This study provided a useful approach for assessing the impact of industrial sources on surrounding, especially in a sensitive industrial area as Taranto (South of Italy). Taranto is one of the most industrialized Italian towns, where several emission sources operate simultaneously in proximity to the urban settlement. An intensive monitoring campaign of PAHs was carried out from January 28th to July 30th, 2011, in seven sites located in residential settlement around the industrial area and in the city center. The collected data were integrated with the information about wind direction and speed by means bivariate polarplot in order to characterize and localize the industrial sources. High BaP concentrations were detected especially when B/T ratio values excedeed 1 and all receptor sites were downwind to the steel plant. Moreover, in order to discriminate among PAH sources and quantify their contributions, a source apportionment analysis of the collected data was provided by means Princip al component Analysis (PCA) and Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF) methods. Finally, the processing of PMF5.0 output by bivariate polar plot, confirmed the impact of steel plant on both industrial sites downwind the steel plant and the city center. B[a]P apportionment was quite similar for industrial and urban sites: the traffic source contributed only 11% and 24% to B[a]P measured at two sites, respectively. Therefore, the proximity of Taranto downtown to industrial pole makes negligible all other source contributions to PAH concentrations.

The atmosphere is a carrier on which some natural and anthropogenic organic and inorganic chemicals are transported, and the wet and dry deposition events are the most important processes that remove those chemicals, depositing it on soil and water. A wide variety of different collectors were tested to evaluate site-specificity, seasonality and daily variability of settleable particle concentrations. Deposition fluxes of POPs showed spatial and seasonal variations, diagnostic ratios of PAHs on deposited particles, allowed the discrimination between pyrolytic or petrogenic sources. Congener pattern analysis and bulk deposition fluxes in rural sites confirmed long-range atmospheric transport of PCDDs/Fs. More and more sophisticated and newly designed deposition samplers have being used for characterization of deposited mercury, demonstrating the importance of rain scavenging and the relatively higher magnitude of Hg deposition from Chinese anthropogenic sources. Recently biological monitors demonstrated that PAH concentrations in lichens were comparable with concentrations measured in a conventional active sampler in an outdoor environment. In this review the authors explore the methodological approaches used for the assessment of atmospheric deposition, from the analysis of the sampling methods, the analytical procedures for chemical characterization of pollutants and the main results from the scientific literature.

Within the framework of EU, security of energy supply, reducing energy costs for firms and citizens and the diffusion of alternative sources of energy are priority goals to improve environmental protection and sustainable development. In this light, the urban wind technology represents a new approach for the exploitation of this renewable resource, that is currently expanding but it represents still a niche market. This technology, for the differences in approach from the classical wind technology, requires a special analysis to characterize low speed winds and an improved research design to maximize energy yield at low wind speed. In the present work the analysis of wind resource in the site of the II Faculty of Economics, University of Bari, Taranto, Aldo Moro was carried out. By processing the data collected from a unit located on the roof of the Faculty we were able to identify the main regimes of wind and prevalent directions, theoretical energy yeld on the basis of technical data of urban wind turbines currently on the market. The results show that to maximize energy yield is necessary to take into account a variety of factors including: the technology used, the rated power, the characteristics of the power curve. The best performance is obtained from turbines that can produce high power at low wind regimes, regardless of power rating, a winning design feature but not yet widely available in today's market as manufacturers have concentrated their efforts in the manufacture of turbines not specifically created for urban use.

