Papers by Barbara Kozielska
Zeszyty Naukowe SGSP, Dec 5, 2023
Frontiers in environmental science, Mar 12, 2024
Indoor air quality plays an increasingly important role in the modern world, especially in urban ... more Indoor air quality plays an increasingly important role in the modern world, especially in urban areas . This is due to usually limited access to green areas in towns and a growing number of activities that take place mainly indoors . It forces people to spend most of their time in various types of indoor environments (i.e., residential houses, apartments, offices, schools, kindergartens, hospitals, churches, museums, libraries, shopping centers, gyms, fitness centers, swimming pools, cafes, restaurants, etc.) . Therefore, human exposure to indoor contaminants has become a more and more important factor influencing people's health, especially in the case of children and older people, who can often spend entire days in their homes. Additionally, in extraordinary situations such as the COVID-19 pandemic, governments widely implemented stay-at-home orders to minimize the risk of disease transmission and, by the same, protect public health . Dense urban development (high share of multi-family buildings, blocks of flats, and skyscrapers in comparison to traditional outskirts with single-family buildings) and high occupational density, which manifests with reduced distance between people, rises the risk of unwanted exposure to pollution generated by others (bacteria, viruses, fungi, cigarette smoke, etc.) . High center street traffic due to a lack of ring roads, industrial objects located close to dwelling areas, and combustion of wrong quality fuels cause, in addition to the residential sector, increased outdoor air pollution-especially respirable particles, carcinogenic substances, and nitrogen oxide. All these substances infiltrate in part into buildings, raising concentration of contaminants indoors. The vital problem that arises in modern cities is increased street noise, which reduces people's wellbeing or even influences their mental health when opening windows to ventilate rooms. In big cities with little greenery, urban heat islands tend to appear in hot months, increasing overall air temperatures by a few degrees. It leads to an increase indoor temperature, powering emissions of pollutants from building materials due to more intensive evaporation (for example, formaldehyde and other volatile organic compounds) and worsening human thermal comfort.
Environmental Technology, Nov 1, 2008
Occurrence of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in granulometric fractions of dust emitted ... more Occurrence of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in granulometric fractions of dust emitted from a hard coal fired circulating fluidized bed (CFB) boiler was investigated. The dust was sampled with the use of a Mark III impactor. In each fraction of dust, by using gas chromatography (GC), 16 selected PAHs and total PAHs were determined and the toxic equivalent B(a)P (TE B(a)P) was computed. The results, recalculated for the standard granulometric fractions, are presented as concentrations and content of the determined PAHs in dust. Distributions of PAHs and their profiles in the granulometric dust fractions were studied also. The PAHs in dust emitted from the CFB boiler were compared with those emitted from mechanical grate boilers; a distinctly lower content of PAHs was found in dust emitted from the former.
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, Dec 22, 2022
This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative... more This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY
Zeszyty Naukowe SGSP, Sep 29, 2022
Combustion of solid fuels such as coal, biomass and, contrary to the applicable law, waste in ind... more Combustion of solid fuels such as coal, biomass and, contrary to the applicable law, waste in individual heating devices still remains a serious problem in Poland. It causes the generation of large amounts of pollutants and harmful substances contained not only in fly ash released into the air with smoke but also in the bottom ash, which constitutes a serious environmental problem. This paper presents the results of a comparative study on the contents of 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in bottom ash from the combustion of hard coal (HC), wood (W) and a mixture of different solid fuels including municipal waste (MW), their sums and profiles. For the bottom ash samples taken for these fuels, the share of carcinogenic congeners in the sum of PAHs, toxicity, mutagenicity and carcinogenicity equivalents have also been determined. The highest content of total PAHs, amounting to an average of 20.7 ppb, was recorded for bottom ash obtained from combustion of a mixture of solid fuels and waste. For such ash, the toxicity and carcinogenicity equivalents were approximately twice as high as for other types of ash. Bottom ash was found to be dominated by benzo[a]anthracene, and the tetracyclic congeners accounted for 60-68% of all PAHs (W
Energy & Fuels, 2017
Organic compounds occurring in emitted fly ashes from bituminous coal and bituminous coal and bio... more Organic compounds occurring in emitted fly ashes from bituminous coal and bituminous coal and biomass combustion in various boilers were qualitatively and quantitatively analyzed. Gas chromatography with a flame ionization detector (GC-FID) was applied to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and gas chromatography−mass spectrometry (GC-MS) for geochemical markers, such as n-alkanes, acyclic isoprenoids, steranes, pentacyclic triterpenoids (hopanes and moretanes), alkyl PAHs, and biomass markers. It was found that distributions of geochemical markers and presence are well preserved in fly ash. Particularly in fly ash from boilers of older types, thermal changes are small and mainly affect compounds of low molecular weight whereas, in fly ash from a fluidized bed combustion boiler, most geochemical markers were destroyed. It is possible that high molecular weight compounds survived the high temperature process when adsorbed in unburned or coked coal and/or biomass particles included in the dust emitted. PAH group profiles were made, while PAHs diagnostic indices and geochemical marker ratios were calculated and compared with literature data. Fly ash from coal and biomass combustion contains the highest PAH concentrations and shows the highest values of toxic equivalence (TEQ) factors among all boilers investigated. The results indicate that, whereas the distributions and ratios of geochemical markers are close to those of bituminous coals and can be applied to indicate source fuels in particulate matter, there are high differences between the values of diagnostic ratios found in this project and literature data. This indicates that PAH diagnostic ratios should be applied with care and confirmed by other data, e.g., those from geochemical markers, which may be recommended for research on the type of emission sources of particulate matter into the air.
