Elsevier, Atmospheric Environment, (128), p. 104-113, 2016
DOI: 10.1016/j.atmosenv.2015.12.040
Full text: Unavailable
Recent epidemiological evidence support the hypothesis that health effects from inhalation of air particles are governed by more than just particle mass, since specific chemical components have been identified as important contributors to mortality and hospitality admissions. We studied the chemical composition and the oxidative potential (OP) of total suspended particle (TSP) samples from Milan at two sites with different traffic loads: a site in the low emission zone (LEZ) and a traffic site (TR) outside. Two a-cellular assays; dithiothreitol (OPDTT) and 20,7' dichlorofluorescin (OPDCFH) were used to characterize the OP of the soluble fraction of particles. TSP samples from LEZ showed significantly lower concentrations of traffic-related chemical components compared to TR. The decrease in the concentrations from TR to LEZ was maximum for EC, with a LEZ/TR ratio of 0.64 (±0.18), and a significant reduction (p