Sample records for air pollution indicators

  1. Plants as air-pollution indicators

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Meeuse, B.J.D.

    This paper deals with the use of plants as biological indicators of air pollution. The author acquaints the reader with some sensitive methods of air pollution monitoring which are based on the use of plants. Some of the pollutants considered are sulfur dioxide, ozone, fluorides, chlorine, ethylene, and carbon dioxide. Some of the indicator plants discussed are alfalfa, buckwheat, clovers, gladiolus, june grass, petunia, nettle, rye grass, spinach, tobacco, and tulips.

  2. Characterizing multi-pollutant air pollution in China: Comparison of three air quality indices.

    PubMed

    Hu, Jianlin; Ying, Qi; Wang, Yungang; Zhang, Hongliang

    2015-11-01

    Multi-pollutant air pollution (i.e., several pollutants reaching very high concentrations simultaneously) frequently occurs in many regions across China. Air quality index (AQI) is used worldwide to inform the public about levels of air pollution and associated health risks. The current AQI approach used in China is based on the maximum value of individual pollutants, and does not consider the combined health effects of exposure to multiple pollutants. In this study, two novel alternative indices--aggregate air quality index (AAQI) and health-risk based air quality index (HAQI)--were calculated based on data collected in six megacities of China (Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shjiazhuang, Xi'an, and Wuhan) during 2013 to 2014. Both AAQI and HAQI take into account the combined health effects of various pollutants, and the HAQI considers the exposure (or concentration)-response relationships of pollutants. AAQI and HAQI were compared to AQI to examine the effectiveness of the current AQI in characterizing multi-pollutant air pollution in China. The AAQI and HAQI values are higher than the AQI on days when two or more pollutants simultaneously exceed the Chinese Ambient Air Quality Standards (CAAQS) 24-hour Grade II standards. The results of the comparison of the classification of risk categories based on the three indices indicate that the current AQI approach underestimates the severity of health risk associated with exposure to multi-pollutant air pollution. For the AQI-based risk category of 'unhealthy', 96% and 80% of the days would be 'very unhealthy' or 'hazardous' if based on AAQI and HAQI, respectively; and for the AQI-based risk category of 'very unhealthy', 67% and 75% of the days would be 'hazardous' if based on AAQI and HAQI, respectively. The results suggest that the general public, especially sensitive population groups such as children and the elderly, should take more stringent actions than those currently suggested based on the AQI approach during

  3. Algal layer ratios as indicators of air pollutant effects in Permelia sulcata

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Bennett, J.P.

    2002-01-01

    Parmelia sulcata Taylor is generally believed to be fairly pollution tolerant, and consequently it is sometimes collected in urban and/or polluted localities. The condition of these specimens, however, is not always luxuriant and healthy. This study tested the hypothesis that total thallus and algal layer thickness, and the algal layer ratio would be thinner in polluted areas, thus allowing these characters to be used a indicators of air pollutant effects. Herbarium specimens were studied from 16 different localities varying in pollution level. The thallus and algal layers and ratio were not affected by year or locality of sampling, but decreased 11, 31 and 21% respectively between low and high pollution level localities. These results agreed with earlier studies using other species, but further work is needed to clarify the effects of geography and substrate on these phenomena.

  4. Can the Air Pollution Index be used to communicate the health risks of air pollution?

    PubMed

    Li, Li; Lin, Guo-Zhen; Liu, Hua-Zhang; Guo, Yuming; Ou, Chun-Quan; Chen, Ping-Yan

    2015-10-01

    The validity of using the Air Pollution Index (API) to assess health impacts of air pollution and potential modification by individual characteristics on air pollution effects remain uncertain. We applied distributed lag non-linear models (DLNMs) to assess associations of daily API, specific pollution indices for PM10, SO2, NO2 and the weighted combined API (APIw) with mortality during 2003-2011 in Guangzhou, China. An increase of 10 in API was associated with a 0.88% (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.50, 1.27%) increase of non-accidental mortality at lag 0-2 days. Harvesting effects appeared after 2 days' exposure. The effect estimate of API over lag 0-15 days was statistically significant and similar with those of pollutant-specific indices and APIw. Stronger associations between API and mortality were observed in the elderly, females and residents with low educational attainment. In conclusion, the API can be used to communicate health risks of air pollution. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. A Novel Environmental Justice Indicator for Managing Local Air Pollution.

    PubMed

    Zhao, Jing; Gladson, Laura; Cromar, Kevin

    2018-06-14

    Environmental justice efforts in the United States seek to provide equal protection from environmental hazards, such as air pollution, to all groups, particularly among traditionally disadvantaged populations. To accomplish this objective, the U.S. EPA has previously required states to use an environmental justice screening tool as part of air quality planning decision-making. The generally utilized approach to assess potential areas of environmental justice concern relies on static comparisons of environmental and demographic information to identify areas where minority and low income populations experience elevated environmental exposures, but does not include any additional information that may inform the trade-offs that sub-populations of varying socio-demographic groups make when choosing where to reside in cities. In order to address this limitation, job accessibility (measured by a mobility index defining the number of jobs available within a set commuting time) was developed as a novel environmental justice indicator of environmental justice priority areas at the local level. This approach is modeled using real-world data in Allegheny County, PA (USA), and identifies areas with relatively high levels of outdoor air pollution and low access to jobs. While traditional tools tend to flag the poorest neighborhoods for environmental justice concerns, this new method offers a more refined analysis, targeting populations suffering from the highest environmental burden without the associated benefits of urban living.

  6. Air Pollution

    MedlinePlus

    Air pollution is a mixture of solid particles and gases in the air. Car emissions, chemicals from factories, ... Ozone, a gas, is a major part of air pollution in cities. When ozone forms air pollution, it's ...

  7. Air Pollution Forecasts: An Overview

    PubMed Central

    Bai, Lu; Wang, Jianzhou; Lu, Haiyan

    2018-01-01

    Air pollution is defined as a phenomenon harmful to the ecological system and the normal conditions of human existence and development when some substances in the atmosphere exceed a certain concentration. In the face of increasingly serious environmental pollution problems, scholars have conducted a significant quantity of related research, and in those studies, the forecasting of air pollution has been of paramount importance. As a precaution, the air pollution forecast is the basis for taking effective pollution control measures, and accurate forecasting of air pollution has become an important task. Extensive research indicates that the methods of air pollution forecasting can be broadly divided into three classical categories: statistical forecasting methods, artificial intelligence methods, and numerical forecasting methods. More recently, some hybrid models have been proposed, which can improve the forecast accuracy. To provide a clear perspective on air pollution forecasting, this study reviews the theory and application of those forecasting models. In addition, based on a comparison of different forecasting methods, the advantages and disadvantages of some methods of forecasting are also provided. This study aims to provide an overview of air pollution forecasting methods for easy access and reference by researchers, which will be helpful in further studies. PMID:29673227

  8. Air Pollution Forecasts: An Overview.

    PubMed

    Bai, Lu; Wang, Jianzhou; Ma, Xuejiao; Lu, Haiyan

    2018-04-17

    Air pollution is defined as a phenomenon harmful to the ecological system and the normal conditions of human existence and development when some substances in the atmosphere exceed a certain concentration. In the face of increasingly serious environmental pollution problems, scholars have conducted a significant quantity of related research, and in those studies, the forecasting of air pollution has been of paramount importance. As a precaution, the air pollution forecast is the basis for taking effective pollution control measures, and accurate forecasting of air pollution has become an important task. Extensive research indicates that the methods of air pollution forecasting can be broadly divided into three classical categories: statistical forecasting methods, artificial intelligence methods, and numerical forecasting methods. More recently, some hybrid models have been proposed, which can improve the forecast accuracy. To provide a clear perspective on air pollution forecasting, this study reviews the theory and application of those forecasting models. In addition, based on a comparison of different forecasting methods, the advantages and disadvantages of some methods of forecasting are also provided. This study aims to provide an overview of air pollution forecasting methods for easy access and reference by researchers, which will be helpful in further studies.

  9. Cardiovascular effects of air pollution

    PubMed Central

    Bourdrel, Thomas; Bind, Marie-Abèle; Béjot, Yannick; Morel, Olivier; Argacha, Jean-François

    2018-01-01

    Summary Air pollution is composed of particulate matter (PM) and gaseous pollutants, such as nitrogen dioxide and ozone. PM is classified according to size into coarse particles (PM10), fine particles (PM2.5) and ultrafine particles. We aim to provide an original review of the scientific evidence from epidemiological and experimental studies examining the cardiovascular effects of outdoor air pollution. Pooled epidemiological studies reported that a 10 μg/m3 increase in long-term exposure to PM2.5 was associated with an 11% increase in cardiovascular mortality. Increased cardiovascular mortality was also related to long-term and short-term exposure to nitrogen dioxide. Exposure to air pollution and road traffic was associated with an increased risk of arteriosclerosis, as shown by premature aortic and coronary calcification. Short-term increases in air pollution were associated with an increased risk of myocardial infarction, stroke and acute heart failure. The risk was increased even when pollutant concentrations were below European standards. Reinforcing the evidence from epidemiological studies, numerous experimental studies demonstrated that air pollution promotes a systemic vascular oxidative stress reaction. Radical oxygen species induce endothelial dysfunction, monocyte activation and some proatherogenic changes in lipoproteins, which initiate plaque formation. Furthermore, air pollution favours thrombus formation, because of an increase in coagulation factors and platelet activation. Experimental studies also indicate that some pollutants have more harmful cardiovascular effects, such as combustion-derived PM2.5 and ultrafine particles. Air pollution is a major contributor to cardiovascular diseases. Promotion of safer air quality appears to be a new challenge in cardiovascular disease prevention. PMID:28735838

  10. Cardiovascular effects of air pollution.

    PubMed

    Bourdrel, Thomas; Bind, Marie-Abèle; Béjot, Yannick; Morel, Olivier; Argacha, Jean-François

    2017-11-01

    Air pollution is composed of particulate matter (PM) and gaseous pollutants, such as nitrogen dioxide and ozone. PM is classified according to size into coarse particles (PM 10 ), fine particles (PM 2.5 ) and ultrafine particles. We aim to provide an original review of the scientific evidence from epidemiological and experimental studies examining the cardiovascular effects of outdoor air pollution. Pooled epidemiological studies reported that a 10μg/m 3 increase in long-term exposure to PM 2.5 was associated with an 11% increase in cardiovascular mortality. Increased cardiovascular mortality was also related to long-term and short-term exposure to nitrogen dioxide. Exposure to air pollution and road traffic was associated with an increased risk of arteriosclerosis, as shown by premature aortic and coronary calcification. Short-term increases in air pollution were associated with an increased risk of myocardial infarction, stroke and acute heart failure. The risk was increased even when pollutant concentrations were below European standards. Reinforcing the evidence from epidemiological studies, numerous experimental studies demonstrated that air pollution promotes a systemic vascular oxidative stress reaction. Radical oxygen species induce endothelial dysfunction, monocyte activation and some proatherogenic changes in lipoproteins, which initiate plaque formation. Furthermore, air pollution favours thrombus formation, because of an increase in coagulation factors and platelet activation. Experimental studies also indicate that some pollutants have more harmful cardiovascular effects, such as combustion-derived PM 2.5 and ultrafine particles. Air pollution is a major contributor to cardiovascular diseases. Promotion of safer air quality appears to be a new challenge in cardiovascular disease prevention. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  11. Air Pollution.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gilpin, Alan

    A summary of one of our most pressing environmental problems, air pollution, is offered in this book by the Director of Air Pollution Control for the Queensland (Australia) State Government. Discussion of the subject is not restricted to Queensland or Australian problems and policies, however, but includes analysis of air pollution the world over.…

  12. Managing Air Quality - Air Pollutant Types

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    Describes the types of air pollutants, including common or criteria pollutants, and hazardous air pollutants and links to additional information. Also links to resources on other air pollution issues.

  13. Air Pollution and Mortality in China.

    PubMed

    Lin, Hualiang; Wang, Xiaojie; Liu, Tao; Li, Xing; Xiao, Jianpeng; Zeng, Weilin; Ma, Wenjun

    2017-01-01

    Ambient air pollution has been an important environmental issue in most areas of China. This chapter summarized the mortality effects of short-term and long-term exposures to various air pollutants among Chinese population. The literature review identified sufficient information to support significant short-term mortality effects of various air pollutants from time series analyses and case-crossover studies, such as PM 10 , PM 2.5 , SO 2 , NO 2 , and O 3 . On the other hand, though the literature review suggested a positive effect of long-term exposure to air pollution on mortality and lung cancer risk, the evidence has been limited among Chinese population, indicating that more studies, especially cohort studies, are warranted.

  14. Air Pollution.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Fox, Donald L.

    1989-01-01

    Materials related to air pollution are reviewed for the period January 1987, to October 1988. The topics are pollution monitoring, air pollution, and environmental chemistry. The organization consists of two major analytical divisions: (1) gaseous methods; and (2) aerosol and particulate methods. (MVL)

  15. An assessment of hopanes in settled dust and air as indicators of exposure to traffic-related air pollution in Windsor, Ontario

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Curran, Jason

    Traffic-related air pollution (TRAP) has been linked with several adverse health effects. We investigated hopanes, markers of primary particle emissions from gasoline and diesel engines, in house dust as an alternative approach for assessing exposure to TRAP in Windsor, Ontario. Settled house dust was collected from the homes of 28 study participants (10 -- 13 yrs). The dust was then analyzed for a suite of hopanes by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. We calculated correlations between dust hopane concentrations and estimates of annual average NO2 concentrations derived from an existing LUR model. Hopanes were consistently present in detectable quantities in house dust. Annual average outdoor NO2 estimated was moderately correlated with hopanes in house dust (r = 0.46; p<0.05). The correlations did not vary by infiltration efficiency or the presence of an attached garage. Hopanes measured in settled house dust show promise as an indicator of long-term exposure to traffic-related air pollution. Keywords: hopane; air pollution; traffic; dust; exposure; TRAP.

  16. Toward the Next Generation of Air Quality Monitoring Indicators

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Hsu, Angel; Reuben, Aaron; Shindell, Drew; deSherbinin, Alex; Levy, Marc

    2013-01-01

    This paper introduces an initiative to bridge the state of scientific knowledge on air pollution with the needs of policymakers and stakeholders to design the "next generation" of air quality indicators. As a first step this initiative assesses current monitoring and modeling associated with a number of important pollutants with an eye toward identifying knowledge gaps and scientific needs that are a barrier to reducing air pollution impacts on human and ecosystem health across the globe. Four outdoor air pollutants were considered e particulate matter, ozone, mercury, and Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) e because of their clear adverse impacts on human and ecosystem health and because of the availability of baseline data for assessment for each. While other papers appearing in this issue will address each pollutant separately, this paper serves as a summary of the initiative and presents recommendations for needed investments to provide improved measurement, monitoring, and modeling data for policyrelevant indicators. The ultimate goal of this effort is to enable enhanced public policy responses to air pollution by linking improved data and measurement methods to decision-making through the development of indicators that can allow policymakers to better understand the impacts of air pollution and, along with source attribution based on modeling and measurements, facilitate improved policies to solve it. The development of indicators represents a crucial next step in this process.

  17. Air pollution engineering

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Maduna, Karolina; Tomašić, Vesna

    2017-11-01

    Air pollution is an environmental and a social problem which leads to a multitude of adverse effects on human health and standard of human life, state of the ecosystems and global change of climate. Air pollutants are emitted from natural, but mostly from anthropogenic sources and may be transported over long distances. Some air pollutants are extremely stable in the atmosphere and may accumulate in the environment and in the food chain, affecting human beings, animals and natural biodiversity. Obviously, air pollution is a complex problem that poses multiple challenges in terms of management and abatements of the pollutants emission. Effective approach to the problems of air pollution requires a good understanding of the sources that cause it, knowledge of air quality status and future trends as well as its impact on humans and ecosystems. This chapter deals with the complexities of the air pollution and presents an overview of different technical processes and equipment for air pollution control, as well as basic principles of their work. The problems of air protection as well as protection of other ecosystems can be solved only by the coordinated endeavors of various scientific and engineering disciplines, such as chemistry, physics, biology, medicine, chemical engineering and social sciences. The most important engineering contribution is mostly focused on development, design and operation of equipment for the abatement of harmful emissions into environment.

  18. Health effects of outdoor air pollution

    PubMed Central

    Abelsohn, Alan; Stieb, Dave M.

    2011-01-01

    Abstract Objective To inform family physicians about the health effects of air pollution and to provide an approach to counseling vulnerable patients in order to reduce exposure. Sources of information MEDLINE was searched using terms relevant to air pollution and its adverse effects. We reviewed English-language articles published from January 2008 to December 2009. Most studies provided level II evidence. Main message Outdoor air pollution causes substantial morbidity and mortality in Canada. It can affect both the respiratory system (exacerbating asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) and the cardiovascular system (triggering arrhythmias, cardiac failure, and stroke). The Air Quality Health Index (AQHI) is a new communication tool developed by Health Canada and Environment Canada that indicates the level of health risk from air pollution on a scale of 1 to 10. The AQHI is widely reported in the media, and the tool might be of use to family physicians in counseling high-risk patients (such as those with asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or cardiac failure) to reduce exposure to outdoor air pollution. Conclusion Family physicians can use the AQHI and its health messages to teach patients with asthma and other high-risk patients how to reduce health risks from air pollution. PMID:21841106

  19. Ambient Air Pollution and Biomarkers of Health Effect.

    PubMed

    Yang, Di; Yang, Xuan; Deng, Furong; Guo, Xinbiao

    2017-01-01

    Recently, the air pollution situation of our country is very serious along with the development of urbanization and industrialization. Studies indicate that the exposure of air pollution can cause a rise of incidence and mortality of many diseases, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma, myocardial infarction, and so on. However, there is now growing evidence showing that significant air pollution exposures are associated with early biomarkers in various systems of the body. In order to better prevent and control the damage effect of air pollution, this article summarizes comprehensively epidemiological studies about the bad effects on the biomarkers of respiratory system, cardiovascular system, and genetic and epigenetic system exposure to ambient air pollution.

  20. Long-term Changes in Extreme Air Pollution Meteorology and the Implications for Air Quality.

    PubMed

    Hou, Pei; Wu, Shiliang

    2016-03-31

    Extreme air pollution meteorological events, such as heat waves, temperature inversions and atmospheric stagnation episodes, can significantly affect air quality. Based on observational data, we have analyzed the long-term evolution of extreme air pollution meteorology on the global scale and their potential impacts on air quality, especially the high pollution episodes. We have identified significant increasing trends for the occurrences of extreme air pollution meteorological events in the past six decades, especially over the continental regions. Statistical analysis combining air quality data and meteorological data further indicates strong sensitivities of air quality (including both average air pollutant concentrations and high pollution episodes) to extreme meteorological events. For example, we find that in the United States the probability of severe ozone pollution when there are heat waves could be up to seven times of the average probability during summertime, while temperature inversions in wintertime could enhance the probability of severe particulate matter pollution by more than a factor of two. We have also identified significant seasonal and spatial variations in the sensitivity of air quality to extreme air pollution meteorology.

  1. Air Pollution.

    EPA Science Inventory

    Air quality is affected by many types of pollutants that are emitted from various sources, including stationary and mobile. These sources release both criteria and hazardous air pollutants, which cause health effects, ecological harm, and material damage. They are generally categ...

  2. Animals as indicators of ecosystem responses to air emissions

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Newman, James R.; Schreiber, R. Kent

    1984-01-01

    With existing and proposed air-quality regulations, ecological disasters resulting from air emissions such as those observed at Copperhill, Tennessee, and Sudbury, Ontario, are unlikely. Current air-quality standards, however, may not protect ecosystems from subacute and chronic exposure to air emissions. The encouragement of the use of coal for energy production and the development of the fossil-fuel industries, including oil shales, tar sands, and coal liquification, point to an increase and spread of fossil-fuel emissions and the potential to influence a number of natural ecosystems. This paper reviews the reported responses of ecosystems to air-borne pollutants and discusses the use of animals as indicators of ecosystem responses to these pollutants. Animal species and populations can act as important indicators of biotic and abiotic responses of aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. These responses can indicate long-term trends in ecosystem health and productivity, chemical cycling, genetics, and regulation. For short-term trends, fish and wildlife also serve as monitors of changes in community structure, signaling food-web contamination, as well as providing a measure of ecosystem vitality. Information is presented to show not only the importance of animals as indicators of ecosystem responses to air-quality degradation, but also their value as air-pollution indices, that is, as air-quality-related values (AQRV), required in current air-pollution regulation.

  3. A first-approximation urban-air-quality indicator

    Treesearch

    David M. Paproski; Julian R. Walker

    1977-01-01

    Development of the first-approximation-urban-air-quality indicator was reported by the Economic Council of Canada. The indicator takes account of ambient concentrations of five pollutants: sulfur dioxide, particulate matter, oxides of nitrogen, carbon monoxide, and total oxidants. Epidemiological evidence indicating the potential impact of these pollutants on human...

  4. Air Pollution and Stroke

    PubMed Central

    Lee, Kuan Ken; Miller, Mark R.; Shah, Anoop S. V.

    2018-01-01

    The adverse health effects of air pollution have long been recognised; however, there is less awareness that the majority of the morbidity and mortality caused by air pollution is due to its effects on the cardiovascular system. Evidence from epidemiological studies have demonstrated a strong association between air pollution and cardiovascular diseases including stroke. Although the relative risk is small at an individual level, the ubiquitous nature of exposure to air pollution means that the absolute risk at a population level is on a par with “traditional” risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Of particular concern are findings that the strength of this association is stronger in low and middle income countries where air pollution is projected to rise as a result of rapid industrialisation. The underlying biological mechanisms through which air pollutants exert their effect on the vasculature are still an area of intense discussion. A greater understanding of the effect size and mechanisms is necessary to develop effective strategies at individual and policy levels to mitigate the adverse cardiovascular effects of air pollution. PMID:29402072

  5. Air Pollution and Stroke.

    PubMed

    Lee, Kuan Ken; Miller, Mark R; Shah, Anoop S V

    2018-01-01

    The adverse health effects of air pollution have long been recognised; however, there is less awareness that the majority of the morbidity and mortality caused by air pollution is due to its effects on the cardiovascular system. Evidence from epidemiological studies have demonstrated a strong association between air pollution and cardiovascular diseases including stroke. Although the relative risk is small at an individual level, the ubiquitous nature of exposure to air pollution means that the absolute risk at a population level is on a par with "traditional" risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Of particular concern are findings that the strength of this association is stronger in low and middle income countries where air pollution is projected to rise as a result of rapid industrialisation. The underlying biological mechanisms through which air pollutants exert their effect on the vasculature are still an area of intense discussion. A greater understanding of the effect size and mechanisms is necessary to develop effective strategies at individual and policy levels to mitigate the adverse cardiovascular effects of air pollution.

  6. Globalizing Air Pollution

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lin, J.

    2017-12-01

    Recent studies have revealed the issue of globalizing air pollution through complex coupling of atmospheric transport (physical route) and economic trade (socioeconomic route). Recognition of such globalizing air pollution has important implications for understanding the impacts of regional and global consumption (of goods and services) on air quality, public health, climate and the ecosystems. And addressing these questions often requires improved modeling, measurements and economic-emission statistics. This talk will introduce the concept and mechanism of globalizing air pollution, with following demonstrations based on recent works on modeling, satellite measurement and multi-disciplinary assessment.

  7. Acute effect of ambient air pollution on stroke mortality in the China air pollution and health effects study.

    PubMed

    Chen, Renjie; Zhang, Yuhao; Yang, Chunxue; Zhao, Zhuohui; Xu, Xiaohui; Kan, Haidong

    2013-04-01

    There have been no multicity studies on the acute effects of air pollution on stroke mortality in China. This study was undertaken to examine the associations between daily stroke mortality and outdoor air pollution (particulate matter <10 μm in aerodynamic diameter, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen dioxide) in 8 Chinese cities. We used Poisson regression models with natural spline-smoothing functions to adjust for long-term and seasonal trends, as well as other time-varying covariates. We applied 2-stage Bayesian hierarchical statistical models to estimate city-specific and national average associations of air pollution with daily stroke mortality. Air pollution was associated with daily stroke mortality in 8 Chinese cities. In the combined analysis, an increase of 10 μg/m(3) of 2-day moving average concentrations of particulate matter <10 μm in aerodynamic diameter, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen dioxide corresponded to 0.54% (95% posterior intervals, 0.28-0.81), 0.88% (95% posterior intervals, 0.54-1.22), and 1.47% (95% posterior intervals, 0.88-2.06) increase of stroke mortality, respectively. The concentration-response curves indicated linear nonthreshold associations between air pollution and risk of stroke mortality. To our knowledge, this is the first multicity study in China, or even in other developing countries, to report the acute effect of air pollution on stroke mortality. Our results contribute to very limited data on the effect of air pollution on stroke for high-exposure settings typical in developing countries.

  8. A new air quality monitoring and early warning system: Air quality assessment and air pollutant concentration prediction.

    PubMed

    Yang, Zhongshan; Wang, Jian

    2017-10-01

    Air pollution in many countries is worsening with industrialization and urbanization, resulting in climate change and affecting people's health, thus, making the work of policymakers more difficult. It is therefore both urgent and necessary to establish amore scientific air quality monitoring and early warning system to evaluate the degree of air pollution objectively, and predict pollutant concentrations accurately. However, the integration of air quality assessment and air pollutant concentration prediction to establish an air quality system is not common. In this paper, we propose a new air quality monitoring and early warning system, including an assessment module and forecasting module. In the air quality assessment module, fuzzy comprehensive evaluation is used to determine the main pollutants and evaluate the degree of air pollution more scientifically. In the air pollutant concentration prediction module, a novel hybridization model combining complementary ensemble empirical mode decomposition, a modified cuckoo search and differential evolution algorithm, and an Elman neural network, is proposed to improve the forecasting accuracy of six main air pollutant concentrations. To verify the effectiveness of this system, pollutant data for two cities in China are used. The result of the fuzzy comprehensive evaluation shows that the major air pollutants in Xi'an and Jinan are PM 10 and PM 2.5 respectively, and that the air quality of Xi'an is better than that of Jinan. The forecasting results indicate that the proposed hybrid model is remarkably superior to all benchmark models on account of its higher prediction accuracy and stability. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  9. Asthma morbidity and ambient air pollution: effect modification by residential traffic-related air pollution.

    PubMed

    Delfino, Ralph J; Wu, Jun; Tjoa, Thomas; Gullesserian, Sevan K; Nickerson, Bruce; Gillen, Daniel L

    2014-01-01

    Ambient air pollution has been associated with asthma-related hospital admissions and emergency department visits (hospital encounters). We hypothesized that higher individual exposure to residential traffic-related air pollutants would enhance these associations. We studied 11,390 asthma-related hospital encounters among 7492 subjects 0-18 years of age living in Orange County, California. Ambient exposures were measured at regional air monitoring stations. Seasonal average traffic-related exposures (PM2.5, ultrafine particles, NOx, and CO) were estimated near subjects' geocoded residences for 6-month warm and cool seasonal periods, using dispersion models based on local traffic within 500 m radii. Associations were tested in case-crossover conditional logistic regression models adjusted for temperature and humidity. We assessed effect modification by seasonal residential traffic-related air pollution exposures above and below median dispersion-modeled exposures. Secondary analyses considered effect modification by traffic exposures within race/ethnicity and insurance group strata. Asthma morbidity was positively associated with daily ambient O3 and PM2.5 in warm seasons and with CO, NOx, and PM2.5 in cool seasons. Associations with CO, NOx, and PM2.5 were stronger among subjects living at residences with above-median traffic-related exposures, especially in cool seasons. Secondary analyses showed no consistent differences in association, and 95% confidence intervals were wide, indicating a lack of precision for estimating these highly stratified associations. Associations of asthma with ambient air pollution were enhanced among subjects living in homes with high traffic-related air pollution. This may be because of increased susceptibility (greater asthma severity) or increased vulnerability (meteorologic amplification of local vs. correlated ambient exposures).

  10. APEX (Air Pollution Exercise) Volume 21: Legal References: Air Pollution Control Regulations.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC. Office of Manpower Development.

    The Legal References: Air Pollution Control Regulations Manual is the last in a set of 21 manuals (AA 001 009-001 029) used in APEX (Air Pollution Exercise), a computerized college and professional level "real world" game simulation of a community with urban and rural problems, industrial activities, and air pollution difficulties. The manual…

  11. Air Quality in Lanzhou, a Major Industrial City in China: Characteristics of Air Pollution and Review of Existing Evidence from Air Pollution and Health Studies.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Yaqun; Li, Min; Bravo, Mercedes A; Jin, Lan; Nori-Sarma, Amruta; Xu, Yanwen; Guan, Donghong; Wang, Chengyuan; Chen, Mingxia; Wang, Xiao; Tao, Wei; Qiu, Weitao; Zhang, Yawei; Bell, Michelle L

    2014-10-01

    Air pollution contributes substantially to global health burdens; however, less is known about pollution patterns in China and whether they differ from those elsewhere. We evaluated temporal and spatial heterogeneity of air pollution in Lanzhou, an urban Chinese city (April 2009-December 2012), and conducted a systematic review of literature on air pollution and health in Lanzhou. Average levels were 141.5, 42.3, and 47.2 µg/m 3 for particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter ≤10 µm (PM 10 ), NO 2 , and SO 2 , respectively. Findings suggest some seasonality, particularly for SO 2 , with higher concentrations during colder months relative to warmer months, although a longer time frame of data is needed to evaluate seasonality fully. Correlation coefficients generally declined with distance between monitors, while coefficients of divergence increased with distance. However, these trends were not statistically significant. PM 10 levels exceeded Chinese and other health-based standards and guidelines. The review identified 13 studies on outdoor air pollution and health. Although limited, the studies indicate that air pollution is associated with increased risk of health outcomes in Lanzhou. These studies and the high air pollution levels suggest potentially serious health consequences. Findings can provide guidance to future epidemiological studies, monitor placement programs, and air quality policies.

  12. Air Quality in Lanzhou, a Major Industrial City in China: Characteristics of Air Pollution and Review of Existing Evidence from Air Pollution and Health Studies

    PubMed Central

    Zhang, Yaqun; Li, Min; Bravo, Mercedes A.; Jin, Lan; Nori-Sarma, Amruta; Xu, Yanwen; Guan, Donghong; Wang, Chengyuan; Chen, Mingxia; Wang, Xiao; Tao, Wei; Qiu, Weitao; Zhang, Yawei

    2015-01-01

    Air pollution contributes substantially to global health burdens; however, less is known about pollution patterns in China and whether they differ from those elsewhere. We evaluated temporal and spatial heterogeneity of air pollution in Lanzhou, an urban Chinese city (April 2009–December 2012), and conducted a systematic review of literature on air pollution and health in Lanzhou. Average levels were 141.5, 42.3, and 47.2 µg/m3 for particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter ≤10 µm (PM10), NO2, and SO2, respectively. Findings suggest some seasonality, particularly for SO2, with higher concentrations during colder months relative to warmer months, although a longer time frame of data is needed to evaluate seasonality fully. Correlation coefficients generally declined with distance between monitors, while coefficients of divergence increased with distance. However, these trends were not statistically significant. PM10 levels exceeded Chinese and other health-based standards and guidelines. The review identified 13 studies on outdoor air pollution and health. Although limited, the studies indicate that air pollution is associated with increased risk of health outcomes in Lanzhou. These studies and the high air pollution levels suggest potentially serious health consequences. Findings can provide guidance to future epidemiological studies, monitor placement programs, and air quality policies. PMID:25838615

  13. Meta-Analysis on Near-Road Air Pollutants Concentrations for Developing Traffic Indicators for Exposure Assessment

    EPA Science Inventory

    Near-road air pollution has been associated with various health risks in human populations living near roadways. To better understand relationship between vehicle emissions and spatial profiles of traffic-related air pollutants we performed a comprehensive and systematic literat...

  14. Influence of Social-economic Activities on Air Pollutants in Beijing, China

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, Xiaolu; Zheng, Wenfeng; Yin, Lirong; Yin, Zhengtong; Song, Lihong; Tian, Xia

    2017-08-01

    With the rapid economic development, the serious air pollution in Beijing attracts increasing attention in the last decade. Seen as one whole complex and grey system, the causal relationship between the social development and the air pollution in Beijing has been quantitatively analyzed in this paper. By using the grey relational model, the aim of this study is to explore how the socio-economic and human activities affect on the air pollution in the city of Beijing, China. Four air pollutants, as the particulate matter with size 2.5 micrometers or less (PM2.5), particulate matter with size 10 micrometers or less (PM10), sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen dioxide (NOx), are selected as the indicators of air pollution. Additionally, fifteen socio-economic indicators are selected to account for the regional socio-economic characteristics (economy variables, energy consumption variables, pollution emissions variables, environment and construction activity variables). The results highlight that all variables are associated with the concentrations of the four selected air pollutants, but with notable differences between the air pollutants. Most of the socio-economic indicators, such as industrial output, total energy consumption are highly correlated with PM2.5, while PM10, SO2, and NOx present in general moderate correlations with most of the socio-economic variables. Contrary to other studies and reports this study reveals that vehicles and life energy do not have the strongest effect on air pollution in Beijing. This study provides useful information to reduce air pollution and support decision-making for sustainable development.

  15. Discriminatory Air Pollution

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    McCaull, Julian

    1976-01-01

    Described are the patterns of air pollution in certain large urban areas. Persons in poverty, in occupations below the management or professional level, in low-rent districts, and in black population are most heavily exposed to air pollution. Pollution paradoxically is largely produced by high energy consuming middle-and upper-class households.…

  16. A novel air pollution index based on the relative risk of daily mortality associated with short-term exposure to common air pollutants

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cairncross, Eugene K.; John, Juanette; Zunckel, Mark

    Communication of the complex relationship between air pollutant exposure and ill health is essential to an air pollution information system. We propose a novel air pollution index (API) system based on the relative risk of the well-established increased daily mortality associated with short-term exposure to common air pollutants: particulate matter (PM 10, PM 2.5), sulphur dioxide, ozone, nitrogen dioxide and carbon monoxide. To construct our index system, the total incremental daily mortality risk of exposure to these pollutants was associated with an index value ranging from 0 to 10. The index scale is linear with respect to incremental risk. The index is open ended, although, for convenience, an index of 10 is assigned for exposures yielding indices ⩾10. To illustrate the application of this API system, a set of published relative risk factors are used to calculate sub-index values for each pollutant, in the range of air pollutant concentrations commonly experienced in urban areas. To account for the reality of ubiquitous simultaneous exposure to a mixture of the common air pollutants, the final API is the sum of the normalised values of the individual indices for PM 10, PM 2.5, sulphur dioxide, ozone, nitrogen dioxide and carbon monoxide. This establishes a self-consistent index system where a given index value corresponds to the same daily mortality risk associated with the combined exposure to the common air pollutants. To facilitate health-risk communication, index values are colour coded and associated with broad health-risk descriptors. The utility of the proposed API is illustrated by applying it to monitored ambient concentration data for the City of Cape Town, South Africa.

  17. Review of air pollution and health impacts in Malaysia.

    PubMed

    Afroz, Rafia; Hassan, Mohd Nasir; Ibrahim, Noor Akma

    2003-06-01

    In the early days of abundant resources and minimal development pressures, little attention was paid to growing environmental concerns in Malaysia. The haze episodes in Southeast Asia in 1983, 1984, 1991, 1994, and 1997 imposed threats to the environmental management of Malaysia and increased awareness of the environment. As a consequence, the government established Malaysian Air Quality Guidelines, the Air Pollution Index, and the Haze Action Plan to improve air quality. Air quality monitoring is part of the initial strategy in the pollution prevention program in Malaysia. Review of air pollution in Malaysia is based on the reports of the air quality monitoring in several large cities in Malaysia, which cover air pollutants such as Carbon monoxide (CO), Sulphur Dioxide (SO2), Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2), Ozone (O3), and Suspended Particulate Matter (SPM). The results of the monitoring indicate that Suspended Particulate Matter (SPM) and Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) are the predominant pollutants. Other pollutants such as CO, O(x), SO2, and Pb are also observed in several big cities in Malaysia. The air pollution comes mainly from land transportation, industrial emissions, and open burning sources. Among them, land transportation contributes the most to air pollution. This paper reviews the results of the ambient air quality monitoring and studies related to air pollution and health impacts.

  18. Air Pollution Training Programs.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Public Health Service (DHEW), Rockville, MD.

    This catalog lists the universities, both supported and not supported by the Division of Air Pollution, which offer graduate programs in the field of air pollution. The catalog briefly describes the programs and their entrance requirements, the requirements, qualifications and terms of special fellowships offered by the Division of Air Pollution.…

  19. Summary of air pollution impacts on forests in the Mexico City air basin

    Treesearch

    Mark E. Fenn; L.I. de Bauer; Tomás Hernández-Tejeda

    2002-01-01

    Oxidant air pollution symptoms were first reported in bioindicator plants in the Mexico City Air Basin (MCAB) in 1971 (de Bauer 1972). Classic injury symptoms on well-known bioindicator plants strongly supported the presumption that symptoms were caused by photochemical oxidants, of which ozone (O3) is the primary pollutant. Symptoms in indicator...

  20. Urban air pollution in megacities of the world

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mage, David; Ozolins, Guntis; Peterson, Peter; Webster, Anthony; Orthofer, Rudi; Vandeweerd, Veerle; Gwynne, Michael

    Urban air pollution is a major environmental problem in the developing countries of the world. WHO and UNEP created an air pollution monitoring network as part of the Global Environment Monitoring System. This network now covers over 50 cities in 35 developing and developed countries throughout the world. The analyses of the data reported by the network over the past 15-20 yr indicate that the lessons of the prior experiences in the developed countries (U.S.A., U.K.) have not been learned. A study of air pollution in 20 of the 24 megacities of the world (over 10 million people by year 2000) shows that ambient air pollution concentrations are at levels where serious health effects are reported. The expected rise of population in the next century, mainly in the developing countries with a lack of capital for air pollution control, means that there is a great potential that conditions will worsen in many more cities that will reach megacity status. This paper maps the potential for air pollution that cities will experience in the future unless control strategies are developed and implemented during the next several decades.

  1. Spatiotemporal Variations and Driving Factors of Air Pollution in China.

    PubMed

    Zhan, Dongsheng; Kwan, Mei-Po; Zhang, Wenzhong; Wang, Shaojian; Yu, Jianhui

    2017-12-08

    In recent years, severe and persistent air pollution episodes in China have drawn wide public concern. Based on ground monitoring air quality data collected in 2015 in Chinese cities above the prefectural level, this study identifies the spatiotemporal variations of air pollution and its associated driving factors in China using descriptive statistics and geographical detector methods. The results show that the average air pollution ratio and continuous air pollution ratio across Chinese cities in 2015 were 23.1 ± 16.9% and 16.2 ± 14.8%. The highest levels of air pollution ratio and continuous air pollution ratio were observed in northern China, especially in the Bohai Rim region and Xinjiang province, and the lowest levels were found in southern China. The average and maximum levels of continuous air pollution show distinct spatial variations when compared with those of the continuous air pollution ratio. Monthly changes in both air pollution ratio and continuous air pollution ratio have a U-shaped variation, indicating that the highest levels of air pollution occurred in winter and the lowest levels happened in summer. The results of the geographical detector model further reveal that the effect intensity of natural factors on the spatial disparity of the air pollution ratio is greater than that of human-related factors. Specifically, among natural factors, the annual average temperature, land relief, and relative humidity have the greatest and most significant negative effects on the air pollution ratio, whereas human factors such as population density, the number of vehicles, and Gross Domestic Product (GDP) witness the strongest and most significant positive effects on air pollution ratio.

  2. Spatiotemporal Variations and Driving Factors of Air Pollution in China

    PubMed Central

    Zhan, Dongsheng; Zhang, Wenzhong; Wang, Shaojian; Yu, Jianhui

    2017-01-01

    In recent years, severe and persistent air pollution episodes in China have drawn wide public concern. Based on ground monitoring air quality data collected in 2015 in Chinese cities above the prefectural level, this study identifies the spatiotemporal variations of air pollution and its associated driving factors in China using descriptive statistics and geographical detector methods. The results show that the average air pollution ratio and continuous air pollution ratio across Chinese cities in 2015 were 23.1 ± 16.9% and 16.2 ± 14.8%. The highest levels of air pollution ratio and continuous air pollution ratio were observed in northern China, especially in the Bohai Rim region and Xinjiang province, and the lowest levels were found in southern China. The average and maximum levels of continuous air pollution show distinct spatial variations when compared with those of the continuous air pollution ratio. Monthly changes in both air pollution ratio and continuous air pollution ratio have a U-shaped variation, indicating that the highest levels of air pollution occurred in winter and the lowest levels happened in summer. The results of the geographical detector model further reveal that the effect intensity of natural factors on the spatial disparity of the air pollution ratio is greater than that of human-related factors. Specifically, among natural factors, the annual average temperature, land relief, and relative humidity have the greatest and most significant negative effects on the air pollution ratio, whereas human factors such as population density, the number of vehicles, and Gross Domestic Product (GDP) witness the strongest and most significant positive effects on air pollution ratio. PMID:29292783

  3. A novel method to construct an air quality index based on air pollution profiles.

    PubMed

    Thach, Thuan-Quoc; Tsang, Hilda; Cao, Peihua; Ho, Lai-Ming

    2018-01-01

    Air quality indices based on the maximum of sub-indices of pollutants are easy to produce and help quantify the degree of air pollution. However, they discount the additive effects of multiple pollutants and are only sensitive to changes in highest sub-index. We propose a simple and concise method to construct an air quality index that takes into account additive effects of multiple pollutants and evaluate the extent to which this index predicts health effects. We obtained concentrations of four criteria pollutants: particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter ≤ 10μm (PM 10 ), sulphur dioxide (SO 2 ), nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ) and ozone (O 3 ) and daily admissions to Hong Kong hospitals for cardiovascular and respiratory diseases for all ages and those 65 years or older for years 2001-2012. We derived sub-indices of the four criteria pollutants, calculated by normalizing pollutant concentrations to their respective short-term WHO Air Quality Guidelines (WHO AQG). We aggregated the sub-indices using the root-mean-power function with an optimal power to form an overall air quality index. The optimal power was determined by minimizing the sum of over- and under-estimated days. We then assessed associations between the pollution bands of the index and cardiovascular and respiratory admissions using a time-stratified case-crossover design adjusted for ambient temperature, relative humidity and influenza epidemics. Further, we conducted case-crossover analyses using the Hong Kong air quality data with the respective standards and classification of pollution bands of the China Air Quality Index (AQI), the United Kingdom Daily AQI (DAQI), and the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) AQI. The mean concentrations of PM 10 and SO 2 based on maximum 3-h mean exceeded the WHO AQG by 37% and 50%, respectively. We identified the combined condition of observed high-pollution days as either at least one pollutant > 1.5×WHO AQG or at least two pollutants > 1.0

  4. Respiratory health effects of air pollution: update on biomass smoke and traffic pollution.

    PubMed

    Laumbach, Robert J; Kipen, Howard M

    2012-01-01

    Mounting evidence suggests that air pollution contributes to the large global burden of respiratory and allergic diseases, including asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, pneumonia, and possibly tuberculosis. Although associations between air pollution and respiratory disease are complex, recent epidemiologic studies have led to an increased recognition of the emerging importance of traffic-related air pollution in both developed and less-developed countries, as well as the continued importance of emissions from domestic fires burning biomass fuels, primarily in the less-developed world. Emissions from these sources lead to personal exposures to complex mixtures of air pollutants that change rapidly in space and time because of varying emission rates, distances from source, ventilation rates, and other factors. Although the high degree of variability in personal exposure to pollutants from these sources remains a challenge, newer methods for measuring and modeling these exposures are beginning to unravel complex associations with asthma and other respiratory tract diseases. These studies indicate that air pollution from these sources is a major preventable cause of increased incidence and exacerbation of respiratory disease. Physicians can help to reduce the risk of adverse respiratory effects of exposure to biomass and traffic air pollutants by promoting awareness and supporting individual and community-level interventions. Copyright © 2012 American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. Published by Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

  5. Pupils' Understanding of Air Pollution

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dimitriou, Anastasia; Christidou, Vasilia

    2007-01-01

    This paper reports on a study of pupils' knowledge and understanding of atmospheric pollution. Specifically, the study is aimed at identifying: 1) the extent to which pupils conceptualise the term "air pollution" in a scientifically appropriate way; 2) pupils' knowledge of air pollution sources and air pollutants; and 3) pupils'…

  6. Fluctuations in air pollution give risk warning signals of asthma hospitalization

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hsieh, Nan-Hung; Liao, Chung-Min

    2013-08-01

    Recent studies have implicated that air pollution has been associated with asthma exacerbations. However, the key link between specific air pollutant and the consequent impact on asthma has not been shown. The purpose of this study was to quantify the fluctuations in air pollution time-series dynamics to correlate the relationships between statistical indicators and age-specific asthma hospital admissions. An indicators-based regression model was developed to predict the time-trend of asthma hospital admissions in Taiwan in the period 1998-2010. Five major pollutants such as particulate matters with aerodynamic diameter less than 10 μm (PM10), ozone (O3), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), sulfur dioxide (SO2), and carbon monoxide (CO) were included. We used Spearman's rank correlation to detect the relationships between time-series based statistical indicators of standard deviation, coefficient of variation, skewness, and kurtosis and monthly asthma hospitalization. We further used the indicators-guided Poisson regression model to test and predict the impact of target air pollutants on asthma incidence. Here we showed that standard deviation of PM10 data was the most correlated indicators for asthma hospitalization for all age groups, particularly for elderly. The skewness of O3 data gives the highest correlation to adult asthmatics. The proposed regression model shows a better predictability in annual asthma hospitalization trends for pediatrics. Our results suggest that a set of statistical indicators inferred from time-series information of major air pollutants can provide advance risk warning signals in complex air pollution-asthma systems and aid in asthma management that depends heavily on monitoring the dynamics of asthma incidence and environmental stimuli.

  7. Air pollution exposure prediction approaches used in air pollution epidemiology studies.

    PubMed

    Özkaynak, Halûk; Baxter, Lisa K; Dionisio, Kathie L; Burke, Janet

    2013-01-01

    Epidemiological studies of the health effects of outdoor air pollution have traditionally relied upon surrogates of personal exposures, most commonly ambient concentration measurements from central-site monitors. However, this approach may introduce exposure prediction errors and misclassification of exposures for pollutants that are spatially heterogeneous, such as those associated with traffic emissions (e.g., carbon monoxide, elemental carbon, nitrogen oxides, and particulate matter). We review alternative air quality and human exposure metrics applied in recent air pollution health effect studies discussed during the International Society of Exposure Science 2011 conference in Baltimore, MD. Symposium presenters considered various alternative exposure metrics, including: central site or interpolated monitoring data, regional pollution levels predicted using the national scale Community Multiscale Air Quality model or from measurements combined with local-scale (AERMOD) air quality models, hybrid models that include satellite data, statistically blended modeling and measurement data, concentrations adjusted by home infiltration rates, and population-based human exposure model (Stochastic Human Exposure and Dose Simulation, and Air Pollutants Exposure models) predictions. These alternative exposure metrics were applied in epidemiological applications to health outcomes, including daily mortality and respiratory hospital admissions, daily hospital emergency department visits, daily myocardial infarctions, and daily adverse birth outcomes. This paper summarizes the research projects presented during the symposium, with full details of the work presented in individual papers in this journal issue.

  8. Air pollution impacts on forests in changing climate

    Treesearch

    M. Lorenz; N. Clarke; E. Paoletti; A. Bytnerowicz; N. Grulke; N. Lukina; H. Sase; J. Staelens

    2010-01-01

    Growing awareness of air pollution effects on forests has, from the early 1980s on, led to intensive forest damage research and monitoring. This has fostered air pollution control, especially in Europe and North America, and to a smaller extent also in other parts of the world. At several forest sites in these regions, there are first indications of a recovery of...

  9. Acute Health Impact of Air Pollution in China

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Feng, T.; Zhao, Y.; Zheng, M.

    2014-12-01

    Air pollution not only has long term health impact, but can affect health through acute exposure. This paper, using air pollution index (API) as overall evaluation of air quality, blood pressure and vital capacity as health outcomes, focuses on the acute health impact of air pollution in China. Current result suggests that after controlling smoking history, occupational exposure, income and education, API is positively associated with blood pressure and negatively associated with vital capacity. The associations became stronger for people with hypertension or pulmonary functional diseases, which indicates that these people are more sensitive to air pollution. Among three pollutants which API measures, that is inhalable particles (PM10), sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2), PM10 is most statistically associated with blood pressure increase and vital capacity decrease. Further study will focusing on the following two questions. The first question is how various time lags affect the associations among API, blood pressure and vital capacity. The second question is how differently people in various cohorts reacts to acute exposure to air pollution. The differences in reactions of blood pressure and vital capacity between people in urban and rural areas, genders, various age cohorts, distinct income and education groups will be further studied.

  10. Air pollution as a risk factor in lung cancer

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Vena, J.E.

    Retrospective data on residential and employment history and on smoking were obtained from 417 white male lung cancer patients and 752 controls with nonrespiratory, nonneoplastic diseases, from Erie County, New York, admitted to Roswell Park Memorial Institute from 1957-1965. Total suspended particulate data and a historical review of problem point sources of pollution were used to delineate air pollution zones. The findings did not support the hypothesis that air pollution alone significantly increased risk for lung cancer. However, there was increased risk from smoking and occupational exposures if there was also long-term exposure to air pollution. The risk for heavymore » smokers with heavy exposure to air pollution was over four times that of men with none of the high exposure traits. The findings suggest an apparent synergistic mechanism involving smoking and air pollution and smoking and occupational exposures. The findings are consistent with previous epidemiologic studies and with biologic and experimental evidence. The limitations of the methods used here necessitate further study and replication. However, the study indicates that air pollution should not be dismissed as a risk factor in lung cancer.« less

  11. Indicator providing continuous indication of the presence of a specific pollutant in air

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Miller, C. G.; Bartera, R. E. (Inventor)

    1976-01-01

    A continuous HCl in-air indicator was developed which consists of a tube-like element with an inlet end through which a continuous stream of air containing HCl enters. The air flows downstream from the inlet end and exits the element's outlet end. Positioned between the element's inlet and outlet ends are first and second spaced apart photoelectric units, which are preferably positioned adjacent the inlet and outlet ends, respectively. Ammonia gas is injected into the air, flowing through the element, at a position between the two photoelectric units. The ammonia gas reacts with the HCl in the air to form ammonium chloride particles. The difference between the outputs of the two photoelectric units is an indication of the amount of HCl in the air stream.

  12. PUBLICATIONS (AIR POLLUTION TECHNOLOGY BRANCH, AIR POLLUTION PREVENTION AND CONTROL DIVISION, NRMRL)

    EPA Science Inventory

    The Air Pollution Technology Branch (APTB) of NRMRL's Air Pollution Prevention and Control Division produces and publishes highly specialized technical and scientific documents related to APTB's research. Areas of research covered include artificial intelligence, CFC destruction,...

  13. Urban air pollution and solar energy

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Gammon, R. B.; Huning, J. R.; Reid, M. S.; Smith, J. H.

    1981-01-01

    The design and performance of solar energy systems for many potential applications (industrial/residential heat, electricity generation by solar concentration and photovoltaics) will be critically affected by local insolation conditions. The effects of urban air pollution are considered and reviewed. A study of insolation data for Alhambra, California (9 km south of Pasadena) shows that, during a recent second-stage photochemical smog alert (greater than or equal to 0.35 ppm ozone), the direct-beam insolation at solar noon was reduced by 40%, and the total global by 15%, from clean air values. Similar effects have been observed in Pasadena, and are attributable primarily to air pollution. Effects due to advecting smog have been detected 200 km away, in the Mojave Desert. Preliminary performance and economic simulations of solar thermal and photovoltaic power systems indicate increasing nonlinear sensitivity of life cycle plant cost to reductions in insolation levels due to pollution.

  14. Outdoor air pollution and asthma

    PubMed Central

    Guarnieri, Michael; Balmes, John R.

    2015-01-01

    Traffic and power generation are the main sources of urban air pollution. The idea that outdoor air pollution can cause exacerbations of pre-existing asthma is supported by an evidence base that has been accumulating for several decades, with several studies suggesting a contribution to new-onset asthma as well. In this Series paper, we discuss the effects of particulate matter (PM), gaseous pollutants (ozone, nitrogen dioxide, and sulphur dioxide), and mixed traffic-related air pollution. We focus on clinical studies, both epidemiological and experimental, published in the previous 5 years. From a mechanistic perspective, air pollutants probably cause oxidative injury to the airways, leading to inflammation, remodelling, and increased risk of sensitisation. Although several pollutants have been linked to new-onset asthma, the strength of the evidence is variable. We also discuss clinical implications, policy issues, and research gaps relevant to air pollution and asthma. PMID:24792855

  15. Climate change and air pollution jointly creating nightmare for tourism industry.

    PubMed

    Sajjad, Faiza; Noreen, Umara; Zaman, Khalid

    2014-11-01

    The objective of the study is to examine the long-run and causal relationship between climate change (i.e., greenhouse gas emissions, hydrofluorocarbons, per fluorocarbons, and sulfur hexafluoride), air pollution (i.e., methane emissions, nitrous oxide emissions, and carbon dioxide emissions), and tourism development indicators (i.e., international tourism receipts, international tourism expenditures, natural resource depletion, and net forest depletion) in the World's largest regions. The aggregate data is used for robust analysis in the South Asia, the Middle East and North Africa, sub-Saharan Africa, and East Asia and the Pacific regions, over a period of 1975-2012. The results show that climatic factors and air pollution have a negative impact on tourism indicators in the form of deforestation and natural resource depletion. The impact is evident, as we have seen the systematic eroding of tourism industry, due to severe changes in climate and increasing strain of air pollution. There are several channels of cause-effect relationship between the climatic factors, air pollution, and tourism indicators in the World's region. The study confirms the unidirectional, bidirectional, and causality independent relationship between climatic factors, air pollution, and tourism indicators in the World. It is conclusive that tourism industry is facing all time bigger challenges of reduce investment, less resources, and minor importance from the government agencies because of the two broad challenges, i.e., climate change and air pollution, putting them in a dismal state.

  16. An online air pollution forecasting system using neural networks.

    PubMed

    Kurt, Atakan; Gulbagci, Betul; Karaca, Ferhat; Alagha, Omar

    2008-07-01

    In this work, an online air pollution forecasting system for Greater Istanbul Area is developed. The system predicts three air pollution indicator (SO(2), PM(10) and CO) levels for the next three days (+1, +2, and +3 days) using neural networks. AirPolTool, a user-friendly website (http://airpol.fatih.edu.tr), publishes +1, +2, and +3 days predictions of air pollutants updated twice a day. Experiments presented in this paper show that quite accurate predictions of air pollutant indicator levels are possible with a simple neural network. It is shown that further optimizations of the model can be achieved using different input parameters and different experimental setups. Firstly, +1, +2, and +3 days' pollution levels are predicted independently using same training data, then +2 and +3 days are predicted cumulatively using previously days predicted values. Better prediction results are obtained in the cumulative method. Secondly, the size of training data base used in the model is optimized. The best modeling performance with minimum error rate is achieved using 3-15 past days in the training data set. Finally, the effect of the day of week as an input parameter is investigated. Better forecasts with higher accuracy are observed using the day of week as an input parameter.

  17. Impacts of the Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution on air quality in Europe.

    PubMed

    Bull, Keith; Johansson, Matti; Krzyzanowski, Michal

    2008-01-01

    The Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution has been one of the main ways of protecting the environment in Europe from air pollution. This convention has successfully bridged different political systems even through times of political change, and is a prime example of what can be achieved through intergovernmental cooperation. Through creating an effective framework for controlling and reducing the damage to human health and the environment from transboundary air pollution, this convention has proved successful. This article considers the development of the convention and its work on adverse air pollution effects, in particular on activities related to quantifying effects on human health as carried out by the convention's joint (with WHO) Task Force on the Health Effects of Air Pollution (Task Force on Health), and concludes with some indications of the convention's future priorities.

  18. Air pollution: impact and prevention.

    PubMed

    Sierra-Vargas, Martha Patricia; Teran, Luis M

    2012-10-01

    Air pollution is becoming a major health problem that affects millions of people worldwide. In support of this observation, the World Health Organization estimates that every year, 2.4 million people die because of the effects of air pollution on health. Mitigation strategies such as changes in diesel engine technology could result in fewer premature mortalities, as suggested by the US Environmental Protection Agency. This review: (i) discusses the impact of air pollution on respiratory disease; (ii) provides evidence that reducing air pollution may have a positive impact on the prevention of disease; and (iii) demonstrates the impact concerted polices may have on population health when governments take actions to reduce air pollution. © 2012 The Authors. Respirology © 2012 Asian Pacific Society of Respirology.

  19. Evaluating Multipollutant Exposure and Urban Air Quality: Pollutant Interrelationships, Neighborhood Variability, and Nitrogen Dioxide as a Proxy Pollutant

    PubMed Central

    Levy, Ilan; Mihele, Cristian; Lu, Gang; Narayan, Julie; Brook, Jeffrey R.

    2013-01-01

    Background: Although urban air pollution is a complex mix containing multiple constituents, studies of the health effects of long-term exposure often focus on a single pollutant as a proxy for the entire mixture. A better understanding of the component pollutant concentrations and interrelationships would be useful in epidemiological studies that exploit spatial differences in exposure by clarifying the extent to which measures of individual pollutants, particularly nitrogen dioxide (NO2), represent spatial patterns in the multipollutant mixture. Objectives: We examined air pollutant concentrations and interrelationships at the intraurban scale to obtain insight into the nature of the urban mixture of air pollutants. Methods: Mobile measurements of 23 air pollutants were taken systematically at high resolution in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, over 34 days in the winter, summer, and autumn of 2009. Results: We observed variability in pollution levels and in the statistical correlations between different pollutants according to season and neighborhood. Nitrogen oxide species (nitric oxide, NO2, nitrogen oxides, and total oxidized nitrogen species) had the highest overall spatial correlations with the suite of pollutants measured. Ultrafine particles and hydrocarbon-like organic aerosol concentration, a derived measure used as a specific indicator of traffic particles, also had very high correlations. Conclusions: Our findings indicate that the multipollutant mix varies considerably throughout the city, both in time and in space, and thus, no single pollutant would be a perfect proxy measure for the entire mix under all circumstances. However, based on overall average spatial correlations with the suite of pollutants measured, nitrogen oxide species appeared to be the best available indicators of spatial variation in exposure to the outdoor urban air pollutant mixture. Citation: Levy I, Mihele C, Lu G, Narayan J, Brook JR. 2014. Evaluating multipollutant exposure and

  20. Childhood leukemia and traffic air pollution in Taiwan: petrol station density as an indicator.

    PubMed

    Weng, Hsu-Huei; Tsai, Shang-Shyue; Chiu, Hui-Fen; Wu, Trong-Neng; Yang, Chun-Yuh

    2009-01-01

    To investigate the relationship between traffic air pollution exposure and development of childhood leukemia (14 yr of age or younger), a matched case-control study was conducted using childhood deaths that occurred in Taiwan from 1996 through 2006. Data on all eligible childhood leukemia deaths were obtained from the Bureau of Vital Statistics of the Taiwan Provincial Department of Health. The control group consisted of children who died from causes other than neoplasms or diseases that were not associated with respiratory complications. The controls were pair matched to the cancer cases by gender, year of birth, and year of death. Each matched control was selected randomly from the set of possible controls for each case. Data on the number of petrol stations in study municipalities were collected from the two major petroleum supply companies, Chinese Petroleum Corporation (CPC) and Formosa Petrochemical Corporation (FPCC). The petrol station density (per square kilometer) (PSD) for study municipalities was used as an indicator of a subject's exposure to benzene and other hydrocarbons present in evaporative losses of petrol or to air emissions from motor vehicles. The subjects were divided into tertiles according to PSD in their residential municipality. The results showed that there was a significant exposure-response relationship between PSD and the risk of leukemia development in young children after controlling for possible confounders. The findings of this study warrant further investigation of the role of traffic air pollution exposure in the etiology of childhood leukemia.

  1. Regional air pollution over Malaysia

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Krysztofiak, G.; Catoire, V.; Dorf, M.; Grossmann, K.; Hamer, P. D.; Marécal, V.; Reiter, A.; Schlager, H.; Eckhardt, S.; Jurkat, T.; Oram, D.; Quack, B.; Atlas, E.; Pfeilsticker, K.

    2012-12-01

    During the SHIVA (Stratospheric Ozone: Halogen Impacts in a Varying Atmosphere) campaign in Nov. and Dec. 2011 a number of polluted air masses were observed in the marine and terrestrial boundary layer (0 - 2 km) and in the free troposphere (2 - 12 km) over Borneo/Malaysia. The measurements include isoprene, CO, CO2, CH4, N2O, NO2, SO2 as primary pollutants, O3 and HCHO as secondary pollutants, and meteorological parameters. This set of trace gases can be used to fingerprint different sources of local and regional air pollution (e.g., biomass burning and fossil fuel burning, gas flaring on oil rigs, emission of ships and from urban areas, volcanic emissions, and biogenic emissions). Individual sources and location can be identified when the measurements are combined with a nested-grid regional scale chemical and meteorological model and lagrangian particle dispersion model (e.g., CCATT-BRAMS and FLEXPART). In the case of the former, emission inventories of the primary pollutants provide the basis for the trace gas simulations. In this region, the anthropogenic influence on air pollution seems to dominate over natural causes. For example, CO2 and CH4 often show strong correlations with CO, suggesting biomass burning or urban fossil fuel combustion dominates the combustion sources. The study of the CO/CO2 and CH4/CO ratios can help separate anthropogenic combustion from biomass burning pollution sources. In addition, these ratios can be used as a measure of combustion efficiency to help place the type of biomass burning particular to this region within the wider context of fire types found globally. On several occasions, CH4 enhancements are observed near the ocean surface, which are not directly correlated with CO enhancements thus indicating a non-combustion-related CH4 source. Positive correlations between SO2 and CO show the anthropogenic influence of oil rigs located in the South China Sea. Furthermore, SO2 enhancements are observed without any increase in CO

  2. Outdoor air pollutants and patient health.

    PubMed

    Laumbach, Robert J

    2010-01-15

    Almost 160 million persons live in areas of the United States that exceed federal health-based air pollution standards. The two air pollutants that most commonly exceed standards are ozone and particulate matter. Ozone and particulate matter can harm anyone if levels are sufficiently elevated, but health risk from air pollution is greatest among vulnerable populations. Both ozone and particulate matter can cause pulmonary inflammation, decreased lung function, and exacerbation of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Particulate matter is also strongly associated with increased cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Children, older adults, and other vulnerable persons may be sensitive to lower levels of air pollution. Persons who are aware of local air pollution levels, reported daily by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as the Air Quality Index, can take action to reduce exposure. These actions include simple measures to limit exertion and time spent outdoors when air pollution levels are highest, and to reduce the infiltration of outdoor air pollutants into indoor spaces.

  3. Polluted air--outdoors and indoors.

    PubMed

    Myers, I; Maynard, R L

    2005-09-01

    Many air pollutants which are considered important in ambient (outdoor) air are also found, sometimes at higher levels, in indoor air. With demanding standards having been set for many of these pollutants, both in the workplace and ambient air, consideration of the problems posed by indoor pollution is gaining pace. Studies on exposure to pollutants found in the indoor domestic environment are increasing and are contributing to an already significant compilation of datasets. Improvement in monitoring techniques has helped this process. Documented reports of fatalities from carbon monoxide poisonings are still worrying. However, studies on health effects of non-fatal, long term, low dose, indoor exposure to carbon monoxide and other pollutants, are still inconclusive and too infrequently documented. Of particular concern are the levels of air pollutants found in the domestic indoor environment in developing countries, despite simple interventions such as vented stoves having shown their value. Exposure to biomass smoke is still a level that would be considered unacceptable on health grounds in developed countries. As in the occupational environment, steps need to be taken to control the risks from exposure to the harmful constituents of indoor air in the home. However, the difficulty regarding regulation of the domestic indoor environment is its inherent privacy. Monitoring levels of pollutants in the home and ensuring regulations are adhered to, would likely prove difficult, especially when individual behaviour patterns and activities have the greatest influence on pollutant levels in indoor air. To this end, the Department of Health is developing guidance on indoor air pollution to encourage the reduction of pollutant levels in indoor domestic air. The importance of the effects of domestic indoor air on health and its contribution to the health of the worker are increasingly appreciated. Occupational physicians, by training and interest, are well placed to extend

  4. Air Pollution in the World's Megacities.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Richman, Barbara T., Ed.

    1994-01-01

    Reports findings of the Global Environment Monitoring System study concerning air pollution in the world's megacities. Discusses sources of air pollution, air pollution impacts, air quality monitoring, air quality trends, and control strategies. Provides profiles of the problem in Beijing, Los Angeles, Mexico City, India, Cairo, Sao Paulo, and…

  5. Impact of traffic-related air pollution on health.

    PubMed

    Jakubiak-Lasocka, J; Lasocki, J; Siekmeier, R; Chłopek, Z

    2015-01-01

    Road transport contributes significantly to air quality problems through vehicle emissions, which have various detrimental impacts on public health and the environment. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of traffic-related air pollution on health of Warsaw citizens, following the basics of the Health Impact Assessment (HIA) method, and evaluate its social cost. PM10 was chosen as an indicator of traffic-related air pollution. Exposure-response functions between air pollution and health impacts were employed. The value of statistical life (VSL) approach was used for the estimation of the cost of mortality attributable to traffic-related air pollution. Costs of hospitalizations and restricted activity days were assessed basing on the cost of illness (COI) method. According to the calculations, about 827 Warsaw citizens die in a year as a result of traffic-related air pollution. Also, about 566 and 250 hospital admissions due to cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, respectively, and more than 128,453 restricted activity days can be attributed to the traffic emissions. From the social perspective, these losses generate the cost of 1,604 million PLN (1 EUR-approx. 4.2 PLN). This cost is very high and, therefore, more attention should be paid for the integrated environmental health policy.

