The Experts below are selected from a list of 26232 Experts worldwide ranked by ideXlab platform
Vicki Stone - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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The effect of refurbishing a UK Steel Plant on PM10 metal composition and ability to induce inflammation
Respiratory research, 2005Co-Authors: Gary R Hutchison, David M. Brown, Leon R. Hibbs, Matthew R. Heal, Ken Donaldson, Robert L. Maynard, Michelle Monaghan, Andy Nicholl, Vicki StoneAbstract:Background In the year 2000 Corus closed its Steel Plant operations in Redcar, NE of England temporarily for refurbishment of its blast furnace. This study investigates the impact of the closure on the chemical composition and biological activity of PM10 collected in the vicinity of the Steel Plant.
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The effect of refurbishing a UK Steel Plant on PM_10 metal composition and ability to induce inflammation
Respiratory Research, 2005Co-Authors: Gary R Hutchison, David M. Brown, Leon R. Hibbs, Matthew R. Heal, Ken Donaldson, Robert L. Maynard, Michelle Monaghan, Andy Nicholl, Vicki StoneAbstract:Background In the year 2000 Corus closed its Steel Plant operations in Redcar, NE of England temporarily for refurbishment of its blast furnace. This study investigates the impact of the closure on the chemical composition and biological activity of PM_10 collected in the vicinity of the Steel Plant. Methods The metal content of PM_10 samples collected before during and after the closure was measured by ICP-MS in order to ascertain whether there was any significant alteration in PM_10 composition during the Steel Plant closure. Biological activity was assessed by instillation of 24 hr PM_10 samples into male Wistar rats for 18 hr (n = 6). Inflammation was identified by the cellular and biochemical profile of the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid. Metal chelation of PM_10 samples was conducted using Chelex beads prior to treatment of macrophage cell line, J774, in vitro and assessment of pro-inflammatory cytokine expression. Results The total metal content of PM_10 collected before and during the closure period were similar, but on reopening of the Steel Plant there was a significant 3-fold increase (p < 0.05) compared with the closure and pre-closure samples. Wind direction prior to the closure was predominantly from the north, compared to south westerly during the closure and re-opened periods. Of metals analysed, iron was most abundant in the total and acid extract, while zinc was the most prevalent metal in the water-soluble fraction. Elevated markers of inflammation included a significant increase (p < 0.01) in neutrophil cell numbers in the bronchoalveolar lavage of rats instilled with PM_10 collected during the reopened period, as well as significant increases in albumin (p < 0.05). Extracts of PM_10 from the pre-closure and closure periods did not induce any significant alterations in inflammation or lung damage. The soluble and insoluble extractable PM_10 components washed from the reopened period both induced a significant increase in neutrophil cell number (p < 0.05) when compared to the control, and these increases when added together approximately equalled the inflammation induced by the whole sample. PM_10 from the re-opened period stimulated J774 macrophages to generate TNF-α protein and this was significantly prevented by chelating the metal content of the PM_10 prior to addition to the cells. Conclusion PM_10-induced inflammation in the rat lung was related to the concentration of metals in the PM_10 samples tested, and activity was found in both the soluble and insoluble fractions of the particulate pollutant.
Riccardo Stacchezzini - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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The governmentality of corporate (un)sustainability: the case of the ILVA Steel Plant in Taranto (Italy)
Journal of Management and Governance, 2019Co-Authors: Alessandro Lai, Silvia Panfilo, Riccardo StacchezziniAbstract:The present research aims to investigate the role of states in governing the sustainability trajectories and decisions of companies and their local communities. Drawing on Dean’s (Governmentality: power and rule in modern society, SAGE, London, 2009 ) “analytics of government” as the theoretical framework, the paper focuses on detecting how the Italian Government “problematised” the sustainability-related risks associated with the ILVA Steel Plant in Taranto, whose levels of pollution have worried both the Italian authorities and the European Union Commission. The analysis also considers the “regimes of governance” under which the risks have been addressed and then explains the “utopian ideal” that the Italian Government tried to achieve by allowing the company to continue its activity, contrary to the Italian Judiciary’s provision to halt the hot working area of the Steel Plant in July 2012. Patterns related to Dean’s framework were identified through an iterative process of manual elaborative coding of the official documents ascribable to the main actors involved in governing the sustainability-related risks at ILVA. The findings show that the Italian Government took its decisions on ILVA in the name of relevant risks of unemployment, economic development and territorial competitiveness. The Italian Government adopted several practices of governance to make these risks more “visible” and to silence the environmental and health risks that, otherwise, would have emphasised the unsustainability of the business activities. The paper extends the growing body of research that investigates corporate (un)sustainability practices by showing how states may directly influence sustainability-related corporate risks in the name of a higher public interest.
Gary R Hutchison - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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The effect of refurbishing a UK Steel Plant on PM10 metal composition and ability to induce inflammation
Respiratory research, 2005Co-Authors: Gary R Hutchison, David M. Brown, Leon R. Hibbs, Matthew R. Heal, Ken Donaldson, Robert L. Maynard, Michelle Monaghan, Andy Nicholl, Vicki StoneAbstract:Background In the year 2000 Corus closed its Steel Plant operations in Redcar, NE of England temporarily for refurbishment of its blast furnace. This study investigates the impact of the closure on the chemical composition and biological activity of PM10 collected in the vicinity of the Steel Plant.
