Teresa Moreno

Spanish National Research Council | CSIC · Department of Geosciences

The development of methodologies for the determination of plasticizers is essential for assessing the environmental and human impact resulting from the use of plastics. A fast analytical method with on-line purification based on turbulent flow chromatography (TFC) coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (MS–MS) has been developed for the analysis of te...

Inhalation of airborne fine particulate matter (PM2.5), dust ingestion, and dermal contact with dust are important pathways for human exposure to different contaminants, such as organophosphate esters (OPE), compounds that are widely used as flame retardants and plasticizers. There are limited studies assessing the extent of the contamination of OP...

Despite international efforts to limit worker exposure to coal dust, it continues to impact the health of thousands of miners across Europe. Airborne coal dust has been studied to improve risk models and its control to protect workers. Particle size distribution analyses shows that using spraying systems to suppress airborne dusts can reduce partic...

Aluminium is the most common substrate in studies using impactors for the measurement of the number or the weight of size-segregated atmospheric particulate matter (PM), as its characteristics perfectly fit impactor requirements. However, its use is not recommended by manufacturers when one of the purposes of the study is the determination of the m...

Determining the physical and chemical properties of airborne dusts in occupational settings is essential for assessing their potential toxicity as well as the effectiveness of respiratory protective equipment and dust mitigation measures. Here, we report the first successful QEMSCAN® automated mineralogical analysis of potentially toxic PM4 and PM2...

Airborne microplastics (MPs) have recently drawn the attention of the scientific community due to their possible human inhalation risk. Indoor environments are of relevance as people spend about 90% of their time indoors. This study evaluated MPs concentrations in three indoor environments: houses, public transport and working places, which are rep...

Concentration levels of 16 organophosphate esters (OPEs) and 18 halogenated flame retardants (HFRs) were measured in airborne fine particulate matter (PM2.5) from an e-waste dismantling facility in Catalonia (Spain) to assess their occurrence, profiles and potential health risks. Three different areas from the facility were studied, including an ar...

Measurements of CO2 and counting of occupants were carried out in 37 public bus trips during commuting rush hours in Barcelona (NE Spain) with the aim of evaluating parameters governing ventilation inside the vehicles and proposing actions to improve it. The results show that CO2 concentrations (1039 and 934 ± 386 ppm, as average and median, during...

Public bus system worldwide transports daily more than 34 million people; therefore, air quality inside buses is an important urban air pollution issue. Airborne microbiological composition and abundance was examined inside five different fuel type buses (diesel (EURO IV and EURO V), hybrid diesel (HD), compressed natural gas (CNG), hybrid natural...

This study evaluates geochemical and oxidative potential (OP) properties of the respirable (finer than 4 μm) fractions of 22 powdered coal samples from channel profiles (CP4) in Chinese mined coals. The CP4 fractions extracted from milled samples of 22 different coals were mineralogically and geochemically analysed and the relationships with the OP...

Environmental pollution from microplastics (MPs) in air is a matter of growing concern because of human health implications. Airborne MP can be directly and continuously inhaled in air environments. Especially high MP contributions can be found in indoor air due to the erosion and breakage of consumer, domestic and construction products, although t...

For the first time, organophosphate ester (OPE) content was studied in different types of surgical, self-filtering (KN95, FFP2, and FFP3) and reusable face masks used for COVID-19 prevention. OPEs were detected in all mask samples, although in highly variable amounts which ranged from 0.02 to a maximum of 27.7 µg/mask, with the highest mean concent...

We offer and overview of the COVID-19 -driven air quality changes across 11 metropolises in Spain with the focus on lessons learned on how continuing abating pollution. Traffic flow decreased by up to 80% during the lockdown and remained relatively low during the full relaxation (June and July). After the lockdown a significant shift from public tr...

Given the widespread concern but general lack of information over the possibility of SARS-CoV-2 infection in public transport, key issues such as passenger personal hygiene, efficient air circulation systems, and the effective disinfection of frequently touched surfaces need to be evaluated to educate the public and diminish the risk of viral trans...

For the first time, the concentrations of 19 organophosphate esters (OPEs) were measured in airborne fine particulate matter (PM2.5) from subway stations in Barcelona (Spain) to investigate their occurrence, contamination profiles and associated health risks. OPEs were detected in all PM2.5 samples with levels ranging between 1.59 and 202 ng/m³ (me...

Coal mining in China is continually increasing, and the associated emitted coal mine dust is of growing environmental and occupational concern. In this study, deposited coal mine dust (DD) was analysed in three different regions of an active, highly-volatile bituminous open-pit coal mine in the Xingjian Province, Northwest of China: coal working fr...

Portable miniaturised scanning mobility particle sizer (SMPS) instruments measuring atmospheric particles within the 10-241nm size range were used to track particle number size distributions and concentrations during near-simultaneous pedestrian, bicycle, bus, car, tram and subway commuting journeys in Barcelona, Spain on 4th-6th July 2018. The maj...

