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Hassan Bhat T, Jiawen G, Farzaneh H. Air Pollution Health Risk Assessment (AP-HRA), Principles and Applications. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2021; 18:1935. [PMID: 33671274 PMCID: PMC7922529 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph18041935] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2021] [Revised: 02/10/2021] [Accepted: 02/11/2021] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Air pollution is a major public health problem. A significant number of epidemiological studies have found a correlation between air quality and a wide variety of adverse health impacts emphasizing a considerable role of air pollution in the disease burden in the general population ranging from subclinical effects to premature death. Health risk assessment of air quality can play a key role at individual and global health promotion and disease prevention levels. The Air Pollution Health Risk Assessment (AP-HRA) forecasts the expected health effect of policies impacting air quality under the various policy, environmental and socio-economic circumstances, making it a key tool for guiding public policy decisions. This paper presents the concept of AP-HRA and offers an outline for the proper conducting of AP-HRA for different scenarios, explaining in broad terms how the health hazards of air emissions and their origins are measured and how air pollution-related impacts are quantified. In this paper, seven widely used AP-HRA tools will be deeply explored, taking into account their spatial resolution, technological factors, pollutants addressed, geographical scale, quantified health effects, method of classification, and operational characteristics. Finally, a comparative analysis of the proposed tools will be conducted, using the SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) method.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tavoos Hassan Bhat
- Interdisciplinary Graduate School of Engineering Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka 816-8580, Japan; (T.H.B.); (G.J.)
| | - Guo Jiawen
- Interdisciplinary Graduate School of Engineering Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka 816-8580, Japan; (T.H.B.); (G.J.)
- China-UK Low Carbon College, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
| | - Hooman Farzaneh
- Interdisciplinary Graduate School of Engineering Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka 816-8580, Japan; (T.H.B.); (G.J.)
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Zhang D, Bai K, Zhou Y, Shi R, Ren H. Estimating Ground-Level Concentrations of Multiple Air Pollutants and Their Health Impacts in the Huaihe River Basin in China. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2019; 16:ijerph16040579. [PMID: 30781540 PMCID: PMC6407116 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph16040579] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/03/2019] [Revised: 02/06/2019] [Accepted: 02/12/2019] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Air pollutants existing in the environment may have negative impacts on human health depending on their toxicity and concentrations. Remote sensing data enable researchers to map concentrations of various air pollutants over vast areas. By combining ground-level concentrations with population data, the spatial distribution of health impacts attributed to air pollutants can be acquired. This study took five highly populated and severely polluted provinces along the Huaihe River, China, as the research area. The ground-level concentrations of four major air pollutants including nitrogen dioxide (NO₂), sulfate dioxide (SO₂), particulate matters with diameter equal or less than 10 (PM10) or 2.5 micron (PM2.5) were estimated based on relevant remote sensing data using the geographically weighted regression (GWR) model. The health impacts of these pollutants were then assessed with the aid of co-located gridded population data. The results show that the annual average concentrations of ground-level NO₂, SO₂, PM10, and PM2.5 in 2016 were 31 µg/m³, 26 µg/m³, 100 µg/m³, and 59 µg/m³, respectively. In terms of the health impacts attributable to NO₂, SO₂, PM10, and PM2.5, there were 546, 1788, 10,595, and 8364 respiratory deaths, and 1221, 9666, 46,954, and 39,524 cardiovascular deaths, respectively. Northern Henan, west-central Shandong, southern Jiangsu, and Wuhan City in Hubei are prone to large health risks. Meanwhile, air pollutants have an overall greater impact on cardiovascular disease than respiratory disease, which is primarily attributable to the inhalable particle matters. Our findings provide a good reference to local decision makers for the implementation of further emission control strategies and possible health impacts assessment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Deying Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Geographic Information Science, Ministry of Education, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, China.
- School of Geographic Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, China.
- Joint Laboratory for Environmental Remote Sensing and Data Assimilation, East China Normal University and Institute of Remote Sensing and Digital Earth, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200241, China.
| | - Kaixu Bai
- Key Laboratory of Geographic Information Science, Ministry of Education, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, China.
- School of Geographic Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, China.
- Joint Laboratory for Environmental Remote Sensing and Data Assimilation, East China Normal University and Institute of Remote Sensing and Digital Earth, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200241, China.
| | - Yunyun Zhou
- Key Laboratory of Geographic Information Science, Ministry of Education, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, China.
- School of Geographic Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, China.
- Joint Laboratory for Environmental Remote Sensing and Data Assimilation, East China Normal University and Institute of Remote Sensing and Digital Earth, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200241, China.
| | - Runhe Shi
- Key Laboratory of Geographic Information Science, Ministry of Education, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, China.
- School of Geographic Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, China.
- Joint Laboratory for Environmental Remote Sensing and Data Assimilation, East China Normal University and Institute of Remote Sensing and Digital Earth, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200241, China.
