Arh hig rada toksikol, Vol 50 (1999) No 2, pp.

211–222
211

REVIEW

AIR POLLUTION STUDIES The aim of this paper is to give an overview of the
research in the area of air pollution, carried out
M irka FUGA[, V ladimira VA\I],
Vladimira exclusively at the Institute for Medical Research
K re{imir [EGA, J anko HR[AK, N
Janko ata{a
Nata{a and Occupational Health and performed by the
KALINI], and Anica [I[OVI]
Anica scientists of the Institute. For the past fifty years,
air quality has been studied at work, in the
Institute for Medical Research and ambient air of urban and industrial areas, and in
Occupational Health, Zagreb, various indoor environments without occupational
Croatia exposure. Methods for sampling and measuring
air pollutants have been introduced or developed
Received March 1999 and verified. The behaviour and the fate of air
pollutants in the environment have also been
investigated. Since the primary goal of the studies
was to assess the extent of human exposure to
air pollutants, the data were used to calculate the
risk for various population groups. A dynamic
model of exposure for various population groups
relied on calculations of collected data, taking into
account time spent in various microenvironments.
This text describes the cooperation of the Institute
with other institutions and agencies on the
national and international level and outlines the
current and prospective activities.
Key words:
air quality surveillance, ambient air, dynamic model of
exposure, human exposure assessment, indoor air,
passive samplers

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE AIR POLLUTION FOR HUMAN HEALTH

A ir is the inevitable transfer medium of environmental pollution to people. While

polluted food or water can be avoided, the air is inevitably breathed in any environ-
ment in which people stay or through which they pass. The problem is encountered
not only in large urban and industrial areas, but also in different indoor environments
which – in addition to penetration of outdoor pollution – contains pollutants originat-
ing from the building and furnishing materials, heating, cooking, cleaning, smoking,
and other human activities.
 Fuga{ M. et al.: AIR POLLUTION STUDIES
212 Arh hig rada toksikol, Vol 50 (1999) No 2, pp. 211–222

Whether the health effects of pollutants are immediate or delayed will depend on
their chemical composition, concentration, and the exposure duration. The effects
may not be allways specific, especially if people are exposed to a combination of
agents. Besides, the same toxic agents may be simultaneously consumed by polluted
food or water resulting in possible cumulative adverse effects.
In addition, air pollutants or the products of their transformation may have harm-
ful effect on natural and man-made goods in the local or global environment. A good
example is the acid rain which indiscriminately affects vegetation and buildings. The
same goes for halogenated hydrocarbons affecting the stratospheric ozone layer.

HISTORICAL ASPECTS OF RESEARCH AT THE INSTITUTE

The studies of air pollution at the Institute began with its foundation and have con-
tinued throughout. The primary goal of the studies has been to assess human expo-
sure to air pollution.
Since the Institute was established as the Institute of Industrial Hygiene, studies
of air quality at the workplace were an inherent activity from the very beginning. In the
middle of this century, smog episodes in large towns and industrial areas demonstrat-
ed that not only workers were exposed to polluted air, but all citizens (small children,
pregnant women, sick and elderly persons, and so on) were exposed to constant
pollution originating from heating, industry, and traffic. The Institute started to mea-
sure characteristic ambient air pollutants in urban and industrial areas of Croatia. The
measurements gradually expanded through collaboration with local Public Health In-
stitutes and have continued to this day under the coordination of the Institute.
Soon it became evident that urban inhabitants spent most of their time indoors.
Thus, if the true exposure of people was to be assessed, the air pollution studies had
to include the indoor environment. The next step was the investigation of air quality
in various indoor environments not related to occupational exposure. The data served
to develop a calculation model for the total human exposure.
Concurrently with the development of exposure assessment methods, the Insti-
tute focused on such issues as physical and chemical behaviour and the fate of air
pollutants, which, in their turn, entailed either adoption or development and verifica-
tion of methods for sampling and measuring air pollutant levels and trends.
To this day, the collaborators of these programmes have published more than
200 papers in journals, proceedings, chapters in books, and unpublished reports.
However, in this review we refer only to those published papers which are the most
significant landmarks or illustrations of our research achievements, whereas the read-
er may look up other references in annual reports of the Institute or in cumulative lists
published every five years.
The results of our investigations became the basis for our proposals of remedies
and legislation, of cooperation between the Institute and other national or internation-
al organisations dedicated to research and responsible for surveillance of air quality
on the national and international scale. The scientific merits of this research gave
incentive for organisation of many national and international meetings.
Fuga{ M. et al.: AIR POLLUTION STUDIES
Arh hig rada toksikol, Vol 50 (1999) No 2, pp. 211–222 213

