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About 20% of the atmospheric pollution variations are linked to local meteorology. This relationship may be more important in places with dense populations, such as Latin American cities since the topography and fast multiscale changes are part of the tropical climate. Even so, this possibility has not been addressed in previous studies. This research aims to characterize the relationship between tropical meteorological variables and PM2.5 levels during high pollution events. The relationship between wind field, Turbulent Kinetic Energy (TKE), radiation, temperature, relative humidity, boundary layer height, and atmospheric stability with PM2.5 concentration was investigated. Statistical correlations and the parcel method were used to analyze the relationship between vertical motions and PM2.5. Obtained results show that the stability and vertical velocity do not significantly affect pollution levels. We identified some signals that are strongly related to PM2.5 high concentrations: weaker than average horizontal wind speed and TKE throughout the day, easterly winds in the morning (associated with the transport of ashes from wildfires produced on the Eastern plains), combined with a higher-than-average radiation peak. These results lead to a better understanding of the PM2.5 variations, which can be applied for the improvement of air quality models and have the potential to be part of a novel policy to manage air quality risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Atmospheric pollution is caused by the presence or combination of physical, chemical, or biological pollutants in the air. In recent years, the most studied pollutant is particulate matter (PM), a varied mixture of solid and liquid particles. PM also carry highly toxic components from cigarette smoke combustion, with different microscopic sizes present in the atmosphere that can be inhaled and cause serious health problems due to toxicity at the cellular level and consequences at the inflammatory level. Currently, exposure to PM is associated with alterations in processes of reproduction in mammals, affecting gamete and embryo viability. The objective of this review is to describe the effects of atmospheric pollutants on reproductive processes and the possible mechanisms of action, both cellular and molecular, which are of interest in human and animal health sciences. Studies show a cause and effect relationship between exposure to pollutants and gamete quality, with pollutants causing DNA damage, epigenetic modifications, an increase in oxidative stress and alterations in morphology. Likewise, effects in the prenatal and postnatal period are reported, such as premature births, low birth weight and spontaneous abortion. The results of this review show that atmospheric pollutants negatively influence reproductive processes in some mammals, as they can alter the mechanisms of oxidative regulation and regulation of gene expression in gametes, leading to cell toxicity and potential alterations in genomic stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

La localidad de Puente Aranda en la ciudad de Bogotá ha sido reportada como una zona de alta contaminación atmosférica, principalmente debido a que las concentraciones de PM 10 exceden los límites legislativos. Este artículo presenta una evaluación temporal y espacial de la calidad del aire en la zona industrial de la localidad de Puente Aranda mediante un laboratorio móvil de monitoreo. Los contaminantes atmosféricos medidos por el laboratorio durante el periodo de muestreo (2009/04/13-2009/12/21) fueron los siguientes: PM 10 , NOx, NO 2 , NO, SO 2 , CO y O 3 . Con respecto a la legislación colombiana, los resultados muestran que PM 10 (24 horas) es el contaminante atmosférico que presenta el mayor número de excedencias durante el período de investigación (47,3%), no obstante, la evaluación de los estados excepcionales por contaminación del aire muestra que las máximas concentraciones registradas no generan un nivel de prevención; lo anterior, en contraposición con los resultados obtenidos mediante la utilización del índice de calidad del aire propuesto por la Agencia de Protección Ambiental de EE.UU. Por otro lado, los resultados sugieren una tendencia similar en el comportamiento temporal de PM 10 , O 3 y NOx sobre la totalidad del área de investigación; es decir, probablemente por la existencia de fuentes dominantes en la zona industrial de la localidad. Finalmente, las concentraciones registradas (PM 10 , NO 2 , NOx, NO y CO) por el laboratorio móvil (zona central) son en promedio 2,30 y 2,01 veces superiores a las registradas por las estaciones móvil SDA (zona oriental) y fija SDA (zona occidental), respectivamente.

