Environmental and Occupational Exposures to Airborne Substances and Their Related Health Effects

Dear Colleagues,

People at all ages have been exposed to smaller or larger concentrations of substances in the air, which has affected human health to a lesser or greater extent depending on their toxicity. Just think about the different qualities and quantities of material that is released into the air during the burning of dry wood alone. Even without human activity, enormous amounts of substances that are potentially hazardous to health are released into the atmosphere during, for example, a volcanic eruption. Since the exposure of harmful substances in the atmosphere has accompanied humanity throughout all time, many effective defence mechanisms have been developed. The respiratory system not only acts as a filter but is also capable of neutralizing and/or removing most of the deposited materials through appropriate mechanisms. Thus, human health is at risk not only when the body encounters highly toxic or large amounts of foreign substances, but also when the defence mechanisms are damaged for some reason. In addition, we should consider that protection works differently in individuals depending on age, living conditions, and many other factors, so we should also take into account individual sensitivity and susceptibility when examining the relationships between exposure and health effects.

Examining the impact of workplace atmospheric exposures on health is simpler in that we generally have relatively accurate knowledge of both the quality and quantity of substances in the air, and we also have well-proven methods and long-term experience for estimating exposure, which are most often based on concrete personal measurements involving exposed individuals. At the same time, this is not only a routine task, as although workplace exposures have decreased significantly in previous decades, they cannot be completely eliminated, even with the substantial change of technology, and it is difficult to reduce them below a safe level. For this reason, in addition to continuous monitoring, further research is also necessary to ensure that we protect workers' health from the harmful effects of workplace exposure in the long term. Examining exposure–effect relationships at work can also bring us closer to more easily uncovering and understanding the relationships between environmental exposures and their effects on health. In the case of generally more complex environmental exposures, we have to consider many more circumstances. Measuring the concentration of qualitatively and quantitatively diverse substances present in the ambient air and “converting” these concentrations into individual exposure remains a huge challenge. In order for research related to ambient air to lead to convincing results, all similar knowledge and research experience are needed, thus reducing the distance between the two large areas and leading to a much closer cooperation between specialists dealing with workplace and environmental exposures.

The primary goal of this Special Issue is to provide a common platform for researchers of environmental and workplace atmospheric exposures and their effects on health, providing a closer cooperation through a more efficient exchange of knowledge and experiences.

Dr. Balázs Berlinger
Guest Editor

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• physicochemical characterization
• measurement methodologies
• health effects
• toxicological mechanisms
• risk assessment and mitigation of exposure