apulia Region. In addition, an industrial site was considered. Discriminant Function Analysis, Principal Component Analysis and Absolute...

Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is an aggressive tumour whose main aetiology is the long-term exposure to asbestos fibres. The diagnostic procedure of MPM is difficult and often requires invasive approaches; therefore, it is clinically important to find accurate markers for MPM by new noninvasive methods that may facilitate the diagnostic proc...

A BTEX monitoring campaign, consisting of two weekly periods, was carried out in Bari, south-eastern Italy, in order to evaluate the impact of the vehicular traffic on the air quality at the main access roads of the city. Twenty-one sampling sites were selected: the pollution produced by the traffic in the vicinity of all exits from the ring road a...

The chemical composition of PM10 and PM2.5 samples collected during two seasonal monitoring campaigns at residential, urban and industrial Apulia Region- sites was investigated. Ionic fraction, carbonaceous compounds and Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons were determined for all samples. High correlations among PM data collected in the investigated s...

Several epidemiological studies have shown the negative effects of air pollution on human health, which range from respiratory and cardiovascular disease to neurotoxic effects, and cancer. Most recent investigations have been focused on health toxicological features of Particulate Matter (PM) and its interactions with other pollutants: it was found...

Introduction: Pleural Malignant Mesotheloma (PMM) is an agressive tumor with a poor prognosis, whose main etiology is the long-term exposure to asbestos fibers. The use of recently introduced electronic noses allows analysis of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) spectrum by pattern recognition. We hypothesize that an electronic nose can discriminate...

The present work studied how much the meteorological parameters and the emission sources can influence the particulate polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (Invalid Journal Information PAHs) concentrations in two areas located in Southern Italy (Bari and Taranto). It was found that when the vehicular traffic is the main source of PAHs, there is a negat...

Mean volatile organic compound (VOC) concentrations in 16 newspaper stands and in two printing shops were monitored for the purpose of quantifying the various VOCs in these areas and to relate the results. In each site halogenated, oxygenated, aliphatic, and aromatic compounds were monitored during one workweek. They were sampled with diffusive sam...

Some peak PM10 episodes, occurred during PM monitoring campaigns performed on October 2005 and February and June 2006 in Bari town, have been characterized. Moreover back trajectories of air masses and Principal Component Analyses were applied. Three of the peak PM10 episodes investigated were related to local emissions of primary pollutants during...

The technique of thermal desorption (TD)–GC/MS was evaluated for measuring airborne, 4–6 ring polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) collected onto quartz filters. TD provides a more readily automated and sensitive alternative to traditional solvent extraction, decreasing the time/cost of analysis and reducing the risk of analyte loss or sample co...

Unlabelled: A weekly monitoring campaign of volatile organic compounds (VOC), with single sampling of 24 h, was carried out in non-residential indoor environments such as libraries, pharmacies, offices, gymnasiums, etc., in order to evaluate the VOC concentrations to which people are exposed. Moreover, an outdoor sample was coupled to each indoor...

Volatile organic compounds (VOC) have been monitored in 12 sites of Canosa di Puglia, a city located in the Southern of Italy, in order to identify the main VOC source—vehicular traffic or industrial—and to evaluate the critical situations in the city. Monitoring, carried out by using Radiello® diffusive samplers, has been planned taking into accou...

The determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) contained in samples of particulate matter (PM), collected with low volume pumps, were carried out with an high sensitivity method that comes from several revisions of a previous method. The present work describes how, by using programmable temperature vaporization (PTV) and a mass select...

Nuisance caused by odors is one of the most important problems for waste management plants. To control an odor nuisance, it must first be quantified. The analytical difficulties in odor measurements are related to the high number of volatile components (belonging to several chemical classes), above all when the concentration is lower than the detec...

Atmospheric concentrations of benzene and toluene were assessed during three different seasons in the city of Taranto, using Radiello® diffusive samplers, in order to detect the most critical areas and to point out the sources contributing to pollution (vehicular traffic or industrial activities). High spatial resolution maps were built using a gri...