  6. Adverse respiratory effects of outdoor air pollution in the elderly.

    PubMed

    Bentayeb, M; Simoni, M; Baiz, N; Norback, D; Baldacci, S; Maio, S; Viegi, G; Annesi-Maesano, I

    2012-09-01

    Compared to the rest of the population, the elderly are potentially highly susceptible to the effects of outdoor air pollution due to normal and pathological ageing. The purpose of the present review was to gather data on the effects on respiratory health of outdoor air pollution in the elderly, on whom data are scarce. These show statistically significant short-term and chronic adverse effects of various outdoor air pollutants on cardiopulmonary morbidity and mortality in the elderly. When exposed to air pollution, the elderly experience more hospital admissions for asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and higher COPD mortality than others. Previous studies also indicate that research on the health effects of air pollution in the elderly has been affected by methodological problems in terms of exposure and health effect assessments. Few pollutants have been considered, and exposure assessment has been based mostly on background air pollution and more rarely on objective measurements and modelling. Significant progress needs to be made through the development of 'hybrid' models utilising the strengths of information on exposure in various environments to several air pollutants, coupled with daily activity exposure patterns. Investigations of chronic effects of air pollution and of multi-pollutant mixtures are needed to better understand the role of air pollution in the elderly. Lastly, smoking, occupation, comorbidities, treatment and the neighbourhood context should be considered as confounders or modifiers of such a role. In this context, the underlying biological, physiological and toxicological mechanisms need to be explored to better understand the phenomenon through a multidisciplinary approach.

  7. Assessment of air pollution impacts on vegetation in South Africa

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Botha, A.T.

    1989-01-01

    Field surveys and biomonitoring network experiments were conducted in selected areas in South Africa to assess possible air pollution damage to vegetation. During field surveys, atmospheric fluoride was identified as an important pollutant that damaged vegetation in residential areas north of Cape Town. Gaseous air pollutants, including acid deposition and acidic mist, probably play a major role in the development of characteristic air pollution injury symptoms observed on pine trees in the Eastern Transvaal area. The impact of urban air pollution in the Cape Town area was evaluated by exposing bio-indicator plants in a network of eight biomonitoring network stationsmore » from June 1985 to May 1988. Sensitive Freesia and Gladiolus cultivars were used to biomonitor atmospheric fluoride, while a green bean cultivar was used as a biomonitor of atmospheric sulfur dioxide and ozone. At one location, bio-indicator plants were simultaneously exposed in a biomonitoring network station, open-top chambers, as well as in open plots. The responses of plants grown under these different conditions were compared.« less

  8. Controlling Indoor Air Pollution from Moxibustion

    PubMed Central

    Lu, Chung-Yen; Kang, Sy-Yuan; Liu, Shu-Hui; Mai, Cheng-Wei; Tseng, Chao-Heng

    2016-01-01

    Indoor air quality (IAQ) control of hospitals plays a critical role in protecting both hospital staffs and patients, particularly those who are highly susceptible to the adverse effects of indoor noxious hazards. However, moxibustion in outpatient departments (OPDs) of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) may be a source of indoor air pollution in hospitals. Some studies have investigated indoor air pollution during moxibustion in Chinese medicine clinics (CMCs) and moxibustion rooms, demonstrating elevated air pollutants that pose a threat to the health of medical staff and patients. Our study investigated the indoor air pollutants of indoor carbon dioxide (CO2), carbon monoxide (CO), formaldehyde (HCHO), total volatile organic compounds (TVOCs), airborne particulate matter with a diameter of ≤10 µm (PM10) and ≤2.5 µm (PM2.5) during moxibustion in an acupuncture and moxibustion room of the OPD in a hospital in Taipei. To evaluate the different control strategies for indoor air pollution from moxibution, a comparison of air pollutants during moxibution among the methods of using alternative old moxa wools, local exhaust ventilation and an air cleaner was conducted. In this study, burning alternative old moxa wools for moxibustion obviously reduced all gaseous pollutants except for aerosols comparing burning fresh moxa wools. Using local exhaust ventilation reduced most of the aerosols after burning moxa. We also found that using an air cleaner was inefficient for controlling indoor air pollutants, particularly gaseous pollutants. Therefore, combining replacing alternative old moxa wools and local exhaust ventilation could be a suitable design for controlling indoor air pollution during moxibustion therapy. PMID:27331817

  9. Controlling Indoor Air Pollution from Moxibustion.

    PubMed

    Lu, Chung-Yen; Kang, Sy-Yuan; Liu, Shu-Hui; Mai, Cheng-Wei; Tseng, Chao-Heng

    2016-06-20

    Indoor air quality (IAQ) control of hospitals plays a critical role in protecting both hospital staffs and patients, particularly those who are highly susceptible to the adverse effects of indoor noxious hazards. However, moxibustion in outpatient departments (OPDs) of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) may be a source of indoor air pollution in hospitals. Some studies have investigated indoor air pollution during moxibustion in Chinese medicine clinics (CMCs) and moxibustion rooms, demonstrating elevated air pollutants that pose a threat to the health of medical staff and patients. Our study investigated the indoor air pollutants of indoor carbon dioxide (CO₂), carbon monoxide (CO), formaldehyde (HCHO), total volatile organic compounds (TVOCs), airborne particulate matter with a diameter of ≤10 µm (PM10) and ≤2.5 µm (PM2.5) during moxibustion in an acupuncture and moxibustion room of the OPD in a hospital in Taipei. To evaluate the different control strategies for indoor air pollution from moxibution, a comparison of air pollutants during moxibution among the methods of using alternative old moxa wools, local exhaust ventilation and an air cleaner was conducted. In this study, burning alternative old moxa wools for moxibustion obviously reduced all gaseous pollutants except for aerosols comparing burning fresh moxa wools. Using local exhaust ventilation reduced most of the aerosols after burning moxa. We also found that using an air cleaner was inefficient for controlling indoor air pollutants, particularly gaseous pollutants. Therefore, combining replacing alternative old moxa wools and local exhaust ventilation could be a suitable design for controlling indoor air pollution during moxibustion therapy.

  10. Allergic diseases and air pollution.

    PubMed

    Lee, Suh-Young; Chang, Yoon-Seok; Cho, Sang-Heon

    2013-07-01

    The prevalence of allergic diseases has been increasing rapidly, especially in developing countries. Various adverse health outcomes such as allergic disease can be attributed to rapidly increasing air pollution levels. Rapid urbanization and increased energy consumption worldwide have exposed the human body to not only increased quantities of ambient air pollution, but also a greater variety of pollutants. Many studies clearly demonstrate that air pollutants potently trigger asthma exacerbation. Evidence that transportation-related pollutants contribute to the development of allergies is also emerging. Moreover, exposure to particulate matter, ozone, and nitrogen dioxide contributes to the increased susceptibility to respiratory infections. This article focuses on the current understanding of the detrimental effects of air pollutants on allergic disease including exacerbation to the development of asthma, allergic rhinitis, and eczema as well as epigenetic regulation.

  11. Health Effects of Air Pollution.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Environmental Education Report and Newsletter, 1985

    1985-01-01

    Summarizes health hazards associated with air pollution, highlighting the difficulty in establishing acceptable thresholds of exposure. Respiratory disease, asthma, cancer, cardiovascular disease, and other problems are addressed. Indicates that a wide range of effects from any one chemical exists and that there are differences in sensitivity to…

  12. Outdoor Ambient Air Pollution and Neurodegenerative Diseases: the Neuroinflammation Hypothesis.

    PubMed

    Jayaraj, Richard L; Rodriguez, Eric A; Wang, Yi; Block, Michelle L

    2017-06-01

    Accumulating research indicates that ambient outdoor air pollution impacts the brain and may affect neurodegenerative diseases, yet the potential underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. The neuroinflammation hypothesis holds that elevation of cytokines and reactive oxygen species in the brain mediates the deleterious effects of urban air pollution on the central nervous system (CNS). Studies in human and animal research document that neuroinflammation occurs in response to several inhaled pollutants. Microglia are a prominent source of cytokines and reactive oxygen species in the brain, implicated in the progressive neuron damage in diverse neurodegenerative diseases, and activated by inhaled components of urban air pollution through both direct and indirect pathways. The MAC1-NOX2 pathway has been identified as a mechanism through which microglia respond to different forms of air pollution, suggesting a potential common deleterious pathway. Multiple direct and indirect pathways in response to air pollution exposure likely interact in concert to exert CNS effects.

  13. Advances in Understanding Air Pollution and Cardiovascular Diseases: The Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis and Air Pollution (MESA Air)

    PubMed Central

    Kaufman, Joel D.; Spalt, Elizabeth W.; Curl, Cynthia L.; Hajat, Anjum; Jones, Miranda R.; Kim, Sun-Young; Vedal, Sverre; Szpiro, Adam A.; Gassett, Amanda; Sheppard, Lianne; Daviglus, Martha L.; Adar, Sara D.

    2016-01-01

    The Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis and Air Pollution (MESA Air) leveraged the platform of the MESA cohort into a prospective longitudinal study of relationships between air pollution and cardiovascular health. MESA Air researchers developed fine-scale, state-of-the-art air pollution exposure models for the MESA Air communities, creating individual exposure estimates for each participant. These models combine cohort-specific exposure monitoring, existing monitoring systems, and an extensive database of geographic and meteorological information. Together with extensive phenotyping in MESA—and adding participants and health measurements to the cohort—MESA Air investigated environmental exposures on a wide range of outcomes. Advances by the MESA Air team included not only a new approach to exposure modeling but also biostatistical advances in addressing exposure measurement error and temporal confounding. The MESA Air study advanced our understanding of the impact of air pollutants on cardiovascular disease and provided a research platform for advances in environmental epidemiology. PMID:27741981

  14. Does air pollution pose a public health problem for New Zealand?

    PubMed

    Scoggins, Amanda

    2004-02-01

    Air pollution is increasingly documented as a threat to public health and a major focus of regulatory activity in developed and developing countries. Air quality indicators suggest New Zealand has clean air relative to many other countries. However, media releases such as 'Christchurch wood fires pump out deadly smog' and 'Vehicle pollution major killer' have sparked public health concern regarding exposure to ambient air pollution, especially in anticipation of increasing emissions and population growth. Recent evidence is presented on the effects of air quality on health, which has been aided by the application of urban airshed models and Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Future directions for research into the effects of air quality on health in New Zealand are discussed, including a national ambient air quality management project: HAPINZ--Health and Air Pollution in New Zealand.

  15. Air quality, primary air pollutants and ambient concentrations inventory for Romania

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Năstase, Gabriel; Șerban, Alexandru; Năstase, Alina Florentina; Dragomir, George; Brezeanu, Alin Ionuț

    2018-07-01

    Air pollution is among the greatest risk factors for human health, but it also poses risks to the food security, the economy and the environment. The majority of the pollutants emitted by human activities derive from the production and use of fossil-fuel-based energy. Most energy-related emissions contain sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides. The principal source of sulfur dioxide originates from coal, and the main sources of nitrogen oxide emissions are power generation and use of vehicles. Other important pollutants are the inhalable coarse particles (PM10) and the fine particulate matter (PM2.5), which arises from the building sector. Over the last decade, since Romania joined the European Union on the 1st of January 2007, the use of fossil fuels has decreased dramatically, as consumers switched to either natural gas or biomass. This was as a result of the European Commission encouraging the member countries to make use of renewable sources (including biomass). To reduce the PM emissions, in April 2015 EC has extended the EcoDesign Directive to solid-fuel boilers and solid-fuel space heaters. The boilers need to generally meet certain requirements that will be introduced by 1 January 2020. In this article, we are highlighting the fluctuations in air pollution in Romania from the European WebDAB - EMAP database and trends in ambient concentrations of air pollutants using Romania's national air pollution monitoring network. Romania's Air Pollutants/Air Quality Monitoring Network consists of 142 automatic air quality monitoring stations. The results indicate that Romania's annual average mass emissions of CO decreased from 3186 Gg in 1990 to 774 in 2014 (decrease by <76%), SOx decreased from 1311 Gg-176 Gg (decrease by ∼60%), NOx decreased from 546 Gg to 218 (decrease by ∼87%), CO2 decreased from 66.226 Gg/year in 2007 to 38.916 Gg/year in 2014 (decrease by <41%).

  16. Committee on air pollution effects research: 40 years of UK air pollution.

    PubMed

    Fowler, David; Dise, Nancy; Sheppard, Lucy

    2016-01-01

    The UK Committee on Air Pollution Effects Research (CAPER) was established 40 years ago. This special section was compiled to mark this anniversary. During this time there have been dramatic changes in the composition of the air over the UK. The four papers in this special section of Environmental Pollution represent the current air pollution effects research focus on ozone and nitrogen deposition, two related issues and are proving from a policy perspective to be quite intractable issues. The UK CAPER research community continues to advance the underpinning science and engages closely with the user community in government departments. Crown Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. Response of stress indicators and growth parameters of Tibouchina pulchra Cogn. exposed to air and soil pollution near the industrial complex of Cubatão, Brazil.

    PubMed

    Klumpp, G; Furlan, C M; Domingos, M; Klumpp, A

    2000-01-31

    The present study was performed in the vicinity of the industrial complex of Cubatão, São Paulo, Brazil, in order to evaluate the response of 'manaca da serra' Tibouchina pulchra Cogn. (Melastomataceae), a common species of secondary Atlantic Rain Forest vegetation, to the impact of complex air pollution. Emphasis was given to changes of biochemical parameters such as ascorbic acid concentration, peroxidase activity, contents of water-soluble thiols, pH of leaf extract and buffering capacity. These plant factors are often used as early indicators of air pollution stress. Field experiments included sampling of leaves from mature trees in areas with different air pollution load (passive monitoring), exposure of saplings cultivated in uniform soil at these areas (active monitoring) and a study on the combined effects of contaminated soil and air pollution. In general, metabolic response of saplings was more accentuated than that of mature trees. Leaf extract pH and buffering capacity showed no or only small alterations in plants exposed to industrial emissions. In contrast, air pollution resulted in a distinct decrease in ascorbic acid contents and an increase in peroxidase activity and thiol concentrations in leaves. Cultivation of saplings in soil types from contaminated regions frequently caused the same modifications or enhanced the effects produced by air pollution. Growth analysis of exposed saplings demonstrated that a change of the relationship between above-ground and below-ground plant parts was the most obvious effect of air pollution and soil contamination. The experiments showed that even T. pulchra, a species considered resistant to air pollution, suffers metabolic disturbances by the present ambient air and soil quality. Although biochemical and physiological alterations were not related to a certain air pollution type, they could be used to estimate the overall pollution load and to map zones with different air quality.

  18. Measuring the impact of pollution on property prices in Madrid: objective versus subjective pollution indicators in spatial models

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mínguez, Román; Montero, José-María; Fernández-Avilés, Gema

    2013-04-01

    Much work has been done in the context of the hedonic price theory to estimate the impact of air quality on housing prices. Research has employed objective measures of air quality, but only slightly confirms the hedonic theory in the best of cases: the implicit price function relating housing prices to air pollution will, ceteris paribus, be negatively sloped. This paper compares the performance of a spatial Durbin model when using both objective and subjective measures of pollution. On the one hand, we design an Air Pollution Indicator based on measured pollution as the objective measure of pollution. On the other hand, the subjective measure of pollution employed to characterize neighborhoods is the percentage of residents who declare that the neighborhood has serious pollution problems, the percentage being referred to as residents' perception of pollution. For comparison purposes, the empirical part of this research focuses on Madrid (Spain). The study employs a proprietary database containing information about the price and 27 characteristics of 11,796 owner-occupied single family homes. As far as the authors are aware, it is the largest database ever used to analyze the Madrid housing market. The results of the study clearly favor the use of subjective air quality measures.

  19. Particulate Air Pollution: The Particulars

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Murphy, James E.

    1973-01-01

    Describes some of the causes and consequences of particulate air pollution. Outlines the experimental procedures for measuring the amount of particulate materials that settles from the air and for observing the nature of particulate air pollution. (JR)

  20. Health status and air pollution related socioeconomic concerns in urban China.

    PubMed

    Jiao, Kaishan; Xu, Mengjia; Liu, Meng

    2018-02-05

    China is experiencing environmental issues and related health effects due to its industrialization and urbanization. The health effects associated with air pollution are not just a matter of epidemiology and environmental science research, but also an important social science issue. Literature about the relationship of socioeconomic factors with the environment and health factors is inadequate. The relationship between air pollution exposure and health effects in China was investigated with consideration of the socioeconomic factors. Based on nationwide survey data of China in 2014, we applied the multilevel mixed-effects model to evaluate how socioeconomic status (represented by education and income) contributed to the relationship between self-rated air pollution and self-rated health status at community level and individual level. The findings indicated that there was a non-linear relationship between the community socioeconomic status and community air pollution in urban China, with the highest level of air pollution presented in the communities with moderate socioeconomic status. In addition, health effects associated air pollution in different socioeconomic status groups were not equal. Self-rated air pollution had the greatest impact on self-rated health of the lower socioeconomic groups. With the increase of socioeconomic status, the effect of self-rated air pollution on self-rated health decreased. This study verified the different levels of exposure to air pollution and inequality in health effects among different socioeconomic groups in China. It is imperative for the government to urgently formulate public policies to enhance the ability of the lower socioeconomic groups to circumvent air pollution and reduce the health damage caused by air pollution.

  1. Managing respiratory effects of air pollution.

    PubMed

    Watson, Bianca K; Sheppeard, Vicky

    2005-12-01

    Exposure to air pollution (both indoor and outdoor) has many potential adverse effects on human health. This article looks at the adverse respiratory health effects of air pollution and gives some guidance about management of exposure in susceptible individuals. Motor vehicle and industrial emissions are the primary contributors to outdoor air pollution in Australia. High levels of ozone and other pollutants can cause respiratory symptoms in susceptible individuals. Air quality advisory systems exist in most states. Clinicians can incorporate the health effects of air pollution, and awareness of advisory systems in the education of their susceptible patients and their carers. Asthma and chronic airways disease management plans should include provision for possible exposure to high pollution events and steps that can be taken to reduce exposure.

  2. Response mechanisms of conifers to air pollutants

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Matyssek, R.; Reich, P.; Oren, R.

    1995-07-01

    Conifers are known to respond to SO{sub 2}, O{sub 3}, NO{sub x} and acid deposition. Of these pollutants, O{sub 3} is likely the most widespread and phytotoxic compound, and therefore of great interest to individuals concerned with forest resources Direct biological responses have a toxicological effects on metabolism which can then scale to effects on tree growth and forest ecology, including processes of competition and succession. Air pollution can cause reductions in photosynthesis and stomatal conductance, which are the physiological parameters most rigorously studied for conifers. Some effects air pollutants can have on plants are influenced by the presence ofmore » co-occurring environmental stresses. For example, drought usually reduces vulnerability of plants to air pollution. In addition, air pollution sensitivity may differ among species and with plant/leaf age. Plants may make short-term physiological adjustments to compensate for air pollution or may evolve resistance to air pollution through the processes of selection. Models are necessary to understand how physiological processes, growth processes, and ecological processes are affected by air pollutants. The process of defining the ecological risk that air pollutants pose for coniferous forests requires approaches that exploit existing databases, environmental monitoring of air pollutants and forest resources, experiments with well-defined air pollution treatments and environmental control/monitoring, modeling, predicting air pollution-caused changes in productivity and ecological processes over time and space, and integration of social values.« less

  3. Parental stress and air pollution increase childhood asthma in China.

    PubMed

    Deng, Qihong; Deng, Linjing; Lu, Chan; Li, Yuguo; Norbäck, Dan

    2018-08-01

    Although air pollution and social stress may independently increase childhood asthma, little is known on their synergistic effect on asthma, particularly in China with high levels of stress and air pollution. To examine associations between exposure to a combination of parental stress and air pollution and asthma prevalence in children. We conducted a cohort study of 2406 preschool children in Changsha (2011-2012). A questionnaire was used to collect children's lifetime prevalence of asthma and their parental stress. Parental socioeconomic and psychosocial stresses were respectively defined in terms of housing size and difficulty concentrating. Children's exposure to ambient air pollutants was estimated using concentrations measured at monitoring stations. Associations between exposure to parental stress and air pollution and childhood asthma were estimated by multiple logistic regression models using odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI). Life time prevalence of asthma in preschool children (6.7%) was significantly associated with parental socioeconomic and psychosocial stresses with OR (95% CI) respectively 1.48 (1.02-2.16) and 1.64 (1.00-2.71). Asthma was also associated with exposure to air pollutants, with adjusted OR (95% CI) during prenatal and postnatal periods respectively 1.43 (1.10-1.86) and 1.35 (1.02-1.79) for SO 2 and 1.61 (1.19-2.18) and 1.76 (1.19-2.61) for NO 2 . The association with air pollution was significant only in children exposed to high parental stress, the association with parental stress was significant only in children exposed to high air pollution, and the association was the strongest in children exposed to a combination of parental stress and air pollution. Sensitivity analysis showed that the synergistic effects of parental stress and air pollution on childhood asthma were stronger in boys. Parental stress and air pollution were synergistically associated with increased childhood asthma, indicating a common biological

  4. Evaluation of Traffic Density Parameters as an Indicator of Vehicle Emission-Related Near-Road Air Pollution: A Case Study with NEXUS Measurement Data on Black Carbon.

    PubMed

    Liu, Shi V; Chen, Fu-Lin; Xue, Jianping

    2017-12-15

    An important factor in evaluating health risk of near-road air pollution is to accurately estimate the traffic-related vehicle emission of air pollutants. Inclusion of traffic parameters such as road length/area, distance to roads, and traffic volume/intensity into models such as land use regression (LUR) models has improved exposure estimation. To better understand the relationship between vehicle emissions and near-road air pollution, we evaluated three traffic density-based indices: Major-Road Density (MRD), All-Traffic Density (ATD) and Heavy-Traffic Density (HTD) which represent the proportions of major roads, major road with annual average daily traffic (AADT), and major road with commercial annual average daily traffic (CAADT) in a buffered area, respectively. We evaluated the potential of these indices as vehicle emission-specific near-road air pollutant indicators by analyzing their correlation with black carbon (BC), a marker for mobile source air pollutants, using measurement data obtained from the Near-road Exposures and Effects of Urban Air Pollutants Study (NEXUS). The average BC concentrations during a day showed variations consistent with changes in traffic volume which were classified into high, medium, and low for the morning rush hours, the evening rush hours, and the rest of the day, respectively. The average correlation coefficients between BC concentrations and MRD, ATD, and HTD, were 0.26, 0.18, and 0.48, respectively, as compared with -0.31 and 0.25 for two commonly used traffic indicators: nearest distance to a major road and total length of the major road. HTD, which includes only heavy-duty diesel vehicles in its traffic count, gives statistically significant correlation coefficients for all near-road distances (50, 100, 150, 200, 250, and 300 m) that were analyzed. Generalized linear model (GLM) analyses show that season, traffic volume, HTD, and distance from major roads are highly related to BC measurements. Our analyses indicate that

  5. Evaluation of Traffic Density Parameters as an Indicator of Vehicle Emission-Related Near-Road Air Pollution: A Case Study with NEXUS Measurement Data on Black Carbon

    PubMed Central

    Chen, Fu-Lin; Xue, Jianping

    2017-01-01

    An important factor in evaluating health risk of near-road air pollution is to accurately estimate the traffic-related vehicle emission of air pollutants. Inclusion of traffic parameters such as road length/area, distance to roads, and traffic volume/intensity into models such as land use regression (LUR) models has improved exposure estimation. To better understand the relationship between vehicle emissions and near-road air pollution, we evaluated three traffic density-based indices: Major-Road Density (MRD), All-Traffic Density (ATD) and Heavy-Traffic Density (HTD) which represent the proportions of major roads, major road with annual average daily traffic (AADT), and major road with commercial annual average daily traffic (CAADT) in a buffered area, respectively. We evaluated the potential of these indices as vehicle emission-specific near-road air pollutant indicators by analyzing their correlation with black carbon (BC), a marker for mobile source air pollutants, using measurement data obtained from the Near-road Exposures and Effects of Urban Air Pollutants Study (NEXUS). The average BC concentrations during a day showed variations consistent with changes in traffic volume which were classified into high, medium, and low for the morning rush hours, the evening rush hours, and the rest of the day, respectively. The average correlation coefficients between BC concentrations and MRD, ATD, and HTD, were 0.26, 0.18, and 0.48, respectively, as compared with −0.31 and 0.25 for two commonly used traffic indicators: nearest distance to a major road and total length of the major road. HTD, which includes only heavy-duty diesel vehicles in its traffic count, gives statistically significant correlation coefficients for all near-road distances (50, 100, 150, 200, 250, and 300 m) that were analyzed. Generalized linear model (GLM) analyses show that season, traffic volume, HTD, and distance from major roads are highly related to BC measurements. Our analyses indicate

  6. Air Pollution.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Scorer, Richard S.

    The purpose of this book is to describe the basic mechanisms whereby pollution is transported and diffused in the atmosphere. It is designed to give practitioners an understanding of basic mechanics and physics so they may have a correct basis on which to formulate their decisions related to practical air pollution control problems. Since many…

  7. Polluted Morality: Air Pollution Predicts Criminal Activity and Unethical Behavior.

    PubMed

    Lu, Jackson G; Lee, Julia J; Gino, Francesca; Galinsky, Adam D

    2018-03-01

    Air pollution is a serious problem that affects billions of people globally. Although the environmental and health costs of air pollution are well known, the present research investigates its ethical costs. We propose that air pollution can increase criminal and unethical behavior by increasing anxiety. Analyses of a 9-year panel of 9,360 U.S. cities found that air pollution predicted six major categories of crime; these analyses accounted for a comprehensive set of control variables (e.g., city and year fixed effects, population, law enforcement) and survived various robustness checks (e.g., balanced panel, nonparametric bootstrapped standard errors). Three subsequent experiments involving American and Indian participants established the causal effect of psychologically experiencing a polluted (vs. clean) environment on unethical behavior. Consistent with our theoretical perspective, results revealed that anxiety mediated this effect. Air pollution not only corrupts people's health, but also can contaminate their morality.

  8. Solid Waste, Air Pollution and Health

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kupchik, George J.; Franz, Gerald J.

    1976-01-01

    This article examines the relationships among solid waste disposal, air pollution, and human disease. It is estimated that solid waste disposal contributes 9.7 percent of the total air pollution and 9.9 percent of the total air pollution health effect. Certain disposal-resource recovery systems can be implemented to meet air quality standards. (MR)

  9. Danger in the Air: Air Pollution and Cognitive Dysfunction.

    PubMed

    Cipriani, Gabriele; Danti, Sabrina; Carlesi, Cecilia; Borin, Gemma

    2018-01-01

    Clean air is considered to be a basic requirement for human health and well-being. To examine the relationship between cognitive performance and ambient pollution exposure. Studies were identified through a systematic search of online scientific databases, in addition to a manual search of the reference lists from the identified papers. Air pollution is a multifaceted toxic chemical mixture capable of assaulting the central nervous system. Despite being a relatively new area of investigation, overall, there is mounting evidence implicating adverse effects of air pollution on cognitive function in both adults and children. Consistent evidence showed that exposure to air pollution, specifically exposure to particulate matter, caused poor age-related cognitive performance. Living in areas with high levels of air pollution has been linked to markers of neuroinflammation and neuropathology that are associated with neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer's disease-like brain pathologies.

  10. Atmospheric Chemistry and Air Pollution

    DOE PAGES

    Gaffney, Jeffrey S.; Marley, Nancy A.

    2003-01-01

    Atmospheric chemistry is an important discipline for understanding air pollution and its impacts. This mini-review gives a brief history of air pollution and presents an overview of some of the basic photochemistry involved in the production of ozone and other oxidants in the atmosphere. Urban air quality issues are reviewed with a specific focus on ozone and other oxidants, primary and secondary aerosols, alternative fuels, and the potential for chlorine releases to amplify oxidant chemistry in industrial areas. Regional air pollution issues such as acid rain, long-range transport of aerosols and visibility loss, and the connections of aerosols to ozonemore » and peroxyacetyl nitrate chemistry are examined. Finally, the potential impacts of air pollutants on the global-scale radiative balances of gases and aerosols are discussed briefly.« less

  11. EPA Air Pollution Control Cost Manual

    EPA Science Inventory

    EPA's Air Pollution Control Cost Manual provides guidance for the development of accurate and consistent costs for air pollution control devices. A long-standing document prepared by EPA, the Control Cost Manual focuses on point source and stationary area source air pollution con...

  12. Outdoor air pollution and sperm quality.

    PubMed

    Lafuente, Rafael; García-Blàquez, Núria; Jacquemin, Bénédicte; Checa, Miguel Angel

    2016-09-15

    Exposure to air pollution has been clearly associated with a range of adverse health effects, including reproductive toxicity, but its effects on male semen quality are still unclear. We performed a systematic review (up to June 2016) to assess the impact of air pollutants on sperm quality. We included 17 semi-ecological, panel, and cohort studies, assessing outdoor air pollutants, such as PM2.5, PM10, NOx, SO2, and O3, and their effects on DNA fragmentation, sperm count, sperm motility, and sperm morphology. Thirteen studies assessed air pollution exposure measured environmentally, and six used biomarkers of air pollution exposure (two did both). We rated the studies using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale and assessed with the exposure method. Taking into account these factors and the number of studies finding significant results (positive or negative), the evidence supporting an effect of air pollution on DNA fragmentation is weak but suggestive, on sperm motility is limited and probably inexistent, on lower sperm count is inconclusive, and on sperm morphology is very suggestive. Because of the diversity of air pollutants and sperm parameters, and the studies' designs, we were unable to perform a meta-analysis. In summary, most studies concluded that outdoor air pollution affects at least one of the four semen quality parameters included in the review. However, results lack consistency, and furthermore, studies were not comparable. Studies using standardized air pollution and semen measures are required to obtain more reliable conclusions. CRD42015007175. Copyright © 2016 American Society for Reproductive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  13. Air pollution: brown skies research.

    PubMed Central

    Tattersfield, A. E.

    1996-01-01

    Direct information on the health effects of air pollution in humans relies mainly on chamber studies and epidemiological studies. Although chamber studies have limitations they allow the acute effects of individual pollutants to be studied in well characterised subjects under controlled conditions. Most chamber studies have shown relatively small falls in lung function and relatively small increases in bronchial reactivity at the concentrations of ozone, SO2, and NO2 that occur even during high pollution episodes in the UK. The possible exception is SO2 where sensitive asthmatic patients may show a greater response at concentrations that are seen from time to time in certain areas and in proximity to power stations. There is no convincing evidence of potentiation between pollutants in chamber studies. Epidemiological studies are more difficult to carry out and require considerable epidemiological and statistical expertise to deal with the main problem-confounding by other factors. Although the health effects seen with current levels of pollution are small compared with those seen in the 1950s and close to the limits of detection, this should not be interpreted as being unimportant. A small effect may have large consequences when the population exposed is large (the whole population in this case). Recent data suggest that particles have more important health effects than the pollutant gases that have been studied. Much of this information comes from the USA though the findings are probably applicable in the UK. More information is needed on the size of the health effects that occur during the three types of air pollution episodes seen in this country and the relative contributions of particles, pollutant gases, pollen, and other factors such as temperature. Research into air pollution declined in the UK following the introduction of the Clean Air Acts; it is now increasing again following pressure from certain individuals and ginger groups, including the British

  14. Ambient air pollution and semen quality.

    PubMed

    Nobles, Carrie J; Schisterman, Enrique F; Ha, Sandie; Kim, Keewan; Mumford, Sunni L; Buck Louis, Germaine M; Chen, Zhen; Liu, Danping; Sherman, Seth; Mendola, Pauline

    2018-05-01

    Ambient air pollution is associated with systemic increases in oxidative stress, to which sperm are particularly sensitive. Although decrements in semen quality represent a key mechanism for impaired fecundability, prior research has not established a clear association between air pollution and semen quality. To address this, we evaluated the association between ambient air pollution and semen quality among men with moderate air pollution exposure. Of 501 couples in the LIFE study, 467 male partners provided one or more semen samples. Average residential exposure to criteria air pollutants and fine particle constituents in the 72 days before ejaculation was estimated using modified Community Multiscale Air Quality models. Generalized estimating equation models estimated the association between air pollutants and semen quality parameters (volume, count, percent hypo-osmotic swollen, motility, sperm head, morphology and sperm chromatin parameters). Models adjusted for age, body mass index, smoking and season. Most associations between air pollutants and semen parameters were small. However, associations were observed for an interquartile increase in fine particulates ≤2.5 µm and decreased sperm head size, including -0.22 (95% CI -0.34, -0.11) µm 2 for area, -0.06 (95% CI -0.09, -0.03) µm for length and -0.09 (95% CI -0.19, -0.06) µm for perimeter. Fine particulates were also associated with 1.03 (95% CI 0.40, 1.66) greater percent sperm head with acrosome. Air pollution exposure was not associated with semen quality, except for sperm head parameters. Moderate levels of ambient air pollution may not be a major contributor to semen quality. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  15. Air pollution and human fertility rates.

    PubMed

    Nieuwenhuijsen, Mark J; Basagaña, Xavier; Dadvand, Payam; Martinez, David; Cirach, Marta; Beelen, Rob; Jacquemin, Bénédicte

    2014-09-01

    Some reports have suggested effects of air pollution on semen quality and success rates of in vitro fertilization (IVF) in humans and lower fertility rates in mice. However, no studies have evaluated the impact of air pollution on human fertility rates. We assessed the association between traffic related air pollution and fertility rates in humans in Barcelona, Spain (2011-2012). We hypothesized that higher air pollution levels would be associated with lower fertility rates. We calculated the general fertility rate which is the number of live births per 1000 women between the ages of 15 and 44 years per census tract. We used land use regression (LUR) modeling to estimate the air pollution concentrations (particulate matter, NO2/NOx) per census tract. We used Besag-York-Mollié models to quantify the relationship between air pollution and fertility rates with adjustment for a number of potential confounders such as maternal age and area level socio-economic status. We found a statistically significant reduction of fertility rates with an increase in traffic related air pollution levels, particularly for the coarse fraction of particulate matter (IRR=0.87 95% CI 0.82, 0.94 per IQR). This is the first study in humans to show an association between reduced fertility rates and higher traffic related air pollution levels. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. Ambient air pollution and thrombosis.

    PubMed

    Robertson, Sarah; Miller, Mark R

    2018-01-03

    Air pollution is a growing public health concern of global significance. Acute and chronic exposure is known to impair cardiovascular function, exacerbate disease and increase cardiovascular mortality. Several plausible biological mechanisms have been proposed for these associations, however, at present, the pathways are incomplete. A seminal review by the American Heart Association (2010) concluded that the thrombotic effects of particulate air pollution likely contributed to their effects on cardiovascular mortality and morbidity. The aim of the current review is to appraise the newly accumulated scientific evidence (2009-2016) on contribution of haemostasis and thrombosis towards cardiovascular disease induced by exposure to both particulate and gaseous pollutants.Seventy four publications were reviewed in-depth. The weight of evidence suggests that acute exposure to fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ) induces a shift in the haemostatic balance towards a pro-thrombotic/pro-coagulative state. Insufficient data was available to ascertain if a similar relationship exists for gaseous pollutants, and very few studies have addressed long-term exposure to ambient air pollution. Platelet activation, oxidative stress, interplay between interleukin-6 and tissue factor, all appear to be potentially important mechanisms in pollution-mediated thrombosis, together with an emerging role for circulating microvesicles and epigenetic changes.Overall, the recent literature supports, and arguably strengthens, the contention that air pollution contributes to cardiovascular morbidity by promoting haemostasis. The volume and diversity of the evidence highlights the complexity of the pathophysiologic mechanisms by which air pollution promotes thrombosis; multiple pathways are plausible and it is most likely they act in concert. Future research should address the role gaseous pollutants play in the cardiovascular effects of air pollution mixture and direct comparison of potentially

  17. Air Pollution Emissions Overview | Air Quality Planning & ...

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    2016-06-08

    Air pollution comes from many different sources: stationary sources such as factories, power plants, and smelters and smaller sources such as dry cleaners and degreasing operations; mobile sources such as cars, buses, planes, trucks, and trains; and naturally occurring sources such as windblown dust, and volcanic eruptions, all contribute to air pollution.

  18. The Federal Air Pollution Program.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    National Air Pollution Control Administration (DHEW), Washington, DC.

    Described is the Federal air pollution program as it was in 1967. The booklet is divided into these major topics: History of the Federal Program; Research; Assistance to State and Local Governments; Abatement and Prevention of Air Pollution; Control of Motor Vehicle Pollution; Information and Education; and Conclusion. Federal legislation has…

  19. Impacts of Air Pollution on Health in Eastern China: Implications for future air pollution and energy policies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wang, X.; Mauzerall, D.

    2004-12-01

    Our objective is to establish the link between energy consumption and technologies, air pollution and resulting impacts on public health in eastern China. We quantify the impacts that air pollution in the Shandong region of eastern China has on public health in 2000 and quantify the benefits in improved air quality and health that could be obtained by 2020, relative to business-as-usual, through the implementation of new energy technology. We first develop a highly-resolved emission inventory for the year 2000 for the Shandong region of China including emissions from large point, area, mobile and biogenic sources. We use the Sparse Matrix Operator Kernel Emissions Modeling System (SMOKE) to process emissions from this inventory for use in the Community Multi-scale Air Quality modeling system (CMAQ) which we drive with the NCAR/PSU MM5 meso-scale meteorology model. We evaluate the inventory by comparing CMAQ results with available measurements of PM10 and SO2 from air pollution indices (APIs) reported in various Chinese municipalities during 2002-2004. We use epidemiological dose-response functions to quantify health impacts and values of a statistical life (VSL) and years-of-life-lost (YLL) to establish a range for the monetary value of these impacts. To examine health impacts and their monetary value, we focus explicitly on Zaozhuang, a coal-intensive city in the Shandong region of eastern China, and quantify the mortalities and morbidities resulting from air pollutants emitted from this city in 2000, and in 2020 using business-as-usual, best-available control technology, and advanced coal gasification technology scenarios. In all scenarios most health damages arise from exposure to particulate matter. We find that total health damages due to year 2000 anthropogenic emissions from Zaozhuang accounted for 4-10% of its GDP. If all health damages resulting from coal use were internalized in the market price of coal, the year 2000 price would have doubled. With no new

  20. Air pollution, public health, and inflation

    PubMed Central

    Ostro, Bart David

    1980-01-01

    Since the passage of the environmental legislation in the early 1970's, critics have attacked these laws as being unnecessary and for contributing significantly to the problem of inflation in the United States. This paper is an attempt to put the inflationary costs of air pollution into perspective by considering them in light of the cost, especially to public health, of not proceeding with pollution control. There is now a great deal of evidence that the concentration of certain pollutants in the air can contribute significantly to the incidence of respiratory and cardiovascular diseases and to certain forms of cancer. On the basis of the results of a recent study of the impacts of pollution control on inflation, the annual reduction in purchasing power of the average family is calculated to be $31 per family. To determine the average costs of air pollution on human health, research by Lave and Seskin is utilized. First, the implications of air pollution for mortality and morbidity rates are determined. Then, the reduction in direct health costs and indirect costs (lost productivity of workers) as a result of pollution abatement is estimated. These annual health costs from pollution total approximately $250 per family. The results suggest that the inflationary costs of air pollution control are more than offset by the damages to public health from unabated air pollution. PMID:6771129

  1. Public-health impact of outdoor air pollution for 2(nd) air pollution management policy in Seoul metropolitan area, Korea.

    PubMed

    Leem, Jong Han; Kim, Soon Tae; Kim, Hwan Cheol

    2015-01-01

    Air pollution contributes to mortality and morbidity. We estimated the impact of outdoor air pollution on public health in Seoul metropolitan area, Korea. Attributable cases of morbidity and mortality were estimated. Epidemiology-based exposure-response functions for a 10 μg/m3 increase in particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10) were used to quantify the effects of air pollution. Cases attributable to air pollution were estimated for mortality (adults ≥ 30 years), respiratory and cardiovascular hospital admissions (all ages), chronic bronchitis (all ages), and acute bronchitis episodes (≤18 years). Environmental exposure (PM2.5 and PM10) was modeled for each 3 km × 3 km. In 2010, air pollution caused 15.9% of total mortality or approximately 15,346 attributable cases per year. Particulate air pollution also accounted for: 12,511 hospitalized cases of respiratory disease; 20,490 new cases of chronic bronchitis (adults); 278,346 episodes of acute bronchitis (children). After performing the 2(nd) Seoul metropolitan air pollution management plan, the reducible death number associated with air pollution is 14,915 cases per year in 2024. We can reduce 57.9% of death associated with air pollution. This assessment estimates the public-health impacts of current patterns of air pollution. Although individual health risks of air pollution are relatively small, the public-health consequences are remarkable. Particulate air pollution remains a key target for public-health action in the Seoul metropolitan area. Our results, which have also been used for economic valuation, should guide decisions on the assessment of environmental health-policy options.

  2. Cross-State Air Pollution Rule

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    The Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR), requires states to significantly improve air quality by reducing power plant emissions that contribute to ozone and/or fine particle pollution in other states.

  3. Traffic air pollution and risk of death from bladder cancer in Taiwan using petrol station density as a pollutant indicator.

    PubMed

    Ho, Chi-Kung; Peng, Chiung-Yu; Yang, Chun-Yuh

    2010-01-01

    To investigate the relationship between air pollution and risk of death from bladder cancer, a matched cancer case-control study was conducted using deaths that occurred in Taiwan from 1997 through 2006. Data for all eligible bladder cancer deaths were obtained from the Bureau of Vital Statistics of the Taiwan Provincial Department of Health. The control group consisted of individuals who died from causes other than cancer or diseases associated with genitourinary problems. The controls were pair matched to the cases by gender, year of birth, and year of death. Each matched control was selected randomly from the set of possible controls for each case. Data for the number of petrol stations in study municipalities were collected from the two major petroleum supply companies, Chinese Petroleum Corporation (CPC) and Formosa Petrochemical Corporation (FPCC). The petrol station density (per square kilometer) (PSD) for study municipalities was used as an indicator of a subject's exposure to benzene and other hydrocarbons present in ambient evaporative losses of petrol or to air emissions from motor vehicles. The subjects were divided into tertiles according to PSD in their residential municipality. The present study showed that individuals who resided in municipalities with high PSD levels were at an increased risk of death from bladder cancer compared to subjects living in municipalities with a low PSD level; however, the differences are not statistically significant. The findings of this study warrant further investigation of the role of vehicular air pollutant emissions in the etiology of bladder cancer development.

  4. Australia’s first national level quantitative environmental justice assessment of industrial air pollution

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chakraborty, Jayajit; Green, Donna

    2014-04-01

    This study presents the first national level quantitative environmental justice assessment of industrial air pollution in Australia. Specifically, our analysis links the spatial distribution of sites and emissions associated with industrial pollution sources derived from the National Pollution Inventory, to Indigenous status and social disadvantage characteristics of communities derived from Australian Bureau of Statistics indicators. Our results reveal a clear national pattern of environmental injustice based on the locations of industrial pollution sources, as well as volume, and toxicity of air pollution released at these locations. Communities with the highest number of polluting sites, emission volume, and toxicity-weighted air emissions indicate significantly greater proportions of Indigenous population and higher levels of socio-economic disadvantage. The quantities and toxicities of industrial air pollution are particularly higher in communities with the lowest levels of educational attainment and occupational status. These findings emphasize the need for more detailed analysis in specific regions and communities where socially disadvantaged groups are disproportionately impacted by industrial air pollution. Our empirical findings also underscore the growing necessity to incorporate environmental justice considerations in environmental planning and policy-making in Australia.

  5. Place-Based Stressors Associated with Industry and Air Pollution

    PubMed Central

    Gross-Davis, Carol Ann; May, Katlyn; Davis, Lauren O.; Johnson, Tyiesha; Mallard, Mable; Gabbadon, Alice; Sherrod, Claudia; Branas, Charles C.

    2014-01-01

    Exposure to air pollution and its sources is increasingly viewed as a psychosocial stress, however its nature is not understood. This article explores the role of the concept of place on risk perception and community stress within data collected from eight focus groups in Philadelphia, USA. Discussions focused on air pollution, a nearby oil refinery, health, and a proposal for air monitoring. We present a framework of place-based elements of risk perception that includes place identity, stigma and social control. Our findings indicate that air pollution contributes to physical and psychosocial conditions that act as community-level social stressors. Findings also suggest that programs which seek to change behaviors and gather or spread information on issues such as pollution and other environmental concerns will be challenged unless they directly address: 1) the public’s identification with a place or industry, 2) immediate environmental stressors such as abandonment, waste and odors, and 3) public perceptions of lack of social control and fear of displacement. PMID:24721738

  6. Air Pollution and Industry.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ross, R. D., Ed.

    This book is an authoritative reference and practical guide designed to help the plant engineer identify and solve industrial air pollution problems in order to be able to meet current air pollution regulations. Prepared under the editorial supervision of an experienced chemical engineer, with each chapter contributed by an expert in his field,…

  7. Air Pollution Control, Part I.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Strauss, Werner, Ed.

    Authoritative reviews in seven areas of current importance in air pollution control are supplied in this volume, the first of a two-part set. Titles contained in this book are: "Dispersion of Pollutants Emitted into the Atmosphere,""The Formation and Control of Oxides of Nitrogen in Air Pollution,""The Control of Sulfur Emissions from Combustion…

  8. Air Pollution, Causes and Cures.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Manufacturing Chemists Association, Washington, DC.

    This commentary on sources of air pollution and air purification treatments is accompanied by graphic illustrations. Sources of carbon monoxide, sulfur oxides, nitrogen oxides, and hydrocarbons found in the air are discussed. Methods of removing these pollutants at their source are presented with cut-away diagrams of the facilities and technical…

  9. Health risk assessment of China's main air pollutants.

    PubMed

    Sun, Jian; Zhou, Tiancai

    2017-02-20

    With the rapid development of China's economy, air pollution has attracted public concern because of its harmful effects on health. The source apportioning of air pollution, the spatial distribution characteristics, and the relationship between atmospheric contamination, and the risk of exposure were explored. The in situ daily concentrations of the principal air pollutants (PM 2.5 , PM 10 , SO 2 , NO 2 , CO and O 3 ) were obtained from 188 main cities with many continuous air-monitoring stations across China (2014 and 2015). The results indicate positive correlations between PM 2.5 and SO 2 (R 2  = 0.395/0.404, P < 0.0001), CO (R 2  = 0.187/0.365, P < 0.0001), and NO 2 (R 2  = 0.447/0.533, P < 0.0001), but weak correlations with O 3 (P > 0.05) for both 2014 and 2015. Additionally, a significant relationship between SO 2 , NO 2, and CO was discovered using regression analysis (P < 0.0001), indicating that the origin of air pollutants is likely to be vehicle exhaust, coal consumption, and biomass open-burning. For the spatial pattern of air pollutants, we found that the highest concentration of SO 2 , NO 2, and CO were mainly distributed in north China (Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei regions), Shandong, Shanxi and Henan provinces, part of Xinjiang and central Inner Mongolia (2014 and 2015). The highest concentration and risk of PM 2.5 was observed in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei economic belts, and Shandong, Henan, Shanxi, Hubei and Anhui provinces. Nevertheless, the highest concentration of O 3 was irregularly distributed in most areas of China. A high-risk distribution of PM 10 , SO 2 and NO 2 was also observed in these regions, with the high risk of PM 10 and NO 2 observed in the Hebei and Shandong province, and high-risk of PM 10 in Urumchi. The high-risk of NO 2 distributed in Beijing-Yangtze River Delta region-Pearl River Delta region-central. Although atmospheric contamination slightly improved in 2015 compared to 2014, humanity faces the

  10. NEUROTOXICITY OF TRAFFIC-RELATED AIR POLLUTION

    PubMed Central

    Costa, Lucio G.; Cole, Toby B.; Coburn, Jacki; Chang, Yu-Chi; Dao, Khoi; Roqué, Pamela J.

    2015-01-01

    The central nervous system is emerging as an important target for adverse health effects of air pollution, where it may contribute to neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative disorders. Air pollution comprises several components, including particulate matter (PM) and ultrafine particulate matter (UFPM), gases, organic compounds, and metals. An important source of ambient PM and UFPM is represented by traffic-related air pollution, primarily diesel exhaust (DE). Human epidemiological studies and controlled animal studies have shown that exposure to air pollution, and to traffic-related air pollution or DE in particular, may lead to neurotoxicity. In particular, air pollution is emerging as a possible etiological factor in neurodevelopmental (e.g. autism spectrum disorders) and neurodegenerative (e.g. Alzheimer’s disease) disorders. The most prominent effects caused by air pollution in both humans and animals are oxidative stress and neuro-inflammation. Studies in mice acutely exposed to DE (250-300 μg/m3 for six hours) have shown microglia activation, increased lipid peroxidation, and neuro-inflammation in various brain regions, particularly the hippocampus and the olfactory bulb. An impairment of adult neurogenesis was also found. In most cases, the effects of DE were more pronounced in male mice, possibly because of lower antioxidant abilities due to lower expression of paraoxonase 2. PMID:26610921

  11. RESEARCH AREA -- ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE CONTROL (AIR POLLUTION TECHNOLOGY BRANCH, AIR POLLUTION PREVENTION AND CONTROL DIVISION, NRMRL)

    EPA Science Inventory

    The Air Pollution Technology Branch (APTB) of NRMRL's Air Pollution Prevention and Control Division in Research Triangle Park, NC, has conducted several research projects for evaluating the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to improve the control of pollution control systems an...

  12. Indoor Air Pollution

    MedlinePlus

    ... is known as sick building syndrome. Usually indoor air quality problems only cause discomfort. Most people feel better ... and getting rid of pollutants can improve the quality of your indoor air. Environmental Protection Agency

  13. THE INFLUENCE OF PARTICULATE AIR POLLUTANTS ON ALLERGIC SENSITIZATION IN ANIMAL MODELS

    EPA Science Inventory

    Air pollution has long been associated with detrimental health risks in susceptible populations including asthmatics. Experimental evidence in rodents indicates that inhaled or instilled air pollutants such as diesel exhaust particles (DEPs), residual oil fly ash or its constitu...

  14. Air pollution: a tale of two countries.

    PubMed

    Haryanto, Budi; Franklin, Peter

    2011-01-01

    The fast growing economies and continued urbanization in Asian countries have increased the demand for mobility and energy in the region, resulting in high levels of air pollution in cities from mobile and stationary sources. In contrast, low level of urbanization in Australia produces low level of urban air pollution. The World Health Organization estimates that about 500,000 premature deaths per year are caused by air pollution, leaving the urban poor particularly vulnerable since they live in air pollution hotspots, have low respiratory resistance due to bad nutrition, and lack access to quality health care. Identifying the differences and similarities of air pollution levels and its impacts, between Indonesia and Australia, will provide best lesson learned to tackle air pollution problems for Pacific Basin Rim countries.

  15. A preliminary assessment of the Montréal process indicators of air pollution for the United States

    Treesearch

    John W. Coulston; Kurt H. Riitters; Grethchen C. Smith

    2004-01-01

    Air pollutants pose a risk to forest health and vitality in the United States. Here we present the major findings from a national scale air pollution assessment that is part of the United States’ 2003 Report on Sustainable Forests. We examine trends and the percent forest subjected to specific levels of ozone and wet deposition of sulfate, nitrate, and ammonium....

  16. In Search of Air Pollution

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Beckendorf, Kirk

    2006-01-01

    Air pollution is no longer just a local issue; it is a global problem. The atmosphere is a very dynamic system. Pollution not only changes in chemical composition after it is emitted, but also is transported on local and global air systems hundreds and even thousands of miles away. Some of the pollutants that are major health concerns are not even…

  17. Transportation, Air Pollution, and Climate Change

    MedlinePlus

    ... Offices Labs and Research Centers Contact Us Share Transportation, Air Pollution, and Climate Change Overview Learn about ... Smog, soot, and other air pollution from transportation Transportation and Air Quality Resources Press releases Federal Register ...

  18. Neurotoxicity of traffic-related air pollution.

    PubMed

    Costa, Lucio G; Cole, Toby B; Coburn, Jacki; Chang, Yu-Chi; Dao, Khoi; Roqué, Pamela J

    2017-03-01

    The central nervous system is emerging as an important target for adverse health effects of air pollution, where it may contribute to neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative disorders. Air pollution comprises several components, including particulate matter (PM) and ultrafine particulate matter (UFPM), gases, organic compounds, and metals. An important source of ambient PM and UFPM is represented by traffic-related air pollution, primarily diesel exhaust (DE). Human epidemiological studies and controlled animal studies have shown that exposure to air pollution, and to traffic-related air pollution or DE in particular, may lead to neurotoxicity. In particular, air pollution is emerging as a possible etiological factor in neurodevelopmental (e.g. autism spectrum disorders) and neurodegenerative (e.g. Alzheimer's disease) disorders. The most prominent effects caused by air pollution in both humans and animals are oxidative stress and neuro-inflammation. Studies in mice acutely exposed to DE (250-300μg/m 3 for 6h) have shown microglia activation, increased lipid peroxidation, and neuro-inflammation in various brain regions, particularly the hippocampus and the olfactory bulb. An impairment of adult neurogenesis was also found. In most cases, the effects of DE were more pronounced in male mice, possibly because of lower antioxidant abilities due to lower expression of paraoxonase 2. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  19. Evaluation of Nationwide Health Costs of Air Pollution and Cigarette Smoking

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Williams, J. R.; Justus, C. G.

    1974-01-01

    The findings of this study indicate cigarette smoking causes more respiratory diseases than does air pollution. The 1970 nationwide health cost of respiratory diseases is estimated at $6.22 billion. The effect of air pollution accounts for between 1 and 5 percent of this total cost while cigarette smoking represents 68 percent. (MLB)

  20. Community Perceptions of Air Pollution and Related Health Risks in Nairobi Slums

    PubMed Central

    Egondi, Thaddaeus; Kyobutungi, Catherine; Ng, Nawi; Muindi, Kanyiva; Oti, Samuel; van de Vijver, Steven; Ettarh, Remare; Rocklöv, Joacim

    2013-01-01

    Air pollution is among the leading global risks for mortality and responsible for increasing risk for chronic diseases. Community perceptions on exposure are critical in determining people’s response and acceptance of related policies. Therefore, understanding people’ perception is critical in informing the design of appropriate intervention measures. The aim of this paper was to establish levels and associations between perceived pollution and health risk perception among slum residents. A cross-sectional study of 5,317 individuals aged 35+ years was conducted in two slums of Nairobi. Association of perceived score and individual characteristics was assessed using linear regression. Spatial variation in the perceived levels was determined through hot spot analysis using ArcGIS. The average perceived air pollution level was higher among residents in Viwandani compared to those in Korogocho. Perceived air pollution level was positively associated with perceived health risks. The majority of respondents were exposed to air pollution in their place of work with 66% exposed to at least two sources of air pollution. Less than 20% of the respondents in both areas mentioned sources related to indoor pollution. The perceived air pollution level and related health risks in the study community were lowamong the residents indicating the need for promoting awareness on air pollution sources and related health risks. PMID:24157509

  1. Tehran Air Pollutants Prediction Based on Random Forest Feature Selection Method

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shamsoddini, A.; Aboodi, M. R.; Karami, J.

    2017-09-01

    Air pollution as one of the most serious forms of environmental pollutions poses huge threat to human life. Air pollution leads to environmental instability, and has harmful and undesirable effects on the environment. Modern prediction methods of the pollutant concentration are able to improve decision making and provide appropriate solutions. This study examines the performance of the Random Forest feature selection in combination with multiple-linear regression and Multilayer Perceptron Artificial Neural Networks methods, in order to achieve an efficient model to estimate carbon monoxide and nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide and PM2.5 contents in the air. The results indicated that Artificial Neural Networks fed by the attributes selected by Random Forest feature selection method performed more accurate than other models for the modeling of all pollutants. The estimation accuracy of sulfur dioxide emissions was lower than the other air contaminants whereas the nitrogen dioxide was predicted more accurate than the other pollutants.

  2. Economic evaluation of health losses from air pollution in Beijing, China.

    PubMed

    Zhao, Xiaoli; Yu, Xueying; Wang, Ying; Fan, Chunyang

    2016-06-01

    Aggravated air pollution in Beijing, China has caused serious health concern. This paper comprehensively evaluates the health losses from illness and premature death caused by air pollution in monetary terms. We use the concentration of PM10 as an indicator of the pollution since it constitutes the primary pollutant in Beijing. By our estimation, air pollution in Beijing caused a health loss equivalent to Ұ583.02 million or 0.03 % of its GDP. Most of the losses took the form of depreciation in human capital that resulted from premature death. The losses from premature deaths were most salient for people of either old or young ages, with the former group suffering from the highest mortality rates and the latter group the highest per capital losses of human capitals from premature death. Policies that target on PM10 emission reduction, urban vegetation expansion, and protection of vulnerable groups are all proposed as possible solutions to air pollution risks in Beijing.

  3. Chinese air pollution embodied in trade

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Davis, S. J.

    2014-12-01

    Rapid economic development in China has been accompanied by high levels of air pollution in many areas of China. Although researchers have applied a range of methods to monitor and track pollutant emissions in the atmosphere, studies of the underlying economic and technological drivers of this pollution have received considerably less attention. I will present results of a series of studies that have quantified the air pollutants embodied in goods being traded both within China and internationally. The results show that trade is facilitating the concentration of pollution in less economically developed areas, which in turn export pollution-intensive goods to more affluent areas. However, the export-related pollution itself is sometimes transported long distances; for instance, we have quantified the impacts of the Chinese pollution embodied in internationally-exported goods on air quality in the US. These findings important implications for Chinese efforts to curb CO2 emissions and improve air quality. The research to be presented reflects the efforts of a multiple year, ongoing collaboration among interdisciplinary researchers in China, the US and the UK.

  4. The link between symptoms of office building occupants and in-office air pollution: the Indoor Air Pollution Index.

    PubMed

    Sofuoglu, S C; Moschandreas, D J

    2003-12-01

    The lack of an effective indoor air quality (IAQ) metric causes communication concerns among building tenants (the public), building managers (decision-makers), and IAQ investigators (engineers). The Indoor Air Pollution Index (IAPI) is developed for office buildings to bridge this communication discord. The index, simple and easily understood, employs the range of pollutant concentrations and concentrations in the subject building to estimate a unitless single number, the IAPI, between 0 (lowest pollution level and best IAQ) and ten (highest pollution level and worst IAQ). The index provides a relative measure of indoor air pollution for office buildings and ranks office indoor air pollution relative to the index distribution of the US office building population. Furthermore, the index associates well with occupant symptoms, percentage of occupants with persistent symptoms. A tree-structured method is utilized in conjunction with the arithmetic mean as the aggregation function. The hierarchical structure of the method renders not only one index value, but also several sub-index values that are critical in the study of an office air environment. The use of the IAPI for IAQ management is illustrated with an example. The decomposition of the index leads to the ranking of sampled pollutants by their relative contribution to the index and the identification of dominant pollutant(s). This information can be applied to design an effective strategy for reducing in-office air pollution.

  5. Air Pollution and Control Legislation in India

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    P Bhave, Prashant; Kulkarni, Nikhil

    2015-09-01

    Air pollution in urban areas arises from multiple sources, which may vary with location and developmental activities. Anthropogenic activities as rampant industrialization, exploitation and over consumption of natural resources, ever growing population size are major contributors of air pollution. The presented review is an effort to discuss various aspects of air pollution and control legislation in India emphasizing on the history, present scenario, international treaties, gaps and drawbacks. The review also presents legislative controls with judicial response to certain landmark judgments related to air pollution. The down sides related to enforcement mechanism for the effective implementation of environmental laws for air pollution control have been highlighted.

  6. Place-based stressors associated with industry and air pollution.

    PubMed

    Kondo, Michelle C; Gross-Davis, Carol Ann; May, Katlyn; Davis, Lauren O; Johnson, Tyiesha; Mallard, Mable; Gabbadon, Alice; Sherrod, Claudia; Branas, Charles C

    2014-07-01

    Exposure to air pollution and its sources is increasingly viewed as a psychosocial stress, however its nature is not understood. This article explores the role of the concept of place on risk perception and community stress within data collected from eight focus groups in Philadelphia, USA. Discussions focused on air pollution, a nearby oil refinery, health, and a proposal for air monitoring. We present a framework of place-based elements of risk perception that includes place identity, stigma and social control. Our findings indicate that air pollution contributes to physical and psychosocial conditions that act as community-level social stressors. Findings also suggest that programs which seek to change behaviors and gather or spread information on issues such as pollution and other environmental concerns will be challenged unless they directly address: (1) the public׳s identification with a place or industry, (2) immediate environmental stressors such as abandonment, waste and odors, and (3) public perceptions of lack of social control and fear of displacement. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  7. A comparison of self reported air pollution problems and GIS-modeled levels of air pollution in people with and without chronic diseases

    PubMed Central

    Piro, Fredrik Niclas; Madsen, Christian; Næss, Øyvind; Nafstad, Per; Claussen, Bjørgulf

    2008-01-01

    Objective To explore various contributors to people's reporting of self reported air pollution problems in area of living, including GIS-modeled air pollution, and to investigate whether those with respiratory or other chronic diseases tend to over-report air pollution problems, compared to healthy people. Methods Cross-sectional data from the Oslo Health Study (2000–2001) were linked with GIS-modeled air pollution data from the Norwegian Institute of Air Research. Multivariate regression analyses were performed. 14 294 persons aged 30, 40, 45, 60 or 75 years old with complete information on modeled and self reported air pollution were included. Results People who reported air pollution problems were exposed to significantly higher GIS-modeled air pollution levels than those who did not report such problems. People with chronic disease, reported significantly more air pollution problems after adjustment for modeled levels of nitrogen dioxides, socio-demographic variables, smoking, depression, dwelling conditions and an area deprivation index, even if they had a non-respiratory disease. No diseases, however, were significantly associated with levels of nitrogen dioxides. Conclusion Self reported air pollution problems in area of living are strongly associated with increased levels of GIS-modeled air pollution. Over and above this, those who report to have a chronic disease tend to report more air pollution problems in area of living, despite no significant difference in air pollution exposure compared to healthy people, and no associations between these diseases and NO2. Studies on the association between self reported air pollution problems and health should be aware of the possibility that disease itself may influence the reporting of air pollution. PMID:18307757

  8. Air Pollution Prevention and Control Policy in China.

    PubMed

    Huang, Cunrui; Wang, Qiong; Wang, Suhan; Ren, Meng; Ma, Rui; He, Yiling

    2017-01-01

    With rapid urbanization and development of transport infrastructure, air pollution caused by multiple-pollutant emissions and vehicle exhaust has been aggravated year by year in China. In order to improve air quality, the Chinese authorities have taken a series of actions to control air pollution emission load within a permissible range. However, although China has made positive progress on tackling air pollution, these actions have not kept up with its economy growth and fossil-fuel use. The traditional single-pollutant approach is far from enough in China now, and in the near future, air pollution control strategies should move in the direction of the multiple-pollutant approach. In addition, undesirable air quality is usually linked with the combination of high emissions and adverse weather conditions. However, few studies have been done on the influence of climate change on atmospheric chemistry in the global perspective. Available evidence suggested that climate change is likely to exacerbate certain kinds of air pollutants including ozone and smoke from wildfires. This has become a major public health problem because the interactions of global climate change, urban heat islands, and air pollution have adverse effects on human health. In this chapter, we first review the past and current circumstances of China's responses to air pollution. Then we discuss the control challenges and future options for a better air quality in China. Finally, we begin to unravel links between air pollution and climate change, providing new opportunities for integrated research and actions in China.

