PT21 Environmental Assessment, Environmental Toxicology
Exhibit Hall
8:00 AM - Tuesday
(PT299) Population Risk due to traffic impact in the air quality of Buenos Aires Metropolitan Region.
De oto, Dr1, Spinetto, Lic1, Messina, Farm1, Negri, Lic2, Ronco, PhD2, 1 Environmental Health Direction - Municipality of Vicente Lopez, Munro, Buenos Aires, Argentina2 CIMA - Universidad Nacional de La Plata, La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina
ABSTRACT- During the past three years we studied the air quality in one area of Vicente Lopez Municipality (Hab 291820), of Buenos Aires. The caracteristics of this zone are: high traffic, supermarket, small shops, and it is also has a residential zone. This investigation was made with the objective to evaluate air contamination and also risk variables on human health. We measured the respirable fraction of particulate matter (MW< 10) and the inhalable fraction (MW < 2.5), this was made with an especific equipment, which has a high volume sampler with an impact on scale, this is used to measure fraction of particulate matter on ground levels. The organic fraction (hidrocarbonate aromatic policicle) was analized with Soxhlet and chromatography. For the chemical analysis we used HPLC. Finally, the biologic impact of mutagenics was made with Ames Test. The range of benzene are 15,2 microg/m3 and 5,27 microg/m3, the difference between the sample are: the first sample was measured in winter and the other in spring. With theses results we can see that the levels of benzene are higher than other urbane zones of the region of Buenos Aires. We also con see that the concentrations of VOCs are higher from other zones. The results of Ames test were 3 times higher compared with other places of Buenos Aires. This test results showed we must study deeply mutagenics with other especifics methods to evaluate mutagenics risk on humans. With the results obtained at the moment, we can characterize the population with a potential health risk due to the pollutants founds (Benzene and Hidrocarbonate Aromatic) with cancerogenic and mutagenics characteristic. We propose: make an emision inventary so we can characterize the magnitud of the problem, evaluate diferente variables that produce high risk to the poblation.
Key words: health risk, air quality, mutagenics, cancer