| | - Hongyan Ren
- State Key Laboratory of Resources and Environmental Information System, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
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Carugno M, Consonni D, Bertazzi PA, Biggeri A, Baccini M. Temporal trends of PM 10 and its impact on mortality in Lombardy, Italy. ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION (BARKING, ESSEX : 1987) 2017; 227:280-286. [PMID: 28477552 DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2017.04.077] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/18/2016] [Revised: 04/24/2017] [Accepted: 04/26/2017] [Indexed: 05/13/2023]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Exposure to particulate matter with diameter ≤10 μm (PM10) entails well documented adverse effects on human health. In the last decade, concentration of PM10 in Lombardy (10 million inhabitants), Italy, has been gradually decreasing. We evaluated how the mortality burden due to PM10 varied in that same period. METHODS We focused on 13 areas of the Region in 2003-2014: 11 cities with more than 50,000 inhabitants, 1 smaller alpine town and 1 agricultural province. For each area, we collected PM10 annual average concentrations and natural mortality data, and we used the posterior area-specific effects from a previous Bayesian meta-analysis to estimate the short-term impact of PM10 on mortality, in terms of deaths attributable (AD) to annual average exposures exceeding the WHO threshold of 20 μg/m3. RESULTS PM10 annual average values showed a non-homogenous decreasing trend in the investigated time period in most of the areas. Overall, the population-weighted exposure levels decreased, except for a peak in 2011, but never met the WHO threshold. In 2003-2006, PM10 levels were responsible, on average, for 343.0 annual AD from natural causes that decreased to 253.5 in 2007-2010 and to 208.3 in 2011-2014. Overall we estimated that PM10 was responsible for about 1% of all natural deaths (min-max range: 0.86%-1.42%); the impact was heterogeneous among areas. CONCLUSIONS By collecting routinely available data for the most populated areas in Lombardy, we returned a picture of air pollution and health trends in the last decade. Notwithstanding the observed reduction in PM10 between 2003 and 2014 and the resulting decline in the number of AD, the impact is still relevant. Hence, appropriate policies for emission reduction could have a further beneficial effect on population health. Studies based on routine data and local effect estimates are recommended to properly inform the policy-making process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michele Carugno
- Department of Clinical Sciences and Community Health, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy.
| | - Dario Consonni
- Epidemiology Unit, Department of Preventive Medicine, Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda - Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Milan, Italy
| | - Pier Alberto Bertazzi
- Department of Clinical Sciences and Community Health, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy; Epidemiology Unit, Department of Preventive Medicine, Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda - Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Milan, Italy
| | - Annibale Biggeri
- Department of Statistics, Informatics and Applications "G. Parenti", University of Florence, Florence, Italy
| | - Michela Baccini
- Department of Statistics, Informatics and Applications "G. Parenti", University of Florence, Florence, Italy
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Daryanoosh SM, Goudarzi G, Harbizadeh A, Nourmoradi H, Vaisi AA, Armin H, Sadeghi S, Omidi Khaniabadi Y. Hospital Admission for Respiratory and Cardiovascular Diseases Due to Particulate Matter in Ilam, Iran. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2016. [DOI: 10.17795/jjhs-36106] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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Olmo NRS, Saldiva PHDN, Braga ALF, Lin CA, Santos UDP, Pereira LAA. A review of low-level air pollution and adverse effects on human health: implications for epidemiological studies and public policy. Clinics (Sao Paulo) 2011; 66:681-90. [PMID: 21655765 PMCID: PMC3093800 DOI: 10.1590/s1807-59322011000400025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2010] [Accepted: 01/17/2011] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
The aim of this study was to review original scientific articles describing the relationship between atmospheric pollution and damage to human health. We also aimed to determine which of these studies mentioned public policy issues. Original articles relating to atmospheric pollution and human health published between 1995 and 2009 were retrieved from the PubMed database and analyzed. This study included only articles dealing with atmospheric pollutants resulting primarily from vehicle emissions. Three researchers were involved in the final selection of the studies, and the chosen articles were approved by at least two of the three researchers. Of the 84 non-Brazilian studies analyzed, 80 showed an association between atmospheric pollution and adverse effects on human health. Moreover, 66 showed evidence of adverse effects on human health, even at levels below the permitted emission standards. Three studies mentioned public policies aimed at changing emission standards. Similarly, the 29 selected Brazilian studies reported adverse associations with human health, and 27 showed evidence of adverse effects even at levels below the legally permitted emission standards. Of these studies, 16 mentioned public policies aimed at changing emission standards. Based on the Brazilian and non-Brazilian scientific studies that have been conducted, it can be concluded that, even under conditions that are compliant with Brazilian air quality standards, the concentration of atmospheric pollutants in Brazil can negatively affect human health. However, as little discussion of this topic has been generated, this finding demonstrates the need to incorporate epidemiological evidence into decisions regarding legal regulations and to discuss the public policy implications in epidemiological studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Neide Regina Simoes Olmo
- Laboratory of Experimental Air Pollution, Department of Pathology, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de São Paulo, Brazil.
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PM10 air pollution exposure during pregnancy and term low birth weight in Allegheny County, PA, 1994–2000. Int Arch Occup Environ Health 2010; 84:251-7. [DOI: 10.1007/s00420-010-0545-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2009] [Accepted: 05/10/2010] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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Veras MM, Caldini EG, Dolhnikoff M, Saldiva PHN. Air pollution and effects on reproductive-system functions globally with particular emphasis on the Brazilian population. JOURNAL OF TOXICOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH. PART B, CRITICAL REVIEWS 2010; 13:1-15. [PMID: 20336577 DOI: 10.1080/10937401003673800] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/29/2023]
Abstract
In recent years, numerous studies showed that exposure to environmental air pollutants affected reproductive functions and, in particular, produced adverse effects on pregnancy outcomes, fertility, and fetal health. Epidemiological studies demonstrated that exposure to ambient levels of air pollutants are associated with low birth weight, intrauterine growth retardation, prematurity, neonatal death, and decreased fertility in males. Experimental animal data supported these findings and indicated that female fertility was also disturbed. Although there are various mechanisms of action suggested to show the manner in which air pollutants alter pregnancy and the reproductive systems in both genders, further studies are needed to correlate causal relationships. This information would serve to better understand the underlying physiologic changes in the reproductive system induced by exposure to air pollutants and possibly establish a link between the dose and response of individual or mixture of air pollutants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mariana Matera Veras
- Laboratório de Poluição Atmosférica Experimental (LIM05), Departamento de Patologia Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo
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