  9. Long term variations of the atmospheric air pollutants in Istanbul City.

    PubMed

    Ozcan, H Kurtulus

    2012-03-01

    High population density and intense industrial activity has resulted in various forms of pollution in megacities. Air pollution ranks at the top of this list. This study investigated long-term changes in air pollutant parameters (SO(2), CO, NO, NO(2), NO(x)) in Istanbul City, Turkey, using data from air-quality measurement stations on the Asian and European sides of Istanbul. The results show decreases from 2002 to 2010 in the amounts of SO(2) (one of the main pollutants released as a result of the burning of fossil fuels) and CO (indicative of incomplete combustion). However, NO(x) concentrations showed fluctuations over time, rather than a steady decline throughout the study period.

  10. Long Term Variations of the Atmospheric Air Pollutants in Istanbul City

    PubMed Central

    Ozcan, H. Kurtulus

    2012-01-01

    High population density and intense industrial activity has resulted in various forms of pollution in megacities. Air pollution ranks at the top of this list. This study investigated long-term changes in air pollutant parameters (SO2, CO, NO, NO2, NOx) in Istanbul City, Turkey, using data from air-quality measurement stations on the Asian and European sides of Istanbul. The results show decreases from 2002 to 2010 in the amounts of SO2 (one of the main pollutants released as a result of the burning of fossil fuels) and CO (indicative of incomplete combustion). However, NOx concentrations showed fluctuations over time, rather than a steady decline throughout the study period. PMID:22690163

  11. Seasonal ambient air pollution correlates strongly with spontaneous abortion in Mongolia

    PubMed Central

    2014-01-01

    Background Air pollution is a major health challenge worldwide and has previously been strongly associated with adverse reproductive health. This study aimed to examine the association between spontaneous abortion and seasonal variation of air pollutants in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. Methods Monthly average O3, SO2, NO2, CO, PM10 and PM2.5 levels were measured at Mongolian Government Air Quality Monitoring stations. The medical records of 1219 women admitted to the hospital due to spontaneous abortion between 2009–2011 were examined retrospectively. Fetal deaths per calendar month from January-December, 2011 were counted and correlated with mean monthly levels of various air pollutants by means of regression analysis. Results Regression of ambient pollutants against fetal death as a dose–response toxicity curve revealed very strong dose–response correlations for SO2 r > 0.9 (p < 0.001) while similarly strongly significant correlation coefficients were found for NO2 (r > 0.8), CO (r > 0.9), PM10 (r > 0.9) and PM2.5 (r > 0.8), (p < 0.001), indicating a strong correlation between air pollution and decreased fetal wellbeing. Conclusion The present study identified alarmingly strong statistical correlations between ambient air pollutants and spontaneous abortion. Further studies need to be done to examine possible correlations between personal exposure to air pollutants and pregnancy loss. PMID:24758249

  12. Air Pollution and Environmental Justice Awareness

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bouvier-Brown, N. C.

    2014-12-01

    Air pollution is not equally dispersed in all neighborhoods and this raises many social concerns, such as environmental justice. "Real world" data, whether extracted from online databases or collected in the field, can be used to demonstrate air quality patterns. When students explore these trends, they not only learn about atmospheric chemistry, but they also become socially aware of any inequities. This presentation outlines specific ways to link air pollution and environmental justice suitable for an undergraduate upper division Air Pollution or Atmospheric Chemistry course.

  13. Environmental Chemistry: Air and Water Pollution.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Stoker, H. Stephen; Seager, Spencer L.

    This is a book about air and water pollution whose chapters cover the topics of air pollution--general considerations, carbon monoxide, oxides of nitrogen, hydrocarbons and photochemical oxidants, sulfur oxides, particulates, temperature inversions and the greenhouse effect; and water pollution--general considerations, mercury, lead, detergents,…

  14. Air Pollution and Human Health

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lave, Lester B.; Seskin, Eugene P.

    1970-01-01

    Reviews studies statistically relating air pollution to mortality and morbidity rates for respiratory, and cardiovascular diseases, cancer and infant mortality. Some data recalculated. Estimates 50 percent air pollution reduction will save 4.5 percent (2080 million dollars per year) of all economic loss (hospitalization, income loss) associated…

  15. Intercontinental Transport of Air Pollution

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Rogers, David; Whung, Pai-Yei; Einaudi, Franco (Technical Monitor)

    2001-01-01

    The development of the global economy goes beyond raising our standards of living. We are in an ear of increasing environmental as well as economic interdependence. Long-range transport of anthropogenic atmospheric pollutants such as ozone, ozone precursors, airborne particles, heavy metals (such as mercury) and persistent organic pollutants are the four major types of pollution that are transported over intercontinental distances and have global environmental effects. The talk includes: 1) an overview of the international agreements related to intercontinental transport of air pollutants, 2) information needed for decision making, 3) overview of the past research on intercontinental transport of air pollutants - a North American's perspective, and 4) future research needs.

  16. Winds of change: reducing transboundary air pollutants.

    PubMed

    Reuther, C G

    2000-04-01

    Sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, volatile organic compounds, persistent organic pollutants, particulate matter, and heavy metals---air pollutants once thought to be problems that could be solved locally, where the effects occur---are all currently being discussed in international forums. A spate of meetings and agreements in recent months has shown many international governments to be more willing than ever to try to limit the amount of their air pollution that drifts into other countries. Prompting this policy shift are increasing emissions in some parts of the world, better monitoring, and an improved understanding of air pollution transport and the effects of air pollution. In most regions of the world, however, no international agreements on air pollution exist at all, while in others, many overlapping local, multilateral, and global agreements address the problem simultaneously. According to the World Health Organization, air pollution causes nearly 3 million deaths per year, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that ground-level ozone causes damage to U.S. crops totaling $1-2 billion each year.

  17. Impacts of air pollution wave on years of life lost: A crucial way to communicate the health risks of air pollution to the public.

    PubMed

    Huang, Jing; Pan, Xiaochuan; Guo, Xinbiao; Li, Guoxing

    2018-04-01

    Limited studies have explored the impacts of exposure to sustained high levels of air pollution (air pollution wave) on mortality. Given that the frequency, intensity and duration of air pollution wave has been increasing in highly polluted regions recently, understanding the impacts of air pollution wave is crucial. In this study, air pollution wave was defined as 2 or more consecutive days with air pollution index (API) > 100. The impacts of air pollution wave on years of life lost (YLL) due to non-accidental, cardiovascular and respiratory deaths were evaluated by considering both consecutive days with high levels of air pollution and daily air pollution levels in Tianjin, China, from 2006 to 2011. The results showed the durational effect of consecutive days with high levels of air pollution was substantial in addition to the effect of daily air pollution. For instance, the durational effect was related to an increase in YLL of 116.6 (95% CI: 4.8, 228.5) years from non-accidental deaths when the air pollution wave was sustained for 4 days, while the corresponding daily air pollution's effect was 121.2 (95% CI: 55.2, 187.1) years. A better interpretation of the health risks of air pollution wave is crucial for air pollution control policy making and public health interventions. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  18. Indoor Air Pollution in Non Ac Passenger Bus

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    El Husna, Iksiroh; Unzilatirrizqi, Rizal D. Yan El; Karyanto, Yudi; Sunoko, Henna R.

    2018-02-01

    Passenger buses have been one of favorite means of transportation in Indonesia due to its affordability and flexibility. Intensity of human activities during the trip in the buses have a potential of causing indoor air pollution (polusi udara dalam ruang; PUDR). The indoor air pollution has an impact of 1000-time bigger than outdoor air pollution (polusi udara luar ruang; PULR) on lung. This study aimed to find out indoor air pollution rate of non air conditioned buses using an approach to biological agent pollutant source. The study applied an analysis restricted to microorganisms persistence as one of the sources of the indoor air pollution. The media were placed in different parts of the non AC buses. This study revealed that fungs were found in the non AC buses. They became contaminants and developed pathogenic bacteria that caused air pollution.

  19. Teaching Air Pollution in an Authentic Context

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mandrikas, Achilleas; Stavrou, Dimitrios; Skordoulis, Constantine

    2017-04-01

    This paper describes a teaching-learning sequence (TLS) about air pollution and the findings resulting from its implementation by pre-service elementary teachers (PET) currently undergraduate students of the Department of Primary Education in the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece. The TLS focused on the relation of air pollution with wind and topography in local conditions. An authentic context was provided to the students based on daily up-to-date meteorological data via the Internet in order to estimate air pollution. The results are encouraging given that PET can correlate wind and concentration of air pollutants through reading specialized angular diagrams and weather maps, can recognize the correlation of topography in the concentration of air pollutants, and can describe temperature inversion. However, the PET demonstrated clear difficulties in ability of orientation, in wind naming, and in interpretation of symbols on weather map. Finally, the implications on teaching air pollution are discussed.

  20. Air pollution and gastrointestinal diseases in Utah

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Maestas, Melissa May

    The valleys of northern Utah, where most of Utah's population resides, experience episodic air pollution events well in excess of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards. Most of the events are due to an accumulation of particulate matter during persistent cold air pools in winter from both direct emissions and secondary chemical reactions in the atmosphere. High wintertime ozone concentrations are occasionally observed in the Uintah Basin, in addition to particulate matter. At other times of the year, blowing dust, wildland fires, fireworks, and summertime ozone formation contribute to local air pollution. The objective of this dissertation is to investigate one facet of the health effects of Utah's air pollution on its residents: the acute impacts of air pollution on gastrointestinal (GI) disease. To study the health effects of these episodic pollution events, some measure of air pollution exposure must be matched to the health data. Time and place are used to link the health data for a person with the pollution data. This dissertation describes the method of kriging data from the sparse pollution monitoring network to estimate personal air pollution history based on the zip code of residence. This dissertation then describes the application of these exposure estimates to a health study on GI disease. The purpose of the GI study is to retrospectively look at two groups of patients during 2000-2014: those with autoimmune disease of the GI tract (inflammatory bowel disease, IBD) and those with allergic disease of the GI tract (eosinophilic esophagitis, EoE) to determine whether disease exacerbations occur more commonly during and following periods of poor air quality compared to periods of good air quality. The primary analysis method is case crossover design. In addition to using the kriged air pollution estimates, the analysis was repeated using simpler empirical estimation methods to assess whether the odds ratios are sensitive to the air pollution estimation

  1. Air Pollution: Current and Future Challenges

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    Despite the dramatic progress to date, air pollution continues to threaten Americans’ health and welfare. The main obstacles are climate change, conventional air pollution, and ozone layer depletion.

  2. Children, Pediatricians, and Polluted Air.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kane, Dorothy Noyes

    Explored are children's vulnerability and the pediatrician's role in relation to the problems posed by air pollution. Research is noted to have included a search of biomedical literature over the past 10 years; attendance at medical meetings; conferences with air pollution researchers, environmental protection administrators, and specialists in…

  3. Methods for Environments and Contaminants: Criteria Air Pollutants

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    EPA’s Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards (OAQPS) has set primary (health-based) National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for six common air pollutants, often referred to as criteria air pollutants (or simply criteria pollutants).

  4. The Crisis in Air Pollution Manpower Development

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Moeller, Dade W.

    1974-01-01

    Three studies conducted by the National Air Pollution Manpower Development Advisory Committee concluded there is a crisis in air pollution manpower development within the United States today. The studies investigated the existing federal manpower program, air pollution educational requirements and the quality of graduate level university programs.…

  5. Effects of traffic-related outdoor air pollution on respiratory illness and mortality in children, taking into account indoor air pollution, in Indonesia.

    PubMed

    Kashima, Saori; Yorifuji, Takashi; Tsuda, Toshihide; Ibrahim, Juliani; Doi, Hiroyuki

    2010-03-01

    To evaluate the effects of outdoor air pollution, taking into account indoor air pollution, in Indonesia. The subjects were 15,242 children from 2002 to 2003 Indonesia Demographic and Health Survey. The odds ratios and their confidence intervals for adverse health effects were estimated. Proximity increased the prevalence of acute respiratory infection both in urban and rural areas after adjusting for indoor air pollution. In urban areas, the prevalence of acute upper respiratory infection increased by 1.012 (95% confidence intervals: 1.005 to 1.019) per 2 km proximity to a major road. Adjusted odds ratios tended to be higher in the high indoor air pollution group. Exposure to traffic-related outdoor air pollution would increase adverse health effects after adjusting for indoor air pollution. Furthermore, indoor air pollution could exacerbate the effects of outdoor air pollution.

  6. Monitoring of air pollution levels related to Charilaos Trikoupis Bridge.

    PubMed

    Sarigiannis, D A; Handakas, E J; Kermenidou, M; Zarkadas, I; Gotti, A; Charisiadis, P; Makris, K; Manousakas, M; Eleftheriadis, K; Karakitsios, S P

    2017-12-31

    Charilaos Trikoupis bridge is the longest cable bridge in Europe that connects Western Greece with the rest of the country. In this study, six air pollution monitoring campaigns (including major regulated air pollutants) were carried out from 2013 to 2015 at both sides of the bridge, located in the urban areas of Rio and Antirrio respectively. Pollution data were statistically analyzed and air quality was characterized using US and European air quality indices. From the overall campaign, it was found that air pollution levels were below the respective regulatory thresholds, but once at the site of Antirrio (26.4 and 52.2μg/m 3 for PM 2.5 and ΡΜ 10 , respectively) during the 2nd winter period. Daily average PM 10 and PM 2.5 levels from two monitoring sites were well correlated to gaseous pollutant (CO, NO, NO 2 , NO x and SO 2 ) levels, meteorological parameters and factor scores from Positive Matrix Factorization during the 3-year period. Moreover, the elemental composition of PM 10 and PM 2.5 was used for source apportionment. That analysis revealed that major emission sources were sulfates, mineral dust, biomass burning, sea salt, traffic and shipping emissions for PM 10 and PM 2.5 , for both Rio and Antirrio. Seasonal variation indicates that sulfates, mineral dust and traffic emissions increased during the warm season of the year, while biomass burning become the dominant during the cold season. Overall, the contribution of the Charilaos Trikoupis bridge to the vicinity air pollution is very low. This is the result of the relatively low daily traffic volume (~10,000 vehicles per day), the respective traffic fleet composition (~81% of the traffic fleet are private vehicles) and the speed limit (80km/h) which does not favor traffic emissions. In addition, the strong and frequent winds further contribute to the rapid dispersion of the emitted pollutants. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  7. Growth of ponderosa pine seedlings as affected by air pollution

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Momen, B.; Anderson, P. D.; Houpis, J. L. J.; Helms, J. A.

    The effect of air pollution on seedling survival and competitive ability is important to natural and artificial regeneration of forest trees. Although biochemical and physiological processes are sensitive indicators of pollution stress, the cumulative effects of air pollutants on seedling vigor and competitive ability may be assessed directly from whole-plant growth characteristics such as diameter, height, and photosynthetic area. A few studies that have examined intraspecific variation in seedling response to air pollution indicate that genotypic differences are important in assessing potential effects of air pollution on forest regeneration. Here, we studied the effects of acid rain (no-rain, pH 5.1 rain, pH 3.0 rain) and ozone (filtered, ambient, twice-ambient) in the field on height, diameter, volume, the height:diameter ratio, maximum needle length, and time to reach maximum needle length in seedlings of three families of ponderosa pine ( Pinus ponderosa Dougl. ex Laws). Seedling diameter, height, volume, and height:diameter ratio related significantly to their pre-treatment values. Twice-ambient ozone decreased seedling diameter compared with ozone-filtered air. A significant family-by-ozone interaction was detected for seedling height, as the height of only one of the three families was decreased by twice-ambient ozone compared with the ambient level. Seedling diameter was larger and the height:diameter ratio was smaller under pH 3.0 rain compared to either the no-rain or the pH 5.1-rain treatment. This suggests greater seedling vigor, perhaps due to a foliar fertilization effect of the pH 3.0 rain.

  8. Regional Air Pollutions in Three Different Regions of Asia From a Transcontinental Transport Perspective

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pochanart, P.; Kanaya, Y.; Komazaki, Y.; Liu, Y.; Akimoto, H.

    2007-12-01

    Asia is known as one of the regions with the fastest rate of growing in industrialization and urbanization. As a result, the rapid increases of large-scale air pollution in Asia emerge as a serious concern at both domestic and international levels. Apart from the problems of air quality degradation, emission control, environmental risk, and health effect in a domestic level, evidences from scientific studies indicate that by the long-range transport, Asian air pollution is becoming a global problem. Observations and model studies confirm that air pollution from Asia could be transported to North America or farther. In this work, we investigate the Asian air pollutions, in particular ozone and some other atmospheric components such as carbon monoxide and black carbon, from the ground- based observations in the three different regions, namely 1) background region of Siberia and central Asia, 2) highly anthropogenic region in eastern China, and 3) the rim region of the Asia-Pacific. In a transcontinental transport perspective, these regions are regarded as the inflow region, source region, and outflow region of Asia, respectively. From the results, it is found that the influences from large-scale emission in East Asia are observed clearly in the source region, and to the significant extent in the outflow region. For the inflow region of Asia, our data in Siberia and Kyrgyzstan indicate that air masses in this region are mostly intact from large-scale anthropogenic emission, and remain much of the global background atmospheric pollution characteristic. When the air masses are transported to source region, the air pollutants level increased sharply and frequent episodes of extremely high pollutions have been observed. Our results show good correlation between the residence time of air masses over the source region in eastern China and the observed levels of air pollutants verifying the strong enhancements by anthropogenic emissions from industrialization and

  9. Effect of environmental air pollution on cardiovascular diseases.

    PubMed

    Meo, S A; Suraya, F

    2015-12-01

    Environmental air pollution has become a leading health concern especially in the developing countries with more urbanization, industrialization and rapidly growing population. Prolonged exposure to air pollution is a risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. The present study aimed to investigate the effects of environmental air pollution on progression of cardiovascular problems. In this study, we identified 6880 published articles through a systematic database including ISI-Web of Science, PubMed and EMBASE. The allied literature was searched by using the key words such as environmental pollution, air pollution, particulate matter pollutants PM 2.5 μm-PM 10 μm. Literature in which environmental air pollution and cardiac diseases were discussed was included. Descriptive information was retrieved from the selected literature. Finally, we included 67 publications and remaining studies were excluded. Environmental pollution can cause high blood pressure, arrhythmias, enhanced coagulation, thrombosis, acute arterial vasoconstriction, atherosclerosis, ischemic heart diseases, myocardial infarction and even heart failure. Environmental air pollution is associated with increased risk of cardiovascular diseases. Environmental pollution exerts its detrimental effects on the heart by developing pulmonary inflammation, systemic inflammation, oxidative stress, endothelial dysfunction and prothrombotic changes. Environmental protection officials must take high priority steps to minimize the air pollution to decrease the prevalence of cardiovascular diseases.

  10. Transboundary Air Pollution over the Central Himalayas: Monitoring network and Preliminary Results

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhang, Qianggong; Kang, Shichang

    2016-04-01

    The Himalayas, stretching over 3000 kms along west-east, separates South Asia continent and the Tibetan Plateau with its extreme high altitudes. The South Asia is being increasingly recognized to be among the hotspots of air pollution, posing multi-effects on regional climate and environment. Recent monitoring and projection have indicated an accelerated decrease of glacier and increasing glacier runoff in the Himalayas, and a remarkable phenomenon has been recognized in the Himalayas that long-range transport atmospheric pollutants (e.g., black carbon and dust) deposited on glacier surface can promote glacier melt, and in turns, may liberate historical contaminant legacy in glaciers into downward ecosystems. To understand the air pollution variation and how they can infiltrate the Himalayas and beyond, we started to operate a coordinated atmospheric pollution monitoring network composing 11 sites with 5 in Nepal and 6 in Tibet since April 2013. Atmospheric total suspended particles ( TSP < 100 μm) are collected for 24h at an interval of 3-6 days at all sites. Black carbon, typical persistent organic pollutants (PAHs) and heavy metals (particulate-bounded mercury) are measured to reveal their spatial and temporal distributions. Results revealed a consistent gradient decrease in almost all analyzed parameters along south-north gradient across the Himalayas, with a clear seasonal variation of higher values in pre-monsoon seasons. Analysis of geochemical signatures of carbonaceous aerosols indicated dominant sources from biomass burning and vehicle exhaust. PAHs concentrations and signatures from soils and aerosols indicated that low-ring PAHs can readily transport across the Himalayas. Integrated analysis of satellite images and air mass trajectories suggested that the transboundary air pollution over the Himalayas is episodic and is likely concentrated in pre-monsoon seasons. Our results emphasis the potential transport and impact of air pollution from South Asia

  11. Product Guide/1972 [Air Pollution Control Association].

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Journal of the Air Pollution Control Association, 1971

    1971-01-01

    Reprinted in this pamphlet is the fifth annual directory of air pollution control products as compiled in the "Journal of the Air Pollution Control Association" for December, 1971. The 16-page guide lists manufacturers of emission control equipment and air pollution instrumentation under product classifications as derived from McGraw-Hill's "Air…

  12. Air pollutants associated with insufficient birth weight.

    PubMed

    Santos, Veridiana de Paula; Medeiros, Andréa Paula Peneluppi de; Lima, Thaiza Agostini Cordoba de; Nascimento, Luiz Fernando Costa

    2016-03-01

    A growing number of studies have shown consistent evidence of the harmful effects of air pollution on human health, as well as its effects on newborn weight. The objective of this study is to evaluate the effect of air pollution on birth weight, more specifically the insufficient birth weight (identified between 2,500 and 2,999 grams). This was a cross-sectional study based on data gathered from all babies born to mothers living in São José dos Campos, São Paulo, Brazil, between the years of 2006 to 2010. The association between maternal exposure to air pollution and birth weight was examined using logistic regression (both univariate and multivariate) to consider the average concentration of each pollutant during the 1st and 3rd trimesters and the months of the 1st trimester. Of the 39,453 total live births during the study period, 10,542 (26.7%) newborns had insufficient weight. In multiple logistic analysis, maternal exposure to particulate matter in the 1st and 3rd trimester of pregnancy had a greater chance for insufficient weight. There is a chance of 1.07 (95%CI 1.00 - 1.14) for an insufficient weight scenario for exposure (to the 2nd quartile) of particulate matter in the 1st trimester and 1.10 (95%CI 1.04 - 1.18) for exposure (the 3rd quartile) in the 3rd trimester. The survey results indicate that maternal exposure to air pollution in the 1st and 3rd trimesters of pregnancy for residents of São José dos Campos create considerable potential to cause insufficient weight.

  13. Air Pollution: Mechanisms of Neuroinflammation & CNS Disease

    PubMed Central

    Block, Michelle L.; Calderón-Garcidueñas, Lilian

    2009-01-01

    Emerging evidence implicates air pollution as a chronic source of neuroinflammation, reactive oxygen species (ROS), and neuropathology instigating central nervous system (CNS) disease. Stroke incidence, and Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease pathology are linked to air pollution. Recent reports reveal that air pollution components reach the brain. Further, systemic effects known to impact lung and cardiovascular disease also impinge upon CNS health. While mechanisms driving air pollution-induced CNS pathology are poorly understood, new evidence suggests that activation of microglia and changes in the blood brain barrier may be key to this process. Here, we summarize recent findings detailing the mechanisms through which air pollution reaches the brain and activates the resident innate immune response to become a chronic source of pro-inflammatory factors and ROS culpable in CNS disease. PMID:19716187

  14. Assessment of socioeconomic costs to China's air pollution

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Xia, Yang; Guan, Dabo; Jiang, Xujia; Peng, Liqun; Schroeder, Heike; Zhang, Qiang

    2016-08-01

    Particulate air pollution has had a significant impact on human health in China and it is associated with cardiovascular and respiratory diseases and high mortality and morbidity. These health impacts could be translated to reduced labor availability and time. This paper utilized a supply-driven input-output (I-O) model to estimate the monetary value of total output losses resulting from reduced working time caused by diseases related to air pollution across 30 Chinese provinces in 2007. Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) pollution was used as an indicator to assess impacts to health caused by air pollution. The developed I-O model is able to capture both direct economic costs and indirect cascading effects throughout inter-regional production supply chains and the indirect effects greatly outnumber the direct effects in most Chinese provinces. Our results show the total economic losses of 346.26 billion Yuan (approximately 1.1% of the national GDP) based on the number of affected Chinese employees (72 million out of a total labor population of 712 million) whose work time in years was reduced because of mortality, hospital admissions and outpatient visits due to diseases resulting from PM2.5 air pollution in 2007. The loss is almost the annual GDP of Vietnam in 2010. The proposed modelling approach provides an alternative method for health-cost measurement with additional insights on inter-industrial and inter-regional linkages along production supply chains.

  15. Air pollution from aircraft

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Heywood, J. B.; Fay, J. A.; Chigier, N. A.

    1979-01-01

    A series of fundamental problems related to jet engine air pollution and combustion were examined. These include soot formation and oxidation, nitric oxide and carbon monoxide emissions mechanisms, pollutant dispension, flow and combustion characteristics of the NASA swirl can combustor, fuel atomization and fuel-air mixing processes, fuel spray drop velocity and size measurement, ignition and blowout. A summary of this work, and a bibliography of 41 theses and publications which describe this work, with abstracts, is included.

  16. Relationships between lung cancer incidences and air pollutants.

    PubMed

    Yue, Shihong; Wang, Yaru; Wang, Jianpei; Chen, Jun

    2017-07-20

    Statistics on lung cancer incidences and air pollutants show a strong correlation between air pollutant concentrations and pulmonary diseases. And environmental effects on lung cancer incidences remain highly unknown and uncertain in China. This study aims to measure the relationships between different air pollutants and lung cancer incidences in Tianjin. One thusand five hundred patients across 27 districts in Tianjin were studied for lung cancer incidences. The patients had come into contact with various air pollutants such as PM2.5, PM10, SO2, NO2, CO, and O3. These pollutants were measured daily and were published via a Geographic Information System across the 27 districts of Tianjin. The air pollutant compositions of environments the patients lived in were determined using the nearest air monitoring station to the patient. And we used rough set theory to measure the relationships between different air pollutants and lung cancer incidences. Different air pollutants and combinations of pollutants impacted lung cancer incidences differently across different districts, sexes, and lung cancer types in Tianjin. Based on data analysis and interpretation, rough set theory provided data relationships that were objective and interpretable. The method is simple, general, and efficient, and lays the foundation for further applications in other cities.

  17. Biological effects of air pollution in São Paulo and Cubatão.

    PubMed

    Böhm, G M; Saldiva, P H; Pasqualucci, C A; Massad, E; Martins, M de E; Zin, W A; Cardoso, W V; Criado, P M; Komatsuzaki, M; Sakae, R S

    1989-08-01

    Rats were used as biological indicators of air quality in two heavily polluted Brazilian towns: São Paulo and Cubatão. They were exposed for 6 months to ambient air in areas where the pollution was known to be severe. The following parameters were studied and compared to those of control animals: respiratory mechanics, mucociliary transport, morphometry of respiratory epithelium and distal air spaces, and general morphological alterations. The results showed lesions of the distal and upper airways in rats exposed in Cubatão, whereas the animals from São Paulo showed only alterations of the upper airways but of greater intensity than those observed in the Cubatão group. There are both qualitative and quantitative differences in the pollutants of these places: in São Paulo automobile exhaust gases dominate and in Cubatão the pollution is due mainly to particulates of industrial sources. The correlation of the pathological findings with the pollutants is discussed and it is concluded that biological indicators are useful to monitor air pollutions which reached dangerous levels in São Paulo and Cubatão.

  18. Air pollution and population health: a global challenge.

    PubMed

    Chen, Bingheng; Kan, Haidong

    2008-03-01

    "Air pollution and population health" is one of the most important environmental and public health issues. Economic development, urbanization, energy consumption, transportation/motorization, and rapid population growth are major driving forces of air pollution in large cities, especially in megacities. Air pollution levels in developed countries have been decreasing dramatically in recent decades. However, in developing countries and in countries in transition, air pollution levels are still at relatively high levels, though the levels have been gradually decreasing or have remained stable during rapid economic development. In recent years, several hundred epidemiological studies have emerged showing adverse health effects associated with short-term and long-term exposure to air pollutants. Time-series studies conducted in Asian cities also showed similar health effects on mortality associated with exposure to particulate matter (PM), sulfur dioxide (SO(2)), nitrogen dioxide (NO(2)) and ozone (O(3)) to those explored in Europe and North America. The World Health Organization (WHO) published the "WHO Air Quality Guidelines (AQGs), Global Update" in 2006. These updated AQGs provide much stricter guidelines for PM, NO(2), SO(2) and O(3). Considering that current air pollution levels are much higher than the WHO-recommended AQGs, interim targets for these four air pollutants are also recommended for member states, especially for developing countries in setting their country-specific air quality standards. In conclusion, ambient air pollution is a health hazard. It is more important in Asian developing countries within the context of pollution level and population density. Improving air quality has substantial, measurable and important public health benefits.

  19. Evaluation and Application of Alternative Air Pollution Exposure Metrics in Air Pollution Epidemiology Studies

    EPA Science Inventory

    ABSTRACT: Periodic review, revision and subsequent implementation of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for criteria air pollutants rely upon various types of scientific air quality, exposure, toxicological dose-response and epidemiological information. Exposure assessmen...

  20. Impact of wildfires on regional air pollution | Science Inventory ...

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    We examine the impact of wildfires and agricultural/prescribed burning on regional air pollution and Air Quality Index (AQI) between 2006 and 2013. We define daily regional air pollution using monitoring sites for ozone (n=1595), PM2.5 collected by Federal Reference Method (n=1058), and constituents of PM2.5 from the Interagency Monitoring of PROtected Visual Environment (IMPROVE) network (n=264) and use satellite image analysis from the NOAA Hazard Mapping System (HMS) to determine days on which visible smoke plumes are detected in the vertical column of the monitoring site. To examine the impact of smoke from these fires on regional air pollution we use a two stage approach, accounting for within site (1st stage) and between site (2nd stage) variations. At the first stage we estimate a monitor-specific plume day effect describing the relative change in pollutant concentrations on the days impacted by smoke plume while accounting for confounding effects of season and temperature_. At the second stage we combine monitor-specific plume day effects with a Bayesian hierarchical model and estimate a pooled nationally-averaged effect. HMS visible smoke plumes were detected on 6% of ozone, 8% of PM2.5 and 6% of IMPROVE network monitoring days. Our preliminary results indicate that the long range transport of air pollutants from wildfires and prescribed burns increase ozone concentration by 11% and PM2.5 mass by 34%. On all of the days where monitoring sites were AQI

  1. RESPIRATORY EPIDEMIOLOGY OF HOUSEHOLD AIR POLLUTION EXPOSURES IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

    EPA Science Inventory

    Acute and chronic respiratory diseases impose a huge public health burden in the developing world. A large and growing body of scientific evidence indicates that household air pollution exposures contribute substantially to this burden. The most important source of indoor air p...

  2. 30 CFR 780.15 - Air pollution control plan.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... 30 Mineral Resources 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Air pollution control plan. 780.15 Section 780....15 Air pollution control plan. (a) For all surface mining activities with projected production rates... application shall contain an air pollution control plan which includes the following: (1) An air quality...

  3. 30 CFR 780.15 - Air pollution control plan.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... 30 Mineral Resources 3 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Air pollution control plan. 780.15 Section 780....15 Air pollution control plan. (a) For all surface mining activities with projected production rates... application shall contain an air pollution control plan which includes the following: (1) An air quality...

  4. 30 CFR 780.15 - Air pollution control plan.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ... 30 Mineral Resources 3 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Air pollution control plan. 780.15 Section 780....15 Air pollution control plan. (a) For all surface mining activities with projected production rates... application shall contain an air pollution control plan which includes the following: (1) An air quality...

  5. 30 CFR 780.15 - Air pollution control plan.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ... 30 Mineral Resources 3 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Air pollution control plan. 780.15 Section 780....15 Air pollution control plan. (a) For all surface mining activities with projected production rates... application shall contain an air pollution control plan which includes the following: (1) An air quality...

  6. 30 CFR 780.15 - Air pollution control plan.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    ... 30 Mineral Resources 3 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Air pollution control plan. 780.15 Section 780....15 Air pollution control plan. (a) For all surface mining activities with projected production rates... application shall contain an air pollution control plan which includes the following: (1) An air quality...

  7. Air Pollution Primer.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    National Tuberculosis and Respiratory Disease Association, New York, NY.

    As the dangers of polluted air to the health and welfare of all individuals became increasingly evident and as the complexity of the causes made responsibility for solutions even more difficult to fix, the National Tuberculosis and Respiratory Disease Association felt obligated to give greater emphasis to its clean air program. To this end they…

  8. Air pollution and mortality: A history

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Anderson, H. R.

    Mortality is the most important health effect of ambient air pollution and has been studied the longest. The earliest evidence relates to fog episodes but with the development of more precise methods of investigation it is still possible to discern short-term temporal associations with daily mortality at the historically low levels of air pollution that now exist in most developed countries. Another early observation was that mortality was higher in more polluted areas. This has been confirmed by modern cohort studies that account for other potential explanations for such associations. There does not appear to be a threshold of effect within the ambient range of concentrations. Advances in the understanding of air pollution and mortality have been driven by the combined development of methods and biomedical concepts. The most influential methodological developments have been in time-series techniques and the establishment of large cohort studies, both of which are underpinned by advances in data processing and statistical analysis. On the biomedical side two important developments can be identified. One has been the application of the concept of multifactorial disease causation to explaining how air pollution may affect mortality at low levels and why thresholds are not obvious at the population level. The other has been an increasing understanding of how air pollution may plausibly have pathophysiological effects that are remote from the lung interface with ambient air. Together, these advances have had a profound influence on policies to protect public health. Throughout the history of air pollution epidemiology, mortality studies have been central and this will continue because of the widespread availability of mortality data on a large population scale and the weight that mortality carries in estimating impacts for policy development.

  9. Household air pollution and its effects on health

    PubMed Central

    Apte, Komalkirti; Salvi, Sundeep

    2016-01-01

    Household air pollution is a leading cause of disability-adjusted life years in Southeast Asia and the third leading cause of disability-adjusted life years globally. There are at least sixty sources of household air pollution, and these vary from country to country. Indoor tobacco smoking, construction material used in building houses, fuel used for cooking, heating and lighting, use of incense and various forms of mosquito repellents, use of pesticides and chemicals used for cleaning at home, and use of artificial fragrances are some of the various sources that contribute to household air pollution. Household air pollution affects all stages of life with multi-systemic health effects, and its effects are evident right from pre-conception to old age. In utero exposure to household air pollutants has been shown to have health effects which resonate over the entire lifetime. Exposures to indoor air pollutants in early childhood also tend to have repercussions throughout life. The respiratory system bears the maximum brunt, but effects on the cardiovascular system, endocrine system, and nervous system are largely underplayed. Household air pollutants have also been implicated in the development of various types of cancers. Identifying household air pollutants and their health implications helps us prepare for various health-related issues. However, the real challenge is adopting changes to reduce the health effects of household air pollution and designing innovative interventions to minimize the risk of further exposure. This review is an attempt to understand the various sources of household air pollution, the effects on health, and strategies to deal with this emergent risk factor of global mortality and morbidity. PMID:27853506

  10. Household air pollution and its effects on health.

    PubMed

    Apte, Komalkirti; Salvi, Sundeep

    2016-01-01

    Household air pollution is a leading cause of disability-adjusted life years in Southeast Asia and the third leading cause of disability-adjusted life years globally. There are at least sixty sources of household air pollution, and these vary from country to country. Indoor tobacco smoking, construction material used in building houses, fuel used for cooking, heating and lighting, use of incense and various forms of mosquito repellents, use of pesticides and chemicals used for cleaning at home, and use of artificial fragrances are some of the various sources that contribute to household air pollution. Household air pollution affects all stages of life with multi-systemic health effects, and its effects are evident right from pre-conception to old age. In utero exposure to household air pollutants has been shown to have health effects which resonate over the entire lifetime. Exposures to indoor air pollutants in early childhood also tend to have repercussions throughout life. The respiratory system bears the maximum brunt, but effects on the cardiovascular system, endocrine system, and nervous system are largely underplayed. Household air pollutants have also been implicated in the development of various types of cancers. Identifying household air pollutants and their health implications helps us prepare for various health-related issues. However, the real challenge is adopting changes to reduce the health effects of household air pollution and designing innovative interventions to minimize the risk of further exposure. This review is an attempt to understand the various sources of household air pollution, the effects on health, and strategies to deal with this emergent risk factor of global mortality and morbidity.

  11. Clean Air Slots Amid Atmospheric Pollution

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Hobbs, Peter V.

    2002-01-01

    This article investigates the mechanism for those layers in the atmosphere that are free of air borne pollution even though the air above and below them carry pollutants. Atmospheric subsidence is posed as a mechanism for this phenomenon.

  12. Controlling Indoor Air Pollution.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nero, Anthony V, Jr.

    1988-01-01

    Discusses the health risks posed by indoor air pollutants, such as airborne combustion products, toxic chemicals, and radioactivity. Questions as to how indoor air might be regulated. Calls for new approaches to environmental protection. (TW)

  13. Air pollution exposure--a trigger for myocardial infarction?

    PubMed

    Berglind, Niklas; Ljungman, Petter; Möller, Jette; Hallqvist, Johan; Nyberg, Fredrik; Rosenqvist, Mårten; Pershagen, Göran; Bellander, Tom

    2010-04-01

    The association between ambient air pollution exposure and hospitalization for cardiovascular events has been reported in several studies with conflicting results. A case-crossover design was used to investigate the effects of air pollution in 660 first-time myocardial infarction cases in Stockholm in 1993-1994, interviewed shortly after diagnosis using a standard protocol. Air pollution data came from central urban background monitors. No associations were observed between the risk for onset of myocardial infarction and two-hour or 24-hour air pollution exposure. No evidence of susceptible subgroups was found. This study provides no support that moderately elevated air pollution levels trigger first-time myocardial infarction.

  14. AIR POLLUTION CONTROL TECHNOLOGIES (CHAPTER 65)

    EPA Science Inventory

    The chapter discusses the use of technologies for reducing air pollution emissions from stationary sources, with emphasis on the control of combustion gen-erated air pollution. Major stationary sources include utility power boilers, industrial boilers and heaters, metal smelting ...

  15. Transportation Air Pollution Studies (TAPS) System

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1974-03-01

    This report describes the Transportation Air Pollution Studies (TAPS) Data Base and the Software System which has been developed in association with it. : The TAPS Data Base will be used to store the transportation air pollution data (including emiss...

  16. Air pollution problem in the Mexico City metropolitan zone: Photochemical pollution

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Alvarez, H.B.; Alvarez, P.S.; Echeverria, R.S.

    1997-12-31

    Mexico City Metropolitan Zone (MCMZ) represents an example of a megacity where the air pollution problem has reached an important evolution in a very short time, causing a risk in the health of a population of more than 20 million inhabitants. The atmospheric pollution problem in the MCMZ, began several decades ago, but it increased drastically in the middle of the 80`s. It is important to recognize that in the 60`s, 70`s and the first half of the 80`s the main pollutants were sulfur dioxide and total suspended particles. However since the second half of the 80`s until now, ozonemore » is the most important air pollutant besides of the suspended particles (PM{sub 10}) and other toxic pollutants (1--8). The purpose of this paper is to discuss the evolution of the ozone atmospheric pollution problem in the MCMZ, as well as to analyze the results of several implemented air pollution control strategies.« less

  17. Possibilities of observing air pollution from orbital altitudes

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Barringer, A.

    1972-01-01

    Research carried out over a number of years has indicated the feasibility of monitoring global air pollution from orbiting satellites. Optical methods show considerable promise of measuring the burdens of pollution, both gaseous and particulates. Important pollution gases, such as sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, and ozone, as well as some hydrocarbon vapors, appear amenable to optical remote sensing. Satellite platforms for carrying out this work would not compete with ground monitoring stations but rather supplement them with a different type of data which could be integrated with ground level measurements to provide an all-embracing picture of pollution buildup, mass migration, and dissipation.

  18. Total free radical species and oxidation equivalent in polluted air.

    PubMed

    Wang, Guoying; Jia, Shiming; Niu, Xiuli; Tian, Haoqi; Liu, Yanrong; Chen, Xuefu; Li, Lan; Zhang, Yuanhang; Shi, Gaofeng

    2017-12-31

    Free radicals are the most important chemical intermediate or agent of the atmosphere and influenced by thousands of reactants. The free radicals determine the oxidizing power of the polluted air. Various gases present in smog or haze are oxidants and induce organ and cellular damage via generation of free radical species. At present, however, the high variability of total free radicals in polluted air has prevented the detection of possible trends or distributions in the concentration of those species. The total free radicals are a kind of contaminants with colorless, tasteless characteristics, and almost imperceptible by human body. Here we present total free radical detection and distribution characteristics, and analyze the effects of total free radicals in polluted air on human health. We find that the total free radical values can be described by not only a linear dependence on ozone at higher temperature period, but also a linear delay dependence on particulate matter at lower temperature period throughout the measurement period. The total free radical species distribution is decrease from west to east in Lanzhou, which closely related to the distribution of the air pollutants. The total free radical oxidation capacity in polluted air roughly matches the effects of tobacco smoke produced by the incomplete combustion of a controlled amount of tobacco in a smoke chamber. A relatively unsophisticated chromatographic fingerprint similarity is used for indicating preliminarily the effect of total free radicals in polluted air on human health. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  19. Mapping real-time air pollution health risk for environmental management: Combining mobile and stationary air pollution monitoring with neural network models.

    PubMed

    Adams, Matthew D; Kanaroglou, Pavlos S

    2016-03-01

    Air pollution poses health concerns at the global scale. The challenge of managing air pollution is significant because of the many air pollutants, insufficient funds for monitoring and abatement programs, and political and social challenges in defining policy to limit emissions. Some governments provide citizens with air pollution health risk information to allow them to limit their exposure. However, many regions still have insufficient air pollution monitoring networks to provide real-time mapping. Where available, these risk mapping systems either provide absolute concentration data or the concentrations are used to derive an Air Quality Index, which provides the air pollution risk for a mix of air pollutants with a single value. When risk information is presented as a single value for an entire region it does not inform on the spatial variation within the region. Without an understanding of the local variation residents can only make a partially informed decision when choosing daily activities. The single value is typically provided because of a limited number of active monitoring units in the area. In our work, we overcome this issue by leveraging mobile air pollution monitoring techniques, meteorological information and land use information to map real-time air pollution health risks. We propose an approach that can provide improved health risk information to the public by applying neural network models within a framework that is inspired by land use regression. Mobile air pollution monitoring campaigns were conducted across Hamilton from 2005 to 2013. These mobile air pollution data were modelled with a number of predictor variables that included information on the surrounding land use characteristics, the meteorological conditions, air pollution concentrations from fixed location monitors, and traffic information during the time of collection. Fine particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide were both modelled. During the model fitting process we reserved

  20. The impacts of air pollution on maternal stress during pregnancy

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lin, Yanfen; Zhou, Leilei; Xu, Jian; Luo, Zhongcheng; Kan, Haidong; Zhang, Jinsong; Yan, Chonghuai; Zhang, Jun

    2017-01-01

    To investigate the association of air pollution with maternal stress during pregnancy, we enrolled 1,931 women during mid-to-late pregnancy in Shanghai in 2010. The “Life-Event Scale for Pregnant Women” and “Symptom-Checklist-90-Revised Scale” (SCL-90-R) were used to evaluate life event stress and emotional stress, respectively. Air pollution data were collected for each district where pregnant women lived during pregnancy. We associated ambient air pollution with stress scores using multivariable logistic regression models. After adjusting for relevant covariates, an interquartile-range (IQR) increase in sulphur-dioxide (SO2) (OR = 1.30, 95% CI: 1.11-1.52) and particulate-matter with an aerodynamic-diameter <10 μm (PM10) (OR = 1.16, 95% CI: 1.02-1.34) concentrations on the recruitment day, and in the 5-day moving average concentrations of nitrogen-dioxide (NO2) (OR = 1.34, 95% CI: 1.05-1.70) were associated with high Global-Severity-Indices (P75-P100) of the SCL-90-R. These associations were stronger among women bearing high levels (P25-P100) of air pollutants than among women experiencing low levels (P1-P25) of pollutants. The stronger associations and higher levels of pollutants were observed in the cool season than in the warm season. SO2 increases on the recruitment day were also associated with an increased risk of high depression scores (P75-P100). Our findings supported a dose-dependent association between air pollution and emotional stress during pregnancy.

  1. The impacts of air pollution on maternal stress during pregnancy

    PubMed Central

    Lin, Yanfen; Zhou, Leilei; Xu, Jian; Luo, Zhongcheng; Kan, Haidong; Zhang, Jinsong; Yan, Chonghuai; Zhang, Jun

    2017-01-01

    To investigate the association of air pollution with maternal stress during pregnancy, we enrolled 1,931 women during mid-to-late pregnancy in Shanghai in 2010. The “Life-Event Scale for Pregnant Women” and “Symptom-Checklist-90-Revised Scale” (SCL-90-R) were used to evaluate life event stress and emotional stress, respectively. Air pollution data were collected for each district where pregnant women lived during pregnancy. We associated ambient air pollution with stress scores using multivariable logistic regression models. After adjusting for relevant covariates, an interquartile-range (IQR) increase in sulphur-dioxide (SO2) (OR = 1.30, 95% CI: 1.11–1.52) and particulate-matter with an aerodynamic-diameter <10 μm (PM10) (OR = 1.16, 95% CI: 1.02–1.34) concentrations on the recruitment day, and in the 5-day moving average concentrations of nitrogen-dioxide (NO2) (OR = 1.34, 95% CI: 1.05–1.70) were associated with high Global-Severity-Indices (P75-P100) of the SCL-90-R. These associations were stronger among women bearing high levels (P25-P100) of air pollutants than among women experiencing low levels (P1-P25) of pollutants. The stronger associations and higher levels of pollutants were observed in the cool season than in the warm season. SO2 increases on the recruitment day were also associated with an increased risk of high depression scores (P75-P100). Our findings supported a dose-dependent association between air pollution and emotional stress during pregnancy. PMID:28098225

  2. Long-term ambient air pollution and lung function impairment in Chinese children from a high air pollution range area: The Seven Northeastern Cities (SNEC) study

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zeng, Xiao-Wen; Vivian, Elaina; Mohammed, Kahee A.; Jakhar, Shailja; Vaughn, Michael; Huang, Jin; Zelicoff, Alan; Xaverius, Pamela; Bai, Zhipeng; Lin, Shao; Hao, Yuan-Tao; Paul, Gunther; Morawska, Lidia; Wang, Si-Quan; Qian, Zhengmin; Dong, Guang-Hui

    2016-08-01

    Epidemiological studies have reported inconsistent and inconclusive associations between long-term exposure to ambient air pollution and lung function in children from Europe and America, where air pollution levels were typically low. The aim of the present study is to examine the relationship between air pollutants and lung function in children selected from heavily industrialized and polluted cities in northeastern China. During 2012, 6740 boys and girls aged 7-14 years were recruited in 24 districts of seven northeastern cities. Portable electronic spirometers were used to measure lung function. Four-year average concentrations of particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter ≤10 μm (PM10), sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and ozone (O3) were measured at monitoring stations in the 24 districts. Two-staged regression models were used in the data analysis, controlling for covariates. Overall, for all subjects, the increased odds of lung function impairment associated with exposure to air pollutants, ranged from 5% (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 1.05; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.01, 1.10) for FVC < 85% predicted per 46.3 μg/m3 for O3 to 81% (aOR = 1.81; 95%CI = 1.44, 2.28) for FEV1 < 85% predicted per 30.6 μg/m3 for PM10. The linear regression models consistently showed a negative relationship between all air pollutants and lung function measures across subjects. There were significant interaction terms indicating gender differences for lung function impairment and pulmonary function from exposure to some pollutants (P < 0.10). In conclusion, long term exposure to high concentrations of ambient air pollution is associated with decreased pulmonary function and lung function impairment, and females appear to be more susceptible than males.

  3. Air pollution and vulnerability: solving the puzzle of prioritization.

    PubMed

    Wright, Caradee Y; Diab, Roseanne

    2011-01-01

    While ambient air pollution levels in excess of prescribed health standards are generally unacceptable, the exceedance is even more serious in areas where people reside. Vulnerability caused by poverty, disease, lack of education, and poor living conditions exacerbates the problem. Air quality management plans identify prioritized strategies for improved air quality independent of consideration of vulnerability. A population exposure and vulnerability risk prioritization framework comprising five themes (air pollution sources; air pollution levels; air pollution potential; community awareness, observations, perceptions, and actions; and vulnerability factors) was proposed and applied to the eThekwini Municipality (Durban, South Africa). Data were scored according to predetermined risk threshold values to ascertain at-risk communities. While those urban wards located in a known air pollution hotspot had the highest air pollution levels, a periurban ward with moderate exposure levels was most vulnerable. This framework will prove invaluable for the development of focused interventions to reduce vulnerability and air pollution-associated adverse health impacts.

  4. Air pollution and respiratory viral infection

    EPA Science Inventory

    Despite current regulations, which limit the levels of certain air pollutants, there are still a number of adverse health effects that result from exposure to these agents. Numerous epidemiological studies have noted an association between the levels of air pollution and hospital...

  5. Human health effects of air pollution.

    PubMed Central

    Folinsbee, L J

    1993-01-01

    Over the past three or four decades, there have been important advances in the understanding of the actions, exposure-response characteristics, and mechanisms of action of many common air pollutants. A multidisciplinary approach using epidemiology, animal toxicology, and controlled human exposure studies has contributed to the database. This review will emphasize studies of humans but will also draw on findings from the other disciplines. Air pollutants have been shown to cause responses ranging from reversible changes in respiratory symptoms and lung function, changes in airway reactivity and inflammation, structural remodeling of pulmonary airways, and impairment of pulmonary host defenses, to increased respiratory morbidity and mortality. Quantitative and qualitative understanding of the effects of a small group of air pollutants has advanced considerably, but the understanding is by no means complete, and the breadth of effects of all air pollutants is only partially understood. PMID:8354181

  6. Healthy neighborhoods: walkability and air pollution.

    PubMed

    Marshall, Julian D; Brauer, Michael; Frank, Lawrence D

    2009-11-01

    The built environment may influence health in part through the promotion of physical activity and exposure to pollution. To date, no studies have explored interactions between neighborhood walkability and air pollution exposure. We estimated concentrations of nitric oxide (NO), a marker for direct vehicle emissions), and ozone (O(3)) and a neighborhood walkability score, for 49,702 (89% of total) postal codes in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. NO concentrations were estimated from a land-use regression model, O(3) was estimated from ambient monitoring data; walkability was calculated based on geographic attributes such as land-use mix, street connectivity, and residential density. All three attributes exhibit an urban-rural gradient, with high walkability and NO concentrations, and low O(3) concentrations, near the city center. Lower-income areas tend to have higher NO concentrations and walkability and lower O(3) concentrations. Higher-income areas tend to have lower pollution (NO and O(3)). "Sweet-spot" neighborhoods (low pollution, high walkability) are generally located near but not at the city center and are almost exclusively higher income. Increased concentration of activities in urban settings yields both health costs and benefits. Our research identifies neighborhoods that do especially well (and especially poorly) for walkability and air pollution exposure. Work is needed to ensure that the poor do not bear an undue burden of urban air pollution and that neighborhoods designed for walking, bicycling, or mass transit do not adversely affect resident's exposure to air pollution. Analyses presented here could be replicated in other cities and tracked over time to better understand interactions among neighborhood walkability, air pollution exposure, and income level.

  7. Effects of canyon geometry on the distribution of traffic-related air pollution in a large urban area: Implications of a multi-canyon air pollution dispersion model

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fu, Xiangwen; Liu, Junfeng; Ban-Weiss, George A.; Zhang, Jiachen; Huang, Xin; Ouyang, Bin; Popoola, Olalekan; Tao, Shu

    2017-09-01

    Street canyons are ubiquitous in urban areas. Traffic-related air pollutants in street canyons can adversely affect human health. In this study, an urban-scale traffic pollution dispersion model is developed considering street distribution, canyon geometry, background meteorology, traffic assignment, traffic emissions and air pollutant dispersion. In the model, vehicle exhausts generated from traffic flows first disperse inside street canyons along the micro-scale wind field generated by computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model. Then, pollutants leave the street canyon and further disperse over the urban area. On the basis of this model, the effects of canyon geometry on the distribution of NOx and CO from traffic emissions were studied over the center of Beijing. We found that an increase in building height leads to heavier pollution inside canyons and lower pollution outside canyons at pedestrian level, resulting in higher domain-averaged concentrations over the area. In addition, canyons with highly even or highly uneven building heights on each side of the street tend to lower the urban-scale air pollution concentrations at pedestrian level. Further, increasing street widths tends to lead to lower pollutant concentrations by reducing emissions and enhancing ventilation simultaneously. Our results indicate that canyon geometry strongly influences human exposure to traffic pollutants in the populated urban area. Carefully planning street layout and canyon geometry while considering traffic demand as well as local weather patterns may significantly reduce inhalation of unhealthy air by urban residents.

  8. Public's Health Risk Awareness on Urban Air Pollution in Chinese Megacities: The Cases of Shanghai, Wuhan and Nanchang.

    PubMed

    Liu, Xiaojun; Zhu, Hui; Hu, Yongxin; Feng, Sha; Chu, Yuanyuan; Wu, Yanyan; Wang, Chiyu; Zhang, Yuxuan; Yuan, Zhaokang; Lu, Yuanan

    2016-08-25

    This study assessed the public's health risk awareness of urban air pollution triggered by three megacities in China, and the data are the responses from a sample size of 3868 megacity inhabitants from Shanghai, Nanchang and Wuhan. Descriptive analyses were used to summarize the respondents' demographics, perceived health risks from air pollution and sources of health-related knowledge on urban air pollution. Chi-square tests were used to examine if participants' demographics were associated with participant's general attitudes towards current air quality and the three perceived highest health risks due to urban air pollution. We found low rate of satisfaction of current urban air quality as well as poor knowledge of air pollution related indicator. Participants' gender, age and travel experience were found to be associated with the satisfaction of current air quality. The knowledge of air pollution related indicator was significantly affected by respondents' education, monthly income, health status, and sites of study. As many as 46.23% of the participants expressed their feelings of anxiety when exposed to polluted air, especially females, older adults and those with poor health conditions. Most participants believed that coughs/colds, eye problems and skin allergies were the three highest health risks due to urban air pollution based on public education through television/radio, internet and newspaper/magazine. Further public health education is needed to improve public awareness of air pollution and its effects.

  9. Economic activity and trends in ambient air pollution.

    PubMed

    Davis, Mary E; Laden, Francine; Hart, Jaime E; Garshick, Eric; Smith, Thomas J

    2010-05-01

    One challenge in assessing the health effects of human exposure to air pollution in epidemiologic studies is the lack of widespread historical air pollutant monitoring data with which to characterize past exposure levels. Given the availability of long-term economic data, we relate economic activity levels to patterns in vehicle-related particulate matter (PM) over a 30-year period in New Jersey, USA, to provide insight into potential historical surrogate markers of air pollution. We used statewide unemployment and county-level trucking industry characteristics to estimate historical coefficient of haze (COH), a marker of vehicle-related PM predominantly from diesel exhaust. A total of 5,920 observations were included across 25 different locations in New Jersey between 1971 and 2003. A mixed-modeling approach was employed to estimate the impact of economic indicators on measured COH. The model explained approximately 50% of the variability in COH as estimated by the overall R2 value. Peaks and lows in unemployment tracked negatively with similar extremes in COH, whereas employment in the trucking industry was positively associated with COH. Federal air quality regulations also played a large and significant role in reducing COH levels over the study period. This new approach outlines an alternative method to reconstruct historical exposures that may greatly aid epidemiologic research on specific causes of health effects from urban air pollution. Economic activity data provide a potential surrogate marker of changes in exposure levels over time in the absence of direct monitoring data for chronic disease studies, but more research in this area is needed.

  10. Exploring EKC, trends of growth patterns and air pollutants concentration level in Malaysia: A Nemerow Index Approach

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bekhet, Hussain A.; >Tahira Yasmin,

    2013-06-01

    The present study examines an Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis by analyzing annual data of air pollutants concentartion and per capita GDP as economic indicator over the (1996-2010) period in Malaysia. Nemerow Index Approach (I) used to generate a measures of air pollution. The results show that ambient air quality indicators supports the EKC hypothesis which stated that pollution levels increase as a country develops, but begin to decrease as rising incomes pass beyond a turning poin. Also, the I result is justifying that most pollutants are showing value less than 1.

  11. Air Pollution Surveillance Systems

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Morgan, George B.; And Others

    1970-01-01

    Describes atmospheric data monitoring as part of total airpollution control effort. Summarizes types of gaseous, liquid and solid pollutants and their sources; contrast between urban and rural environmental air quality; instrumentation to identify pollutants; and anticipated new non-wet chemical physical and physiochemical techniques tor cetection…

  12. Human Exposure Assessment for Air Pollution.

    PubMed

    Han, Bin; Hu, Li-Wen; Bai, Zhipeng

    2017-01-01

    Assessment of human exposure to air pollution is a fundamental part of the more general process of health risk assessment. The measurement methods for exposure assessment now include personal exposure monitoring, indoor-outdoor sampling, mobile monitoring, and exposure assessment modeling (such as proximity models, interpolation model, air dispersion models, and land-use regression (LUR) models). Among these methods, personal exposure measurement is considered to be the most accurate method of pollutant exposure assessment until now, since it can better quantify observed differences and better reflect exposure among smaller groups of people at ground level. And since the great differences of geographical environment, source distribution, pollution characteristics, economic conditions, and living habits, there is a wide range of differences between indoor, outdoor, and individual air pollution exposure in different regions of China. In general, the indoor particles in most Chinese families comprise infiltrated outdoor particles, particles generated indoors, and a few secondary organic aerosol particles, and in most cases, outdoor particle pollution concentrations are a major contributor to indoor concentrations in China. Furthermore, since the time, energy, and expense are limited, it is difficult to measure the concentration of pollutants for each individual. In recent years, obtaining the concentration of air pollutants by using a variety of exposure assessment models is becoming a main method which could solve the problem of the increasing number of individuals in epidemiology studies.

  13. A Satellite-Based Multi-Pollutant Index of Global Air Quality

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Cooper, Mathew J.; Martin, Randall V.; vanDonkelaar, Aaron; Lamsal, Lok; Brauer, Michael; Brook, Jeffrey R.

    2012-01-01

    Air pollution is a major health hazard that is responsible formillions of annual excess deaths worldwide. Simpleindicators are useful for comparative studies and to asses strends over time. The development of global indicators hasbeen impeded by the lack of ground-based observations in vast regions of the world. Recognition is growing of the need for amultipollutant approach to air quality to better represent human exposure. Here we introduce the prospect of amultipollutant air quality indicator based on observations from satellite remote sensing.

  14. CRITICAL HEALTH ISSUES OF CRITERIA AIR POLLUTANTS

    EPA Science Inventory

    This chapter summarizes the key health information on ubiquitous outdoor air pollutants that can cause adverse health effects at current or historical ambient levels in the United States. Of the thousands of air pollutants, very few meet this definition. The Clean Air Act (CA...

  15. A Review of Air Pollutant Damage to Materials

    EPA Science Inventory

    Report prepared as U.S. contribution to Panel 3 of NATO Committee on Challenges of Modern Society Pilot Study on Air Pollution Control Strategies and Impact Modeling. Panel 3 focuses on air pollutant impact and will publish 4 reports on air pollutants effects; this is the first i...

  16. Clean Air Slots Amid Atmospheric Pollution

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Hobbs, Peter V.

    2002-01-01

    Layering in the Earth's atmosphere is most commonly seen where parts of the atmosphere resist the incursion of air parcels from above and below - for example, when there is an increase in temperature with height over a particular altitude range. Pollutants tend to accumulate underneath the resulting stable layers. which is why visibility often increases markedly above certain altitudes. Here we describe the occurrence of an opposite effect, in which stable layers generate a layer of remarkably clean air (we refer to these layers as clean-air 'slots') sandwiched between layers of polluted air. We have observed clean-air slots in various locations around the world, but they are particularly well defined and prevalent in southern Africa during the dry season August-September). This is because at this time in this region, stable layers are common and pollution from biomass burning is widespread.

  17. Air pollution: mechanisms of neuroinflammation and CNS disease.

    PubMed

    Block, Michelle L; Calderón-Garcidueñas, Lilian

    2009-09-01

    Air pollution has been implicated as a chronic source of neuroinflammation and reactive oxygen species (ROS) that produce neuropathology and central nervous system (CNS) disease. Stroke incidence and Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease pathology are linked to air pollution. Recent reports reveal that air pollution components reach the brain; systemic effects that impact lung and cardiovascular disease also impinge upon CNS health. While mechanisms driving air pollution-induced CNS pathology are poorly understood, new evidence suggests that microglial activation and changes in the blood-brain barrier are key components. Here we summarize recent findings detailing the mechanisms through which air pollution reaches the brain and activates the resident innate immune response to become a chronic source of pro-inflammatory factors and ROS, culminating in CNS disease.

  18. Public Health and Air Pollution in Asia (PAPA): A Multicity Study of Short-Term Effects of Air Pollution on Mortality

    PubMed Central

    Wong, Chit-Ming; Vichit-Vadakan, Nuntavarn; Kan, Haidong; Qian, Zhengmin

    2008-01-01

    Background and objectives Although the deleterious effects of air pollution from fossil fuel combustion have been demonstrated in many Western nations, fewer studies have been conducted in Asia. The Public Health and Air Pollution in Asia (PAPA) project assessed the effects of short-term exposure to air pollution on daily mortality in Bangkok, Thailand, and in three cities in China: Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Wuhan. Methods Poisson regression models incorporating natural spline smoothing functions were used to adjust for seasonality and other time-varying covariates that might confound the association between air pollution and mortality. Effect estimates were determined for each city and then for the cities combined using a random effects method. Results In individual cities, associations were detected between most of the pollutants [nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, particulate matter ≤ 10 μm in aerodynamic diameter (PM10), and ozone] and most health outcomes under study (i.e., all natural-cause, cardiovascular, and respiratory mortality). The city-combined effects of the four pollutants tended to be equal or greater than those identified in studies conducted in Western industrial nations. In addition, residents of Asian cities are likely to have higher exposures to air pollution than those in Western industrial nations because they spend more time outdoors and less time in air conditioning. Conclusions Although the social and environmental conditions may be quite different, it is reasonable to apply estimates derived from previous health effect of air pollution studies in the West to Asia. PMID:18795163

  19. Public Health and Air Pollution in Asia (PAPA): a multicity study of short-term effects of air pollution on mortality.

    PubMed

    Wong, Chit-Ming; Vichit-Vadakan, Nuntavarn; Kan, Haidong; Qian, Zhengmin

    2008-09-01

    Although the deleterious effects of air pollution from fossil fuel combustion have been demonstrated in many Western nations, fewer studies have been conducted in Asia. The Public Health and Air Pollution in Asia (PAPA) project assessed the effects of short-term exposure to air pollution on daily mortality in Bangkok, Thailand, and in three cities in China: Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Wuhan. Poisson regression models incorporating natural spline smoothing functions were used to adjust for seasonality and other time-varying covariates that might confound the association between air pollution and mortality. Effect estimates were determined for each city and then for the cities combined using a random effects method. In individual cities, associations were detected between most of the pollutants [nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, particulate matter < or = 10 microm in aerodynamic diameter (PM(10)), and ozone] and most health outcomes under study (i.e., all natural-cause, cardiovascular, and respiratory mortality). The city-combined effects of the four pollutants tended to be equal or greater than those identified in studies conducted in Western industrial nations. In addition, residents of Asian cities are likely to have higher exposures to air pollution than those in Western industrial nations because they spend more time outdoors and less time in air conditioning. Although the social and environmental conditions may be quite different, it is reasonable to apply estimates derived from previous health effect of air pollution studies in the West to Asia.