Industrial ecology is the study of “technical bodies”, the use of their resources, their potential impact on the environment and the ways in which their interactions with the natural world can be restructured to achieve greater sustainability. It is a systemic approach that seeks to optimize the total materials cycle, from raw materials to finished goods, to those used up to their final disposal. Till now various application levels of industrial ecology concepts have been identified which represent a gradually more and more complex process of eco-industrial integration: the exchange of matter and energy can take place into a single company (divided in most production units) or a group, in eco-industrial parks with cooperative or integrated management, or even at regional level through the implementation of complex eco-industrial systems and networks for the operation of which the continuous exchange of information between companies becomes crucial. However, while new projects are always arising in industrial ecology for individual companies, industries or districts, on the other hand, examples of application of industrial ecology to large areas are very limited. The aim of this paper is to present the preliminary results of a model application of the principles and tools of industrial ecology to a wide area to identify possible interactions between the achievable existing productive sectors in the same area and in particular the identification of areas potentially missing and to be implemented to optimize the exchange of matter and energy. The model is then applied to the specific case of the Province of Taranto to test the quality of the needed information. In this case a provincial assessment of the energy use has been established. The energy balance shows that the waste energy deriving from the most energy intensive firms amounts to over 1050 ktep. Such quantity is larger than the energy absorbed by the residential sector of the province. Moreover, for some of the larger amounts of special waste produced in the province, some forms of implementable Industrial Symbiosis (IS) have been proposed. In particular the research was concentrated on the blast furnace and steel slag since the steelmaking factory ILVA produces more than 1,5 Mt of steel slag (currently used to fill quarries) and 1,5Mt of blast furnace slag.

In the Apulia Region, Italy, there has been an impressive development of renewables, in particular wind and photovoltaic, driven by the regional and national energy policy. In the Apulia region most of the primary energy come from fossil fuels, in particular coal, a situation quite similar to that of Poland, but a regional energy policy is driving the decarbonisation of the energy industry and is stimulating the use of sun and wind in wind farms and thermal and photovoltaic installations. In this paper, which is part of studies extracted from an ongoing research project fi nanced by the Apulia region, the development of renewable energy in the region, due to the implementation of a series of incentives, is illustrated and compared with the Polish situation to point out some possible ways to overcome the environmental concerns related to fossils and to guarantee, on the other side, the transition to a “fossil-free” economic system.

The gas chromatography-olfactometry (GC-O) technique couples traditional gas chromatographic analysis with sensory detection in order to study complex mixtures of odorous substances and to identify odor active compounds. The GC-O technique is already widely used for the evaluation of food aromas and its application in environmental fields is increasing, thus moving the odor emission assessment from the solely olfactometric evaluations to the characterization of the volatile components responsible for odor nuisance. The aim of this paper is to describe the state of the art of gas chromatography-olfactometry methodology, considering the different approaches regarding the operational conditions and the different methods for evaluating the olfactometric detection of odor compounds. The potentials of GC-O are described highlighting the improvements in this methodology relative to other conventional approaches used for odor detection, such as sensoristic, sensorial and the traditional gas chromatographic methods. The paper also provides an examination of the different fields of application of the GC-O, principally related to fragrances and food aromas, odor nuisance produced by anthropic activities and odorous compounds emitted by materials and medical applications.

The gas chromatography-olfactometry (GC-O) methodology couples traditional gas chromatographic analysis with sensory detection in order to identify odor active compounds in complex mixtures. Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) emitted from materials and consumer products can affect indoor air quality (IAQ) in terms of odor annoyance and other adverse effects on human health. Hence, the main purpose of the present paper was to recognize the odor active VOCs emitted by a specific consumer product and responsible of the odor annoyance perceived, performing head-space experiments followed by GC/MS-O analysis both at ambient temperature and during heating (condition of use). Ten odor active VOCs belonging to different chemical classes were detected; Aromatic Hydrocarbons (Benzene, Toluene, m/p-Xilene), Phenols (Phenol), Aldehydes (Benzaldehyde, Nonanale), Chlorinated Aromatic Hydrocarbons (Chlorobenzene, 1,4-Dichlorobenzene), Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (Naphtalene) and Anhydrides (Phtalic Anhydride). Naphthalene was recognized as the organic compound that mainly contributed to the overall odor perceived. Moreover, it was observed that the product’s heating resulted in an increasing of VOCs emission and in odor perception. Experimental data obtained highlighted the potentialities of GC/MS-O methodological approach to identify off-flavors deriving from materials and to provide useful indications to manufacturers to improve the acceptability of odorous emissions.