INTRODUCING AND DEVELOPING METHODOLOGIES

A number of methods for measurement of air pollutants have been introduced, adapted,
or invented in that period such as those for measuring pollutants at work, in the
ambient air, and indoors or those for measuring personal exposure.
Most methods were manually operated using active sampling for collection of air
pollutants. Recently, passive sampling – based on diffussion and absorption of a
pollutant on impregnated surface – has become popular, as it does not need a pump
or connection to power supply which makes it easy to place it on the most represen-
tative locations either outdoors and/or indoors. Light and silent, they are also very
practical for measuring personal exposure. Automatic instruments, on the other hand,
have been used for specific purposes such as tracing the source of emission, mea-
suring dispersion of air pollution around the source, or studying the daily pattern of
air pollutant concentrations.
The methods introduced have been verified in the laboratory and/or simulta-
neous field measurements. The method to be tested was compared with the refer-
ence or generally accepted procedure. In laboratory testing of methods for sampling
and analysis of air pollutants, systems were developed for separation of particles by
size, for preparing calibration mixtures of pollutants with air (1) and an experimental
gas chamber was constructed for the same purpose (2).
The Institute produced a number of studies of human exposure to heavy metals
and developed and adjusted many measuring methods for the investigation purposes.
For instance, colourimetric dithizone method was introduced for measuring mercury
in mines, whereas Beckman spectrophotometer was adapted (including the setup of
a calibration system) in the laboratory measurements of the efficiency of a miners’
mask for direct measurement of optical density of an air sample containing mercury
vapours at 253.6 nm (3).
Polarographic method was introduced for measuring lead in the air at work,
whereas a more sensitive method, that is, atomic absorption spectrophotometry (AAS)
had to be applied for the surveillance of ambient air predominantly polluted by lead
from car exhausts. A new method for microdetermination of lead as chromate using
ring-oven technique was developed for measuring lead in smoke samples collected in
urban areas through the basic networks (4). The method was verified by comparative
AAS measurement of lead in high volume samples of airborne particles. The AAS was
also used to determine other heavy metals (Cd, Cu, Fe, Mn, and Zn) in the same
samples. The Institute organised an interlaboratory comparison of results of determi-
nation of lead and cadmium in field samples of suspended particles which showed
very good agreement between the three participating laboratories (Swedish, Japa-
nese, and Croatian) (5).
Concentrations of smoke, which is a result of incomplete fuel combustion, are
usually determined by measuring the reflection reduction of a filter paper due to the
deposited black particles. However, a new method was invented, based on fluores-
cence quenching of fluorescein impregnated filter paper which is subsequently ex-
posed to smoke. Smoke concentration (determined by reflectometry) was also used
as an indicator of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), another product of incom-
plete combustion. A method was developed for semiquantitative determination of
PAH in smoke samples. It involved fluorescence measurement using the ring-oven
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214 Arh hig rada toksikol, Vol 50 (1999) No 2, pp. 211–222

technique after the PAH was extracted by cyclohexane. Determination of individual