  20. Air pollution in Boston bars before and after a smoking ban.

    PubMed

    Repace, James L; Hyde, James N; Brugge, Doug

    2006-10-27

    We quantified the air quality benefits of a smoke-free workplace law in Boston Massachusetts, U.S.A., by measuring air pollution from secondhand smoke (SHS) in 7 pubs before and after the law, comparing actual ventilation practices to engineering society (ASHRAE) recommendations, and assessing SHS levels using health and comfort indices. We performed real-time measurements of respirable particle (RSP) air pollution and particulate polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PPAH), in 7 pubs and outdoors in a model-based design yielding air exchange rates for RSP removal. We also assessed ventilation rates from carbon dioxide concentrations. We compared RSP air pollution to the federal Air Quality Index (AQI) and the National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) to assess health risks, and assessed odor and irritation levels using published SHS-RSP thresholds. Pre-smoking-ban RSP levels in 6 pubs (one pub with a non-SHS air quality problem was excluded) averaged 179 microg/m3, 23 times higher than post-ban levels, which averaged 7.7 microg/m3, exceeding the NAAQS for fine particle pollution (PM2.5) by nearly 4-fold. Pre-smoking ban levels of fine particle air pollution in all 7 of the pubs were in the Unhealthy to Hazardous range of the AQI. In the same 6 pubs, pre-ban indoor carcinogenic PPAH averaged 61.7 ng/m3, nearly 10 times higher than post-ban levels of 6.32 ng/m3. Post-ban particulate air pollution levels were in the Good AQI range, except for 1 venue with a defective gas-fired deep-fat fryer, while post-ban carcinogen levels in all 7 pubs were lower than outdoors. During smoking, although pub ventilation rates per occupant were within ASHRAE design parameters for the control of carbon dioxide levels for the number of occupants present, they failed to control SHS carcinogens or RSP. Nonsmokers' SHS odor and irritation sensory thresholds were massively exceeded. Post-ban air pollution measurements showed 90% to 95% reductions in PPAH and RSP respectively, differing

  1. Regional air pollution at a turning point.

    PubMed

    Grennfelt, Peringe; Hov, Oystein

    2005-02-01

    The control of transboundary air pollution in Europe has been successful. Emissions of many key pollutants are decreasing and there are signs of improvements in damaged ecosystems. The strategies under development within the CAFE programme under the European Commission and the Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution (CLRTAP), aim to take regional air pollution control a large step further, in particular with respect to small particles. In this paper we highlight the new strategies but look primarily at socioeconomic trends and climate change feedbacks that may have a significant influence on the outcome of the strategies and which so far have not been considered. In particular, we point out the influence on air quality of increased summer temperatures in Europe and of increasing emissions including international shipping, outside of Europe. Taken together the further emissions reductions in Europe and the increasing background pollution, slowly cause a greying of the Northern Hemisphere troposphere rather than the traditional picture of dominant emissions in Europe and North America ('black') with much lower emission intensities elsewhere ('white'). A hemispheric approach to further combat air pollution will become necessary in Europe and elsewhere.

  2. 30 CFR 784.26 - Air pollution control plan.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... 30 Mineral Resources 3 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Air pollution control plan. 784.26 Section 784... § 784.26 Air pollution control plan. For all surface operations associated with underground mining activities, the application shall contain an air pollution control plan which includes the following: (a) An...

  3. 30 CFR 784.26 - Air pollution control plan.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... 30 Mineral Resources 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Air pollution control plan. 784.26 Section 784... § 784.26 Air pollution control plan. For all surface operations associated with underground mining activities, the application shall contain an air pollution control plan which includes the following: (a) An...

  4. 30 CFR 784.26 - Air pollution control plan.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    ... 30 Mineral Resources 3 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Air pollution control plan. 784.26 Section 784... § 784.26 Air pollution control plan. For all surface operations associated with underground mining activities, the application shall contain an air pollution control plan which includes the following: (a) An...

  5. 30 CFR 784.26 - Air pollution control plan.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ... 30 Mineral Resources 3 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Air pollution control plan. 784.26 Section 784... § 784.26 Air pollution control plan. For all surface operations associated with underground mining activities, the application shall contain an air pollution control plan which includes the following: (a) An...

  6. 30 CFR 784.26 - Air pollution control plan.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ... 30 Mineral Resources 3 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Air pollution control plan. 784.26 Section 784... § 784.26 Air pollution control plan. For all surface operations associated with underground mining activities, the application shall contain an air pollution control plan which includes the following: (a) An...

  7. Impact of wildfires on regional air pollution

    EPA Science Inventory

    We examine the impact of wildfires and agricultural/prescribed burning on regional air pollution and Air Quality Index (AQI) between 2006 and 2013. We define daily regional air pollution using monitoring sites for ozone (n=1595), PM2.5 collected by Federal Reference Method (n=10...

  8. [Air pollution and health - counselling options for physicians].

    PubMed

    Künzli, Nino; Kutlar, Meltem

    2013-12-01

    While air quality is usually an environmental condition patients can little do about, there are a few options and decisions that modify the personal exposure and risk. Location - in particular the residence - time and activity are the key determinants of personal exposure. Traffic-related primary pollutants such as ultrafine particles or diesel soot are highly concentrated along busy roads but reach urban background concentrations already some 100 - 200 meters off. Morbidity and mortality follow this spatial pattern, which is usually attributed to these pollutants. Depending on ventilation systems, indoor exposure can be substantially lower. Studies done in China confirm that the use of face masks in extremely polluted cities can reduce exposure, resulting in lower inflammatory and cardiovascular responses. A diet rich in antioxidants appears to also reduce some of the oxidative and inflammatory effects of air pollution and treatments such as leucotrien receptor antagonists or statins pay interfere with some of the adverse effects of pollution. However, the benefits, if any, are unlikely to be large. A quantitative comparison of the various pollution related health effects - namely from smoking, passive smoking and air pollution - reveal a typical paradox to be well understood: the individual risks related to air pollution and that one may reduce through personal decisions are rather small. However, given the large number of people exposed (i. e. in essence the entire population), the overall air pollution related health burden is rather substantial. This underscores that sustained clean air policies are indeed the most important and efficient solution to reduce the air pollution related health effects.

  9. Climate change and air pollution: Effects on pollen allergy and other allergic respiratory diseases.

    PubMed

    D'Amato, Gennaro; Bergmann, Karl Christian; Cecchi, Lorenzo; Annesi-Maesano, Isabella; Sanduzzi, Alessandro; Liccardi, Gennaro; Vitale, Carolina; Stanziola, Anna; D'Amato, Maria

    The observational evidence indicates that recent regional changes in climate, particularly temperature increases, have already affected a diverse set of physical and biological systems in many parts of the world. Allergens patterns are also changing in response to climate change and air pollution can modify the allergenic potential of pollen grains especially in the presence of specific weather conditions. Although genetic factors are important in the development of asthma and allergic diseases, their rising trend can be explained only by changes occurring in the environment and urban air pollution by motor vehicles has been indicated as one of the major risk factors responsible for this increase. Despite some differences in the air pollution profile and decreasing trends of some key air pollutants, air quality is an important concern for public health in the cities throughout the world. Due to climate change, air pollution patterns are changing in several urbanized areas of the world with a significant effect on respiratory health. The underlying mechanisms of all these interactions are not well known yet. The consequences on health vary from decreases in lung function to allergic diseases, new onset of diseases, and exacerbation of chronic respiratory diseases. In addition, it is important to recall that an individual's response to pollution exposure depends on the source and components of air pollution, as well as meteorological conditions. Indeed, some air pollution-related incidents with asthma aggravation do not depend only on the increased production of air pollution, but rather on atmospheric factors that favor the accumulation of air pollutants at ground level. Associations between thunderstorms and asthma morbidity of pollinosis-affected people have also been identified in multiple locations around the world ( Fig. 1). Cite this as D'Amato G, Bergmann KC, Cecchi L, Annesi-Maesano I, Sanduzzi A, Liccardi G, Vitale C, Stanziola A, D'Amato M. Climate change

  10. [Main indoor air pollutants and their health impacts].

    PubMed

    Xu, Zhen; Jin, Yinlong

    2003-05-01

    The quality of indoor air is a very important factor that may directly affect human health. There are many sources as well as a variety of indoor air pollutants. Therefore, the health impact is complicated, affecting different organs and systems of human being such as respiratory and immune system. The main indoor air pollutants are the combustion products from smoking, cooking and heating, the chemical pollutants from renovation materials and the biological contaminants. The kinds, sources and health impacts of these pollutants that affect the indoor air quality are reviewed in this paper.

  11. The Association between Air Pollution and Outpatient and Inpatient Visits in Shenzhen, China

    PubMed Central

    Liu, Yachuan; Chen, Shanen; Xu, Jian; Liu, Xiaojian; Wu, Yongsheng; Zhou, Lin; Cheng, Jinquan; Ma, Hanwu; Zheng, Jing; Lin, Denan; Zhang, Li; Chen, Lili

    2018-01-01

    Nowadays, air pollution is a severe environmental problem in China. To investigate the effects of ambient air pollution on health, a time series analysis of daily outpatient and inpatient visits in 2015 were conducted in Shenzhen (China). Generalized additive model was employed to analyze associations between six air pollutants (namely SO2, CO, NO2, O3, PM10, and PM2.5) and daily outpatient and inpatient visits after adjusting confounding meteorological factors, time and day of the week effects. Significant associations between air pollutants and two types of hospital visits were observed. The estimated increase in overall outpatient visits associated with each 10 µg/m3 increase in air pollutant concentration ranged from 0.48% (O3 at lag 2) to 11.48% (SO2 with 2-day moving average); for overall inpatient visits ranged from 0.73% (O3 at lag 7) to 17.13% (SO2 with 8-day moving average). Our results also suggested a heterogeneity of the health effects across different outcomes and in different populations. The findings in present study indicate that even in Shenzhen, a less polluted area in China, significant associations exist between air pollution and daily number of overall outpatient and inpatient visits. PMID:29360738

  12. Air pollution, cardiovascular endpoints and susceptibility by stress and material resources: a systematic review of the evidence.

    PubMed

    Fuller, Christina H; Feeser, Karla R; Sarnat, Jeremy A; O'Neill, Marie S

    2017-06-14

    Evidence shows that both the physical and social environments play a role in the development of cardiovascular disease. The purpose of this systematic review is two-fold: First, we summarize research from the past 12 years from the growing number of studies focused on effect modification of the relationships between air pollution and cardiovascular disease (CVD) outcomes by socioeconomic position (SEP) and; second, we identify research gaps throughout the published literature on this topic and opportunities for addressing these gaps in future study designs. We identified 30 articles that examined the modifying effects of either material resources or psychosocial stress (both related to SEP) on associations between short and long-term air pollution exposure and CVD endpoints. Although 18 articles identified at least one interaction between an air pollutant and material resource indicator, 11 others did not. Support for susceptibility to air pollution by psychosocial stress was weaker; however, only three articles tested this hypothesis. Further studies are warranted to investigate how air pollution and SEP together may influence CVD. We recommend that such research include thorough assessment of air pollution and SEP correlations, including spatial correlation; investigate air pollution indices or multi-pollutant models; use standardized metrics of SEP to enhance comparability across studies; and evaluate potentially susceptible populations.

  13. The public health relevance of air pollution abatement.

    PubMed

    Künzli, N

    2002-07-01

    Assuming a causal relationship between current levels of air pollution and morbidity/mortality, it is crucial to estimate the public health relevance of the problem. The derivation of air pollution attributable cases faces inherent uncertainties and requires influential assumptions. Based on the results of the trinational impact assessment study of Austria, France, and Switzerland, where prudent estimates of the air pollution attributable cases (mortality, chronic bronchitis incidence, hospital admissions, acute bronchitis among children, restricted activity days, asthma attacks) have been made, influential uncertainties are quantified in this review. The public health impact of smoking, environmental tobacco smoke, and air pollution on the prevalence of chronic cough/phlegm are outlined. Despite all methodological caveats, impact assessment studies clearly suggest that public health largely benefits from better air quality. The studies are selective underestimates as they are strongly driven by mortality, but do not include full quantification of the impact on morbidity and their consequences on quality of life among the diseased and the caregivers. Air pollution abatement strategies are usually political in nature, targeting at polities, regulation and technology in mobile or stationary sources rather than at individuals. It is of note that key clean air strategies converge into abatement of climate change. In general, energy consumption is very closely related to both air pollution and greenhouse gases. The dominant causes of both problems are the excessive and inefficient combustion of fossil fuel. Thus, for many policy options, the benefit of air pollution abatement will go far beyond what prudent health-impact assessments may derive. From a climate change and air pollution perspective, improved energy efficiency and a strong and decisive departure from the "fossil fuel" combustion society is a science-based must. Health professionals must raise their voices

  14. 40 CFR 52.274 - California air pollution emergency plan.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 3 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false California air pollution emergency plan... pollution emergency plan. (a) Since the California Air Pollution Emergency Plan does not provide complete... District (SCAQMD). (2) Sacramento County Air Pollution Control District. (3) Monterey Bay Unified APCD...

  15. 40 CFR 52.274 - California air pollution emergency plan.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 3 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false California air pollution emergency plan... pollution emergency plan. (a) Since the California Air Pollution Emergency Plan does not provide complete... District (SCAQMD). (2) Sacramento County Air Pollution Control District. (3) Monterey Bay Unified APCD...

  16. 40 CFR 52.274 - California air pollution emergency plan.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 3 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false California air pollution emergency plan... pollution emergency plan. (a) Since the California Air Pollution Emergency Plan does not provide complete... District (SCAQMD). (2) Sacramento County Air Pollution Control District. (3) Monterey Bay Unified APCD...

  17. 40 CFR 52.274 - California air pollution emergency plan.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 3 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false California air pollution emergency plan... pollution emergency plan. (a) Since the California Air Pollution Emergency Plan does not provide complete... District (SCAQMD). (2) Sacramento County Air Pollution Control District. (3) Monterey Bay Unified APCD...

  18. Outdoor air pollution and human infertility: a systematic review.

    PubMed

    Checa Vizcaíno, Miguel A; González-Comadran, Mireia; Jacquemin, Benedicte

    2016-09-15

    Air pollution is a current research priority because of its adverse effects on human health, including on fertility. However, the mechanisms through which air pollution impairs fertility remain unclear. In this article, we perform a systematic review to evaluate currently available evidence on the impact of air pollution on fertility in humans. Several studies have assessed the impact of air pollutants on the general population, and have found reduced fertility rates and increased risk of miscarriage. In subfertile patients, women exposed to higher concentrations of air pollutants while undergoing IVF showed lower live birth rates and higher rates of miscarriage. After exposure to similar levels of air pollutants, comparable results have been found regardless of the mode of conception (IVF versus spontaneous conception), suggesting that infertile women are not more susceptible to the effects of pollutants than the general population. In addition, previous studies have not observed impaired embryo quality after exposure to air pollution, although evidence for this question is sparse. Copyright © 2016 American Society for Reproductive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  19. Climate change, air pollution and extreme events leading to increasing prevalence of allergic respiratory diseases.

    PubMed

    D'Amato, Gennaro; Baena-Cagnani, Carlos E; Cecchi, Lorenzo; Annesi-Maesano, Isabella; Nunes, Carlos; Ansotegui, Ignacio; D'Amato, Maria; Liccardi, Gennaro; Sofia, Matteo; Canonica, Walter G

    2013-02-11

    The prevalence of asthma and allergic diseases has increased dramatically during the past few decades not only in industrialized countries. Urban air pollution from motor vehicles has been indicated as one of the major risk factors responsible for this increase.Although genetic factors are important in the development of asthma and allergic diseases, the rising trend can be explained only in changes occurred in the environment. Despite some differences in the air pollution profile and decreasing trends of some key air pollutants, air quality is an important concern for public health in the cities throughout the world.Due to climate change, air pollution patterns are changing in several urbanized areas of the world, with a significant effect on respiratory health.The observational evidence indicates that recent regional changes in climate, particularly temperature increases, have already affected a diverse set of physical and biological systems in many parts of the world. Associations between thunderstorms and asthma morbidity in pollinosis subjects have been also identified in multiple locations around the world.Allergens patterns are also changing in response to climate change and air pollution can modify the allergenic potential of pollens especially in presence of specific weather conditions.The underlying mechanisms of all these interactions are not well known yet. The consequences on health vary from decreases in lung function to allergic diseases, new onset of diseases, and exacerbation of chronic respiratory diseases.Factor clouding the issue is that laboratory evaluations do not reflect what happens during natural exposition, when atmospheric pollution mixtures in polluted cities are inhaled. In addition, it is important to recall that an individual's response to pollution exposure depends on the source and components of air pollution, as well as meteorological conditions. Indeed, some air pollution-related incidents with asthma aggravation do not depend

  20. Climate change, air pollution and extreme events leading to increasing prevalence of allergic respiratory diseases

    PubMed Central

    2013-01-01

    The prevalence of asthma and allergic diseases has increased dramatically during the past few decades not only in industrialized countries. Urban air pollution from motor vehicles has been indicated as one of the major risk factors responsible for this increase. Although genetic factors are important in the development of asthma and allergic diseases, the rising trend can be explained only in changes occurred in the environment. Despite some differences in the air pollution profile and decreasing trends of some key air pollutants, air quality is an important concern for public health in the cities throughout the world. Due to climate change, air pollution patterns are changing in several urbanized areas of the world, with a significant effect on respiratory health. The observational evidence indicates that recent regional changes in climate, particularly temperature increases, have already affected a diverse set of physical and biological systems in many parts of the world. Associations between thunderstorms and asthma morbidity in pollinosis subjects have been also identified in multiple locations around the world. Allergens patterns are also changing in response to climate change and air pollution can modify the allergenic potential of pollens especially in presence of specific weather conditions. The underlying mechanisms of all these interactions are not well known yet. The consequences on health vary from decreases in lung function to allergic diseases, new onset of diseases, and exacerbation of chronic respiratory diseases. Factor clouding the issue is that laboratory evaluations do not reflect what happens during natural exposition, when atmospheric pollution mixtures in polluted cities are inhaled. In addition, it is important to recall that an individual’s response to pollution exposure depends on the source and components of air pollution, as well as meteorological conditions. Indeed, some air pollution-related incidents with asthma aggravation do not

  1. Air pollution: a smoking gun for cancer.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Wei; Qian, Chao-Nan; Zeng, Yi-Xin

    2014-04-01

    Once considered a taboo topic or stigma, cancer is the number one public health enemy in the world. Once a product of an almost untouchable industry, tobacco is indisputably recognized as a major cause of cancer and a target for anticancer efforts. With the emergence of new economic powers in the world, especially in highly populated countries such as China, air pollution has rapidly emerged as a smoking gun for cancer and has become a hot topic for public health debate because of the complex political, economic, scientific, and technologic issues surrounding the air pollution problem. This editorial and the referred articles published in this special issue of the Chinese Journal of Cancer discuss these fundamental questions. Does air pollution cause a wide spectrum of cancers? Should air pollution be considered a necessary evil accompanying economic transformation in developing countries? Is an explosion of cancer incidence coming to China and how soon will it arrive? What must be done to prevent this possible human catastrophe? Finally, the approaches for air pollution control are also discussed.

  2. Air pollution: a smoking gun for cancer

    PubMed Central

    Zhang, Wei; Qian, Chao-Nan; Zeng, Yi-Xin

    2014-01-01

    Once considered a taboo topic or stigma, cancer is the number one public health enemy in the world. Once a product of an almost untouchable industry, tobacco is indisputably recognized as a major cause of cancer and a target for anticancer efforts. With the emergence of new economic powers in the world, especially in highly populated countries such as China, air pollution has rapidly emerged as a smoking gun for cancer and has become a hot topic for public health debate because of the complex political, economic, scientific, and technologic issues surrounding the air pollution problem. This editorial and the referred articles published in this special issue of the Chinese Journal of Cancer discuss these fundamental questions. Does air pollution cause a wide spectrum of cancers? Should air pollution be considered a necessary evil accompanying economic transformation in developing countries? Is an explosion of cancer incidence coming to China and how soon will it arrive? What must be done to prevent this possible human catastrophe? Finally, the approaches for air pollution control are also discussed. PMID:24636233

  3. Study on an Air Quality Evaluation Model for Beijing City Under Haze-Fog Pollution Based on New Ambient Air Quality Standards

    PubMed Central

    Li, Li; Liu, Dong-Jun

    2014-01-01

    Since 2012, China has been facing haze-fog weather conditions, and haze-fog pollution and PM2.5 have become hot topics. It is very necessary to evaluate and analyze the ecological status of the air environment of China, which is of great significance for environmental protection measures. In this study the current situation of haze-fog pollution in China was analyzed first, and the new Ambient Air Quality Standards were introduced. For the issue of air quality evaluation, a comprehensive evaluation model based on an entropy weighting method and nearest neighbor method was developed. The entropy weighting method was used to determine the weights of indicators, and the nearest neighbor method was utilized to evaluate the air quality levels. Then the comprehensive evaluation model was applied into the practical evaluation problems of air quality in Beijing to analyze the haze-fog pollution. Two simulation experiments were implemented in this study. One experiment included the indicator of PM2.5 and was carried out based on the new Ambient Air Quality Standards (GB 3095-2012); the other experiment excluded PM2.5 and was carried out based on the old Ambient Air Quality Standards (GB 3095-1996). Their results were compared, and the simulation results showed that PM2.5 was an important indicator for air quality and the evaluation results of the new Air Quality Standards were more scientific than the old ones. The haze-fog pollution situation in Beijing City was also analyzed based on these results, and the corresponding management measures were suggested. PMID:25170682

  4. Air pollution and stroke - an overview of the evidence base.

    PubMed

    Maheswaran, Ravi

    2016-08-01

    Air pollution is being increasingly recognized as a significant risk factor for stroke. There are numerous sources of air pollution including industry, road transport and domestic use of biomass and solid fuels. Early reports of the association between air pollution and stroke come from studies investigating health effects of severe pollution episodes. Several daily time series and case-crossover studies have reported associations with stroke. There is also evidence linking chronic air pollution exposure with stroke and with reduced survival after stroke. A conceptual framework linking air pollution exposure and stroke is proposed. It links acute and chronic exposure to air pollution with pathways to acute and chronic effects on stroke risk. Current evidence regarding potential mechanisms mainly relate to particulate air pollution. Whilst further evidence would be useful, there is already sufficient evidence to support consideration of reduction in air pollution as a preventative measure to reduce the stroke burden globally. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. The Covariance between Air Pollution Annoyance and Noise Annoyance, and Its Relationship with Health-Related Quality of Life.

    PubMed

    Shepherd, Daniel; Dirks, Kim; Welch, David; McBride, David; Landon, Jason

    2016-08-06

    Air pollution originating from road traffic is a known risk factor of respiratory and cardiovascular disease (both in terms of chronic and acute effects). While adverse effects on cardiovascular health have also been linked with noise (after controlling for air pollution), noise exposure has been commonly linked to sleep impairment and negative emotional reactions. Health is multi-faceted, both conceptually and operationally; Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQOL) is one of many measures capable of probing health. In this study, we examine pre-collected data from postal surveys probing HRQOL obtained from a variety of urban, suburban, and rural contexts across the North Island of New Zealand. Analyses focus on the covariance between air pollution annoyance and noise annoyances, and their independent and combined effects on HRQOL. Results indicate that the highest ratings of air pollution annoyance and noise annoyances were for residents living close to the motorway, while the lowest were for rural residents. Most of the city samples indicated no significant difference between air pollution- and noise-annoyance ratings, and of all of the correlations between air pollution- and noise-annoyance, the highest were found in the city samples. These findings suggest that annoyance is driven by exposure to environmental factors and not personality characteristics. Analysis of HRQOL indicated that air pollution annoyance predicts greater variability in the physical HRQOL domain while noise annoyance predicts greater variability in the psychological, social and environmental domains. The lack of an interaction effect between air pollution annoyance and noise annoyance suggests that air pollution and noise impact on health independently. These results echo those obtained from objective measures of health and suggest that mitigation of traffic effects should address both air and noise pollution.

  6. The Covariance between Air Pollution Annoyance and Noise Annoyance, and Its Relationship with Health-Related Quality of Life

    PubMed Central

    Shepherd, Daniel; Dirks, Kim; Welch, David; McBride, David; Landon, Jason

    2016-01-01

    Air pollution originating from road traffic is a known risk factor of respiratory and cardiovascular disease (both in terms of chronic and acute effects). While adverse effects on cardiovascular health have also been linked with noise (after controlling for air pollution), noise exposure has been commonly linked to sleep impairment and negative emotional reactions. Health is multi-faceted, both conceptually and operationally; Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQOL) is one of many measures capable of probing health. In this study, we examine pre-collected data from postal surveys probing HRQOL obtained from a variety of urban, suburban, and rural contexts across the North Island of New Zealand. Analyses focus on the covariance between air pollution annoyance and noise annoyances, and their independent and combined effects on HRQOL. Results indicate that the highest ratings of air pollution annoyance and noise annoyances were for residents living close to the motorway, while the lowest were for rural residents. Most of the city samples indicated no significant difference between air pollution- and noise-annoyance ratings, and of all of the correlations between air pollution- and noise-annoyance, the highest were found in the city samples. These findings suggest that annoyance is driven by exposure to environmental factors and not personality characteristics. Analysis of HRQOL indicated that air pollution annoyance predicts greater variability in the physical HRQOL domain while noise annoyance predicts greater variability in the psychological, social and environmental domains. The lack of an interaction effect between air pollution annoyance and noise annoyance suggests that air pollution and noise impact on health independently. These results echo those obtained from objective measures of health and suggest that mitigation of traffic effects should address both air and noise pollution. PMID:27509512

  7. [Air pollution, cardiovascular risk and hypertension].

    PubMed

    Soldevila Bacardit, N; Vinyoles Bargalló, E; Agudo Ugena, J; Camps Vila, L

    2018-04-24

    Air pollution is a worrying factor and has an impact on public health. Multiple studies relate exposure to air pollutants with an increase in cardiovascular events, cardiovascular mortality and mortality for all causes. A relationship has also been demonstrated between increased pollution and high blood pressure, as well as a higher prevalence of hypertension. Pollutants that play a more relevant role in this association are particulate matters, nitrogen dioxide and sulphur dioxide. The objective of this review is to understand the mechanisms involved in this increase and to find the most recent publications that relate pollution, cardiovascular risk and hypertension. Copyright © 2018 SEH-LELHA. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

  8. Development and analysis of air quality modeling simulations for hazardous air pollutants

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Luecken, D. J.; Hutzell, W. T.; Gipson, G. L.

    The concentrations of five hazardous air pollutants were simulated using the community multi-scale air quality (CMAQ) modeling system. Annual simulations were performed over the continental United States for the entire year of 2001 to support human exposure estimates. Results are shown for formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, benzene, 1,3-butadiene and acrolein. Photochemical production in the atmosphere is predicted to dominate ambient formaldehyde and acetaldehyde concentrations, and to account for a significant fraction of ambient acrolein concentrations. Spatial and temporal variations are large throughout the domain over the year. Predicted concentrations are compared with observations for formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, benzene and 1,3-butadiene. Although the modeling results indicate an overall slight tendency towards underprediction, they reproduce episodic and seasonal behavior of pollutant concentrations at many monitors with good skill.

  9. Epidemiologic evidence for asthma and exposure to air toxics: linkages between occupational, indoor, and community air pollution research.

    PubMed Central

    Delfino, Ralph J

    2002-01-01

    Outdoor ambient air pollutant exposures in communities are relevant to the acute exacerbation and possibly the onset of asthma. However, the complexity of pollutant mixtures and etiologic heterogeneity of asthma has made it difficult to identify causal components in those mixtures. Occupational exposures associated with asthma may yield clues to causal components in ambient air pollution because such exposures are often identifiable as single-chemical agents (e.g., metal compounds). However, translating occupational to community exposure-response relationships is limited. Of the air toxics found to cause occupational asthma, only formaldehyde has been frequently investigated in epidemiologic studies of allergic respiratory responses to indoor air, where general consistency can be shown despite lower ambient exposures. The specific volatile organic compounds (VOCs) identified in association with occupational asthma are generally not the same as those in studies showing respiratory effects of VOC mixtures on nonoccupational adult and pediatric asthma. In addition, experimental evidence indicates that airborne polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) exposures linked to diesel exhaust particles (DEPs) have proinflammatory effects on airways, but there is insufficient supporting evidence from the occupational literature of effects of DEPs on asthma or lung function. In contrast, nonoccupational epidemiologic studies have frequently shown associations between allergic responses or asthma with exposures to ambient air pollutant mixtures with PAH components, including black smoke, high home or school traffic density (particularly truck traffic), and environmental tobacco smoke. Other particle-phase and gaseous co-pollutants are likely causal in these associations as well. Epidemiologic research on the relationship of both asthma onset and exacerbation to air pollution is needed to disentangle effects of air toxics from monitored criteria air pollutants such as particle mass

  10. Air quality as respiratory health indicator: a critical review.

    PubMed

    Moshammer, Hanns; Wallner, Peter

    2011-09-01

    As part of the European Public Health project IMCA II validity and practicability of "air pollution" as a respiratory health indicator were analyzed. The definitions of air quality as an indicator proposed by the WHO project ECOEHIS and by IMCA I were compared. The public availability of the necessary data was checked through access to web-based data-bases. Practicability and interpretation of the indicator were discussed with project partners and external experts. Air quality serves as a kind of benchmark for the good health-related environmental policy. In this sense, it is a relevant health indicator. Although air quality is not directly in the responsibility of health policy, its vital importance for the population's health should not be neglected. In principle, data is available to calculate this IMCA indicator for any chosen area in Europe. The indicator is relevant and informative, but calculation and interpretation need input from local expert knowledge. The European health policy is well advised to take air quality into account. To that end, an interdisciplinary approach is warranted. The proposed definition of air quality as a (respiratory) health indicator is workable, but correct interpretation depends on expert and local knowledge.

  11. Health Effects of Ambient Air Pollution in Developing Countries.

    PubMed

    Mannucci, Pier Mannuccio; Franchini, Massimo

    2017-09-12

    The deleterious effects of ambient air pollution on human health have been consistently documented by many epidemiologic studies worldwide, and it has been calculated that globally at least seven million deaths are annually attributable to the effects of air pollution. The major air pollutants emitted into the atmosphere by a number of natural processes and human activities include nitrogen oxides, volatile organic compounds, and particulate matter. In addition to the poor ambient air quality, there is increasing evidence that indoor air pollution also poses a serious threat to human health, especially in low-income countries that still use biomass fuels as an energy resource. This review summarizes the current knowledge on ambient air pollution in financially deprived populations.

  12. The national air pollutant emission trends, 1900-1998

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2000-03-01

    The National Air Pollutant Emission Trends Report, 1900-1998 presents the most : recent estimate of national emissions of the criteria air pollutants. The : emissions of each pollutant are estimated for many different source categories, : which colle...

  13. Evaluating impacts of air pollution in China on public health: Implications for future air pollution and energy policies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wang, Xiaoping; Mauzerall, Denise L.

    Our objective is to establish the link between energy consumption and technologies, air pollution concentrations, and resulting impacts on public health in eastern China. We use Zaozhuang, a city in eastern China heavily dependent on coal, as a case study to quantify the impacts that air pollution in eastern China had on public health in 2000 and the benefits in improved air quality and health that could be obtained by 2020, relative to business-as-usual (BAU), through the implementation of best available emission control technology (BACT) and advanced coal gasification technologies (ACGT). We use an integrated assessment approach, utilizing state-of-the-science air quality and meteorological models, engineering, epidemiology, and economics, to achieve this objective. We find that total health damages due to year 2000 anthropogenic emissions from Zaozhuang, using the "willingness-to-pay" metric, was equivalent to 10% of Zaozhuang's GDP. If all health damages resulting from coal use were internalized in the market price of coal, the year 2000 price would have more than tripled. With no new air pollution controls implemented between 2000 and 2020 but with projected increases in energy use, we estimate health damages from air pollution exposure to be equivalent to 16% of Zaozhuang's projected 2020 GDP. BACT and ACGT (with only 24% penetration in Zaozhuang and providing 2% of energy needs in three surrounding municipalities) could reduce the potential health damage of air pollution in 2020 to 13% and 8% of projected GDP, respectively. Benefits to public health, of substantial monetary value, can be achieved through the use of BACT; health benefits from the use of ACGT could be even larger. Despite significant uncertainty associated with each element of the integrated assessment approach, we demonstrate that substantial benefits to public health could be achieved in this region of eastern China through the use of additional pollution controls and particularly from the

  14. Fractal Analysis of Air Pollutant Concentrations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cortina-Januchs, M. G.; Barrón-Adame, J. M.; Vega-Corona, A.; Andina, D.

    2010-05-01

    Air pollution poses significant threats to human health and the environment throughout the developed and developing countries. This work focuses on fractal analysis of pollutant concentration in Salamanca, Mexico. The city of Salamanca has been catalogued as one of the most polluted cities in Mexico. The main causes of pollution in this city are fixed emission sources, such as chemical industry and electricity generation. Sulphur Dioxide (SO2) and Particulate Matter less than 10 micrometer in diameter (PM10) are the most important pollutants in this region. Air pollutant concentrations were investigated by applying the box counting method in time series obtained of the Automatic Environmental Monitoring Network (AEMN). One year of time series of hourly average concentrations were analyzed in order to characterize the temporal structures of SO2 and PM10.

  15. Diagnosing forest vegetation for air pollution injury

    Treesearch

    Keith F. Jensen

    1989-01-01

    The purpose of this Note is to help you become more technically informed about air pollution when serious problems need to be diagnosed by pollution specialists. (Except for ozone, most of the information discussed does not attempt to describe possible air pollution damage caused by long distance transport. This complex problem is currently under intense study.)

  16. Patterns of household concentrations of multiple indoor air pollutants in China.

    PubMed

    He, Gongli; Ying, Bo; Liu, Jiang; Gao, Shirong; Shen, Shaolin; Balakrishnan, Kalpana; Jin, Yinlong; Liu, Fan; Tang, Ning; Shi, Kai; Baris, Enis; Ezzati, Majid

    2005-02-15

    Most previous studies on indoor air pollution from household use of solid fuels have used either indirect proxies for human exposure or measurements of individual pollutants at a single point, as indicators of (exposure to) the mixture of pollutants in solid fuel smoke. A heterogeneous relationship among pollutant-location pairs should be expected because specific fuel-stove technology and combustion and dispersion conditions such as temperature, moisture, and air flow are likely to affect the emissions and dispersion of the various pollutants differently. We report on a study for monitoring multiple pollutants--including respirable particles (RPM), carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, fluoride, and arsenic--at four points inside homes that used coal and/or biomass fuels in Guizhou and Shaanxi provinces of China. All pollutants exhibited large variability in emissions and spatial dispersion within and between provinces and were generally poorly correlated. RPM, followed by SO2, was generally higher than common health-based guidelines/standards and provided sufficient resolution for assessing variations within and between households in both provinces. Indoor heating played an important role in the level and spatial patterns of pollution inside homes, possibly to an extent more important than cooking. The findings indicate the need for monitoring of RPM and selected other pollutants in longer-term health studies, with focus on both cooking and living/sleeping areas.

  17. Inflammatory markers in relation to long-term air pollution.

    PubMed

    Mostafavi, Nahid; Vlaanderen, Jelle; Chadeau-Hyam, Marc; Beelen, Rob; Modig, Lars; Palli, Domenico; Bergdahl, Ingvar A; Vineis, Paolo; Hoek, Gerard; Kyrtopoulos, Soterios Α; Vermeulen, Roel

    2015-08-01

    Long-term exposure to ambient air pollution can lead to chronic health effects such as cancer, cardiovascular and respiratory disease. Systemic inflammation has been hypothesized as a putative biological mechanism contributing to these adverse health effects. We evaluated the effect of long-term exposure to air pollution on blood markers of systemic inflammation. We measured a panel of 28 inflammatory markers in peripheral blood samples from 587 individuals that were biobanked as part of a prospective study. Participants were from Varese and Turin (Italy) and Umea (Sweden). Long-term air pollution estimates of nitrogen oxides (NOx) were available from the European Study of Cohorts for Air Pollution Effects (ESCAPE). Linear mixed models adjusted for potential confounders were applied to assess the association between NOx and the markers of inflammation. Long-term exposure to NOx was associated with decreased levels of interleukin (IL)-2, IL-8, IL-10 and tumor necrosis factor-α in Italy, but not in Sweden. NOx exposure levels were considerably lower in Sweden than in Italy (Sweden: median (5th, 95th percentiles) 6.65 μg/m(3) (4.8, 19.7); Italy: median (5th, 95th percentiles) 94.2 μg/m(3) (7.8, 124.5)). Combining data from Italy and Sweden we only observed a significant association between long-term exposure to NOx and decreased levels of circulating IL-8. We observed some indication for perturbations in the inflammatory markers due to long-term exposure to NOx. Effects were stronger in Italy than in Sweden, potentially reflecting the difference in air pollution levels between the two cohorts. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  18. Needle Mottle in Eastern White Pine Seedlings: A Selective Parameter for Air Pollution Sensitivity

    Treesearch

    Leon S. Dochinger; Stanford L. Arner

    1978-01-01

    Positive correlations were established between morphological characteristics in eastern white pine seedlings and subsequent tolerance or sensitivity to air pollution 5 and 7 years after outplanting in Ohio plantations. Of 11 seedling variables, needle mottling was an accurate indicator of sensitivity or tolerance to air pollution. This characteristic, which may be...

  19. [Prevention and control of air pollution needs to strengthen further study on health damage caused by air pollution].

    PubMed

    Wu, T C

    2016-08-06

    Heath issues caused by air pollution such as particulate matter (PM) are much concerned and focused among air, water and soil pollutions because human breathe air for whole life span. Present comments will review physical and chemical characteristics of PM2.5 and PM10; Dose-response associations of PM10, PM2.5 and their components with mortality and risk of cardiopulmonary diseases, early health damages such as the decrease of lung functions and heart rate variability, DNA damage; And the roles of genetic variations and epigenetic changes in lung functions and heart rate variability, DNA damage related to PMs and their components. This comments list some limitations and perspectives about the associations of air pollution with health.

  20. Air pollution affects lung cancer survival.

    PubMed

    Eckel, Sandrah P; Cockburn, Myles; Shu, Yu-Hsiang; Deng, Huiyu; Lurmann, Frederick W; Liu, Lihua; Gilliland, Frank D

    2016-10-01

    Exposure to ambient air pollutants has been associated with increased lung cancer incidence and mortality, but due to the high case fatality rate, little is known about the impacts of air pollution exposures on survival after diagnosis. This study aimed to determine whether ambient air pollutant exposures are associated with the survival of patients with lung cancer. Participants were 352 053 patients with newly diagnosed lung cancer during 1988-2009 in California, ascertained by the California Cancer Registry. Average residential ambient air pollutant concentrations were estimated for each participant's follow-up period. Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate HRs relating air pollutant exposures to all-cause mortality overall and stratified by stage (localised only, regional and distant site) and histology (squamous cell carcinoma, adenocarcinoma, small cell carcinoma, large cell carcinoma and others) at diagnosis, adjusting for potential individual and area-level confounders. Adjusting for histology and other potential confounders, the HRs associated with 1 SD increases in NO2, O3, PM10, PM2.5 for patients with localised stage at diagnosis were 1.30 (95% CI 1.28 to 1.32), 1.04 (95% CI 1.02 to 1.05), 1.26 (95% CI 1.25 to 1.28) and 1.38 (95% CI 1.35 to 1.41), respectively. Adjusted HRs were smaller in later stages and varied by histological type within stage (p<0.01, except O3). The largest associations were for patients with early-stage non-small cell cancers, particularly adenocarcinomas. These epidemiological findings support the hypothesis that air pollution exposures after lung cancer diagnosis shorten survival. Future studies should evaluate the impacts of exposure reduction. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/

  1. Air Pollution Affects Lung Cancer Survival

    PubMed Central

    Eckel, Sandrah P; Cockburn, Myles; Shu, Yu-Hsiang; Deng, Huiyu; Lurmann, Frederick W.; Liu, Lihua; Gilliland, Frank D

    2017-01-01

    Rationale Exposure to ambient air pollutants has been associated with increased lung cancer incidence and mortality but, due to the high case fatality rate, little is known about the impacts of air pollution exposures on survival after diagnosis. This study aimed to determine whether ambient air pollutant exposures are associated with lung cancer patient survival. Methods Participants were 352,053 patients with newly diagnosed lung cancer during 1988–2009 in California, ascertained by the California Cancer Registry. Average residential ambient air pollutant concentrations were estimated for each participant’s follow-up period. Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) relating air pollutant exposures to all-cause mortality overall and stratified by stage (localized only, regional, and distant site) and histology (squamous cell carcinoma, adenocarcinoma, small cell carcinoma, large cell carcinoma, and others) at diagnosis, adjusting for potential individual and area-level confounders. Results Adjusting for histology and other potential confounders, the HR associated with 1 standard deviation increases in NO2, O3, PM10, PM2.5 for patients with localized stage at diagnosis were 1.30 (95% CI: 1.28–1.32), 1.04 (95% CI: 1.02–1.05), 1.26 (95% CI: 1.25–1.28), and 1.38 (95% CI: 1.35–1.41), respectively. Adjusted HR were smaller in later stages, and varied by histological type within stage (p < 0.01, except O3). The largest associations were for patients with early stage non-small cell cancers, particularly adenocarcinomas. Conclusions These epidemiological findings support the hypothesis that air pollution exposures after lung cancer diagnosis shorten survival. Future studies should evaluate the impacts of exposure reduction. PMID:27491839

  2. News focus: Report on state and local air toxics regulatory strategies published by STAPPA/ALAPCO (State and Territorial Air Pollution Program Administrators/Association of Local Air Pollution Control Officials)

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Not Available

    1989-12-01

    The report is entitled Toxic Air Pollutants: State and Local Regulatory Strategies - 1989. The 364-page report is the result of a survey of state and local air pollution control agencies, which solicited information on their programs to control air toxics. According to the survey, every state currently has a program to address emissions of air toxics. Additionally, 27 of the 40 local agencies that responded to the survey have, or are developing, air toxics programs. The strategies employed by state and local agencies vary widely, including control technology requirements, risk assessment, acceptable ambient guidelines, or a combination of thesemore » approaches. This is a report summarizing the air toxics control programs currently implemented (or under development) by state and local air pollution control agencies throughout the US. The report is based upon a survey of all 50 states and 220 local air pollution control agencies conducted by the State and Territorial Air Pollution Program Administrators (STAPPA) and the Association of Local Air Pollution Control Officials (ALAPCO). This survey updates one published five years earlier.« less

  3. Ambient and household air pollution: complex triggers of disease

    PubMed Central

    Farmer, Stephen A.; Nelin, Timothy D.; Falvo, Michael J.

    2014-01-01

    Concentrations of outdoor air pollution are on the rise, particularly due to rapid urbanization worldwide. Alternatively, poor ventilation, cigarette smoke, and other toxic chemicals contribute to rising concentrations of indoor air pollution. The World Health Organization recently reported that deaths attributable to indoor and outdoor air pollutant exposure are more than double what was originally documented. Epidemiological, clinical, and animal data have demonstrated a clear connection between rising concentrations of air pollution (both indoor and outdoor) and a host of adverse health effects. During the past five years, animal, clinical, and epidemiological studies have explored the adverse health effects associated with exposure to both indoor and outdoor air pollutants throughout the various stages of life. This review provides a summary of the detrimental effects of air pollution through examination of current animal, clinical, and epidemiological studies and exposure during three different periods: maternal (in utero), early life, and adulthood. Additionally, we recommend future lines of research while suggesting conceivable strategies to curb exposure to indoor and outdoor air pollutants. PMID:24929855

  4. 40 CFR 52.11 - Prevention of air pollution emergency episodes.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Prevention of air pollution emergency... Prevention of air pollution emergency episodes. (a) Each subpart identifies portions of the air pollution.... (c) Where a State plan does not provide for public announcement regarding air pollution emergency...

  5. 40 CFR 52.11 - Prevention of air pollution emergency episodes.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 3 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Prevention of air pollution emergency... Prevention of air pollution emergency episodes. (a) Each subpart identifies portions of the air pollution.... (c) Where a State plan does not provide for public announcement regarding air pollution emergency...

  6. 40 CFR 52.11 - Prevention of air pollution emergency episodes.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 3 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Prevention of air pollution emergency... Prevention of air pollution emergency episodes. (a) Each subpart identifies portions of the air pollution.... (c) Where a State plan does not provide for public announcement regarding air pollution emergency...

  7. 40 CFR 52.11 - Prevention of air pollution emergency episodes.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 3 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Prevention of air pollution emergency... Prevention of air pollution emergency episodes. (a) Each subpart identifies portions of the air pollution.... (c) Where a State plan does not provide for public announcement regarding air pollution emergency...

  8. 40 CFR 52.11 - Prevention of air pollution emergency episodes.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 3 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Prevention of air pollution emergency... Prevention of air pollution emergency episodes. (a) Each subpart identifies portions of the air pollution.... (c) Where a State plan does not provide for public announcement regarding air pollution emergency...

  9. Fractional kalman filter to estimate the concentration of air pollution

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Vita Oktaviana, Yessy; Apriliani, Erna; Khusnul Arif, Didik

    2018-04-01

    Air pollution problem gives important effect in quality environment and quality of human’s life. Air pollution can be caused by nature sources or human activities. Pollutant for example Ozone, a harmful gas formed by NOx and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted from various sources. The air pollution problem can be modeled by TAPM-CTM (The Air Pollution Model with Chemical Transport Model). The model shows concentration of pollutant in the air. Therefore, it is important to estimate concentration of air pollutant. Estimation method can be used for forecast pollutant concentration in future and keep stability of air quality. In this research, an algorithm is developed, based on Fractional Kalman Filter to solve the model of air pollution’s problem. The model will be discretized first and then it will be estimated by the method. The result shows that estimation of Fractional Kalman Filter has better accuracy than estimation of Kalman Filter. The accuracy was tested by applying RMSE (Root Mean Square Error).

  10. Air Pollution Episodes Associated with Prescribed Burns

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hart, M.; Di Virgilio, G.; Jiang, N.

    2017-12-01

    Air pollution events associated with wildfires have been associated with extreme health impacts. Prescribed burns are an important tool to reduce the severity of wildfires. However, if undertaken during unfavourable meteorological conditions, they too have the capacity to trigger extreme air pollution events. The Australian state of New South Wales has increased the annual average area treated by prescribed burn activities by 45%, in order to limit wildfire activity. Prescribed burns need to be undertaken during meteorological conditions that allow the fuel load to burn, while still allowing the burn to remain under control. These conditions are similar to those that inhibit atmospheric dispersion, resulting in a fine balance between managing fire risk and managing ambient air pollution. During prescribed burns, the Sydney air shed can experience elevated particulate matter concentrations, especially fine particulates (PM2.5) that occasionally exceed national air quality standards. Using pollutant and meteorological data from sixteen monitoring stations in Sydney we used generalized additive model and CART analyses to profile the meteorological conditions influencing air quality during planned burns. The insights gained from this study will help improve prescribed burn scheduling in order to reduce the pollution risk to the community, while allowing fire agencies to conduct this important work.

  11. Biologically plausible particulate air pollution mortality concentration-response functions.

    PubMed Central

    Roberts, Steven

    2004-01-01

    In this article I introduce an alternative method for estimating particulate air pollution mortality concentration-response functions. This method constrains the particulate air pollution mortality concentration-response function to be biologically plausible--that is, a non-decreasing function of the particulate air pollution concentration. Using time-series data from Cook County, Illinois, the proposed method yields more meaningful particulate air pollution mortality concentration-response function estimates with an increase in statistical accuracy. PMID:14998745

  12. Health Effects of Ambient Air Pollution in Developing Countries

    PubMed Central

    Mannucci, Pier Mannuccio; Franchini, Massimo

    2017-01-01

    The deleterious effects of ambient air pollution on human health have been consistently documented by many epidemiologic studies worldwide, and it has been calculated that globally at least seven million deaths are annually attributable to the effects of air pollution. The major air pollutants emitted into the atmosphere by a number of natural processes and human activities include nitrogen oxides, volatile organic compounds, and particulate matter. In addition to the poor ambient air quality, there is increasing evidence that indoor air pollution also poses a serious threat to human health, especially in low-income countries that still use biomass fuels as an energy resource. This review summarizes the current knowledge on ambient air pollution in financially deprived populations. PMID:28895888

  13. Air Pollution and Nonmalignant Respiratory Mortality in 16 Cohorts within the ESCAPE Project

    PubMed Central

    Dimakopoulou, Konstantina; Samoli, Evangelia; Beelen, Rob; Stafoggia, Massimo; Andersen, Zorana Jovanovic; Hoffmann, Barbara; Fischer, Paul; Nieuwenhuijsen, Mark; Vineis, Paolo; Xun, Wei; Hoek, Gerard; Raaschou-Nielsen, Ole; Oudin, Anna; Forsberg, Bertil; Modig, Lars; Jousilahti, Pekka; Lanki, Timo; Turunen, Anu; Oftedal, Bente; Nafstad, Per; Schwarze, Per E.; Penell, Johanna; Fratiglioni, Laura; Andersson, Niklas; Pedersen, Nancy; Korek, Michal; De Faire, Ulf; Eriksen, Kirsten Thorup; Tjønneland, Anne; Becker, Thomas; Wang, Meng; Bueno-de-Mesquita, Bas; Tsai, Ming-Yi; Eeftens, Marloes; Peeters, Petra H.; Meliefste, Kees; Marcon, Alessandro; Krämer, Ursula; Kuhlbusch, Thomas A.J.; Vossoughi, Mohammad; Key, Timothy; de Hoogh, Kees; Hampel, Regina; Peters, Annette; Heinrich, Joachim; Weinmayr, Gudrun; Concin, Hans; Nagel, Gabriele; Ineichen, Alex; Jacquemin, Bénédicte; Stempfelet, Morgane; Vilier, Alice; Ricceri, Fulvio; Sacerdote, Carlotta; Pedeli, Xanthi; Katsoulis, Michalis; Trichopoulou, Antonia; Brunekreef, Bert

    2014-01-01

    Rationale: Prospective cohort studies have shown that chronic exposure to particulate matter and traffic-related air pollution is associated with reduced survival. However, the effects on nonmalignant respiratory mortality are less studied, and the data reported are less consistent. Objectives: We have investigated the relationship of long-term exposure to air pollution and nonmalignant respiratory mortality in 16 cohorts with individual level data within the multicenter European Study of Cohorts for Air Pollution Effects (ESCAPE). Methods: Data from 16 ongoing cohort studies from Europe were used. The total number of subjects was 307,553. There were 1,559 respiratory deaths during follow-up. Measurements and Main Results: Air pollution exposure was estimated by land use regression models at the baseline residential addresses of study participants and traffic-proximity variables were derived from geographical databases following a standardized procedure within the ESCAPE study. Cohort-specific hazard ratios obtained by Cox proportional hazard models from standardized individual cohort analyses were combined using metaanalyses. We found no significant associations between air pollution exposure and nonmalignant respiratory mortality. Most hazard ratios were slightly below unity, with the exception of the traffic-proximity indicators. Conclusions: In this study of 16 cohorts, there was no association between air pollution exposure and nonmalignant respiratory mortality. PMID:24521254

  14. Air pollution and nonmalignant respiratory mortality in 16 cohorts within the ESCAPE project.

    PubMed

    Dimakopoulou, Konstantina; Samoli, Evangelia; Beelen, Rob; Stafoggia, Massimo; Andersen, Zorana Jovanovic; Hoffmann, Barbara; Fischer, Paul; Nieuwenhuijsen, Mark; Vineis, Paolo; Xun, Wei; Hoek, Gerard; Raaschou-Nielsen, Ole; Oudin, Anna; Forsberg, Bertil; Modig, Lars; Jousilahti, Pekka; Lanki, Timo; Turunen, Anu; Oftedal, Bente; Nafstad, Per; Schwarze, Per E; Penell, Johanna; Fratiglioni, Laura; Andersson, Niklas; Pedersen, Nancy; Korek, Michal; De Faire, Ulf; Eriksen, Kirsten Thorup; Tjønneland, Anne; Becker, Thomas; Wang, Meng; Bueno-de-Mesquita, Bas; Tsai, Ming-Yi; Eeftens, Marloes; Peeters, Petra H; Meliefste, Kees; Marcon, Alessandro; Krämer, Ursula; Kuhlbusch, Thomas A J; Vossoughi, Mohammad; Key, Timothy; de Hoogh, Kees; Hampel, Regina; Peters, Annette; Heinrich, Joachim; Weinmayr, Gudrun; Concin, Hans; Nagel, Gabriele; Ineichen, Alex; Jacquemin, Bénédicte; Stempfelet, Morgane; Vilier, Alice; Ricceri, Fulvio; Sacerdote, Carlotta; Pedeli, Xanthi; Katsoulis, Michalis; Trichopoulou, Antonia; Brunekreef, Bert; Katsouyanni, Klea

    2014-03-15

    Prospective cohort studies have shown that chronic exposure to particulate matter and traffic-related air pollution is associated with reduced survival. However, the effects on nonmalignant respiratory mortality are less studied, and the data reported are less consistent. We have investigated the relationship of long-term exposure to air pollution and nonmalignant respiratory mortality in 16 cohorts with individual level data within the multicenter European Study of Cohorts for Air Pollution Effects (ESCAPE). Data from 16 ongoing cohort studies from Europe were used. The total number of subjects was 307,553. There were 1,559 respiratory deaths during follow-up. Air pollution exposure was estimated by land use regression models at the baseline residential addresses of study participants and traffic-proximity variables were derived from geographical databases following a standardized procedure within the ESCAPE study. Cohort-specific hazard ratios obtained by Cox proportional hazard models from standardized individual cohort analyses were combined using metaanalyses. We found no significant associations between air pollution exposure and nonmalignant respiratory mortality. Most hazard ratios were slightly below unity, with the exception of the traffic-proximity indicators. In this study of 16 cohorts, there was no association between air pollution exposure and nonmalignant respiratory mortality.

  15. Cleaning products and air fresheners: exposure to primary and secondary air pollutants

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nazaroff, William W.; Weschler, Charles J.

    Building occupants, including cleaning personnel, are exposed to a wide variety of airborne chemicals when cleaning agents and air fresheners are used in buildings. Certain of these chemicals are listed by the state of California as toxic air contaminants (TACs) and a subset of these are regulated by the US federal government as hazardous air pollutants (HAPs). California's Proposition 65 list of species recognized as carcinogens or reproductive toxicants also includes constituents of certain cleaning products and air fresheners. In addition, many cleaning agents and air fresheners contain chemicals that can react with other air contaminants to yield potentially harmful secondary products. For example, terpenes can react rapidly with ozone in indoor air generating many secondary pollutants, including TACs such as formaldehyde. Furthermore, ozone-terpene reactions produce the hydroxyl radical, which reacts rapidly with organics, leading to the formation of other potentially toxic air pollutants. Indoor reactive chemistry involving the nitrate radical and cleaning-product constituents is also of concern, since it produces organic nitrates as well as some of the same oxidation products generated by ozone and hydroxyl radicals. Few studies have directly addressed the indoor concentrations of TACs that might result from primary emissions or secondary pollutant formation following the use of cleaning agents and air fresheners. In this paper, we combine direct empirical evidence with the basic principles of indoor pollutant behavior and with information from relevant studies, to analyze and critically assess air pollutant exposures resulting from the use of cleaning products and air fresheners. Attention is focused on compounds that are listed as HAPs, TACs or Proposition 65 carcinogens/reproductive toxicants and compounds that can readily react to generate secondary pollutants. The toxicity of many of these secondary pollutants has yet to be evaluated. The inhalation

  16. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) evaluation of the carcinogenicity of outdoor air pollution: focus on China.

    PubMed

    Loomis, Dana; Huang, Wei; Chen, Guosheng

    2014-04-01

    The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has classified outdoor air pollution and the particulate matter (PM) in outdoor air pollution as carcinogenic to humans, as based on sufficient evidence of carcinogenicity in humans and experimental animals and strong support by mechanistic studies. The data with important contributions to the evaluation are reviewed, highlighting the data with particular relevance to China, and implications of the evaluation with respect to China are discussed. The air pollution levels in Chinese cities are among the highest observed in the world today and frequently exceed health-based national and international guidelines. Data from high-quality epidemiologic studies in Asia, Europe, and North America consistently show positive associations between lung cancer and PM exposure and other indicators of air pollution, which persist after adjustment for important lung cancer risk factors, such as tobacco smoking. Epidemiologic data from China are limited but nevertheless indicate an increased risk of lung cancer associated with several air pollutants. Excess cancer risk is also observed in experimental animals exposed to polluted outdoor air or extracted PM. The exposure of several species to outdoor air pollution is associated with markers of genetic damage that have been linked to increased cancer risk in humans. Numerous studies from China, especially genetic biomarker studies in exposed populations, support that the polluted air in China is genotoxic and carcinogenic to humans. The evaluation by IARC indicates both the need for further research into the cancer risks associated with exposure to air pollution in China and the urgent need to act to reduce exposure to the population.

  17. Long-term exposure to ambient air pollution and incidence of brain tumor: the European Study of Cohorts for Air Pollution Effects (ESCAPE)

    PubMed Central

    Pedersen, Marie; Weinmayr, Gudrun; Stafoggia, Massimo; Galassi, Claudia; Jørgensen, Jeanette T; Sommar, Johan N; Forsberg, Bertil; Olsson, David; Oftedal, Bente; Aasvang, Gunn Marit; Schwarze, Per; Pyko, Andrei; Pershagen, Göran; Korek, Michal; Faire, Ulf De; Östenson, Claes-Göran; Fratiglioni, Laura; Eriksen, Kirsten T; Poulsen, Aslak H; Tjønneland, Anne; Bräuner, Elvira Vaclavik; Peeters, Petra H; Bueno-de-Mesquita, Bas; Jaensch, Andrea; Nagel, Gabriele; Lang, Alois; Wang, Meng; Tsai, Ming-Yi; Grioni, Sara; Marcon, Alessandro; Krogh, Vittorio; Ricceri, Fulvio; Sacerdote, Carlotta; Migliore, Enrica; Vermeulen, Roel; Sokhi, Ranjeet; Keuken, Menno; de Hoogh, Kees; Beelen, Rob; Vineis, Paolo; Cesaroni, Giulia; Brunekreef, Bert; Hoek, Gerard; Raaschou-Nielsen, Ole

    2018-01-01

    Abstract Background Epidemiological evidence on the association between ambient air pollution and brain tumor risk is sparse and inconsistent. Methods In 12 cohorts from 6 European countries, individual estimates of annual mean air pollution levels at the baseline residence were estimated by standardized land-use regression models developed within the ESCAPE and TRANSPHORM projects: particulate matter (PM) ≤2.5, ≤10, and 2.5–10 μm in diameter (PM2.5, PM10, and PMcoarse), PM2.5 absorbance, nitrogen oxides (NO2 and NOx) and elemental composition of PM. We estimated cohort-specific associations of air pollutant concentrations and traffic intensity with total, malignant, and nonmalignant brain tumor, in separate Cox regression models, adjusting for risk factors, and pooled cohort-specific estimates using random-effects meta-analyses. Results Of 282194 subjects from 12 cohorts, 466 developed malignant brain tumors during 12 years of follow-up. Six of the cohorts also had data on nonmalignant brain tumor, where among 106786 subjects, 366 developed brain tumor: 176 nonmalignant and 190 malignant. We found a positive, statistically nonsignificant association between malignant brain tumor and PM2.5 absorbance (hazard ratio and 95% CI: 1.67; 0.89–3.14 per 10–5/m3), and weak positive or null associations with the other pollutants. Hazard ratio for PM2.5 absorbance (1.01; 0.38–2.71 per 10–5/m3) and all other pollutants were lower for nonmalignant than for malignant brain tumors. Conclusion We found suggestive evidence of an association between long-term exposure to PM2.5 absorbance indicating traffic-related air pollution and malignant brain tumors, and no association with overall or nonmalignant brain tumors. PMID:29016987

  18. High resolution exposure modelling of heat and air pollution and the impact on mortality.

    PubMed

    Willers, Saskia M; Jonker, Marcel F; Klok, Lisette; Keuken, Menno P; Odink, Jennie; van den Elshout, Sef; Sabel, Clive E; Mackenbach, Johan P; Burdorf, Alex

    2016-01-01

    Elevated temperature and air pollution have been associated with increased mortality. Exposure to heat and air pollution, as well as the density of vulnerable groups varies within cities. The objective was to investigate the extent of neighbourhood differences in mortality risk due to heat and air pollution in a city with a temperate maritime climate. A case-crossover design was used to study associations between heat, air pollution and mortality. Different thermal indicators and air pollutants (PM10, NO2, O3) were reconstructed at high spatial resolution to improve exposure classification. Daily exposures were linked to individual mortality cases over a 15year period. Significant interaction between maximum air temperature (Tamax) and PM10 was observed. During "summer smog" days (Tamax>25°C and PM10>50μg/m(3)), the mortality risk at lag 2 was 7% higher compared to the reference (Tamax 15°C and PM10 15μg/m(3)). Persons above age 85 living alone were at highest risk. We found significant synergistic effects of high temperatures and air pollution on mortality. Single living elderly were the most vulnerable group. Due to spatial differences in temperature and air pollution, mortality risks varied substantially between neighbourhoods, with a difference up to 7%. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. Reducing indoor air pollution by air conditioning is associated with improvements in cardiovascular health among the general population.

    PubMed

    Lin, Lian-Yu; Chuang, Hsiao-Chi; Liu, I-Jung; Chen, Hua-Wei; Chuang, Kai-Jen

    2013-10-01

    Indoor air pollution is associated with cardiovascular effects, however, little is known about the effects of improving indoor air quality on cardiovascular health. The aim of this study was to explore whether improving indoor air quality through air conditioning can improve cardiovascular health in human subjects. We recruited a panel of 300 healthy subjects from Taipei, aged 20 and over, to participate in six home visits each, to measure a variety of cardiovascular endpoints, including high sensitivity-C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG), fibrinogen in plasma and heart rate variability (HRV). Indoor particles and total volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were measured simultaneously at the participant's home during each visit. Three exposure conditions were investigated in this study: participants were requested to keep their windows open during the first two visits, close their windows during the next two visits, and close the windows and turn on their air conditioners during the last two visits. We used linear mixed-effects models to associate the cardiovascular endpoints with individual indoor air pollutants. The results showed that increases in hs-CRP, 8-OHdG and fibrinogen, and decreases in HRV indices were associated with increased levels of indoor particles and total VOCs in single-pollutant and two-pollutant models. The effects of indoor particles and total VOCs on cardiovascular endpoints were greatest during visits with the windows open. During visits with the air conditioners turned on, no significant changes in cardiovascular endpoints were observed. In conclusion, indoor air pollution is associated with inflammation, oxidative stress, blood coagulation and autonomic dysfunction. Reductions in indoor air pollution and subsequent improvements in cardiovascular health can be achieved by closing windows and turning on air conditioners at home. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  20. Investigating Air Pollution

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Carter, Edward J.

    1977-01-01

    Describes an experiment using live plants and cigarette smoke to demonstrate the effects of air pollution on a living organism. Procedures include growth of the test plants in glass bottles, and construction and operation of smoking machine. (CS)

  1. Comparing Multipollutant Emissions-Based Mobile Source Indicators to Other Single Pollutant and Multipollutant Indicators in Different Urban Areas

    PubMed Central

    Oakes, Michelle M.; Baxter, Lisa K.; Duvall, Rachelle M.; Madden, Meagan; Xie, Mingjie; Hannigan, Michael P.; Peel, Jennifer L.; Pachon, Jorge E.; Balachandran, Siv; Russell, Armistead; Long, Thomas C.

