The emission of natural harmful particulate matters by wind erosion and possible impact areas, Cappadocia province, Central Anatolia, Turkey

AYDAR E., AKKAŞ E.

BULLETIN OF ENGINEERING GEOLOGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT, cilt.81, sa.1, 2022 (SCI-Expanded) identifier identifier

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Cilt numarası: 81 Sayı: 1
  • Basım Tarihi: 2022
  • Doi Numarası: 10.1007/s10064-021-02540-8
  • Dergi Adı: BULLETIN OF ENGINEERING GEOLOGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, Academic Search Premier, IBZ Online, Aerospace Database, Agricultural & Environmental Science Database, Aquatic Science & Fisheries Abstracts (ASFA), CAB Abstracts, Communication Abstracts, Compendex, Environment Index, Geobase, INSPEC, Metadex, Pollution Abstracts, Civil Engineering Abstracts
  • Anahtar Kelimeler: Particulate matter, Erionite, Silica, Windblown, Modeling, Exposure, Health threat, ABRASION RESISTANCE, VOLCANIC PROVINCE, MESOTHELIOMA, IGNIMBRITES, QUALITY, STONES, DETERIORATION, PREDICTION, PLATEAU, CLIMATE
  • Hacettepe Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

Particulate matters (PM) are atmospheric aerosols that can derive from anthropogenic and natural sources, directly affecting air quality. Particularly, fine grain-sized particulate matters (PM10, PM2.5, and ultrafine PM-UFPM) can be carried by winds. Such mineral dust can cause significant respiratory diseases. Furthermore, the alteration of the volcanic glass causes the crystallization of abundant erionite minerals in the Cappadocian rhyolitic ignimbrites. Malignant mesothelioma cases have been known for many years in the Cappadocia region, and exposure to acicular-fibrous erionite minerals in the natural stones of which village houses are built is shown as the primary cause (Indoor effect). The state constructed new buildings to prevent indoor exposure of the villagers since more than 50% of the inhabitants of some villages had lung cancer due to indoor exposure. Then the villages such as Tuzkoy and Karain were moved to their new places. This study emphasizes mineralogically hazardous substances such as amorphous and crystalline silica and the cancerogenic erionite minerals based on scanning electron microscopy and XRD works. The geological units containing these minerals are open to wind erosion, as demonstrated by the Bohme abrasion resistance tests. Besides, we show that the relocation of villages probably has a limited effect in solving the problem. In addition, our HYSPLIT particle transport models determining the possible impact areas show that the issue of outdoor exposure has also become critical. With the dispersion of harmful substances into the atmosphere, humans are subject to short- and long-term exposures to those toxic substances.