PAH in smoke samples was also developed and verified by comparative measure-
ments of PAH in high volume samples (6). In both cases samples were analysed by
means of high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC).
The reason for adapting methods to measure air pollutants for small samples
was to make them appropriate for indoor and personal measurements and not only
for large urban areas.
As to the gaseous pollutants, the most widespread urban air pollutant SO2 was
at first measured using a nonspecific acidimetric method, that is, after SO2 was
converted to sulphate. The method was acceptable in 1963 when SO2 was the dom-
inant pollutant. As in 1970s oil, gas, and electricity greatly replaced coal in heating
and production of energy and SO2 concentrations in the air started to decrease, NH3
interference became more and more evident. A filter impregnated with a solution of
oxalic acid in ethanol was put in front of SO2 sampler, to remove ammonia from the
air stream, which proved to be very efficient (7). The same filter was used for sam-
pling and determination of smoke and ammonia. Later on, a specific method for SO2
determination was introduced (the sulphate method) and the two methods were eval-
uated through comparison. Ion chromatography has been introduced quite recently
and is generally used for pollutants which can dissociate into ions.
To determine NO2 and NO levels in the air – pollutants originating from car
exhausts, heating, smoking, and cooking and present both outdoors and indoors –
scientists at the Institute devised and verified a specific colourimetric method based
on the Saltzman reagent. Two authomatic instruments (G.E. detector, ECOLYZER)
and detection tubes were used to measure CO coming from the same sources as
NOx. They were compared and proved to be in a good agreement.
The determination of H2S (by means of molybdenum blue method) and mercap-
tants (applying the Moor’s method) present around oil refineries, coke works, and
waste dumps, required modifications of the sampling procedure in order to ensure
stable samples (8) and to enable simultaneous sampling through the use of two filters
in sequence: one impregnated with mercury chloride to bind H2S and the other with
mercury acetate for mercaptans.
Fluoride, which is encountered in production of aluminium, phosphate fertilizers
and building materials, was determined in the air using the ion specific electrode.
Colourimetric method based on Schryver’s reaction has been used to determine
formaldehyde (HCHO) a pollutant mostly associated with plywood and synthetic ad-
hesives and present predominantly indoors. Phenols, which are commonly associated
with asphalt, car exhausts, and industry, were measured both in the indoor and in the
outdoor air using the spectrophotometric method based on reaction of phenol with
p-nitroaniline, which has already been tested. Passive samplers have been developed
for NO2, HCHO, and HF and verified through comparison with active samplers.

SURVEILLANCE OF AIR POLLUTION AT WORKPLACE

Most of these investigations were made in collaboration of the Department of Indus-

trial Hygiene and the Department of Occupational Health of the Institute, at the
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request of industries encountering serious practical problems. Most of the results

were presented in unpublished reports.
The first significant project was the investigation of exposure to mercury vapours
of miners in a mercury mine in Idrija, Slovenia. The investigation led to the develop-
ment of a method for measurement of mercury. Since high levels of mercury vapours
have been found in the air at some production points, it was necessary to develop a
protective mask for miners (3).
Followed a variety of similar activities such as the assessment of workers’ exposure
to air pollutants in a lead smeltery, a ferro-manganese factory, a storage battery factory,
cement works, a barite mill, a brick factory, and in factories using organic solvents.
Workers’ exposure to air pollutants was measured by means of personal samplers.
In a plant for electrolytic extraction of aluminium the Institute conducted exten-
sive investigation of occupational exposure to SO2, HF, and particulate fluorides.
These were only occassionally found to exceed the maximum allowable concentra-
tions. While asthma-like symptoms could be expected in susceptible workers, delayed
bronchoconstrictions which occurred in some workers after the workshift suggested
that exposure to airborne particles and SO2 and HF adsorbed on them may partly
cause the symptoms and impairments observed (9). This initiated studies of adsorp-
tion and desorption of gaseous pollutants on suspended particles (see below).

AMBIENT AIR QUALITY

The Institute has conducted the surveillance of the levels and trends of air pollution
in Zagreb since 1961. It resulted in a number of reports, reviews, and papers, to
mention just one comprehensive review (10) in which drastic reduction of SO2 con-
centrations in Zagreb air after 1970s was confirmed. This was attributed to the change
of fuels for heating and energy production.
Within the UNDP/SFRJ project the Institute conducted an investigation of the
spatial distribution of air pollutants around a lead smeltery (11) in the Adriatic region
(see below, Assessment of exposure to air pollution) which was to provide a basis for
epidemiological studies of the lead-polluted area (12) as well as in Zagreb. These
results were also useful for studying health effects of urban air pollution on school
children. Studies expanded to seasonal and spatial distribution of suspended particles
by concentration and size in the urban area (13). Summer concentrations were con-
sistent at all sites set in many places for sample collection. Winter concentrations
were significantly higher in a densely populated city centre with traditional heating.
The particle size distribution was bimodal and very consistent for three of these sites,
but there was a significant shift towards smaller particles in winter.
Daily patterns of air pollutant concentrations caused by the daily fluctuations of
meteorological parameters and human activities were studied. The studies showed
that under stable meteorological conditions daily SO2 concentrations reached the first
peak between 8 and 10 a.m. and the second peak between 3 and 6 p.m. The
regularities in daily pattern were used to calculate the maximum and the mean daily
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216 Arh hig rada toksikol, Vol 50 (1999) No 2, pp. 211–222

concentrations of SO2 from the obtained data on short-term concentrations (14).