The combustion of pruning residues of olive trees in field is a common practice in South of Italy. Since fields are usually close to densely populated areas, the biomass burning emission may cause seasonally increasing exposure to air pollutants and may lead to a potential health risk for the population. The goal of this work was to carry out the chemical characterization of PM deriving from open burning of agricultural biomass and to identify tracer species or concentration ratios characteristics of this source. The collected data showed that during open burning of olive tree residues, PM10 mean concentration was about fifty times higher than PM10 collected at background site in no biomass burning event. Moreover the particulate matter composition was especially enriched in K, OC and Polyciclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) such as benz[a]anthracene and benzo[a]pyrene.

Currently road safety, traffic congestion, acoustic and environmental pollution affecting urban areas around the world, represent the challenges to be faced for the implementation of sustainable mobility. To contrast a future increase of these issues it has been implemented the “sustainable mobility policy" in different Nations. In Italy in 1998 the Decree of the Ministry of the Environment has established the figure of Mobility Manager (MM) to implement sustainable mobility in the urban areas and in particular in companies (private and public) with more than 300 employees (or with a total of 800 workers distributed in several branch). One of the tool that can be used by MM is the “plan of employee’s movement from home to work place and return” (Piano Spostamento Casa Lavoro -PSCL). Although in 2004 the University of Foggia has appointed the MM to date no PSCL has been edited. In this context, the aim of this study is to propose a PSCL describing how the employees of University of Foggia reach the workplace and to suggest alternative sustainable transportation typologies. In particular, to evaluate the effectiveness of the actions identified to improve the mobility of workers, the carbon footprint (CF) methodology was applied. The study has been focused only on the main building of Foggia’s University (Athenaeum) that include the major part of workers. The research shows that: 1) university’s employees reach workplace principally by car (84%); 2) this transport contributes to the release of nearly 64 tons of CO2; 3) car pooling and/or public transport (urban and extra-urban) presents a sustainable solution to reduce GHG emissions; 4) if these sustainable transportations were implemented the emissions of GHG could be reduced by 56% (equal to 36 t of CO2).

In recent years, the use of synthetic materials in building and furnishing, the adoption of new lifestyles, the extensive use of products for environmental cleaning and personal hygiene have contributed to the deterioration of indoor air quality and introduced new sources of risk to humans. Indoor environments include home, workplaces such as offices, public buildings such as hospitals, schools, kindergartens, sports halls, libraries, restaurants and bars, theaters and cinemas and finally cabins of vehicles. Indoor environments in schools have been of particular public concern. According to recent studies, children aged between 3 and 14 spend 90 % of the day indoors both in winter and summer. Moreover, children have greater susceptibility to some environmental pollutants than adults, because they breathe higher volumes of air relative to their body weights, and their tissues and organs are actively growing. In this review, the authors explore the methodological approaches used for the assessment of air quality in schools: monitoring strategies, sampling and analysis techniques and summarizing an overview of main findings from scientific literature concerning the most common pollutants found in school environments.

Water is a precious and increasingly scarce resource especially in regions like Apulia in Italy, characterized by water shortage for agriculture and, in some cases, even for drinking purposes. Farmers partly resolve this shortage problem by drilling water wells with subsequent groundwater overexploitation and seawater intrusion. Since the Ministerial Decree n. 185/2003 has been adopted, it is allowed to reuse urban wastewaters subjected to an advanced tertiary treatment for agricultural, civil and industrial use. However, the existing regional grid of urban wastewater treatment plants lacks such an advanced tertiary treatment step; particularly suitable disinfection units are lacking, in order to reach the quality parameters of reused water. Regional authorities are now planning to adapt the disinfection units in the existing tertiary treatment plants of urban wastewater and to finance research projects supporting the selection of the best environmental friendly technology among various possibilities. This paper aims at describing the LCA of an advanced tertiary treatment plant for wastewater reclamation in Apulia mapping the impacts of urban wastewater reuse compared to groundwater use.

