Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2015, 12(7), 7667-7681; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph120707667
Secondary Particulate Matter Originating from an Industrial Source and Its Impact on Population Health
1
Institute of Atmospheric Sciences and Climate, National Research Council, s.p. Lecce-Monteroni km 1.2, 73100 Lecce, Italy
2
Institute of Clinical Physiology, National Research Council, s.p. Lecce-Monteroni km 1.2, 73100 Lecce, Italy
3
Institute of Medical Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Informatics, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität, Mainz 55099, Germany
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Academic Editor: Paul B. Tchounwou
Received: 13 May 2015 / Revised: 22 June 2015 / Accepted: 29 June 2015 / Published: 8 July 2015
Abstract
Epidemiological studies have reported adverse associations between long-term exposure to ambient particulate matter (PM2.5) and several health outcomes. One issue in this field is exposure assessment and, in particular, the role of secondary PM2.5, often neglected in environmental and health risk assessment. Thus, the aim of this work was to evaluate the long-term environmental and health impact of primary and secondary PM2.5 concentrations originating from a single industrial source. As a case study, we considered a coal power plant which is a large emitter of both primary PM2.5 and secondary PM2.5 precursors. PM2.5 concentrations were estimated using the Calpuff dispersion model. The health impact was expressed in terms of number of non-accidental deaths potentially attributable to the power plant. Results showed that the estimated secondary PM2.5 extended over a larger area than that related to primary PM2.5 with maximum concentration values of the two components well separated in space. Exposure to secondary PM2.5 increased significantly the estimated number of annual attributable non-accidental deaths. Our study indicates that the impact of secondary PM2.5 may be relevant also at local scale and ought to be considered when estimating the impact of industrial emissions on population health. View Full-TextKeywords:
health and environmental impact; air pollution; fine particulate; exposure assessment; dispersion modelling; coal power plant
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Mangia, C.; Cervino, M.; Gianicolo, E.A.L. Secondary Particulate Matter Originating from an Industrial Source and Its Impact on Population Health. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2015, 12, 7667-7681.
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