JPC - Journal of Planar Chromatography - Modern TLC
Gemini-type compounds are a new generation of surface active agents prepared by bonding two polar... more Gemini-type compounds are a new generation of surface active agents prepared by bonding two polar hydrophilic groups and two non-polar hydrophobic carbon chains. Because they are manufactured by a multi-stage process, monitoring and recording of the course of the reaction, and determining the purity of initial, intermediate, and final products at each of the stages is very important if tile synthesis is to be successful. A thin-layer chromatographic method has been developed which enables simultaneous determination of substrates, intermediate products, and final surfactants. Silica Gel G and acetone benzene (2 + 5) were used as stationary and mobile phases. Chromic acid or a mixture of cobalt(II) nitrate (V) and potassium thiocyanate were used for detection, With this chromatographic system it is possible to separate ethylene and triethylene glycols, epichlorohydrin, hexyl, octyl, decyl, and dodecyl alcohols, ethylene and triethylene glycols, and 2-methoxyethanol diglycidyl ethers, ...
Archives of Environmental Protection
Results of testing air quality in the vicinity of Gliwice transport routes are presented in the p... more Results of testing air quality in the vicinity of Gliwice transport routes are presented in the paper. Assessment of air contamination with nitrogen dioxide from motor transport, for typical conditions dominating in big cities of high transit movement without any ring roads was the studies objective. Presented results will be used in the future to determine the impact of opening the ring road on air quality in the city. In the studies, the passive method of sampling, with further application of spectrophotometric technique to determine nitrogen dioxide concentration, was used. Average annual nitrogen dioxide concentrations were based on average daily concentrations measured from July 2004 to June 2005 at 16 measuring points. As they meet conditions for random distribution of measuring days and cover the measuring time, they were treated as average concentrations of nitrogen dioxide in a calendar year and were compared with a permissible concentration to make an assessment of air qua...
Journal of Hazardous Materials, 2022
Atmospheric Pollution Research, 2015
Children's exposure to air pollutants is an important public health challenge. Particular attenti... more Children's exposure to air pollutants is an important public health challenge. Particular attention should be paid to preschools because younger children are more vulnerable to air pollution than higher grade children and spend more time indoors. The purpose of this study was to compare the indoor air quality (IAQ) at nursery schools located in Gliwice, Poland. We investigated the concentrations of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), particulate matter (PM) and bacterial and fungal bioaerosols, as well as carbon dioxide (CO 2) concentrations in younger and older children's classrooms during the winter season at two urban nursery schools, located within traffic and residential areas. The concentration of the investigated pollutants in indoor environments was higher than those in outdoor air. The results clearly indicate the problem of elevated concentrations of PM 2.5 and PM 10 inside the classrooms. High levels of CO 2 exceeding 1000 ppm in relation to outdoor air also confirmed the low indoor air quality of classrooms. This is concerning in terms of the exposure effects on the health of children. The relation between IAQ in older and younger children's classrooms was also statistically significant in the case of PM and CO 2. Improving ventilation, decreasing the occupancy per room and completing cleaning activities following occupancy periods can contribute to alleviating high CO 2 and particle levels.