    2014-01-01

    A variety of single pollutant and multipollutant metrics can be used to represent exposure to traffic pollutant mixtures and evaluate their health effects. Integrated mobile source indicators (IMSIs) that combine air quality concentration and emissions data have recently been developed and evaluated using data from Atlanta, Georgia. IMSIs were found to track trends in traffic-related pollutants and have similar or stronger associations with health outcomes. In the current work, we apply IMSIs for gasoline, diesel and total (gasoline + diesel) vehicles to two other cities (Denver, Colorado and Houston, Texas) with different emissions profiles as well as to a different dataset from Atlanta. We compare spatial and temporal variability of IMSIs to single-pollutant indicators (carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxides (NOx) and elemental carbon (EC)) and multipollutant source apportionment factors produced by Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF). Across cities, PMF-derived and IMSI gasoline metrics were most strongly correlated with CO (r = 0.31–0.98), while multipollutant diesel metrics were most strongly correlated with EC (r = 0.80–0.98). NOx correlations with PMF factors varied across cities (r = 0.29–0.67), while correlations with IMSIs were relatively consistent (r = 0.61–0.94). In general, single-pollutant metrics were more correlated with IMSIs (r = 0.58–0.98) than with PMF-derived factors (r = 0.07–0.99). A spatial analysis indicated that IMSIs were more strongly correlated (r > 0.7) between two sites in each city than single pollutant and PMF factors. These findings provide confidence that IMSIs provide a transferable, simple approach to estimate mobile source air pollution in cities with differing topography and source profiles using readily available data. PMID:25405595

  2. Determinants of perceived air pollution annoyance and association between annoyance scores and air pollution (PM 2.5, NO 2) concentrations in the European EXPOLIS study

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rotko, Tuulia; Oglesby, Lucy; Künzli, Nino; Carrer, Paolo; Nieuwenhuijsen, Mark J.; Jantunen, Matti

    Apart from its traditionally considered objective impacts on health, air pollution can also have perceived effects, such as annoyance. The psychological effects of air pollution may often be more important to well-being than the biophysical effects. Health effects of perceived annoyance from air pollution are so far unknown. More knowledge of air pollution annoyance levels, determinants and also associations with different air pollution components is needed. In the European air pollution exposure study, EXPOLIS, the air pollution annoyance as perceived at home, workplace and in traffic were surveyed among other study objectives. Overall 1736 randomly drawn 25-55-yr-old subjects participated in six cities (Athens, Basel, Milan, Oxford, Prague and Helsinki). Levels and predictors of individual perceived annoyances from air pollution were assessed. Instead of the usual air pollution concentrations at fixed monitoring sites, this paper compares the measured microenvironment concentrations and personal exposures of PM 2.5 and NO 2 to the perceived annoyance levels. A considerable proportion of the adults surveyed was annoyed by air pollution. Female gender, self-reported respiratory symptoms, downtown living and self-reported sensitivity to air pollution were directly associated with high air pollution annoyance score while in traffic, but smoking status, age or education level were not significantly associated. Population level annoyance averages correlated with the city average exposure levels of PM 2.5 and NO 2. A high correlation was observed between the personal 48-h PM 2.5 exposure and perceived annoyance at home as well as between the mean annoyance at work and both the average work indoor PM 2.5 and the personal work time PM 2.5 exposure. With the other significant determinants (gender, city code, home location) and home outdoor levels the model explained 14% (PM 2.5) and 19% (NO 2) of the variation in perceived air pollution annoyance in traffic. Compared to

  3. Use of partial order in environmental pollution studies demonstrated by urban BTEX air pollution in 20 major cities worldwide.

    PubMed

    Carlsen, Lars; Bruggemann, Rainer; Kenessov, Bulat

    2018-01-01

    Urban air pollution with benzene, toluene, ethyl benzene and xylenes (BTEX) is a common phenomenon in major cities where the pollution mainly originates from traffic as well as from residential heating. An attempt to rank cities according to their BTEX air pollution is not necessarily straight forward as we are faced with several individual pollutants simultaneously. A typical procedure is based on aggregation of data for the single compounds, a process that not only hides important information but is also subject to compensation effects. The present study applies a series of partial ordering tools to circumvent the aggregation. Based on partial ordering, most important indicators are disclosed, and an average ranking of the cities included in the study is derived. Since air pollution measurements are often subject to significant uncertainties, special attention has been given to the possible effect of uncertainty and/or data noise. Finally, the effect of introducing weight regimes is studied. In a concluding section the gross national income per person (GNI) is brought into play, demonstrating a positive correlation between BTEX air pollution and GNI. The results are discussed in terms of the ability/willingness to combat air pollution in the cities studied. The present study focuses on Almaty, the largest city in Kazakhstan and compares the data from Almaty to another 19 major cities around the world. It is found that the benzene for Almaty appears peculiar high. Overall Almaty appears ranked as the 8th most BTEX polluted city among the 20 cities included in the study. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  4. Air pollution exposure prediction approaches used in air pollution epidemiology studies

    EPA Science Inventory

    Epidemiological studies of the health effects of air pollution have traditionally relied upon surrogates of personal exposures, most commonly ambient concentration measurements from central-site monitors. However, this approach may introduce exposure prediction errors and miscla...

  5. Characterization of criteria air pollutants in Beijing during 2014-2015.

    PubMed

    Guo, Hao; Wang, Yungang; Zhang, Hongliang

    2017-04-01

    One year-long criteria air pollutants data collected in Beijing were analyzed in this paper, which can support the research on formation, transport and human health effects of air pollutants. This is the first time to study the spatial and temporal variations of criteria pollutants in Beijing using hourly observational data from 12 sites between June 2014 and May 2015 released by the Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP) of China. Beijing is facing tremendous air pollution as the daily averaged PM 2.5 (particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter less than 2.5µm) concentrations in all sites exceeding the Chinese Ambient Air Quality Standards (CAAQS) Grade I & II standards (15 and 35µg/m 3 ). Slightly differences in PM 2.5 and ozone (O 3 ) were observed between sites at the urban and rural areas. Pearson correlation coefficients show that most pollutants are temporally correlated in Beijing except for O 3 . The coefficients of divergence (COD) indicate that PM 2.5 is associated at most sites with only one rural site (Dingling) having observable difference and one site may be insufficient for monitoring surrounding area. The 8h peak O 3 (O 3 -8h) also correlates at different sites but with one urban site (Haidianquwanliu) different from others. In addition, an extreme PM 2.5 event (hourly average concentration exceeding 300μg/m 3 for ~40h) was examined with the consideration of meteorological conditions. Southerly wind with low speed and high relative humidity allow the accumulation of pollutants while northerly wind with high speed and low relative humidity result in good air quality. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  6. A review of air exchange rate models for air pollution exposure assessments.

    PubMed

    Breen, Michael S; Schultz, Bradley D; Sohn, Michael D; Long, Thomas; Langstaff, John; Williams, Ronald; Isaacs, Kristin; Meng, Qing Yu; Stallings, Casson; Smith, Luther

    2014-11-01

    A critical aspect of air pollution exposure assessments is estimation of the air exchange rate (AER) for various buildings where people spend their time. The AER, which is the rate of exchange of indoor air with outdoor air, is an important determinant for entry of outdoor air pollutants and for removal of indoor-emitted air pollutants. This paper presents an overview and critical analysis of the scientific literature on empirical and physically based AER models for residential and commercial buildings; the models highlighted here are feasible for exposure assessments as extensive inputs are not required. Models are included for the three types of airflows that can occur across building envelopes: leakage, natural ventilation, and mechanical ventilation. Guidance is provided to select the preferable AER model based on available data, desired temporal resolution, types of airflows, and types of buildings included in the exposure assessment. For exposure assessments with some limited building leakage or AER measurements, strategies are described to reduce AER model uncertainty. This review will facilitate the selection of AER models in support of air pollution exposure assessments.

  7. Public’s Health Risk Awareness on Urban Air Pollution in Chinese Megacities: The Cases of Shanghai, Wuhan and Nanchang

    PubMed Central

    Liu, Xiaojun; Zhu, Hui; Hu, Yongxin; Feng, Sha; Chu, Yuanyuan; Wu, Yanyan; Wang, Chiyu; Zhang, Yuxuan; Yuan, Zhaokang; Lu, Yuanan

    2016-01-01

    This study assessed the public’s health risk awareness of urban air pollution triggered by three megacities in China, and the data are the responses from a sample size of 3868 megacity inhabitants from Shanghai, Nanchang and Wuhan. Descriptive analyses were used to summarize the respondents’ demographics, perceived health risks from air pollution and sources of health-related knowledge on urban air pollution. Chi-square tests were used to examine if participants’ demographics were associated with participant’s general attitudes towards current air quality and the three perceived highest health risks due to urban air pollution. We found low rate of satisfaction of current urban air quality as well as poor knowledge of air pollution related indicator. Participants’ gender, age and travel experience were found to be associated with the satisfaction of current air quality. The knowledge of air pollution related indicator was significantly affected by respondents’ education, monthly income, health status, and sites of study. As many as 46.23% of the participants expressed their feelings of anxiety when exposed to polluted air, especially females, older adults and those with poor health conditions. Most participants believed that coughs/colds, eye problems and skin allergies were the three highest health risks due to urban air pollution based on public education through television/radio, internet and newspaper/magazine. Further public health education is needed to improve public awareness of air pollution and its effects. PMID:27571088

  8. Impact of noise and air pollution on pregnancy outcomes.

    PubMed

    Gehring, Ulrike; Tamburic, Lillian; Sbihi, Hind; Davies, Hugh W; Brauer, Michael

    2014-05-01

    Motorized traffic is an important source of both air pollution and community noise. While there is growing evidence for an adverse effect of ambient air pollution on reproductive health, little is known about the association between traffic noise and pregnancy outcomes. We evaluated the impact of residential noise exposure on small size for gestational age, preterm birth, term birth weight, and low birth weight at term in a population-based cohort study, for which we previously reported associations between air pollution and pregnancy outcomes. We also evaluated potential confounding of air pollution effects by noise and vice versa. Linked administrative health data sets were used to identify 68,238 singleton births (1999-2002) in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with complete covariate data (sex, ethnicity, parity, birth month and year, income, and education) and maternal residential history. We estimated exposure to noise with a deterministic model (CadnaA) and exposure to air pollution using temporally adjusted land-use regression models and inverse distance weighting of stationary monitors for the entire pregnancy. Noise exposure was negatively associated with term birth weight (mean difference = -19 [95% confidence interval = -23 to -15] g per 6 dB(A)). In joint air pollution-noise models, associations between noise and term birth weight remained largely unchanged, whereas associations decreased for all air pollutants. Traffic may affect birth weight through exposure to both air pollution and noise.

  9. [Effects of air pollution on human health and their importance in Mexico City].

    PubMed

    Vallejo, Maite; Jáuregui-Renaud, Kathrine; Hermosillo, Antonio G; Márquez, Manlio F; Cárdenas, Manuel

    2003-01-01

    The impact of air pollution on human health is a complicated problem. In this review, we describe the main health effects of exposure to ozone, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, lead and particulate matter. Geographical characteristics of the metropolitan area of Mexico City that favor pollutant persistence with adverse effects on the population are described; the use of the Indice Metropolitano de la Calidad del Aire (IMECA), current norms, and present programs to diminish this problem are discussed. Evidence shows that through these actions, air quality has improved. However, some pollutants such as ozone and particulate matter, still exceed the standard. To further improve air quality in the city, existing programs should continue and multidisciplinary research, both basic and applied, is required.

  10. Environment and air pollution: health services bequeath to grotesque menace.

    PubMed

    Qureshi, Muhammad Imran; Rasli, Amran Md; Awan, Usama; Ma, Jian; Ali, Ghulam; Faridullah; Alam, Arif; Sajjad, Faiza; Zaman, Khalid

    2015-03-01

    The objective of the study is to establish the link between air pollution, fossil fuel energy consumption, industrialization, alternative and nuclear energy, combustible renewable and wastes, urbanization, and resulting impact on health services in Malaysia. The study employed two-stage least square regression technique on the time series data from 1975 to 2012 to possibly minimize the problem of endogeniety in the health services model. The results in general show that air pollution and environmental indicators act as a strong contributor to influence Malaysian health services. Urbanization and nuclear energy consumption both significantly increases the life expectancy in Malaysia, while fertility rate decreases along with the increasing urbanization in a country. Fossil fuel energy consumption and industrialization both have an indirect relationship with the infant mortality rate, whereas, carbon dioxide emissions have a direct relationship with the sanitation facility in a country. The results conclude that balancing the air pollution, environment, and health services needs strong policy vistas on the end of the government officials.

  11. Meteorology program of the National Center for Air Pollution Control

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Ludwig, J.H.; McCormick, R.A.

    1968-08-01

    An attempt is made to discuss the role of the meteorologist in the Federal air pollution programs. There are two types of meteorological activities that have evolved as a result of the Federal air pollution program to aid the states and local agencies in their efforts to control air pollution. They are: research, which has focused on defining and describing meteorological factors of prime importance to air pollution control activities; and application of meteorological principles to the conduct of air pollution control programs. A detailed discussion is presented of the meteorological activities of the National Center for Air Pollution Controlmore » and their close relationships to other phases of the Center's research and operational programs.« less

  12. Future air pollution in the Shared Socio-economic Pathways

    DOE PAGES

    Rao, Shilpa; Klimont, Zbigniew; Smith, Steven J.; ...

    2016-07-15

    Emissions of air pollutants such as sulfur and nitrogen oxides and particulates have significant health impacts as well as effects on natural and anthropogenic ecosystems. These same emissions also can change atmospheric chemistry and the planetary energy balance, thereby impacting global and regional climate. Long-term scenarios for air pollutant emissions are needed as inputs to global climate and chemistry models, and for analysis linking air pollutant impacts across sectors. In this paper we present methodology and results for air pollutant emissions in Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSP) scenarios. We first present a set of three air pollution narratives that describe high,more » central, and low pollution control ambitions over the 21 st century. These narratives are then translated into quantitative guidance for use in integrated assessment models. We provide an overview of pollutant emission trajectories under the SSP scenarios. Pollutant emissions in these scenarios cover a wider range than the scenarios used in previous international climate model comparisons. Furthermore, the SSP scenarios provide the opportunity to access a more comprehensive range of future global and regional air quality outcomes.« less

  13. Future air pollution in the Shared Socio-economic Pathways

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Rao, Shilpa; Klimont, Zbigniew; Smith, Steven J.

    Emissions of air pollutants such as sulfur and nitrogen oxides and particulates have significant health impacts as well as effects on natural and anthropogenic ecosystems. These same emissions also can change atmospheric chemistry and the planetary energy balance, thereby impacting global and regional climate. Long-term scenarios for air pollutant emissions are needed as inputs to global climate and chemistry models, and for analysis linking air pollutant impacts across sectors. In this paper we present methodology and results for air pollutant emissions in Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSP) scenarios. We first present a set of three air pollution narratives that describe high,more » central, and low pollution control ambitions over the 21 st century. These narratives are then translated into quantitative guidance for use in integrated assessment models. We provide an overview of pollutant emission trajectories under the SSP scenarios. Pollutant emissions in these scenarios cover a wider range than the scenarios used in previous international climate model comparisons. Furthermore, the SSP scenarios provide the opportunity to access a more comprehensive range of future global and regional air quality outcomes.« less

  14. Urban Form, Air Pollution, and Health.

    PubMed

    Hankey, Steve; Marshall, Julian D

    2017-12-01

    Urban form can impact air pollution and public health. We reviewed health-related articles that assessed (1) the relationships among urban form, air pollution, and health as well as (2) aspects of the urban environment (i.e., green space, noise, physical activity) that may modify those relationships. Simulation and empirical studies demonstrate an association between compact growth, improved regional air quality, and health. Most studies are cross-sectional and focus on connections between transportation emissions and land use. The physical and mental health impacts of green space, public spaces that promote physical activity, and noise are well-studied aspects of the urban environment and there is evidence that these factors may modify the relationship between air pollution and health. Urban form can support efforts to design clean, health-promoting cities. More work is needed to operationalize specific strategies and to elucidate the causal pathways connecting various aspects of health.

  15. Air pollution holiday effect in metropolitan Kaohsiung

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tan, P.; Chen, P. Y.

    2014-12-01

    Different from Taipei, the metropolitan Kaohsiung which is a coastal and industrial city has the major pollution sources from stationary sources such as coal-fired power plants, petrochemical facilities and steel plants, rather than mobile sources. This study was an attempt to conduct a comprehensive and systematical examination of the holiday effect, defined as the difference in air pollutant concentrations between holiday and non-holiday periods, over the Kaohsiung metropolitan area. We documented evidence of a "holiday effect", where concentrations of NOx, CO, NMHC, SO2 and PM10 were significantly different between holidays and non-holidays, in the Kaohsiung metropolitan area from daily surface measurements of seven air quality monitoring stations of the Taiwan Environmental Protection Administration during the Chinese New Year (CNY) and non-Chinese New Year (NCNY) periods of 1994-2010. Concentrations of the five pollutants were lower in the CNY than in the NCNY period, however, that of O3 was higher in the CNY than in the NCNY period and had no holiday effect. The exclusion of the bad air quality day (PSI > 100) and the Lantern Festival Day showed no significant effects on the holiday effects of air pollutants. Ship transportation data of Kaohsiung Harbor Bureau showed a statistically significant difference in the CNY and NCNY period. This difference was consistent with those found in air pollutant concentrations of some industrial and general stations in coastal areas, implying the possible impact of traffic activity on the air quality of coastal areas. Holiday effects of air pollutants over the Taipei metropolitan area by Tan et al. (2009) are also compared.

  16. Air pollution measurements from satellites

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Ludwig, C. B.; Griggs, M.; Malkmus, W.; Bartle, E. R.

    1973-01-01

    A study is presented on the remote sensing of gaseous and particulate air pollutants which is an extension of a previous report. Pollutants can be observed by either active or passive remote sensing systems. Calculations discussed herein indicate that tropospheric CO, CO2, SO2, NO2, NH3, HCHO, and CH4 can be measured by means of nadir looking passive systems. Additional species such as NO, HNO3, O3, and H2O may be measured in the stratosphere through a horizon experiment. A brief theoretical overview of resonance Raman scattering and resonance fluorescence is given. It is found that radiance measurements are most promising for general global applications, and that stratospheric aerosols may be measured using a sun occultation technique. The instrumentation requirements for both active and passive systems are examined and various instruments now under development are described.

  17. The health effects of exercising in air pollution.

    PubMed

    Giles, Luisa V; Koehle, Michael S

    2014-02-01

    The health benefits of exercise are well known. Many of the most accessible forms of exercise, such as walking, cycling, and running often occur outdoors. This means that exercising outdoors may increase exposure to urban air pollution. Regular exercise plays a key role in improving some of the physiologic mechanisms and health outcomes that air pollution exposure may exacerbate. This problem presents an interesting challenge of balancing the beneficial effects of exercise along with the detrimental effects of air pollution upon health. This article summarizes the pulmonary, cardiovascular, cognitive, and systemic health effects of exposure to particulate matter, ozone, and carbon monoxide during exercise. It also summarizes how air pollution exposure affects maximal oxygen consumption and exercise performance. This article highlights ways in which exercisers could mitigate the adverse health effects of air pollution exposure during exercise and draws attention to the potential importance of land use planning in selecting exercise facilities.

  18. Predictive monitoring and diagnosis of periodic air pollution in a subway station.

    PubMed

    Kim, YongSu; Kim, MinJung; Lim, JungJin; Kim, Jeong Tai; Yoo, ChangKyoo

    2010-11-15

    The purpose of this study was to develop a predictive monitoring and diagnosis system for the air pollutants in a subway system using a lifting technique with a multiway principal component analysis (MPCA) which monitors the periodic patterns of the air pollutants and diagnoses the sources of the contamination. The basic purpose of this lifting technique was to capture the multivariate and periodic characteristics of all of the indoor air samples collected during each day. These characteristics could then be used to improve the handling of strong periodic fluctuations in the air quality environment in subway systems and will allow important changes in the indoor air quality to be quickly detected. The predictive monitoring approach was applied to a real indoor air quality dataset collected by telemonitoring systems (TMS) that indicated some periodic variations in the air pollutants and multivariate relationships between the measured variables. Two monitoring models--global and seasonal--were developed to study climate change in Korea. The proposed predictive monitoring method using the lifted model resulted in fewer false alarms and missed faults due to non-stationary behavior than that were experienced with the conventional methods. This method could be used to identify the contributions of various pollution sources. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  19. Effects of air pollution exposure on glucose metabolism in Los Angeles minority children

    PubMed Central

    Toledo-Corral, CM; Alderete, TL; Habre, R; Berhane, K; Lurmann, FW; Weigensberg, MJ; Goran, MI; Gilliland, FD

    2017-01-01

    Objective Growing evidence indicates that ambient (AAP: NO2, PM2.5, and O3) and traffic-related (TRAP) air pollutants contribute to metabolic disease risk in adults; however, few studies have examined these relationships in children. Methods Metabolic profiling was performed in 429 overweight and obese African-American and Latino youth living in urban Los Angeles, California. This cross-sectional study estimated individual residential air pollution exposure and used linear regression to examine relationships between air pollution and metabolic outcomes. Results AAP and TRAP exposure were associated with adverse effects on glucose metabolism independent of body fat percent. PM2.5 was associated with 25.0% higher fasting insulin (p<0.001), 8.3% lower insulin sensitivity (SI) (p<0.001), 14.7% higher acute insulin response to glucose (AIRg) (p=0.001), and 1.7% higher fasting glucose (p<0.001). Similar associations were observed for increased NO2 exposure. TRAP from non-freeway roads was associated with 12.1% higher insulin (p<0.001), 6.9% lower SI (p=0.02), 10.8% higher AIRg (p=0.003), and 0.7% higher fasting glucose (p=0.047). Conclusions Elevated air pollution exposure was associated with a metabolic profile that is characteristic of increased risk for type 2 diabetes. These results indicate that increased prior year exposure to air pollution may adversely affect type 2 diabetes-related pathophysiology in overweight and obese minority children. PMID:27923100

  20. [Study on emission standard system of air pollutants].

    PubMed

    Jiang, Mei; Zhang, Guo-Ning; Zhang, Ming-Hui; Zou, Lan; Wei, Yu-Xia; Ren, Chun

    2012-12-01

    Scientific and reasonable emission standard system of air pollutants helps to systematically control air pollution, enhance the protection of the atmospheric environment effect and improve the overall atmospheric environment quality. Based on the study of development, situation and characteristics of national air pollutants emission standard system, the deficiencies of system were pointed out, which were not supportive, harmonious and perfect, and the improvement measures of emission standard system were suggested.

  1. GIS-modeled indicators of traffic-related air pollutants and adverse pulmonary health among children in El Paso, Texas.

    PubMed

    Svendsen, Erik R; Gonzales, Melissa; Mukerjee, Shaibal; Smith, Luther; Ross, Mary; Walsh, Debra; Rhoney, Scott; Andrews, Gina; Ozkaynak, Halûk; Neas, Lucas M

    2012-10-01

    Investigators examined 5,654 children enrolled in the El Paso, Texas, public school district by questionnaire in 2001. Exposure measurements were first collected in the late fall of 1999. School-level and residence-level exposures to traffic-related air pollutants were estimated using a land use regression model. For 1,529 children with spirometry, overall geographic information system (GIS)-modeled residential levels of traffic-related ambient air pollution (calibrated to a 10-ppb increment in nitrogen dioxide levels) were associated with a 2.4% decrement in forced vital capacity (95% confidence interval (CI): -4.0, -0.7) after adjustment for demographic, anthropomorphic, and socioeconomic factors and spirometer/technician effects. After adjustment for these potential covariates, overall GIS-modeled residential levels of traffic-related ambient air pollution (calibrated to a 10-ppb increment in nitrogen dioxide levels) were associated with pulmonary function levels below 85% of those predicted for both forced vital capacity (odds ratio (OR) = 3.10, 95% CI: 1.65, 5.78) and forced expiratory volume in 1 second (OR = 2.35, 95% CI: 1.38, 4.01). For children attending schools at elevations above 1,170 m, a 10-ppb increment in modeled nitrogen dioxide levels was associated with current asthma (OR = 1.56, 95% CI: 1.08, 2.50) after adjustment for demographic, socioeconomic, and parental factors and random school effects. These results are consistent with previous studies in Europe and California that found adverse health outcomes in children associated with modeled traffic-related air pollutants.

  2. Air quality during the 2008 Beijing Olympics: secondary pollutants and regional impact

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wang, T.; Nie, W.; Gao, J.; Xue, L. K.; Gao, X. M.; Wang, X. F.; Qiu, J.; Poon, C. N.; Meinardi, S.; Blake, D.; Wang, S. L.; Ding, A. J.; Chai, F. H.; Zhang, Q. Z.; Wang, W. X.

    2010-08-01

    This paper presents the first results of the measurements of trace gases and aerosols at three surface sites in and outside Beijing before and during the 2008 Olympics. The official air pollution index near the Olympic Stadium and the data from our nearby site revealed an obvious association between air quality and meteorology and different responses of secondary and primary pollutants to the control measures. Ambient concentrations of vehicle-related nitrogen oxides (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) at an urban site dropped by 25% and 20-45% in the first two weeks after full control was put in place, but the levels of ozone, sulfate and nitrate in PM2.5 increased by 16%, 64%, 37%, respectively, compared to the period prior to the full control; wind data and back trajectories indicated the contribution of regional pollution from the North China Plain. Air quality (for both primary and secondary pollutants) improved significantly during the Games, which were also associated with the changes in weather conditions (prolonged rainfall, decreased temperature, and more frequent air masses from clean regions). A comparison of the ozone data at three sites on eight ozone-pollution days, when the air masses were from the southeast-south-southwest sector, showed that regional pollution sources contributed >34-88% to the peak ozone concentrations at the urban site in Beijing. Regional sources also contributed significantly to the CO concentrations in urban Beijing. Ozone production efficiencies at two sites were low (~3 ppbv/ppbv), indicating that ozone formation was being controlled by VOCs. Compared with data collected in 2005 at a downwind site, the concentrations of ozone, sulfur dioxide (SO2), total sulfur (SO2+PM2.5 sulfate), carbon monoxide (CO), reactive aromatics (toluene and xylenes) sharply decreased (by 8-64%) in 2008, but no significant changes were observed for the concentrations of PM2.5, fine sulfate, total odd reactive nitrogen (NOy), and longer

  3. Spatial and Temporal Dynamics in Air Pollution Exposure Assessment

    PubMed Central

    Dias, Daniela; Tchepel, Oxana

    2018-01-01

    Analyzing individual exposure in urban areas offers several challenges where both the individual’s activities and air pollution levels demonstrate a large degree of spatial and temporal dynamics. This review article discusses the concepts, key elements, current developments in assessing personal exposure to urban air pollution (seventy-two studies reviewed) and respective advantages and disadvantages. A new conceptual structure to organize personal exposure assessment methods is proposed according to two classification criteria: (i) spatial-temporal variations of individuals’ activities (point-fixed or trajectory based) and (ii) characterization of air quality (variable or uniform). This review suggests that the spatial and temporal variability of urban air pollution levels in combination with indoor exposures and individual’s time-activity patterns are key elements of personal exposure assessment. In the literature review, the majority of revised studies (44 studies) indicate that the trajectory based with variable air quality approach provides a promising framework for tackling the important question of inter- and intra-variability of individual exposure. However, future quantitative comparison between the different approaches should be performed, and the selection of the most appropriate approach for exposure quantification should take into account the purpose of the health study. This review provides a structured basis for the intercomparing of different methodologies and to make their advantages and limitations more transparent in addressing specific research objectives. PMID:29558426

  4. Possible molecular mechanisms linking air pollution and asthma in children.

    PubMed

    Esposito, Susanna; Tenconi, Rossana; Lelii, Mara; Preti, Valentina; Nazzari, Erica; Consolo, Silvia; Patria, Maria Francesca

    2014-03-01

    Air pollution has many effects on the health of both adults and children, but children's vulnerability is unique. The aim of this review is to discuss the possible molecular mechanisms linking air pollution and asthma in children, also taking into account their genetic and epigenetic characteristics. Air pollutants appear able to induce airway inflammation and increase asthma morbidity in children. A better definition of mechanisms related to pollution-induced airway inflammation in asthmatic children is needed in order to find new clinical and therapeutic strategies for preventing the exacerbation of asthma. Moreover, reducing pollution-induced oxidative stress and consequent lung injury could decrease children's susceptibility to air pollution. This would be extremely useful not only for the asthmatic children who seem to have a genetic susceptibility to oxidative stress, but also for the healthy population. In addition, epigenetics seems to have a role in the lung damage induced by air pollution. Finally, a number of epidemiological studies have demonstrated that exposure to common air pollutants plays a role in the susceptibility to, and severity of respiratory infections. Air pollution has many negative effects on pediatric health and it is recognised as a serious health hazard. There seems to be an association of air pollution with an increased risk of asthma exacerbations and acute respiratory infections. However, further studies are needed in order to clarify the specific mechanism of action of different air pollutants, identify genetic polymorphisms that modify airway responses to pollution, and investigate the effectiveness of new preventive and/or therapeutic approaches for subjects with low antioxidant enzyme levels. Moreover, as that epigenetic changes are inheritable during cell division and may be transmitted to subsequent generations, it is very important to clarify the role of epigenetics in the relationship between air pollution and lung disease

  5. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) evaluation of the carcinogenicity of outdoor air pollution: focus on China

    PubMed Central

    Loomis, Dana; Huang, Wei; Chen, Guosheng

    2014-01-01

    The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has classified outdoor air pollution and the particulate matter (PM) in outdoor air pollution as carcinogenic to humans, as based on sufficient evidence of carcinogenicity in humans and experimental animals and strong support by mechanistic studies. The data with important contributions to the evaluation are reviewed, highlighting the data with particular relevance to China, and implications of the evaluation with respect to China are discussed. The air pollution levels in Chinese cities are among the highest observed in the world today and frequently exceed health-based national and international guidelines. Data from high-quality epidemiologic studies in Asia, Europe, and North America consistently show positive associations between lung cancer and PM exposure and other indicators of air pollution, which persist after adjustment for important lung cancer risk factors, such as tobacco smoking. Epidemiologic data from China are limited but nevertheless indicate an increased risk of lung cancer associated with several air pollutants. Excess cancer risk is also observed in experimental animals exposed to polluted outdoor air or extracted PM. The exposure of several species to outdoor air pollution is associated with markers of genetic damage that have been linked to increased cancer risk in humans. Numerous studies from China, especially genetic biomarker studies in exposed populations, support that the polluted air in China is genotoxic and carcinogenic to humans. The evaluation by IARC indicates both the need for further research into the cancer risks associated with exposure to air pollution in China and the urgent need to act to reduce exposure to the population. PMID:24694836

  6. A Flexible Spatio-Temporal Model for Air Pollution with Spatial and Spatio-Temporal Covariates.

    PubMed

    Lindström, Johan; Szpiro, Adam A; Sampson, Paul D; Oron, Assaf P; Richards, Mark; Larson, Tim V; Sheppard, Lianne

    2014-09-01

    The development of models that provide accurate spatio-temporal predictions of ambient air pollution at small spatial scales is of great importance for the assessment of potential health effects of air pollution. Here we present a spatio-temporal framework that predicts ambient air pollution by combining data from several different monitoring networks and deterministic air pollution model(s) with geographic information system (GIS) covariates. The model presented in this paper has been implemented in an R package, SpatioTemporal, available on CRAN. The model is used by the EPA funded Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis and Air Pollution (MESA Air) to produce estimates of ambient air pollution; MESA Air uses the estimates to investigate the relationship between chronic exposure to air pollution and cardiovascular disease. In this paper we use the model to predict long-term average concentrations of NO x in the Los Angeles area during a ten year period. Predictions are based on measurements from the EPA Air Quality System, MESA Air specific monitoring, and output from a source dispersion model for traffic related air pollution (Caline3QHCR). Accuracy in predicting long-term average concentrations is evaluated using an elaborate cross-validation setup that accounts for a sparse spatio-temporal sampling pattern in the data, and adjusts for temporal effects. The predictive ability of the model is good with cross-validated R 2 of approximately 0.7 at subject sites. Replacing four geographic covariate indicators of traffic density with the Caline3QHCR dispersion model output resulted in very similar prediction accuracy from a more parsimonious and more interpretable model. Adding traffic-related geographic covariates to the model that included Caline3QHCR did not further improve the prediction accuracy.

  7. Developing a Clinical Approach to Air Pollution and Cardiovascular Health.

    PubMed

    Hadley, Michael B; Baumgartner, Jill; Vedanthan, Rajesh

    2018-02-13

    Nearly 3 billion people are exposed to household air pollution emitted from inefficient cooking and heating stoves, and almost the entire global population is exposed to detectable levels of outdoor air pollution from traffic, industry, and other sources. Over 3 million people die annually of ischemic heart disease or stroke attributed to air pollution, more than from traditional cardiac risk factors such as obesity, diabetes mellitus, or smoking. Clinicians have a role to play in reducing the burden of pollution-attributable cardiovascular disease. However, there currently exists no clear clinical approach to this problem. Here, we provide a blueprint for an evidence-based clinical approach to assessing and mitigating cardiovascular risk from exposure to air pollution. We begin with a discussion of the global burden of pollution-attributable cardiovascular disease, including a review of the mechanisms by which particulate matter air pollution leads to cardiovascular outcomes. Next, we offer a simple patient-screening tool using known risk factors for pollution exposure. We then discuss approaches to quantifying air pollution exposures and cardiovascular risk, including the development of risk maps for clinical catchment areas. We review a collection of interventions for household and outdoor air pollution, which clinicians can tailor to patients and populations at risk. Finally, we identify future research needed to quantify pollution exposures and validate clinical interventions. Overall, we demonstrate that clinicians can be empowered to mitigate the global burden of cardiovascular disease attributable to air pollution. © 2018 American Heart Association, Inc.

  8. microRNAs: Implications for Air Pollution Research

    EPA Science Inventory

    The purpose of this review is to provide an update of the current understanding on the role of microRNAs in mediating genetic responses to air pollutants and to contemplate on how these responses ultimately control susceptibility to ambient air pollution. Morbidity and mortality ...

  9. Investigation of air pollutants in rural nursery school - a case study

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mainka, Anna; Zajusz-Zubek, Elwira; Kozielska, Barbara; Brągoszewska, Ewa

    2018-01-01

    Children's exposure to air pollutants is an important public health challenge. Indoor air quality (IAQ) in nursery school is believed to be different from elementary school. Moreover, younger children are more vulnerable to air pollution than higher grade children because they spend more time indoors, and their immune systems and bodies are less mature. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the indoor air quality (IAQ) at naturally ventilated rural nursery schools located in Upper Silesia, Poland. We investigated the concentrations of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), particulate matter (PM), bacterial and fungal bioaerosols, as well as carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations in younger and older children's classrooms during the winter and spring seasons. The concentration of the investigated pollutants in indoor environments was higher than those in outdoor air. The results indicate the problem of elevated concentrations of PM2.5 and PM10 inside the examined classrooms, as well as that of high levels of CO2 exceeding 1,000 ppm in relation to outdoor air. The characteristics of PM and CO2 levels were significantly different, both in terms of classroom occupation (younger or older children) and of season (winter or spring).

  10. 75 FR 18061 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Texas; Control of Air Pollution...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-04-09

    ... Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Texas; Control of Air Pollution From Motor Vehicles AGENCY... Chapter 114, Control of Air Pollution from Motor Vehicles. These revisions consist of the new Rebate Grant... air pollution regulations and control strategies to ensure that air quality meets the National Ambient...

  11. Controlling Urban Air Pollution: A Benefit-Cost Assessment.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Krupnick, Alan J.; Portney, Paul R.

    1991-01-01

    The pros and cons of air pollution control efforts are discussed. Both national and regional air pollution control plans are described. Topics of discussion include benefit-cost analysis, air quality regulation, reducing ozone in the urban areas, the Los Angeles plan, uncertainties, and policy implications. (KR)

  12. Air pollution during pregnancy and lung development in the child.

    PubMed

    Korten, Insa; Ramsey, Kathryn; Latzin, Philipp

    2017-01-01

    Air pollution exposure has increased extensively in recent years and there is considerable evidence that exposure to particulate matter can lead to adverse respiratory outcomes. The health impacts of exposure to air pollution during the prenatal period is especially concerning as it can impair organogenesis and organ development, which can lead to long-term complications. Exposure to air pollution during pregnancy affects respiratory health in different ways. Lung development might be impaired by air pollution indirectly by causing lower birth weight, premature birth or disturbed development of the immune system. Exposure to air pollution during pregnancy has also been linked to decreased lung function in infancy and childhood, increased respiratory symptoms, and the development of childhood asthma. In addition, impaired lung development contributes to infant mortality. The mechanisms of how prenatal air pollution affects the lungs are not fully understood, but likely involve interplay of environmental and epigenetic effects. The current epidemiological evidence on the effect of air pollution during pregnancy on lung function and children's respiratory health is summarized in this review. While evidence for the adverse effects of prenatal air pollution on lung development and health continue to mount, rigorous actions must be taken to reduce air pollution exposure and thus long-term respiratory morbidity and mortality. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. Analysis of air pollution over Hanoi, Vietnam using multi-satellite and MERRA reanalysis datasets.

    PubMed

    Lasko, Kristofer; Vadrevu, Krishna Prasad; Nguyen, Thanh Thi Nhat

    2018-01-01

    Air pollution is one of the major environmental concerns in Vietnam. In this study, we assess the current status of air pollution over Hanoi, Vietnam using multiple different satellite datasets and weather information, and assess the potential to capture rice residue burning emissions with satellite data in a cloud-covered region. We used a timeseries of Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) Ultraviolet Aerosol Index (UVAI) satellite data to characterize absorbing aerosols related to biomass burning. We also tested a timeseries of 3-hourly MERRA-2 reanalysis Black Carbon (BC) concentration data for 5 years from 2012-2016 and explored pollution trends over time. We then used MODIS active fires, and synoptic wind patterns to attribute variability in Hanoi pollution to different sources. Because Hanoi is within the Red River Delta where rice residue burning is prominent, we explored trends to see if the residue burning signal is evident in the UVAI or BC data. Further, as the region experiences monsoon-influenced rainfall patterns, we adjusted the BC data based on daily rainfall amounts. Results indicated forest biomass burning from Northwest Vietnam and Laos impacts Hanoi air quality during the peak UVAI months of March and April. Whereas, during local rice residue burning months of June and October, no increase in UVAI is observed, with slight BC increase in October only. During the peak BC months of December and January, wind patterns indicated pollutant transport from southern China megacity areas. Results also indicated severe pollution episodes during December 2013 and January 2014. We observed significantly higher BC concentrations during nighttime than daytime with peaks generally between 2130 and 0030 local time. Our results highlight the need for better air pollution monitoring systems to capture episodic pollution events and their surface-level impacts, such as rice residue burning in cloud-prone regions in general and Hanoi, Vietnam in particular.

  14. Analysis of air pollution over Hanoi, Vietnam using multi-satellite and MERRA reanalysis datasets

    PubMed Central

    Vadrevu, Krishna Prasad; Nguyen, Thanh Thi Nhat

    2018-01-01

    Air pollution is one of the major environmental concerns in Vietnam. In this study, we assess the current status of air pollution over Hanoi, Vietnam using multiple different satellite datasets and weather information, and assess the potential to capture rice residue burning emissions with satellite data in a cloud-covered region. We used a timeseries of Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) Ultraviolet Aerosol Index (UVAI) satellite data to characterize absorbing aerosols related to biomass burning. We also tested a timeseries of 3-hourly MERRA-2 reanalysis Black Carbon (BC) concentration data for 5 years from 2012–2016 and explored pollution trends over time. We then used MODIS active fires, and synoptic wind patterns to attribute variability in Hanoi pollution to different sources. Because Hanoi is within the Red River Delta where rice residue burning is prominent, we explored trends to see if the residue burning signal is evident in the UVAI or BC data. Further, as the region experiences monsoon-influenced rainfall patterns, we adjusted the BC data based on daily rainfall amounts. Results indicated forest biomass burning from Northwest Vietnam and Laos impacts Hanoi air quality during the peak UVAI months of March and April. Whereas, during local rice residue burning months of June and October, no increase in UVAI is observed, with slight BC increase in October only. During the peak BC months of December and January, wind patterns indicated pollutant transport from southern China megacity areas. Results also indicated severe pollution episodes during December 2013 and January 2014. We observed significantly higher BC concentrations during nighttime than daytime with peaks generally between 2130 and 0030 local time. Our results highlight the need for better air pollution monitoring systems to capture episodic pollution events and their surface-level impacts, such as rice residue burning in cloud-prone regions in general and Hanoi, Vietnam in particular. PMID

  15. Air Pollution in the Mexico Megacity

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ruiz-Suarez, L. G.

    2007-05-01

    Mexico City is a megacity whose metropolitan area includes the country federal district, 18 municipalities of the State of Mexico. In year 1992, only 16 municipalities of the State of Mexico were part of MCMA. In year 1940 the Mexico City population was 1.78 millions in an area of 118 km2, in year 2000 the population was 17.9 millions in an area of 1,500 km2. Population has grown a ten fold whereas population density has dropped 20%. Total number of private cars has grown from 2,341,731 in year 1998 to 2,967,893 in year 2004. Nowadays, people and goods travel longer at lower speed to reach school, work and selling points. In addition highly efficient public transport lost a significant share of transport demand from 19.1 in 1986 to 14.3 in 1998. Air pollution is a public concern since early eighties last century; systematic public efforts have been carried out since late eighties. Energy consumption has steadily increased in the MCMA whereas emissions have also decreased. From year 2000 to 2004, the private cars fleet increased 17% whereas CO, NOx and COV emissions decreased between 20-30%. Average concentrations of criteria pollutants have decreased The number of days that the one-hour national standard for bad air quality was exceeded in year 1990 was 160. In year 2005 was 70. Research efforts and public policies on air pollution have been focused on public health. We are now better able to estimate the cost in human lives due to air pollution, or the cost in labor lost due to illness. Little if none at all work has been carried out to look at the effect of air pollution on private and public property or onto the cultural heritage. Few reports have can be found on the impact of air pollution in rural areas, including forest and crops, around the mega city. Mexico City is in the south end of a Valley with mountain ranges higher than 1000 m above the average city altitude. In spite the heavy loss of forested areas to the city, the mountains still retain large

  16. Traffic-related air pollution and risk for leukaemia of an adult population.

    PubMed

    Raaschou-Nielsen, Ole; Ketzel, Matthias; Harbo Poulsen, Aslak; Sørensen, Mette

    2016-03-01

    Air pollution causes lung cancer, but associations with other cancers have not been established. We investigated whether long-term exposure to traffic-related air pollution is associated with the risk of the general population for leukaemia. We identified 1,967 people in whom leukaemia was diagnosed in 1992-2010 from a nation-wide cancer registry and selected 3,381 control people at random, matched on sex and year of birth, from the entire Danish population. Residential addresses since 1971 were traced in a population registry, and outdoor concentrations of NOx and NO2 , as indicators of traffic-related air pollution, were calculated at each address in a dispersion model. We used conditional logistic regression to estimate the risk for leukaemia after adjustment for income, educational level, cohabitation status and co-morbidity. In linear analyses, we found odds ratios for acute myeloid leukaemia of 1.20 (95% confidence interval: 1.04-1.38) per 20 µg/m(3) increase in NOx and 1.31 (1.02-1.68) per 10 µg/m(3) increase in NO2 , calculated as time-weighted average exposure at all addresses since 1971. We found no association with chronic myeloid or lymphocytic leukaemia. This study indicates an association between long-term exposure to traffic-related air pollution and acute myeloid leukaemia in the general population, but not for other subtypes of leukaemia. © 2015 UICC.

  17. Multicontaminant air pollution in Chinese cities

    PubMed Central

    Han, Lijian; Zhou, Weiqi; Pickett, Steward TA; Li, Weifeng; Qian, Yuguo

    2018-01-01

    Abstract Objective To investigate multicontaminant air pollution in Chinese cities, to quantify the urban population affected and to explore the relationship between air pollution and urban population size. Methods We obtained data for 155 cities with 276 million inhabitants for 2014 from China's air quality monitoring network on concentrations of fine particulate matter measuring under 2.5 μm (PM2.5), coarse particulate matter measuring 2.5 to 10 μm (PM10), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), sulfur dioxide (SO2) and ozone (O3). Concentrations were considered as high, if they exceeded World Health Organization (WHO) guideline limits. Findings Overall, 51% (142 million) of the study population was exposed to mean annual multicontaminant concentrations above WHO limits – east China and the megacities were worst affected. High daily levels of four-contaminant mixtures of PM2.5, PM10, SO2 and O3 and PM2.5, PM10, SO2 and NO2 occurred on up to 110 days in 2014 in many cities, mainly in Shandong and Hebei Provinces. High daily levels of PM2.5, PM10 and SO2 occurred on over  146 days in 110 cities, mainly in east and central China. High daily levels of mixtures of PM2.5 and PM10, PM2.5 and SO2, and PM10 and SO2 occurred on over  146 days in 145 cities, mainly in east China. Surprisingly, multicontaminant air pollution was less frequent in cities with populations over 10 million than in smaller cities. Conclusion Multicontaminant air pollution was common in Chinese cities. A shift from single-contaminant to multicontaminant evaluations of the health effects of air pollution is needed. China should implement protective measures during future urbanization. PMID:29695880

  18. Ambient air pollution exposure and full-term birth weight in California.

    PubMed

    Morello-Frosch, Rachel; Jesdale, Bill M; Sadd, James L; Pastor, Manuel

    2010-07-28

    Studies have identified relationships between air pollution and birth weight, but have been inconsistent in identifying individual pollutants inversely associated with birth weight or elucidating susceptibility of the fetus by trimester of exposure. We examined effects of prenatal ambient pollution exposure on average birth weight and risk of low birth weight in full-term births. We estimated average ambient air pollutant concentrations throughout pregnancy in the neighborhoods of women who delivered term singleton live births between 1996 and 2006 in California. We adjusted effect estimates of air pollutants on birth weight for infant characteristics, maternal characteristics, neighborhood socioeconomic factors, and year and season of birth. 3,545,177 singleton births had monitoring for at least one air pollutant within a 10 km radius of the tract or ZIP Code of the mother's residence. In multivariate models, pollutants were associated with decreased birth weight; -5.4 grams (95% confidence interval -6.8 g, -4.1 g) per ppm carbon monoxide, -9.0 g (-9.6 g, -8.4 g) per pphm nitrogen dioxide, -5.7 g (-6.6 g, -4.9 g) per pphm ozone, -7.7 g (-7.9 g, -6.6 g) per 10 microg/m3 particulate matter under 10 microm, -12.8 g (-14.3 g, -11.3 g) per 10 microg/m3 particulate matter under 2.5 microm, and -9.3 g (-10.7 g, -7.9 g) per 10 microg/m3 of coarse particulate matter. With the exception of carbon monoxide, estimates were largely unchanged after controlling for co-pollutants. Effect estimates for the third trimester largely reflect the results seen from full pregnancy exposure estimates; greater variation in results is seen in effect estimates specific to the first and second trimesters. This study indicates that maternal exposure to ambient air pollution results in modestly lower infant birth weight. A small decline in birth weight is unlikely to have clinical relevance for individual infants, and there is debate about whether a small shift in the population distribution of

  19. Climate Change, Air Pollution, and the Economics of Health Impacts

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Reilly, J.; Yang, T.; Paltsev, S.; Wang, C.; Prinn, R.; Sarofim, M.

    2003-12-01

    Climate change and air pollution are intricately linked. The distinction between greenhouse substances and other air pollutants is resolved at least for the time being in the context of international negotiations on climate policy through the identification of CO2, CH4, N2O, SF6 and the per- and hydro- fluorocarbons as substances targeted for control. Many of the traditional air pollutant emissions including for example CO, NMVOCs, NOx, SO2, aerosols, and NH3 also directly or indirectly affect the radiative balance of the atmosphere. Among both sets of gases are precursors of and contributors to pollutants such as tropopospheric ozone, itself a strong greenhouse gas, particulate matter, and other pollutants that affect human health. Fossil fuel combustion, production, or transportation is a significant source for many of these substances. Climate policy can thus affect traditional air pollution or air pollution policy can affect climate. Health effects of acute or chronic exposure to air pollution include increased asthma, lung cancer, heart disease and bronchitis among others. These, in turn, redirect resources in the economy toward medical expenditures or result in lost labor or non-labor time with consequent effects on economic activity, itself producing a potential feedback on emissions levels. Study of these effects ultimately requires a fully coupled earth system model. Toward that end we develop an approach for introducing air pollution health impacts into the Emissions Prediction and Policy Analysis (EPPA) model, a component of the MIT Integrated Global Systems Model (IGSM) a coupled economics-chemistry-atmosphere-ocean-terrestrial biosphere model of earth systems including an air pollution model resolving the urban scale. This preliminary examination allows us to consider how climate policy affects air pollution and consequent health effects, and to study the potential impacts of air pollution policy on climate. The novel contribution is the effort to

  20. Air pollution in Delhi: Its Magnitude and Effects on Health”

    PubMed Central

    Rizwan, SA; Nongkynrih, Baridalyne; Gupta, Sanjeev Kumar

    2013-01-01

    Air pollution is responsible for many health problems in the urban areas. Of late, the air pollution status in Delhi has undergone many changes in terms of the levels of pollutants and the control measures taken to reduce them. This paper provides an evidence-based insight into the status of air pollution in Delhi and its effects on health and control measures instituted. The urban air database released by the World Health Organization in September 2011 reported that Delhi has exceeded the maximum PM10 limit by almost 10-times at 198 μg/m3. Vehicular emissions and industrial activities were found to be associated with indoor as well as outdoor air pollution in Delhi. Studies on air pollution and mortality from Delhi found that all-natural-cause mortality and morbidity increased with increased air pollution. Delhi has taken several steps to reduce the level of air pollution in the city during the last 10 years. However, more still needs to be done to further reduce the levels of air pollution. PMID:23559696

  1. [Air pollution and its health effects on residents in Taiwanese communities].

    PubMed

    Ko, Y C

    1996-12-01

    The are a number of particular features of air pollution in Taiwan, as described below: (1) In Taiwan area, the air load of pollutants is more serious than previously reported. (2) There exists severe air pollution throughout the island. (3) Industry is the major source of pollution. (4) No demarcation exists between plants and residential quarters. (5) There is a high concentration of pollutants indoors/outdoors. The influence of air pollution spreads over all aspects of physical health, primarily on the respiratory tract, causing lung cancer and exaggerating cardiovascular diseases. A few Taiwanese studies are reviewed below which deserve more elaboration. (1) Use PM10 for indexing health effect. The annual average value of PM10 in Taiwan has been around 70 micrograms/m3 in 1994. Dr. Schwarz indicated that no safety margin could be derived; for each additional 10 micrograms/ m3 of PM10, the death number could be increased by 1% on the basis of Western studies. (2) Research with reference to lung cancer cases in the Kaohsiung Medical College Hospital. Living within 3 km of industrial district counted for 9% of cases and caused a 6-fold increase in the risk of disease for people living more than 20 years in the case control study for lung cancer. (3) Death due to cancer of inhabitants close to petroleum and petrochemical industries. For youths and children below 20 years, cancers related to brain tumors were 2-4 fold of what was expected deaths. Analysis of another petrochemical complex in Chienchen, Kaohsiung, revealed the inhabitants within 1 km showed a higher standardized mortality ratio for cancers of the lung, kidney, urinary bladder, and leukemia than was to be expected. (4) Lower lung function and higher incidence of respiratory diseases among residents near a coal-fired power plant (within 3 Km) compared to residents who lived further away from the plant (3-11 Km). (5) Lead contamination around a kindergarten near a battery recycling plant. There was

  2. Assessment of human health impact from exposure to multiple air pollutants in China based on satellite observations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yu, Tao; Wang, Wen; Ciren, Pubu; Zhu, Yan

    2016-10-01

    Assessment of human health impact caused by air pollution is crucial for evaluating environmental hazards. In this paper, concentrations of six air pollutants (PM10, PM2.5, NO2, SO2, O3, and CO) were first derived from satellite observations, and then the overall human health risks in China caused by multiple air pollutants were assessed using an aggregated health risks index. Unlike traditional approach for human health risks assessment, which relied on the in-situ air pollution measurements, the spatial distribution of aggregated human health risks in China were obtained using satellite observations in this research. It was indicated that the remote sensing data have advantages over in-situ data in accessing human health impact caused by air pollution.

  3. 40 CFR 49.137 - Rule for air pollution episodes.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 1 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Rule for air pollution episodes. 49.137... General Rules for Application to Indian Reservations in Epa Region 10 § 49.137 Rule for air pollution... prevent the occurrence of an air pollution emergency within the Indian reservation due to the effects of...

  4. 40 CFR 49.137 - Rule for air pollution episodes.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 1 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Rule for air pollution episodes. 49.137... General Rules for Application to Indian Reservations in Epa Region 10 § 49.137 Rule for air pollution... prevent the occurrence of an air pollution emergency within the Indian reservation due to the effects of...

  5. 40 CFR 49.137 - Rule for air pollution episodes.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 1 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Rule for air pollution episodes. 49.137... General Rules for Application to Indian Reservations in Epa Region 10 § 49.137 Rule for air pollution... prevent the occurrence of an air pollution emergency within the Indian reservation due to the effects of...

  6. 40 CFR 49.137 - Rule for air pollution episodes.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 1 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Rule for air pollution episodes. 49.137... General Rules for Application to Indian Reservations in Epa Region 10 § 49.137 Rule for air pollution... prevent the occurrence of an air pollution emergency within the Indian reservation due to the effects of...

  7. A review of methods for predicting air pollution dispersion

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Mathis, J. J., Jr.; Grose, W. L.

    1973-01-01

    Air pollution modeling, and problem areas in air pollution dispersion modeling were surveyed. Emission source inventory, meteorological data, and turbulent diffusion are discussed in terms of developing a dispersion model. Existing mathematical models of urban air pollution, and highway and airport models are discussed along with their limitations. Recommendations for improving modeling capabilities are included.

  8. Impact of ambient air pollution on obesity: a systematic review.

    PubMed

    An, Ruopeng; Ji, Mengmeng; Yan, Hai; Guan, Chenghua

    2018-05-24

    Over 80% of the global populations living in urban areas are exposed to air quality levels that exceed the World Health Organization limits. Air pollution may lead to unhealthy body weight through metabolic dysfunction, chronic disease onset, and disruption of regular physical activity. A literature search was conducted in the PubMed and Web of Science for peer-reviewed articles published until September 2017 that assessed the relationship between air pollution and body weight status. A standardized data extraction form was used to collect methodological and outcome variables from each eligible study. Sixteen studies met the selection criteria and were included in the review. They were conducted in seven countries, including the US (n = 9), China (n = 2), Canada (n = 1), Italy (n = 1), The Netherlands (n = 1), Serbia (n = 1), and South Korea (n = 1). Half of them adopted a longitudinal study design, and the rest adopted a cross-sectional study design. Commonly examined air pollutants included PM, NO 2 , SO 2 , O 3 , and overall air quality index. Among a total of 66 reported associations between air pollution and body weight status, 29 (44%) found air pollution to be positively associated with body weight, 29 (44%) reported a null finding, and the remaining eight (12%) found air pollution to be negatively associated with body weight. The reported associations between air pollution and body weight status varied by sex, age group, and type of air pollutant. Three pathways hypothesized in the selected studies were through increased oxidative stress and adipose tissue inflammation, elevated risk for chronic comorbidities, and insufficient physical activity. Concurrent evidence regarding the impact of air pollution on body weight status remains mixed. Future studies should assess the impact of severe air pollution on obesity in developing countries, focus on a homogenous population subgroup, and elucidate the biomedical and psychosocial

  9. Measurement of Air Pollutants in the Troposphere

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Clemitshaw, Kevin C.

    2011-01-01

    This article describes the principles, applications and performances of methods to measure gas-phase air pollutants that either utilise passive or active sampling with subsequent laboratory analysis or involve automated "in situ" sampling and analysis. It focuses on air pollutants that have adverse impacts on human health (nitrogen…

  10. Traffic-related air pollution and congenital anomalies in Barcelona.

    PubMed

    Schembari, Anna; Nieuwenhuijsen, Mark J; Salvador, Joaquin; de Nazelle, Audrey; Cirach, Marta; Dadvand, Payam; Beelen, Rob; Hoek, Gerard; Basagaña, Xavier; Vrijheid, Martine

    2014-03-01

    A recent meta-analysis suggested evidence for an effect of exposure to ambient air pollutants on risk of certain congenital heart defects. However, few studies have investigated the effects of traffic-related air pollutants with sufficient spatial accuracy. We estimated associations between congenital anomalies and exposure to traffic-related air pollution in Barcelona, Spain. Cases with nonchromosomal anomalies (n = 2,247) and controls (n = 2,991) were selected from the Barcelona congenital anomaly register during 1994-2006. Land use regression models from the European Study of Cohorts for Air Pollution Effects (ESCAPE), were applied to residential addresses at birth to estimate spatial exposure to nitrogen oxides and dioxide (NOx, NO2), particulate matter with diameter ≤ 10 μm (PM10), 10-2.5 μm (PMcoarse), ≤ 2.5 μm (PM2.5), and PM2.5 absorbance. Spatial estimates were adjusted for temporal trends using data from routine monitoring stations for weeks 3-8 of each pregnancy. Logistic regression models were used to calculate odds ratios (ORs) for 18 congenital anomaly groups associated with an interquartile-range (IQR) increase in exposure estimates. In spatial and spatiotemporal exposure models, we estimated statistically significant associations between an IQR increase in NO2 (12.2 μg/m3) and coarctation of the aorta (ORspatiotemporal = 1.15; 95% CI: 1.01, 1.31) and digestive system defects (ORspatiotemporal = 1.11; 95% CI: 1.00, 1.23), and between an IQR increase in PMcoarse (3.6 μg/m3) and abdominal wall defects (ORspatiotemporal = 1.93; 95% CI: 1.37, 2.73). Other statistically significant increased and decreased ORs were estimated based on the spatial model only or the spatiotemporal model only, but not both. Our results overall do not indicate an association between traffic-related air pollution and most groups of congenital anomalies. Findings for coarctation of the aorta are consistent with those of the previous meta-analysis. Schembari A

  11. Air Pollution and Preterm Birth in the U.S. State of Georgia (2002-2006): Associations with Concentrations of 11 Ambient Air Pollutants Estimated by Combining Community Multiscale Air Quality Model (CMAQ) Simulations with Stationary Monitor Measurements.

    PubMed

    Hao, Hua; Chang, Howard H; Holmes, Heather A; Mulholland, James A; Klein, Mitch; Darrow, Lyndsey A; Strickland, Matthew J

    2016-06-01

    Previous epidemiologic studies suggest associations between preterm birth and ambient air pollution. We investigated associations between 11 ambient air pollutants, estimated by combining Community Multiscale Air Quality model (CMAQ) simulations with measurements from stationary monitors, and risk of preterm birth (< 37 weeks of gestation) in the U.S. state of Georgia. Birth records for singleton births ≥ 27 weeks of gestation with complete covariate information and estimated dates of conception between 1 January 2002 and 28 February 2006 were obtained from the Office of Health Indicators for Planning, Georgia Department of Public Health (n = 511,658 births). Daily pollutant concentrations at 12-km resolution were estimated for 11 ambient air pollutants. We used logistic regression with county-level fixed effects to estimate associations between preterm birth and average pollutant concentrations during the first and second trimester. Discrete-time survival models were used to estimate third-trimester and total pregnancy associations. Effect modification was investigated by maternal education, race, census tract poverty level, and county-level urbanicity. Trimester-specific and total pregnancy associations (p < 0.05) were observed for several pollutants. All the traffic-related pollutants (carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, PM2.5 elemental carbon) were associated with preterm birth [e.g., odds ratios for interquartile range increases in carbon monoxide during the first, second, and third trimesters and total pregnancy were 1.005 (95% CI: 1.001, 1.009), 1.007 (95% CI: 1.002, 1.011), 1.010 (95% CI: 1.006, 1.014), and 1.011 (95% CI: 1.006, 1.017)]. Associations tended to be higher for mothers with low educational attainment and African American mothers. Several ambient air pollutants were associated with preterm birth; associations were observed in all exposure windows. Hao H, Chang HH, Holmes HA, Mulholland JA, Klein M, Darrow LA, Strickland MJ. 2016. Air pollution

  12. Air Pollution Primer. Revised Education.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Corman, Rena

    This revised and updated book is written to inform the citizens on the nature, causes, and effects of air pollution. It is written in terms familiar to the layman with the purpose of providing knowledge and motivation to spur community action on clean air policies. Numerous charts and drawings are provided to support discussion of air pollution…

  13. Relationship between Air Pollution and Weather Conditions under Complicated Geographical conditions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cheng, Q.; Jiang, P.; Li, M.

    2017-12-01

    Air pollution is one of the most serious issues all over the world, especially in megacities with constrained geographical conditions for air pollution diffusion. However, the dynamic mechanism of air pollution diffusion under complicated geographical conditions is still be confused. Researches to explore relationship between air pollution and weather conditions from the perspective of local atmospheric circulations can contribute more to solve such problem. We selected three megacities (Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou) under different geographical condition (mountain-plain transition region, coastal alluvial plain and coastal hilly terrain) to explore the relationship between air pollution and weather conditions. RDA (Redundancy analysis) model was used to analyze how the local atmospheric circulation acts on the air pollutant diffusion. The results show that there was a positive correlation between the concentration of air pollutants and air pressure, while temperature, precipitation and wind speed have negative correlations with the concentration of air pollutants. Furthermore, geographical conditions, such as topographic relief, have significant effects on the direction, path and intensity of local atmospheric circulation. As a consequence, air pollutants diffusion modes in different cities under various geographical conditions are diverse from each other.

  14. Cardiovascular diseases and air pollution in Novi Sad, Serbia.

    PubMed

    Jevtić, Marija; Dragić, Nataša; Bijelović, Sanja; Popović, Milka

    2014-04-01

    A large body of evidence has documented that air pollutants have adverse effect on human health as well as on the environment. The aim of this study was to determine whether there was an association between outdoor concentrations of sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and a daily number of hospital admissions due to cardiovascular diseases (CVD) in Novi Sad, Serbia among patients aged above 18. The investigation was carried out during over a 3-year period (from January 1, 2007 to December 31, 2009) in the area of Novi Sad. The number (N = 10 469) of daily CVD (ICD-10: I00-I99) hospital admissions was collected according to patients' addresses. Daily mean levels of NO2 and SO2, measured in the ambient air of Novi Sad via a network of fixed samplers, have been used to put forward outdoor air pollution. Associations between air pollutants and hospital admissions were firstly analyzed by the use of the linear regression in a single polluted model, and then trough a single and multi-polluted adjusted generalized linear Poisson model. The single polluted model (without confounding factors) indicated that there was a linear increase in the number of hospital admissions due to CVD in relation to the linear increase in concentrations of SO2 (p = 0.015; 95% confidence interval (95% CI): 0.144-1.329, R(2) = 0.005) and NO2 (p = 0.007; 95% CI: 0.214-1.361, R(2) = 0.007). However, the single and multi-polluted adjusted models revealed that only NO2 was associated with the CVD (p = 0.016, relative risk (RR) = 1.049, 95% CI: 1.009-1.091 and p = 0.022, RR = 1.047, 95% CI: 1.007-1.089, respectively). This study shows a significant positive association between hospital admissions due to CVD and outdoor NO2 concentrations in the area of Novi Sad, Serbia.

  15. Air pollution and Parkinson's disease - evidence and future directions.

    PubMed

    Palacios, Natalia

    2017-12-20

    Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disease of unknown etiology that is thought to be caused by a complex combination of environmental and/or genetic factors. Air pollution exposure is linked to numerous adverse effects on human health, including brain inflammation and oxidative stress, processes that are believed to contribute to the development and progression of PD. This review provides an overview of recent advances in the epidemiology of air pollution and PD, including evidence of the effects of various pollutants (ozone, PM10, PM2.5, PM2.5-10, NOx, NO2, CO, traffic air pollution, second-hand smoking) on PD risk. Based on this evidence, promising opportunities for future research are outlined, including: (1) studies of smaller particle sizes that cross the blood-brain barrier, (2) studies of the effects of air pollution on PD mortality and/or progression; (3) studies of interactions of air pollution with gene environment and other environmental factors.

  16. Air Pollution and Hospitalization for Acute Myocardial Infarction in China.

    PubMed

    Liu, Hui; Tian, Yaohua; Xiang, Xiao; Sun, Kexin; Juan, Juan; Song, Jing; Cao, Yaying; Xu, Beibei; Hu, Yonghua

    2017-09-01

    There is growing interest in the association between ambient air pollution and acute myocardial infarction (AMI). The objective of this study was to explore the association in 14 Chinese cities using a time-stratified case-crossover design. We identified 80,787 hospital admissions for AMI between January 1, 2014 and December 31, 2015 from electronic hospitalization summary reports. Conditional logistic regression was used to estimate the percent changes with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) in AMI admissions in relation to an interquartile range increase in ambient air pollutant concentrations. All analyzed air pollutants, with the exception of ozone, were positively associated with daily AMI admissions on lag2 and lag3 days. An interquartile range increase in particulate matter <10 µm in aerodynamic diameter, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, and carbon monoxide concentrations on lag2 day was significantly associated with a 0.8% (95% CI 0.1%, 1.6%), 2.0% (95% CI 1.2%, 2.9%), 2.2% (95% CI 1.4%, 3.1%), and 1.1% (95% CI 0.4%, 1.8%) increase in AMI admissions, respectively. We also observed a significant association in relation to ozone on lag4 day (percent change: 1.3%; 95% CI 0.2%, 2.4%). Subgroup analyses indicated no effect modification of risk by age (≥65 years and <65 years) or gender. In conclusion, this is the first multicity study in China, or even in other developing countries, to report the short-term effects of air pollution on AMI morbidity. Our findings contribute to the limited scientific data on the effects of ambient air pollution on AMI in developing countries. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  17. Interactions of Climate Change, Air Pollution, and Human Health.

    PubMed

    Kinney, Patrick L

    2018-03-01

    I review literature on the impacts of climate change on air quality and human health, with a focus on articles published from 2013 on ozone and airborne particles. Selected previous literature is discussed where relevant in tracing the origins of our current knowledge. Climate and weather have strong influences on the spatial and temporal distribution of air pollution concentrations. Emissions of ozone and PM 2.5 precursors increase at higher ambient temperatures. The reactions that form ozone occur faster with greater sunlight and higher temperatures. Weather systems influence the movement and dispersion of air pollutants in the atmosphere through the action of winds, vertical mixing, and precipitation, all of which are likely to alter in a changing climate. Recent studies indicate that, holding anthropogenic air pollution emissions constant, ozone concentrations in populated regions will tend to increase in future climate scenarios. For the USA, the climate impact on ozone is most consistently seen in north-central and north-eastern states, with the potential for many thousands of additional ozone-related deaths. The sensitivity of anthropogenic PM 2.5 to climate is more variable across studies and regions, owing to the varied nature of PM constituents, as well as to less complete characterization of PM reaction chemistry in available atmospheric models. However, PM emitted by wildland fires is likely to become an increasing health risk in many parts of the world as climate continues to change. The complex interactions between climate change and air quality imply that future policies to mitigate these twin challenges will benefit from greater coordination. Assessing the health implications of alternative policy approaches towards climate and pollution mitigation will be a critical area of future work.

  18. Implications of air pollution effects on athletic performance

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Pierson, W.E.; Covert, D.S.; Koenig, J.Q.

    Both controlled human studies and observational studies suggest that air pollution adversely affects athletic performance during both training and competition. The air pollution dosage during exercise is much higher than during rest because of a higher ventilatory rate and both nasal and oral breathing in the former case. For example, sulfur dioxide, which is a highly water-soluble gas, is almost entirely absorbed in the upper respiratory tract during nasal breathing. However, with oral pharyngeal breathing, the amount of sulfur dioxide that is absorbed is significantly less, and with exercise and oral pharyngeal breathing a significant decrease in upper airway absorptionmore » occurs, resulting in a significantly larger dosage of this pollutant being delivered to the tracheobronchial tree. Recently, several controlled human studies have shown that the combination of exercise and pollutant exposure (SO/sub 2/ or O/sub 3/) caused a marked bronchoconstriction and reduced ventilatory flow when compared to pollution exposure at rest. In a situation like the Olympic Games where milliseconds and millimeters often determine the success of athletes, air pollution can be an important factor in affecting their performance. This paper examines possible impacts of air pollution on athletic competition.« less

  19. Global Scenarios of Air Pollution until 2030: Combining Air Quality, Climate Change and Energy Access Policies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rao, S.; Dentener, F. J.; Klimont, Z.; Riahi, K.

    2011-12-01

    Outdoor air pollution is increasingly recognized as a significant contributor to global health outcomes. This has led to the implementation of a number of air quality policies worldwide, with total air pollution control costs in 2005 estimated at US$195 billion. More than 80% of the world's population is still found to be exposed to PM2.5 concentrations exceeding WHO air quality guidelines and health impacts resulting from these exposures estimated at around 2-5% of the global disease burden. Key questions to answer are 1) How will pollutant emissions evolve in the future given developments in the energy system and how will energy and environmental policies influence such emission trends. 2) What implications will this have for resulting exposures and related health outcomes. In order to answer these questions, varying levels of stringency of air quality legislation are analyzed in combination with policies on universal access to clean cooking fuels and limiting global temperature change to 2°C in 2100. Bottom-up methodologies using energy emissions modeling are used to derive sector-based pollutant emission trajectories until 2030. Emissions are spatially downscaled and used in combination with a global transport chemistry model to derive ambient concentrations of PM2.5. Health impacts of these exposures are further estimated consistent with WHO data and methodology. The results indicate that currently planned air quality legislation combined with rising energy demand will be insufficient in controlling future emissions growth in developing countries. In order to achieve significant reductions in pollutant emissions of the order of more than 50% from 2005 levels and reduce exposures to levels consistent with WHO standards, it will be necessary to increase the stringency of such legislations and combine them with policies on energy access and climate change. Combined policies also result in reductions in air pollution control costs as compared to those associated

  20. Mercury and Air Pollution: A Bibliography With Abstracts.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC. Office of Air Programs.

    The Air Pollution Technical Information Center (APTIC) of the Office of Air Programs has selected and compiled this bibliography of abstracts on mercury and air pollution. The abstracted documents are considered representative of available literature, although not all-inclusive. They are grouped into eleven categories: (1) Emission Sources, (2)…

  1. Health effects from indoor air pollution: case studies.

    PubMed

    White, L E; Clarkson, J R; Chang, S N

    1987-01-01

    In recent years there has been a growing awareness of the health effects associated with the presence of contaminants in indoor air. Numerous agents can accumulate in public buildings, homes and automobiles as a result of ongoing activities that normally occur in these closed spaces. Ventilation is a major factor in the control of indoor air pollutants since proper movement of air can prevent or minimize the build up of compounds in buildings. The recent emphasis on energy conservation has lead to measures which economize on energy for heating and air conditioning, but which also trap pollutants within a building. Three cases of indoor air pollution were investigated. A typical investigation of indoor air pollutant problems includes the following: interviews with building occupants; history of the building with regard to maintenance, pesticide treatment, etc.; a survey of the building and ventilation; and when warranted, sampling and analysis of air. Each case presented is unique in that atypical situations caused agents to accumulate in a building or section of a building. The indoor air problems in these cases were solved by identifying and removing the source of the offending agent and/or improving the ventilation in the building.

  2. Effects of atmospheric transport and trade on air pollution mortality in China

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhao, Hongyan; Li, Xin; Zhang, Qiang; Jiang, Xujia; Lin, Jintai; Peters, Glen P.; Li, Meng; Geng, Guannan; Zheng, Bo; Huo, Hong; Zhang, Lin; Wang, Haikun; Davis, Steven J.; He, Kebin

    2017-09-01

    Air quality is a major environmental concern in China, where premature deaths due to air pollution have exceeded 1 million people per year in recent years. Here, using a novel coupling of economic, physical and epidemiological models, we estimate the premature mortality related to anthropogenic outdoor PM2.5 air pollution in seven regions of China in 2010 and show for the first time how the distribution of these deaths in China is determined by a combination of economic activities and physical transport of pollution in the atmosphere. We find that 33 % (338 600 premature deaths) of China's PM2.5-related premature mortality in 2010 were caused by pollutants emitted in a different region of the country and transported in the atmosphere, especially from north to south and from east to west. Trade further extended the cross-regional impact; 56 % of (568 900 premature deaths) China's PM2.5-related premature mortality was related to consumption in another region, including 423 800 (42 % of total) and 145 100 (14 %) premature deaths from domestic consumption and international trade respectively. Our results indicate that multilateral and multi-stage cooperation under a regional sustainable development framework is in urgent need to mitigate air pollution and related health impacts, and efforts to reduce the health impacts of air pollution in China should be prioritized according to the source and location of emissions, the type and economic value of the emitting activities, and the related patterns of consumption.

  3. Floristic summary of plant species in the air pollution literature.

    PubMed

    Bennett, J P

    1996-01-01

    A floristic summary and analysis was performed on a list of the plant species that have been studied for the effects of gaseous and chemical air pollutants on vegetation in order to compare the species with the flora of North America north of Mexico. The scientific names of 2081 vascular plant species were extracted from almost 4000 journal articles stored in two large literature databases on the effects of air pollutants on plants. Three quarters of the plant species studied occur in North America, but this was only 7% of the total North American flora. Sixteen percent and 56% of all North American genera and families have been studied. The most studied genus is Pinus with 70% of the North American species studied, and the most studied family is the grass family, with 12% of the species studied. Although Pinus is ranked 86th in the North American flora, the grass family is ranked third, indicating that representation at the family level is better than at the genus level. All of the top ten families in North America are represented in the top 20 families in the air pollution effects literature, but only one genus (Lupinus) in the top ten genera in North America is represented in the top thirteen genera in the air pollution literature.

  4. Floristic summary of plant species in the air pollution literature

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Bennett, J.P.

    1996-01-01

    A floristic summary and analysis was performed on a list of the plant species that have been studied for the effects of gaseous and chemical air pollutants on vegetation in order to compare the species with the flora of North America north of Mexico. The scientific names of 2081 vascular plant species were extracted from almost 4000 journal articles stored in two large literature databases on the effects of air pollutants on plants. Three quarters of the plant species studied occur in North America, but this was only 7% of the total North American flora. Sixteen percent and 56% of all North American genera and families have been studied. The most studied genus is Pinus with 70% of the North American species studied, and the most studied family is the grass family, with 12% of the species studied. Although Pinus is ranked 86th in the North American flora, the grass family is ranked third, indicating that representation at the family level is better than at the genus level. All of the top ten families in North America are represented in the top 20 families in the air pollution effects literature, but only one genus (Lupinus) in the top ten genera in North America is represented in the top thirteen genera in the air pollution literature.

  5. Plug-in Sensors for Air Pollution Monitoring.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Shaw, Manny

    Faristors, a type of plug-in sensors used in analyzing equipment, are described in this technical report presented at the 12th Conference on Methods in Air Pollution and Industrial Hygiene Studies, University of Southern California, April, 1971. Their principles of operation, interchangeability, and versatility for measuring air pollution at…

  6. Air pollution: worldwide effects on mountain forests

    Treesearch

    Anne M. Rosenthal; Andrzej Featured: Bytnerowicz

    2004-01-01

    Widespread forest decline in remote areas of the Carpathian Mountains has been linked to air pollution from urban and industrial regions. Besides injuring plant tissues directly, pollutants may deposit to soils and water, drastically changing susceptible ecosystems. Researcher Andrzej Bytnerowicz has developed effective methods for assessing air quality over wildlands...

  7. Reconsidering the Relationship between Air Pollution and Deprivation.

    PubMed

    Bailey, Nick; Dong, Guanpeng; Minton, Jon; Pryce, Gwilym

    2018-03-29

    This paper critically examines the relationship between air pollution and deprivation. We argue that focusing on a particular economic or social model of urban development might lead one to erroneously expect all cities to converge towards a particular universal norm. A naive market sorting model, for example, would predict that poor households will eventually be sorted into high pollution areas, leading to a positive relationship between air pollution and deprivation. If, however, one considers a wider set of theoretical perspectives, the anticipated relationship between air pollution and deprivation becomes more complex and idiosyncratic. Specifically, we argue the relationship between pollution and deprivation can only be made sense of by considering processes of risk perception, path dependency, gentrification and urbanization. Rather than expecting all areas to eventually converge to some universal norm, we should expect the differences in the relationship between air pollution and deprivation across localities to persist. Mindful of these insights, we propose an approach to modeling which does not impose a geographically fixed relationship. Results for Scotland reveal substantial variations in the observed relationships over space and time, supporting our argument.

  8. Ambient air pollution and annoyance responses from pregnant women

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Llop, Sabrina; Ballester, Ferran; Estarlich, Marisa; Esplugues, Ana; Fernández-Patier, Rosalia; Ramón, Rosa; Marco, Alfredo; Aguirre, Amelia; Sunyer, Jordi; Iñiguez, Carmen; INMA-Valencia cohort

    ObjectivesTo describe the degree of annoyance caused by air pollution and noise in pregnant women in a birth cohort; to determine the modifying factors and their relation with exposure to ambient nitrogen dioxide (NO 2). MethodsThe study population was 855 pregnant women in Valencia, Spain. Annoyance caused by air pollution and noise, and explanatory factors were obtained from 786 pregnant women through a questionnaire. NO 2 levels were determined combining measurements at 93 points within the area of study and using geostatistical techniques (kriging). ResultsIn all 7.9% of the women reported high annoyance caused by air pollution and 13.1% high annoyance caused by noise. There was a significant difference in the degree of annoyance due to both air pollution and noise depending on the area where the women lived and their working status. The degree of annoyance correlated better with measured NO 2 at the municipality level (air pollution: r=0.53; noise: r=0.44) than at the individual level (air pollution and noise: r=0.21). On multivariate analysis, being a housewife, higher NO 2 levels and high traffic density were associated with higher degrees of annoyance. ConclusionsThere was a high percentage of women who perceived medium-high annoyance due to noise and air pollution. Annoyance caused by environmental pollutants could lead to some psychological effects, which impair the quality of life, or even physiological ones, which affect prenatal development.

  9. POLLUTION PREVENTION FOR CLEANER AIR: EPA'S AIR AND ENERGY ENGINEERING RESEARCH LABORATORY

    EPA Science Inventory

    The article discusses the role of EPA's Air and Energy Engineering Research Laboratory (AEERL) in pollution prevention research for cleaner air. For more than 20 years, AEERL has been conducting research to identify control approaches for the pollutants and sources which contribu...

  10. Effects of air pollution exposure on glucose metabolism in Los Angeles minority children.

    PubMed

    Toledo-Corral, C M; Alderete, T L; Habre, R; Berhane, K; Lurmann, F W; Weigensberg, M J; Goran, M I; Gilliland, F D

    2018-01-01

    Growing evidence indicates that ambient (AAP: NO 2 , PM 2.5 and O 3 ) and traffic-related air pollutants (TRAP) contribute to metabolic disease risk in adults; however, few studies have examined these relationships in children. Metabolic profiling was performed in 429 overweight and obese African-American and Latino youth living in urban Los Angeles, California. This cross-sectional study estimated individual residential air pollution exposure and used linear regression to examine relationships between air pollution and metabolic outcomes. AAP and TRAP exposure were associated with adverse effects on glucose metabolism independent of body fat percent. PM 2.5 was associated with 25.0% higher fasting insulin (p < 0.001), 8.3% lower insulin sensitivity (p < 0.001), 14.7% higher acute insulin response to glucose (p = 0.001) and 1.7% higher fasting glucose (p < 0.001). Similar associations were observed for increased NO 2 exposure. TRAP from non-freeway roads was associated with 12.1% higher insulin (p < 0.001), 6.9% lower insulin sensitivity (p = 0.02), 10.8% higher acute insulin response to glucose (p = 0.003) and 0.7% higher fasting glucose (p = 0.047). Elevated air pollution exposure was associated with a metabolic profile that is characteristic of increased risk for type 2 diabetes. These results indicate that increased prior year exposure to air pollution may adversely affect type 2 diabetes-related pathophysiology in overweight and obese minority children. © 2016 World Obesity Federation.

  11. In Brief: Air pollution app

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Showstack, Randy

    2010-10-01

    A new smartphone application takes advantage of various technological capabilities and sensors to help users monitor air quality. Tapping into smartphone cameras, Global Positioning System (GPS) sensors, compasses, and accelerometers, computer scientists with the University of Southern California's (USC) Viterbi School of Engineering have developed a new application, provisionally entitled “Visibility.” Currently available for the Android telephone operating system, the application is available for free download at http://robotics.usc.edu/˜mobilesensing/Projects/AirVisibilityMonitoring. An iPhone application may be introduced soon. Smartphone users can take a picture of the sky and then compare it with models of sky luminance to estimate visibility. While conventional air pollution monitors are costly and thinly deployed in some areas, the smartphone application potentially could help fill in some blanks in existing air pollution maps, according to USC computer science professor Gaurav Sukhatme.

  12. Developmental Neurotoxicity of Traffic-Related Air Pollution: Focus on Autism.

    PubMed

    Costa, Lucio G; Chang, Yu-Chi; Cole, Toby B

    2017-06-01

    Epidemiological and animal studies suggest that air pollution may negatively affect the central nervous system (CNS) and contribute to CNS diseases. Traffic-related air pollution is a major contributor to global air pollution, and diesel exhaust (DE) is its most important component. Several studies suggest that young individuals may be particularly susceptible to air pollution-induced neurotoxicity and that perinatal exposure may cause or contribute to developmental disabilities and behavioral abnormalities. In particular, a number of recent studies have found associations between exposures to traffic-related air pollution and autism spectrum disorders (ASD), which are characterized by impairment in socialization and in communication and by the presence of repetitive and unusual behaviors. The cause(s) of ASD are unknown, and while it may have a hereditary component, environmental factors are increasingly suspected as playing a pivotal role in its etiology, particularly in genetically susceptible individuals. Autistic children present higher levels of neuroinflammation and systemic inflammation, which are also hallmarks of exposure to traffic-related air pollution. Gene-environment interactions may play a relevant role in determining individual susceptibility to air pollution developmental neurotoxicity. Given the worldwide presence of elevated air pollution, studies on its effects and mechanisms on the developing brain, genetic susceptibility, role in neurodevelopmental disorders, and possible therapeutic interventions are certainly warranted.

  13. Air pollution around schools is linked to poorer student health and academic performance.

    PubMed

    Mohai, Paul; Kweon, Byoung-Suk; Lee, Sangyun; Ard, Kerry

    2011-05-01

    Exposing children to environmental pollutants during important times of physiological development can lead to long-lasting health problems, dysfunction, and disease. The location of children's schools can increase their exposure. We examined the extent of air pollution from industrial sources around public schools in Michigan to find out whether air pollution jeopardizes children's health and academic success. We found that schools located in areas with the highest air pollution levels had the lowest attendance rates-a potential indicator of poor health-and the highest proportions of students who failed to meet state educational testing standards. Michigan and many other states currently do not require officials considering a site for a new school to analyze its environmental quality. Our results show that such requirements are needed. For schools already in existence, we recommend that their environmental quality should be investigated and improved if necessary.

  14. Patient-Provider Discussions About Strategies to Limit Air Pollution Exposures.

    PubMed

    Mirabelli, Maria C; Damon, Scott A; Beavers, Suzanne F; Sircar, Kanta D

    2018-06-11

    Exposure to air pollution negatively affects respiratory and cardiovascular health. The objective of this study was to describe the extent to which health professionals report talking about how to limit exposure to air pollution during periods of poor air quality with their at-risk patients. In 2015, a total of 1,751 health professionals completed an online survey and reported whether they talk with their patients about limiting their exposure to air pollution. In 2017, these data were analyzed to assess the frequency that health professionals in primary care, pediatrics, obstetrics/gynecology, and nursing reported talking about limiting air pollution exposure with patients who have respiratory or cardiovascular diseases, were aged ≤18 years, were aged ≥65 years, or were pregnant women. Frequencies of positive responses were assessed across categories of provider- and practice-level characteristics. Overall, 714 (41%) respondents reported ever talking with their patients about limiting their exposure to air pollution. Thirty-four percent and 16% of providers specifically reported talking with their patients with respiratory or cardiovascular disease diagnoses, respectively. Percentages of health professionals who reported talking with their patients about limiting air pollution exposure were highest among respondents in pediatrics (56%) and lowest among respondents in obstetrics/gynecology (0%). Despite the well-described health effects of exposure to air pollution, the majority of respondents did not report talking with their patients about limiting their exposure to air pollution. These findings reveal clear opportunities to improve awareness about strategies to limit air pollution exposure among sensitive groups of patients and their health care providers. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  15. Impact of air pollutants on athletic performance

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Pierson, W.E.

    Human controlled and observational studies both lead to the conclusion of air pollution adversely affecting athletic performance during training and competition. The dosage of various air pollutants during exercise is much higher due to the marked increase in ventilatory rate and concomitant nasal and oral breathing. This is particularly true for sulfur dioxide which is a highly water-soluble gas and is normally absorbed in the upper airway during nasal breathing. With heavy exercise, oral pharyngeal breathing is the predominant mode of breathing and much larger amounts of sulfur dioxide are delivered to the lower airway resulting in significant impact uponmore » the lower respiratory tract. More recently, several controlled human studies have shown that a combination of exercise and air pollutants such as ozone (O3) or sulfur dioxides (SO2) cause a significant increase in bronchoconstriction and air flow obstruction when compared to the same exposure at rest. In strenuous athletic competition such as the Olympic Games where small increments of time often determine the ultimate success of athletes, the impact of air pollutants and subsequent adverse ventilatory changes can affect athletic performance. 62 references.« less

  16. Long-term associations of morbidity with air pollution: A catalog and synthesis.

    PubMed

    Lipfert, Frederick W

    2018-01-01

    I searched the National Institutes of Health MEDLINE database through January 2017 for long-term studies of morbidity and air pollution and cataloged them with respect to cardiovascular, respiratory, cancer, diabetes, hospitalization, neurological, and pregnancy-birth endpoints. The catalog is presented as an online appendix. Associations with PM 2.5 (particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter <2.5 μm), PM 10 (PM with an aerodynamic diameter <10 μm), and nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ) were evaluated most frequently among the 417 ambient air quality studies identified. Associations with total suspended particles (TSP), carbon, ozone, sulfur, vehicular traffic, radon, and indoor air quality were also reported. I evaluated each study in terms of pollutant significance (yes, no), duration of exposure, and publication date. I found statistically significant pollutant relationships (P < 0.05) in 224 studies; 220 studies indicated adverse effects. Among 795 individual pollutant effect estimates, 396 are statistically significant. Pollutant associations with cardiovascular indicators, lung function, respiratory symptoms, and low birth weight are more likely to be significant than with disease incidence, heart attacks, diabetes, or neurological endpoints. Elemental carbon (EC), traffic, and PM 2.5 are most likely to be significant for cardiovascular outcomes; TSP, EC, and ozone (O 3 ) for respiratory outcomes; NO 2 for neurological outcomes; and PM 10 for birth/pregnancy outcomes. Durations of exposure range from 60 days to 35 yr, but I found no consistent relationships with the likelihood of statistical significance. Respiratory studies began ca. 1975; studies of diabetes, cardiovascular, and neurological effects increased after about 2005. I found 72 studies of occupational air pollution exposures; 40 reported statistically significant adverse health effects, especially for respiratory conditions. I conclude that the aggregate of these studies supports the existence of

  17. Controlling Air Pollution; A Primer on Stationary Source Control Techniques.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Corman, Rena

    This companion document to "Air Pollution Primer" is written for the nonexpert in air pollution; however, it does assume a familiarity with air pollution problems. This work is oriented toward providing the reader with knowledge about current and proposed air quality legislation and knowledge about available technology to meet these standards for…

  18. The status of indoor air pollution.

    PubMed Central

    Esmen, N A

    1985-01-01

    Indoor air pollution, specifically restricted in its meaning to chemicals in home indoor air environment, presents a new and probably an important challenge to the researchers of the air pollution field. The general overview of this topic suggests that the voluminous data generated in the past ten or so years have only defined the rudiments of the problem, and significant areas of research still exist. Among the important areas where information is lacking, the exposures to contaminants generated by the use of consumer products and through hobbies and crafts represent perhaps the most urgent need for substantial research. PMID:4085429

  19. Ambient air pollution particles and the acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

    EPA Science Inventory

    Investigation has repeatedly demonstrated an association between exposure to ambient air pollution particles and numerous indices of human morbidity and mortality. Individuals with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are among those with an increased sensitivity to air p...

  20. Gestational Diabetes and Preeclampsia in Association with Air Pollution at Levels below Current Air Quality Guidelines

    PubMed Central

    Jakobsson, Kristina; Tinnerberg, Håkan; Rignell-Hydbom, Anna; Rylander, Lars

    2013-01-01

    Background: Several studies have estimated associations between air pollution and birth outcomes, but few have evaluated potential effects on pregnancy complications. Objective: We investigated whether low-level exposure to air pollution is associated with gestational diabetes and preeclampsia. Methods: High-quality registry information on 81,110 singleton pregnancy outcomes in southern Sweden during 1999–2005 was linked to individual-level exposure estimates with high spatial resolution. Modeled exposure to nitrogen oxides (NOx), expressed as mean concentrations per trimester, and proximity to roads of different traffic densities were used as proxy indicators of exposure to combustion-related air pollution. The data were analyzed by logistic regression, with and without adjusting for potential confounders. Results: The prevalence of gestational diabetes increased with each NOx quartile, with an adjusted odds ratio (OR) of 1.69 (95% CI: 1.41, 2.03) for the highest (> 22.7 µg/m3) compared with the lowest quartile (2.5–8.9 µg/m3) of exposure during the second trimester. The adjusted OR for acquiring preeclampsia after exposure during the third trimester was 1.51 (1.32, 1.73) in the highest quartile of NOx compared with the lowest. Both outcomes were associated with high traffic density, but ORs were significant for gestational diabetes only. Conclusion: NOx exposure during pregnancy was associated with gestational diabetes and preeclampsia in an area with air pollution levels below current air quality guidelines. PMID:23563048

  1. Respiratory disease in relation to outdoor air pollution in Kanpur, India.

    PubMed

    Liu, Hai-Ying; Bartonova, Alena; Schindler, Martin; Sharma, Mukesh; Behera, Sailesh N; Katiyar, Kamlesh; Dikshit, Onkar

    2013-01-01

    This paper examines the effect of outdoor air pollution on respiratory disease in Kanpur, India, based on data from 2006. Exposure to air pollution is represented by annual emissions of sulfur dioxide (SO(2)), particulate matter (PM), and nitrogen oxides (NO(x)) from 11 source categories, established as a geographic information system (GIS)-based emission inventory in 2 km × 2 km grid. Respiratory disease is represented by number of patients who visited specialist pulmonary hospital with symptoms of respiratory disease. The results showed that (1) the main sources of air pollution are industries, domestic fuel burning, and vehicles; (2) the emissions of PM per grid are strongly correlated to the emissions of SO(2) and NO(x); and (3) there is a strong correlation between visits to a hospital due to respiratory disease and emission strength in the area of residence. These results clearly indicate that appropriate health and environmental monitoring, actions to reduce emissions to air, and further studies that would allow assessing the development in health status are necessary.

  2. Local pollutants go global: The impacts of intercontinental air pollution from China on air quality and morbidity in California.

    PubMed

    Ngo, Nicole S; Bao, Xiaojia; Zhong, Nan

    2018-08-01

    China is among the greatest emitters of air pollution in the world and one concern is the effects of intercontinental air pollution traveling across the Pacific Ocean from China to the U.S. We exploit a natural experiment by observing the effects of changes in intercontinental air pollution associated with Chinese New Year, a 7-day national holiday, and sandstorms from China on air quality and morbidity in California. The timing of these events are unlikely correlated to other factors affecting air quality and health in California. Chinese New Year follows the Lunar New Year which varies each traditional calendar year while sandstorms are a naturally occurring phenomenon. We examine effects on morbidity using restricted emergency department and inpatient hospitalization data for the universe of patients with respiratory and heart disease between 2005 and 2012 in California. This is the first study to use patient-level data to examine the effects of trans-Pacific air pollution from China on morbidity in the U.S. We show that heavy sandstorms are associated with a modest increase in acute respiratory disease per capita, representing 0.5-4.6% of average weekly hospitalizations. However, we find no significant effect on morbidity in California from Chinese New Year. Results suggest that policymakers could prepare for changes in air quality following major sandstorms in China. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  3. Assessment of air pollution of settlement areas in Ulaanbaatar city, Mongolia

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ch, Sonomdagva; Ch, Byambatseren; Batdelger, B.

    2017-05-01

    The purpose of this study is to analyses mass concentration varied by its measurement of air pollution in Ulaanbaatar city, Mongolia. Ulaanbaatar city will have been increasing air pollution due to rapidly expanding vehicular population, growing industrial sector in last 10 years ago. In addition, people use to heat the carbon from 10 month in every year. This becomes a base cause of air pollution in Ulaanbaatar. We studied a change of mass concentration an air pollution elements in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. To research work, we used information that based on data of my measurements of air pollution and Metropolitan air quality agency until 2006 to 2016. This research important result is air pollution levels are limited to the areas around Ulaanbaatar areas are the most polluted in the center of city are the least polluted areas whereas Tolgoit, Sapporo, 1st Khoroolol, Amgalan, Shar Khad are moderately polluted and the areas around Baruun 4 zam, Factory, Zaisan, Nisekh are normally polluted. The results of pollution are illustrated four zones. By dividing the polluted areas into such zones, we are trying to make it easier to take preventive measures against the pollution itself and protective measures for safeguarding the health of mass population.

  4. Vegetation fires and air pollution in Vietnam.

    PubMed

    Le, Thanh Ha; Thanh Nguyen, Thi Nhat; Lasko, Kristofer; Ilavajhala, Shriram; Vadrevu, Krishna Prasad; Justice, Chris

    2014-12-01

    Forest fires are a significant source of air pollution in Asia. In this study, we integrate satellite remote sensing data and ground-based measurements to infer fire-air pollution relationships in selected regions of Vietnam. We first characterized the active fires and burnt areas at a regional scale from MODIS satellite data. We then used satellite-derived active fire data to correlate the resulting atmospheric pollution. Further, we analyzed the relationship between satellite atmospheric variables and ground-based air pollutant parameters. Our results show peak fire activity during March in Vietnam, with hotspots in the Northwest and Central Highlands. Active fires were significantly correlated with UV Aerosol Index (UVAI), aerosol extinction absorption optical depth (AAOD), and Carbon Monoxide. The use of satellite aerosol optical thickness improved the prediction of Particulate Matter (PM) concentration significantly. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. Air Pollution and Children's Health in Chinese.

    PubMed

    Lin, Wei-Wei; Chen, Zan-Xiong; Kong, Min-Li; Xie, Yan-Qi; Zeng, Xiao-Wen

    2017-01-01

    Children can be considered as a high-risk population to environmental stress since some of the organ systems including the immune system and respiratory system are still in development during childhood. During childhood, the impact of environmental pollutants exposure may program child growth and development that have long-term consequences on later health and disease risk. Considering the rapid economic growth in recent decades in China, the impact of ambient air pollution on children health causes concerns. Therefore, we aimed to review the current epidemiological evidence on the effects of air pollution exposure on adverse health outcome, including respiratory diseases, lung function, high blood pressure, cognitive disorder, and obesity in childhood in China. We believe that the findings summarized in our review demonstrate an unequivocal relationship between air pollutants exposure and Chinese children health and these results have large public health influences.

  6. Air pollution characteristics and health risks in Henan Province, China.

    PubMed

    Shen, Fuzhen; Ge, Xinlei; Hu, Jianlin; Nie, Dongyang; Tian, Li; Chen, Mindong

    2017-07-01

    Events of severe air pollution occurred frequently in China recently, thus understanding of the air pollution characteristics and its health risks is very important. In this work, we analyzed a two-year dataset (March 2014 - February 2016) including daily concentrations of six criteria pollutants (PM 2.5 , PM 10 , CO, SO 2 , NO 2 , and O 3 ) from 18 cities in Henan province. Results reveal the serious air pollution status in Henan province, especially the northern part, and Zhengzhou is the city with the worst air quality. Annual average PM 2.5 concentrations exceed the second grade of Chinese Ambient Air Quality Standard (75μg/m 3 ) at both 2014 and 2015. PM 2.5 is typically the major pollutant, but ozone pollution can be significant during summer. Furthermore, as the commonly used air quality index (AQI) neglects the mutual health effects from multiple pollutants, we introduced the aggregate air quality index (AAQI) and health-risk based air quality index (HAQI) to evaluate the health risks. Results show that based on HAQI, the current AQI system likely significantly underestimate the health risks of air pollution, highlighting that the general public may need stricter health protection measures. The population-weighted two-year average HAQI data further demonstrates that all population in the studied cities in Henan province live with polluted air - 72% of the population is exposed to air that is unhealthy for sensitive people, while 28% of people is exposed to air that can be harmful to healthy people; and the health risks are much greater during winter than during other seasons. Future works should further improve the HAQI algorithm, and validate the links between the clinical/epidemiologic data and the HAQI values. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  7. Global Air Quality and Climate Impacts of Mitigating Short-lived Climate Pollution in China

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Harper, K.; Unger, N.; Heyes, C.; Kiesewetter, G.; Klimont, Z.; Schoepp, W.; Wagner, F.

    2014-12-01

    China is a major emitter of harmful air pollutants, including the short-lived climate pollutants (SLCPs) and their precursors. Implementation of pollution control technologies provides a mechanism for simultaneously protecting human and ecosystem health and achieving near-term climate co-benefits; however, predicting the outcomes of technical and policy interventions is challenging because the SLCPs participate in both climate warming and cooling and share many common emission sources. Here, we present the results of a combined regional integrated assessment and global climate modeling study aimed at quantifying the near-term climate and air quality co-benefits of selective control of Chinese air pollution emissions. Results from IIASA's Greenhouse Gas - Air Pollution Interactions and Synergies (GAINS) integrated assessment model indicate that methane emission reductions make up > 75% of possible CO2-equivalent emission reductions of the SLCPs and their precursors in China in 2030. A multi-pollutant emission reduction scenario incorporating the 2030 Chinese pollution control measures with the highest potential for future climate impact is applied to the NASA ModelE2 - Yale Interactive Terrestrial Biosphere (NASA ModelE2-YIBs) global carbon - chemistry - climate model to assess the regional and long-range impacts of Chinese SLCP mitigation measures. Using model simulations that incorporate dynamic methane emissions and photosynthesis-dependent isoprene emissions, we quantify the impacts of Chinese reductions of the short-lived air pollutants on radiative forcing and on surface ozone and particulate air pollution. Present-day modeled methane mole fractions are evaluated against SCIAMACHY methane columns and NOAA ESRL/GMD surface flask measurements.

  8. Air pollution and chronic airway diseases: what should people know and do?

    PubMed

    Jiang, Xu-Qin; Mei, Xiao-Dong; Feng, Di

    2016-01-01

    The health effects of air pollution remain a public health concern worldwide. Exposure to air pollution has many substantial adverse effects on human health. Globally, seven million deaths were attributable to the joint effects of household and ambient air pollution. Subjects with chronic respiratory diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma are especially vulnerable to the detrimental effects of air pollutants. Air pollution can induce the acute exacerbation of COPD and onset of asthma, increase the respiratory morbidity and mortality. The health effects of air pollution depend on the components and sources of pollutants, which varied with countries, seasons, and times. Combustion of solid fuels is a major source of air pollutants in developing countries. To reduce the detrimental effects of air pollution, people especially those with COPD or asthma should be aware of the air quality and take extra measures such as reducing the time outdoor and wearing masks when necessary. For reducing the air pollutants indoor, people should use clean fuels and improve the stoves so as to burn fuel more efficiently and vent emissions to the outside. Air cleaners that can improve the air quality efficiently are recommended.

  9. Air pollution and chronic airway diseases: what should people know and do?

    PubMed Central

    Jiang, Xu-Qin; Feng, Di

    2016-01-01

    The health effects of air pollution remain a public health concern worldwide. Exposure to air pollution has many substantial adverse effects on human health. Globally, seven million deaths were attributable to the joint effects of household and ambient air pollution. Subjects with chronic respiratory diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma are especially vulnerable to the detrimental effects of air pollutants. Air pollution can induce the acute exacerbation of COPD and onset of asthma, increase the respiratory morbidity and mortality. The health effects of air pollution depend on the components and sources of pollutants, which varied with countries, seasons, and times. Combustion of solid fuels is a major source of air pollutants in developing countries. To reduce the detrimental effects of air pollution, people especially those with COPD or asthma should be aware of the air quality and take extra measures such as reducing the time outdoor and wearing masks when necessary. For reducing the air pollutants indoor, people should use clean fuels and improve the stoves so as to burn fuel more efficiently and vent emissions to the outside. Air cleaners that can improve the air quality efficiently are recommended. PMID:26904251

  10. Air Pollution and Preterm Birth in the U.S. State of Georgia (2002–2006): Associations with Concentrations of 11 Ambient Air Pollutants Estimated by Combining Community Multiscale Air Quality Model (CMAQ) Simulations with Stationary Monitor Measurements

    PubMed Central

    Hao, Hua; Chang, Howard H.; Holmes, Heather A.; Mulholland, James A.; Klein, Mitch; Darrow, Lyndsey A.; Strickland, Matthew J.

    2015-01-01

    Background: Previous epidemiologic studies suggest associations between preterm birth and ambient air pollution. Objective: We investigated associations between 11 ambient air pollutants, estimated by combining Community Multiscale Air Quality model (CMAQ) simulations with measurements from stationary monitors, and risk of preterm birth (< 37 weeks of gestation) in the U.S. state of Georgia. Methods: Birth records for singleton births ≥ 27 weeks of gestation with complete covariate information and estimated dates of conception between 1 January 2002 and 28 February 2006 were obtained from the Office of Health Indicators for Planning, Georgia Department of Public Health (n = 511,658 births). Daily pollutant concentrations at 12-km resolution were estimated for 11 ambient air pollutants. We used logistic regression with county-level fixed effects to estimate associations between preterm birth and average pollutant concentrations during the first and second trimester. Discrete-time survival models were used to estimate third-trimester and total pregnancy associations. Effect modification was investigated by maternal education, race, census tract poverty level, and county-level urbanicity. Results: Trimester-specific and total pregnancy associations (p < 0.05) were observed for several pollutants. All the traffic-related pollutants (carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, PM2.5 elemental carbon) were associated with preterm birth [e.g., odds ratios for interquartile range increases in carbon monoxide during the first, second, and third trimesters and total pregnancy were 1.005 (95% CI: 1.001, 1.009), 1.007 (95% CI: 1.002, 1.011), 1.010 (95% CI: 1.006, 1.014), and 1.011 (95% CI: 1.006, 1.017)]. Associations tended to be higher for mothers with low educational attainment and African American mothers. Conclusion: Several ambient air pollutants were associated with preterm birth; associations were observed in all exposure windows. Citation: Hao H, Chang HH, Holmes HA

  11. STRESS IN THE AIR: INHALED POLLUTANTS AND MULTI-ORGAN IMPAIRMENT

    EPA Science Inventory

    Air pollution has been blamed for nearly 7 million premature deaths worldwide. For decades, the research on how air pollution impacts human health has centered on cardiopulmonary consequences. However, more recently it is clearly evident that air pollution affects every organ in ...

  12. Neurobehavioral effects of exposure to traffic-related air pollution and transportation noise in primary schoolchildren.

    PubMed

    van Kempen, Elise; Fischer, Paul; Janssen, Nicole; Houthuijs, Danny; van Kamp, Irene; Stansfeld, Stephen; Cassee, Flemming

    2012-05-01

    Children living close to roads are exposed to both traffic noise and traffic-related air pollution. There are indications that both exposures affect cognitive functioning. So far, the effects of both exposures have only been investigated separately. To investigate the relationship between air pollution and transportation noise on the cognitive performance of primary schoolchildren in both the home and school setting. Data acquired within RANCH from 553 children (aged 9-11 years) from 24 primary schools were analysed using multilevel modelling with adjustment for a range of socio-economic and life-style factors. Exposure to NO(2) (which is in urban areas an indicator for traffic-related air pollution) at school was statistically significantly associated with a decrease in the memory span length measured during DMST (χ(2)=6.8, df=1, p=0.01). This remained after additional adjustment for transportation noise. Statistically significant associations were observed between road and air traffic noise exposure at school and the number of errors made during the 'arrow' (χ(2)=7.5, df=1, p=0.006) and 'switch' (χ(2)=4.8, df=1, p=0.028) conditions of the SAT. This remained after adjustment for NO(2). No effects of air pollution exposure or transportation noise exposure at home were observed. Combined exposure of air pollution and road traffic noise had a significant effect on the reaction times measured during the SRTT and the 'block' and the 'arrow' conditions of the SAT. Our results provide some support that prolonged exposure to traffic-related air pollution as well as to noise adversely affects cognitive functioning. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  13. Air pollution and the heart : cardiovascular effects and mechanisms.

    PubMed

    Barclay, Justin; Hillis, Graham; Ayres, Jon

    2005-01-01

    There has been increasing awareness in recent years of the adverse cardiovascular effects of ambient air pollution. The recent publication of a statement from the Expert Panel on Population and Prevention Science of the American Heart Association has highlighted this issue. It has been appreciated for several decades that major pollution episodes, such as that associated with the London Fog of 1952, are responsible for increased numbers of deaths and most of these are due to cardiorespiratory causes. Realisation of this prompted government and environmental health initiatives to reduce emissions through establishing air quality standards. Previously, the major sources of air pollution were related to domestic coal burning and industry. However, the pattern of emissions in modern developed countries has changed, resulting in a pollution mixture of different composition to that on which early air quality standards were based. Even current 'lower' levels of air pollution have been shown consistently to be associated with adverse health effects. Over the past two decades, a wealth of epidemiological studies have considered both long- and short-term health effects of air pollution. Although the relative risk of respiratory disease in relation to air pollution exposure seems to be higher than that of cardiovascular disease, the latter are of greater absolute significance in population terms. A number of hypotheses have been proposed in order to explain the observed associations, and recent research efforts have focused on examining the mechanisms underlying the effects. It is suggested that certain subgroups of the population such as the elderly or those with pre-existing cardiorespiratory disease may be more susceptible to the effects of air pollution, and analysis of survival data from cohort studies supports this observation.

  14. Associations of outdoor air pollution with hemorrhagic stroke mortality.

    PubMed

    Yorifuji, Takashi; Kawachi, Ichiro; Sakamoto, Tetsuro; Doi, Hiroyuki

    2011-02-01

    Evidence linking short-term exposure to outdoor air pollution with hemorrhagic stroke is inconsistent. We evaluated the associations between outdoor air pollution and specific types of stroke in Tokyo, Japan, from April 2003 to December 2008. We obtained daily counts of stroke mortality (n = 41,440) and concentrations of nitrogen dioxide as well as particles less than 2.5 μm in diameter. Time-series analysis was employed. Although same-day air pollutants were positively associated with ischemic stroke and intracerebral hemorrhage mortality, both air pollutants were more strongly associated with subarachnoid hemorrhage mortality: rate ratio was 1.041 (95% confidence interval: 1.011-1.072) for each 10 μg/m3 increase in the previous-day particles less than 2.5 μm. This study suggests that short-term exposure to outdoor air pollution increases the risks of hemorrhagic stroke mortality as well as ischemic stroke mortality.

  15. A Critical Review of Air Pollution Index Systems in the United States and Canada

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ott, Wayne R.; Thom, Gary C.

    1976-01-01

    An extensive survey of air pollution indices reveals great diversity in calculation and descriptor categories. This lack of uniformity creates confusion, suggests questionable technical validity, and discourages a national picture. The authors recombined indices currently in use to develop a Standardized Urban Air Quality Index for national use.…

  16. Health benefits of air pollution abatement policy: Role of the shape of the concentration-response function.

    PubMed

    Pope, C Arden; Cropper, Maureen; Coggins, Jay; Cohen, Aaron

    2015-05-01

    There is strong evidence that fine particulate matter (aerodynamic diameter<2.5 μm; PM2.5) air pollution contributes to increased risk of disease and death. Estimates of the burden of disease attributable to PM2.5 pollution and benefits of reducing pollution are dependent upon the shape of the concentration response (C-R) functions. Recent evidence suggests that the C-R function between PM2.5 air pollution and mortality risk may be supralinear across wide ranges of exposure. Such results imply that incremental pollution abatement efforts may yield greater benefits in relatively clean areas than in highly polluted areas. The role of the shape of the C-R function in evaluating and understanding the costs and health benefits of air pollution abatement policy is explored. There remain uncertainties regarding the shape of the C-R function, and additional efforts to more fully understand the C-R relationships between PM2.5 and adverse health effects are needed to allow for more informed and effective air pollution abatement policies. Current evidence, however, suggests that there are benefits both from reducing air pollution in the more polluted areas and from continuing to reduce air pollution in cleaner areas. Estimates of the benefits of reducing PM2.5 air pollution are highly dependent upon the shape of the PM2.5-mortality concentration-response (C-R) function. Recent evidence indicates that this C-R function may be supralinear across wide ranges of exposure, suggesting that incremental pollution abatement efforts may yield greater benefits in relatively clean areas than in highly polluted areas. This paper explores the role of the shape of the C-R function in evaluating and understanding the costs and health benefits of PM2.5 air pollution abatement.

  17. The expanding scope of air pollution monitoring can facilitate sustainable development.

    PubMed

    Knox, Andrew; Mykhaylova, Natalia; Evans, Greg J; Lee, Colin J; Karney, Bryan; Brook, Jeffrey R

    2013-03-15

    This paper explores technologies currently expanding the physical scope of air pollution monitoring and their potential contributions to the assessment of sustainable development. This potential lies largely in the ability of these technologies to address issues typically on the fringe of the air pollution agenda. Air pollution monitoring tends to be primarily focused on human health, and largely neglects other aspects of sustainable development. Sensor networks, with their relatively inexpensive monitoring nodes, allow for monitoring with finer spatiotemporal resolution. This resolution can support more conclusive studies of air pollution's effect on socio-ecological justice and human quality of life. Satellite observation of air pollution allows for wider geographical scope, and in doing so can facilitate studies of air pollution's effects on natural capital and ecosystem resilience. Many air pollution-related aspects of the sustainability of development in human systems are not being given their due attention. Opportunities exist for air pollution monitoring to attend more to these issues. Improvements to the resolution and scale of monitoring make these opportunities realizable. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  18. RESEARCH AREA -- MUNICIPAL WASTE COMBUSTION (AIR POLLUTION TECHNOLOGY BRANCH, AIR POLLUTION PREVENTION AND CONTROL DIVISION, NRMRL)

    EPA Science Inventory

    The municipal waste combustion (MWC) program supports the development of revised rules for air pollutant emissions from the MWC source category. Basic research is performed on MWC pollutant formation and control mechanisms for acid gas, trace organic, and trace metal emissions. T...

  19. Developmental neurotoxicity of traffic-related air pollution: focus on autism

    PubMed Central

    Costa, Lucio G.; Chang, Yu-Chi; Cole, Toby B.

    2018-01-01

    Purpose of Review Epidemiological and animal studies suggest that air pollution may negatively affect the central nervous system (CNS) and contribute to CNS diseases. Traffic-related air pollution is a major contributor to global air pollution, and diesel exhaust (DE) is its most important component. Recent findings Several studies suggest that young individuals may be particularly susceptible to air pollution-induced neurotoxicity, and that perinatal exposure may cause or contribute to developmental disabilities and behavioral abnormalities. In particular, a number of recent studies have found associations between exposures to traffic-related air pollution and autism spectrum disorders (ASD), which are characterized by impairment in socialization and in communication, and by the presence of repetitive and unusual behaviors. The cause(s) of ASD are unknown, and while it may have a hereditary component, environmental factors are increasingly suspected as playing a pivotal role in its etiology, particularly in genetically susceptible individuals. Summary Autistic children present higher levels of neuroinflammation and systemic inflammation, which are also hallmarks of exposure to traffic-related air pollution. Gene-environment interactions may play a relevant role in determining individual susceptibility to air pollution developmental neurotoxicity. Given the worldwide presence of elevated air pollution, studies on its effects and mechanisms on the developing brain, genetic susceptibility, role in neurodevelopmental disorders, and possible therapeutic interventions, are certainly warranted. PMID:28417440

  20. Health effects associated with passenger vehicles: monetary values of air pollution.

    PubMed

    Marzouk, Mohamed; Madany, Magdy

    2012-01-01

    Air pollution is regarded as one of the highest priorities in environmental protection in both developed and developing countries. High levels of air pollution have adverse effects on human health that might cause premature death. This study presents the monetary value estimates for the adverse human health effects resulted from ambient air pollution. It aids decision makers to set priorities in the public health relevance of pollution abatement. The main driver of policymaker is the need to reduce the avoidable cardiopulmonary morbidity and mortality from pollutant exposures. The monetary valuation involves 2 steps: (i) relate levels of pollutants to mortality and morbidity (concentration-response relationships) and (ii) apply unit economic values. Cost of air pollution associated with passenger vehicles running over a major traffic bridge (6th of October Elevated Highway) is presented as a case study to demonstrate the use of monetary value of air pollution. The study proves that the cost of air pollution is extremely high and should not be overlooked.

  1. The association between air pollution and mortality in Thailand.

    PubMed

    Guo, Yuming; Li, Shanshan; Tawatsupa, Benjawan; Punnasiri, Kornwipa; Jaakkola, Jouni J K; Williams, Gail

    2014-07-01

    Bayesian statistical inference with a case-crossover design was used to examine the effects of air pollutants {Particulate matter <10 μm in aerodynamic diameter (PM10), sulphur dioxide (SO₂), and ozone (O₃)} on mortality. We found that all air pollutants had significant short-term impacts on non-accidental mortality. An increase of 10 μg/m(3) in PM10, 10 ppb in O₃, 1 ppb in SO₂ were associated with a 0.40% (95% posterior interval (PI): 0.22, 0.59%), 0.78% (95% PI: 0.20, 1.35%) and 0.34% (95% PI: 0.17, 0.50%) increase of non-accidental mortality, respectively. O₃ air pollution is significantly associated with cardiovascular mortality, while PM10 is significantly related to respiratory mortality. In general, the effects of all pollutants on all mortality types were higher in summer and winter than those in the rainy season. This study highlights the effects of exposure to air pollution on mortality risks in Thailand. Our findings support the Thailand government in aiming to reduce high levels of air pollution.

  2. Temperature, traffic-related air pollution, and heart rate variability in a panel of healthy adults.

    PubMed

    Wu, Shaowei; Deng, Furong; Liu, Youcheng; Shima, Masayuki; Niu, Jie; Huang, Qinsheng; Guo, Xinbiao

    2013-01-01

    Both ambient temperature and air pollution have been associated with alterations in cardiac autonomic function, but the responsive patterns associated with temperature exposure and the interactive effects of temperature and air pollution remain largely unclear. We investigated the associations between personal temperature exposure and cardiac autonomic function as reflected by heart rate variability (HRV) in a panel of 14 healthy taxi drivers in the context of traffic-related air pollution. We collected real-time data on study subjects' in-car exposures to temperature and traffic-related air pollutants including particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter ≤2.5 μm (PM(2.5)) and carbon monoxide (CO) and HRV indices during work time (8:30-21:00) on 48 sampling days in the warm season (May-September) and cold season (October-March). We applied mixed-effects models and loess models adjusting for potential confounders to examine the associations between temperature and HRV indices. We found nonlinear relationships between temperature and HRV indices in both the warm and cold seasons. Linear regression stratified by temperature levels showed that increasing temperature levels were associated with declines in standard deviation of normal-to-normal intervals over different temperature strata and increases in low-frequency power and low-frequency:high-frequency ratio in higher temperature range (>25 °C). PM(2.5) and CO modified these associations to various extents. Temperature was associated with alterations in cardiac autonomic function in healthy adults in the context of traffic-related air pollution. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  3. Air Pollution, Disease Burden, and Health Economic Loss in China.

    PubMed

    Niu, Yue; Chen, Renjie; Kan, Haidong

    2017-01-01

    As the largest developing country in the world, China is now facing one of the severest air pollution problems. The objective of this section is to evaluate the disease burden and corresponding economic loss attributable to ambient air pollution in China. We reviewed a series of studies by Chinese or foreign investigators focusing on the disease burden and economic loss in China. These studies showed both the general air pollution and haze episodes have resulted in substantial disease burden in terms of excess number of premature deaths, disability-adjusted life-year loss, and years of life lost. The corresponding economic loss has accounted for an appreciable proportion of China's national economy. Overall, the disease burden and health economic loss due to ambient air pollution in China is greater than in the remaining parts of the world, for one of the highest levels of air pollution and the largest size of exposed population. Consideration of both health and economic impacts of air pollution can facilitate the Chinese government to develop environmental policies to reduce the emissions of various air pollutants and protect the public health.

  4. Review of Air Exchange Rate Models for Air Pollution Exposure Assessments

    EPA Science Inventory

    A critical aspect of air pollution exposure assessments is estimation of the air exchange rate (AER) for various buildings, where people spend their time. The AER, which is rate the exchange of indoor air with outdoor air, is an important determinant for entry of outdoor air pol...

  5. The Interplay of Climate Change and Air Pollution on Health.

    PubMed

    Orru, H; Ebi, K L; Forsberg, B

    2017-12-01

    Air pollution significantly affects health, causing up to 7 million premature deaths annually with an even larger number of hospitalizations and days of sick leave. Climate change could alter the dispersion of primary pollutants, particularly particulate matter, and intensify the formation of secondary pollutants, such as near-surface ozone. The purpose of the review is to evaluate the recent evidence on the impacts of climate change on air pollution and air pollution-related health impacts and identify knowledge gaps for future research. Several studies modelled future ozone and particulate matter concentrations and calculated the resulting health impacts under different climate scenarios. Due to climate change, ozone- and fine particle-related mortalities are expected to increase in most studies; however, results differ by region, assumed climate change scenario and other factors such as population and background emissions. This review explores the relationships between climate change, air pollution and air pollution-related health impacts. The results highly depend on the climate change scenario used and on projections of future air pollution emissions, with relatively high uncertainty. Studies primarily focused on mortality; projections on the effects on morbidity are needed.

  6. Racial Differences in Perceptions of Air Pollution Health Risk: Does Environmental Exposure Matter?

    PubMed Central

    Chakraborty, Jayajit; Collins, Timothy W.; Grineski, Sara E.; Maldonado, Alejandra

    2017-01-01

    This article extends environmental risk perception research by exploring how potential health risk from exposure to industrial and vehicular air pollutants, as well as other contextual and socio-demographic factors, influence racial/ethnic differences in air pollution health risk perception. Our study site is the Greater Houston metropolitan area, Texas, USA—a racially/ethnically diverse area facing high levels of exposure to pollutants from both industrial and transportation sources. We integrate primary household-level survey data with estimates of excess cancer risk from ambient exposure to industrial and on-road mobile source emissions of air toxics obtained from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Statistical analysis is based on multivariate generalized estimation equation models which account for geographic clustering of surveyed households. Our results reveal significantly higher risk perceptions for non-Hispanic Black residents and those exposed to greater cancer risk from industrial pollutants, and also indicate that gender influences the relationship between race/ethnicity and air pollution risk perception. These findings highlight the need to incorporate measures of environmental health risk exposure in future analysis of social disparities in risk perception. PMID:28125059

  7. Reconsidering the Relationship between Air Pollution and Deprivation

    PubMed Central

    Bailey, Nick; Dong, Guanpeng; Minton, Jon; Pryce, Gwilym

    2018-01-01

    This paper critically examines the relationship between air pollution and deprivation. We argue that focusing on a particular economic or social model of urban development might lead one to erroneously expect all cities to converge towards a particular universal norm. A naive market sorting model, for example, would predict that poor households will eventually be sorted into high pollution areas, leading to a positive relationship between air pollution and deprivation. If, however, one considers a wider set of theoretical perspectives, the anticipated relationship between air pollution and deprivation becomes more complex and idiosyncratic. Specifically, we argue the relationship between pollution and deprivation can only be made sense of by considering processes of risk perception, path dependency, gentrification and urbanization. Rather than expecting all areas to eventually converge to some universal norm, we should expect the differences in the relationship between air pollution and deprivation across localities to persist. Mindful of these insights, we propose an approach to modeling which does not impose a geographically fixed relationship. Results for Scotland reveal substantial variations in the observed relationships over space and time, supporting our argument. PMID:29596380

  8. Ozone, air pollution, and respiratory health.

    PubMed Central

    Beckett, W. S.

    1991-01-01

    Of the outdoor air pollutants regulated by the Clean Air Act of 1970 (and recently revised in 1990), ozone has been the one pollutant most difficult to control within the federal standards. The known human health effects are all on the respiratory system. At concentrations of ozone which occur during summer air-pollution episodes in many urban metropolitan areas of the United States, a portion of the healthy population is likely to experience symptoms and reversible effects on lung function, particularly if exercising heavily outdoors. More prolonged increase in airway responsiveness and the presence of inflammatory cells and mediators in the airway lining fluid may also result from these naturally occurring exposures. Serial exposures to peak levels of ozone on several consecutive days are more characteristic of pollution episodes in the Northeast United States and may be associated with recurrent symptoms. No "high-risk" or more sensitive group has been found, in contrast to the case of sulfur dioxide, to which asthmatics are more susceptible than normals. The occurrence of multiple exposure episodes within a single year over many years in some areas of California has led to studies looking for chronic effects of ozone exposure on the lung. To date, no conclusive studies have been reported, although further work is under way. Much of what we know about the effects of this gas on the lung are based on controlled exposures to pure gas within an environmental exposure laboratory. Interactions between substances which commonly co-occur in air-pollution episodes are also under investigation. PMID:1750227

  9. LaSVM-based big data learning system for dynamic prediction of air pollution in Tehran.

    PubMed

    Ghaemi, Z; Alimohammadi, A; Farnaghi, M

    2018-04-20

    Due to critical impacts of air pollution, prediction and monitoring of air quality in urban areas are important tasks. However, because of the dynamic nature and high spatio-temporal variability, prediction of the air pollutant concentrations is a complex spatio-temporal problem. Distribution of pollutant concentration is influenced by various factors such as the historical pollution data and weather conditions. Conventional methods such as the support vector machine (SVM) or artificial neural networks (ANN) show some deficiencies when huge amount of streaming data have to be analyzed for urban air pollution prediction. In order to overcome the limitations of the conventional methods and improve the performance of urban air pollution prediction in Tehran, a spatio-temporal system is designed using a LaSVM-based online algorithm. Pollutant concentration and meteorological data along with geographical parameters are continually fed to the developed online forecasting system. Performance of the system is evaluated by comparing the prediction results of the Air Quality Index (AQI) with those of a traditional SVM algorithm. Results show an outstanding increase of speed by the online algorithm while preserving the accuracy of the SVM classifier. Comparison of the hourly predictions for next coming 24 h, with those of the measured pollution data in Tehran pollution monitoring stations shows an overall accuracy of 0.71, root mean square error of 0.54 and coefficient of determination of 0.81. These results are indicators of the practical usefulness of the online algorithm for real-time spatial and temporal prediction of the urban air quality.

  10. Temporal and spatial correlation patterns of air pollutants in Chinese cities

    PubMed Central

    Dai, Yue-Hua

    2017-01-01

    As a huge threat to the public health, China’s air pollution has attracted extensive attention and continues to grow in tandem with the economy. Although the real-time air quality report can be utilized to update our knowledge on air quality, questions about how pollutants evolve across time and how pollutants are spatially correlated still remain a puzzle. In view of this point, we adopt the PMFG network method to analyze the six pollutants’ hourly data in 350 Chinese cities in an attempt to find out how these pollutants are correlated temporally and spatially. In terms of time dimension, the results indicate that, except for O3, the pollutants have a common feature of the strong intraday patterns of which the daily variations are composed of two contraction periods and two expansion periods. Besides, all the time series of the six pollutants possess strong long-term correlations, and this temporal memory effect helps to explain why smoggy days are always followed by one after another. In terms of space dimension, the correlation structure shows that O3 is characterized by the highest spatial connections. The PMFGs reveal the relationship between this spatial correlation and provincial administrative divisions by filtering the hierarchical structure in the correlation matrix and refining the cliques as the tinny spatial clusters. Finally, we check the stability of the correlation structure and conclude that, except for PM10 and O3, the other pollutants have an overall stable correlation, and all pollutants have a slight trend to become more divergent in space. These results not only enhance our understanding of the air pollutants’ evolutionary process, but also shed lights on the application of complex network methods into geographic issues. PMID:28832599

  11. AIR POLLUTION AND RESPIRATORY DISEASE

    EPA Science Inventory

    Concern about polluted air in our urban and industrial areas began gathering momentum shortly after World War II. At that time it seemed obvious that clean air, like clean water, clean food, and a clean body, was a worth while goal in itself, requiring no further justification. B...

  12. Urban air pollution in Sub-Saharan Africa: Time for action.

    PubMed

    Amegah, A Kofi; Agyei-Mensah, Samuel

    2017-01-01

    Air quality in cities of Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries has deteriorated with the situation driven by rapid population growth and its attendant increased vehicle ownership, increased use of solid fuels for cooking and heating, and poor waste management practices. Industrial expansion in these cities is also a major contributor to the worsening air pollution. Exposure to ambient air pollution is a major threat to human health in SSA with 176,000 deaths and 626,000 DALYs in the region attributable to ambient air pollution exposure. These estimates are however likely to be much higher than reported due to the limited data emanating from the region. Recently, the adoption of the World Health Assembly resolution on air pollution and health, and Sustainable Development Goals are a welcome boost for urban air pollution control efforts in SSA. In this article, we have outlined within the broad framework of these international policy instruments, measures for addressing urban air pollution and its associated health impacts in SSA sustainably. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. Air pollution interventions and their impact on public health.

    PubMed

    Henschel, Susann; Atkinson, Richard; Zeka, Ariana; Le Tertre, Alain; Analitis, Antonis; Katsouyanni, Klea; Chanel, Olivier; Pascal, Mathilde; Forsberg, Bertil; Medina, Sylvia; Goodman, Patrick G

    2012-10-01

    Numerous epidemiological studies have found a link between air pollution and health. We are reviewing a collection of published intervention studies with particular focus on studies assessing both improvements in air quality and associated health effects. Interventions, defined as events aimed at reducing air pollution or where reductions occurred as a side effect, e.g. strikes, German reunification, from the 1960s onwards were considered for inclusion. This review is not a complete record of all existing air pollution interventions. In total, 28 studies published in English were selected based on a systematic search of internet databases. Overall air pollution interventions have succeeded at improving air quality. Consistently published evidence suggests that most of these interventions have been associated with health benefits, mainly by the way of reduced cardiovascular and/or respiratory mortality and/or morbidity. The decrease in mortality from the majority of the reviewed interventions has been estimated to exceed the expected predicted figures based on the estimates from time-series studies. There is consistent evidence that decreased air pollution levels following an intervention resulted in health benefits for the assessed population.

  14. Air pollutant production by algal cell cultures

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Fong, F.; Funkhouser, E. A.

    1982-01-01

    The production of phytotoxic air pollutants by cultures of Chlorella vulgaris and Euglena gracilis is considered. Algal and plant culture systems, a fumigation system, and ethylene, ethane, cyanide, and nitrogen oxides assays are discussed. Bean, tobacco, mustard green, cantaloupe and wheat plants all showed injury when fumigated with algal gases for 4 hours. Only coleus plants showed any resistance to the gases. It is found that a closed or recycled air effluent system does not produce plant injury from algal air pollutants.

  15. Association of weather and air pollution interactions on daily mortality in 12 Canadian cities.

    PubMed

    Vanos, J K; Cakmak, S; Kalkstein, L S; Yagouti, Abderrahmane

    It has been well established that both meteorological attributes and air pollution concentrations affect human health outcomes. We examined all cause nonaccident mortality relationships for 28 years (1981-2008) in relation to air pollution and synoptic weather type (encompassing air mass) data in 12 Canadian cities. This study first determines the likelihood of summertime extreme air pollution events within weather types using spatial synoptic classification. Second, it examines the modifying effect of weather types on the relative risk of mortality (RR) due to daily concentrations of air pollution (nitrogen dioxide, ozone, sulfur dioxide, and particulate matter <2.5 μm). We assess both single- and two-pollutant interactions to determine dependent and independent pollutant effects using the relatively new time series technique of distributed lag nonlinear modeling (DLNM). Results display dry tropical (DT) and moist tropical plus (MT+) weathers to result in a fourfold and twofold increased likelihood, respectively, of an extreme pollution event (top 5 % of pollution concentrations throughout the 28 years) occurring. We also demonstrate statistically significant effects of single-pollutant exposure on mortality ( p  < 0.05) to be dependent on summer weather type, where stronger results occur in dry moderate (fair weather) and DT or MT+ weather types. The overall average single-effect RR increases due to pollutant exposure within DT and MT+ weather types are 14.9 and 11.9 %, respectively. Adjusted exposures (two-way pollutant effect estimates) generally results in decreased RR estimates, indicating that the pollutants are not independent. Adjusting for ozone significantly lowers 67 % of the single-pollutant RR estimates and reduces model variability, which demonstrates that ozone significantly controls a portion of the mortality signal from the model. Our findings demonstrate the mortality risks of air pollution exposure to differ by weather type, with

  16. Is smog innocuous? Air pollution and cardiovascular disease.

    PubMed

    Mishra, Sundeep

    Air pollution is a significant environmental and health hazard. Earlier studies had examined the adverse health effects associated with short- and long-term exposure to particulate matter on respiratory disease. However, later studies demonstrated that was actually cardiovascular disease that accounted for majority of mortality. Furthermore, it was not gaseous pollutants like oxides of nitrate, sulfur, carbon mono-oxide or ozone but the particulate matter or PM, of fine or coarse size (PM 2.5 and PM 10 ) which was linearly associated with mortality; PM 2.5 with long term and PM 10 with short term. Several cardiovascular diseases are associated with pollution; acute myocardial infarction, heart failure, cardiac arrhythmias, atherosclerosis and cardiac arrest. The ideal way to address this problem is by adhering to stringent environmental standards of pollutants but some individual steps like choosing to stay indoors (on high pollution days), reducing outdoor air permeation to inside, purifying indoor air using air filters, and also limiting outdoor physical activity near source of air pollution can help. Nutritional anti-oxidants like statins or Mediterranean diet, and aspirin have not been associated with reduced risk but specific nutritional agents like broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower or brussels sprouts, fish oil supplement may help. Use of face-mask has been controversial but may be useful if particulate matter load is higher. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  17. Comparison of Health Impact of Air Pollution Between China and Other Countries.

