scholarly journals Health-Based Approach to Determine Alert and Information Thresholds for Particulate Matter Air Pollution

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 1345
Author(s):  
Łukasz Adamkiewicz ◽  
Katarzyna Maciejewska ◽  
Krzysztof Skotak ◽  
Michal Krzyzanowski ◽  
Artur Badyda ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Particulate Matter ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
Hospital Admissions ◽  
Health Impact ◽  
Pm10 Concentration ◽  
Case Scenario ◽  
Potential Health ◽  
Pollution Levels ◽  
Guideline Value

In this study Health Impact Assessment (HIA) methods were used to evaluate potential health benefits related to keeping air pollution levels in Poland under certain threshold concentrations. Impacts of daily mean particulate matter (PM)10 levels on hospital admissions due to cardiovascular and respiratory diseases were considered. Relative risk coefficients were adopted from WHO HRAPIE project. The analyses covered period from 2015 to 2017, and were limited to the heating season (1st and 4th quarter of the year), when the highest PM10 concentrations occur. The national total number of hospital admissions attributed to PM10 concentration exceeding WHO daily Air Quality Guideline value of 50 µg/m3 was calculated for each of the 46 air quality zones established in Poland. We found that the reduction of the attributable hospital admissions by 75% or 50% of that expected for the “best case scenario”, with no days with PM10 concentration exceeding 50 µg/m3 would require avoidance of exceedance by the daily mean PM10 concentration of 64 µg/m3 and 83 µg/m3, respectively. These concentrations were proposed as the information and alert thresholds, respectively. The alert thresholds were exceeded on 2 and 38 days per year in the least and the most polluted zones, respectively. Exceedances of the information thresholds occurred on 6 and 66 days in these zones.

scholarly journals Potential health impact of transport traffic restriction in the center of Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 28-32
Author(s):  
Samir Mehtiyev
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Time Series ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Health Impact ◽  
Health Priorities ◽  
Local Data ◽  
Pollution Effects ◽  
Potential Health ◽  
Pollution Levels ◽  
Air Pollution Effects

The transport traffic is known to be the major reason for air pollution in urban areas. Two pollutants should be considered with attention: the particles with diameter of less than 10 microns (PM10) and carbon monoxide. The paper discusses application of time-series and geographical studies to the investigation of air pollution health effects as well as attempts to estimate potential health impact of restriction traffic in the center of Baku by 25% based on local data published in 2012(4) and 2013(5). Time-series studies investigate association between short-term variations in air pollution levels and health events counts. Confounding factors that change slowly over the time do not introduce much distortion for the association in question as population is used as its own control. Geographical studies aimed at investigation of association between long-term exposure to air pollution and chronic health outcomes. They are known to be prone to confounding because they compare populations from different locations. The evidence of air pollution effects from time-series and geographical studies is complementary. The problem of traffic air pollution is being intensified with each year and becomes one of the main public health priorities in Baku. Assuming that the results of six cities study (3) can be generalized to Baku the total number of preventable annual deaths should be around 419 in case of restriction traffic in the center of Baku by 25%. For the low border of 95%CI the result is as much as 153. Despite uncertainties in assumptions the produced evidence fully justifies the proposed intervention.

scholarly journals Effects of meteorological variables and holidays on the concentrations of PM10, PM2.5, O3, NO2, SO2, and CO in Tehran (2014-2018)

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mostafa Hadei ◽  
Maryam Yarahmadi ◽  
Ahmad Jonidi Jafari ◽  
Mohsen Farhadi ◽  
Seyed Saeed Hashemi Nazari ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Particulate Matter ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
Pollution Control ◽  
Meteorological Parameters ◽  
Air Pollution Control ◽  
Pollution Levels ◽  
Criteria Air Pollutants ◽  
High Concentrations ◽  
Autumn And Winter