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The effect of refurbishing a UK Steel Plant on PM_10 metal composition and ability to induce inflammation
Respiratory Research, 2005Co-Authors: Gary R Hutchison, David M. Brown, Leon R. Hibbs, Matthew R. Heal, Ken Donaldson, Robert L. Maynard, Michelle Monaghan, Andy Nicholl, Vicki StoneAbstract:Background In the year 2000 Corus closed its Steel Plant operations in Redcar, NE of England temporarily for refurbishment of its blast furnace. This study investigates the impact of the closure on the chemical composition and biological activity of PM_10 collected in the vicinity of the Steel Plant. Methods The metal content of PM_10 samples collected before during and after the closure was measured by ICP-MS in order to ascertain whether there was any significant alteration in PM_10 composition during the Steel Plant closure. Biological activity was assessed by instillation of 24 hr PM_10 samples into male Wistar rats for 18 hr (n = 6). Inflammation was identified by the cellular and biochemical profile of the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid. Metal chelation of PM_10 samples was conducted using Chelex beads prior to treatment of macrophage cell line, J774, in vitro and assessment of pro-inflammatory cytokine expression. Results The total metal content of PM_10 collected before and during the closure period were similar, but on reopening of the Steel Plant there was a significant 3-fold increase (p < 0.05) compared with the closure and pre-closure samples. Wind direction prior to the closure was predominantly from the north, compared to south westerly during the closure and re-opened periods. Of metals analysed, iron was most abundant in the total and acid extract, while zinc was the most prevalent metal in the water-soluble fraction. Elevated markers of inflammation included a significant increase (p < 0.01) in neutrophil cell numbers in the bronchoalveolar lavage of rats instilled with PM_10 collected during the reopened period, as well as significant increases in albumin (p < 0.05). Extracts of PM_10 from the pre-closure and closure periods did not induce any significant alterations in inflammation or lung damage. The soluble and insoluble extractable PM_10 components washed from the reopened period both induced a significant increase in neutrophil cell number (p < 0.05) when compared to the control, and these increases when added together approximately equalled the inflammation induced by the whole sample. PM_10 from the re-opened period stimulated J774 macrophages to generate TNF-α protein and this was significantly prevented by chelating the metal content of the PM_10 prior to addition to the cells. Conclusion PM_10-induced inflammation in the rat lung was related to the concentration of metals in the PM_10 samples tested, and activity was found in both the soluble and insoluble fractions of the particulate pollutant.
Alessandro Lai - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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The governmentality of corporate (un)sustainability: the case of the ILVA Steel Plant in Taranto (Italy)
Journal of Management and Governance, 2019Co-Authors: Alessandro Lai, Silvia Panfilo, Riccardo StacchezziniAbstract:The present research aims to investigate the role of states in governing the sustainability trajectories and decisions of companies and their local communities. Drawing on Dean’s (Governmentality: power and rule in modern society, SAGE, London, 2009 ) “analytics of government” as the theoretical framework, the paper focuses on detecting how the Italian Government “problematised” the sustainability-related risks associated with the ILVA Steel Plant in Taranto, whose levels of pollution have worried both the Italian authorities and the European Union Commission. The analysis also considers the “regimes of governance” under which the risks have been addressed and then explains the “utopian ideal” that the Italian Government tried to achieve by allowing the company to continue its activity, contrary to the Italian Judiciary’s provision to halt the hot working area of the Steel Plant in July 2012. Patterns related to Dean’s framework were identified through an iterative process of manual elaborative coding of the official documents ascribable to the main actors involved in governing the sustainability-related risks at ILVA. The findings show that the Italian Government took its decisions on ILVA in the name of relevant risks of unemployment, economic development and territorial competitiveness. The Italian Government adopted several practices of governance to make these risks more “visible” and to silence the environmental and health risks that, otherwise, would have emphasised the unsustainability of the business activities. The paper extends the growing body of research that investigates corporate (un)sustainability practices by showing how states may directly influence sustainability-related corporate risks in the name of a higher public interest.
Maria Tutino - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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An intensive monitoring campaign of PAHs for assessing the impact of a Steel Plant.
Chemosphere, 2016Co-Authors: A. Di Gilio, Maria Tutino, G. Ventrella, Pasquale Giungato, Roberto Giua, Giorgio Assennato, G. De GennaroAbstract: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 Benzene to Toluene ratio (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 Principal 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.
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A monitoring strategy to assess the fugitive emission from a Steel Plant
Atmospheric Environment, 2013Co-Authors: M. Amodio, E. Andriani, P. R. Dambruoso, G. De Gennaro, A. Di Gilio, M. Intini, Jolanda Palmisani, Maria TutinoAbstract:Abstract An assessment of the fugitive emission impact on ambient air PM, PAHs and metal concentrations was performed in a residential area near the biggest European Steel Plant. A careful experimental design was developed to characterize fugitive emissions produced by the integrated Steel Plant. A PM10 and PM2.5 monitoring campaign was conducted at three sampling sites around the Steel Plant, in order to perform a triangulation in the area surrounding the investigated site and evaluate its impact based on wind direction. Data analysis showed that the transport of air mass, from the Steelworks to one of the receptor sites, resulted in ambient air concentrations of Fe, Mn, Zn and PAHs higher than those observed in the other two sites. Principal component analysis allowed the identification of four emission sources: coke ovens stack, mineral park, a crustal source and vanadium source. The first two sources were characterized by high concentrations of PAHs and metals and related to the Steelworks, while the vanadium source was probably associated with maritime traffic in the port area. This preliminary monitoring approach proved effective in identifying the fugitive emission contribution of the Steel Plant to the surrounding air quality.
