Department of Chemistry, McGill University, 801 Sherbrooke Street West, Montreal, QC, H3A 2K6, Canada.
Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, McGill University, 805 Sherbrooke Street West, Montreal, QC, H3A 0B9, Canada.
Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2018 Mar;25(9):8976-8988. doi: 10.1007/s11356-018-1201-5. Epub 2018 Jan 14.
This study serves as a baseline characterization of indoor and outdoor air quality in a remote northern indigenous community prior to the start of a major nearby mining operation, including measurements of nanoparticles, which has never been performed in this context before. We performed aerosol sample collection and real-time aerosol measurements at six different locations at the Cree First Nation of Waswanipi and the Montviel campsite, located 45 km west of the Cree First Nation of Waswanipi, in the south of the Nord-du-Québec region. High concentrations of airborne nanoparticles (up to 3.98 × 10 ± 8.9 × 10 cm at 64.9-nm midpoint particle diameter) and fine particles (up to 1.99 × 10 ± 1.6 × 10 cm at 0.3-μm midpoint particle diameter) were measured inside a residential home, where we did not find any ventilation or air filtration systems. The most abundant particle sizes by mass were between 0.19 and 0.55 μm. The maximum concentration of analyzed heavy metals was detected at the d cut-off particle size of 0.31 μm; and the most abundant heavy metals in the aerosol samples were Al, Ba, Zn, Cu, Hg, and Pb. We concluded that the sources of the relatively high indoor particle concentrations were likely laundry machines and cooking emissions in the absence of a sufficient ventilation system. However, the chemical composition of particles resulting from mining activities is expected to be different from that of the aerosol particles from indoor sources. Installation and proper maintenance of sufficient ventilation and air filtration systems may reduce the total burden of disease from outdoor and indoor air pollution and remediate infiltrated indoor particulate pollution from the mining sources as well.
本研究在一个偏远的北方原住民社区的一个主要附近采矿作业开始之前，对室内和室外空气质量进行了基线特征描述，包括对纳米颗粒的测量，这在以前从未在这种情况下进行过。我们在瓦斯瓦皮的克里第一民族和位于瓦斯瓦皮克里第一民族以西 45 公里的蒙维尔营地的六个不同地点进行了气溶胶样本采集和实时气溶胶测量，位于北魁北克省南部。空气中纳米颗粒（高达 64.9nm 中点粒径的 3.98×10±8.9×10cm）和细颗粒物（高达 0.3-μm 中点粒径的 1.99×10±1.6×10cm）的浓度很高，在一个住宅内，我们没有发现任何通风或空气过滤系统。按质量计最丰富的颗粒尺寸在 0.19 到 0.55μm 之间。分析的重金属的最大浓度在 0.31μm 的 d 截止粒径处检测到；气溶胶样本中最丰富的重金属是 Al、Ba、Zn、Cu、Hg 和 Pb。我们得出结论，室内颗粒浓度较高的原因可能是洗衣机和烹饪排放物在没有足够通风系统的情况下。然而，采矿活动产生的颗粒的化学成分预计与室内源气溶胶颗粒的化学成分不同。安装和适当维护足够的通风和空气过滤系统可能会降低室外和室内空气污染以及从采矿源渗透到室内的颗粒物污染对疾病的总负担。
