This study examines the microbial and geochemical environment surrounding mirabilite deposits in Izvorul Tăușoarelor Cave (Romanian Carpathians). Using a metabarcoding approach, the microbial profiling is unique: sulfur-reducing bacteria were absent in mirabilite samples. The presence of ammonia-oxidising archaea exclusively in the mirabilite area indicates a possible influence from a bat colony, which contributes minimal ammonia that supports the microbial equilibrium for mirabilite growth.

Due to the widespread use of plastics high amounts of waste are burned in households worldwide, emitting vast amounts of PM₁₀ and PAHs into the atmosphere. In this work different types of common plastics were burned in the laboratory with a view to identifying potentially specific tracer compounds and determining their emission factors. The compounds found were also successfully identified in atmospheric PM₁₀ samples, indicating their potential use as ambient tracers for illegal waste burning.

Emission factors for PM₁₀ and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are reported for the first time ever for the indoor combustion of 12 common types of municipal solid waste that are frequently burned in households worldwide. We have found that waste burning emits up to 40 times more PM₁₀ and 800 times more PAHs than the combustion of dry firewood. Our finding highlights the need for coordinated actions against illegal waste combustion and the extreme health hazard associated with it.