Tamás Szigeti

• PhD
• Head of Laboratory at National Public Health Center, Budapest, Hungary

The European project OFFICAIR aimed to broaden the existing knowledge regarding indoor air quality (IAQ) in modern office buildings, i.e., recently built or refurbished buildings. Thirty-seven office buildings participated in the summer campaign (2012), and thirty-five participated in the winter campaign (2012-2013). Four rooms were investigated pe...

In the frame of the OFFICAIR project, office buildings were investigated across Europe to assess how the office workers are exposed to different particulate matter (PM) characteristics (i.e. PM2.5 mass concentration, particulate oxidative potential (OP) based on ascorbate and reduced glutathione depletion, trace element concentration and total part...

The indoor air quality (IAQ) was investigated in sixty‐four primary school buildings in five Central European countries (Czech Republic, Hungary, Italy, Poland, and Slovenia). The concentration of volatile organic compounds, aldehydes, PM2.5 mass, carbon dioxide, radon, as well as physical parameters were investigated during the heating period of 2...

Based on toxicological evidence, children’s exposure to phthalates may contribute to altered neurodevelopment and abnormal regulation of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). We analyzed data from five aligned studies of the Human Biomonitoring for Europe (HBM4EU) project. Ten phthalate metabolites and protein BDNF levels were measured in the u...

Human biomonitoring (HBM) data in Europe are often fragmented and collected in different EU countries and sampling periods. Exposure levels for children and adult women in Europe were evaluated over time. For the period 2000–2010, literature and aggregated data were collected in a harmonized way across studies. Between 2011–2012, biobanked samples...

Most countries have acknowledged the importance of assessing and quantifying their population's internal exposure from chemicals in air, water, soil, food and other consumer products due to the potential health and economic impact. Human biomonitoring (HBM) is a valuable tool which can be used to quantify such exposures and effects. Results from HB...

Phthalates are mainly used as plasticizers for polyvinyl chloride (PVC). Exposure to several phthalates is associated with different adverse effects most prominently on the development of reproductive functions. The HBM4EU Aligned Studies (2014-2021) have investigated current European exposure to ten phthalates (DEP, BBzP, DiBP, DnBP, DCHP, DnPeP,...

As one of the core elements of the European Human Biomonitoring Initiative (HBM4EU) a human biomonitoring (HBM) survey was conducted in 23 countries to generate EU-wide comparable HBM data. This survey has built on existing HBM capacity in Europe by aligning national or regional HBM studies, referred to as the HBM4EU Aligned Studies. The HBM4EU Ali...

Within the European Human Biomonitoring (HBM) Initiative HBM4EU we derived HBM indicators that were designed to help answering key policy questions and support chemical policies. The result indicators convey information on chemicals exposure of different age groups, sexes, geographical regions and time points by comparing median exposure values. If...

Humans are exposed to a mixture of pesticides through diet as well as through the environment. We conducted a suspect-screening based study to describe the probability of (concomitant) exposure to a set of pesticide profiles in five European countries (Latvia, Hungary, Czech Republic, Spain and the Netherlands). We explored whether living in an agr...

Background Mechanistic studies show that heavy metals interfere with the hematopoietic system by inhibiting key enzymes, which could lead to anemia. However, the link between children's exposure and red blood cell (RBC) parameters has been inconsistent. We aimed to summarize evidence on human studies exploring the association between exposure to le...

Within the Human Biomonitoring for Europe initiative (HBM4EU), a study to determine new biomarkers of exposure to pesticides and to assess exposure patterns was conducted. Human urine samples (N=2,088) were collected from five European regions in two different seasons. The objective of the study was to identify pesticides and their metabolites in c...

Human biomonitoring has become a pivotal tool for supporting chemicals’ policies. It provides information on real-life human exposures and is increasingly used to prioritize chemicals of health concern and to evaluate the success of chemical policies. Europe has launched the ambitious REACH program in 2007 to improve the protection of human health...

Previous studies investigating the associations between indoor air quality and health symptoms of schoolchildren have created a substantial knowledge; however, there are still inconsistencies and knowledge gaps. In the framework of the InAirQ study, the associations between the occurrence of recent health symptoms of children and the exposure to ai...

Exposure to different chemicals is an inevitable part of our everyday lives. Within HBM4EU, focus group discussions were conducted to gather data on citizens’ perceptions of chemical exposure and human biomonitoring. These discussions were hosted in Cyprus, Denmark, Hungary, Israel, Latvia, the Netherlands, and North Macedonia following a protocol...

Plant species have different degrees of allergenicity. Existing systems categorizing plants according their allergenicity were reviewed to find a method that could serve as the basis for the regulation of green areas. The categorization of plants by their allergenicity serves different purposes: informing allergic patients, warning consumers in hor...

Salt chambers are popular settings for prevention or complementary therapy for respiratory diseases in some European countries. Despite this, there are no standards for their operation, including hygienic requirements, e.g. air quality. It is a cause of concern that inadequately ventilated, crowded salt rooms can even be sources of illnesses and in...

A vegyi anyagok mára a mindennapi életünk elkerülhetetlen részévé váltak. Használatuk azonban számtalan előnyük mellett kockázatot is jelent az emberek egészségére és az ökológiai rendszerekre, amit folyamatosan vizsgálnunk és kezelnünk kell. Az utóbbi években a lakosság körében jól dokumentáltan nőtt a környezetszennyezéssel, illetve annak az egés...