Seasonal differences in the daily cycle of NOx concentrations were also monitored
(15). NO levels were nearly two times higher in winter while there was no significant
seasonal diference in NO2 levels. Similar to SO2, the daily pattern of NO concentra-
tions in winter shows two peaks, but the second was higher for NO due to denser
traffic in late afternoon. The influence of traffic on NO levels was even more obvious
in summer when the second peak was much higher than the first since there was no
NO from heating. As NO2 is a product of photochemical oxidation of NO, its morning
peak occured about one hour later than that of NO, while the second, sunset peak
was far less expressed as photochemical reactions ceased.
The behaviour and the fate of pollutants in the transport from emission sources to
the receptor were studied within two COST projects (see below: Assessment of expo-
sure to air pollution). The first project focused on the conversion of sulphur dioxide in
the air to sulphate and the second on the fate of heavy metals in the environment.
It has been shown that the percentage of sulphate S in the total S (sulphate+SO2)
decreased with the increasing total S concentration. The results of our investigation
indicated that the relationship is characteristic for the type of the area, since the
stagnation of SO2 conversion is significantly influenced by the composition of aerosol
on which SO2 is adsorbed. The adsorption and the oxidation of SO2 are pH-depen-
dent and slow down when pH is below 6. This is not the case, however, in the
presence of catalysts such as manganese salts or of alkaline substances which keep
the process going by increasing the pH (16, 17). Further laboratory investigation has
shown that in addition to chemical composition of particles (e.g. metals, soot, and
cement dust) smaller particle size, higher relative humidity, and longer contact posi-
tively affect SO2 conversion (18). The presence of ammonia enhanced the oxidation
of SO2. Under experimental conditions, the conversion of SO2 to sulphates was shown
to be complete when the SO2:NH3 ratio was 2:1.
The adsorption of formaldehyde on suspended particles was also investigated on
model systems (19). Depending on experimental conditions, up to 50% of HCHO was
adsorbed. No significant chemical transformation occured during the adsorption since
most of the HCHO could be recovered from particles by extraction with water at the
room temperature. Therefore, it may be assumed that, when adsorbed on particles,
HCHO may reach deep into the small airways of the lungs, regardless of the fact that
it irritates the upper respiratory tract.
Scientists at the Institute studied the fate of heavy metals in the environment
following their path from suspended particles emmitted by a lead smeltery to depos-
ited dust, soil, and household dust (20) before and after introduction of control measures
(21). Selective solubility of metalic compounds in suspended particles, household
dust, and soil shows that the transport of metals through the soil after deposition
from the air is a slow process with a relatively small portion penetrating the deeper
strata or being absorbed by plants. A major portion transforms into non-soluble or
poorly soluble chemical forms and becomes part of the soil. This may explain the fact
that the concentrations of metals in the soil around the lead smeltery showed no
tendency to decrease regardless of radical reduction in the airborne metal content as
a result of substantial improvements in air quality control.
Fuga{ M. et al.: AIR POLLUTION STUDIES
Arh hig rada toksikol, Vol 50 (1999) No 2, pp. 211–222 217

