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Currently, 54% of worldwide population lives in urban areas. While growing urbanization causes environmental pollution and energy demand, it has also adverse implications on health, living conditions and lifestyle habits of the respective citizens. To protect human health, numerous organizations have implemented guidelines to limit environmental pollution, or even proposed recommendation on human activity, but how do these translate to the exposure and risks of the respective population? This work aimed to explore how urban development, using time series data from 2015 to 2018, might influence air quality and potential health risks of citizens living in these zones. This work was financed by Base Funding – UIDB/00511/2020 of Laboratory for Process Engineering, Environment, Biotechnology and Energy – LEPABE – and UIDB/04750/2020, both funded by national funds through FCT/MCTES (PIDDAC). Joana Madureira is supported by FCT grant (SFRH/ BPD/115112/2016). N/A

Indoor air pollution remains a great global concern. Particulate matter (PM), namely ultrafine particles (aerodynamic diameter smaller than 0.1 μm; UFP), is considered as one of the most health-relevant air pollutant for various subpopulations, one of which is children. Knowledge on the specific dose deposition of PM may provide a critical link for better understanding of the relationship between individual exposure and the respective health effects. Mathematical models have proven to be important tools for analysing PM dose deposition in the respiratory tract providing relevant data for health risk assessment, source apportionment of human lung burdens and control strategies purposes. This work aimed to estimate the deposition dose of different PM sizes at different age categories. Inhalation dosimetry estimations were carried out using the multiple-path particle dosimetry model (MPPD, v3.04). Age specific 5-lobe model with uniform expansion was adopted in the present study This work was supported by FCT-FAPESP (FAPESP/19914/2014) and by Base Funding – UIDB/00511/2020 of the Laboratory for Process Engineering, Environment, Biotechnology and Energy – LEPABE – funded by national funds through the FCT/MCTES (PIDDAC). Joana Madureira, Carla Costa and Ana Inês Silva are supported by FCT (SFRH/BPD/115112/2016; SFRH/BPD/96196/2013 and SFRH/BD/145101/2019 grants, respectively). info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

The life of 21st century has become more sedentary, which promotes higher prevalence of noncommunicable diseases; about one third of worldwide adult population is insufficiently active which translates to 6% of global deaths. Furthermore, physical inactivity combined with unsuitable diet may lead to increased obesity. In order to improve the overall health and well-being, various national and international organizations recommend to practice physical exercise on regular basis. In cities, outdoor exercising is the most common and accessible form of exercising. However, the respective benefits can be reduced or even outweighed by the adverse effects of air pollution. Thus, this work aimed to evaluate the influence of air pollution on human inhalation dose and deposition in respiratory tract while conducting different types of physical exercise. N/A

Firefighters, one of the most hazardous occupations, are regularly exposed to complex mixtures of pollutants during fire combat. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are distributed between the gaseous and particulate phases of air: they are one of the most health-relevant pollutants released during fires because of their genotoxic, mutagenic, and carcinogenic properties [1]. This work aims to assess the impact of firefighting activities on firefighters’ total exposure to PAHs. Spot urine samples were collected in healthy and non-smoking firefighters before and after fire combat activities. Six urinary PAH metabolites (1-hydroxynaphthalene (1OHNaph), 1-hydroxyacenaphthene (1OHAce), 2-hydroxyfluorene (2OHFlu), 1-hydroxyphenanthrene (1OHPhen), 1-hydroxypyrene (1OHPy), and 3-hydroxybenzo[a]pyrene (3OHB[a]P)) were quantified by liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection [2-3]. Urinary 1OHNaph and 1OHAce were the predominant biomarkers of exposure in both non-exposed and exposed firefighters, accounting with 63-98% of total levels of PAH biomarkers (ΣOH-PAHs). 2OHFlu, 1OHPhe, and 1OHPy contributed with 1-17%, 1-13%, and 0.3-10% of ΣOH-PAHs, respectively. The PAH biomarker of carcinogenicity (3OHB[a]P) was not detected. Overall exposed firefighters presented levels of ΣOH-PAHs that were 2-35% higher than for non-exposed subjects. Urinary 2OHFlu seems to be the compound with the most pronounced increments in exposed firefighters. Urinary 1OHPy levels were always lower than the benchmark of 0.5 μmol/mol creatinine proposed by the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists. More studies assessing PAH biomarkers of exposure but also biomarkers of effect and susceptibility are needed to evaluate the impact of fire emissions on the health of firefighters. info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion