Dep. of Chemical Engineering
School of Engineering
Aristotle Univ. of Thessaloniki
CheRRIE – The importance of
Chemical and Radiological Risk
in the Indoor Environment for
public health
Prof. Dimosthenis A. Sarigiannis, PhD
Director of Environmental Engineering Laboratory (EnvE-Lab)
Department of Chemical Engineering, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki - 54124, Greece
CheRRIE Closing event
November 30, 2015
Thessaloniki, GR
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Indoor risks – What and why
Dep. of Chemical Engineering
School of Engineering
Aristotle Univ. of Thessaloniki
Probability density
Interaction at
the level of
metabolism
(inhibition)
Styrene
Xylene
Toluene
Ethylbenzene Benzene
Liver
(metabolism)
Leukemia
Benzaldehyde
Acetone
Acrolein Acetaldehyde Formaldehyde
Nasopharyngeal
Cancer
Probability density
Eyes, nose,
throat irritation
Other PAHs
Probability density
Endocrine
disruption
Benzo[a]pyrene
Phthalates
Larynx Cancer
Radon
Probability density
Asthma,
rhinitis
Moulds
Lung Cancer
Particulate
matter
Respiratory
diseases
Probability density
Cumulative risk
Effect
addition
Flame retardants
Pesticides
CO
Liver Cancer
NO2
Cardiovascular
diseases
CheRRIE Closing event
Probability density
Probability density
Neurotoxicity
PCBs
November 30, 2015
Thessaloniki, GR
Non-Hodgkins lymphoma
2
Importance of indoor risks
CheRRIE Closing event
November 30, 2015
Thessaloniki, GR
Dep. of Chemical Engineering
School of Engineering
Aristotle Univ. of Thessaloniki
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Dep. of Chemical Engineering
School of Engineering
Aristotle Univ. of Thessaloniki
Exposure to benzene
7.0E-05
Poland
6.0E-05
Leukemia risk
5.0E-05
4.0E-05
United kingdom
3.0E-05
Greece
Czech Republic
2.0E-05
Italy
Belgium
The Nederlands
Finland
France
1.0E-05
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
0.0E+00
0
5
10
The size of the spheres corresponds to the
potential health impact in each country
Germany
15
20
25
30
35
Benzene concentration (ug m-3)
CheRRIE Closing event
November 30, 2015
Thessaloniki, GR
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Dep. of Chemical Engineering
School of Engineering
Aristotle Univ. of Thessaloniki
Exposure to formaldehyde
2.0E-04
1.8E-04
Austria
1.6E-04
1.4E-04
Cancer risk
Germany
France
1.2E-04
Finland
United Kingdom
1.0E-04
Sweden
8.0E-05
Italy
6.0E-05
4.0E-05
2.0E-05
The size of the spheres corresponds to the
potential health impact in each country
0.0E+00
0
10
20
30
40
50
Formaldehyde concentration (ug m-3)
CheRRIE Closing event
November 30, 2015
Thessaloniki, GR
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Exposure to acetaldehyde
Dep. of Chemical Engineering
School of Engineering
Aristotle Univ. of Thessaloniki
1.6E-05
1.4E-05
Sweden
1.2E-05
Finland
Cancer risk
The Netherlands
Italy
1.0E-05
Germany
Cyprus
8.0E-06
Denmark
6.0E-06
Greece
4.0E-06
Switzerland
The size of the spheres corresponds to the
potential health impact in each country
2.0E-06
0.0E+00
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
Indoor acetaldehyde concentrations (μg/m3)
CheRRIE Closing event
November 30, 2015
Thessaloniki, GR
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Dep. of Chemical Engineering
School of Engineering
Aristotle Univ. of Thessaloniki
Exposure to radon
3.0E-03
2.5E-03
Luxembourg
Spain
2.0E-03
Lunc cancer risk
Finland
Czech Republic
Austria
Norway
Slovenia
1.5E-03
Greece
1.0E-03
Sweden
Switzerland
Belgium
Ireland
France
Italy
Poland
Portugal
Croatia
Denmark
The Netherlands
5.0E-04
Germany
The size of the spheres corresponds to the
potential health impact in each country
United Kingdom
0.0E+00
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
180
Indoor radon concentrations (Bq/m3)
CheRRIE Closing event
November 30, 2015
Thessaloniki, GR
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Where they come from?
CheRRIE Closing event
November 30, 2015
Thessaloniki, GR
Dep. of Chemical Engineering
School of Engineering
Aristotle Univ. of Thessaloniki
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Dep. of Chemical Engineering
School of Engineering
Aristotle Univ. of Thessaloniki
CheRRIE Closing event
November 30, 2015
Thessaloniki, GR
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CheRRIE main objectives –
addressing building materials
Dep. of Chemical Engineering
School of Engineering
Aristotle Univ. of Thessaloniki
• Inventorying radioactivity and chemicals emissivity from
building materials both traditional and modern used in
typical Greek and Bulgarian constructions
• Calculation of time evolution of annual equivalent and internal
dose due to exposure to radiological and chemicals resulting
from exposure to the materials of the above structures.
• Assessment of the health burden on the population from
exposure to ionizing radiation and toxic chemicals emitted
from the building / construction materials
CheRRIE Closing event
November 30, 2015
Thessaloniki, GR
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How we met the objectives
Dep. of Chemical Engineering
School of Engineering
Aristotle Univ. of Thessaloniki
• Execution of field measurements in Greece and Bulgaria
and lab analysis on building materials based on
international reference standards and calibration tests.
• Development of a database of the radiological, physical
and chemical characteristics of building materials used in
Greece and Bulgaria.
• Use of INTERA platform for computation of population
exposure to radiological and chemical hazards based ont
time-activity patterns and field/lab emission data.
• Setting up of an indoor environment and health advanced
IT infrastructure based on grid computing to support
effective scientific and stakeholder networking in order to
better protect public health.
CheRRIE Closing event
November 30, 2015
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Main impacts
Dep. of Chemical Engineering
School of Engineering
Aristotle Univ. of Thessaloniki
• Definition of a set of exposure indicators for combined
exposure to radiological and chemical hazards in residential
and public buildings in the Greece-Bulgaria trans-boundary
regions.
• Development of a methodology to integrate the existing data
towards assessing the effect of co-exposure to these hazards,
focusing on susceptible population sub-groups, primarily on
children of developing age, pregnant women and the elderly.
• Development of recommendations on radiological and
chemical protection of the population.
CheRRIE Closing event
November 30, 2015
Thessaloniki, GR
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Main expected impacts
Dep. of Chemical Engineering
School of Engineering
Aristotle Univ. of Thessaloniki
• Improvement in the quality of the materials used in building
construction and/or refurbishing in the trans-boundary regions
allowing building constructors, raw material producers and
recycling companies to base their purchasing decisions for
raw materials on the findings of the project whilst protecting
public health.
• Contribution to the European legislation concerning the use of
structural/building materials for residential buildings.
• Enhancement of public awareness of potential health risks of
building materials and enhancement of consumer choice in
the building material market.
CheRRIE Closing event
November 30, 2015
Thessaloniki, GR
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CheRRIE organization of work
Dep. of Chemical Engineering
School of Engineering
Aristotle Univ. of Thessaloniki
WP 1
Management & Coordination
WP 2
Information and Publicity
WP 6
Staff training
WP3
Measurements in
situ and in the
laboratory
WP4
Meta-analysis of
measurement
results
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WP5
Analysis of
results and
implications
to the
regions
population
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Methodological concept of
the CheRRIE approach
Dep. of Chemical Engineering
School of Engineering
Aristotle Univ. of Thessaloniki
GI tract – portal vein
GI tract – portal vein
Exposure – response functions
Outdoor
contribution
SOURCE
Liver
Liver
Heart
Heart
Brain
Brain
Muscles
Muscles
Skin
Skin
Kidneys
Kidneys
Adipose
Adipose
Bones
Bones
Breast
Breast
Pollutant
Other pollutant
Radioactivity
indoor
sources
Inhalation exposure
Indoor processes
oDispersion
oSorption
oDeposition
oChemical reactions
oResuspension
oDilution/ventilation
Uterus - gonads
Source conditions: e.g.
oEmission strength
oChemical/physical/radiological
properties of pollutant
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Health
outcome
Housing conditions: e.g.
oDimensions and layout
oVentilation characteristics
oSources location
November 30, 2015
Arterial
blood
Lungs
Uterus - gonads
Venous
blood
Arterial
blood
Lungs
Venous
blood
Individual conditions: e.g.
oTime activity patterns in house
oSource use pattern
Thessaloniki, GR
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The INTERA/CheRRIE
computational platform
Dep. of Chemical Engineering
School of Engineering
Aristotle Univ. of Thessaloniki
The INTERA/CheRRIE
computational platform is
a web based software
developed to assist the
user in assessing
cumulative exposure to
radiological and chemical
emissions found indoors
due to building materials
http://www.intera.cperi.certh.gr
CheRRIE Closing event
November 30, 2015
Thessaloniki, GR
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INTERA/CheRRIE
platform components
Dep. of Chemical Engineering
School of Engineering
Aristotle Univ. of Thessaloniki
The platform comprises four modules:
1. Emissions-concentrations module, linking emission sources
to indoor air concentrations through IAQ modelling taking into
account indoor physical chemistry
2. Exposure module including models for dermal, inhalation and
oral routes reflecting also differences in the loading mechanism
and taking into account time activity patterns and variable
inhalation rates based on activity, gender and body weight.
3. Internal dosimetry module, linking the temporal variation of
exposure to internal dose dynamics through a generic
Physiology Based PharmacoKinetic/Dynamic model which
accounts for different gender and age class.
4. Risk assessment module for assessing the cancer risks
associated to radiological and chemical exposure.
CheRRIE Closing event
November 30, 2015
Thessaloniki, GR
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Dep. of Chemical Engineering
School of Engineering
Aristotle Univ. of Thessaloniki
Thank you for your kind
attention
www.enve-lab.eu
A connectivity perspective to environment-health interactions
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November 30, 2015
Thessaloniki, GR
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