    PubMed

    Tian, Linwei; Sun, Shengzhi

    2017-01-01

    Air pollution is the world's largest single environmental risk according to the World Health Organization (WHO), which caused around seven million deaths in 2012. Extensive epidemiological studies have been carried out worldwide to examine the health impacts of ambient air pollution, consistently demonstrating significant health impacts of ambient air pollution. Air pollution problem in China is especially serious; it has become the fourth biggest threat to the health of the Chinese people. In this review, we summarized existing literature, compared health impact of air pollution between China and other countries, and found substantial heterogeneity in the risk estimates of air pollution. The effect heterogeneities may be due to the differences in the characteristics of populations (e.g., the proportion of the elder population and people with preexisting diseases), exposure profile (e.g., air pollution concentrations and composition), and regional climate. Although the magnitude of relative risk estimates of air pollution is generally similar with that in other parts of the world, air pollution is one of China's most serious environmental health problems given the huge number of people exposed to high concentration levels of air pollution in China.

  18. Low-level exposure to air pollution and risk of adverse birth outcomes in Hillsborough County, Florida.

    PubMed

    Mainolfi, Maria B; Salihu, Hamisu M; Wilson, Roneé E; Mbah, Alfred K

    2013-05-01

    In this retrospective cohort (1998 to 2007), 145,445 singleton live births in Hillsborough, Florida, were analyzed to elucidate the relationship between fetal morbidity and prenatal exposure to six criteria air pollutants. This study was based on three linked databases: Florida Hospital Discharge, vital statistics records, and air pollution meteorological data from the Environmental Protection Agency. The primary outcomes of interest were low birth weight, preterm births, and small for gestational age. This study used structural equation modeling and trimester groupings to evaluate the relationship between air pollution and birth outcomes of pregnant residents. The latent variables of structural equation modeling yielded a significant B value of 0.35, indicating that exposure to the criteria pollutants in pregnancy may have a significant relationship to fetal morbidity. Exposure to criteria air pollutants in pregnancy is associated with fetal morbidity outcomes.

  19. Proposed methodology for estimating the impact of highway improvements on urban air pollution.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1971-01-01

    The aim of this methodology is to indicate the expected change in ambient air quality in the vicinity of a highway improvement and in the total background level of urban air pollution resulting from the highway improvement. Both the jurisdiction in w...

  20. Air pollution and non-respiratory health hazards for children

    PubMed Central

    Poursafa, Parinaz

    2010-01-01

    Air pollution is a global health issue with serious public health implications, particularly for children. Usually respiratory effects of air pollutants are considered, but this review highlights the importance of non-respiratory health hazards. In addition to short-term effects, exposure to criteria air pollutants from early life might be associated with low birth weight, increase in oxidative stress and endothelial dysfunction, which in turn might have long-term effects on chronic non-communicable diseases. In view of the emerging epidemic of chronic disease in low- and middle- income countries, the vicious cycle of rapid urbanization and increasing levels of air pollution, public health and regulatory policies for air quality protection should be integrated into the main priorities of the primary health care system and into the educational curriculum of health professionals. PMID:22371790

  1. Magnetic biomonitoring of industrial air pollution in SW Finland

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Salo, Hanna; Mäkinen, Joni

    2015-04-01

    Moss bags made of Sphagnum papillosum were exposed along 8 km transects near Harjavalta Industrial Park in SW Finland. Previous studies have identified Cu-Ni smelter's pipe as the main source of air pollution. Our research hypothesis is that nowadays the local pollution load of airborne particulate matter from Industrial Park is mainly caused by other emission sources than the smelter's pipe. To identify possible magnetic fingerprints, industrial samples (fiberglass filters from the smokestacks of Cu-Ni smelter and Ni-dryer, final Cu-slag, granulated Ni-slag, Cu-concentrates, Ni-concentrates) were investigated. Mass-specific susceptibility and heavy metal levels were significantly higher near Industrial Park and showed a decreasing trend with increasing distance from the source. The magnetic mineralogy of moss bags, smelter's filter and Cu-slag was dominated by a low-coercivity magnetite while high-coercivity minerals were observed in dryer's filter, Ni-slag and majority of concentrates including all Ni-concentrates. Angular and sharp-edged particles prevailed in moss bags and industrial samples, except for smelter's filter and granulated Ni-slag in which spherical particles dominated. Seven air pollution impact zones were distinguished around Industrial Park on the basis of magnetic susceptibility and previous studies. Overall, industrial area's influence is observable up to 4 km and even further distances in SE and NW along prevailing wind directions and Kokemäenjoki River valley. The heaviest anthropogenic air pollution load is deposited at 0.5-1 km distances. Particle morphology and magnetic data of the moss bags indicate that the particulate matter in the hot spot area, which spatial emphasis is in S-SW-W-NW in the upwind from the smelter, originate mainly from the dust emissions from other sources rather than the smelter's pipe. The industrial activities in and nearby hot spot area include handling and moving of concentrates and slags as well as heavy

  2. Air pollution and risk of urinary bladder cancer in a case-control study in Spain.

    PubMed

    Castaño-Vinyals, Gemma; Cantor, Kenneth P; Malats, Núria; Tardon, Adonina; Garcia-Closas, Reina; Serra, Consol; Carrato, Alfredo; Rothman, Nathaniel; Vermeulen, Roel; Silverman, Debra; Dosemeci, Mustafa; Kogevinas, Manolis

    2008-01-01

    Air pollution has been associated with an increased risk for lung cancer. We examined whether long-term air pollution is associated with bladder cancer risk. Information from a case-control study in Spain that included 1219 incident cases and 1271 hospital controls was used. Information on residential history including several indicators of exposure to air pollution and other potential risk factors was collected in a face-to-face computerised personal interview. Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were adjusted for age, gender, region, smoking, occupation, water contaminants and diet. Living more than 40 years in a city with a population of more than 100 000 was associated with an increased risk for bladder cancer overall (OR 1.30, 95% CI 1.04 to 1.63). Emissions of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and diesel from industries near the residence, as evaluated by experts, were associated with an increased risk (OR 1.29, 95% CI 0.85 to 1.98), while lower or no excess risks were observed for other pollution-related variables. Odds ratios among never smokers tended to be higher than among smokers. The small to moderate positive associations found for several indices of air pollution and bladder cancer, while suggestive of excess risk, require further evaluation in other settings.

  3. Reducing Air Pollution from International Transportation

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    Because of their reliance on petroleum-based fuels and their dramatic growth rates in recent decades, air and sea transport are responsible for significant emissions of both traditional air pollutants and greenhouse gases.

  4. Understanding the Patterns and Drivers of Air Pollution on Multiple Time Scales: The Case of Northern China.

    PubMed

    Liu, Yupeng; Wu, Jianguo; Yu, Deyong; Hao, Ruifang

    2018-06-01

    China's rapid economic growth during the past three decades has resulted in a number of environmental problems, including the deterioration of air quality. It is necessary to better understand how the spatial pattern of air pollutants varies with time scales and what drive these changes. To address these questions, this study focused on one of the most heavily air-polluted areas in North China. We first quantified the spatial pattern of air pollution, and then systematically examined the relationships of air pollution to several socioeconomic and climatic factors using the constraint line method, correlation analysis, and stepwise regression on decadal, annual, and seasonal scales. Our results indicate that PM 2.5 was the dominant air pollutant in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, while PM 2.5 and PM 10 were both important pollutants in the Agro-pastoral Transitional Zone (APTZ) region. Our statistical analyses suggest that energy consumption and gross domestic product (GDP) in the industry were the most important factors for air pollution on the decadal scale, but the impacts of climatic factors could also be significant. On the annual and seasonal scales, high wind speed, low relative humidity, and long sunshine duration constrained PM 2.5 accumulation; low wind speed and high relative humidity constrained PM 10 accumulation; and short sunshine duration and high wind speed constrained O 3 accumulation. Our study showed that analyses on multiple temporal scales are not only necessary to determine key drivers of air pollution, but also insightful for understanding the spatial patterns of air pollution, which was important for urban planning and air pollution control.

  5. Understanding the Patterns and Drivers of Air Pollution on Multiple Time Scales: The Case of Northern China

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Liu, Yupeng; Wu, Jianguo; Yu, Deyong; Hao, Ruifang

    2018-06-01

    China's rapid economic growth during the past three decades has resulted in a number of environmental problems, including the deterioration of air quality. It is necessary to better understand how the spatial pattern of air pollutants varies with time scales and what drive these changes. To address these questions, this study focused on one of the most heavily air-polluted areas in North China. We first quantified the spatial pattern of air pollution, and then systematically examined the relationships of air pollution to several socioeconomic and climatic factors using the constraint line method, correlation analysis, and stepwise regression on decadal, annual, and seasonal scales. Our results indicate that PM2.5 was the dominant air pollutant in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, while PM2.5 and PM10 were both important pollutants in the Agro-pastoral Transitional Zone (APTZ) region. Our statistical analyses suggest that energy consumption and gross domestic product (GDP) in the industry were the most important factors for air pollution on the decadal scale, but the impacts of climatic factors could also be significant. On the annual and seasonal scales, high wind speed, low relative humidity, and long sunshine duration constrained PM2.5 accumulation; low wind speed and high relative humidity constrained PM10 accumulation; and short sunshine duration and high wind speed constrained O3 accumulation. Our study showed that analyses on multiple temporal scales are not only necessary to determine key drivers of air pollution, but also insightful for understanding the spatial patterns of air pollution, which was important for urban planning and air pollution control.

  6. [Simulation of air pollution characteristics and estimates of environmental capacity in Zibo City].

    PubMed

    Xue, Wen-Bo; Wang, Jin-Nan; Yang, Jin-Tian; Lei, Yu; Yan, Li; He, Jin-Yu; Han, Bao-Ping

    2013-04-01

    To develop a new pattern of air pollution control that is based on the integration of "concentration control, total amount control, and quality control", and in the context of developing national (2011-2015 air pollution control plan for key areas) and (Environmental protection plan of Zibo municipality for the "12th Five-Year Plan" period), a simulation of atmospheric dispersion of air pollutants in Zibo City and its peripheral areas is carried out by employing CALPUFF model, and the atmospheric environmental capacity of SO2, NO(x) and PM10 is estimated based on the results of model simulation and using multi-objective linear programming optimization. The results indicates that the air pollution in Zibo City is significantly related to the pollution sources outside of Zibo City, which contributes to the annual average concentration of SO2, NO2 and PM10 in Zibo City by 26.34%, 21.23%, and 14.58% respectively. There is a notable interaction between districts and counties of Zibo municipality, in which the contribution of SO2, NO(x) and PM10 emissions in surrounding counties and districts to the annual average concentrations of SO2, NO2 and PM10 in downtown area are 35.96%, 43.17%, and 17.69% respectively. There is a great variation in spatial sensitivity of air pollutant emission, and the environmental impact of unit pollutant emissions from Zhoucun, Huantai, Zhangdian and Zichuan is greater than that released from other districts/counties. To meet the requirement of (Ambient air quality standard) (GB 3095-2012), the environmental capacities of SO2, NO(x) and PM10 of Zibo City are only 8.03 x 10(4) t, 19.16 x 10(4) t and 3.21 x 10(4) t, respectively. Therefore, it is imperative to implement regional air pollution joint control in Shandong peninsula in order to ensure the achievement of air quality standard in Zibo City.

  7. Air pollution and subclinical airway inflammation in the SALIA cohort study

    PubMed Central

    2014-01-01

    Background The association between long-term exposure to air pollution and local inflammation in the lung has rarely been investigated in the general population of elderly subjects before. We investigated this association in a population-based cohort of elderly women from Germany. Methods In a follow-up examination of the SALIA cohort study in 2008/2009, 402 women aged 68 to 79 years from the Ruhr Area and Borken (Germany) were clinically examined. Inflammatory markers were determined in exhaled breath condensate (EBC) and in induced sputum (IS). We used traffic indicators and measured air pollutants at single monitoring stations in the study area to assess individual traffic exposure and long-term air pollution background exposure. Additionally long-term residential exposure to air pollution was estimated using land-use regression (LUR) models. We applied multiple logistic and linear regression analyses adjusted for age, indoor mould, smoking, passive smoking and socio-economic status and additionally conducted sensitivity analyses. Results Inflammatory markers showed a high variability between the individuals and were higher with higher exposure to air pollution. NO derivatives, leukotriene (LT) B4 and tumour necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) showed the strongest associations. An increase of 9.42 μg/m3 (interquartile range) in LUR modelled NO2 was associated with measureable LTB4 level (level with values above the detection limit) in EBC (odds ratio: 1.38, 95% CI: 1.02 -1.86) as well as with LTB4 in IS (%-change: 19%, 95% CI: 7% - 32%). The results remained consistent after exclusion of subpopulations with risk factors for inflammation (smoking, respiratory diseases, mould infestation) and after extension of models with additional adjustment for season of examination, mass of IS and urban/rural living as sensitivity analyses. Conclusions In this analysis of the SALIA study we found that long-term exposure to air pollutants from traffic and industrial sources was

  8. Uncertainty in exposure to air pollution

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pebesma, Edzer; Helle, Kristina; Christoph, Stasch; Rasouli, Soora; Timmermans, Harry; Walker, Sam-Erik; Denby, Bruce

    2013-04-01

    To assess exposure to air pollution for a person or for a group of people, one needs to know where the person or group is as a function of time, and what the air pollution is at these times and locations. In this study we used the Albatross activity-based model to assess the whereabouts of people and the uncertainties in this, and a probabilistic air quality system based on TAPM/EPISODE to assess air quality probabilistically. The outcomes of the two models were combined to assess exposure to air pollution, and the errors in it. We used the area around Rotterdam (Netherlands) as a case study. As the outcomes of both models come as Monte Carlo realizations, it was relatively easy to cancel one of the sources of uncertainty (movement of persons, air pollution) in order to identify their respective contributions, and also to compare evaluations for individuals with averages for a population of persons. As the output is probabilistic, and in addition spatially and temporally varying, the visual analysis of the complete results poses some challenges. This case study was one of the test cases in the UncertWeb project, which has built concepts and tools to realize the uncertainty-enabled model web. Some of the tools and protocols will be shown and evaluated in this presentation. For the uncertainty of exposure, the uncertainty of air quality was more important than the uncertainty of peoples locations. This difference was stronger for PM10 than for NO2. The workflow was implemented as generic Web services in UncertWeb that also allow for other inputs than the simulated activity schedules and air quality with other resolution. However, due to this flexibility, the Web services require standardized formats and the overlay algorithm is not optimized for the specific use case resulting in a data and processing overhead. Hence, we implemented the full analysis in parallel in R, for this specific case as the model web solution had difficulties with massive data.

  9. Air Pollution and Its Control, Second Edition.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sproull, Wayne T.

    A concise appraisal of our contemporary status and future prospects with regard to air pollution and its control are offered in this text for concerned laymen. What air pollution is, how it endangers health, the cost of controlling it, what is being done about it now, and what should be done are some of the basic questions considered. Topics cover…

  10. What can individuals do to reduce personal health risks from air pollution?

    PubMed Central

    Laumbach, Robert; Meng, Qingyu

    2015-01-01

    In many areas of the world, concentrations of ambient air pollutants exceed levels associated with increased risk of acute and chronic health problems. While effective policies to reduce emissions at their sources are clearly preferable, some evidence supports the effectiveness of individual actions to reduce exposure and health risks. Personal exposure to ambient air pollution can be reduced on high air pollution days by staying indoors, reducing outdoor air infiltration to indoors, cleaning indoor air with air filters, and limiting physical exertion, especially outdoors and near air pollution sources. Limited evidence suggests that the use of respirators may be effective in some circumstances. Awareness of air pollution levels is facilitated by a growing number of public air quality alert systems. Avoiding exposure to air pollutants is especially important for susceptible individuals with chronic cardiovascular or pulmonary disease, children, and the elderly. Research on mechanisms underlying the adverse health effects of air pollution have suggested potential pharmaceutical or chemopreventive interventions, such as antioxidant or antithrombotic agents, but in the absence of data on health outcomes, no sound recommendations can be made for primary prevention. Health care providers and their patients should carefully consider individual circumstances related to outdoor and indoor air pollutant exposure levels and susceptibility to those air pollutants when deciding on a course of action to reduce personal exposure and health risks from ambient air pollutants. Careful consideration is especially warranted when interventions may have unintended negative consequences, such as when efforts to avoid exposure to air pollutants lead to reduced physical activity or when there is evidence that dietary supplements, such as antioxidants, have potential adverse health effects. These potential complications of partially effective personal interventions to reduce exposure or

  11. What can individuals do to reduce personal health risks from air pollution?

    PubMed

    Laumbach, Robert; Meng, Qingyu; Kipen, Howard

    2015-01-01

    In many areas of the world, concentrations of ambient air pollutants exceed levels associated with increased risk of acute and chronic health problems. While effective policies to reduce emissions at their sources are clearly preferable, some evidence supports the effectiveness of individual actions to reduce exposure and health risks. Personal exposure to ambient air pollution can be reduced on high air pollution days by staying indoors, reducing outdoor air infiltration to indoors, cleaning indoor air with air filters, and limiting physical exertion, especially outdoors and near air pollution sources. Limited evidence suggests that the use of respirators may be effective in some circumstances. Awareness of air pollution levels is facilitated by a growing number of public air quality alert systems. Avoiding exposure to air pollutants is especially important for susceptible individuals with chronic cardiovascular or pulmonary disease, children, and the elderly. Research on mechanisms underlying the adverse health effects of air pollution have suggested potential pharmaceutical or chemopreventive interventions, such as antioxidant or antithrombotic agents, but in the absence of data on health outcomes, no sound recommendations can be made for primary prevention. Health care providers and their patients should carefully consider individual circumstances related to outdoor and indoor air pollutant exposure levels and susceptibility to those air pollutants when deciding on a course of action to reduce personal exposure and health risks from ambient air pollutants. Careful consideration is especially warranted when interventions may have unintended negative consequences, such as when efforts to avoid exposure to air pollutants lead to reduced physical activity or when there is evidence that dietary supplements, such as antioxidants, have potential adverse health effects. These potential complications of partially effective personal interventions to reduce exposure or

  12. 40 CFR 52.1639 - Prevention of air pollution emergency episodes.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 4 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Prevention of air pollution emergency... Prevention of air pollution emergency episodes. (a) The plan submitted by the Governor of New Mexico on..., entitled Air Pollution Episode Contingency Plan for New Mexico, is approved as meeting the requirements of...

  13. 40 CFR 52.1639 - Prevention of air pollution emergency episodes.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 4 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Prevention of air pollution emergency... Prevention of air pollution emergency episodes. (a) The plan submitted by the Governor of New Mexico on..., entitled Air Pollution Episode Contingency Plan for New Mexico, is approved as meeting the requirements of...

  14. 14 CFR 1274.926 - Clean Air-Water Pollution Control Acts.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-01-01

    ... 14 Aeronautics and Space 5 2011-01-01 2010-01-01 true Clean Air-Water Pollution Control Acts. 1274... AGREEMENTS WITH COMMERCIAL FIRMS Other Provisions and Special Conditions § 1274.926 Clean Air-Water Pollution Control Acts. Clean Air-Water Pollution Control Acts July 2002 If this cooperative agreement or supplement...

  15. 40 CFR 52.1639 - Prevention of air pollution emergency episodes.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 4 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Prevention of air pollution emergency... Prevention of air pollution emergency episodes. (a) The plan submitted by the Governor of New Mexico on..., entitled Air Pollution Episode Contingency Plan for New Mexico, is approved as meeting the requirements of...

  16. 40 CFR 52.1639 - Prevention of air pollution emergency episodes.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 4 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Prevention of air pollution emergency... Prevention of air pollution emergency episodes. (a) The plan submitted by the Governor of New Mexico on..., entitled Air Pollution Episode Contingency Plan for New Mexico, is approved as meeting the requirements of...

  17. 40 CFR 52.1639 - Prevention of air pollution emergency episodes.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 4 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Prevention of air pollution emergency... Prevention of air pollution emergency episodes. (a) The plan submitted by the Governor of New Mexico on..., entitled Air Pollution Episode Contingency Plan for New Mexico, is approved as meeting the requirements of...

  18. Impact of air pollution on fertility: a systematic review.

    PubMed

    Frutos, Víctor; González-Comadrán, Mireia; Solà, Ivan; Jacquemin, Benedicte; Carreras, Ramón; Checa Vizcaíno, Miguel A

    2015-01-01

    Air pollution has gained considerable interest because of the multiple adverse effects reported on human health, although its impact on fertility remains unclear. A systematic search was performed to evaluate the impact of air pollutants on fertility. Controlled trials and observational studies assessing animal model and epidemiological model were included. Occupational exposure and semen quality studies were not considered. Outcomes of interest included live birth, miscarriage, clinical pregnancy, implantation, and embryo quality. Ten studies were included and divided into two groups: animal studies and human epidemiological studies including the general population as well as women undergoing in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer (IVF/ET). Results from this systematic review suggest a significant impact of air pollution on miscarriage and clinical pregnancy rates in the general population, whereas among subfertile patients certain air pollutants seem to exert a greater impact on fertility outcomes, including miscarriage and live birth rates. Besides, studies in mammals observed a clear detrimental effect on fertility outcomes associated to air pollutants at high concentration. The lack of prospective studies evaluating the effect of air pollution exposure in terms of live birth constitutes an important limitation in this review. Thus, further studies are needed to confirm these findings.

  19. International Collaboration on Air Pollution and Pregnancy Outcomes (ICAPPO)

    PubMed Central

    Woodruff, Tracey J.; Parker, Jennifer D.; Adams, Kate; Bell, Michelle L.; Gehring, Ulrike; Glinianaia, Svetlana; Ha, Eun-Hee; Jalaludin, Bin; Slama, Rémy

    2010-01-01

    Reviews find a likely adverse effect of air pollution on perinatal outcomes, but variation of findings hinders the ability to incorporate the research into policy. The International Collaboration on Air Pollution and Pregnancy Outcomes (ICAPPO) was formed to better understand relationships between air pollution and adverse birth outcomes through standardized parallel analyses in datasets from different countries. A planning group with 10 members from 6 countries was formed to coordinate the project. Collaboration participants have datasets with air pollution values and birth outcomes. Eighteen research groups with data for approximately 20 locations in Asia, Australia, Europe, North America, and South America are participating, with most participating in an initial pilot study. Datasets generally cover the 1990s. Number of births is generally in the hundreds of thousands, but ranges from around 1,000 to about one million. Almost all participants have some measure of particulate matter, and most have ozone, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide and carbon monoxide. Strong enthusiasm for participating and a geographically-diverse range of participants should lead to understanding uncertainties about the role of air pollution in perinatal outcomes and provide decision-makers with better tools to account for pregnancy outcomes in air pollution policies. PMID:20644693

  20. Ambient air pollution exposure and the incidence of related health effects among racial/ethnic minorities

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Nieves, L.A.; Wernette, D.R.

    1997-02-01

    Differences among racial and ethnic groups in morbidity and mortality rates for diseases, including diseases with environmental causes, have been extensively documented. However, documenting the linkages between environmental contaminants, individual exposures, and disease incidence has been hindered by difficulties in measuring exposure for the population in general and for minority populations in particular. After briefly discussing research findings on associations of common air pollutants with disease incidence, the authors summarize recent studies of radial/ethnic subgroup differences in incidence of these diseases in the US. They then present evidence of both historic and current patterns of disproportionate minority group exposure tomore » air pollution as measured by residence in areas where ambient air quality standards are violated. The current indications of disproportionate potential exposures of minority and low-income populations to air pollutants represent the continuation of a historical trend. The evidence of linkage between disproportionate exposure to air pollution of racial/ethnic minorities and low-income groups and their higher rates of some air pollution-related diseases is largely circumstantial. Differences in disease incidence and mortality rates among racial/ethnic groups are discussed for respiratory diseases, cancers, and lead poisoning. Pollutants of concern include CO, Pb, SO{sub 2}, O{sub 3}, and particulates.« less

  1. Australians are not equally protected from industrial air pollution

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dobbie, B.; Green, D.

    2015-05-01

    Australian air pollution standards are set at national and state levels for a number of chemicals harmful to human health. However, these standards do not need to be met when ad hoc pollution licences are issued by state environment agencies. This situation results in a highly unequal distribution of air pollution between towns and cities, and across the country. This paper examines these pollution regulations through two case studies, specifically considering the ability of the regulatory regime to protect human health from lead and sulphur dioxide pollution in the communities located around smelters. It also considers how the proposed National Clean Air Agreement, once enacted, might serve to reduce this pollution equity problem. Through the case studies we show that there are at least three discrete concerns relating to the current licencing system. They are: non-onerous emission thresholds for polluting industry; temporal averaging thresholds masking emission spikes; and ineffective penalties for breaching licence agreements. In conclusion, we propose a set of new, legally-binding national minimum standards for industrial air pollutants must be developed and enforced, which can only be modified by more (not less) stringent state licence arrangements.

  2. The relationship between traffic-related air pollutants and cardiac autonomic function in a panel of healthy adults: a further analysis with existing data.

    PubMed

    Wu, Shaowei; Deng, Furong; Niu, Jie; Huang, Qinsheng; Liu, Youcheng; Guo, Xinbiao

    2011-04-01

    Epidemiological studies have linked particulate matter (PM) and carbon monoxide (CO) exposures with alterations in cardiac autonomic function as measured by heart rate variability (HRV) in populations. Recently, we reported association of several HRV indices with marked changes in particulate air pollution around the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games in a panel of healthy adults. We further investigated the cardiac effects of traffic-related air pollutants over wide exposure ranges with expanded data set in this panel of healthy adults. We obtained real-time data on nine taxi drivers' in-car exposures to PM ≤ 2.5 µm in aerodynamic diameter (PM₂.₅) and CO and on multiple HRV indices during a separate daily work shift in four study periods with dramatically changing air pollution levels around the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. Mixed effect models and a less smoother method were used to investigate the associations of exposures with HRV indices. Results showed overall negative associations of traffic-related air pollutants with HRV indices across periods, as well as differences in period-specific and individual associations. After stratifying the individuals into two different response groups (positive/negative), cardiac effects of air pollutants became stronger within each group. Exposure-response modeling identified changed curvilinear relationships between air pollution exposures and HRV indices with threshold effects. Our results support the association of exposure to traffic-related air pollution with altered cardiac autonomic function in young healthy adults free of cardiovascular compromises. These results suggest a complicated mechanism that traffic-related air pollutants influence the cardiovascular system of healthy adults.

  3. Cardiovascular health, traffic-related air pollution and noise: are associations mutually confounded? A systematic review.

    PubMed

    Tétreault, Louis-François; Perron, Stéphane; Smargiassi, Audrey

    2013-10-01

    This review assessed the confounding effect of one traffic-related exposure (noise or air pollutants) on the association between the other exposure and cardiovascular outcomes. A systematic review was conducted with the databases Medline and Embase. The confounding effects in studies were assessed by using change in the estimate with a 10 % cutoff point. The influence on the change in the estimate of the quality of the studies, the exposure assessment methods and the correlation between road noise and air pollutions were also assessed. Nine publications were identified. For most studies, the specified confounders produced changes in estimates <10 %. The correlation between noise and pollutants, the quality of the study and of the exposure assessment do not seem to influence the confounding effects. Results from this review suggest that confounding of cardiovascular effects by noise or air pollutants is low, though with further improvements in exposure assessment, the situation may change. More studies using pollution indicators specific to road traffic are needed to properly assess if noise and air pollution are subjected to confounding.

  4. The impact of ambient air pollution on the human blood metabolome.

    PubMed

    Vlaanderen, J J; Janssen, N A; Hoek, G; Keski-Rahkonen, P; Barupal, D K; Cassee, F R; Gosens, I; Strak, M; Steenhof, M; Lan, Q; Brunekreef, B; Scalbert, A; Vermeulen, R C H

    2017-07-01

    Biological perturbations caused by air pollution might be reflected in the compounds present in blood originating from air pollutants and endogenous metabolites influenced by air pollution (defined here as part of the blood metabolome). We aimed to assess the perturbation of the blood metabolome in response to short term exposure to air pollution. We exposed 31 healthy volunteers to ambient air pollution for 5h. We measured exposure to particulate matter, particle number concentrations, absorbance, elemental/organic carbon, trace metals, secondary inorganic components, endotoxin content, gaseous pollutants, and particulate matter oxidative potential. We collected blood from the participants 2h before and 2 and 18h after exposure. We employed untargeted metabolite profiling to monitor 3873 metabolic features in 493 blood samples from these volunteers. We assessed lung function using spirometry and six acute phase proteins in peripheral blood. We assessed the association of the metabolic features with the measured air pollutants and with health markers that we previously observed to be associated with air pollution in this study. We observed 89 robust associations between air pollutants and metabolic features two hours after exposure and 118 robust associations 18h after exposure. Some of the metabolic features that were associated with air pollutants were also associated with acute health effects, especially changes in forced expiratory volume in 1s. We successfully identified tyrosine, guanosine, and hypoxanthine among the associated features. Bioinformatics approach Mummichog predicted enriched pathway activity in eight pathways, among which tyrosine metabolism. This study demonstrates for the first time the application of untargeted metabolite profiling to assess the impact of air pollution on the blood metabolome. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  5. Hematological and hemorheological effects of air pollution

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Baskurt, O.K.; Levi, E.; Caglayan, S.

    1990-07-01

    Selected hematological parameters and erythrocyte deformability indexes for 16 young male military students were compared before and after a period of exposure to heavy pollution. These students lived in Ankara, which has a serious air pollution problem. The mean sulfur dioxide levels measured at a station proximal to the campus where the students lived were 188 micrograms/m3 and 201 micrograms/m3 during first and second measurements, respectively. During the period between the two measurements, the mean sulfur dioxide level was 292 micrograms/m3. Significant erythropoiesis was indicated by increased erythrocyte counts and hemoglobin and hematocrit levels. Methemoglobin percentage was increased to 2.37more » +/- 0.49% (mean +/- standard error) from 0.51 +/- 0.23%. Sulfhemoglobinemia was present in six subjects after the period of pollution, but it was not present in any student prior to this period. Significant increases in erythrocyte deformability indexes were observed after the period of pollution, i.e., from 1.13 +/- 0.01 to 1.21 +/0 0.02, implying that erythrocytes were less flexible, which might impair tissue perfusion.« less

  6. Transcriptome-wide analyses indicate mitochondrial responses to particulate air pollution exposure.

    PubMed

    Winckelmans, Ellen; Nawrot, Tim S; Tsamou, Maria; Den Hond, Elly; Baeyens, Willy; Kleinjans, Jos; Lefebvre, Wouter; Van Larebeke, Nicolas; Peusens, Martien; Plusquin, Michelle; Reynders, Hans; Schoeters, Greet; Vanpoucke, Charlotte; de Kok, Theo M; Vrijens, Karen

    2017-08-18

    Due to their lack of repair capacity mitochondria are critical targets for environmental toxicants. We studied genes and pathways reflecting mitochondrial responses to short- and medium-term PM 10 exposure. Whole genome gene expression was measured in peripheral blood of 98 adults (49% women). We performed linear regression analyses stratified by sex and adjusted for individual and temporal characteristics to investigate alterations in gene expression induced by short-term (week before blood sampling) and medium-term (month before blood sampling) PM 10 exposure. Overrepresentation analyses (ConsensusPathDB) were performed to identify enriched mitochondrial associated pathways and gene ontology sets. Thirteen Human MitoCarta genes were measured by means of quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) along with mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) content in an independent validation cohort (n = 169, 55.6% women). Overrepresentation analyses revealed significant pathways (p-value <0.05) related to mitochondrial genome maintenance and apoptosis for short-term exposure and to the electron transport chain (ETC) for medium-term exposure in women. For men, medium-term PM 10 exposure was associated with the Tri Carbonic Acid cycle. In an independent study population, we validated several ETC genes, including UQCRH and COX7C (q-value <0.05), and some genes crucial for the maintenance of the mitochondrial genome, including LONP1 (q-value: 0.07) and POLG (q-value: 0.04) in women. In this exploratory study, we identified mitochondrial genes and pathways associated with particulate air pollution indicating upregulation of energy producing pathways as a potential mechanism to compensate for PM-induced mitochondrial damage.

  7. Overview of Megacity Air Pollutant Emissions and Impacts

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kolb, C. E.

    2013-05-01

    The urban metabolism that characterizes major cities consumes very large qualities of humanly produced and/or processed food, fuel, water, electricity, construction materials and manufactured goods, as well as, naturally provided sunlight, precipitation and atmospheric oxygen. The resulting urban respiration exhalations add large quantities of trace gas and particulate matter pollutants to urban atmospheres. Key classes of urban primary air pollutants and their sources will be reviewed and important secondary pollutants identified. The impacts of these pollutants on urban and downwind regional inhabitants, ecosystems, and climate will be discussed. Challenges in quantifying the temporally and spatially resolved urban air pollutant emissions and secondary pollutant production rates will be identified and possible measurement strategies evaluated.

  8. Meteorological and urban landscape factors on severe air pollution in Beijing.

    PubMed

    Han, Lijian; Zhou, Weiqi; Li, Weifeng; Meshesha, Derege T; Li, Li; Zheng, Mingqing

    2015-07-01

    Air pollution gained special attention with the rapid development in Beijing. In January 2013, Beijing experienced extreme air pollution, which was not well examined. We thus examine the magnitude of air quality in the particular month by applying the air quality index (AQI), which is based on the newly upgraded Chinese environmental standard. Our finding revealed that (1) air quality has distinct spatial heterogeneity and relatively better air quality was observed in the northwest while worse quality happened in the southeast part of the city; (2) the wind speed is the main determinant of air quality in the city-when wind speed is greater than 4 m/sec, air quality can be significantly improved; and (3) urban impervious surface makes a contribution to the severity of air pollution-that is, with an increase in the fraction of impervious surface in a given area, air pollution is more severe. The results from our study demonstrated the severe pollution in Beijing and its meteorological and landscape factors. Also, the results of this work suggest that very strict air quality management should be conducted when wind speed less than 4 m/sec, especially at places with a large fraction of urban impervious surface. Prevention of air pollution is rare among methods with controls on meteorological and urban landscape conditions. We present research that utilizes the latest air quality index (AQI) to compare air pollution with meteorological and landscape conditions. We found that wind is the major meteorological factor that determines the air quality. For a given wind speed greater than 4 m/sec, the air quality improved significantly. Urban impervious surface also contributes to the severe air pollution: that is, when the fraction of impervious surface increases, there is more severe air pollution. These results suggest that air quality management should be conducted when wind speed is less than 4 m/sec, especially at places with a larger fraction of urban impervious surface.

  9. The Emerging Role of Outdoor and Indoor Air Pollution in Cardiovascular Disease

    PubMed Central

    Uzoigwe, Jacinta C.; Prum, Thavaleak; Bresnahan, Eric; Garelnabi, Mahdi

    2013-01-01

    Outdoor and indoor air pollution poses a significant cardiovascular risk, and has been associated with atherosclerosis, the main underlying pathology in many cardiovascular diseases. Although, it is well known that exposure to air pollution causes pulmonary disease, recent studies have shown that cardiovascular health consequences of air pollution generally equal or exceed those due to pulmonary diseases. The objective of this article is to evaluate the current evidence on the emerging role of environmental air pollutions in cardiovascular disease, with specific focus on the types of air pollutants and mechanisms of air pollution-induced cardiotoxicity. Published literature on pollution was systematically reviewed and cited in this article. It is hoped that this review will provide a better understanding of the harmful cardiovascular effects induced by air pollution exposure. This will help to bring a better understanding on the possible preventive health measures and will also serve regulatory agencies and researchers. In addition, elucidating the biological mechanisms underlying the link between air pollution and cardiovascular disease is an essential target in developing novel pharmacological strategies aimed at decreasing adverse effects of air pollution on cardiovascular system. PMID:24083218

  10. Comparison of air pollution in Shanghai and Lanzhou based on wavelet transform.

    PubMed

    Su, Yana; Sha, Yongzhong; Zhai, Guangyu; Zong, Shengliang; Jia, Jiehua

    2017-04-21

    For a long-period comparative analysis of air pollution in coastal and inland cities, we analyzed the continuous Morlet wavelet transform on the time series of a 5274-day air pollution index in Shanghai and Lanzhou during 15 years and studied the multi-scale variation characteristic, main cycle, and impact factor of the air pollution time series. The analysis showed that (1) air pollution in the two cities was non-stationary and nonlinear, had multiple timescales, and exhibited the characteristics of high in winter and spring and low in summer and autumn. (2) The monthly variation in air pollution in Shanghai was not significant, whereas the seasonal variation of air pollution in Lanzhou was obvious. (3) Air pollution in Shanghai showed an ascending tendency, whereas that in Lanzhou presented a descending tendency. Overall, air pollution in Lanzhou was higher than that in Shanghai, but the situation has reversed since 2015. (4) The primary cycles of air pollution in these two cities were close, but the secondary cycles were significantly different. The aforementioned differences were mainly due to the impact of topographical and meteorological factors in Lanzhou, the weather process and the surrounding environment in Shanghai. These conclusions have reference significance for Shanghai and Lanzhou to control air pollution. The multi-timescale variation and local features of the wavelet analysis method used in this study can be applied to varied aspects of air pollution analysis. The identification of cycle characteristics and the monitoring, forecasting, and controlling of air pollution can yield valuable reference.

  11. The Adverse Effects of Air Pollution on the Nervous System

    PubMed Central

    Genc, Sermin; Zadeoglulari, Zeynep; Fuss, Stefan H.; Genc, Kursad

    2012-01-01

    Exposure to ambient air pollution is a serious and common public health concern associated with growing morbidity and mortality worldwide. In the last decades, the adverse effects of air pollution on the pulmonary and cardiovascular systems have been well established in a series of major epidemiological and observational studies. In the recent past, air pollution has also been associated with diseases of the central nervous system (CNS), including stroke, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and neurodevelopmental disorders. It has been demonstrated that various components of air pollution, such as nanosized particles, can easily translocate to the CNS where they can activate innate immune responses. Furthermore, systemic inflammation arising from the pulmonary or cardiovascular system can affect CNS health. Despite intense studies on the health effects of ambient air pollution, the underlying molecular mechanisms of susceptibility and disease remain largely elusive. However, emerging evidence suggests that air pollution-induced neuroinflammation, oxidative stress, microglial activation, cerebrovascular dysfunction, and alterations in the blood-brain barrier contribute to CNS pathology. A better understanding of the mediators and mechanisms will enable the development of new strategies to protect individuals at risk and to reduce detrimental effects of air pollution on the nervous system and mental health. PMID:22523490

  12. The adverse effects of air pollution on the nervous system.

    PubMed

    Genc, Sermin; Zadeoglulari, Zeynep; Fuss, Stefan H; Genc, Kursad

    2012-01-01

    Exposure to ambient air pollution is a serious and common public health concern associated with growing morbidity and mortality worldwide. In the last decades, the adverse effects of air pollution on the pulmonary and cardiovascular systems have been well established in a series of major epidemiological and observational studies. In the recent past, air pollution has also been associated with diseases of the central nervous system (CNS), including stroke, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and neurodevelopmental disorders. It has been demonstrated that various components of air pollution, such as nanosized particles, can easily translocate to the CNS where they can activate innate immune responses. Furthermore, systemic inflammation arising from the pulmonary or cardiovascular system can affect CNS health. Despite intense studies on the health effects of ambient air pollution, the underlying molecular mechanisms of susceptibility and disease remain largely elusive. However, emerging evidence suggests that air pollution-induced neuroinflammation, oxidative stress, microglial activation, cerebrovascular dysfunction, and alterations in the blood-brain barrier contribute to CNS pathology. A better understanding of the mediators and mechanisms will enable the development of new strategies to protect individuals at risk and to reduce detrimental effects of air pollution on the nervous system and mental health.

  13. Air Pollution and Infant Mortality in Mexico City

    EPA Science Inventory

    Historic air pollution episodes of the 1950s led to acute increases in infant mortality, and some recent epidemiologic studies suggest that infant or child mortality may still result from air pollution at current levels. To investigate the evidence for such an association, we con...

  14. The effects of air pollution on the health of children.

    PubMed

    Buka, Irena; Koranteng, Samuel; Osornio-Vargas, Alvaro R

    2006-10-01

    The present article is intended to inform paediatricians about the associations between ambient air pollution and adverse health outcomes in children within the context of current epidemiological evidence.The majority of the current literature pertains to adverse respiratory health outcomes, including asthma, other respiratory symptoms, and deficits in lung function and growth, as well as exposure to ambient levels of criteria air pollutants. In addition to the above, the present article highlights mortality, pregnancy outcomes, vitamin D deficiency and alteration in the immune system of children.Some of the data on the impact of improved air quality on children's health are provided, including the reduction of air pollution in former East Germany following the reunification of Germany, as well as the reduction in the rates of childhood asthma events during the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia, due to a reduction in local motor vehicle traffic. However, there are many other toxic air pollutants that are regularly released into the air. These pollutants, which are not regularly monitored and have not been adequately researched, are also potentially harmful to children.Significant morbidity and mortality is attributed to ambient air pollution, resulting in a significant economic cost to society. As Canada's cities grow, air pollution issues need to be a priority in order to protect the health of children and support sustainable development for future generations.

  15. Air pollution in China: Status and spatiotemporal variations.

    PubMed

    Song, Congbo; Wu, Lin; Xie, Yaochen; He, Jianjun; Chen, Xi; Wang, Ting; Lin, Yingchao; Jin, Taosheng; Wang, Anxu; Liu, Yan; Dai, Qili; Liu, Baoshuang; Wang, Ya-Nan; Mao, Hongjun

    2017-08-01

    In recent years, China has experienced severe and persistent air pollution associated with rapid urbanization and climate change. Three years' time series (January 2014 to December 2016) concentrations data of air pollutants including particulate matter (PM 2.5 and PM 10 ) and gaseous pollutants (SO 2 , NO 2 , CO, and O 3 ) from over 1300 national air quality monitoring sites were studied to understand the severity of China's air pollution. In 2014 (2015, 2016), annual population-weighted-average (PWA) values in China were 65.8 (55.0, 50.7) μg m -3 for PM 2.5 , 107.8 (91.1, 85.7) μg m -3 for PM 10 , 54.8 (56.2, 57.2) μg m -3 for O 3 _8 h, 39.6 (33.3, 33.4) μg m -3 for NO 2 , 34.1 (26, 21.9) μg m -3 for SO 2 , 1.2 (1.1, 1.1) mg m -3 for CO, and 0.60 (0.59, 0.58) for PM 2.5 /PM 10 , respectively. In 2014 (2015, 2016), 7% (14%, 19%), 17% (27%, 34%), 51% (67%, 70%) and 88% (97%, 98%) of the population in China lived in areas that meet the level of annual PM 2.5 , PM 10 , NO 2 , and SO 2 standard metrics from Chinese Ambient Air Quality Standards-Grade II. The annual PWA concentrations of PM 2.5 , PM 10 , O 3 _8 h, NO 2 , SO 2 , CO in the Northern China are about 40.4%, 58.9%, 5.9%, 24.6%, 96.7%, and 38.1% higher than those in Southern China, respectively. Though the air quality has been improving recent years, PM 2.5 pollution in wintertime is worsening, especially in the Northern China. The complex air pollution caused by PM and O 3 (the third frequent major pollutant) is an emerging problem that threatens the public health, especially in Chinese mega-city clusters. NOx controls were more beneficial than SO 2 controls for improvement of annual PM air quality in the northern China, central, and southwest regions. Future epidemiologic studies are urgently required to estimate the health impacts associated with multi-pollutants exposure, and revise more scientific air quality index standards. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. AIR POLLUTION CONTROL TECHNOLOGIES

    EPA Science Inventory

    This is a chapter for John Wiley & Son's Mechanical Engineers' Handbook, and covers issues involving air pollution control. Various technologies for controlling sulfur oxides is considered including fuel desulfurization. It also considers control of nitrogen oxides including post...

  17. Air pollution tolerance index of plants around brick kilns in Rawalpindi, Pakistan.

    PubMed

    Achakzai, Khanoranga; Khalid, Sofia; Adrees, Muhammad; Bibi, Aasma; Ali, Shafaqat; Nawaz, Rab; Rizwan, Muhammad

    2017-04-01

    In any contaminated environment, the sensitive plant species can serve as bio-indicator of air pollution while tolerant plant species can act as a sink for air pollutants. Air pollution tolerance index (APTI) is an important tool to screen out plants based on their tolerance or sensitivity level to different air pollutants. The present study was aimed to identify the sensitive and tolerant plant species in the vicinity of brick kilns in the Rawalpindi city. To determine the susceptibility level of the selected plant species, four biochemical parameters, ascorbic acid, total chlorophyll content, relative water content and pH of leaf extract, were assessed and APTI was calculated. Plant sampling was carried out with increasing distance of 100, 300 and 500 m around three brick kiln sites and APTI values were calculated by following the standard methods. The results of the study revealed that among nine studied plant species, Calotropis procera (APTI = 20.05) and Althernanthera pungens (APTI = 17.13) were found to be the most tolerant species, whereas Malva neglecta (APTI = 8.83) was found to be the most sensitive species. Inconsistent trend of variations was seen in the APTI values at each site. The present study suggested that the most tolerant species, C. procera and A. pungens, could be grown in the vicinity of such pollution sources as a remedial measure of brick kiln pollution. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  18. The association between air pollution and mortality in Thailand

    PubMed Central

    Guo, Yuming; Li, Shanshan; Tawatsupa, Benjawan; Punnasiri, Kornwipa; Jaakkola, Jouni J. K.; Williams, Gail

    2014-01-01

    Bayesian statistical inference with a case-crossover design was used to examine the effects of air pollutants {Particulate matter <10 μm in aerodynamic diameter (PM10), sulphur dioxide (SO2), and ozone (O3)} on mortality. We found that all air pollutants had significant short-term impacts on non-accidental mortality. An increase of 10 μg/m3 in PM10, 10 ppb in O3, 1 ppb in SO2 were associated with a 0.40% (95% posterior interval (PI): 0.22, 0.59%), 0.78% (95% PI: 0.20, 1.35%) and 0.34% (95% PI: 0.17, 0.50%) increase of non-accidental mortality, respectively. O3 air pollution is significantly associated with cardiovascular mortality, while PM10 is significantly related to respiratory mortality. In general, the effects of all pollutants on all mortality types were higher in summer and winter than those in the rainy season. This study highlights the effects of exposure to air pollution on mortality risks in Thailand. Our findings support the Thailand government in aiming to reduce high levels of air pollution. PMID:24981315

  19. Does respiratory health contribute to the effects of long-term air pollution exposure on cardiovascular mortality?

    PubMed

    Schikowski, Tamara; Sugiri, Dorothea; Ranft, Ulrich; Gehring, Ulrike; Heinrich, Joachim; Wichmann, H-Erich; Krämer, Ursula

    2007-03-07

    There is growing epidemiological evidence that short-term and long-term exposure to high levels of air pollution may increase cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. In addition, epidemiological studies have shown an association between air pollution exposure and respiratory health. To what extent the association between cardiovascular mortality and air pollution is driven by the impact of air pollution on respiratory health is unknown. The aim of this study was to investigate whether respiratory health at baseline contributes to the effects of long-term exposure to high levels of air pollution on cardiovascular mortality in a cohort of elderly women. We analyzed data from 4750 women, aged 55 at the baseline investigation in the years 1985-1994. 2593 of these women had their lung function tested by spirometry. Respiratory diseases and symptoms were asked by questionnaire. Ambient air pollution exposure was assessed by the concentrations of NO2 and total suspended particles at fixed monitoring sites and by the distance of residency to a major road. A mortality follow-up of these women was conducted between 2001 and 2003. For the statistical analysis, Cox' regression was used. Women with impaired lung function or pre-existing respiratory diseases had a higher risk of dying from cardiovascular causes. The impact of impaired lung function declined over time. The risk ratio (RR) of women with forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) of less than 80% predicted to die from cardiovascular causes was RR = 3.79 (95%CI: 1.64-8.74) at 5 years survival time and RR = 1.35 (95%CI: 0.66-2.77) at 12 years. The association between air pollution levels and cardiovascular death rate was strong and statistically significant. However, this association did only change marginally when including indicators of respiratory health into the regression analysis. Furthermore, no interaction between air pollution and respiratory health on cardiovascular mortality indicating a higher risk of

  20. Identification and evaluation of air-pollution-tolerant plants around lignite-based thermal power station for greenbelt development.

    PubMed

    Govindaraju, M; Ganeshkumar, R S; Muthukumaran, V R; Visvanathan, P

    2012-05-01

    Thermal power plants emit various gaseous and particulate pollutants into the atmosphere. It is well known that trees help to reduce air pollution. Development of a greenbelt with suitable plant species around the source of emission will mitigate the air pollution. Selection of suitable plant species for a greenbelt is very important. Present study evaluates different plant species around Neyveli thermal power plant by calculating the Air Pollution Tolerance Index (APTI) which is based on their significant biochemical parameters. Also Anticipated Performance Index (API) was calculated for these plant species by combining APTI values with other socio-economic and biological parameters. Based on these indices, the most appropriate plant species were identified for the development of a greenbelt around the thermal power plant to mitigate air pollution. Among the 30 different plant species evaluated, Mangifere indica L. was identified as keystone species which is coming under the excellent category. Ambient air quality parameters were correlated with the biochemical characteristics of plant leaves and significant changes were observed in the plants biochemical characteristics due to the air pollution stress.

  1. 40 CFR 52.2227 - Prevention of air pollution emergency episodes.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 4 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Prevention of air pollution emergency... Prevention of air pollution emergency episodes. (a) The requirements of § 51.152(a) of this chapter are not... during air pollution emergency episodes. [37 FR 10895, May 31, 1972, as amended at 51 FR 40677, Nov. 7...

  2. 40 CFR 52.2227 - Prevention of air pollution emergency episodes.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 4 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Prevention of air pollution emergency... Prevention of air pollution emergency episodes. (a) The requirements of § 51.152(a) of this chapter are not... during air pollution emergency episodes. [37 FR 10895, May 31, 1972, as amended at 51 FR 40677, Nov. 7...

  3. 40 CFR 52.2227 - Prevention of air pollution emergency episodes.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 5 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Prevention of air pollution emergency... Prevention of air pollution emergency episodes. (a) The requirements of § 51.152(a) of this chapter are not... during air pollution emergency episodes. [37 FR 10895, May 31, 1972, as amended at 51 FR 40677, Nov. 7...

  4. 40 CFR 52.2227 - Prevention of air pollution emergency episodes.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 5 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Prevention of air pollution emergency... Prevention of air pollution emergency episodes. (a) The requirements of § 51.152(a) of this chapter are not... during air pollution emergency episodes. [37 FR 10895, May 31, 1972, as amended at 51 FR 40677, Nov. 7...

  5. 40 CFR 52.2227 - Prevention of air pollution emergency episodes.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 5 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Prevention of air pollution emergency... Prevention of air pollution emergency episodes. (a) The requirements of § 51.152(a) of this chapter are not... during air pollution emergency episodes. [37 FR 10895, May 31, 1972, as amended at 51 FR 40677, Nov. 7...

  6. Efficient control of air pollution through plants, a cost-effective alternative: studies on Dalbergia sissoo Roxb.

    PubMed

    Kapoor, C S; Bamniya, B R; Kapoor, K

    2013-09-01

    Plants can be used as both passive biomonitors and biomitigators in urban and industrial environments to indicate the environmental quality and to ameliorate pollution level in a locality. Many studies reveal that plants are negatively affected by the ambient levels of air pollutants. The present study was conducted to evaluate the impact of air pollution on comparative basis with reference to changes in photosynthetic pigments, plant height, leaves, as well as, biochemical parameters of plants of different sites around Udaipur city receiving varying levels of pollution load. The investigated tree species Dalbergia sissoo Roxb. (Family: Fabaceae) exhibited a reduction in various physiological and biochemical growth parameters that correspond with air pollution levels at different sites. The tree species growing in polluted and control areas were compared with respect to foliar dust load, leaf area, and chlorophyll and total carbohydrate and total protein concentration in the leaves. Our studies suggest that D. sissoo Roxb. can successfully be grown in an area for monitoring air pollution, where it is mild and droughts are common. It will prove as an ideal tree species to control pollution effectively beside acting as a shade tree and being a source of food for birds and animals. By plantation of D. sissoo Roxb., mitigative measure at the polluted sites to control generation of particulate matter and the air quality required can be ensured. Our results also confirm that industrial and vehicular air pollution level in Udaipur city is shifting beyond limits.

  7. Geospatial Modeling of Asthma Population in Relation to Air Pollution

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Kethireddy, Swatantra R.; Tchounwou, Paul B.; Young, John H.; Luvall, Jeffrey C.; Alhamdan, Mohammad

    2013-01-01

    Current observations indicate that asthma is growing every year in the United States, specific reasons for this are not well understood. This study stems from an ongoing research effort to investigate the spatio-temporal behavior of asthma and its relatedness to air pollution. The association between environmental variables such as air quality and asthma related health issues over Mississippi State are investigated using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) tools and applications. Health data concerning asthma obtained from Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH) for 9-year period of 2003-2011, and data of air pollutant concentrations (PM2.5) collected from USEPA web resources, and are analyzed geospatially to establish the impacts of air quality on human health specifically related to asthma. Disease mapping using geospatial techniques provides valuable insights into the spatial nature, variability, and association of asthma to air pollution. Asthma patient hospitalization data of Mississippi has been analyzed and mapped using quantitative Choropleth techniques in ArcGIS. Patients have been geocoded to their respective zip codes. Potential air pollutant sources of Interstate highways, Industries, and other land use data have been integrated in common geospatial platform to understand their adverse contribution on human health. Existing hospitals and emergency clinics are being injected into analysis to further understand their proximity and easy access to patient locations. At the current level of analysis and understanding, spatial distribution of Asthma is observed in the populations of Zip code regions in gulf coast, along the interstates of south, and in counties of Northeast Mississippi. It is also found that asthma is prevalent in most of the urban population. This GIS based project would be useful to make health risk assessment and provide information support to the administrators and decision makers for establishing satellite clinics in future.

  8. Environmental Perception and Citizen Response: a Denver, Colorado Air Pollution Case Study.

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Naomi, Leaura M.

    Denver, a high altitude city, suffers from air pollution. Automobile emissions, as well as wood and coal burning contribute to Denver's air pollution. In order to reduce its air pollution, Denver hosted a no-drive campaign, The Better Air Campaign. This study examined how Denver -area citizens perceived their air pollution, responded to their air pollution, and responded to their no-drive campaign. First, I conducted personal interviews of twenty Denver air pollution decision-makers to ascertain their perceptions and definitions of Denver's air pollution problem. Second, I created a theoretical model of environmental perception and behavioral response to air pollution. Third, I conducted a telephone survey of 500 Denver-area residents to examine the usefulness of the model. By segmenting a sample of 500 Denver-area residents via a modified values and lifestyles (VALS) technique included in a telephone survey, the perceptions and behaviors of residents fell into a clear pattern. This values and lifestyles pattern coincided with a conventional innovation-adoption pattern, including innovators, the bandwagon, and laggards. Thus, the research determined the population's perceptions and behavioral responses to their air pollution. The research also pointed a direction for Denver's air pollution decision-makers to follow in order to reduce use of the gasoline-powered automobile. And, for those interested in encouraging public acceptance of ecological sustainability, it suggested application of the VALS technique for reaching the public.

  9. Hazardous air pollutants and asthma.

    PubMed

    Leikauf, George D

    2002-08-01

    Asthma has a high prevalence in the United States, and persons with asthma may be at added risk from the adverse effects of hazardous air pollutants (HAPs). Complex mixtures (fine particulate matter and tobacco smoke) have been associated with respiratory symptoms and hospital admissions for asthma. The toxic ingredients of these mixtures are HAPs, but whether ambient HAP exposures can induce asthma remains unclear. Certain HAPs are occupational asthmagens, whereas others may act as adjuncts during sensitization. HAPs may exacerbate asthma because, once sensitized, individuals can respond to remarkably low concentrations, and irritants lower the bronchoconstrictive threshold to respiratory antigens. Adverse responses after ambient exposures to complex mixtures often occur at concentrations below those producing effects in controlled human exposures to a single compound. In addition, certain HAPs that have been associated with asthma in occupational settings may interact with criteria pollutants in ambient air to exacerbate asthma. Based on these observations and past experience with 188 HAPs, a list of 19 compounds that could have the highest impact on the induction or exacerbation of asthma was developed. Nine additional compounds were identified that might exacerbate asthma based on their irritancy, respirability, or ability to react with biological macromolecules. Although the ambient levels of these 28 compounds are largely unknown, estimated exposures from emissions inventories and limited air monitoring suggest that aldehydes (especially acrolein and formaldehyde) and metals (especially nickel and chromium compounds) may have possible health risk indices sufficient for additional attention. Recommendations for research are presented regarding exposure monitoring and evaluation of biologic mechanisms controlling how these substances induce and exacerbate asthma.

  10. Hazardous air pollutants and asthma.

    PubMed Central

    Leikauf, George D

    2002-01-01

    Asthma has a high prevalence in the United States, and persons with asthma may be at added risk from the adverse effects of hazardous air pollutants (HAPs). Complex mixtures (fine particulate matter and tobacco smoke) have been associated with respiratory symptoms and hospital admissions for asthma. The toxic ingredients of these mixtures are HAPs, but whether ambient HAP exposures can induce asthma remains unclear. Certain HAPs are occupational asthmagens, whereas others may act as adjuncts during sensitization. HAPs may exacerbate asthma because, once sensitized, individuals can respond to remarkably low concentrations, and irritants lower the bronchoconstrictive threshold to respiratory antigens. Adverse responses after ambient exposures to complex mixtures often occur at concentrations below those producing effects in controlled human exposures to a single compound. In addition, certain HAPs that have been associated with asthma in occupational settings may interact with criteria pollutants in ambient air to exacerbate asthma. Based on these observations and past experience with 188 HAPs, a list of 19 compounds that could have the highest impact on the induction or exacerbation of asthma was developed. Nine additional compounds were identified that might exacerbate asthma based on their irritancy, respirability, or ability to react with biological macromolecules. Although the ambient levels of these 28 compounds are largely unknown, estimated exposures from emissions inventories and limited air monitoring suggest that aldehydes (especially acrolein and formaldehyde) and metals (especially nickel and chromium compounds) may have possible health risk indices sufficient for additional attention. Recommendations for research are presented regarding exposure monitoring and evaluation of biologic mechanisms controlling how these substances induce and exacerbate asthma. PMID:12194881

  11. [Atmospheric air pollution: a risk factor for COPD?].

    PubMed

    Allain, Y-M; Roche, N; Huchon, G

    2010-04-01

    Tobacco smoking is the leading cause of COPD worldwide but other risk factors have been recognized. Air pollution is one of them, but its exact role in the development of COPD is hard to demonstrate. Its physiological effects on lung function have only been studied since the nineties by long and tedious cohort studies. Difficulties arise from the heterogeneity of air pollution (gas and particles); thus, its respiratory effects have to be examined for every component separately, and in different populations. It is also necessary to analyse the effects of atmospheric pollution in the short and the long term, considering both its physiological, clinical and toxicological effects, from childhood to adulthood. These factors make it difficult to obtain statistically significant results. Nevertheless, most studies seem to point to a role of air pollution in the development of COPD via oxydative stress but further studies are needed to confirm the exact effect of each component of air pollution on the respiratory tract. These studies could lead to improved public health policies and results are awaited that would identify at-risk populations, decide appropriate preventive measures and propose documented thresholds in pollution exposure... thereby limiting the spread of COPD. Copyright 2010 SPLF. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  12. Long-term exposure to air pollution is associated with biological aging

    PubMed Central

    Ward-Caviness, Cavin K.; Nwanaji-Enwerem, Jamaji C.; Wolf, Kathrin; Wahl, Simone; Colicino, Elena; Trevisi, Letizia; Kloog, Itai; Just, Allan C.; Vokonas, Pantel; Cyrys, Josef; Gieger, Christian; Schwartz, Joel; Baccarelli, Andrea A.; Schneider, Alexandra; Peters, Annette

    2016-01-01

    Long-term exposure to air pollution is associated with age-related diseases. We explored the association between accelerated biological aging and air pollution, a potential mechanism linking air pollution and health. We estimated long-term exposure to PM10, PM2.5, PM2.5 absorbance/black carbon (BC), and NOx via land-use regression models in individuals from the KORA F4 cohort. Accelerated biological aging was assessed using telomere length (TeloAA) and three epigenetic measures: DNA methylation age acceleration (DNAmAA), extrinsic epigenetic age acceleration (correlated with immune cell counts, EEAA), and intrinsic epigenetic age acceleration (independent of immune cell counts, IEAA). We also investigated sex-specific associations between air pollution and biological aging, given the published association between sex and aging measures. In KORA an interquartile range (0.97 μg/m3) increase in PM2.5 was associated with a 0.33 y increase in EEAA (CI = 0.01, 0.64; P = 0.04). BC and NOx (indicators or traffic exposure) were associated with DNAmAA and IEAA in women, while TeloAA was inversely associated with BC in men. We replicated this inverse BC-TeloAA association in the Normative Aging Study, a male cohort based in the USA. A multiple phenotype analysis in KORA F4 combining all aging measures showed that BC and PM10 were broadly associated with biological aging in men. Thus, we conclude that long-term exposure to air pollution is associated with biological aging measures, potentially in a sex-specific manner. However, many of the associations were relatively weak and further replication of overall and sex-specific associations is warranted. PMID:27793020

  13. Long-term exposure to air pollution is associated with biological aging.

    PubMed

    Ward-Caviness, Cavin K; Nwanaji-Enwerem, Jamaji C; Wolf, Kathrin; Wahl, Simone; Colicino, Elena; Trevisi, Letizia; Kloog, Itai; Just, Allan C; Vokonas, Pantel; Cyrys, Josef; Gieger, Christian; Schwartz, Joel; Baccarelli, Andrea A; Schneider, Alexandra; Peters, Annette

    2016-11-15

    Long-term exposure to air pollution is associated with age-related diseases. We explored the association between accelerated biological aging and air pollution, a potential mechanism linking air pollution and health. We estimated long-term exposure to PM10, PM2.5, PM2.5 absorbance/black carbon (BC), and NOx via land-use regression models in individuals from the KORA F4 cohort. Accelerated biological aging was assessed using telomere length (TeloAA) and three epigenetic measures: DNA methylation age acceleration (DNAmAA), extrinsic epigenetic age acceleration (correlated with immune cell counts, EEAA), and intrinsic epigenetic age acceleration (independent of immune cell counts, IEAA). We also investigated sex-specific associations between air pollution and biological aging, given the published association between sex and aging measures. In KORA an interquartile range (0.97 µg/m3) increase in PM2.5 was associated with a 0.33 y increase in EEAA (CI = 0.01, 0.64; P = 0.04). BC and NOx (indicators or traffic exposure) were associated with DNAmAA and IEAA in women, while TeloAA was inversely associated with BC in men. We replicated this inverse BC-TeloAA association in the Normative Aging Study, a male cohort based in the USA. A multiple phenotype analysis in KORA F4 combining all aging measures showed that BC and PM10 were broadly associated with biological aging in men. Thus, we conclude that long-term exposure to air pollution is associated with biological aging measures, potentially in a sex-specific manner. However, many of the associations were relatively weak and further replication of overall and sex-specific associations is warranted.

  14. Biological scientist in an air pollution control program

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    James, H.A.