Objective: To study the mutagenic and genotoxic activities of particulate material (MP2,5 collected in Pamplona, Norte de Santander, Colombia.Materials and methods: MP2,5 was monitored by means of a Partisol 2025 sequential air sampler with Plus Palmflex quartz filters. The latter were subjected to two extraction procedures: Soxhlet extraction using dichloromethane-acetone; and ultrasonic extraction using dichloromethane, acetone and dichloromethane/ acetone mix. The mutagenic and genotoxic activities were determined for each extract.Results: This is the first study conducted in Colombia that reports the mutagenic and genotoxic activities associated with particulate matter (MP2,5) taken from vehicular emissions in Pamplona, Norte de Santander. The mutagenic assay determined by the Ames test using Salmonella typhimurium strains TA98 and TA100 showed a high direct mutagenic activity in the analyzed extracts. On the other hand, the genotoxic activity, determined by means of the comet assay, was high too.Conclusion: Particulate material (MP2,5) present in air samples in Pamplona (northeastern Colombia) is a risk factor for the exposed population because it can directly induce mutations and also cause genotoxic damage.

En el presente estudio se llevó a cabo la caracterización química del material particulado menor a 10 micrómetros (PM10) recolectado en la Localidad de Puente Aranda de Bogotá. Durante el período de estudio (junio de 2005 a junio de 2006) se recolectaron 75 muestras de PM10 en diferentes condiciones climáticas en tres puntos de monitoreo, dos en la zona industrial y el tercero en una zona remota. Se incluyen en el estudio los días del paro de transportes que tuvo lugar en la ciudad en el 2006. Se determinó la presencia de cadmio, cobre, cromo, plata, hierro, plomo, manganeso, cinc y níquel. Las concentraciones promedio diarias de PM10 en Puente Aranda se encontraron entre 65 y 100 µg/m3, mientras que para el norte de la ciudad variaban entre 20 y 30 µg/m3. Los principales metales encontrados en la zona industrial fueron Fe y Pb, con concentraciones hasta de 4.000 ng/m3. El grupo de metales Cu, Cr, Zn, Ni, Mn presentaron un rango medio de concentración (50 a 700 ng/m3 en Puente Aranda,

En el Valle de Aburrá, región noroccidental de Colombia, habitado por tres millones de personas, recorrido por 400.000 vehículos aproximadamente y con la presencia de un sector industrial textil, de alimentos y metal-mecánico importante, se evaluaron las concentraciones de partículas suspendidas totales (PST) y partículas respirables (PM10), durante el período de diciembre de 2000 a junio de 2001.Las determinaciones de PST y PM10 se realizaron en diez estaciones, distribuidas de norte a sur, cubriendo zonas urbanas y rurales de los municipios de Girardota, Bello, Medellín, Itagüí, Sabaneta y Caldas. Al analizar la relación PM10/PST, se encontró que las mejores correlaciones estadísticas se localizan en las zonas centro y sur del valle de Aburrá. Además se observó la tendencia creciente en la relación PM10/PST, desde 0,527 en la estación rural Girardota (Norte), hasta 0,813 en la estación urbana Caldas (Sur).Dicho gradiente en la relación PM10/PST parece estar relacionado con el régimen de vientos que predomina en el Valle de Aburrá con dirección norte-sur, el cual hace que las partículas más pequeñas migren de norte a sur, incrementando la relación PM10/PST en la misma dirección

The locality of Puente Aranda in Bogotá has been reported as a zone of high air pollution, mainly because the PM10 concentrations exceed the legal limits. This paper presents a temporal and spatial assessment of air quality in the industrial zone of Puente Aranda locality by using a mobile laboratory of monitoring. Air pollutants measured by the laboratory during the sampling period (2009/04/13-2009/12/21) were the following: PM10, NOx, NO2, NO, SO2, CO and O3. With regard to the Colombian law, the results show that PM10 (24 hours) is the air pollutant with the highest number of exceedances during the investigation period (47.3%), however, the evaluation of the exceptional state by air pollution shows that the highest concentrations reported not generate a level of prevention; above, in contrast with the results obtained by use of the air quality index proposed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. On the other hand, the findings suggest a similar trend in the temporal behavior of PM10, O3 and NOx over the whole of the research area; that is, probably by the existence of dominant sources in the industrial area of the locality. Finally, the concentrations recorded (PM10, NO2, NOx, NO and CO) by the mobile laboratory (central area) are on average 2.30 and 2.01 times higher than those recorded by stations mobile SDA (eastern area) and fixed SDA (western area), respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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