Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2015 May 12;12(5):5076-89.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph120505076.

Characterization and Cytotoxicity of PM<0.2, PM0.2-2.5 and PM2.5-10 around MSWI in Shanghai, China

Lingling Cao  1   2 , Jianrong Zeng  3 , Ke Liu  4   5 , Liangman Bao  6 , Yan Li  7
Affiliations

Characterization and Cytotoxicity of PM<0.2, PM0.2-2.5 and PM2.5-10 around MSWI in Shanghai, China

Lingling Cao et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

Background: The potential impact of municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI), which is an anthropogenic source of aerosol emissions, is of great public health concern. This study investigated the characterization and cytotoxic effects of ambient ultrafine particles (PM<0.2), fine particles (PM0.2-2.5) and coarse particles (PM2.5-10) collected around a municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) plant in the Pudong district of Shanghai.

Methods: Mass concentrations of trace elements in particulate matter (PM) samples were determined using ICP-MS (Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry). The cytotoxicity of sampled atmospheric PM was evaluated by cell viability and reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels in A549 cells.

Result: The mass percentage of PM0.2-2.5 accounted for 72.91% of the total mass of PM. Crustal metals (Mg, Al, and Ti) were abundant in the coarse particles, while the anthropogenic elements (V, Ni, Cu, Zn, Cd, and Pb) were dominant in the fine particles. The enrichment factors of Zn, Cd and Pb in the fine and ultrafine particles were extremely high (>100). The cytotoxicity of the size-resolved particles was in the order of coarse particles < fine particles < ultrafine particles.

Conclusions: Fine particles dominated the MSWI ambient particles. Emissions from the MSWI could bring contamination of anthropogenic elements (Zn, Cd and Pb) into ambient environment. The PM around the MSWI plant displayed an additive toxic effect, and the ultrafine and fine particles possessed higher biological toxicity than the coarse particles.

Keywords: Fine particles; ROS generation; coarse particles; cytotoxicity; metallic elements; ultrafine particles.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The concentration distribution of particulate matter (PM) from the municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) calculated by AERMOD (atmospheric dispersion modeling) (prevailing wind direction: east, average wind speed: 3.4 m/s and temperature: 21 °C) and the location of the sampling site.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Average mass concentrations (μg/m3) of the 13-size particles of PM samples around MSWI.
Figure 3
Figure 3
The mass ratios of the metallic elements in the coarse particles (blue), fine particles (red) and ultrafine particles (green).
Figure 4
Figure 4
Viability of PM with different sizes to A549 cells after 6 h exposure (p < 0.05).
Figure 5
Figure 5
(A) LSCM (Laser Scanning Confocal Microscope) images and (B) intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels of A549 cells with PM samples (ultrafine, fine and coarse particles).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Tie X., Wu D., Brasseur G. Lung cancer mortality and exposure to atmospheric aerosol particles in Guangzhou, China. Atmos. Environ. 2009;43:2375–2377. doi: 10.1016/j.atmosenv.2009.01.036. - DOI
    1. Lave L.B., Seskin E.P. Air pollution and human health. Science. 1970;169:723–733. doi: 10.1126/science.169.3947.723. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Borm P.J.A., Schins R.P.F., Albrecht C. Inhaled particles and lung cancer, Part B: Paradigms and risk assessment. Int. J. Cancer. 2004;110:3–14. doi: 10.1002/ijc.20064. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Osornio-Vargas A.R., Bonner J.C., Alfaro-Moreno E., Martinez L., Garcia-Cuellar C., Rosales S.P.D., Miranda J., Rosas I. Proinflammatory and cytotoxic effects of Mexico City air pollution particulate matter in vitro are dependent on particle size and composition. Environ. Health Perspect. 2003;111:1289–1293. doi: 10.1289/ehp.5913. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Schwarze P.E., Ovrevik J., Hetland R.B., Becher R., Cassee F.R., Lag M., Lovik M., Dybing E., Refsnes M. Importance of size and composition of particles for effects on cells in vitro. Inhal. Toxicol. 2007;19:17–22. doi: 10.1080/08958370701490445. - DOI - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources