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In order to study the ecological and atmospheric recovery of the Hexi Corridor region, this paper analyzes the migration changes of land use characteristics and utilizes multivariate data and BenMAP-CE software to study the pollution characteristics of ozone and its precursors and the impact on human health in the Hexi Corridor region. The results showed that the increase of cultivated land area in the Hexi Corridor mainly originated from grassland. The MDA8-O 3 concentrations met the primary and secondary standards of the Ambient Air Quality Standards on 43% and 99% of the days, respectively. NO 2 showed a negative weekend effect with O 3 , and HCHO was opposite to it. Temperature, barometric pressure, and vegetation were highly correlated with O 3 -NO 2 -HCHO. Ozone pollution in the study area caused about 60% of all-cause premature deaths due to cardiovascular diseases. The study suggests that controlling exogenous transport in Wuwei City during the high ozone period (except August) is mainly dominated by the west and northwest, and that synergistic management of VOCs and NO x emissions can reduce O 3 pollution and, consequently, reduce the risk to human health., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Air pollution poses a major threat to both the environment and public health. The air quality index (AQI), aggregate AQI, new health risk-based air quality index (NHAQI), and NHAQI-WHO were employed to quantitatively evaluate the characterization of air pollution and the associated health risk in Gansu Province before (P-I) and after (P-II) COVID-19 pandemic. The results indicated that AQI system undervalued the comprehensive health risk impact of the six criteria pollutants compared with the other three indices. The stringent lockdown measures contributed to a considerable reduction in SO 2 , CO, PM 2.5 , NO 2 and PM 10 ; these concentrations were 43.4%, 34.6%, 21.4%, 17.4%, and 14.2% lower in P-II than P-I, respectively. But the concentration of O 3 had no obvious improvement. The higher sandstorm frequency in P-II led to no significant decrease in the ER total and even resulted in an increase in the average ER total in cities located in northwestern Gansu from 0.78% in P-I to 1.0% in P-II. The cumulative distribution of NHAQI-based population-weighted exposure revealed that 24% of the total population was still exposed to light pollution in spring during P-II, while the air quality in other three seasons had significant improvements and all people were under healthy air quality level., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

In recent years, the combined pollution of PM 2.5 and O 3 in China, particularly in economically developed regions such as the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA), has garnered significant attention due to its potential implications. This study systematically investigated the changes of PM 2.5 and O 3 and their associated human health effects in the GBA, utilizing observational data spanning from 2015 to 2019. The findings revealed a spatial trend indicating a gradual decrease in PM 2.5 levels from the northwest to the southeast, while the spatial distribution of MDA8 O 3 demonstrated an opposing pattern to that of PM 2.5 . The monthly fluctuations of PM 2.5 and MDA8 O 3 exhibited V-shaped and M-shaped patterns, respectively. Higher MDA8 O 3 concentrations were observed in autumn, followed by summer and spring. Over the five-year period, PM 2.5 concentrations exhibited a general decline, with an annual reduction rate of 1.7 μg m -3 /year, while MDA8 O 3 concentrations displayed an annual increase of 3.2 μg m -3 . Among the GBA regions, Macao, Foshan, Guangzhou, and Jiangmen demonstrated notable decreases in PM 2.5 , whereas Jiangmen, Zhongshan, and Guangzhou experienced substantial increases in MDA8 O 3 levels. Long-term exposure to PM 2.5 in 2019 was associated with 21,113 (95% CI 4968-31,048) all-cause deaths (AD), 1333 (95% CI 762-1714) cardiovascular deaths (CD), and 1424 (95% CI 0-2848) respiratory deaths (RD), respectively, reflecting declines of 27.6%, 28.0%, and 28.4%, respectively, compared to 2015. Conversely, in 2019, estimated AD, CD, and RD attributable to O 3 were 16,286 (95% CI 8143-32,572), 7321 (95% CI 2440-14,155), and 6314 (95% CI 0-13,576), respectively, representing increases of 45.9%, 46.2%, and 44.2% over 2015, respectively. Taken together, these findings underscored a shifting focus in air pollution control in the GBA, emphasizing the imperative for coordinated control strategies targeting both PM 2.5 and O 3 ., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Air pollution is the leading environmental risk factor for mortality worldwide. In Australia, residential wood heating is the single largest source of pollution in many regions of the country. Estimates around the world and in some limited locations across Australia have shown that the health burden attributable to wood heating PM 2.5 is considerable, and that there is great potential to reduce this burden. Here, we aimed to calculate the mortality burden attributable to wood heating emissions (WHE)-related PM 2.5 throughout Australia and estimate the potential health benefits of reducing WHE-related air pollution, by replacing wood heaters with cleaner heating technologies. In summary, we used a four-stage process to (1) compile a nationwide WHE inventory, (2) generate annual exposure estimates of WHE-PM 2.5 , (3) estimate the annual mortality burden attributable to wood heater use across Australia for the year 2015, and (4) assess the potential health benefits of replacing existing wood heaters with cleaner heating technologies. We estimated that population weighted WHE-PM 2.5 exposure across Australia for 2015 ranged between 0.62 μg/m 3 and 1.35 μg/m 3 , with differing exposures across State/Territories. We estimated a considerable mortality burden attributable to WHE-PM 2.5 ranging between 558 (95 % CI, 364-738) and 1555 (95 % CI, 1180-1740) deaths annually, depending on the scenario assessed. We calculated that replacing 50 % of the current wood heater stock, with zero or lower emission technologies could produce relevant health benefits, of between $AUD 1.61 and $AUD 1.93 billion per year (303-364 attributable deaths). These findings provide a preliminary and likely conservative assessment of the health burden of wood heater smoke across Australia, and an estimation of the potential benefits from replacing the current wood heater stock with cleaner technologies. The results presented here underscore the magnitude of the health burden attributable to wood heating in Australia., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Nicolas Borchers-Arriagada reports financial support was provided by The Centre for Air pollution, energy and health Research (CAR). Stephen Vander Hoorn reports financial support was provided by The Centre for Air pollution, energy and health Research (CAR)., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Water-soluble organic compounds (WSOCs) have received extensive attention due to their indistinct chemical components, complex sources, negative environmental impact, and potential health effects. To the best of our knowledge, until now, there has been no comprehensive review focused on the research progress of WSOCs. This paper reviewed the studies on chemical constituent and characterization, distribution condition, sources, environmental impact, as well as the potential health effects of WSOCs in the past 13 years. Moreover, the main existing challenges and directions for the future research on WSOCs were discussed from several aspects. Because of the complex composition of WSOCs and many unknown individual components that have not been detected, there is still a need for the identification and quantification of WSOCs. As modern people spend more time in indoor environments, it is meaningful to fill the gaps in the component characteristics and sources of indoor WSOCs. In addition, although in vitro cell experiments have shown that WSOCs could induce cellular oxidative stress and trigger the inflammatory response, the corresponding mechanisms of action need to be further explored. The current population epidemiology research of WSOCs is missing. Prospectively, we propose to conduct a comprehensive and simultaneous analysis strategy for concentration screening, source apportionment, potential health effects, and action mechanisms of WSOCs based on high throughput omics coupled with machine learning simulation and prediction., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Air pollution causes morbidity and excess mortality. In the epithelial lining fluid of the respiratory tract, air pollutants trigger a chemical reaction sequence that causes the formation of noxious hydroxyl radicals that drive oxidative stress. For hitherto unknown reasons, individuals with pre-existing inflammatory disorders are particularly susceptible to air pollution. Through detailed multiphase chemical kinetic analysis, we show that the commonly elevated concentrations of endogenous nitric oxide in diseased individuals can increase the production of hydroxyl radicals via peroxynitrite formation. Our findings offer a molecular rationale of how adverse health effects and oxidative stress caused by air pollutants may be exacerbated by inflammatory disorders.

Air pollution is one of the most significant threats to human safety due to its detrimental health consequences worldwide. This study examines the air pollution levels in 22 districts of West Bengal from 2016 to 2021, using data from 81 stations operated by the West Bengal Pollution Control Board (WBPCB). The study assesses the short- and long-term impacts of particulate matter (PM) on human health. The highest annual variation of PM 10 was noted in 2016 (106.99 ± 34.17 μg/m 3 ), and the lowest was reported in 2020 (88.02 ± 13.61 μg/m 3 ), whereas the highest annual variations of NO 2 (μg/m 3 ) were found in 2016 (35.17 ± 13.55 μg/m 3 ), and lowest in 2019 (29.72 ± 13.08 μg/m 3 ). Similarly, the SO 2 level was lower (5.35 μg/m 3 ) in 2017 and higher in 2020 (7.78 μg/m 3 ). In the state, Bardhaman, Bankura, Kolkata, and Howrah recorded the highest PM 10 concentrations. The monthly and seasonal variations of pollution showed higher in December, January, and February (winter season) and lowest observed in June, July, and August (rainy season). The southern part of West Bengal state has recorded higher pollution levels than the northern part. The short- and long-term health impact assessment due to particulate matter shows that the estimated number of attributable cases (ENACs) for incidence of chronic bronchitis in adults and prevalence of bronchitis in children were 305,234 and 14,652 respectively. The long-term impact of PM 2.5 on human health ENACs for mortality due to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease for adults, acute lower respiratory infections in children aged 0-5, lung cancer, and stroke for adults were 21,303, 12,477, 25,064, 94,406, and 86,272 respectively. This outcome assists decision-makers and stakeholders in effectively addressing the air pollution and health risk concerns within the specified area., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.)

Portugal has been affected by wildland fires that destroy thousands of hectares of forest, causing damage to the environment and to the exposed populations. This study aims to assess the influence of wildland fire emissions on air quality, its effect on population health and the related costs, between 2015 and 2018 in Portugal. The cause-specific mortality due to PM 2.5 was calculated considering the exposure for five endpoints in adults, twelve age groups for adults and considering children under five years old. The contribution of wildfire emissions to PM 2.5 concentrations in Portugal was assessed through EMEP-MSC/W model. Results showed that the average annual fire emissions of PM 2.5 , CO, CH 4 , CO 2 and NO 2 a significant and continuous increase was observed during the first three years (2015, 2016 and 2017) for all pollutants, followed by a decrease in 2018, with values lower than those observed in 2015. Regarding the long-term exposure to PM 2.5 emitted by fires a total of 32, 93, 189 and 31 deaths, corresponding to a cost of 59, 174, 360 and 60 million EUR in 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018, respectively, were estimated. On the other hand, in the first three years an increase in years of life lost (YLL) values of 496, 1608 and 3092 was observed, corresponding to a cost of 16, 54 and 105 million EUR, respectively, followed by a decrease in 2018 with a YLL of 480, corresponding to a cost of 17 M€., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Epidemiologic investigations have previously been published in more than 200 papers, and several studies have examined the impacts of particle air pollution on health. The main conclusions now being made about the epidemiological evidence of particle pollution-induced health impacts are discussed in this article. Although there is no universal agreement, most reviewers conclude that particulate air pollution, particularly excellent combustion-cause contamination prevalent in many municipal and manufacturing environments, is a significant risk for cardiopulmonary sickness and mortality. Most epidemiological research has concentrated on the impacts of acute exposure, although the total public health implications of chronic acquaintance's outcome may be more extraordinarily significant. According to some reviewers, prolonged, repeated exposure raises the risk of cardiorespiratory death and chronic respiratory illness. A more general (but still universal) agreement is that short-term particle pollution exposure has been shown to aggravate pre-existing pulmonary and cardiovascular diseases and increase the number of community members who become sick, require medical treatment, or die. Several in-depth studies conducted in the global and Indian regions are addressed., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Climate change poses an unequivocal threat to the respiratory health of current and future generations. Human activities-largely through the release of greenhouse gases-are driving rising global temperatures. Without a concerted effort to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions or adapt to the effects of a changing climate, each increment of warming increases the risk of climate hazards (eg, heat waves, floods, and droughts) that that can adversely affect allergy and immunologic diseases. For instance, wildfires, which release large quantities of particulate matter with a diameter of less than 2.5 μm (an air pollutant), occur with greater intensity, frequency, and duration in a hotter climate. This increases the risk of associated respiratory outcomes such as allergy and asthma. Fortunately, many mitigation and adaptation strategies can be applied to limit the impacts of global warming. Adaptation strategies, ranging from promotions of behavioral changes to infrastructural improvements, have been effectively deployed to increase resilience and alleviate adverse health effects. Mitigation strategies aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions can not only address the problem at the source but also provide numerous direct health cobenefits. Although it is possible to limit the impacts of climate change, urgent and sustained action must be taken now. The health and scientific community can play a key role in promoting and implementing climate action to ensure a more sustainable and healthy future., (Copyright © 2023 American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: This study developed an Air Quality Health Index (AQHI) based on global scientific evidence and applied it to data from Cape Town, South Africa. Methods: Effect estimates from two global systematic reviews and meta-analyses were used to derive the excess risk (ER) for PM 2.5 , PM 10 , NO 2 , SO 2 and O 3 . Single pollutant AQHIs were developed and scaled using the ERs at the WHO 2021 long-term Air Quality Guideline (AQG) values to define the upper level of the "low risk" range. An overall daily AQHI was defined as weighted average of the single AQHIs. Results: Between 2006 and 2015, 87% of the days posed "moderate to high risk" to Cape Town's population, mainly due to PM 10 and NO 2 levels. The seasonal pattern of air quality shows "high risk" occurring mostly during the colder months of July-September. Conclusion: The AQHI, with its reference to the WHO 2021 long-term AQG provides a global application and can assist countries in communicating risks in relation to their daily air quality., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they do not have any conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Adebayo-Ojo, Wichmann, Arowosegbe, Probst-Hensch, Schindler and Künzli.)

Background: Outdoor air pollution is supposed to influence the course of bronchiolitis, but the evidence is limited. The present study aimed at evaluating the role of outdoor air pollutants on hospitalization for bronchiolitis., Methods: Infants aged ≤12 months referred for bronchiolitis to our Pediatric Emergency Department in Bologna, Italy, from 1 October 2011 to 16 March 2020 (nine epidemic seasons) were retrospectively included. Daily concentrations of benzene (C 6 H 6 ), nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ), particulate matter ≤2.5 μm (PM 2.5 ), and ≤10 μm (PM 10 ), and the mean values of individual patient exposure in the week and the 4 weeks before hospital access were calculated. The association between air pollutants exposure and hospitalization was evaluated through logistic regression analysis., Results: A total of 2902 patients were enrolled (59.9% males; 38.7% hospitalized). Exposure to PM 2.5 in the 4 weeks preceding bronchiolitis was identified as the main parameter significantly driving the risk of hospitalization (odds ratio [95% confidence interval]: 1.055 [1.010-1.102]). After stratifying by season, higher values of other outdoor air pollutants were found to significantly affect hospitalization: 4-week exposure to C 6 H 6 (Season 2011-2012, 4.090 [1.184-14.130]) and PM 2.5 (Season 2017-2018, 1.282 [1.032-1.593]), and 1-week exposure to C 6 H 6 (Season 2012-2013, 6.193 [1.552-24.710]), NO 2 (Season 2013-2014, 1.064 [1.009-1.122]), PM 2.5 (Season 2013-2014, 1.080 [1.023-1.141]), and PM 10 (Season 2018-2019, 1.102 [0.991-1.225])., Conclusion: High levels of PM 2.5 , C 6 H 6 , NO 2 , and PM 10 may increase the risk of hospitalization in children affected by bronchiolitis. Open-air exposure of infants during rush hours and in the most polluted areas should be avoided., (© 2023 The Authors. Pediatric Pulmonology published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

Despite progress in many countries, air pollution, and especially fine particulate matter air pollution (PM 2.5 ) remains a global health threat: over 6 million premature cardiovascular and respiratory deaths/yr. have been attributed to household and outdoor air pollution. In this viewpoint, we identify present gaps in air pollution monitoring and regulation, and how they could be strengthened in future mitigation policies to more optimally reduce health impacts. We conclude that there is a need to move beyond simply regulating PM 2.5 particulate matter mass concentrations at central site stations. A greater emphasis is needed on: new portable and affordable technologies to measure personal exposures to particle mass; the consideration of a submicron (PM 1 ) mass air quality standard; and further evaluations of effects by particle composition and source. We emphasize the need to enable further studies on exposure-health relationships in underserved populations that are disproportionately impacted by air pollution, but not sufficiently represented in current studies., Competing Interests: Declaration of interests The authors declare no completing interests., (Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Most studies investigating the health effects of long-term exposure to air pollution used traditional regression models, although causal inference approaches have been proposed as alternative. However, few studies have applied causal models and comparisons with traditional methods are sparse. We therefore compared the associations between natural-cause mortality and exposure to fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ) and nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ) using traditional Cox and causal models in a large multicenter cohort setting. We analysed data from eight well-characterized cohorts (pooled cohort) and seven administrative cohorts from eleven European countries. Annual mean PM 2.5 and NO 2 from Europe-wide models were assigned to baseline residential addresses and dichotomized at selected cut-off values (PM 2.5 : 10, 12, 15 μg/m³; NO 2 : 20, 40 μg/m³). For each pollutant, we estimated the propensity score as the conditional likelihood of exposure given available covariates, and derived corresponding inverse-probability weights (IPW). We applied Cox proportional hazards models i) adjusting for all covariates ("traditional Cox") and ii) weighting by IPW ("causal model"). Of 325,367 and 28,063,809 participants in the pooled and administrative cohorts, 47,131 and 3,580,264 died from natural causes, respectively. For PM 2.5 above vs. below 12 μg/m³, the hazard ratios (HRs) of natural-cause mortality were 1.17 (95% CI 1.13-1.21) and 1.15 (1.11-1.19) for the traditional and causal models in the pooled cohort, and 1.03 (1.01-1.06) and 1.02 (0.97-1.09) in the administrative cohorts. For NO 2 above vs below 20 μg/m³, the HRs were 1.12 (1.09-1.14) and 1.07 (1.05-1.09) for the pooled and 1.06 (95% CI 1.03-1.08) and 1.05 (1.02-1.07) for the administrative cohorts. In conclusion, we observed mostly consistent associations between long-term air pollution exposure and natural-cause mortality with both approaches, though estimates partly differed in individual cohorts with no systematic pattern. The application of multiple modelling methods might help to improve causal inference. 299 of 300 words., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Ambient air pollution is a dominant determinant of health. The health effects and economic losses due to air pollution are very important for decision-making. Since the implementation of the "Air Pollution Prevention and Control Action Plan" and "blue sky defense war" policies, the air quality of Tianjin has changed significantly. Here, the health effects and economic losses attributable to ambient air pollution in Tianjin from 2013 to 2020 wereestimated. For the particulate matter which has complex components, we assessed the inhalation health risks of heavy metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in PM 2.5 . The variation in the concentration of the main components of PM 2.5 was also analyzed. The results showed that improved air quality had positive health benefits. The health benefits from SO 2 were the highest among the six air pollutants, and 3786 deaths were avoided in 2020 compared to in 2013 due to lower SO 2 concentration. The economic losses caused by air pollutants ranged from several billion to ten billion yuan. Among the six air pollutants, particulate matter and ozone had higher health losses in recent years. The health risks of heavy metals and PAHs in PM 2.5 showed a decreasing trend. However, Cr(Ⅵ), As, Cd, and Ni in PM 2.5 in the winter of 2020 still had respiratorysystem carcinogenic risk, whereas there was no health risk of PAHs in PM 2.5 in 2019-2020. The concentrations of main components of PM 2.5 have decreased significantly. In the future, the reduction of health loss caused by air pollution depends on synergy governance of particulate matter and ozone and further research on health effects.

PM 2.5 varies in source and composition over time and space as a complicated mixture. Consequently, the health effects caused by PM 2.5 varies significantly over time and generally exhibit significant regional variations. According to numerous studies, a notable relationship exists between PM 2.5 and the occurrence of many diseases, such as respiratory, cardiovascular, and nervous system diseases, as well as cancer. Therefore, a comprehensive understanding of the effect of PM 2.5 on human health is critical. The toxic effects of various PM 2.5 components, as well as the overall toxicity of PM 2.5 are discussed in this review to provide a foundation for precise PM 2.5 emission control. Furthermore, this review summarizes the synergistic effect of PM 2.5 and other pollutants, which can be used to draft effective policies., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Traditionally, studies that associate air pollution with health effects relate individual pollutants to outcomes such as mortality or hospital admissions. However, models capable of analyzing the effects resulting from the atmosphere mixture are demanded. In this study, multilayer perceptron neural networks were evaluated to associate PM 10 , NO 2 , and SO 2 concentrations, temperature, wind speed, and relative air humidity with cardiorespiratory mortality among the elderly in São Paulo, Brazil. Daily data from 2007 to 2019 were considered and different numbers of neurons on the hidden layer, algorithms, and a combination of activation functions were tested. The best-fitted artificial neural network (ANN) resulted in a MAPE equal to 13.46%. When individual season data were analyzed, the MAPE decreased to 11%. The most influential variables in cardiorespiratory mortality among the elderly were PM 10 and NO 2 concentrations. The relative humidity variable is more important during the dry season, and temperature is more important during the rainy season. The models were not subjected to the multicollinearity issue as with classical regression models. The use of ANNs to relate air quality to health outcomes is still very incipient, and this work highlights that it is a powerful tool that should be further explored.

Little is known about how low-income residents of urban communities engage their knowledge, attitudes, behaviors, and resources to mitigate the health impacts of wildfire smoke and other forms of air pollution. We interviewed 40 adults in Los Angeles, California, to explore their threat assessments of days of poor air quality, adaptation resources and behaviors, and the impacts of air pollution and wildfire smoke on physical and mental health. Participants resided in census tracts that were disproportionately burdened by air pollution and socioeconomic vulnerability. All participants reported experiencing days of poor air quality due primarily to wildfire smoke. Sixty percent received advanced warnings of days of poor air quality or routinely monitored air quality via cell phone apps or news broadcasts. Adaptation behaviors included remaining indoors, circulating indoor air, and wearing face masks when outdoors. Most (82.5%) of the participants reported some physical or mental health problem or symptom during days of poor air quality, but several indicated that symptom severity was mitigated by their adaptive behaviors. Although low-income residents perceive themselves to be at risk for the physical and mental health impacts of air pollution, they have also adapted to that risk with limited resources.

Air pollution originating from the household presents a significant burden to public health, especially during the wintertime in countries, such as Poland, where coal substantially contributes to the energy market. One of the most hazardous components of particulate matter is benzo(a)pyrene (BaP). This study focusses on the impact of different meteorological conditions on BaP concentrations in Poland and associated impacts on human health and economic burdens. For this study, we used the EMEP MSC-W atmospheric chemistry transport model with meteorological data from the Weather Research and Forecasting model to analyze the spatial and temporal distribution of BaP over Central Europe. The model setup has two nested domains, with the inner domain at 4 km × 4 km over Poland, which is a hotspot for BaP concentrations. The outer domain covers countries surrounding Poland in coarser resolution (12 × 812 km), to ensure that transboundary pollution is properly characterized in the modelling. We investigated the sensitivity to variability in winter meteorological conditions on BaP levels and impacts using data from 3 years: 1) 2018, which represents average meteorological conditions during the winter season (BASE run), 2) 2010 with a cold winter (COLD), and 3) 2020 with a warm winter (WARM). The ALPHA-RiskPoll model was used to analyze the lung cancer cases and associated economic costs. The results show that the majority of Poland exceeds the target level of benzo(a)pyrene (1 ng m -3 ) mainly due to high concentrations during the cold months. High concentrations of BaP have serious health implications and the number of lung cancers in Poland due to BaP exposure varies from 57 to 77 cases for the WARM and COLD years, respectively. It is reflected in the economic costs, which ranged from 136, through 174 to 185 million euros/year for the WARM, BASE and COLD model runs, respectively., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

A large amount of fluffy caktins appears in spring in Xi'an that may cause air pollution and lead to health risks such as asthma. In this study, bioaerosol, PM 2.5 , and fluffy catkins were collected from different sample points (traffic site and campus site) in Xi'an in spring. The variations in bioaerosol, fluffy catkins, and the bacterial community structure were investigated using culture-dependent and high-throughput sequencing methods. The results showed that the concentration of culturable bacteria was significantly higher ( P =0.027) at the traffic site. The concentration of culturable bacteria at the traffic site was 2.7 times that of fungi, whereas the concentration of culturable fungi at the campus site was 1.4 times higher than that of bacteria. The peak concentrations of culturable bacteria and fungi appeared at 08:00 a.m. The size distribution of culturable bacteria showed a bimodal pattern, whereas that of culturable fungi showed a unimodal distribution. Soil and vegetation were the main sources of atmospheric microorganisms (85.9%), and Proteobacteria was the most abundant phylum in both fluffy catkins and PM 2.5 , accounting for 91.3% (traffic site) and 99.1% (campus site) of the fluffy catkins. Actinobacteria, Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, Cyanobacteria, and Deinococcus-Thermus were the dominant phyla in PM 2.5 . Some genera were opportunistic pathogen bacteria in the fluffy catkins, such as Enterobacter and Pseudomonas , which can lead to infection and diarrhea risks. These results could provide fundamental data on potential health risks of spring-borne bioaerosols.

It is well established that exposure to ambient air pollution affects human health. A majority of literature concentrated on health effects of air pollution in high income countries. Only fewer studies analyzing health effects of air pollution in Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs) are available. To bridge this gap in literature, this study investigated short term and long-term health impacts of ambient air pollutants focussed in LMICs. We evaluated Total Non-accidental mortality, Respiratory Mortality, Stroke Mortality, Cardio-vascular Mortality, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), Ischemic Heart Disease (IHD) and Lung Cancer Mortality in LMICs particularly. Random Effects Model was utilised to derive overall risk estimate. Relative Risk (RR) estimates per 10 μg/m 3 was used as input for model. Subgroup and Sensitivity Analysis by Design and Country was conducted. A total of 152 studies were included for quantitative analysis. We found positive associations between pollutants and Total Non-accidental mortality for PM 10 ((RR:1.0043-1.0036), p < 0.0001), NO 2 (RR:1.0222 (1.0111-1.0336), p < 0.0001), SO 2 (RR:1.0107 - (1.0073-1.0140), p < 0.0001), O 3 (RR: 1.0038 (1.0023-1.0053), p < 0.0001) and PM 2.5 (RR: 1.0048 (1.0037-1.0059), p < 0.0001) for every 10 μg/m 3 increase. We found positive association between Long-term exposure to PM 10 and Total Non-accidental mortality (RR: 1.0430 (1.0278-1.0583), p < 0.0001) We also found statistically significant positive associations between pollutants and Cardiorespiratory and Cardiovascular morbidity. The positive associations persisted when analysed amongst sub-groups. However, the high heterogeneity amongst studies persisted even after performing sub-group analysis. The study has found statistically significant positive associations between short-term and long-term exposure to Ambient air pollution with various health-outcome combinations., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

China put forward that it would strive to achieve the carbon peaking in 2030 and carbon neutrality goals in 2060, which needed realizing the synergistic effect of pollution reduction and CO 2 reduction. CO 2 and PM 2.5 from coal consumption were "homogenous and synchronous" and they had significant synergistic effect. The synergistic reduction of PM 2.5 from coal consumption could have impacts on public health. The Logarithmic Mean Divisia Index (LMDI) was adopted to decompose the PM 2.5 from coal consumption in China from 2012 to 2017 based on data availability and quantified the synergy. PM 2.5 emissions from coal consumption were forecasted in 2030, 2035, 2050 and 2060, and its health effects of PM 2.5 were estimated. The main conclusions were: (1) the synergy of CO 2 and PM 2.5 was the largest contribution factor of PM 2.5 from coal consumption. (2) PM 2.5 from coal consumption in 2060 would achieve the WHO air quality guidelines. (3) The most health effects economic loss from PM 2.5 generated by coal consumption in China was in 2014. The health effects economic loss would have been decreased to negative by 2050. We should reinforce the synergistic effect of CO 2 and PM 2.5 , improve energy efficiency and optimize energy structure to achieve PM 2.5 pollution control and reduce health effects economic loss., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background/aim: Daily air pollution has been linked with mortality from urban studies. Associations in rural areas are still unclear and there is growing interest in testing the role that air pollution has on other causes of death. This study aims to evaluate the association between daily air pollution and cause-specific mortality in all 8092 Italian municipalities., Methods: Natural, cardiovascular, cardiac, ischemic, cerebrovascular, respiratory, metabolic, diabetes, nervous and psychiatric causes of death occurred in Italy were extracted during 2013-2015. Daily ambient PM 10 , PM 2.5 and NO 2 concentrations were estimated through machine learning algorithms. The associations between air pollutants and cause-specific mortality were estimated with a time-series approach using a two-stage analytic protocol where area-specific over-dispersed Poisson regression models where fit in the first stage, followed by a meta-analysis in the second. We tested for effect modification by sex, age class and the degree of urbanisation of the municipality., Results: We estimated a positive association between PM 10 and PM 2.5 and the mortality from natural, cardiovascular, cardiac, respiratory and nervous system causes, but not with metabolic or psychiatric causes of death. In particular, mortality from nervous diseases increased by 4.55% (95% CI: 2.51-6.63) and 9.64% (95% CI: 5.76-13.65) for increments of 10 μg/m 3 in PM 10 and PM 2.5 (lag 0-5 days), respectively. NO 2 was positively associated with respiratory (6.68% (95% CI: 1.04-12.62)) and metabolic (7.30% (95% CI: 1.03-13.95)) mortality for increments of 10 μg/m 3 (lag 0-5). Higher associations with natural mortality were found among the elderly, while there were no differential effects between sex or between rural and urban areas., Conclusions: Short-term exposure to particulate matter was associated with mortality from nervous diseases. Mortality from metabolic diseases was associated with NO 2 exposure. Other associations are confirmed and updated, including the contribution of lowly urbanised areas. Health effects were also found in suburban and rural areas., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Matteo Renzi, Paola Michelozzi, Paolo Giorgi Rossi, Sara Maio, Giovanni Viegi, Massimo Stafoggia reports financial support was provided by National Institute for Insurance against Accidents at Work., (Copyright © 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

People spend a considerable portion of their lives indoors; thus, the quality of the indoor environment is crucial. Semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs) are among the primary indoor pollutants responsible for various health risks. This paper systematically reviews the impact of SVOC exposure on human health in Chinese built environments. Based on a set of criteria, we judged 12 publications as providing sufficient information on both SVOC exposure and health effects to inform the relationship. Out of six studies on polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), three observed a positive association between PAH exposure and lung cancer. Out of six studies of phthalate exposure, two studies reported a significant positive association between DEP and DiBP and asthma, between DEP and DEHP and dry cough among children, and between DBP and rhinitis among younger adults. The results of this review suggest that there might be a link between phthalate exposure and asthma and allergies, as well as a link between PAH exposure and lung cancer. However, due to the limited number of studies conducted, more evidence is necessary to definitively guide the establishment of standards for SVOC control in China.

The change in air quality in cities can be the product of regulation and emissions. Regulations require enforcement of emission reduction, but it is often shifting economic and societal structures that influence pollutant emissions. This study examines the long-term record of air pollutants in Kaohsiung, where post-war industrialisation increased pollution substantially, although improvements are observed in recent decades as the city moved to a more mixed economy. The study tracks both gases and particles across a period of significant change in pollution sources in the city. Concentrations of SO 2 and aerosol SO 4 2- were especially high ~1970, but these gradually declined, although SO 4 2- to a lesser extent than its precursor, SO 2 . While twenty-first century emissions of SO 2 and NO x have declined, this has been less so for NH 3 , because it arises from predominantly agricultural sources. The atmosphere in Kaohsiung continues to have high concentrations of O 3 , and these have risen in the city, likely a product of less titration by NO. The changes have meant that ozone has become an increasing threat to health and agriculture. Despite a potential for producing (NH 4 ) 2 SO 4 and NH 4 NO 3 aerosols, a product of a relatively constant supply of NH 3 , visibility has improved in recent years. Emissions of SO 2 and NO x should continue to be reduced, as these strongly affect the amount of fine secondary aerosol. However, the key problem may be ozone, which is difficult to control as it requires careful consideration of the balance of NO x and hydrocarbons so important to its production., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

The present work studies a severe smog event that occurred in Delhi (India) in 2017, targeting the characterization of PM 2.5 and its deposition potential in human respiratory tract of different population groups in which the PM 2.5 levels raised from 124.0 µg/m 3 (pre-smog period) to 717.2 µg/m 3 (during smog period). Higher concentration of elements such as C, N, O, Na, Mg, Al, Si, S, Fe, Cl, Ca, Ti, Cr, Pb, Fe, K, Cu, Cl, P, and F were observed during the smog along with dominant organic functional groups (aldehyde, ketones, alkyl halides (R-F; R-Br; R-Cl), ether, etc.), which supported potential contribution from transboundary biomass-burning activities along with local pollution sources and favorable meteorological conditions. The morphology of individual particles were found mostly as non-spherical, including carbon fractals, aggregates, sharp-edged, rod-shaped, and flaky structures. A multiple path particle dosimetry (MPPD) model showed significant deposition potential of PM 2.5 in terms of deposition fraction, mass rate, and mass flux during smog conditions in all age groups. The highest PM 2.5 deposition fraction and mass rate were found for the head region followed by the alveolar region of the human respiratory tract. The highest mass flux was reported for 21-month-old (4.7 × 10 2 µg/min/m 2 ), followed by 3-month-old (49.2 µg/min/m 2 ) children, whereas it was lowest for 21-year-old adults (6.8 µg/min/m 2 ), indicating babies and children were more vulnerable to PM 2.5 pollution than adults during smog. Deposition doses of toxic elements such as Cr, Fe, Zn, Pb, Cu, Mn, and Ni were also found to be higher (up to 1 × 10 -7 µg/kg/day) for children than adults.

Outdoor air pollution is associated with exacerbations of allergic diseases, including asthma, allergic rhinitis, and other atopic conditions. The increased allergic disease prevalence has been linked to this urbanization, industrialization, and economic growth globally. Air pollutants are well-known to disrupt the epithelium leading to specific diseases in any organ system that has epithelial linings. This review provides an overview of the health effects of air pollution on allergic disorders and specifically addresses how it may impact the epithelial barrier in the upper and lower respiratory tracts to facilitate the health effects associated with these exposures., Competing Interests: Conflicts of interest A. Nanda: None. S.S. Mustafa: Genentech, Regeneron/Sanofi, GSK, AstraZeneca, CSL Behring, Aimmune. M. Castillo: None. J.A. Bernstein: INEOS; Speaking: Sanofi-Regeneron, AZ, GSK, Novartis, Genentech, Takeda/Shire, CSL Behring, Biocryst, Pharming, Optinose; Research and consultant: Sanofi-Regeneron, AZ, GSK, Novartis, Genentech, Takeda/Shire, CSL Behring, Biocryst, Pharming, Kalvista, IONIS, Celldex, TLL, ONO, Escient, Cycle, Blueprint Medicine, Biomarin, Merck, Amgen., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Ambient PM 2.5 is one of the major risk factors for human health, and is not fully explained solely by mass concentration. We examined the short-term associations of cause-specific mortality (i.e., all-cause, cardiovascular, and respiratory mortality) with the 15 chemical constituents and sources of PM 2.5 in four metropolitan cities of South Korea during 2014-2018. We found transition metals consistently showed significant associations with all-cause mortality, while the effects of other constituents varied across the cities and for cause of death. Carbonaceous components strongly affected the all-cause, cardiovascular, and respiratory mortality in Daejeon. Secondary inorganic aerosols, SO 4 2- , showed significant associations with respiratory mortality in Gwangju. We also found the sources from which species closely linked to mortality generally increased the relative mortality risks. Heavy metal markers from soil or industrial sources were significantly associated with mortality in all cities. However, several sources influenced mortality despite their marker species not being significantly associated with it. Secondary nitrate and secondary sulfate sources were linked to mortality in DJ. This could be attributed to the deep inland location, which might have facilitated formation of secondary inorganic aerosols. In addition, primary sources including mobile and coal combustion seemed to have acute impacts on respiratory mortality in Gwangju. Our findings suggest the necessity of positive matrix factorization (PMF)-based approaches for evaluating health effects of PM 4 + , showed significant associations with respiratory mortality in Gwangju. We also found the sources from which species closely linked to mortality generally increased the relative mortality risks. Heavy metal markers from soil or industrial sources were significantly associated with mortality in all cities. However, several sources influenced mortality despite their marker species not being significantly associated with it. Secondary nitrate and secondary sulfate sources were linked to mortality in DJ. This could be attributed to the deep inland location, which might have facilitated formation of secondary inorganic aerosols. In addition, primary sources including mobile and coal combustion seemed to have acute impacts on respiratory mortality in Gwangju. Our findings suggest the necessity of positive matrix factorization (PMF)-based approaches for evaluating health effects of PM 2.5 while considering the spatial heterogeneity in the compositions and source contributions of PM 2.5 ., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Considering that the promotion of new-energy vehicles (NEVs) is a potential measure to address urban air pollution, the Chinese government has launched subsidy schemes to improve its market penetration. The purpose of this study is to quantify the economic benefits of NEV promotion from 2016 to 2019 and compare them with the cost of government subsidies in Beijing, so the effectiveness of the NEV policies can be evaluated and valuable recommendations can be provided for decision-making. The exposure-response model and the cost of illness approach was applied to evaluate the health and economic benefits of NEV promotion. Our results are as follows: (1) promoting NEVs can reduce the PM 2.5 concentration significantly, the average annual concentration reduction was between 3.23 μg/m 3 and 4.61 μg/m 3 ; (2) at least 37,545 illnesses and deaths in Beijing could be reduced through NEV promotion annually, internal disease (15-64) was the most affected illness; (3) the economic benefits of NEV promotion were far more than the cost and the net benefits stock reached 33.71 billion CNY in 2019, accounting for 0.95% of Beijing's GDP in the same period. This study provides references in the perspective of environmental economics for the policy formulation of promoting NEVs.

Air is a diverse mixture of gaseous and suspended solid particles. Several new substances are being added to the air daily, polluting it and causing human health effects. Particulate matter (PM) is the primary health concern among these air toxins. The World Health Organization (WHO) addressed the fact that particulate pollution affects human health more severely than other air pollutants. The spread of air pollution and viruses, two of our millennium's most serious concerns, have been linked closely. Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) can spread through the air, and PM could act as a host to spread the virus beyond those in close contact. Studies on COVID-19 cover diverse environmental segments and become complicated with time. As PM pollution is related to everyday life, an essential awareness regarding PM-impacted COVID-19 among the masses is required, which can help researchers understand the various features of ambient particulate pollution, particularly in the era of COVID-19. Given this, the present work provides an overview of the recent developments in COVID-19 research linked to ambient particulate studies. This review summarizes the effect of the lockdown on the characteristics of ambient particulate matter pollution, the transmission mechanism of COVID-19, and the combined health repercussions of PM pollution. In addition to a comprehensive evaluation of the implementation of the lockdown, its rationales-based on topographic and socioeconomic dynamics-are also discussed in detail. The current review is expected to encourage and motivate academics to concentrate on improving air quality management and COVID-19 control.

We investigated the influence of biomass burning (BURN), Diwali fireworks, and fog events on the ambient fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ) oxidative potential (OP) during the postmonsoon (PMON) and winter season in Delhi, India. The real-time hourly averaged OP (based on a dithiothreitol assay) and PM 2.5 chemical composition were measured intermittently from October 2019 to January 2020. The peak extrinsic OP (OP v : normalized by the volume of air) was observed during the winter fog (WFOG) (5.23 ± 4.6 nmol·min -1 ·m -3 ), whereas the intrinsic OP (OP m ; normalized by the PM 2.5 mass) was the highest during the Diwali firework-influenced period (29.4 ± 18.48 pmol·min -1 ·μg -1 ). Source apportionment analysis using positive matrix factorization revealed that traffic + resuspended dust-related emissions (39%) and secondary sulfate + oxidized organic aerosols (38%) were driving the OP v during the PMON period, whereas BURN aerosols dominated (37%) the OP v during the WFOG period. Firework-related emissions became a significant contributor (∼32%) to the OP v during the Diwali period (4 day period from October 26 to 29), and its contribution peaked (72%) on the night of Diwali. Discerning the influence of seasonal and episodic sources on health-relevant properties of PM 2.5 , such as OP, could help better understand the causal relationships between PM 2.5 and health effects in India.

Biodiesel usage is increasing steadily worldwide as the push for renewable fuel sources increases. The increased oxygen content in biodiesel fuel is believed to cause decreased particulate matter (PM) and increased nitrous oxides within its exhaust. The addition of fuel additives to further increase the oxygen content may contribute to even further benefits in exhaust composition. The aim of this study was to assess the toxicity of 10% (v/v) diethylene glycol dimethyl ether (DGDME) added as a biodiesel fuel additive. Primary human airway epithelial cells were grown at the air-liquid interface and exposed to diluted exhaust from an engine running on either grapeseed, bran, or coconut biodiesel or the same three biodiesels with 10% (v/v) DGDME added to them; mineral diesel and air were used as controls. Exhaust properties, culture permeability, epithelial cell damage, and IL-6 and IL-8 release were measured postexposure. The fuel additive DGDME caused a decrease in PM and nitrous oxide concentrations. However, exhaust exposure with DGDME also caused decreased permeability, increased epithelial cell damage, and increased release of IL-6 and IL-8 ( p < 0.05). Despite the fuel additive having beneficial effects on the exhaust properties of the biodiesel, it was found to be more toxic.

India's air quality is in a dismal state, with many studies ascribing it to PM 2.5 . Most of these corroborate that carbonaceous aerosol (CA) constitute significant fraction of PM 2.5. However, investigations on the effect of long-term meteorological or emission changes on PM 2.5 and its components, and their associated health effects are rare. In this work, WRF-Chem simulations for three seasons over four years (2016-2019) were carried out to cogitate the spatial and temporal changes in PM 2.5 and its components in India. Model predicted PM 2.5 concentrations were in good agreement with the ground-based observations for 25 cities. PM 2.5 was highest in winter and lowest in pre-monsoon. PM 2.5 reduced by ∼8% in Indo-Gangetic Plain (IGP) but increased by ∼38% and ∼130% in south and northeast India, respectively, from 2016 to 2019. IGP witnessed three times higher average PM 2.5 concentrations than south India. No significant interannual change in CA contributions was observed, however, it peaked in the winter season. Other inorganics (OIN) were the major component of PM 2.5, contributing more than 40%. Primary organic aerosol (POA) fractions were higher in north India, while secondary inorganic aerosol (SIA) dominated south India. Transport and residential sectors were the chief contributors to CA across India. Biomass burning contributed up to ∼23% of PM 2.5 in regions of IGP during post-monsoon, with CA fractions up to 50%. Associations between PM 2.5 and its components with daily inpatient admissions from a tertiary care centre in Delhi showed that PM 2.5 and OIN had lower associations with daily hospital admissions than CA. Every 10 μg/m 3 increase in POA, black carbon (BC), and secondary organic aerosol (SOA) were associated with ∼1.09%, ∼3.07% and ∼4.93% increase in the risk of daily hospital admissions. This invigorates the need for more policies targeting CA rather than PM 2.5 to mitigate associated health risks, in India., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Although particulate matter (PM) is a major risk factor for stroke, its effects on hospital outpatients admitted for stroke have not been documented in Korea. In addition, recent studies have reported that the effects of PM 10 on circulatory mortality changed over time. We aimed to estimate the effects of PM 10 on stroke and their temporal heterogeneity in seven major cities of Korea during the period 2002-2015. The study period was divided into five years of moving time windows, and city-specific PM 10 effects on ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke outpatients were calculated. We pooled the estimates using meta-analysis and plotted them into a sequence to identify their temporal trends. A 10 µg/m 3 increase of PM 10 was significantly associated with increments in hospital outpatients admitted for ischemic stroke (0.24%, 95% CI: 0.04%, 0.44%), but not for hemorrhagic stroke (0.33%, 95% CI: -0.06%, 0.73%). Effect estimates for strokes increased during the period 2003-2013 but decreased after. For the first time, we have estimated the effects of PM 10 on hospital outpatients admitted for stroke in Korea. The observed temporal trend in PM 10 effects was similar to patterns of circulatory mortality, suggesting that the temporal heterogeneity in PM 10 effects might be due to systematic causes rather than random fluctuations.

Polluted air affects human life and it is crucial to assess air pollutants to inform policy and protect human lives. In this study, we sought to assess the respiratory outcomes associated with PM 10 , O 3 , SO 2 , and NO 2 in the Iranian population. The required data, which included concentrations of air pollutants, meteorology, and population size, were obtained from the department of environment and meteorological organizations. The validity of the data was evaluated, and appropriate calculations were conducted on the data to extract the required values and parameters for modeling (using the AirQ2.2.3). This study was conducted in two megacities of Iran (Tabriz and Urmia) with over 2 million population. The annual averages of SO 2 , NO 2 , and PM 10 concentrations were 9, 73, and 43 μg/m 3 in Tabriz and 76, 29, and 76 μg/m 3 in Urmia, respectively. Excess deaths from respiratory diseases associated with PM 10 and SO 2 were estimated to be 33.1 and 1.2 cases in Tabriz and 31.6 and 24.7 cases in Urmia, respectively. The proportions of hospitalizations for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) attributable to SO 2 and NO 2 in Tabriz were 0.07% and 1.61%, respectively, whereas they were 2.84% and 0.48% in Urmia. O 3 had an annual average of 56 μg/m 3 in Tabriz and with 44.5 excess respiratory deaths and 42.5 excess hospital admissions for COPD, it had the greatest health impacts among the pollutants studied. Findings from this study add to the growing literature, especially from developing countries, that provides insights to help authorities and decision-makers develop and implement effective interventions to curb air pollution and save lives., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.)

Background: Exposure to air pollutants is one of the major environmental health risks faced by populations globally. Information about inhaled particle deposition dose is crucial in establishing the dose-response function for assessing health-related effects due to exposure to air pollution., Objective: This study aims to quantify the respiratory tract deposition (RTD) of equivalent black carbon (BC) particles in healthy young adults during a real-world commuting scenario, analyze factors affecting RTD of BC, and provide key parameters for the assessment of RTD., Methods: A novel in situ method was applied to experimentally determine the RTD of BC particles among subjects in the highly polluted megacity of Metro Manila, Philippines. Exposure measurements were made for 40 volunteers during public transport and walking., Results: The observed BC exposure concentration was up to 17-times higher than in developed regions. The deposition dose rate (DDR) of BC was up to 3 times higher during commute inside a public transport compared to walking (11.6 versus 4.4 μg hr -1 , respectively). This is twice higher than reported in similar studies. The average BC mass deposition fraction (DF) was found to be 43 ± 16%, which can in large be described by individual factors and does not depend on gender., Conclusions: Commuting by open-sided public transport, commonly used in developing regions, poses a significant health risk due to acquiring extremely high doses of carcinogenic traffic-related pollutants. There is an urgent need to drastically update air pollution mitigation strategies for reduction of dangerously high emissions of BC in urban setting in developing regions. The presented mobile measurement set-up to determine respiratory tract deposition dose is a practical and cost-effective tool that can be used to investigate respiratory deposition in challenging environments., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

One of the more important classes of potentially toxic indoor air chemicals are the Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs). However, due to a limited understanding of the relationships between indoor concentrations of individual VOCs and health outcomes, there are currently no universal health-based guideline values for VOCs within Europe including the UK. In this study, a systematic search was conducted designed to capture evidence on concentrations, emissions from indoor sources, and health effects for VOCs measured in European residences. We identified 65 individual VOCs, and the most commonly measured were aromatic hydrocarbons (14 chemicals), alkane hydrocarbons (9), aldehydes (8), aliphatic hydrocarbons (5), terpenes (6), chlorinated hydrocarbons (4), glycol and glycol ethers (3) and esters (2). The pathway of interest was inhalation and 8 individual aromatic hydrocarbons, 7 alkanes and 6 aldehydes were associated with respiratory health effects. Members of the chlorinated hydrocarbon family were associated with cardiovascular neurological and carcinogenic health effects and some were irritants as were esters and terpenes. Eight individual aromatic hydrocarbons, 7 alkanes and 6 aldehydes identified in European residences were associated with respiratory health effects. Of the 65 individual VOCs, 52 were from sources associated with building and construction materials (e.g. brick, wood products, adhesives and materials for flooring installation etc.), 41 were linked with consumer products (passive, electric and combustible air fresheners, hair sprays, deodorants) and 9 VOCs were associated with space heating, which may reflect the relatively small number of studies discussing emissions from this category of sources. A clear decrease in concentrations of formaldehyde was observed over the last few years, whilst acetone was found to be one of the most abundant but underreported species. A new approach based on the operational indoor air quality surveillance will both reveal trends in known VOCs and identify new compounds., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Road traffic constitutes a major source of air pollutants in urban Beijing, which are responsible for substantial premature mortality. A series of policies and regulations has led to appreciable traffic emission reductions in recent decades. To shed light on long-term (2014-2020) roadside air pollution and assess the efficacy of traffic control measures and their effects on public health, this study quantitatively evaluated changes in the concentrations of six key air pollutants (PM 2.5 , PM 10 , NO 2 , SO 2 , CO and O 3 ) measured at 5 roadside and 12 urban background monitoring stations in Beijing. We found that the annual mean concentrations of these air pollutants were remarkably reduced by 47%-71% from 2014 to 2020, while the concurrent ozone concentration increased by 17.4%. In addition, we observed reductions in the roadside increments in PM 2.5 , NO 2 , SO 2 and CO of 54.8%, 29.8%, 20.6%, and 59.1%, respectively, indicating the high effectiveness of new vehicle standard (China V and VI) implementation in Beijing. The premature deaths due to traffic emissions were estimated to be 8379 and 1908 cases in 2014 and 2020, respectively. The impact of NO 2 from road traffic relative to PM 2.5 on premature mortality was comparable to that of traffic-related PM 2.5 emissions. The public health effect of SO 2 originating from traffic was markedly lower than that of PM 2.5 . The results indicated that a reduction in traffic-related NO 2 could likely yield the greatest benefits for public health., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

