Daily average PM(10) (particulate matter which passes through a size selective impactor inlet with a 50% efficiency cut-off at 10 microm aerodynamic diameter), TSP (total suspended particulate matter) and their chemical species mass concentrations were measured at residential and industrial sites of an urban region of Kolkata during November 2003-November 2004. Source apportionment using chemic...

Wood decomposition releases almost as much CO2 to the atmosphere as does fossil-fuel combustion, so the factors regulating wood decomposition can affect global carbon cycling. We used metabarcoding to estimate the fungal species diversities of naturally colonized decomposing wood in subtropical China and, for the first time, compared them to concurrent measures of CO2 emissions. Wood hosting mo...

We collected surface sediment samples from 174 locations in India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, and the Philippines and analyzed them for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and hopanes. PAHs were widely distributed in the sediments, with comparatively higher concentrations in urban areas (Sigma PAHs: approximately 1000 to approximately 100,000 ng/g-dry) than in r...

BACKGROUND In vitro studies with monocultures of human alveolar cells shed deeper knowledge on the cellular mechanisms by which particulate matter (PM) causes toxicity, but cannot account for mitigating or aggravating effects of cell-cell interactions on PM toxicity. METHODS We assessed inflammation, oxidative stress as well as cytotoxic and genotoxic effects induced by PM from the combustion...

In this work are described the possibilities for improving efficiency of wood pellets production. The introductory part is devoted to analyzing the properties of wood pellets, combustion and production of pollutants when combusted it. The production of wood pellets and used pelleting machines was analyzed. The main task of this work is to introduce efficiency pelleting lines and cost reduction ...

Combustion of biomass fuels (wood and charcoal) for cooking releases smoke that contains health damaging pollutants. Women and children are the most affected. Exposure to biomass smoke is associated with acute respiratory infections (ARI). This study investigated the prevalence of ARI potentially caused by smoke from wood and charcoal stoves in Western Sierra Leone, as these two fuels are the p...

For the past 60 yr, chromate-copper-arsenate (CCA) has been used to pressure-treat millions of cubic meters of wood in the United States for the construction of many outdoor structures. Leaching of arsenic from these structures is a possible health concern as there exists the potential for soil and groundwater contamination. While previous studies have focused on total arsenic concentrations le...

Wood smoke is increasingly being seen as an important component of airborne particulate matter (PM). As the new short time standard for PM10 – particles in ambient air, of 50 μgm, set by the European Union (EU-Directive 1999/30/EG) is frequently violated in most urban regions in Europe, we have to find effective measures to reduce these concentration levels. This requires detailed knowledge of ...

iii List of publications included vi Author’s contribution to the papers vii List of other publications not included in thesis viii