In the present work four different green coffees (two arabica from Brazil and Costa Rica and two robusta from Vietnam and India) were treated in a batch roasting plant, in order to have a better understanding of the different behavior of selected geographical origins during roasting in an industrial plant. By taking samples for analysis at regular intervals, volume, and color of the grains and grounds were measured after and before roasting. The experimental results provided knowledge of the differences in roasting degree of selected coffee origins and also allowed us to observe the changes in physical attributes with roasting time. The results obtained in the present study showed that some perceptible color differences in the final blends in grains of selected origins may appear to the consumer. Moreover volume increase results as consequence of increased internal pressure of grains during roasting conditions.

To have a better understanding of the different behavior of selected geographical origins of green coffee during roasting in an industrial plant, in the present work five different green coffees (two arabica from Brazil and Costa Rica and three robusta from Vietnam, India and Ivory Coast) were treated in a batch roasting plant, taking samples for analysis at regular intervals. The evaluated parameters were volume, weight, moisture and color of the grains and grounds. The experimental results provided knowledge of the differences in roasting degree of selected coffee origins and also allowed us to observe the changes in physical attributes with roasting time. The conditions used by roasting machines result in a volume increase and a loss in weight and density with slight changes according to the origin. Lightness initially increase then decrease to lower values. Lightness of the grounds is higher with respect to that of the grains showing that that the roasting process took place from the outer to the bulk of the beans but at the end of the process lightness is uniform, outside and inside. The results obtained in the present study showed that some perceptible color differences in the final blends in grains of selected origins may appear to the consumer.

In order to identify the different fugitive emission sources in the industrial area of Taranto and assess their impact on air quality in the surrounding urban area, an intensive monitoring campaign of PM10 and PM2.5 was carried out from January 28th to July 30th, 2011, in seven sites: four next to industrial plants and the other three distributed in different areas of Taranto. The processing by bivariate polarplot of data about the PAHs concentrations, diagnostic ratios among PAHs, and B/T ratios, resulted an useful tool to identify and assess the impact of fugitive emission in specific anemometric conditions. Moreover, the source apportionment analysis allowed to quantify the contribution of each source to the concentrations of pollutants measured at receptor site.

L‚area industriale di Taranto  ad oggi annoverata tra le zone ad alto rischio ambientale ed inclusa nell’elenco dei siti inquinati di interesse nazionale a causa della presenza di un ampio complesso industriale in prossimit… dell’insediamento urbano. Nonostante gli importanti risultati conseguiti dalle politiche di controllo delle emissioni convogliate, la complessit… degli impianti che caratterizzano l‚area industriale tarantina rende difficile l‚identificazione e la localizzazione delle sorgenti che contribuiscono alle emissioni diffuse e altamente impattanti sulla qualit… dell‚aria nelle aree urbane limitrofe. Pertanto in questo lavoro  stato effettuato un monitoraggio intensivo degli IPA nel PM10 al fine di discriminare le diverse sorgenti diffuse e di determinare l‚impatto di ciascuna esse sui siti recettori sensibili in base ai principali parametri meteorologici che determinano la dispersione e trasporto in atmosfera degli inquinanti. In particolare  stata condotta una campagna di monitoraggio di PM10 in 7 siti di campionamento dislocati intorno all‚area industriale tarantina e disposti lungo le direzione dei venti dominanti. Il campionamento di PM10 per la determinazione delle concentrazioni giornaliere di IPA,  stato effettuato dal 1Gennaio al 30 Luglio 2011 con campionatori basso volume SWAM bicanale (FAI Instruments s.r.l.). Contemporaneamente nei diversi siti sono stati monitorati le concentrazioni orarie di IPA totali utilizzando un analizzatore in continuo (ECOCHEM PAS 2000), i principali parametri meteo, la capacit… disperdente dell‚atmosfera e le concentrazioni di SO2, NOx, Benzene (B) e Toluene (T). L‚elaborazione dei dati di concentrazioni dei singoli IPA, dei rapporti diagnostici e dei rapporti B/T mediante polar plot bivariati hanno permesso di identificare le sorgenti di emissione diffuse e di valutarne l‚impatto in corrispondenza di venti tali da permettere il trasporto degli inquinanti dall‚area industriale sul sito