Polish Journal of Environmental Studies, 2015
Until the late 1990s, the basis for the Silesian economy could have been very aptly identified wi... more Until the late 1990s, the basis for the Silesian economy could have been very aptly identified with heavy industry and hard coal excavation [1, 2]. Later, after two decades of Polish economic evolution, these sectors lost their importance in favor of other, less heavy industries, and now small and medium-sized companies from the sectors of commerce, craft, service, construction, transport, and accommodation, etc. are 99% of all the business entities in Silesia Province [3]. This change in the structure of employment thoroughly rearranged the Silesian occupational health hazard inventory. Usually, the air inside factory production buildings is polluted-with what depends on the factory profile [4-8]. The hazard to the workers depends on the type and concentration of the pollutants [9-11]. The concentrations of some production-related substances at some worksites, e.g. assembly lines, are routinely controlled according to the law [12]. However, in some circumstances foreign pollutants coming from outdoor sources are more hazardous to indoor workers than the production-related substances released inside buildings. Outdoor emissions from the factory neighborhood can then degrade the indoor air more than emissions from production. The goal of the study was to apportion between outdoor and indoor sources the concentrations of total suspended
Suspended particles with aerodynamic diameters not greater than 1 μm (PM1) were sampled at the ur... more Suspended particles with aerodynamic diameters not greater than 1 μm (PM1) were sampled at the urban background; regional background; and urban traffic points in southern Poland. In total, 120 samples were collected between 2 August 2009 and 27 December 2010. Sixteen polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were determined in each sample. The samples were collected with a high volume sampler (Digitel). Afterwards, they were chemically analyzed with a gas chromatograph equipped with a flame ionization detector (Perkin Elmer Clarus 500). The mean concentration values of the PAH sum (ΣPAH) and particular PAHs; the percentages of carcinogenic PAHs in total PAHs (ΣPAHcarc/ΣPAH); carcinogenic equivalent (CEQ); mutagenic equivalent (MEQ); and TCDD-toxic equivalent (TEQ) were much higher in the winter (heating) season than in the summer (non-heating) one. For both periods, the resulting average values obtained were significantly higher (a few; and sometimes a several dozen times higher) in the researched Polish region than the values observed in other areas of the world. Such results indicate the importance of health hazards resulting from PM1 and PM1-bound PAHs in this Polish area.
International Journal of Environmental Research, 2016
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in 13 size fractions of ambient particulate matter (PM) w... more Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in 13 size fractions of ambient particulate matter (PM) were investigated at three sites in Katowice, Poland. PM was sampled with two of the same type 13-stage low-pressure impactors (DEKATI). One of them was used first at a motorway shoulder in the spring of 2012, and then, in the summer, at a busy crossroads. The second impactor was used in parallel with the first one at an urban background site in both the seasons. The PAH contents in PM were determined by means of gas chromatography (Perkin Elmer). The ambient concentrations of PAHs from particular PM fractions at the urban background site differed insignificantly from those at the two traffic sites. Although the concentrations of PAHs and total PAHs (ΣPAH) for some PM size fractions were higher at the urban background site, the significant influence of traffic emissions on the mass size distributions and concentrations of PAHs in Katowice was proved. For example, the traffic effects can b...
Thirteen fractions of ambient dust were investigated in Zabrze, a typical urban area in the centr... more Thirteen fractions of ambient dust were investigated in Zabrze, a typical urban area in the central part of Upper Silesia (Poland), during a heating season. Fifteen PAH and Cr, Mn, Co, Ni, As, Se, Cd, Pb contents of each fraction were determined. The dust was sampled with use of a cascade impactor and chemically analyzed with an energy dispersive X-ray fl uorescence spectrometer (PANalytical Epsilon 5) and a gas chromatograph with a fl ame ionisation detector (Perkin Elmer Clarus 500). The concentrations of PM 1 and the PM 1 -related PAH and elements were much higher than the ones of the coarse dust (PM 2.5-10 ) and the substances contained in it. The concentrations of total PAH and carcinogenic PAH were very high (the concentrations of PM 1 -, PM 2.5 -, and PM 10 -related BaP were 16.08, 19.19, 19.32 ng m -3 , respectively). The municipal emission, resulted mainly
Archives of Environmental Protection, 2010
ABSTRACT
This paper presents the results of measurements of concentrations of benzene and its alkyl deriva... more This paper presents the results of measurements of concentrations of benzene and its alkyl derivatives such as: toluene, ethylbenzene and xylenes (BTEX) in the air, which are considered as indicators of human exposure to VOCs. Research were carried out in Gliwice (Upper Silesia, Poland), in November and December 2009, in the peak traffic period (2400-2800 cars per hour). The measurements were done at the background point as well as at two points oriented at communicational sources. Active sampling method with enrichment on solid sorbent tubes, was used, after which thermal desorption (TD) and direct determination by gas chromatography (GC-FID) were applied. Average concentrations for the points representing communication and the background, were found respectively for benzene - 10.09 and 6.08 µg/m3, toluene - 12.80 and 3.49 µg/m 3 , ethylbenzene - 2.77 and 0.58 µg/m 3 , total xylenes - 4.78 µg/m 3 and 1.11 µg/m 3 . During the measurement period reference values of the test compounds...
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Papers by Barbara Kozielska