INDOOR AIR POLLUTION

With the recognition of the relevance of indoor air pollution to human exposure, the
Institute initiated monitoring of levels of indoor air pollutants released by building and
furnishing materials or such activities as cooking and smoking (22).
Indoor air pollutant concentrations (formaldehyde, CO, NO 2, NH3, and settled
dust) were measured over summer and winter in ninety households, five newly built
office buildings, ten primary schools, ten kindergartens, and ten bank offices. Form-
aldehyde concentrations showed significant correl ation with the age and the make of
furniture, while nitrogen dioxide concentrations depended on gas consumption and
the type of gas used (natural gas, propane-butane). Ammonia concentrations were
much higher in households located in the »green areas« than in those in the city
centre. When compared with the air quality guideline values, pollutant concentrations
showed that the average indoor air pollution in a Zagreb household does not repre-
sent a significant health problem. However, high formaldehyde levels were encoun-
tered in some newly prefabricated buildings.
At a certain point, the Institute’s scientists focused on the relation between the
indoor and the outdoor concentrations of the same air pollutants such as SO2, smoke,
and SPM (23) penetrating from the outside, or NH3 coming from both the outside
and the inside sources. The attention of the scientists was drawn by the »sick building
syndrome« associated with the objective and/or subjective sense of discomfort com-
mon for residents of large buildings with forced ventilation (24). A review of our
investigations on indoor air was presented recently at the meeting »Protection of air
’97« in Crikvenica (see below: Contribution at national and international level).

ASSESSMENT OF EXPOSURE TO AIR POLLUTION

Scientists at the Institute first attempted to assess actual exposure to an air pollutant
taking into account concentration levels and the time spent in various indoor and
outdoor microenvironments. This model of human exposure to lead from various
emission sources and at various concentrations was presented at the International
Symposium on Environmental Health Aspects of Lead in Amsterdam in 1972. Further
elaborated, and including exposure to other pollutants (SO2, Mn) in addition to lead,
the model was presented in 1975 at the International Symposium on Environmental
Monitoring (25) where it was generally accepted.
Investigation of human exposure to various pollutants continued relying on the
results of measurements in households (see above: Indoor air pollution) and on time-
-budget data obtained from the diaries kept by 172 volunteers over a week (26, 27) to
calculate human exposure of four population subgroups (high school students, univer-
sity students, the employed, and the retired). Personal exposure of selected subjects
was measured and compared with values obtained by calculating their exposure from
pollution levels and time spent in various indoor environments, in public means of
transport, on the streets, and in the country over weekdays and weekends, taking the
week as a time unit. Studies included exposure to respirable particles and carbon monoxide
 Fuga{ M. et al.: AIR POLLUTION STUDIES
218 Arh hig rada toksikol, Vol 50 (1999) No 2, pp. 211–222

(28), nitrogen dioxide (29), heavy metals (see below: Contribution at the national and
international level), and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (30). The subjects’ experience
with personal samplers indicated that personal samplers with electric pumps, which are
heavy and noisy, may cause such change in behaviour as the avoidance of going out
and visiting some places where the noise may attract attention of other people (31).
Further development of the exposure model focused on health effects of multi-
pollutant exposure, on lifetime exposure to a pollutant through a variety of media,
which finally resulted in the development of a dynamic model of exposure, presented
in a handbook published by IARC (32).

CONTRIBUTION AT THE NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL LEVEL

National
The Institute started the surveillance of air pollution in Zagreb in 1961. Ever since
1970 it has cooperated with local public health institutes in other urban and industrial
areas. The Institute has been reporting the results of that cooperation to the Ministry
of Health of the Republic of Croatia on the annual basis.
The analysis of air pollution measurements in Zagreb over 5 years demonstrated
that the situation was critical (primarily due to coal used for heating and energy
production) and prompted the Institute to organise a Conference on the Control of
Air Pollution Problems Due to Combustion Products in the City of Zagreb in 1970,
which initiated the proposal of the first local document on measures for control of air
pollution through combustion products (Slu`beni glasnik 16/1971). In 1976, the
Institute organised the 2nd Conference on the Control of Air Pollution Problems in the
City of Zagreb to asses the impact of the decision on air quality. That assessment
eventually led to an annex to the document (Slu`beni glasnik 21/1978).
Some scientists from the Institute participated in the preparation of the Law on
Air Protection (Narodne novine 48/1995) and Ordinance on Recommended and Lim-
it Values of Air Quality (Narodne novine 101/1996). These scientists have also partic-
ipated in the activities of the Technical Committee »Air quality« at the State Institute
for Standardization and Metrology, in postgraduate studies on environmental hygiene,
and in editorial boards of relevant journals. (Archives of Industrial Hygiene and Tox-
icology and Za{tita atmosfere 1973–1992).
In 1971, the Institute formed a Society for Clean Air of Croatia as a section of
then the Federal Association of Yugoslavia which organised two symposia: Effects of
Air Pollution on People and Limit Values (1977) and Conference on Air Quality and
Possibilities to Reduce Air Pollution in the Socialist Republic of Croatia (1982). The
Society became an independent association in 1991 and changed the name to Croat-
ian Air Pollution Prevention Association (CAPPA). It joined the International Union of
Air Pollution Prevention and Environmental Protection Association (IUAPPA) in 1992
and the European Federation of Clean Air (EFCA) in 1998. The permanent seat of
CAPPA is at the Institute. In 1997, it organised the first Croatian expert meeting
entitled »Protection of Air ’97« in Crikvenica and in 1998 »Emission of Air Pollutants
from Stationary Sources« in Trako{}an with remarkable participation and engage-
ment of the Institute’s scienticsts and personnel.
Fuga{ M. et al.: AIR POLLUTION STUDIES
Arh hig rada toksikol, Vol 50 (1999) No 2, pp. 211–222 219