Introduction: The aim of this study was to investigate the concentrations   of PM10, PM2.5, O3, NO2, SO2, and CO in Tehran during March 2014-March 2018, and evaluate the effects of holidays and meteorological parameters on   the air pollution levels.   Materials and methods: Hourly concentrations of PM10, PM2.5, O3, NO2, SO2, and CO in different air quality monitors of Tehran were acquired. The data from each air quality monitored were validated, and only high-quality monitors were included in this study.   Results: The 4-year averages of PM10, PM2.5, O3, NO2, SO2, and CO concen-trations were 88.74 (µg/m3), 31.02 (µg/m3), 34.87 (ppb), 71.01 (ppb), 20.04   (ppb), and 3.78 (ppm), respectively. Higher concentrations of PM10 and O3 were observed during summer. In case of PM2.5 and CO, autumn and winter concentrations were higher than those in springer and summer. Lower concen-trations of PM10 and NO2 in Fridays were observed comparing to other days of week. Ozone had high concentrations in Fridays as the weekend in Iran. Except for O3, all of the pollutants had higher concentrations in the working days, comparing to those in any type of vacation days. Concentrations of all pollutants rather that SO2 and O3 in Nowruz holidays were statistically lower than those in the working days. By controlling for the effects of meteorologi-cal variables, our results showed that the air pollution control policies and ac-tions have been not effective for particulate matter.   Conclusion: These results determines the time periods in which the concen-trations of criteria air pollutants are high. This can be very useful for an-nouncing alarms for citizens, and designing the air pollution control plans. In addition, more effective actions should be designed and implemented for reducing ambient levels of particulate matter.

scholarly journals Potential health benefits of sustained air quality improvements in New York City: A simulation based on air pollution levels during the COVID-19 shutdown

2021 ◽  
Vol 193 ◽  
pp. 110555
Author(s):  
Frederica Perera ◽  
Alique Berberian ◽  
David Cooley ◽  
Elizabeth Shenaut ◽  
Hollie Olmstead ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Air Pollution ◽  
New York City ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
York City ◽  
Health Benefits ◽  
Quality Improvements ◽  
Potential Health ◽  
Pollution Levels ◽  
Simulation Based

scholarly journals Analyzing and Improving the Performance of a Particulate Matter Low Cost Air Quality Monitoring Device

Atmosphere ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 251
Author(s):  
Evangelos Bagkis ◽  
Theodosios Kassandros ◽  
Marinos Karteris ◽  
Apostolos Karteris ◽  
Kostas Karatzas
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Particulate Matter ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Machine Learning Algorithms ◽  
Quality Monitoring ◽  
Reference Station ◽  
Air Quality Monitoring ◽  
Pollution Levels

Air quality (AQ) in urban areas is deteriorating, thus having negative effects on people’s everyday lives. Official air quality monitoring stations provide the most reliable information, but do not always depict air pollution levels at scales reflecting human activities. They also have a high cost and therefore are limited in number. This issue can be addressed by deploying low cost AQ monitoring devices (LCAQMD), though their measurements are of far lower quality. In this paper we study the correlation of air pollution levels reported by such a device and by a reference station for particulate matter, ozone and nitrogen dioxide in Thessaloniki, Greece. On this basis, a corrective factor is modeled via seven machine learning algorithms in order to improve the quality of measurements for the LCAQMD against reference stations, thus leading to its on-field computational improvement. We show that our computational intelligence approach can improve the performance of such a device for PM10 under operational conditions.

scholarly journals Particulate matter air pollution offsets ozone damage to global crop production

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luke D. Schiferl ◽  
Colette L. Heald
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Particulate Matter ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Surface Ozone ◽  
Diffuse Radiation ◽  
Environmental Pressures ◽  
Global Food Security ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
Pollution Exposure

Abstract. Ensuring global food security requires a comprehensive understanding of environmental pressures on food production, including the impacts of air quality. Surface ozone damages plants and decreases crop production; this effect has been extensively studied. In contrast, the presence of particulate matter (PM) in the atmosphere can be beneficial to crops given that enhanced light scattering leads to a more even and efficient distribution of photons which can outweigh total incoming radiation loss. This study quantifies the impacts of ozone and PM on the global production of maize, rice, and wheat in 2010 and 2050. We show that accounting for the growing season of these crops is an important factor in determining their air pollution exposure. We find that the effect of PM can offset much, if not all, of the reduction in yield associated with ozone damage. Assuming maximum sensitivity to PM, the current (2010) global net impact of air quality on crop production is positive (+6.0 %, +0.5 %, and +4.9 % for maize, wheat, and rice, respectively). Future emissions scenarios indicate that attempts to improve air quality can result in a net negative effect on crop production in areas dominated by the PM effect. However, we caution that the uncertainty in this assessment is large due to the uncertainty associated with crop response to changes in diffuse radiation; this highlights that more detailed physiological study of this response for common cultivars is crucial.