This work evaluates the applicability of the reference protocol EUSAAR2 in the Semi-Continuous OCEC analyzer under two environments, an urban background site influenced by traffic emissions and a regional background site. The comparison of the 24-h averaged OC and EC measurements of the Semi-Continuous analyzer with the OC and EC concentrations det...

We focus on a comparison of the geochemistry and mineralogy patterns found in coal, deposited dust (DD), respirable deposited dust (RDD) and inhalable suspended dust (PM10) from a number of underground mines located in China, with an emphasis on potential occupational health relevance. After obtaining the RDD from DD, a toxicological analysis (oxid...

Inhalable particulate matter (size <2.5 μm: PM2.5) inside commuting and tourist buses moving through the city of Barcelona, Spain, was chemically analysed. The analyses show PM dominated by organic carbon (mostly 10–20 μg/m³) and elemental carbon (mostly 3–6 μg/m³; OC/EC = 3.4), followed by SO4², Fe, Ca, K, Al2O3, Mg, and Na, with calculated minera...

Indoor school gyms are environments characterized by high concentrations of different airborne particulate and gaseous pollutants. In particular, like other naturally-ventilated school environments, in addition to indoor pollutants children can be exposed to sub-micron particles and gaseous pollutants emitted by outdoor sources and penetrating the...

The 2001–2016 contribution of African dust outbreaks to ambient regional background PM10 and PM2.5 levels over Spain, as well as changes induced in the PMx composition over NE Spain in 2009–2016, were investigated. A clear decrease in PMx dust contributions from the Canary Islands to N Iberia was found. A parallel increase in the PM2.5/PM10 ratio (...

While exposure to traffic pollutants significantly decreases with distance from the curb, very dense urban architectures hamper such dispersion. Moreover, the building height reduces significantly the dispersion of pollutants. We have investigated the horizontal variability of Black Carbon (BC) and the vertical variability of NO2 and BC within the...

Introduction The Notch signalling pathway regulates neuronal survival. It has some similarities with the APP signalling pathway, and competes with the latter for α- and γ-secretase proteolytic complexes. The objective of this study was to study the Notch signalling pathway in the hippocampi of patients with motor neuron disease. Methods We studied...

Road dust has been identified as one of the main sources of outdoor PM10 in Bogota (a Latin American megacity), but there are no studies that have analyzed the physicochemical characteristics and origins of its respirable fraction. A characterization of inorganic compounds (water soluble ions, major and trace elements, organic and elemental carbon)...

Investigations into the respiratory health impacts of coal mine particulate matter (PM) face the challenge of understanding its chemical complexity. This includes highly variable concentrations of trace metals and metalloids such as Fe, Ti, Mn, Zn, Ni, V, Cr, Cu, Pb, Cd, Sb, As and Sn, which may be capable of inducing cell damage. Analysis of PM10...

Vehicle interior air quality (VIAQ) was investigated inside 14 diesel/non-diesel taxi pairs operating simultaneously and under normal working conditions over six weekday hours (10.00–16.00) in the city of Barcelona, Spain. Parameters measured included PM 10 mass and inorganic chemistry, ultrafine particle number (N) and size, lung surface deposited...

Cycling and walking are promoted as means of transportation which can contribute to the reduction of traffic pollution in urban areas. However, cyclists and pedestrians may be exposed to high concentrations of air pollutants due to their proximity to vehicle emissions. Commercial face mask respirators are widely used, in both developing and develop...

Complex spatial and temporal patterns of ground-level O 3 and NO 2 concentrations have been revealed across an important southern European O 3 exceedance area (Madrid Basin, central Spain). Data were obtained from 102 diffusion tube sites and 49 monitoring stations (25 urban/suburban, 12 urban/suburban-traffic, 7 remote, 3 rural, 2 urban-industrial...

Millions of people use rail subway public transport around the world, despite the relatively high particulate matter (PM) concentrations in these underground environments, requiring the identification and quantification of the aerosol source contributions to improve the air quality. An extensive aerosol monitoring campaign was carried out in eleven...

Underground subways transport large numbers of citizens in big cities, which must breathe air with limited ventilation. These atmospheric conditions may enhance the concentration of air pollutants from both outdoor and indoor air. The influence of ventilation conditions and maintenance activities on the concentrations of air pollutants have been st...

This article comments on the current reality of particulate matter (PM) concentrations breathed by commuters on subway train platforms and considers what can be done to improve air quality underground. We propose the introduction of a targeted, color-coded approach to the problem, based on the methodology of the World Health Organisation and design...

Dust is a mixture of natural and anthropogenic particles originated from multiple sources, which can represent an hazard for human health. Playgrounds are a site of particularly concern, due to sand dust ingestion by toddlers and inhalation. In this study, 37 sands used in public playgrounds in the city of Barcelona were physico-chemically characte...

In the present study, the daily dose in terms of particle surface area received by citizens living in five cities in Western countries, characterized by different lifestyle, culture, climate and built-up environment, was evaluated and compared. For this purpose, the exposure to sub-micron particle concentration levels of the population living in Ba...