International
Ever since the seventies, three stations in Zagreb have been included in the Urban Air
Quality Monitoring Network of the Global Environmental Monitoring System operated
by WHO. The Institutes excellent performance was acknowledged as it became a
WHO Collaborating Laboratory and participated in international intercalibration exer-
cises. Further collaboration with WHO included projects such as »A comparative
study on the determination and reporting of particulate air pollution« (WHO file ref-
erence A 6/181/1, 1965–69) with special stress on the application of the ring oven
method for determination of heavy metals, »Human exposure to carbon monoxide
and suspended particulate matter in Zagreb« (EFP A 6/445/15, 1979–81), and the
»Assessment of human exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons« (WHO file
reference A 6/181/12, 1982–84). Furthermore, the Institute participated in two inter-
national pilot studies within WHO/UNEP Human Exposure Assessment Locations (HEALs)
programme (33): »Exposure monitoring of lead and cadmium« (1990) and »Exposure
monitoring of nitrogen dioxide« (1991).
The Institute carried out several projects supported by the United States Environ-
mental Protection Agency (US EPA). The project »Biological significance of some
metals as air pollutants« – Part 1, Lead (EPA 02–302–3, 1970–74) (see above: Asses-
sment of exposure to air pollution) prompted a personal exposure model and gave incen-
tive for further projects such as »Biological effects of manganese« (EPA 02–513–3,
1972–75), »Indoor air quality as a relevant factor in human exposure« (EPA–JFP–573,
1986–89), »Exposure to particles and particle associated pollutants« (EPA–JFP–869,
1989–92), »Passive samplers in a human exposure study« (EPA–JFP–907, 1990–94),
»Air pollutant exposure distributions and their evaluation with the respect to proposed
limit values« (IMI/EPA 55, 1995–98).
The International Lead and Zinc Research Organization (ILZRO) gave support to
the Institute to continue research of lead polluted areas through the project »Health
study of a lead exposed population« (ILZRO project LH–171, 1974–77). The investi-
gation intensified after drastic reduction of pollutant emission and followed the re-
sponse of health effect indices to the reduction of lead in the environment (34).
The Institute carried out air quality research in the Adriatic region within the
Sector I of the UNDP/SFRJ project 72–004/1 (1972–76) »Protection of the human
environment in the Yugoslav Adriatic region«.
The Institute’s international activity expanded through participation in two European
Community COST projects: 61a »Research into the physico-chemical behaviour of SO2
in the atmosphere« (1972–76) and 61a bis »Physico-chemical behaviour of air pollutants«
(1978–82) (see above: Ambient air quality). Ever since 1977, the Institute has participated
in the COST project 615 »Data base, monitoring and modelling of urban air pollution«.
In 1975, the Institute in cooperation with ILZRO organised the International
Symposium on Environmental Lead Research in Dubrovnik (the Proceedings were
published as the supplement of the Archives of Industrial Hygiene and Toxicology,
1975;26:1–272) and in Dubrovnik in 1977, it was the host of the International Symposium
»Sulphur in the Atmosphere« based partly on investigations of the first COST project
(Proceedings: special issue of Atmospheric Environment 1978). Still in Dubrovnik, in
1985 the Institute also hosted a meeting of the WHO Working Group on Indoor Air
Quality entitled »Radon and Formaldehyde« (Report: WHO Regional Office for Eu-
rope, Copenhagen, 1986). The Institute’s scientists were members of many WHO
 Fuga{ M. et al.: AIR POLLUTION STUDIES
220 Arh hig rada toksikol, Vol 50 (1999) No 2, pp. 211–222