There is widespread misunderstanding of air pollution and its effects in the media. This relates to the complexities of studying and reporting on the issue - multiple different associated pollutants and diverse reported toxic effects. This article explains what air pollution is and how it may affect health, from heart to brain. It then explains, using Scotland as an example, how pollution can be reduced to levels at which public health effects become small but that, because of its close causative link with climate change, both government action and, especially, our individual responses to the issue are still urgently necessary. The medical profession is urged to set an example by reducing personal carbon footprints.

Purpose of Review: Exposure to air pollutants may lead to various health effects and is a major public health issue. Concerns about these effects exist in both developed and developing countries. The Air Q software was developed to estimate the health impacts of air pollution based on reported levels of air pollutants in real world studies. In Iran several studies have been conducted to estimate human morbidity and mortality based on this software. We conducted this review to summarize articles which have predicted the effects of air pollution on human health in Iran using Air Q. We conducted a systematic search for relevant studies published until 24 April 2021 in Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus, and SID (Scientific Information Database which includes articles in Farsi language). We applied no time or language restrictions., Recent Findings: A total of 44 studies out of 525 identified articles met our inclusion criteria. The main air pollutants under investigation were particulate matter (PM), NO 2 , O 3 , and SO 2 . Most studies were conducted in metropolitan areas, such as Ahvaz (9 studies), Tehran (9 studies), and Shiraz (7 studies). In all studies, the levels of most air pollutants were higher than the 2005 WHO guideline levels and were predicted to be related to considerable health effects. However, it was not possible to aggregate the results and report the total number of casualties during these years, because studies were done in different cities with fluctuating levels of multiple pollutants and in different years and time frames. This systematic review showed that air pollution remains at unacceptably high levels resulting in substantial detrimental health effects in various Iranian cities. Using clean renewable energies, increasing human capital, and increasing green spaces and vegetation can help improve air pollution and decrease human casualties in Iran., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.)

This research paper examines the exposure to particulate matter (PM) and its deposition on the human respiratory tract (HRT) in 12 critical urban zones - institutional zone, commercial zone, construction zone, hospital zone, landfill zone, industrial zone, residential zone, high-traffic zone, main roads, medium-traffic zone secondary roads, low-traffic zone, coastal zone, and environmentally sensitive zone. This study measured the size-segregated PM concentrations using a Grimm aerosol spectrometer. The multiple-path particle dosimetry model assesses particles' total and regional deposition mass rates for different urban zones. A stochastic model of the 60th percentile is used to illustrate the deposition of PM in the human lung. The deposition rate of PM in the HRT is examined for the different urban zones from different emission sources. The analysis shows that the PM concentration in zone V (dumpsite zone) is at an elevated level (i.e., PM 10  = 570.4 µg/m 3 , PM 2.5  = 128.3 µg/m 3 , and PM 1  = 28.1 µg/m 3 ) and lowest at zone XII (eco-sensitive zone) (i.e., PM 10  = 25.1 µg/m 3 , PM 2.5  = 1 6.9 µg/m 3 , and PM 1  = 14.8 µg/m 3 ). Further, dumpsite, commercial, and eco-sensitive zones are identified to be critical zones that influence higher deposition in the tracheobronchial and pulmonary regions. The investigation concludes that local turbulence and emission source significantly impacts air quality and deposition of PM at HRT. In addition, as the PM diameter decreases, the acidity of PM increases, and it can penetrate deep into the lower airways. Since this can have profound consequences, it is imperative to better understand the deposition of PM across various urban zones., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.)

With the rapid urbanization and industrialization in China, ozone pollution has become increasingly serious and poses a greater threat to human health. In this study, the spatiotemporal distribution of ozone pollution in China's cities and urban agglomerations from 2015 to 2019 was analyzed. The health effects and health economic costs of ozone pollution in China were estimated by applying the environmental Benefits Mapping and Analysis Program-Community Edition (BenMAP-CE) model. The results are as follows: (1) ozone pollution was more serious in Chinese urban agglomerations from 2015 to 2019; (2) the hot spots of ozone concentration mainly distributed in the North China Plain, expanding from north to south; the cold spots decreased year by year and were located in the northeast, northwest, and southwest of China, shifting from northwest to southwest; (3) the seasonal average of ozone concentration in China was the highest in summer, followed by spring and autumn, and the lowest in winter; (4) the number of all-cause premature deaths of ozone pollution in China increased slowly from 2015 to 2019, and the average of urban agglomerations was significantly higher than cities, with similar spatial distribution characteristics as ozone concentration; (5) the health economic costs of ozone pollution from 2015 to 2019 slowly expanded to surrounding cities with Beijing, Shanghai, Xi'an, and Chongqing as the centers of high values, while the low value areas decreased year by year and were mainly concentrated in southwest and northeast China. The health economic costs of ozone pollution at urban agglomerations scale were higher in the eastern coastal regions and lower in the northwest inland regions. Thus, this study presents policy recommendations to provide decision-making reference for realizing the inter-regional prevention and control of ozone pollution., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Air pollution and ischemic stroke (IS) are both vital factors affecting the health of Beijing citizens. This study aims at exploring the associations between air pollution, meteorology, and the hospital admission of IS (IS HA). Information on 476,659 IS inpatients in secondary and higher hospitals in Beijing from 2013 to 2018 were collected. A time-stratified case-crossover design with the generalized additive model and the distributed lag nonlinear model were used. In the single-pollutant models, an inter-quartile range increase in O 3, SO 2 , CO, and NO 2 resulted in a significant highest increase in IS HA by 2.23% (95% CI: 1.56%, 2.90%), 1.53% (95% CI: 1.12%, 1.95%), 1.05% (95% CI: 0.70%, 1.40%), and 0.51% (95% CI: 0.24%, 0.79%) on the day of pollution, so did PM 2.5 and PM 10 by 1.13% (95% CI: 0.68%, 1.59%) and 1.19% (95% CI: 0.74%, 1.64%) at a lag of 0-5 days. There was a nonlinear relationship between meteorology and IS HA. In the multivariate model, the cumulative relative risks with a maximum lag time of 21 days of PM 2.5 and NO 2 were 1.11 (95% CI: 1.04, 1.19) and 0.88 (95% CI: 0.82, 0.94), while the effects of SO 2 , O 3 , and meteorology were insignificant. The findings suggested that particulate pollutants could increase the risk of IS, and the elderly were more sensitive to it, while the results of gaseous pollutants are still discordant. The control of air pollution and the protection of susceptible populations should receive higher attention from policymakers., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Here, we investigated the use of breath-borne volatile organic compounds (VOCs) for rapid monitoring of air pollution health effects on humans. Forty-seven healthy college students were recruited, and their exhaled breath samples ( n = 235) were collected and analyzed for VOCs before, on, and after two separate haze pollution episodes using gas chromatography-ion mobility spectrometry (GC-IMS). Using a paired t-test and machine learning model (Gradient Boosting Machine, GBM), six exhaled VOC species including propanol and isoprene were revealed to differ significantly among pre-, on-, and post-exposure in both haze episodes, while none was found between clean control days. The GBM model was shown capable of differentiating between pre- and on-exposure to haze pollution with a precision of 90-100% for both haze episodes. However, poor performance was detected for the same model between two different clean days. In addition to gender and particular haze occurrence influences, correlation analysis revealed that NH 4 + , NO 3 - , acetic acid, mesylate, CO, NO 2 , PM 2.5 , and O 3 played important roles in the changes in breath-borne VOC fingerprints following haze air pollution exposure. This work has demonstrated direct evidence of human health impacts of haze pollution while identifying potential breath-borne VOC biomarkers such as propanol and isoprene for haze air pollution exposure.

