Environmental Engineering / Çevre Mühendisliği

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/11147/4321

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Department: search.filters.department.İzmir Institute of Technology. Environmental EngineeringSubject: search.filters.subject.Exposure

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Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
  • Article
    Citation - WoS: 3
    Citation - Scopus: 6
    Halogenated By-Products in Chlorinated Indoor Swimming Pools: a Long-Term Monitoring and Empirical Modeling Study
    (Amer Chemical Soc, 2023) Genişoğlu, Mesut; Minaz, Mert; Tanacan, Ertaç; Sofuoğlu, Sait Cemil; Kaplan-Bekaroğlu, Şehnaz Şule; Kanan, Amer; Ateş, Nuray
    Monitoring the disinfection process and swimming pool water quality is essential for the prevention of microbial infections and associated diseases. However, carcinogenic and chronic-toxic disinfection by-products (DBPs) are formed with reactions between disinfectants and organic/inorganic matters. DBP precursors in swimming pools originate from anthropogenic sources (body secretions, personal care products, pharmaceuticals, etc.) or chemicals used in pools. Temporal (48 weeks) water quality trends of trihalomethanes (THMs), haloacetic acids (HAAs), haloacetonitriles (HANs), and halonitromethanes (HNMs) in two swimming pools (SP-A and SP-B) and precursor-DBP relationships were investigated in this study. Weekly samples were taken from swimming pools, and several physical/chemical water quality parameters, absorbable organic halides (AOX), and DBPs were determined. THMs and HAAs were the most detected DBP groups in pool water. While chloroform was determined to be the dominant THM compound, dichloroacetic acid and trichloroacetic acid were the dominant HAA compounds. The average AOX concentrations were measured to be 304 and 746 mu g/L as Cl- in SP-A and SP-B, respectively. Although the amount of AOX from unknown chlorinated by-products in SP-A did not vary temporally, a significant increase in unknown DBP concentrations in SP-B was observed over time. AOX concentrations of chlorinated pool waters were determined to be an important parameter that can be used to estimate DBP concentrations.
  • Article
    Citation - WoS: 18
    Citation - Scopus: 21
    Fine and Coarse Particulate Matter, Trace Element Content, and Associated Health Risks Considering Respiratory Deposition for Ergene Basin, Thrace
    (Elsevier, 2021) Can Terzi, Begüm; Fıçıcı, Merve; Tecer, Lokman Hakan; Sofuoğlu, Sait Cemil
    Ergene Basin is located in Thrace, Turkey, where industries are densely populated. This study aimed to determine exposure of people living in Ergene Basin (Corlu and Cerkezkoy) to fine and coarse PM, and its potentially toxic element (PTE) content by considering variation in respiratory airway deposition rates with daily activities and PM particle size by employing deposition models of International Commission on Radiological Protection and Multiple Path Particle Dosimetry. Fine and coarse PM samples were collected daily for a year at points in Corlu and Cerkezkoy representing urban and industrial settings, respectively. A questionnaire survey was conducted in the study area to obtain time-activity budgets, and associated variation was included in the health risk assessment by considering time-activity-dependent inhalation rates. The studied PTEs were Al, As, Ba, Cd, Cr, Co, Mn, Ni, Pb, and Se. The mean fine and coarse PM concentrations were measured as 23 and 14 mu g/m(3) in Corlu, and 22 and 12 mu g/m(3) in Cerkezkoy, respectively. The only PTE that exceeded acceptable risk in terms of total carcinogenic risk was Cr. Non-carcinogenic risks of all the PTEs including Cr were below the threshold. The use of deposition fractions in the health risk assessment (HRA) calculations was found to prevent overestimation of health risks by at least 91% and 87% for fine and coarse PM, respectively, compared to the regular HRA. Minor differences in risk between Corlu and Cerkezkoy suggest that urban pollution sources could be at least as influential on human health as industrial sources. (C) 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
  • Article
    Citation - WoS: 15
    Citation - Scopus: 19
    Brominated Flame Retardants in a Computer Technical Service: Indoor Air Gas Phase, Submicron (pm1) and Coarse (pm10) Particles, Associated Inhalation Exposure, and Settled Dust
    (Elsevier Ltd., 2019) Genişoğlu, Mesut; Sofuoğlu, Aysun; Kurt Karakuş, Perihan Binnur; Birgül, Aşkın; Sofuoğlu, Sait Cemil
    Brominated flame retardants (BFRs) are found in multi-media indoors, therefore, may pose serious risks to human health. This study investigated the occurrence of BFRs in particulate matter (PM1 and PM10) and gas phase by active and passive sampling, and settled dust to estimate potential exposure in a computer technical service. Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and their alternatives (novel BFRs, NBFRs) were studied. PM and gas phase were collected on glass fiber filters and polyurethane foam plugs, respectively, and analyzed with a GC/MS after extraction, clean-up, and concentration. Inhalation exposure of the staff was estimated based on the measured concentrations using Monte Carlo simulation. BDE-209 was the dominating PBDE congener in all media while bis(2-ethylhexyl)-3,4,5,6-tetrabromophthalate and 1,2-bis(2,4,6-tribromophenoxy)ethane were those of NBFRs. Submicron particulate matter (PM1) BFR levels constituted about one half of the PM10-associated concentrations, while average PM10 mass concentration (69.9 μg m−3) was nine times that of PM1 (7.73 μg m−3). Calculated log10 dust-gas and PM-gas partitioning coefficients ranged from −5.03 to −2.10, −2.21 to −0.55, and −2.26 to −1.04 for settled dust, PM10, and PM1, respectively. The indoor/outdoor concentration ratios were >1 for all compounds indicating the strength of indoor sources in the service. The estimated potential inhalation exposures, for future chronic-toxic and carcinogenic risk assessments, indicated that the levels of gas-phase and PM1-associated exposures were similar at approximately one half of PM10-associated levels. Results of this study indicate that the occurrence of BFRs in all studied media should be taken into consideration for occupational health mitigation efforts.
  • Article
    Citation - WoS: 36
    Citation - Scopus: 42
    Speciated Arsenic Concentrations, Exposure, and Associated Health Risks for Rice and Bulgur
    (Elsevier Ltd., 2014) Sofuoğlu, Sait Cemil; Güzelkaya, Hilal; Akgül, Özlem; Kavcar, Pınar; Kurucaovalı, Filiz; Sofuoğlu, Aysun
    Arsenic species were determined in rice and bulgur samples that were collected from 50 participants who also supplied exposure related information through a questionnaire survey. Speciation analysis was conducted using an HPLC-ICP-MS system. Ingestion exposure to arsenic and associated health risks were assessed by combining the concentration and questionnaire data both for individual participants and the subject population. Inorganic arsenic dominated both in rice and bulgur but concentrations were about an order of magnitude higher in rice (160. ±. 38. ng/g) than in bulgur. Because participants also consumed more rice than bulgur, exposures were significantly higher for rice resulting in carcinogenic risks above acceptable level for 53% and 93% of the participants when the in-effect and the proposed potencies were used, respectively, compared to 0% and 5% for bulgur. An inorganic arsenic standard for rice would be useful to lower the risks while public awareness about the relation between excessive rice consumption and health risks is built, and bulgur consumption is promoted.