Person:
Birmili, Wolfram

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1969
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Birmili
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Wolfram
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Gerade angezeigt 1 - 3 von 3
  • Veröffentlichung
    Diverging trends of plasticizers (phthalates and non-phthalates) in indoor and freshwater environments - why?
    (2022) Birmili, Wolfram; Koschorreck, Jan; Nagorka, Regine; Schulze, Jona
    Background European chemicals management aims to protect human health and the environment from legacy and emerging contaminants. The plasticizer market changed in response to the restriction of low molecular weight (LMW) phthalate plasticizers such as Di (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) due to their hazardous properties. We investigated patterns and trends of 19 regulated and emerging plasticizers in house dust from German homes and in suspended particulate matter (SPM) from major German rivers. The samples were used from the mid-2000s and late 2010s from two governmental long-term monitoring programs in Germany. Results While the sum of the respective plasticizer levels hardly changed over the study period, we observed a significant decrease of LMW phthalates in both house dust (2003/06, 80% of the (Sigma)plasticizer concentration; 2014/17, 31%) and SPM (2005, 48%; 2017, 28%). This was accompanied by their substitution with high molecular weight (HMW) phthalates and non-phthalates. HMW phthalates increased from 19% of the (Sigma)plasticizer concentration to 46% between the mid-2000s and the late 2010s in house dust, and from 50% to 63% in SPM samples. Diisononyl phthalate (DINP) replaced DEHP as the dominant plasticizer in both compartments. A significant tenfold increase (p<0.05) was observed in SPM samples for Di (2-propylheptyl) phthalate (DPHP) (1-13%), compared to low levels in house dust (2014/17, 1%). Non-phthalates increased to 23% of the (Sigma)plasticizer concentration in house dust but only to 9% in SPM (mid-2000s: house dust,<1%; SPM, 1.5%). In recent house dust samples, Di (2-ethylhexyl) terephthalate (DEHT) had the third highest concentration of all plasticizers and contributed 18% to the total load, whereas Tris (2-ethylhexyl) trimellitate (TOTM) was one of the major non-phthalates in SPM samples. Conclusions Unlike in the indoor environment, the substitution of LMW phthalates in the aquatic environment was characterized by a significant shift towards plasticizers with potentially hazardous properties. DPHP and TOTM were identified by European chemical regulation as potentially endocrine disrupting compounds and persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic compounds. Our data document the need for integrated chemicals management to safeguard the transition to a non-toxic environment. © The Author(s) 2022
  • Veröffentlichung
    Particle mass concentrations and number size distributions in 40 Homes in Germany: Indoor-to-outdoor relationships, diurnal and seasonal variation
    (2020) Zhao, Jiangyue; Birmili, Wolfram; Daniels, Anja; Wehner, Birgit
    Few studies investigated residential particle concentration levels with a full picture of aerosol particles from 10 nm to 10 Ìm size range with size-resolved information, and none was performed in central Europe in the long-term in multiple homes. To capture representative diurnal and seasonal patterns of exposure to particles, and investigate the driving factors to their variations, measurements were performed in 40 homes for around two weeks each in Leipzig and Berlin, Germany. These over 500 days' measurements combined PM10 and PM2.5 mass concentrations, particle number concentration and size distribution (PNC and PNSD, 10-800 nm), CO2 concentration, and residential activities diary into a unique dataset. Natural ventilation was dominated, the mean ventilation rate calculated from CO2 measurements was 0.2 h-1 and 3.7 h-1 with closed and opened windows, respectively. The main findings of this study showed that, the residents in German homes were exposed to a significantly higher mass concentration of coarse particles than outdoors, thus indoor exposure to coarse particles cannot be described by outdoors. The median indoor PNC diurnal cycles were generally lower than outdoors (median I/O ratio 0.69). However, indoor exposure to particles was different in the cold and warm season. In the warm season, due to longer opening window periods, indoor sources' contribution was weakened, which also resulted in the indoor PNC and PNSD being very similar to the outdoors. In the cold season, indoor sources caused strong peaks of indoor PNC that exceeded outdoors, along with the relatively low penetration factor - 0.5 for all size ranges, and indoor particle losses, which was particularly effective in reducing the ultrafine PNC, resulting in a different particle exposure load than outdoors. This study provides a detailed understanding of residential particle exposure in multiple homes, facilitating future studies to assess health effects in residential environments. Quelle. https://aaqr.org/
  • Veröffentlichung
    Formaldehyde, aliphatic aldehydes (C2-C11), furfural, and benzaldehyde in the residential indoor air of children and adolescents during the German Environmental Survey 2014-2017
    (2022) Bethke, Robert; Birmili, Wolfram; Brasse, Gregor; Conrad, André; Daniels, Anja; Debiak, Malgorzata; Kolossa-Gehring, Marike; Hurraß, Julia; Schechner, Nadine
    Indoor air concentrations of formaldehyde, furfural, benzaldehyde, and 11 aliphatic aldehydes (C2-C11) were measured in residences of 639 participants in the German Environmental Survey for Children and Adolescents 2014-2017 (GerES V). Sampling was conducted using passive samplers over periods of approximately seven days for each participant. The most abundant compounds were formaldehyde and hexanal with median concentrations of 24.9 (micro)g m-3 and 10.9 (micro)g m-3, respectively. Formaldehyde concentrations exceeded the Guide Value I recommended by the German Committee on Indoor Guide Values (Ausschuss für Innenraumrichtwerte - AIR) (0.10 mg m-3) for 0.3% of the participating residences. The sum of aliphatic n-aldehydes between C4 (butanal) and C11 (undecanal) exceeded their Guide Value (0.10 mg m-3) for 2.0% of the residences. The geometric mean concentrations of most aldehydes were lower than in the earlier GerES IV (2003-2006) study. Formaldehyde and hexanal concentrations, however, were comparable in both studies and showed no significant difference. Indoor aldehyde concentrations did not exhibit significant correlations with factors collected in questionnaires, such as the age of the participants, their socio-economic status, the location of the residence (former East/West Germany), migration background, tobacco exposure, and the type of furniture used. The validity of the passive sampler measurements was verified against active sampling techniques in a test chamber experiment. © 2021 The Authors