The paper presents a procedure and a methodology of research which aimed at assessing and comparing the effectiveness of different variants of labels in communicating life cycle based environmental information (EU ecolabel, draft PEF labels). Based on a survey, an electroencephalography (EEG) and an eye-tracking, the information regarding consumers’ ecological awareness, their neurological reaction and a visual attention is gathered and used for identifying the ecolabels’ elements with the highest communication potential. A potential target audience of the project is not limited to the specialists in the environmental labelling, but includes also the readers involved in green marketing, Product Environmental Footprint and Life Cycle Assessment practitioners.

In Italy treated urban wastewaters, can be reclaimed for agricultural, civil and industrial purposes thanks to a recently approved Ministerial Decree, the n. 185/2003. In the Apulia, a region in the south-east of Italy, due to the carsic nature of the soil and the consequent scarcity of water surface bodies, there have been built numerous urban wastewater treatment plants that discharge treated effluents in sea or in the subsoil. Regional authorities, in the recently promulgated “Water Resources Protection and Management Master Plan”, intended to stop this practice as soon as possible and stated that water reclamation must be implemented in the existing wastewater treatment plants. The situation nowadays shows that in Apulia there are 197 urban wastewater treatment plants, 13 are currently eligible for reuse and 27 need additional improvements or are new constructions, to fulfil quality requirements of reclaimed water. This paper is aimed at qualitatively describing the state of the art of the wastewater reclamation in the Apulia region, the technologies actually utilizable to adapt the existing treatment plants and also the economic aspects involved in the improvements of the existing facilities. Among the technologies actually utilizable, some of them require high amount of electricity to work, others chemicals with the impacts related to its production. From the economic point of view the adaptation costs depends on the size, on the quality parameters of the water to reach in the initial project of the plant and on the final use of the reclaimed water. Moreover concerns in farmers about the quality of reclaimed water for irrigation purposes impeded the diffusion of this new water source.

In recent years the use of synthetic materials in building and furnishing, the adoption of new lifestyles, the extensive use of products for environmental cleaning and personal hygiene have contributed to the deterioration of the indoor air quality (IAQ) and introduced new sources of risk to humans. Indoor environments include home work places such as offices, public buildings such as hospitals, schools, kindergartens, sports halls, libraries, restaurants and bars, theatres and cinemas and finally cabins of vehicles. Indoor environments in schools have been of particular public concern. According to recent studies, children aged between 3 and 14 spend 90 % of the day indoors both in winter and summer. Adverse environmental effects on the learning and performance of students in schools could have both immediate and lifelong consequences, for the students and for society. In fact, children have greater susceptibility to some environmental pollutants than adults, because they breathe higher volumes of air relative to their body weights and their tissues and organs are actively growing. This review describes methods for the assessment of indoor air quality in schools. To this aim, monitoring strategies for sampling and measurement of indoor air pollutants will be discussed. The paper’s goal involves four major points: (1) characteristics of indoor environments, chemical pollutants and their sources within school; (2) monitoring strategies; (3) sampling and analysis techniques; and (4) an overview of findings from scientific literature. Finally, we summarizes available knowledge about IAQ in schools highlighting key gaps and suggesting priority topics and strategies for research. Moreover, it provides useful tools to support the stakeholder for development of strategies of prevention and mitigation in school environments in order to improve the indoor air quality.

Many studies demonstrated that materials can be significant emission sources of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) that can affect indoor air quality. These compounds are of particular concern because of their potential impact on human health, usually named SVHC (Substances of Very High Concern) by new EU Regulations in chemical field [1]. Some of VOCs are also odour compounds and can cause olfactory annoyance for the exposed population. In the present paper experimental results obtained by the application of the conventional methodology, according to the requirements reported in International Standards (ISO 16000), to consumer products will be showed highlighting the risk assessment related to inhalation exposure, integrated with those obtained by dynamic olfactometry and gas-chromatography/olfactometry (GC-O) with the aim of assessing the olfactory impact associated to the same consumer products.