Several epidemiologic and toxicological studies have commonly viewed ambient fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ), defined as particles having an aerodynamic diameter of less than 2.5 µm, as a significant potential danger to human health. PM 2.5 is mostly absorbed through the respiratory system, where it can infiltrate the lung alveoli and reach the bloodstream. In the respiratory system, reactive oxygen or nitrogen species (ROS, RNS) and oxidative stress stimulate the generation of mediators of pulmonary inflammation and begin or promote numerous illnesses. According to the most recent data, fine particulate matter, or PM 2.5 , is responsible for nearly 4 million deaths globally from cardiopulmonary illnesses such as heart disease, respiratory infections, chronic lung disease, cancers, preterm births, and other illnesses. There has been increased worry in recent years about the negative impacts of this worldwide danger. The causal associations between PM 2.5 and human health, the toxic effects and potential mechanisms of PM 2.5 , and molecular pathways have been described in this review.

Implementation of regulatory standards has reduced exhaust emissions of particulate matter from road traffic substantially in the developed world. However, nonexhaust particle emissions arising from the wear of brakes, tires, and the road surface, together with the resuspension of road dust, are unregulated and exceed exhaust emissions in many jurisdictions. While knowledge of the sources of nonexhaust particles is fairly good, source-specific measurements of airborne concentrations are few, and studies of the toxicology and epidemiology do not give a clear picture of the health risk posed. This paper reviews the current state of knowledge, with a strong focus on health-related research, highlighting areas where further research is an essential prerequisite for developing focused policy responses to nonexhaust particles.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are a class of chemicals of considerable environmental significance. PAHs are chemical contaminants of fused carbon and hydrogen aromatic rings, basically white, light-yellow, or solid compounds without color. Natural sources of pollution are marginal or less significant, such as volcanic eruptions, natural forest fires, and moorland fires that trigger lightning bursts. The significant determinants of PAH pollution are anthropogenic pollution sources, classified into four groups, i.e., industrial, mobile, domestic, and agricultural pollution sources. Humans can consume PAHs via different routes, such as inhalation, dermal touch, and ingestion. The Effect of PAHs on human health is primarily based on the duration and route of exposure, the volume or concentration of PAHs to which one is exposed, and the relative toxicity of PAHs. Many PAHs are widely referred to as carcinogens, mutagens, and teratogens and thus pose a significant danger to human health and the well-being of humans. Skin, lung, pancreas, esophagus, bladder, colon, and female breast are numerous organs prone to tumor development due to long-term PAH exposure. PAH exposure may increase the risk of lung cancer as well as cardiovascular disease (CVD), including atherosclerosis, thrombosis, hypertension, and myocardial infarction (MI). Preclinical studies have found a relationship between PAH exposure, oxidative stress, and atherosclerosis. In addition, investigations have discovered a relationship between PAH exposure at work and CVD illness and mortality development. This review aims to explain PAH briefly, its transportation, its effects on human health, and a relationship between environmental exposures to PAHs and CVD risk in humans., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Hebei Province, located in the North China Plain (NCP) and encircling Beijing and Tianjin, has been suffering from severe air pollution. The monthly average fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ) concentration was up to 276 μg/m 3 in Hebei Province, which adversely affects human health. However, few studies evaluated the coordinated health impact of exposure to PM (PM 2.5 and PM 10 ) and other key air pollutants (SO 2 , NO 2 , CO, and surface ozone (O 3 )). In this study, we systematically analyzed the health risks (both mortality and morbidity) due to multiple air pollutants exposures in Hebei Province. The economic loss associated with these health consequences was estimated using the value of statistical life (VSL) and cost of illness (COI) methods. Our results show the health burden and economic loss attributable to multiple ambient air pollutants exposures in Hebei Province is substantial. In 2017, the total premature mortality from multiple air pollutants exposures in Hebei Province was 69,833 (95% CI: 55,549-83,028), which was 2.9 times higher than that of the Pearl River Delta region (PRD). Most of the potential economic loss (79.65%) was attributable to premature mortality from air pollution. The total economic loss due to the health consequences of multiple air pollutants exposures was 175.16 (95% CI: 134.61-224.61) billion Chinese Yuan (CNY), which was 4.92% of Hebei Province's annual gross domestic product (GDP). Thus, the adverse health effects and economic loss caused by exposure to multiple air pollutants should be seriously taken into consideration. To alleviate these damages, Hebei's government ought to establish more stringent measures and regulations to better control air pollution., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

North China, the political, economic, and cultural center of China, has been greatly harmed by frequent air pollution incidents. Therefore, it is vital to study air pollution characteristics and clarify their impact on human health. In this study, we first analyzed the spatiotemporal variations of air pollutants (PM 2.5 , PM 10 , CO, SO 2 , NO 2 , and O 3 ) in North China from 2016 to 2019. Then, the air quality index (AQI), aggregate air quality index (AAQI), and health risk based air quality index (HAQI) were used to assess health risks. Based on these, the AirQ 2.2.3 model was used to quantify health effects. The results showed that the major pollutant in the cities surrounding Beijing was PM 2.5 , while PM 10 dominated in distant cities. Annual concentrations decreased (except for O 3 ), which is related to governmental emission reduction policies. However, O 3 concentrations increased owing to the complex precursor emissions. The AQI underestimated air pollution, while the AAQI and HAQI were accurate; the latter indicated that 55% of the study region population was exposed to polluted air. The AirQ 2.2.3 model quantified the total mortality proportions attributable to PM 2.5 , PM 10 , SO 2 , CO, NO 2 , and O 3 , which were 1.87%, 3.12%, 1.11%, 1.40%, 4.19%, and 2.52%, respectively. In high concentrations, PM 10 and PM 2.5 pose significant health risks. The health effects of SO 2 , NO 2 , CO, and O 3 at lower concentrations were more obvious, indicating that the expected mortality rate due to low concentrations of some pollutants was much higher than that due to high concentrations of other pollutants., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: The cardiovascular effects of ozone exposure are unclear. Using measurements from the 87 participants in the Multicenter Ozone Study of oldEr Subjects (MOSES), we examined whether personal and ambient pollutant exposures before the controlled exposure sessions would be associated with adverse changes in pulmonary and cardiovascular function., Methods: We used mixed effects linear regression to evaluate associations between increased personal exposures and ambient pollutant concentrations in the 96 h before the pre-exposure visit, and 1) biomarkers measured at pre-exposure, and 2) changes in biomarkers from pre-to post-exposure., Results: Decreases in pre-exposure forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV 1 ) were associated with interquartile-range increases in concentrations of particulate matter ≤2.5 μm (PM 2.5 ) 1 h before the pre-exposure visit (-0.022 L; 95% CI -0.037 to -0.006; p = 0.007), carbon monoxide (CO) in the prior 3 h (-0.046 L; 95% CI -0.076 to -0.016; p = 0.003), and nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ) in the prior 72 h (-0.030 L; 95% CI -0.052 to -0.008; p = 0.007). From pre-to post-exposure, increases in FEV 1 were marginally significantly associated with increases in personal ozone exposure (0.010 L; 95% CI 0.004 to 0.026; p = 0.010), and ambient PM 2.5 and CO at all lag times. Ambient ozone concentrations in the prior 96 h were associated with both decreased pre-exposure high frequency (HF) heart rate variability (HRV) and increases in HF HRV from pre-to post-exposure., Conclusions: We observed associations between increased ambient PM 2.5 , NO 2 , and CO levels and reduced pulmonary function, and increased ambient ozone concentrations and reduced HRV. Pulmonary function and HRV increased across the exposure sessions in association with these same pollutant increases, suggesting a "recovery" during the exposure sessions. These findings support an association between short term increases in ambient PM 2.5 , NO 2 , and CO and decreased pulmonary function, and increased ambient ozone and decreased HRV., (Copyright © 2021. Published by Elsevier Inc.)