The residential and service sectors are responsible for a large portion of energy demand in modern societies. Therefore, today, buildings are expected to be energy-efficient and environmentally friendly. In this context, bioclimatic architecture and its related systems seem to show a good way to achieve this. A relevant system in this issue is the Trombe wall, under study in the present work. Although this system has been studied and implemented in cold climates (in heating mode), not so many theoretical and experimental studies have examined its operation in hot climates (in ventilation mode). To collaborate in this regard, an air-ventilation Trombe wall prototype was made and analysed, both theoretically and experimentally. The size of the prototype is 1 m height, 0.6 m width and 0.2 m length and it has an outer glass surface with a hole at the top, an air chamber, and an inner insulating panel with a hole at the bottom. These experiments were carried out both under controlled conditions in the laboratory and outside. In this sense, physical and psychrometric behaviour were obtained. As a conclusion, the system produced air currents between 0.2 and 0.4 m/s, improving the feeling of comfort by 3 °C. Thus, it demonstrates its possibility of use as a passive ventilation system. Additionally, both air temperature and speed data trends were fitted by mathematical formulation, which allows the prediction of the behaviour of the Trombe wall under different solar radiation conditions in hot climates. Full article

The reuse of shipping containers in architecture has grown in global popularity. However, few studies focus on understanding its thermodynamic behavior. The present study addresses, through numerical simulations, the transitory behavior of a typical house built with containers under different climates, both cold and warm. We examined container with different build construction and observed their effect, from completely naked to those that are coated with materials of different insulation and thermal inertia. Additionally, orientation and other design resources, such as height with respect to the ground, shadow elements, and the position of the windows, were considered. With all these multiparametric studies, quantitative conclusions were obtained that can be considered in design. Full article

Soil lead contamination is an environmental health risk that greatly affects children in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The Southside Chattanooga Lead Superfund Site was added to the National Priorities List in late 2018 by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The EPA has designated the clean-up threshold for soil lead contamination to be equal to or over 360 parts per million. For the EPA to conduct soil testing and proceed with clean-up, a signed access authorization letter from the tenant or property owner must be submitted. As of 7 May 2019, there are still 4371 properties to test with an estimated 1100 expected to be above the remediation threshold. Despite mailing the letters and having several public meetings, the rate of return is approximately thirty percent for access authorization forms. To increase the response rate, local non-profit agencies, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC) Lions Club, and the UTC Master’s in Public Health program have been involved in educating the community. Efforts include community health fairs, grant-funded community-based blood lead testing for children, and a door-to-door canvassing campaign where residents are informed of the issue, provided with educational materials, and asked to sign and return access authorization letters to the EPA. The impact of community engagement is measured by the number/proportion of residents engaged, the number of signed authorization forms submitted, and the number of children tested for elevated blood lead levels. This poster presentation will discuss lead contamination in Chattanooga, and the results of our engagement work in the community. Full article

The aim of these investigations was to determine the impact of heavy metals bound with deposited particulate matter (PM) on contamination degree and related toxicological effects by calculating enrichment indices, namely, the geo-accumulation index (I_geo), contamination factor (CF), and enrichment factor (EF), as well as the ecological risk index (ERI) and modified hazard quotient (mHQ). Calculations were made based on the selected element concentrations determined in deposited PM samples in Krakow. The results of the investigations revealed that deposited PM was enriched in heavy metals. As I_geo provides information on the level of metal accumulation, it was found that deposited PM was practically uncontaminated with Be, Cd, and Tl (class 0) but heavily to extremely contaminated (class 5) with Co and Sn and extremely contaminated (class 6) with As, Ba, Cr, Cu, Li, Mn, Ni, Pb, Sr, Ti, V, and Zn. On the other hand, the calculated values of CF revealed very high contamination of deposited PM with Cd and Zn, considerable contamination with Sn, Pb, and As, and moderate contamination with Cu and Li. Values of calculated EF revealed that among the investigated elements, only Zn originated from anthropogenic sources. For Cd, a small influence of anthropogenic sources was observed. For Pb and Sn, non-crustal sources of emission were expected. The calculated ERI values indicated potential ecological risk levels that were very high for Cd and considerable for Zn, as well as low potential ecological risk for As, Co, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Tl. Moreover, the calculated mHQ values of severity of contamination were extreme for Zn, considerable for Cr, and moderate for As, Cu, and Pb. The analysis revealed that the impact of atmospheric and re-suspended PM on inhabitants constitutes a complex effect of a mixture of heavy metals simultaneously affecting human health. Full article