    The biological scientist in an air pollution control agency is becoming of greater service as the larger districts are being formed which embrace agricultural areas. While it is not an altogether new role in history, it has often been neglected. His presence on the staff provides the air pollution control agency staff with a liaison to agriculture and public health, as well as an information source immediately at hand. His training in the life science fields not only allows him to help understand the biological problems, but also allows him to communicate these to the engineer. In the Bay Areamore » Air Pollution Control District, this position is filled by a biostatistician. Here the statistical duties are often not too sharply differentiated from the biological ones. However, these range from attempting to diagnose air pollution damage on orchids to the development of a mechanized punch-card information retrieval system. From this one can soon correctly surmise that monotony is not a problem.« less

  15. Air pollution and asthma severity in adults

    PubMed Central

    Rage, Estelle; Siroux, Valérie; Künzli, Nino; Pin, Isabelle; Kauffmann, Francine

    2009-01-01

    Objectives There is evidence that exposure to air pollution affects asthma, but the effect of air pollution on asthma severity has not been addressed. The aim was to assess the relation between asthma severity during the past 12 months and home outdoor concentrations of air pollution. Methods Asthma severity over the last 12 months was assessed in two complementary ways among 328 adult asthmatics from the French Epidemiological study on the Genetics and Environment of Asthma (EGEA) examined between 1991 and 1995. The 4-class severity score integrated clinical events and type of treatment. The 5-level asthma score is based only on the occurrence of symptoms. Nitrogen dioxide (NO2), sulphur dioxide (SO2) and ozone (O3) concentrations were assigned to each residence using two different methods. The first was based on the closest monitor data from 1991–1995. The second consisted in spatial models that used geostatistical interpolations and then assigned air pollutants to the geo-coded residences (1998). Results Higher asthma severity score was significantly related to the 8-hour average of ozone during April-September (O3-8hr) and the number of days (O3-days) with 8-hour ozone averages above 110 μg.m−3 (for a 36-day increase, equivalent to the inter quartile range, in O3-days, odds ratio (95% confidence interval) 2.22 (1.61–3.07) for one class difference in score). Adjustment for age, sex, smoking habits, occupational exposure, and educational level did not alter results. Asthma severity was unrelated to NO2. Both exposure assessment methods and severity scores resulted in very similar findings. SO2 correlated with severity but reached statistical significance only for the model based assignment of exposure. Conclusions The observed associations between asthma severity and air pollution, in particular O3, support the hypothesis that air pollution at levels far below current standards increases asthma severity. PMID:19017701

  16. Clinical effects of air pollution on the central nervous system; a review.

    PubMed

    Babadjouni, Robin M; Hodis, Drew M; Radwanski, Ryan; Durazo, Ramon; Patel, Arati; Liu, Qinghai; Mack, William J

    2017-09-01

    The purpose of this review is to describe recent clinical and epidemiological studies examining the adverse effects of urban air pollution on the central nervous system (CNS). Air pollution and particulate matter (PM) are associated with neuroinflammation and reactive oxygen species (ROS). These processes affect multiple CNS pathways. The conceptual framework of this review focuses on adverse effects of air pollution with respect to neurocognition, white matter disease, stroke, and carotid artery disease. Both children and older individuals exposed to air pollution exhibit signs of cognitive dysfunction. However, evidence on middle-aged cohorts is lacking. White matter injury secondary to air pollution exposure is a putative mechanism for neurocognitive decline. Air pollution is associated with exacerbations of neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. Increases in stroke incidences and mortalities are seen in the setting of air pollution exposure and CNS pathology is robust. Large populations living in highly polluted environments are at risk. This review aims to outline current knowledge of air pollution exposure effects on neurological health. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. Traffic-related air pollution, particulate matter, and autism.

    PubMed

    Volk, Heather E; Lurmann, Fred; Penfold, Bryan; Hertz-Picciotto, Irva; McConnell, Rob

    2013-01-01

    Autism is a heterogeneous disorder with genetic and environmental factors likely contributing to its origins. Examination of hazardous pollutants has suggested the importance of air toxics in the etiology of autism, yet little research has examined its association with local levels of air pollution using residence-specific exposure assignments. To examine the relationship between traffic-related air pollution, air quality, and autism. This population-based case-control study includes data obtained from children with autism and control children with typical development who were enrolled in the Childhood Autism Risks from Genetics and the Environment study in California. The mother's address from the birth certificate and addresses reported from a residential history questionnaire were used to estimate exposure for each trimester of pregnancy and first year of life. Traffic-related air pollution was assigned to each location using a line-source air-quality dispersion model. Regional air pollutant measures were based on the Environmental Protection Agency's Air Quality System data. Logistic regression models compared estimated and measured pollutant levels for children with autism and for control children with typical development. Case-control study from California. A total of 279 children with autism and a total of 245 control children with typical development. Crude and multivariable adjusted odds ratios (AORs) for autism. Children with autism were more likely to live at residences that had the highest quartile of exposure to traffic-related air pollution, during gestation (AOR, 1.98 [95% CI, 1.20-3.31]) and during the first year of life (AOR, 3.10 [95% CI, 1.76-5.57]), compared with control children. Regional exposure measures of nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter less than 2.5 and 10 μm in diameter (PM2.5 and PM10) were also associated with autism during gestation (exposure to nitrogen dioxide: AOR, 1.81 [95% CI, 1.37-3.09]; exposure to PM2.5: AOR, 2.08 [95

  18. AIR POLLUTION AND HUMMINGBIRDS

    EPA Science Inventory

    A multidisciplinary team of EPA-RTP ORD pulmonary toxicologists, engineers, ecologists, and statisticians have designed a study of how ground-level ozone and other air pollutants may influence feeding activity of the ruby-throated hummingbird (Archilochus colubris). Be...

  19. Air pollution in perspective: Health risks of air pollution expressed in equivalent numbers of passively smoked cigarettes.

    PubMed

    van der Zee, Saskia C; Fischer, Paul H; Hoek, Gerard

    2016-07-01

    Although the health effects of long term exposure to air pollution are well established, it is difficult to effectively communicate the health risks of this (largely invisible) risk factor to the public and policy makers. The purpose of this study is to develop a method that expresses the health effects of air pollution in an equivalent number of daily passively smoked cigarettes. Defined changes in PM2.5, nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and Black Carbon (BC) concentration were expressed into number of passively smoked cigarettes, based on equivalent health risks for four outcome measures: Low Birth Weight (<2500g at term), decreased lung function (FEV1), cardiovascular mortality and lung cancer. To describe the strength of the relationship with ETS and air pollutants, we summarized the epidemiological literature using published or new meta-analyses. Realistic increments of 10µg/m(3) in PM2.5 and NO2 concentration and a 1µg/m(3) increment in BC concentration correspond to on average (standard error in parentheses) 5.5 (1.6), 2.5 (0.6) and 4.0 (1.2) passively smoked cigarettes per day across the four health endpoints, respectively. The uncertainty reflects differences in equivalence between the health endpoints and uncertainty in the concentration response functions. The health risk of living along a major freeway in Amsterdam is, compared to a counterfactual situation with 'clean' air, equivalent to 10 daily passively smoked cigarettes.. We developed a method that expresses the health risks of air pollution and the health benefits of better air quality in a simple, appealing manner. The method can be used both at the national/regional and the local level. Evaluation of the usefulness of the method as a communication tool is needed. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  20. Hemispheric Transport of Air Pollutants: Issues, Progress, and Implications

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Keating, T.

    2007-12-01

    Once thought of as only a local or regional issue, air quality is now understood to be influenced by local, regional, hemispheric, and global phenomena. There is well-documented evidence from ground-, aircraft-, and satellite- based observations for the intercontinental transport of ozone, aerosols, mercury, and some persistent organic pollutants. Global and regional models have provided a range of estimates of the influence of emissions on one continent on concentrations and deposition levels on another continent. These estimates have been difficult to compare and the significance of this intercontinental influence for the design of air pollution control policies is not well understood. The Task Force on Hemispheric Transport of Air Pollutants organized under the Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution is developing the first systematic assessment of intercontinental transport and hemispheric pollution in the Northern Hemisphere. This presentation by one of the co-chairs of the Task Force will explore the motivations behind the creation of the Task Force, review its progress, and discuss the implications of its work for the development of domestic and international air quality management policies.

  1. United Kingdom unveils ambitious air pollution plan

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Warren, Matthew

    2018-06-01

    The U.K. government's new strategy to combat air pollution has drawn praise for its ambitious goals—and reservations about whether they will be achieved. Environmental scientists have applauded the aims of the Clean Air Strategy, which include substantially reducing the number of people breathing air containing high levels of fine particulates and curbing ammonia emissions from agriculture. But for now, the document, published as a draft for public consultation on 22 May, remains light on the specific policies that will help the country attain these goals. And although the government has said that with the new strategy it will go further than the European Union in tackling air pollution post-Brexit, scientists say major improvements to air quality will require a coordinated effort across Europe.

  2. Transport and urban air pollution in India.

    PubMed

    Badami, Madhav G

    2005-08-01

    The rapid growth in motor vehicle activity in India and other rapidly industrializing low-income countries is contributing to high levels of urban air pollution, among other adverse socioeconomic, environmental, health, and welfare impacts. This paper first discusses the local, regional, and global impacts associated with air pollutant emissions resulting from motor vehicle activity, and the technological, behavioral, and institutional factors that have contributed to these emissions, in India. The paper then discusses some implementation issues related to various policy measures that have been undertaken, and the challenges of the policy context. Finally, the paper presents insights and lessons based on the recent Indian experience, for better understanding and more effectively addressing the transport air pollution problem in India and similar countries, in a way that is sensitive to their needs, capabilities, and constraints.

  3. Ships, ports and particulate air pollution - an analysis of recent studies

    PubMed Central

    2011-01-01

    The duration of use is usually significantly longer for marine vessels than for roadside vehicles. Therefore, these vessels are often powered by relatively old engines which may propagate air pollution. Also, the quality of fuel used for marine vessels is usually not comparable to the quality of fuels used in the automotive sector and therefore, port areas may exhibit a high degree of air pollution. In contrast to the multitude of studies that addressed outdoor air pollution due to road traffic, only little is known about ship-related air pollution. Therefore the present article aims to summarize recent studies that address air pollution, i.e. particulate matter exposure, due to marine vessels. It can be stated that the data in this area of research is still largely limited. Especially, knowledge on the different air pollutions in different sea areas is needed. PMID:22141925

  4. Indoor Air Pollution (Environmental Health Student Portal)

    MedlinePlus

    ... on how indoor and outdoor air pollution affects human health. Healthy Air at Home (American Lung Association) - Resources ... and the environment, and the potential risks to human health. Experiments and Projects Air Quality (PDF, 981.40 ...

  5. Air pollution from hot mix plants.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1970-10-01

    The Louisiana Air Control Commission adopted Regulation II, effective 1969, which sets stringent limits on suspended particulates. Because of the lack of knowledge concerning air pollution caused by hot mix plants within the Stake and because of the ...

  6. The global burden of disease due to outdoor air pollution.

    PubMed

    Cohen, Aaron J; Ross Anderson, H; Ostro, Bart; Pandey, Kiran Dev; Krzyzanowski, Michal; Künzli, Nino; Gutschmidt, Kersten; Pope, Arden; Romieu, Isabelle; Samet, Jonathan M; Smith, Kirk

    As part of the World Health Organization (WHO) Global Burden of Disease Comparative Risk Assessment, the burden of disease attributable to urban ambient air pollution was estimated in terms of deaths and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs). Air pollution is associated with a broad spectrum of acute and chronic health effects, the nature of which may vary with the pollutant constituents. Particulate air pollution is consistently and independently related to the most serious effects, including lung cancer and other cardiopulmonary mortality. The analyses on which this report is based estimate that ambient air pollution, in terms of fine particulate air pollution (PM(2.5)), causes about 3% of mortality from cardiopulmonary disease, about 5% of mortality from cancer of the trachea, bronchus, and lung, and about 1% of mortality from acute respiratory infections in children under 5 yr, worldwide. This amounts to about 0.8 million (1.2%) premature deaths and 6.4 million (0.5%) years of life lost (YLL). This burden occurs predominantly in developing countries; 65% in Asia alone. These estimates consider only the impact of air pollution on mortality (i.e., years of life lost) and not morbidity (i.e., years lived with disability), due to limitations in the epidemiologic database. If air pollution multiplies both incidence and mortality to the same extent (i.e., the same relative risk), then the DALYs for cardiopulmonary disease increase by 20% worldwide.

  7. Air Pollution Manual, Part 1--Evaluation. Second Edition.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Giever, Paul M., Ed.

    Due to the great increase in technical knowledge and improvement in procedures, this second edition has been prepared to update existing information. Air pollution legislation is reviewed. Sources of air pollution are examined extensively. They are treated in terms of natural sources, man-made sources, metropolitan regional emissions, emission…

  8. Effects of prenatal exposure to air pollution on preeclampsia in Shenzhen, China.

    PubMed

    Wang, Qiong; Zhang, Huanhuan; Liang, Qianhong; Knibbs, Luke D; Ren, Meng; Li, Changchang; Bao, Junzhe; Wang, Suhan; He, Yiling; Zhu, Lei; Wang, Xuemei; Zhao, Qingguo; Huang, Cunrui

    2018-06-01

    The impact of ambient air pollution on pregnant women is a concern in China. However, little is known about the association between air pollution and preeclampsia and the potential modifying effects of meteorological conditions have not been assessed. This study aimed to assess the effects of prenatal exposure to air pollution on preeclampsia, and to explore whether temperature and humidity modify the effects. We performed a retrospective cohort study based on 1.21 million singleton births from the birth registration system in Shenzhen, China, between 2005 and 2012. Daily average measurements of particulate matter <10 μm (PM 10 ), sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ), nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ), air temperature (T), and dew point (T d ) were collected. Logistic regression models were performed to estimate associations between air pollution and preeclampsia during the first and second trimesters, and during the entire pregnancy. In each time window, we observed a positive gradient of increasing preeclampsia risk with increasing quartiles of PM 10 and SO 2 exposure. When stratified by T and T d in three categories (<5th, 5th -95th, and >95th percentile), we found a significant interaction between PM 10 and T d on preeclampsia; the adverse effects of PM 10 increased with T d . During the entire pregnancy, there was a null association between PM 10 and preeclampsia under T d  < 5th percentile. Preeclampsia risk increased by 23% (95% CI: 19-26%) when 5th < T d  < 95th percentile, and by 34% (16-55%) when T d  > 95th percentile. We also found that air pollution effects on preeclampsia in autumn/winter seasons were stronger than those in the spring/summer. This is the first study to address modifying effects of meteorological factors on the association between air pollution and preeclampsia. Findings indicate that prenatal exposure to PM 10 and SO 2 increase preeclampsia risk in Shenzhen, China, and the effects could be modified by humidity. Pregnant women should

  9. Volcanic air pollution hazards in Hawaii

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Elias, Tamar; Sutton, A. Jeff

    2017-04-20

    Noxious sulfur dioxide gas and other air pollutants emitted from Kīlauea Volcano on the Island of Hawai‘i react with oxygen, atmospheric moisture, and sunlight to produce volcanic smog (vog) and acid rain. Vog can negatively affect human health and agriculture, and acid rain can contaminate household water supplies by leaching metals from building and plumbing materials in rooftop rainwater-catchment systems. U.S. Geological Survey scientists, along with health professionals and local government officials are working together to better understand volcanic air pollution and to enhance public awareness of this hazard.

  10. Ambient air pollution and suicide in Tokyo, 2001-2011.

    PubMed

    Ng, Chris Fook Sheng; Stickley, Andrew; Konishi, Shoko; Watanabe, Chiho

    2016-09-01

    Some evidence suggests an association may exist between the level of air pollution and suicide mortality. However, this relation has been little studied to date. The current study examined the association in Tokyo, Japan. Suicide mortality data for Tokyo for the 11-year period 2001-2011 were obtained together with data on four air pollutants: fine particulate matter (PM2.5), suspended particulate matter (SPM), sulphur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2). A time-stratified case-crossover study design was used to examine the daily association between the level of air pollution and suicide mortality. During the study period there were 29,939 suicide deaths. In stratified analyses an interquartile range (IQR) increase in the same-day concentration of NO2 was linked to increased suicide mortality among those aged under 30 (percentage change: 6.73%, 95% CI: 0.69-13.12%). An IQR increase in PM2.5 and SO2 was associated with a 10.55% (95% CI: 2.05-19.75%) and 11.47% (95% CI: 3.60-19.93%) increase, respectively, in suicide mortality among widowed individuals for mean exposure on the first four days (average lags 0-3). Positive associations were observed for the air pollutants in the summer although associations were reversed in autumn. We relied on monitoring data to approximate individual exposure to air pollutants. Higher levels of air pollution are associated with increased suicide mortality in some population subgroups in Tokyo. Further research is needed to elucidate the mechanisms linking air pollutants and suicide in this setting. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  11. A Numerical Simulation of Traffic-Related Air Pollution Exposures in Urban Street Canyons

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Liu, J.; Fu, X.; Tao, S.

    2016-12-01

    Urban street canyons are usually associated with intensive vehicle emissions. However, the high buildings successively along both sides of a street block the dispersion of traffic-generated air pollutants, which enhances human exposure and adversely affects human health. In this study, an urban scale traffic pollution dispersion model is developed with the consideration of street distribution, canyon geometry, background meteorology, traffic assignment, traffic emissions and air pollutant dispersion. Vehicle exhausts generated from traffic flows will first disperse inside a street canyon along the micro-scale wind field (generated by computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model) and then leave the street canyon and further disperse over the urban area. On the basis of this model, the effects of canyon geometry on the distribution of NOx and CO from traffic emissions were studied over the center of Beijing, China. We found that an increase of building height along the streets leads to higher pollution levels inside streets and lower pollution levels outside, resulting in higher domain-averaged concentrations over the area. In addition, street canyons with equal (or highly uneven) building heights on two sides of a street tend to lower the urban-scale air pollution concentrations at pedestrian level. Our results indicate that canyon geometry strongly influences human exposure to traffic pollutants in the populated urban area. Carefully planning street layout and canyon geometry in consideration of traffic demand as well as local weather pattern may significantly reduce the chances of unhealthy air being inhaled by urban residents.

  12. Using cell phone location to assess misclassification errors in air pollution exposure estimation.

    PubMed

    Yu, Haofei; Russell, Armistead; Mulholland, James; Huang, Zhijiong

    2018-02-01

    Air pollution epidemiologic and health impact studies often rely on home addresses to estimate individual subject's pollution exposure. In this study, we used detailed cell phone location data, the call detail record (CDR), to account for the impact of spatiotemporal subject mobility on estimates of ambient air pollutant exposure. This approach was applied on a sample with 9886 unique simcard IDs in Shenzhen, China, on one mid-week day in October 2013. Hourly ambient concentrations of six chosen pollutants were simulated by the Community Multi-scale Air Quality model fused with observational data, and matched with detailed location data for these IDs. The results were compared with exposure estimates using home addresses to assess potential exposure misclassification errors. We found the misclassifications errors are likely to be substantial when home location alone is applied. The CDR based approach indicates that the home based approach tends to over-estimate exposures for subjects with higher exposure levels and under-estimate exposures for those with lower exposure levels. Our results show that the cell phone location based approach can be used to assess exposure misclassification error and has the potential for improving exposure estimates in air pollution epidemiology studies. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. Air pollution exposure: Who is at high risk?

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Peled, Ronit

    2011-04-01

    This article reviews the sub-population groups who are at high risk and first to be harmed by air pollution coming from anthropogenic combustions. Epidemiological studies from the last few decades contributed to the understanding of the different levels of susceptibility to air pollution. Older people and young infants, people who suffer from allergies, pulmonary and heart diseases, pregnant women and newborn babies, and deprived populations that suffer from low socio-economic status have all been described as populations at risk. A better understanding of the role of air pollution on large as well as specific populations' health, will promote a better protection policy.

  14. [Air Pollution Unit, Edmonds School District.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Edmonds School District 15, Lynnwood, WA.

    This interdisciplinary program, developed for secondary students, contains 16 air pollution activities that can either be used directly in, or as a supplement to, curriculum in Science, Photography, Mathematics, English, Social Studies, Industrial Arts and Home Economics. The topics to be investigated include: pollutants from automobiles, exhaust…

  15. Indoor air pollution

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Gold, D.R.

    1992-06-01

    This article summarizes the health effects of indoor air pollutants and the modalities available to control them. The pollutants discussed include active and passive exposure to tobacco smoke; combustion products of carbon monoxide; nitrogen dioxide; products of biofuels, including wood and coal; biologic agents leading to immune responses, such as house dust mites, cockroaches, fungi, animal dander, and urine; biologic agents associated with infection such as Legionella and tuberculosis; formaldehyde; and volatile organic compounds. An approach to assessing building-related illness and tight building' syndrome is presented. Finally, the article reviews recent data on hospital-related asthma and exposures to potential respiratorymore » hazards such as antineoplastic agents, anesthetic gases, and ethylene oxide.88 references.« less

  16. Assessment of an air pollution monitoring network to generate urban air pollution maps using Shannon information index, fuzzy overlay, and Dempster-Shafer theory, A case study: Tehran, Iran

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pahlavani, Parham; Sheikhian, Hossein; Bigdeli, Behnaz

    2017-10-01

    Air pollution assessment is an imperative part of megacities planning and control. Hence, a new comprehensive approach for air pollution monitoring and assessment was introduced in this research. It comprises of three main sections: optimizing the existing air pollutant monitoring network, locating new stations to complete the coverage of the existing network, and finally, generating an air pollution map. In the first section, Shannon information index was used to find less informative stations to be candidate for removal. Then, a methodology was proposed to determine the areas which are not sufficiently covered by the current network. These areas are candidates for establishing new monitoring stations. The current air pollution monitoring network of Tehran was used as a case study, where the air pollution issue has been worsened due to the huge population, considerable commuters' absorption and topographic barriers. In this regard, O3, NO, NO2, NOx, CO, PM10, and PM2.5 were considered as the main pollutants of Tehran. Optimization step concluded that all the 16 active monitoring stations should be preserved. Analysis showed that about 35% of the Tehran's area is not properly covered by monitoring stations and about 30% of the area needs additional stations. The winter period in Tehran always faces the most severe air pollution in the year. Hence, to produce the air pollution map of Tehran, three-month of winter measurements of the mentioned pollutants, repeated for five years in the same period, were selected and extended to the entire area using the kriging method. Experts specified the contribution of each pollutant in overall air pollution. Experts' rankings aggregated by a fuzzy-overlay process. Resulted maps characterized the study area with crucial air pollution situation. According to the maps, more than 45% of the city area faced high pollution in the study period, while only less than 10% of the area showed low pollution. This situation confirms the need

  17. Can air pollution negate the health benefits of cycling and walking?

    PubMed

    Tainio, Marko; de Nazelle, Audrey J; Götschi, Thomas; Kahlmeier, Sonja; Rojas-Rueda, David; Nieuwenhuijsen, Mark J; de Sá, Thiago Hérick; Kelly, Paul; Woodcock, James

    2016-06-01

    Active travel (cycling, walking) is beneficial for the health due to increased physical activity (PA). However, active travel may increase the intake of air pollution, leading to negative health consequences. We examined the risk-benefit balance between active travel related PA and exposure to air pollution across a range of air pollution and PA scenarios. The health effects of active travel and air pollution were estimated through changes in all-cause mortality for different levels of active travel and air pollution. Air pollution exposure was estimated through changes in background concentrations of fine particulate matter (PM2.5), ranging from 5 to 200μg/m3. For active travel exposure, we estimated cycling and walking from 0 up to 16h per day, respectively. These refer to long-term average levels of active travel and PM2.5 exposure. For the global average urban background PM2.5 concentration (22μg/m3) benefits of PA by far outweigh risks from air pollution even under the most extreme levels of active travel. In areas with PM2.5 concentrations of 100μg/m3, harms would exceed benefits after 1h 30min of cycling per day or more than 10h of walking per day. If the counterfactual was driving, rather than staying at home, the benefits of PA would exceed harms from air pollution up to 3h 30min of cycling per day. The results were sensitive to dose-response function (DRF) assumptions for PM2.5 and PA. PA benefits of active travel outweighed the harm caused by air pollution in all but the most extreme air pollution concentrations. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  18. Highway Air Pollution Dispersion Modeling : Preliminary Evaluation of Thirteen Models

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1978-06-01

    Thirteen highway air pollution dispersion models have been tested, using a portion of the Airedale air quality data base. The Transportation Air Pollution Studies (TAPS) System, a data base management system specifically designed for evaluating dispe...

  19. Highway Air Pollution Dispersion Modeling : Preliminary Evaluation of Thirteen Models

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1977-01-01

    Thirteen highway air pollution dispersion models have been tested, using a portion of the Airedale air quality data base. The Transportation Air Pollution Studies (TAPS) System, a data base management system specifically designed for evaluating dispe...

  20. STEMS-Air: a simple GIS-based air pollution dispersion model for city-wide exposure assessment.

    PubMed

    Gulliver, John; Briggs, David

    2011-05-15

    Current methods of air pollution modelling do not readily meet the needs of air pollution mapping for short-term (i.e. daily) exposure studies. The main limiting factor is that for those few models that couple with a GIS there are insufficient tools for directly mapping air pollution both at high spatial resolution and over large areas (e.g. city wide). A simple GIS-based air pollution model (STEMS-Air) has been developed for PM(10) to meet these needs with the option to choose different exposure averaging periods (e.g. daily and annual). STEMS-Air uses the grid-based FOCALSUM function in ArcGIS in conjunction with a fine grid of emission sources and basic information on meteorology to implement a simple Gaussian plume model of air pollution dispersion. STEMS-Air was developed and validated in London, UK, using data on concentrations of PM(10) from routinely available monitoring data. Results from the validation study show that STEMS-Air performs well in predicting both daily (at four sites) and annual (at 30 sites) concentrations of PM(10). For daily modelling, STEMS-Air achieved r(2) values in the range 0.19-0.43 (p<0.001) based solely on traffic-related emissions and r(2) values in the range 0.41-0.63 (p<0.001) when adding information on 'background' levels of PM(10). For annual modelling of PM(10), the model returned r(2) in the range 0.67-0.77 (P<0.001) when compared with monitored concentrations. The model can thus be used for rapid production of daily or annual city-wide air pollution maps either as a screening process in urban air quality planning and management, or as the basis for health risk assessment and epidemiological studies. Crown Copyright © 2011. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  1. A Unified Spatiotemporal Modeling Approach for Predicting Concentrations of Multiple Air Pollutants in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis and Air Pollution

    PubMed Central

    Olives, Casey; Kim, Sun-Young; Sheppard, Lianne; Sampson, Paul D.; Szpiro, Adam A.; Oron, Assaf P.; Lindström, Johan; Vedal, Sverre; Kaufman, Joel D.

    2014-01-01

    Background: Cohort studies of the relationship between air pollution exposure and chronic health effects require predictions of exposure over long periods of time. Objectives: We developed a unified modeling approach for predicting fine particulate matter, nitrogen dioxide, oxides of nitrogen, and black carbon (as measured by light absorption coefficient) in six U.S. metropolitan regions from 1999 through early 2012 as part of the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis and Air Pollution (MESA Air). Methods: We obtained monitoring data from regulatory networks and supplemented those data with study-specific measurements collected from MESA Air community locations and participants’ homes. In each region, we applied a spatiotemporal model that included a long-term spatial mean, time trends with spatially varying coefficients, and a spatiotemporal residual. The mean structure was derived from a large set of geographic covariates that was reduced using partial least-squares regression. We estimated time trends from observed time series and used spatial smoothing methods to borrow strength between observations. Results: Prediction accuracy was high for most models, with cross-validation R2 (R2CV) > 0.80 at regulatory and fixed sites for most regions and pollutants. At home sites, overall R2CV ranged from 0.45 to 0.92, and temporally adjusted R2CV ranged from 0.23 to 0.92. Conclusions: This novel spatiotemporal modeling approach provides accurate fine-scale predictions in multiple regions for four pollutants. We have generated participant-specific predictions for MESA Air to investigate health effects of long-term air pollution exposures. These successes highlight modeling advances that can be adopted more widely in modern cohort studies. Citation: Keller JP, Olives C, Kim SY, Sheppard L, Sampson PD, Szpiro AA, Oron AP, Lindström J, Vedal S, Kaufman JD. 2015. A unified spatiotemporal modeling approach for predicting concentrations of multiple air pollutants in the Multi

  2. 14 CFR 1274.926 - Clean Air-Water Pollution Control Acts.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-01-01

    ... 14 Aeronautics and Space 5 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Clean Air-Water Pollution Control Acts...-Water Pollution Control Acts. Clean Air-Water Pollution Control Acts July 2002 If this cooperative... 91-604) and section 308 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, as amended (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq...

  3. 14 CFR 1274.926 - Clean Air-Water Pollution Control Acts.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-01-01

    ... 14 Aeronautics and Space 5 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Clean Air-Water Pollution Control Acts...-Water Pollution Control Acts. Clean Air-Water Pollution Control Acts July 2002 If this cooperative... 91-604) and section 308 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, as amended (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq...

  4. 14 CFR 1274.926 - Clean Air-Water Pollution Control Acts.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-01-01

    ... 14 Aeronautics and Space 5 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Clean Air-Water Pollution Control Acts...-Water Pollution Control Acts. Clean Air-Water Pollution Control Acts July 2002 If this cooperative... 91-604) and section 308 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, as amended (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq...

  5. Air quality during the 2008 Beijing Olympics: secondary pollutants and regional impact

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wang, T.; Nie, W.; Gao, J.; Xue, L. K.; Gao, X. M.; Wang, X. F.; Qiu, J.; Poon, C. N.; Meinardi, S.; Blake, D.; Ding, A. J.; Chai, F. H.; Zhang, Q. Z.; Wang, W. X.

    2010-05-01

    This paper presents the first results of the atmospheric measurements of trace gases and aerosols at three surface sites in and around Beijing before and during the 2008 Olympics. We focus on secondary pollutants including ozone, fine sulfate and nitrate, and the contribution of regional sources in summer 2008. The results reveal different responses of secondary pollutants to the control measures from primary pollutants. Ambient concentrations of vehicle-related nitrogen oxides (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) at an urban site dropped by 25% and 20-45% in the first two weeks after full control was put in place, but the levels of ozone, sulfate and nitrate in PM2.5 increased by 16%, 64%, 37%, respectively, compared to the period prior to the full control; wind data and back trajectories indicated the contribution of regional pollution from the North China Plain. Air quality (for both primary and secondary pollutants) improved significantly during the Games, which were also associated with the changes in weather conditions (prolonged rainfall, decreased temperature, and more frequent air masses from clean regions). A comparison of the ozone data at three sites on eight ozone-pollution days, when the air masses were from the southeast-south-southwest sector, showed that regional pollution sources contributed 34%-88% to the peak ozone concentrations in urban Beijing. Ozone production efficiencies at two sites were low (~3 ppbv/ppbv), indicating that ozone formation was being controlled by VOCs. Compared with data collected in 2005 at a downwind site, the concentrations of ozone, sulfur dioxide (SO2), total sulfur (SO2+PM2.5 sulfate), carbon monoxide (CO), reactive aromatics (toluene and xylenes) sharply decreased (by 8-64%) in 2008, but no significant changes were observed for the concentrations of PM2.5, fine sulfate, total odd reactive nitrogen (NOy), and longer lived alkanes and benzene. We suggest that these results indicate the success of the government

  6. Indoor air pollution and cognitive function among older Mexican adults.

    PubMed

    Saenz, Joseph L; Wong, Rebeca; Ailshire, Jennifer A

    2018-01-01

    A growing body of research suggests exposure to high levels of outdoor air pollution may negatively affect cognitive functioning in older adults, but less is known about the link between indoor sources of air pollution and cognitive functioning. We examine the association between exposure to indoor air pollution and cognitive function among older adults in Mexico, a developing country where combustion of biomass for domestic energy remains common. Data come from the 2012 Wave of the Mexican Health and Aging Study. The analytic sample consists of 13 023 Mexican adults over age 50. Indoor air pollution is assessed by the reported use of wood or coal as the household's primary cooking fuel. Cognitive function is measured with assessments of verbal learning, verbal recall, attention, orientation and verbal fluency. Ordinary least squares regression is used to examine cross-sectional differences in cognitive function according to indoor air pollution exposure while accounting for demographic, household, health and economic characteristics. Approximately 16% of the sample reported using wood or coal as their primary cooking fuel, but this was far more common among those residing in the most rural areas (53%). Exposure to indoor air pollution was associated with poorer cognitive performance across all assessments, with the exception of verbal recall, even in fully adjusted models. Indoor air pollution may be an important factor for the cognitive health of older Mexican adults. Public health efforts should continue to develop interventions to reduce exposure to indoor air pollution in rural Mexico. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2018. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

  7. Health impact of air pollution to children.

    PubMed

    Sram, Radim J; Binkova, Blanka; Dostal, Miroslav; Merkerova-Dostalova, Michaela; Libalova, Helena; Milcova, Alena; Rossner, Pavel; Rossnerova, Andrea; Schmuczerova, Jana; Svecova, Vlasta; Topinka, Jan; Votavova, Hana

    2013-08-01

    Health impact of air pollution to children was studied over the last twenty years in heavily polluted parts of the Czech Republic during. The research program (Teplice Program) analyzed these effects in the polluted district Teplice (North Bohemia) and control district Prachatice (Southern Bohemia). Study of pregnancy outcomes for newborns delivered between 1994 and 1998 demonstrated that increase in intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) was associated with PM10 and c-PAHs exposure (carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) in the first month of gestation. Morbidity was followed in the cohort of newborns (N=1492) up to the age of 10years. Coal combustion in homes was associated with increased incidence of lower respiratory track illness and impaired early childhood skeletal growth up to the age of 3years. In preschool children, we observed the effect of increased concentrations of PM2.5 and PAHs on development of bronchitis. The Northern Moravia Region (Silesia) is characterized by high concentrations of c-PAHs due to industrial air pollution. Exposure to B[a]P (benzo[a]pyrene) in Ostrava-Radvanice is the highest in the EU. Children from this part of the city of Ostrava suffered higher incidence of acute respiratory diseases in the first year of life. Gene expression profiles in leukocytes of asthmatic children compared to children without asthma were evaluated in groups from Ostrava-Radvanice and Prachatice. The results suggest the distinct molecular phenotype of asthma bronchiale in children living in polluted Ostrava region compared to children living in Prachatice. The effect of exposure to air pollution to biomarkers in newborns was analyzed in Prague vs. Ceske Budejovice, two locations with different levels of pollution in winter season. B[a]P concentrations were higher in Ceske Budejovice. DNA adducts and micronuclei were also elevated in cord blood in Ceske Budejovice in comparison to Prague. Study of gene expression profiles in the cord blood showed

  8. Urgency to Assess the Health Impact of Ambient Air Pollution in China.

    PubMed

    Yang, Bo-Yi; Liu, Yimin; Hu, Li-Wen; Zeng, Xiao-Wen; Dong, Guang-Hui

    2017-01-01

    As the world's second-largest economy, China is going on suffering from environmental pollution, especially for ambient air pollution, which has become a major threat to public health; public awareness of the detrimental effects of air pollution on health is increasing-particularly in relation to haze days. Considering the nonlinear relationship of ambient air pollution exposure and health impacts, and the differences in specific sources of air pollution with those in North America and Europe, conducting health impact assessments of ambient air pollution in China has thus become an urgent task for public health practitioners. Systematic review of the health effects of exposure to ambient air pollution from quantitative studies conducted in Chinese could provide vital information for epidemiology-based health impact assessments and the implementation of a national environmental protection policy.

  9. Snow as an accumulator of air pollutants

    Treesearch

    Robert T. Brown

    1976-01-01

    Using simple analytical techniques, the amounts of air pollutants accumulated in winter snow were determined and the results correlated with lichen survival on trees. Pollutants measured were particulate matter, sulfate, and chloride. An inverse relationship was found between amounts of each of these pollutants and the abundance of various lichens.

  10. The Associations Between Air Pollution and Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes in China.

    PubMed

    Tan, Yafei; Yang, Rong; Zhao, Jinzhu; Cao, Zhongqiang; Chen, Yawen; Zhang, Bin

    2017-01-01

    Research on the potential impact of air pollution on the human's health has increased rapidly in recent years. Several studies have suggested that exposure to air pollutants during period of pregnancy which is a crucial time point of mother-fetus development may have long-term and serious impact on adverse pregnancy outcomes. There is lack of review to evaluate the existed epidemiologic evidence on the associations between air pollutants and adverse pregnancy outcomes in China, so we conducted a review to explore the current epidemiological evidence on the effects of air pollutants to pregnancy outcomes and possible mechanisms during the pregnancy process. We used keywords to systematically search all the English and Chinese literatures on studies that were conducted in China. Exposure to air pollutants during pregnancy had shown there were harmful effects for different birth outcomes: preterm birth, low birth weight, stillbirth, birth defects, infertility, and macrosomia fetus. Results on the effects of air pollutants on adverse pregnancy outcomes are small and inconsistent because they vary in their design and methodology. The existed available evidence is compatible with either a small negative effect of air pollutants on pregnancy outcomes or with no effect; therefore, further studies are needed to confirm and quantify the possible associations and potential biologic mechanisms between air pollutants and pregnancy outcomes.

  11. Hadoop-Based Distributed System for Online Prediction of Air Pollution Based on Support Vector Machine

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ghaemi, Z.; Farnaghi, M.; Alimohammadi, A.

    2015-12-01

    The critical impact of air pollution on human health and environment in one hand and the complexity of pollutant concentration behavior in the other hand lead the scientists to look for advance techniques for monitoring and predicting the urban air quality. Additionally, recent developments in data measurement techniques have led to collection of various types of data about air quality. Such data is extremely voluminous and to be useful it must be processed at high velocity. Due to the complexity of big data analysis especially for dynamic applications, online forecasting of pollutant concentration trends within a reasonable processing time is still an open problem. The purpose of this paper is to present an online forecasting approach based on Support Vector Machine (SVM) to predict the air quality one day in advance. In order to overcome the computational requirements for large-scale data analysis, distributed computing based on the Hadoop platform has been employed to leverage the processing power of multiple processing units. The MapReduce programming model is adopted for massive parallel processing in this study. Based on the online algorithm and Hadoop framework, an online forecasting system is designed to predict the air pollution of Tehran for the next 24 hours. The results have been assessed on the basis of Processing Time and Efficiency. Quite accurate predictions of air pollutant indicator levels within an acceptable processing time prove that the presented approach is very suitable to tackle large scale air pollution prediction problems.

  12. Air pollutant emissions from Chinese households: A major and underappreciated ambient pollution source.

    PubMed

    Liu, Jun; Mauzerall, Denise L; Chen, Qi; Zhang, Qiang; Song, Yu; Peng, Wei; Klimont, Zbigniew; Qiu, Xinghua; Zhang, Shiqiu; Hu, Min; Lin, Weili; Smith, Kirk R; Zhu, Tong

    2016-07-12

    As part of the 12th Five-Year Plan, the Chinese government has developed air pollution prevention and control plans for key regions with a focus on the power, transport, and industrial sectors. Here, we investigate the contribution of residential emissions to regional air pollution in highly polluted eastern China during the heating season, and find that dramatic improvements in air quality would also result from reduction in residential emissions. We use the Weather Research and Forecasting model coupled with Chemistry to evaluate potential residential emission controls in Beijing and in the Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei (BTH) region. In January and February 2010, relative to the base case, eliminating residential emissions in Beijing reduced daily average surface PM2.5 (particulate mater with aerodynamic diameter equal or smaller than 2.5 micrometer) concentrations by 14 ± 7 μg⋅m(-3) (22 ± 6% of a baseline concentration of 67 ± 41 μg⋅m(-3); mean ± SD). Eliminating residential emissions in the BTH region reduced concentrations by 28 ± 19 μg⋅m(-3) (40 ± 9% of 67 ± 41 μg⋅m(-3)), 44 ± 27 μg⋅m(-3) (43 ± 10% of 99 ± 54 μg⋅m(-3)), and 25 ± 14 μg⋅m(-3) (35 ± 8% of 70 ± 35 μg⋅m(-3)) in Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei provinces, respectively. Annually, elimination of residential sources in the BTH region reduced emissions of primary PM2.5 by 32%, compared with 5%, 6%, and 58% achieved by eliminating emissions from the transportation, power, and industry sectors, respectively. We also find air quality in Beijing would benefit substantially from reductions in residential emissions from regional controls in Tianjin and Hebei, indicating the value of policies at the regional level.

  13. Air pollutant emissions from Chinese households: A major and underappreciated ambient pollution source

    PubMed Central

    Liu, Jun; Mauzerall, Denise L.; Chen, Qi; Zhang, Qiang; Song, Yu; Peng, Wei; Klimont, Zbigniew; Qiu, Xinghua; Zhang, Shiqiu; Hu, Min; Lin, Weili; Smith, Kirk R.; Zhu, Tong

    2016-01-01

    As part of the 12th Five-Year Plan, the Chinese government has developed air pollution prevention and control plans for key regions with a focus on the power, transport, and industrial sectors. Here, we investigate the contribution of residential emissions to regional air pollution in highly polluted eastern China during the heating season, and find that dramatic improvements in air quality would also result from reduction in residential emissions. We use the Weather Research and Forecasting model coupled with Chemistry to evaluate potential residential emission controls in Beijing and in the Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei (BTH) region. In January and February 2010, relative to the base case, eliminating residential emissions in Beijing reduced daily average surface PM2.5 (particulate mater with aerodynamic diameter equal or smaller than 2.5 micrometer) concentrations by 14 ± 7 μg⋅m−3 (22 ± 6% of a baseline concentration of 67 ± 41 μg⋅m−3; mean ± SD). Eliminating residential emissions in the BTH region reduced concentrations by 28 ± 19 μg⋅m−3 (40 ± 9% of 67 ± 41 μg⋅m−3), 44 ± 27 μg⋅m−3 (43 ± 10% of 99 ± 54 μg⋅m−3), and 25 ± 14 μg⋅m−3 (35 ± 8% of 70 ± 35 μg⋅m−3) in Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei provinces, respectively. Annually, elimination of residential sources in the BTH region reduced emissions of primary PM2.5 by 32%, compared with 5%, 6%, and 58% achieved by eliminating emissions from the transportation, power, and industry sectors, respectively. We also find air quality in Beijing would benefit substantially from reductions in residential emissions from regional controls in Tianjin and Hebei, indicating the value of policies at the regional level. PMID:27354524

  14. Air pollution as a determinant of rheumatoid arthritis.

    PubMed

    Sigaux, Johanna; Biton, Jérôme; André, Emma; Semerano, Luca; Boissier, Marie-Christophe

    2018-03-07

    Pollution has long been incriminated in many cardiovascular and respiratory diseases. More recently, studies evaluated the potential role for particulate pollutants in autoimmune diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The incidence of RA was found to be higher in urban areas. Living near air pollution emitters was associated with higher risks of developing RA and of producing RA-specific autoantibodies. Nevertheless, no strong epidemiological evidence exists to link one or more specific air pollution particles to RA. The presence in the bronchi of lymphoid satellite islands (inducible bronchus-associated lymphoid tissue, iBALT) is strongly associated with both inflammatory lung disease and RA-associated lung disease. Diesel exhaust particles can stimulate iBALT formation. The induction by air pollution of an inflammatory environment with high citrullination levels in the lung may induce iBALT formation, thereby causing a transition toward a more specific immune response via the production of anti-citrullinated peptide antibodies. Air pollution not only triggers innate immune responses at the molecular level, increasing the levels of proinflammatory cytokines and reactive oxygen species, but is also involved in adaptive immune responses. Thus, via the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR), diesel exhaust particles can trigger a T-cell switch to the Th17 profile. Finally, in the murine collagen-induced arthritis model, animals whose lymphocytes lack the AHR develop milder arthritis. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier SAS.

  15. [Airport related air pollution and health effects].

    PubMed

    Iavicoli, Ivo; Fontana, Luca; Ancona, Carla; Forastiere, Francesco

    2014-01-01

    Airport is an extremely complex emission source of airborne pollutants that can have a significant impact on the environment. Indeed, several airborne chemicals emitted during airport activities may significantly get worse air quality and increase exposure level of both airport workers and general population living nearby the airports. In recent years airport traffic has increased and consequently several studies investigated the association between airport-related air pollution and occurrence of adverse health effects, particularly on respiratory system, in exposed workers and general population resident nearby. In this context, we carried out a critical evaluation of the studies that investigated this correlation in order to obtain a deeper knowledge of this issue and to identify the future research needs. Results show that the evidence of association between airport-related air pollution and health effects on workers and residents is still limited.

  16. Impact analysis of traffic-related air pollution based on real-time traffic and basic meteorological information.

    PubMed

    Pan, Long; Yao, Enjian; Yang, Yang

    2016-12-01

    With the rapid development of urbanization and motorization in China, traffic-related air pollution has become a major component of air pollution which constantly jeopardizes public health. This study proposes an integrated framework for estimating the concentration of traffic-related air pollution with real-time traffic and basic meteorological information and also for further evaluating the impact of traffic-related air pollution. First, based on the vehicle emission factor models sensitive to traffic status, traffic emissions are calculated according to the real-time link-based average traffic speed, traffic volume, and vehicular fleet composition. Then, based on differences in meteorological conditions, traffic pollution sources are divided into line sources and point sources, and the corresponding methods to determine the dynamic affecting areas are also proposed. Subsequently, with basic meteorological data, Gaussian dispersion model and puff integration model are applied respectively to estimate the concentration of traffic-related air pollution. Finally, the proposed estimating framework is applied to calculate the distribution of CO concentration in the main area of Beijing, and the population exposure is also calculated to evaluate the impact of traffic-related air pollution on public health. Results show that there is a certain correlation between traffic indicators (i.e., traffic speed and traffic intensity) of the affecting area and traffic-related CO concentration of the target grid, which indicates the methods to determine the affecting areas are reliable. Furthermore, the reliability of the proposed estimating framework is verified by comparing the predicted and the observed ambient CO concentration. In addition, results also show that the traffic-related CO concentration is higher in morning and evening peak hours, and has a heavier impact on public health within the Fourth Ring Road of Beijing due to higher population density and higher CO

  17. Microfluidic liquid-air dual-gradient chip for synergic effect bio-evaluation of air pollutant.

    PubMed

    Liu, Xian-Jun; Hu, Shan-Wen; Xu, Bi-Yi; Zhao, Ge; Li, Xiang; Xie, Fu-Wei; Xu, Jing-Juan; Chen, Hong-Yuan

    2018-05-15

    In this paper, a novel prototype liquid-air dual gradient chip is introduced, which has paved the way for effective synergic effect bio-evaluation of air pollutant. The chip is composed of an array of the agarose liquid-air interfaces, top air gradient layer and bottom liquid gradient layer. The novel agarose liquid-air interface allows for non-biased exposure of cells to all the substances in the air and diffusive interactions with the liquid phase; while the dual liquid-air gradient provides powerful screening abilities, which well reduced errors, saved time and cost from repeated experiment. Coupling the two functions, the chip subsequently facilitates synergic effect evaluation of both liquid and air factors on cells. Here cigarette smoke was taken as the model air pollutant, and its strong synergic effects with inflammatory level of A549 lung cancer cells on their fate were successfully quantified for the first time. These results well testified that the proposed dual-gradient chip is powerful and indispensable for bio-evaluation of air pollutant. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  18. Indoor and Outdoor Air Pollution- related Health Problem in Ethiopia: Review of Related Literature

    PubMed Central

    Tefera, Worku; Asfaw, Araya; Gilliland, Frank; Worku, Alemayehu; Wondimagegn, Mehari; Kumie, Abera; Samet, Jonathan; Berhane, Kiros

    2017-01-01

    Background The health effects of air pollution are generally global problems, but they have, since recently become issues of particular concern for developing countries. This review assessed the situation of air pollution and related health effects in the context of Ethiopia. Methods The materials reviewed in this publication are published scientific papers from online search engines, unpublished government reports and academic theses/dissertations. In addition, interview data obtained from authorities and experts involved in the management of air quality were analyzed, interpreted and reported in the article. Results Review of the few studies conducted in Ethiopia showed that average concentrations of PM2.5 reached as high as 280 µg/m3 for 24-hour measurements (range: 2,417–12,739 µg/m3). Indoor carbon monoxide (CO) levels were universally higher than regulatory limits for the United States and were found to be much higher among households using traditional stoves and solid biomass fuels. The use of traditional stoves and solid biomass fuels was reported in >95% of the households considered. High average levels of NO2 (97 ppb) were reported in a large longitudinal study. The ambient PM10 level was below the WHO guideline values in the majority of the samples. About 50% of the on-road CO samples taken from traffic roads in Addis Ababa were found to be less than the guideline values while the number of motor vehicles in Ethiopia is reported to be increasing by more than 9% per annum. There is a very limited air quality monitoring capacity in the country. The co-ordination between stakeholders in this regard is also inadequate. The limited evidence available on health effects of air pollution indicates that the prevalence of acute respiratory illness among children living in households using crude biomass fuels is significantly higher than the national average figures. Conclusion The limited evidence reviewed and reported in this article indicates high levels of

  19. Indoor and Outdoor Air Pollution- related Health Problem in Ethiopia: Review of Related Literature.

    PubMed

    Tefera, Worku; Asfaw, Araya; Gilliland, Frank; Worku, Alemayehu; Wondimagegn, Mehari; Kumie, Abera; Samet, Jonathan; Berhane, Kiros

    2016-01-01

    The health effects of air pollution are generally global problems, but they have, since recently become issues of particular concern for developing countries. This review assessed the situation of air pollution and related health effects in the context of Ethiopia. The materials reviewed in this publication are published scientific papers from online search engines, unpublished government reports and academic theses/dissertations. In addition, interview data obtained from authorities and experts involved in the management of air quality were analyzed, interpreted and reported in the article. Review of the few studies conducted in Ethiopia showed that average concentrations of PM 2.5 reached as high as 280 µg/m 3 for 24-hour measurements (range: 2,417-12,739 µg/m 3 ). Indoor carbon monoxide (CO) levels were universally higher than regulatory limits for the United States and were found to be much higher among households using traditional stoves and solid biomass fuels. The use of traditional stoves and solid biomass fuels was reported in >95% of the households considered. High average levels of NO 2 (97 ppb) were reported in a large longitudinal study. The ambient PM 10 level was below the WHO guideline values in the majority of the samples. About 50% of the on-road CO samples taken from traffic roads in Addis Ababa were found to be less than the guideline values while the number of motor vehicles in Ethiopia is reported to be increasing by more than 9% per annum. There is a very limited air quality monitoring capacity in the country. The co-ordination between stakeholders in this regard is also inadequate. The limited evidence available on health effects of air pollution indicates that the prevalence of acute respiratory illness among children living in households using crude biomass fuels is significantly higher than the national average figures. The limited evidence reviewed and reported in this article indicates high levels of indoor air pollution and trends of

  20. 40 CFR Table 8 to Subpart Ffff of... - Soluble Hazardous Air Pollutants

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 14 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Soluble Hazardous Air Pollutants 8...) AIR PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) NATIONAL EMISSION STANDARDS FOR HAZARDOUS AIR POLLUTANTS FOR SOURCE CATEGORIES (CONTINUED) National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants: Miscellaneous Coating...

  1. 40 CFR Table 8 to Subpart Ffff of... - Soluble Hazardous Air Pollutants

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 14 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Soluble Hazardous Air Pollutants 8...) AIR PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) NATIONAL EMISSION STANDARDS FOR HAZARDOUS AIR POLLUTANTS FOR SOURCE CATEGORIES (CONTINUED) National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants: Miscellaneous Coating...

  2. 40 CFR Table 9 to Subpart Ffff of... - Soluble Hazardous Air Pollutants

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 13 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Soluble Hazardous Air Pollutants 9...) AIR PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) NATIONAL EMISSION STANDARDS FOR HAZARDOUS AIR POLLUTANTS FOR SOURCE CATEGORIES (CONTINUED) National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants: Miscellaneous Organic...

  3. 40 CFR Table 16 to Subpart Xxxx of... - Selected Hazardous Air Pollutants

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 13 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Selected Hazardous Air Pollutants 16...) AIR PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) NATIONAL EMISSION STANDARDS FOR HAZARDOUS AIR POLLUTANTS FOR SOURCE CATEGORIES (CONTINUED) National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants: Rubber Tire Manufacturing...

  4. 40 CFR Table 8 to Subpart Ffff of... - Soluble Hazardous Air Pollutants

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 14 2012-07-01 2011-07-01 true Soluble Hazardous Air Pollutants 8...) AIR PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) NATIONAL EMISSION STANDARDS FOR HAZARDOUS AIR POLLUTANTS FOR SOURCE CATEGORIES (CONTINUED) National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants: Miscellaneous Coating...

  5. 40 CFR Table 16 to Subpart Xxxx of... - Selected Hazardous Air Pollutants

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 13 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Selected Hazardous Air Pollutants 16...) AIR PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) NATIONAL EMISSION STANDARDS FOR HAZARDOUS AIR POLLUTANTS FOR SOURCE CATEGORIES (CONTINUED) National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants: Rubber Tire Manufacturing...

  6. 40 CFR Table 16 to Subpart Xxxx of... - Selected Hazardous Air Pollutants

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 13 2013-07-01 2012-07-01 true Selected Hazardous Air Pollutants 16...) AIR PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) NATIONAL EMISSION STANDARDS FOR HAZARDOUS AIR POLLUTANTS FOR SOURCE CATEGORIES (CONTINUED) National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants: Rubber Tire Manufacturing...

  7. 40 CFR Table 9 to Subpart Ffff of... - Soluble Hazardous Air Pollutants

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 13 2013-07-01 2012-07-01 true Soluble Hazardous Air Pollutants 9...) AIR PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) NATIONAL EMISSION STANDARDS FOR HAZARDOUS AIR POLLUTANTS FOR SOURCE CATEGORIES (CONTINUED) National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants: Miscellaneous Organic...

  8. 40 CFR Table 8 to Subpart Ffff of... - Soluble Hazardous Air Pollutants

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 13 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Soluble Hazardous Air Pollutants 8...) AIR PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) NATIONAL EMISSION STANDARDS FOR HAZARDOUS AIR POLLUTANTS FOR SOURCE CATEGORIES (CONTINUED) National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants: Miscellaneous Coating...

  9. Environmental Health: A Look at the Cost of Air Pollution

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Brennan, A. J. J.

    1973-01-01

    Previous estimates of the cost of air pollution seem to fall short of the true societal cost. Without trying to place a dollar value on the aesthetic loss and psychological pressures air pollution incurs, the author feels that $47 billion constitutes the annual bill for pollution. Pollution abatement and prevention costs are estimated to be $8.45…

  10. Air pollution from traffic and cancer incidence: a Danish cohort study

    PubMed Central

    2011-01-01

    Background Vehicle engine exhaust includes ultrafine particles with a large surface area and containing absorbed polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, transition metals and other substances. Ultrafine particles and soluble chemicals can be transported from the airways to other organs, such as the liver, kidneys, and brain. Our aim was to investigate whether air pollution from traffic is associated with risk for other cancers than lung cancer. Methods We followed up 54,304 participants in the Danish Diet Cancer and Health cohort for 20 selected cancers in the Danish Cancer Registry, from enrolment in 1993-1997 until 2006, and traced their residential addresses from 1971 onwards in the Central Population Registry. We used modeled concentration of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and amount of traffic at the residence as indicators of traffic-related air pollution and used Cox models to estimate incidence rate ratios (IRRs) after adjustment for potential confounders. Results NOx at the residence was significantly associated with risks for cervical cancer (IRR, 2.45; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.01;5.93, per 100 μg/m3 NOx) and brain cancer (IRR, 2.28; 95% CI, 1.25;4.19, per 100 μg/m3 NOx). Conclusions This hypothesis-generating study indicates that traffic-related air pollution might increase the risks for cervical and brain cancer, which should be tested in future studies. PMID:21771295

  11. Air pollutants and cough.

    PubMed

    Joad, Jesse P; Sekizawa, Shin-ichi; Chen, Chao-Yin; Bonham, Ann C

    2007-01-01

    Epidemiological studies have shown that exposure to air pollution is associated with respiratory symptoms and decreases in lung function. This paper reviews recent literature showing that exposure to particulate matter, irritant gases, environmental tobacco smoke (ETS), mixed pollutants, and molds is associated with an increase in cough and wheeze. Some pollutants, like particulate matter and mixed pollutants, appear to increase cough at least as much as wheeze. Others, like irritant gases, appear to increase wheeze more than cough. For ETS, exposure during childhood is associated with cough and wheeze in adulthood, suggesting that the pollutant permanently alters some important aspect of the lungs, immune system or nervous system. We have shown in animal studies that pollutants change the neural control of airways and cough. Second hand smoke (SHS) exposure lengthened stimulated apnoea, increased the number of stimulated coughs, and augmented the degree of stimulated bronchoconstriction. The mechanisms included enhanced reactivity of the peripheral sensory neurones and second-order neurones in the nucleus tractus solitarius (NTS). NTS effects were due to a substance P mechanism at least in part. Ozone and allergen increased the intrinsic excitability of second-order neurones in the NTS. The animal studies suggest that the cough and wheeze experienced by humans exposed to pollutants may involve plasticity in the nervous system.

  12. Air pollution and health in Sri Lanka: a review of epidemiologic studies.

    PubMed

    Nandasena, Yatagama Lokuge S; Wickremasinghe, Ananda R; Sathiakumar, Nalini

    2010-06-02

    Air pollution is increasingly documented as a threat to public health in most developing countries. Evaluation of current air quality levels, regulatory standards and scientific literature on outdoor and indoor air pollution, and health effects are important to identify the burden, develop and implement interventions and to fill knowledge gaps in Sri Lanka. PUBMED and Medline databases, local journals and conference proceedings were searched for epidemiologic studies pertaining to air pollution and health effects in Sri Lanka. All the studies pertaining to air pollution and health effects were considered. Sixteen studies investigated the association between exposure to ambient or indoor air pollution (IAP) and various health outcomes ranging from respiratory symptoms, low birth weight and lung cancers. Of the sixteen, three used a case control design. Half of the studies collected exposure data only through questionnaires. There were positive associations between air pollution and adverse health effects in all studies. Methodological limitations in most of the studies resulted in poor quantification of risk estimates. A limited number of epidemiological studies in Sri Lanka have investigated the health effects of air pollution. Based on findings of studies and reported air quality levels, air pollution may be considered a neglected public health problem in Sri Lanka.

  13. Joint Effects of Ambient Air Pollutants on Pediatric Asthma ...

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    Background: Because ambient air pollution exposure occurs in the form of mixtures, consideration of joint effects of multiple pollutants may advance our understanding of air pollution health effects. Methods: We assessed the joint effect of selected ambient air pollutant combinations (groups of oxidant, secondary, traffic, power plant, and criteria pollutants constructed using combinations of criteria gases, fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and PM2.5 components) on warm season pediatric asthma emergency department (ED) visits in Atlanta during 1998-2004. Joint effects were assessed using multi-pollutant Poisson generalized linear models controlling for time trends, meteorology and daily non-asthma respiratory ED visit counts. Rate ratios (RR) were calculated for the combined effect of an interquartile-range increment in the concentration of each pollutant. Results: Increases in all of the selected pollutant combinations were associated with increases in pediatric asthma ED visits [e.g., joint effect rate ratio=1.13 (95% confidence interval 1.06-1.21) for criteria pollutants (including ozone, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and PM2.5)]. Joint effect estimates were smaller than estimates calculated based on summing results from single-pollutant models, due to control for confounding. Compared with models without interactions, joint effect estimates from models including first-order pollutant interactions were similar for oxidant a

  14. Effects of Ambient Air Pollution Exposure on Olfaction: A Review.

    PubMed

    Ajmani, Gaurav S; Suh, Helen H; Pinto, Jayant M

    2016-11-01

    Olfactory dysfunction affects millions of people worldwide. This sensory impairment is associated with neurodegenerative disease and significantly decreased quality of life. Exposure to airborne pollutants has been implicated in olfactory decline, likely due to the anatomic susceptibility of the olfactory nerve to the environment. Historically, studies have focused on occupational exposures, but more recent studies have considered effects from exposure to ambient air pollutants. To examine all relevant human data evaluating a link between ambient pollution exposure and olfaction and to review supporting animal data in order to examine potential mechanisms for pollution-associated olfactory loss. We identified and reviewed relevant articles from 1950 to 2015 using PubMed and Web of Science and focusing on human epidemiologic and pathophysiologic studies. Animal studies were included only to support pertinent data on humans. We reviewed findings from these studies evaluating a relationship between environmental pollutant exposure and olfactory function. We identified and reviewed 17 articles, with 1 additional article added from a bibliography search, for a total of 18 human studies. There is evidence in human epidemiologic and pathologic studies that increased exposure to ambient air pollutants is associated with olfactory dysfunction. However, most studies have used proxies for pollution exposure in small samples of convenience. Human pathologic studies, with supporting animal work, have also shown that air pollution can contact the olfactory epithelium, translocate to the olfactory bulb, and migrate to the olfactory cortex. Pollutants can deposit at each location, causing direct damage and disruption of tissue morphology or inducing local inflammation and cellular stress responses. Ambient air pollution may impact human olfactory function. Additional studies are needed to examine air pollution-related olfactory impacts on the general population using measured

  15. Association between air pollution and benign prostatic hyperplasia: An ecological study.

    PubMed

    Shim, Sung Ryul; Kim, Jae Heon; Song, Yun Seob; Lee, Won Jin

    2016-09-02

    Benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH) is a prevalent medical condition; however, little is known about the effect of environmental factors. Therefore, we conducted surveys to examine the association between air pollution and the risk of BPH in South Korea between May 2010 and April 2013, yielding data for 1,734 men. Air pollution information was obtained from the National Air Pollutants Emission 2010 report. Logistic regression analyses were conducted after adjusting for potential confounders. The International Prostate Symptom Score significantly increased with increasing per capita air pollutant emissions. The risk of BPH increased as the overall concentration of air pollutants increased (odds ratio [OR], 2.23; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.55-3.21). In particular, nitrogen oxides (OR, 1.73; 95% CI, 1.25-2.39) and sulfur oxides (OR, 2.02; 95% CI, 1.42-2.88) showed a dose-dependent association. Our findings support a positive association between the risk of BPH and air pollution.

  16. APEX (Air Pollution Exercise) Volume 20: Reference Materials.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC. Office of Manpower Development.

    The Reference Materials Manual is part of a set of 21 manuals (AA 001 009-001 029) used in APEX (Air Pollution Exercise), a computerized college and professional level "real world" game simulation of a community with urban and rural problems, industrial activities, and air pollution difficulties. For the purposes of the gaming exercise, APEX…

  17. Increasing fine particulate air pollution in China and the potential use of exposure and biomarker data in disease prevention.

    PubMed

    Wendt, Chris H; Ramachandran, Gurumurthy; Lo, Charles; Hertz, Marshall; Mandel, Jeffrey H

    2015-03-16

    Increased industrialization and urbanization have led to marked increases in air pollutants in China over the last decade. Pollutant levels in the north and eastern regions are often four times higher than current daily levels in the United States. Recent reports indicate a higher incidence of lung cancer and mortality in men and urban dwellers, but the contribution of air pollution to these findings remains unknown. Future studies that define individual exposures, combined with biomarkers linked to disease, will be essential to the understanding of risk posed by air pollution in China.

  18. Time Scale Effects in Acute Association between Air-Pollution and Mortality

    EPA Science Inventory

    We used wavelet analysis and generalized additive models (GAM) to study timescale effects in the acute association between mortality and air-pollution. Daily averages of measured NO2 concentrations in the metropolitan Paris area are used as indicators of human exposure...

  19. Methodological issues in studies of air pollution and reproductive health.

    PubMed

    Woodruff, Tracey J; Parker, Jennifer D; Darrow, Lyndsey A; Slama, Rémy; Bell, Michelle L; Choi, Hyunok; Glinianaia, Svetlana; Hoggatt, Katherine J; Karr, Catherine J; Lobdell, Danelle T; Wilhelm, Michelle

    2009-04-01

    In the past decade there have been an increasing number of scientific studies describing possible effects of air pollution on perinatal health. These papers have mostly focused on commonly monitored air pollutants, primarily ozone (O(3)), particulate matter (PM), sulfur dioxide (SO(2)), carbon monoxide (CO), and nitrogen dioxide (NO(2)), and various indices of perinatal health, including fetal growth, pregnancy duration, and infant mortality. While most published studies have found some marker of air pollution related to some types of perinatal outcomes, variability exists in the nature of the pollutants and outcomes associated. Synthesis of the findings has been difficult for various reasons, including differences in study design and analysis. A workshop was held in September 2007 to discuss methodological differences in the published studies as a basis for understanding differences in study findings and to identify priorities for future research, including novel approaches for existing data. Four broad topic areas were considered: confounding and effect modification, spatial and temporal exposure variations, vulnerable windows of exposure, and multiple pollutants. Here we present a synopsis of the methodological issues and challenges in each area and make recommendations for future study. Two key recommendations include: (1) parallel analyses of existing data sets using a standardized methodological approach to disentangle true differences in associations from methodological differences among studies; and (2) identification of animal studies to inform important mechanistic research gaps. This work is of critical public health importance because of widespread exposure and because perinatal outcomes are important markers of future child and adult health.

  20. Interior Landscape Plants for Indoor Air Pollution Abatement

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Wolverton, B. C.; Johnson, Anne; Bounds, Keith

    1989-01-01

    In this study, the leaves, roots, soil, and associated microorganisms of plants have been evaluated as a possible means of reducing indoor air pollutants. Additionally, a novel approach of using plant systems for removing high concentrations of indoor air pollutants such as cigarette smoke, organic solvents, and possibly radon has been designed from this work. This air filter design combines plants with an activated carbon filter. The rationale for this design, which evolved from wastewater treatment studies, is based on moving large volumes of contaminated air through an activated carbon bed where smoke, organic chemicals, pathogenic microorganisms (if present), and possibly radon are absorbed by the carbon filter. Plant roots and their associated microorganisms then destroy the pathogenic viruses, bacteria, and the organic chemicals, eventually converting all of these air pollutants into new plant tissue. It is believed that the decayed radon products would be taken up the plant roots and retained in the plant tissue.