expert groups and advisory panels, temporary advisors at WHO workshop, members
of management committees for COST projects, members of the »Atmospheric Envi-
ronment« Committee of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry, and
members of the editorial board of the journal Science of the Total Environment
(1972–1980).

CURRENT AND FUTURE RESEARCH

Presently the investigation of air pollution in urban areas focuses on the air pollution
from car traffic, that is, on the change in concentrations of NO2, PAH, VOC, and
benzene with the distance from a traffic lane.
A passive sampler for ozone is being developed and will be evaluated through
comparative determination of ozone collected by the active sampler and recorded by
automatic instruments.
Newly devised equipment for measuring mass concentration of particle fractions
with an equivalent aerodynamic diameter of less than 10 µm (thoracic particles) or
2.5 µm (respirable particles) will be tested and used for sampling airborne particles.
The samples will be analysed for the content of heavy metals, PAH, sulphates, ni-
trates, and chlorides in both fractions.
Distribution of thalium levels in the environment (air, soil and vegetation) will be
studied in the vicinity of cement works.
Measurements of fluoride and manganese levels in the air of [ibenik will contin-
ue in order to register and analyse improvements in the air quality which is a direct
consequence of a shutdown of major industries in the area (ferromanganese and light
metals factories) upon Serbian aggression on Croatia.
The study of exposure of children to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) will
include the analysis of children’s urine samples for cotinine and a questionnaire for
parents. The aim is to assess the influence of family education, socioeconomic sta-
tus, and the awareness of the child’s health status as determinants of the child’s
exposure to ETS at home.
A questionnaire has been distributed to the population of Zagreb. The answers
are expected to show individual attitude and awareness with respect to the air pollu-
tion issues. The results should serve for education planning and proper information
to general public through mass media.
Currently the Institute is involved in the organisation of the second expert meeting
»Protection of Air ’99« that is to take place in [ibenik, Croatia in September 1999.

REFERENCES

1. Fuga{ M, Paukovi} R, Topolnik Z. Preparation of calibration mixtures of gases and vapours

with air. Arh hig rada toksikol 1959;10:155–69 (in Croatian).
2. Vouk VB, Topolnik Z, Vali} F, Weber OA. Design and operation of an experimental gas
chamber. Arh hig rada toksikol 1955;6:29–32.
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3. Vouk VB, Topolnik Z, Fuga{ M. Respirators for protection against mercury vapour. Br J Ind
Med 1953;10:69–75.
4. Fuga{ M, Paukovi} R. Microdetermination of lead as chromate by the ring-oven technique.
Anal Chim Acta 1970;49:356–8.
5. Hr{ak J, Fuga{ M. International interlaboratory comparison of lead and cadmium determina-
tion in samples of suspended particulate matter. Arh hig rada toksikol 1993;44:327–30.
6. [i{ovi} A, Fuga{ M. Comparative evaluation of procedures for the determination of PAH in low
volume samples. Environ Monit Assess 1991;18:235–41.
7. [i{ovi} A, Fuga{ M, Gentilizza M. Elimination of ammonia interference in acidimetric determi-
nation of sulphur dioxide. Environ Monit Assess 1982;2:345–51.
8. Va|i} V, Gentilizza M, Hr{ak J, Fuga{ M. Determination of hydrogen sulphide in the air.
Staub-Reinhalt Luft 1980;40:73–6.
9. [ega K, [ari} M, Kalini} N. Potential cause of delayed bronchoconstrictive effect of occupa-
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size distribution of aerosols over an urban area. Atmosph Environ 1984;18:2433–7.
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dioxide based on two samples of short duration. Sci Total Environ 1972;1:165–71.
15. Paukovi} R. Characteristics and seasonal differences in the daily cycle of nitrogen oxide con-
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16. Fuga{ M, Gentilizza M. The relationship between sulphate and sulphur dioxide in the air.
Atmosph Environ 1978;12:335–7.
17. Va|i} V, Gentilizza M, Hr{ak J, E{kinja I. The effect of metals and ammonia on SO2 oxidation
to sulphates in the ambient air. Environ Monit Assess 1991;18:163–71.
18. Va|i} V, Gentilizza M. The effect of MnO2 and some manganese salts on the behaviour of
sulphur dioxide in the air investigated on model systems. Sci Total Environ 1985;44:245–51.
19. Kalini} N, Va|i} V. The adsorption of formaldehyde on suspended particles investigated on
model systems. Environ Monit Assess 1999; in print.
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 Fuga{ M. et al.: AIR POLLUTION STUDIES
222 Arh hig rada toksikol, Vol 50 (1999) No 2, pp. 211–222