Studies on social inequalities in health present contradictory findings when they attempt to describe and identify the complex societal mechanisms that give rise to poor health outcomes and health inequalities. This work aims to study the mechanism of reproduction of health inequalities among different population groups using agent-based modeling. We combine evidence-based knowledge and survey data to set the simulation model. Our initial findings show that the combination of the most adverse contextual conditions (i.e., negative environmental exposure and the absence of health-care provision) combined with extreme social inequalities in health might increase mortality drastically. The model suggests that, although poor health outcomes may emerge through the action of individual determinants, social inequalities generally emerge and reproduce through non-linear associations and complex multivariate data structures. Full article

In indoor environments, the concentration of halogenated organic pollutants in dust can be high due to the presence of products treated with these chemicals. In this study, we monitored emerging organic pollutants, such as novel brominated flame retardants (nBFRs) and some perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), together with legacy polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in settled dust collected in five different (domestic and occupational) environments. In workplaces, a high incidence of PCBs, PBDEs and nBFRs occurred. Dust collection represents a simple, fast and cost-effective sampling and dust contamination level can be a useful indicator of environment healthiness. Full article

The aim of this study is to evaluate a commuter’s exposure to different pollutants (nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) and fractionated particulate matter (PM), including ultrafine particles (UFP)), via miniaturized and portable real-time monitoring instruments in different and selected environments; the inhaled doses of these pollutants were also estimated in each of these environments. Experimental data were collected during four working weeks, in two different seasons (winter and summer). Principal results show how higher exposures were measured in Underground (for all PM fractions and NO₂) and in Car (UFP), while lower exposure levels were measured in Car (PM and NO₂) and in Train (UFP). On the contrary, instead, higher values of inhaled dose were found in environments defined as Other, followed by Walking (ht—High Traffic condition), while lower values were found in Walking (lt—Low Traffic condition) and in Car. Full article

Improving health equity as well as overall community health rests in large part on partnerships, especially those between researchers and community members and groups. Employing the theory of relational dialectics, we analyze relationships in an interdisciplinary research project examining how community health is influenced by increases in neighborhood greening. Relational dialectics posits that opposing tensions, such as desires not only to be connected but also to remain independent, shape relationships and are evidenced and negotiated through communication. We provide examples of dialectical tensions in a community-rooted research project and lessons that we have learned from this work. Full article

Noise pollution is one of the growing issues in our cities. Every day the streets are full of vehicles of all kinds and works using noisy machinery; it seems difficult to find a quiet area that away from this acoustic environment. Presently, multiple studies are being carried out in the area of engineering in order to be able to attenuate the causes of this noise pollution, in order to improve citizens’ lives. Nevertheless, are cars the only cause of the noise in the city? Are there other noise sources that may affect the quality of life of the citizens? What defines a city as heavily polluted or not? Maybe it can be assumed that truck noise is annoying and that it contributes to noise pollution, while the sound of birds does not and it is pleasant for people. This paper pretends to analyze the physical parameters that allow us to define if any sound causes annoyance, taking into account its acoustic environment. To do this, a specific case will be analysed; we will study three locations measured in Andorra La Vella and Escaldes-Engordany. The audio recordings will be studied deeply, and compared one to the other using data from two different days and all day schedule. We will finally evaluate the annoyance of each location using parameters such as loudness, sharpness and roughness, and taking into account both day and time, as well as giving details about the several types of sound labelled in each recording. Full article

El Niño is a climatic cycle originating in the tropical Pacific Ocean that impacts countries in Latin America. It is often associated with water-based infectious diseases, many of which are also poverty-related. In this study we explore ecosyndemic risk and social vulnerability in Guatemala during the 2014–2016 El Niño. An ecosyndemic is a cluster of diseases, associated with environmental changes, set within a wider context of socioeconomic inequities. Using GIS, we examined six infectious diseases and ecosyndemic risk in Guatemala from 2014 to 2016 and factors of social risk at the department level. Preliminary results and policy implications are discussed. Full article