Air quality intervention during the Nanjing youth olympic games altered PM sources, chemical composition, and toxicological responses

Teemu J Rönkkö; Maija-Riitta Hirvonen; Mikko S Happo; Ari Leskinen; Hanna Koponen; Santtu Mikkonen; Stefanie Bauer; Tuukka Ihantola; Henri Hakkarainen; Mirella Miettinen; Jürgen Orasche; Cheng Gu; Qin'geng Wang; Jorma Jokiniemi; Olli Sippula; Mika Komppula; Pasi I Jalava

doi:10.1016/j.envres.2020.109360

Air quality intervention during the Nanjing youth olympic games altered PM sources, chemical composition, and toxicological responses

Environ Res. 2020 Jun:185:109360. doi: 10.1016/j.envres.2020.109360. Epub 2020 Mar 19.

Authors

Teemu J Rönkkö¹, Maija-Riitta Hirvonen², Mikko S Happo³, Ari Leskinen⁴, Hanna Koponen², Santtu Mikkonen⁵, Stefanie Bauer⁶, Tuukka Ihantola², Henri Hakkarainen², Mirella Miettinen², Jürgen Orasche⁷, Cheng Gu⁸, Qin'geng Wang⁸, Jorma Jokiniemi², Olli Sippula⁹, Mika Komppula¹⁰, Pasi I Jalava²

Affiliations

¹ University of Eastern Finland, Department of Environmental and Biological Sciences, Yliopistonranta 1, P.O. Box 1627, FI-70211, Kuopio, Finland. Electronic address: teemu.ronkko@uef.fi.
² University of Eastern Finland, Department of Environmental and Biological Sciences, Yliopistonranta 1, P.O. Box 1627, FI-70211, Kuopio, Finland.
³ University of Eastern Finland, Department of Environmental and Biological Sciences, Yliopistonranta 1, P.O. Box 1627, FI-70211, Kuopio, Finland; Ramboll Finland Oy, Oppipojankuja 6, FI-70780, Kuopio, Finland.
⁴ Finnish Meteorological Institute, Yliopistonranta 1, P.O. Box 1627, FI-70211, Kuopio, Finland; University of Eastern Finland, Department of Applied Physics, Yliopistonranta 1, P.O. Box 1627, FI-70211, Kuopio, Finland.
⁵ University of Eastern Finland, Department of Environmental and Biological Sciences, Yliopistonranta 1, P.O. Box 1627, FI-70211, Kuopio, Finland; University of Eastern Finland, Department of Applied Physics, Yliopistonranta 1, P.O. Box 1627, FI-70211, Kuopio, Finland.
⁶ German Research Center for Environmental Health, Helmholtz Zentrum München, Munich, Germany.
⁷ German Research Center for Environmental Health, Helmholtz Zentrum München, Munich, Germany; Joint Mass Spectrometry Center, Cooperation Group Comprehensive Molecular Analytics, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Helmholtz Zentrum München, Munich, Germany.
⁸ Nanjing University, School of the Environment, Branch 24 Mailbox of Nanjing University Xianlin Campus, No. 163 Xianlin Avenue, Qixia District, 210023, Nanjing, China.
⁹ University of Eastern Finland, Department of Environmental and Biological Sciences, Yliopistonranta 1, P.O. Box 1627, FI-70211, Kuopio, Finland; University of Eastern Finland, Department of Chemistry, P.O. Box 111, FI-80101, Joensuu, Finland.
¹⁰ Finnish Meteorological Institute, Yliopistonranta 1, P.O. Box 1627, FI-70211, Kuopio, Finland.

PMID: 32222629
DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2020.109360

Abstract

Ambient particulate matter (PM) is a leading global environmental health risk. Current air quality regulations are based on airborne mass concentration. However, PM from different sources have distinct chemical compositions and varied toxicity. Connections between emission control measures, air quality, PM composition, and toxicity remain insufficiently elucidated. The current study assessed the composition and toxicity of PM collected in Nanjing, China before, during, and after an air quality intervention for the 2014 Youth Olympic Games. A co-culture model that mimics the alveolar epithelium with the associated macrophages was created using A549 and THP-1 cells. These cells were exposed to size-segregated inhalable PM samples. The composition and toxicity of the PM samples were influenced by several factors including seasonal variation, emission sources, and the air quality intervention. For example, we observed a size-dependent shift in particle mass concentrations during the air quality intervention with an emphasized proportion of smaller particles (PM_2.5) present in the air. The roles of industrial and fuel combustion and traffic emissions were magnified during the emission control period. Our analyses revealed that the PM samples demonstrated differential cytotoxic potencies at equal mass concentrations between sampling periods, locations, and time of day, influenced by variations in the predominant emission sources. Coal combustion and industrial emissions were the most important sources affecting the toxicological responses and displayed the least variation in emission contributions between the sampling periods. In conclusion, emission control mitigated cytotoxicity and oxidative stress for particles larger than 0.2 μm, but there was inadequate evidence to determine if it was the key factor reducing the harmful effects of PM_0.2.

Keywords: Cell co-culture; Cytotoxicity; Emission restriction; Emission sources; Inhalation toxicology; Oxidative stress.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Air Pollutants* / analysis
Air Pollutants* / toxicity
Air Pollution*
China
Environmental Monitoring
Humans
Particle Size
Particulate Matter / analysis
Particulate Matter / toxicity

Substances

Air Pollutants
Particulate Matter