27. [ega K. Distribution of long-term household exposure to ammonia. Environ Manage Health 1996;7:1
28. Fuga{ M, [ega K, [i{ovi} A. Study of personal exposure to respirable particles and carbon
monoxide. Environ Monit Assess 1982;2:157–70.
29. [ega K, Fuga{ M. Different approaches to the assessment of human exposure to nitrogen
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30. [i{ovi} A, Fuga{ M, [ega K. Assessment of human inhalation exposure to polycyclic aromatic
hydrocarbons. J Exposure Analysis Environ Epidemiol 1996;6:439–47.
31. Fuga{ M. Monitoring of personal exposure to air pollutants. Subject’s experience. Arh hig rada
toksikol 1995;46:237–4.
32. Fuga{ M, [ega K. Integrated lifetime exposure. In: Seifert B, van de Viel HJ, Dodet B, O’Neill
IK, eds. Environmental carcinogenesis: Methods of analysis and exposure measurement. Lyon:
International Agency for Research on Cancer, 1993;12:153–60.
33. [ari} M, Fuga{ M, Drevenkar V. Human Exposure Assessment Location (HEAL) – Historical
review. Arh hig rada toksikol 49;1998:45–64.
34. Prpi}-Maji} D, Fuga{ M, Souvent P, Su{nik J, [ari} M, eds. Investigations of lead, cadmium
and zinc in the Me‘a valley. Monograph, Zagreb: Institute for Medical Research and Occupa-
tional Health, 1996 (in Croatian).

Sa‘etak

ISTRA@IVANJA ONE^I[]ENJA ZRAKA

Dan je pregled istra‘ivanja na podru~ju one~i{}enja zraka provedenih ve}inom u Institutu za medicinska
istra‘ivanja i medicinu rada, koja su izveli znanstveni suradnici Instituta. Prou~avali su kakvo}u zraka na radnim
mjestima, u vanjskom zraku gradskih i industrijskih podru~ja i u atmosferi razli~itih zatvorenih prostora u kojima
izlo‘enost nije posljedica proizvodnje. Uveli su i provjerili metode skupljanja i mjerenja one~i{}uju}ih tvari iz zraka.
Istra‘ivali su pona{anje i sudbinu one~i{}uju}ih tvari u okoli{u. Kako je prvenstveni cilj istra‘ivanja bio ocjena
izlo‘enosti ljudi one~i{}enom zraku, podatke istra‘ivanja su rabili za izra~unavanje izlo‘enosti pojedinih skupina
stanovnika uzimaju}i u obzir vrijeme provedeno u pojedinim mikrookolinama. Razvijen je i dinami~ki model
izlo‘enosti ljudi.
Opisana je suradnja s drugim institucijama i organizacijama na dr‘avnoj i me|unarodnoj razini. Dan je i pregled
aktivnosti koje su do sada u toku, kao i onih koje se planiraju izvesti u skoroj budu}nosti.
Klju~ne rije~i:
dinami~ki model izlo‘enosti, metode mjerenja, ocjena izlo‘enosti ljudi, pasivni skuplja~i, pra}enje kakvo}e zraka,
unutarnja i vanjska atmosfera

Requests for reprints:

Mirka Fuga{, Ph.D.

Institute for Medical Research and Occupational Health
Ksaverska cesta 2, P.O. Box 291
HR–10001, Zagreb, Croatia