Lead (Pb) is a ubiquitous environmental pollutant and a potent toxic compound. Humans are exposed to Pb through inhalation, ingestion, and skin contact via food, water, tobacco smoke, air, dust, and soil. Pb accumulates in bones, brain, liver and kidney. Fetal exposure occurs via transplacental transmission. The most critical health effects are dev...

Significance Coexposure to airborne pollen enhances susceptibility to respiratory viral infections, regardless of the allergy status. We hypothesized this could be also true for SARS-CoV-2 infections. To investigate this, we tested for relationships between SARS-CoV-2 infection rates and pollen concentrations, along with humidity, temperature, popu...

Asthma is one of the most common chronic diseases worldwide affecting all age groups from children to the elderly. In addition to other factors such as smoking, air pollution and atopy, some environmental chemicals are shown or suspected to increase the risk of asthma, exacerbate asthma symptoms and cause other respiratory symptoms. In this scoping...

A Nemzeti Népegészségügyi Központ konzorciumvezetőként részt vett az InAirQ elnevezésű nemzetközi projektben, melynek célja, többek között, a beltéri levegőminőség vizsgálata általános iskolákban, illetve olyan akciótervek kidolgozása, melyekkel a beltéri levegő minősége javítható. Egy kampány keretében összesen hatvannégy általános iskola egy-egy...

The aim of this study was to explore the association between the building related occupants’ reported health symptoms and the indoor pollutant concentrations in a sample of 148 office rooms, within the framework of the European OFFICAIR research project. A large field campaign was performed in 37 office buildings among eight countries, which includ...

Ragweed Pollen Alarm System (R-PAS) has been running since 2014 to provide pollen information for countries in the Pannonian biogeographical region (PBR). The aim of this study was to develop forecast models of the representative aerobiological monitoring stations, identified by analysis based on a neural network computation. Monitoring stations wi...

The aim of this study was to identify determinants of aldehyde and volatile organic compound (VOC) indoor air concentrations in a sample of more than 140 office rooms, in the framework of the European OFFICAIR research project. A large field campaign was performed, which included (i) the air sampling of aldehydes and VOCs in 37 newly built or recen...

A szennyezett levegőjű területeken élő lakosság körében magasabb a krónikus légúti, illetve szív- és érrendszeri betegségek előfordulási aránya, ezért feltételezhető, hogy a COVID-19 járvány időszakában a gyakran kifogásolt levegőminőséggel jellemezhető településeken élők körében magasabb arányban lesznek azok, akiknél a fertőzés súlyosabb következ...

Personal control over various indoor environment parameters, especially in the last decades, appear to have a significant role on occupants’ comfort, health and productivity. To reveal this complex relationship, 7441 occupants of 167 recently built or retrofitted office buildings in eight European countries participated in an online survey about pe...

While disinfection of swimming pools is indispensable for microbiological safety, it may lead to the formation of disinfection by-products. Most studies agree that inhalation exposure is the predominant pathway of the associated health risks, but assumptions are based on concentrations measured in water and evaporation models. Pool water and air we...

Ragweed pollen allergy is a public health concern affecting more than 1 million people in Hungary. Reliable pollen information is important in reducing the health impact of pollen on allergic people during the ragweed pollen season. In order to get information on the knowledge of people on pollen information service and on the use of this kind of i...

Az ürömlevelű parlagfű (Ambrosia artemisiifolia L.), vagy egyszerűsített nevén parlagfű, Európában idegen, invazívan terjedő gyomnövény. Az utóbbi évtizedben e növényfaj talán a legismertebb gyomnövénnyé vált jelentős kártétele miatt. Jelenléte a mezőgazdasági termelésben és humán egészségügyi szempontból is súlyos problémákat okoz. Megjelenése a n...

Indoor air quality (IAQ) measurements were carried out in two field campaigns (summer and winter) in European office buildings (approximately 140 office rooms) in eight countries, as part of the EU-funded OFFICAIR project. A source identification study was performed with principal component analysis (varimax rotation) on a database containing volat...

An analytical method has been developed for the quantitative determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and their nitrated and oxygenated derivatives (nitro- and oxy-PAHs respectively) in particulate matter (PM) samples. The sample preparation procedure included only a simple and quick sonication-assisted extraction step, clean-up bas...

Indoor environmental conditions (thermal, noise, light, and indoor air quality) may affect workers' comfort, and consequently their health and well-being, as well as their productivity. This study aimed to assess the relations between perceived indoor environment and occupants' comfort, and to examine the modifying effects of both personal and buil...

Cleaning agents often emit terpenes that react rapidly with ozone. These ozone-initiated reactions, which occur in the gas-phase and on surfaces, produce a host of gaseous and particulate oxygenated compounds with possible adverse health effects in the eyes and airways. Within the European Union (EU) project OFFICAIR, common ozone-initiated reactio...

Fifty samples of indoor and outdoor PM2.5 were collected onto quartz fiber and Teflon membrane filters in five office buildings equipped with heating, ventilation and air-conditioning system for 8 h daily in order to coincide with the work shift of employees. Samples were analyzed for i) mass concentration; ii) elemental concentration; and iii) oxi...

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An analytical method has been developed for determination of palladium in PM2.5 fractions of urban airborne particulate matter by solid sampling high-resolution continuum source electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry. For the optimization of the experimental conditions, a road dust certified reference material (BCR-723) was used. The influen...

In the present work, a comprehensive chemical characterization of PM2.5 fractions of urban aerosol collected with high-volume aerosol samplers in Budapest (Hungary) and Istanbul (Turkey) was carried out from June 2010 to May 2011. The analyses included (i) gravimetric determination of PM2.5 mass concentration; (ii) trace element determination (Bi,...