Particulate Air Pollution and Human Health

A special issue of Atmosphere (ISSN 2073-4433). This special issue belongs to the section "Air Quality and Health".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 September 2021) | Viewed by 3329

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
1. Japan Environment and Children’s Study Programme Office, Health and Environmental Risk Division, National Institute for Environmental Studies, Tsukuba 305-0053, Ibaraki, Japan
2. Department of Public Health, College of Public Health, China Medical University, Taichung 406040, Taiwan
Interests: air pollution; asthma; big data analysis; epidemiology; neurodevelopmental disorders; satellite-based estimation models

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Guest Editor
Exposure Dynamics Research Section, National Institute for Environmental Studies
Interests: environmental epidemiology; climate change; heavy metals; pharmacokinetics

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Particulate matter (PM) consists of solids and liquid droplets suspended in the atmosphere, derived from natural and anthropogenic sources. Particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter less than 10 µm is inhalable by humans. According to particle size, PM is generally categorized into coarse (PM with aerodynamic diameter of 2.5–10 µm, PM10-2.5), fine (aerodynamic diameter ≤ 2.5 µm; PM2.5), and ultrafine particles (aerodynamic diameter < 100 nm). The toxicity of PM may vary remarkably due to the different concentrations, sizes, sources, and components. During the past several decades, many animal, postmortem, and epidemiological studies have proved that the inhalation of PM can increase oxidative stress, induce systematic inflammation, and lead to adverse health effects in the respiratory, cardiovascular, musculoskeletal, and nervous systems. However, studies of the influence of PM components and ultrafine particles on human health are still scarce. Additionally, the critical time window and harmful dose of PM for inducing diseases remain unknown. Given that climate change is now a critical issue, there is an urgent need to explore the synergistic effects of PM with extreme weather conditions, and to move from a single-pollutant model to a multiple-pollutant model.

To address the knowledge gaps in this field, we invite authors to contribute studies to this Special Issue entitled “Particulate Matter and Human Health” that apply exposure assessments to PM, including but not limited to geospatial models, satellite-based models, chemical transport models, indoor measurements, and personal exposure assessments to explore:

(1) The effects of PM with different source, composition, or size (especially for ultrafine particles) on human health;

(2) The critical time window and harmful dose of PM and its components for human health;

(3) The synergistic effects of PM with weather conditions (e.g., extreme temperature, relative humidity) on human health;

(4) The synergistic effects of PM with other gaseous pollutants on human health.

We also welcome review articles for this Special Issue.

Dr. Chau-Ren Jung
Dr. Chaochen Ma
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • climate change
  • components
  • critical time windows
  • dose–response relationship
  • geospatial models
  • human health
  • indoor measurement
  • multiple pollutant
  • particles
  • particulate matter
  • PM10
  • PM2.5
  • satellite-based models
  • single pollutant

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

15 pages, 1711 KiB  
Article
Children Health Risk Assessment of Metals in Total Suspended Particulate Matter (TSP) and PM1 in Kindergartens during Winter and Spring Seasons
by Anna Mainka
Atmosphere 2021, 12(9), 1096; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos12091096 - 25 Aug 2021
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 2354
Abstract
This study evaluates the health risks related to heavy metals (Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, Sb, Se, Zn, and metalloid As) in the indoor dust samples of total suspended particles (TSP) and particles with diameter <1 μm (PM1). The [...] Read more.
This study evaluates the health risks related to heavy metals (Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, Sb, Se, Zn, and metalloid As) in the indoor dust samples of total suspended particles (TSP) and particles with diameter <1 μm (PM1). The samples were collected during 5-day periods during the spring and winter seasons in the Upper Silesia region, Poland. The highest concentration among determined trace elements revealed Fe. The greatest concern expressed the concentration of carcinogenic Cd in PM1 (from 6.7 to 9.7 ng/m3), exceeding the permissible value 5 ng/m3 (for PM10). The carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic health risks were assessed for three exposure pathways (inhalation, ingestion, and dermal contact) for preschool children. None of the single trace elements obtained the Hazard Quotient Index (HQ > 1) or carcinogenic risks above the upper acceptable limit (1 × 10−4). However, the cumulative HQ values (ΣHQ) for three exposure pathways were greater than the safe level. The highest cumulative non-carcinogenic risk presented the TSP in rural kindergartens (2.0 × 10−4). In the same location as the TSP, the highest carcinogenic risk was also observed (9.1 × 10−4). High carcinogenic risks (>10−4) were found for the ingestion pathway of TSP inside urban and rural kindergartens and of PM1 in urban ones. A comparative evaluation shows that the health risks of trace elements in airborne particles in Polish kindergartens bring high risk. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Particulate Air Pollution and Human Health)
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