scholarly journals Quantifying the impact of air pollution on the urban population of Brazil

2007 ◽  
Vol 23 (suppl 4) ◽  
pp. S529-S536 ◽  
Author(s):  
Izabel Marcilio ◽  
Nelson Gouveia
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Urban Population ◽  
Hospital Admissions ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Impact Factors ◽  
Pollution Levels ◽  
Time Series Studies ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Respiratory Causes

This study aimed to quantify air pollution impact on morbidity and mortality in the Brazilian urban population using locally generated impact factors. Concentration-response coefficients were used to estimate the number of hospitalizations and deaths attributable to air pollution in seven Brazilian cities. Poisson regression coefficients (beta) were obtained from time-series studies conducted in Brazil. The study included individuals 65 years old and over and children under five. More than 600 deaths a year from respiratory causes in the elderly and 47 in children were attributable to mean air pollution levels, corresponding to 4.9% and 5.5% of all deaths from respiratory causes in these age groups. More than 4,000 hospital admissions for respiratory conditions were also attributable to air pollution. These results quantitatively demonstrate the currently observed contribution of air pollution to mortality and hospitalizations in Brazilian cities. Such assessment is thought to help support the planning of surveillance and control activities for air pollution in these and similar areas.

scholarly journals Relationships between Meteorological Parameters and Particulate Matter in Mae Hong Son Province, Thailand

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (12) ◽  
pp. 2801 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wissanupong Kliengchuay ◽  
Aronrag Cooper Meeyai ◽  
Suwalee Worakhunpiset ◽  
Kraichat Tantrakarnapa
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Particulate Matter ◽  
Meteorological Parameters ◽  
Warning System ◽  
Correlation Coefficients ◽  
Pm10 Concentration ◽  
P Value ◽  
Climate Data ◽  
High Concentration ◽  
Ambient Concentrations

Meteorological parameters play an important role in determining the prevalence of ambient particulate matter (PM) in the upper north of Thailand. Mae Hong Son is a province located in this region and which borders Myanmar. This study aimed to determine the relationships between meteorological parameters and ambient concentrations of particulate matter less than 10 µm in diameter (PM10) in Mae Hong Son. Parameters were measured at an air quality monitoring station, and consisted of PM10, carbon monoxide (CO), ozone (O3), and meteorological factors, including temperature, rainfall, pressure, wind speed, wind direction, and relative humidity (RH). Nine years (2009–2017) of pollution and climate data obtained from the Thai Pollution Control Department (PCD) were used for analysis. The results of this study indicate that PM10 is influenced by meteorological parameters; high concentration occurred during the dry season and northeastern monsoon seasons. Maximum concentrations were always observed in March. The PM10 concentrations were significantly related to CO and O3 concentrations and to RH, giving correlation coefficients of 0.73, 0.39, and −0.37, respectively (p-value < 0.001). Additionally, the hourly PM10 concentration fluctuated within each day. In general, it was found that the reporting of daily concentrations might be best suited to public announcements and presentations. Hourly concentrations are recommended for public declarations that might be useful for warning citizens and organizations about air pollution. Our findings could be used to improve the understanding of PM10 concentration patterns in Mae Hong Son and provide information to better air pollution measures and establish a warning system for the province.

scholarly journals Air Pollution Increases Influenza Hospitalizations

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gregor Singer ◽  
Joshua Graff Zivin ◽  
Matthew Neidell ◽  
Nicholas Sanders
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Air Pollution ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
Seasonal Influenza ◽  
Hospital Admissions ◽  
The United States ◽  
Inpatient Hospitalization ◽  
Vaccination Rates ◽  
Health Burden ◽  
Severe Influenza

AbstractSeasonal influenza is a recurring health burden shared widely across the globe. We study whether air quality affects the occurrence of severe influenza cases that require inpatient hospitalization. Using longitudinal information on local air quality and hospital admissions across the United States, we find that poor air quality increases the incidence of significant influenza hospital admissions. Effects diminish in years with greater influenza vaccine effectiveness. Apart from increasing vaccination rates, improving air quality may help reduce the spread and severity of influenza.

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