An extensive air quality campaign was performed at differently designed station platforms in the Barcelona metro system, aiming to investigate the factors governing airborne particle number (N) concentrations and their size distributions. The study of the daily trends of N concentrations by different size ranges shows that concentrations of N0.3–10...

Ground-level and vertical measurements (performed using tethered and non-tethered balloons), coupled with modelling, of ozone (O3), other gaseous pollutants (NO, NO2, CO, SO2) and aerosols were carried out in the plains (Vic Plain) and valleys of the northern region of the Barcelona metropolitan area (BMA) in July 2015, an area typically recording...

As part of the European-funded IMPROVE LIFE project work programme experiments were performed in the Barcelona Metro system with the objective of better understanding the relationship between ventilation and air quality. The results demonstrate that tunnel ventilation plays an extremely important role in maintaining cleaner air and is capable of re...

The TSI DustTrak Aerosol Monitor is a portable real-time instrument widely used for particulate matter (PM) mass concentrations monitoring. The aim of this work is to report on issues that have arisen from the use of the latest generation models DustTrak DRX (8533 and 8534) in the BREATHE, UPTECH and IMPROVE projects that can compromise data qualit...

Air quality sampling campaigns in three European subway systems (Barcelona, Athens and Oporto) were conducted in order to characterise particulate matter (PM) to better understand the main factors controlling it. PM mass concentrations varied among the European subway platforms, and also within the same underground system, this being mainly associa...

The atmosphere of the northwestern (NW) Mediterranean Sea is affected by continuous inputs of anthropogenic aerosols and episodic Saharan dust events. These atmospheric inputs deliver to the surface waters high amounts of macronutrients and trace metals that can constitute their main source at certain times of the year. The effect of both anthropog...

Most particles in the rail subway environment are sub-micron sized ferruginous flakes and splinters generated mechanically by frictional wear of brake pads, wheels and rails. To better understand the mechanisms of formation and the alteration processes affecting inhalable particles in subways, PM samples (1-2.5 μm and 2.5-10 μm) were collected in t...

Ground level and vertical measurements (coupled with modelling) of ozone (O3), other gaseous pollutants (NO, NO2, CO, SO2) and aerosols were carried out in the plains (Vic Plain) and valleys of the northern region of the Barcelona Metropolitan Area (BMA) in July 2015; an area typically recording the highest O3 episodes in Spain. Our results suggest...

Air quality in subway systems is of interest not only because particulate matter (PM) concentrations can be high, but also because of the peculiarly metalliferous chemical character of the particles, most of which differ radically from those of outdoor ambient air. We report on the oxidative potential (OP) of PM2.5 samples collected in the Barcelon...

Subway systems worldwide transport more than 100 million people daily, therefore air quality on station platforms and inside trains is an important urban air pollution issue. We examined the microbiological composition and abundance in space and time of bioaerosols collected in the Barcelona subway system during a cold period. Quantitative PCR was...

The third intensive measurement period (IMP) organised by the European Monitoring and Evaluation Programme (EMEP) under the UNECE CLTRAP took place in summer 2012 and winter 2013, with PM10 filter samples concurrently collected at 20 (16 EMEP) regional background sites across Europe for subsequent analysis of their mineral dust content. All samples...

Air quality in nine National Parks in mainland Spain was assessed analysing SO2, NOx, O3, PM10 and PM2.5 data from background stations. As emissions in and around parks are limited, the levels of primary pollutants are low. Concentrations of secondary pollutants are high especially in summer due to photochemical production. The geographical variabi...

The third intensive measurement period (IMP) organised by the European Monitoring and Evaluation Programme (EMEP) under the UNECE CLTRAP took place in summer 2012 and winter 2013, with PM10 filter samples concurrently collected at 20 (16 EMEP) regional background sites across Europe for subsequent analysis of their mineral dust content. All samples...

Sampling campaigns using the same equipment and methodology were conducted to assess and compare the air quality at three South European subway systems (Barcelona, Athens and Oporto), focusing on concentrations and chemical composition of PM2.5 on subway platforms, as well as PM2.5 concentrations inside trains. Experimental results showed that the...

Conventional subway systems are characterized by high particulate matter (PM) concentrations. To relate PM exposure to adverse health effects it is important to determine the dose of the inhaled particles in the human respiratory tract (HRT). Therefore, the total and regional doses of particles for a healthy adult male using the dosimetry model ExD...

An evaluation of the concentration levels of Particulate Matter (PM) was carried out in Madrid (Spain) by introducing the emissions from road dust resuspension. Road dust resuspension emission factors (EF) for different types of vehicles were calculated from EPA-AP42, a global resuspension factor of 0.097 g veh⁻¹ km⁻¹ as described in Amato et al. (...

Access to detailed comparisons in air quality variations encountered when commuting through a city offers the urban traveller more informed choice on how to minimise personal exposure to inhalable pollutants. In this study we report on an experiment designed to compare atmospheric contaminants inhaled during bus, subway train, tram and walking jour...