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PubMed2000

Validity of annoyance scores for estimation of long term air pollution exposure in epidemiologic studies: the Swiss Study on Air Pollution and Lung Diseases in Adults (SAPALDIA).

In air pollution epidemiology, estimates of long term exposure are often based on measurements made at one fixed site monitor per area. This may lead to exposure misclassification. The present paper validates a questionnaire-based indicator of ambient air pollution levels and its applicability to assess their within-area variability. Within the framework of the SAPALDIA (Swiss Study on Air Pollution and Lung Diseases in Adults) cross-sectional study (1991), 9,651 participants reported their level of annoyance caused by air pollution on an 11-point scale. This subjective measure was compared with annual mean concentrations of particulate matter less than 10 microm in diameter (PM10) and nitrogen dioxide. The impact of individual factors on reported scores was evaluated. Nitrogen dioxide concentrations at home outdoors (measured in 1993), smoking, workplace dust exposure, and respiratory symptoms were found to be predictors of individual annoyance scores. Regression of population mean annoyance scores against annual mean PM10 and nitrogen dioxide concentrations (measured in 1993 and 1991, respectively) across areas showed a linear relation and strong correlations (r>0.85). Analysis within areas yielded consistent results. The observed associations between subjective and objective air pollution exposure estimates suggest that population mean scores, but not individual scores, may serve as a simple tool for grading air quality within areas. Reported annoyance due to air pollution should be considered an indicator for a complex environmental condition and thus might be used for evaluating the implementation of environmental policies.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1994

Isolation of a dimethylsulfide-utilizing Hyphomicrobium species and its application in biofiltration of polluted air.

The methylotrophic bacterium Hyphomicrobium VS was enriched and isolated, using activated sewage sludge as inoculum in mineral medium containing dimethylsulfide (DMS) at a low concentration to prevent toxicity. DMS concentrations above 1 mM proved to be growth inhibiting. Hyphomicrobium VS could use DMS, dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO), methanol, formaldehyde, formate, and methylated amines as carbon and energy source. Carbon was assimilated via the serine pathway. DMS-grown cells respired sulfide, thiosulfate, methanethiol, dimethyldisulfide and dimethyltrisulfide. To test Hyphomicrobium VS for application in biofiltration of air polluted with volatile sulfur compounds two laboratory scale trickling biofilters with polyurethane and lava stone as carrier material were started up by inoculation with this bacterium. Both methanol- and DMS-grown cells could be used. Only a short adaptation period was needed. Short term experiments showed that high concentrations of DMS (1-2 mumol l-1) were removed very efficiently by the biofilters at space velocities up to 100 h-1.

Air Pollutants↗
PubMed1995

Science and policy in regulatory decision making: getting the facts right about hazardous air pollutants.

Hazardous air pollutants are regulated under Title III of the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments. The Amendments replace the risk-based approach mandated in the 1977 Amendments with a prescriptive, technology-based approach requiring that maximum achievable control technology (MACT) be applied to all major industrial sources of 189 hazardous air pollutants. The change reflects political, rather than scientific consensus that the public health benefits justify the costs. The choice is put into perspective by looking at the interface between science and policy that occurs as part of regular decisionmaking. Particular emphasis is given to examining the interrelationships among facts (science), judgments (science policy), and policy (values) in the context of the risk assessment paradigm. Science and policy are discussed in relation to Title III, contrasting the political consensus for action with the scientific uncertainty about risks and benefits. It is argued that a balanced research program is needed to get the facts right about hazardous air pollutants, including research to meet statutory requirements, to reduce uncertainties in risk assessment, and to address strategic issues.

Air Pollutants↗
PubMed2005

Polluted air--outdoors and indoors.

Many air pollutants which are considered important in ambient (outdoor) air are also found, sometimes at higher levels, in indoor air. With demanding standards having been set for many of these pollutants, both in the workplace and ambient air, consideration of the problems posed by indoor pollution is gaining pace. Studies on exposure to pollutants found in the indoor domestic environment are increasing and are contributing to an already significant compilation of datasets. Improvement in monitoring techniques has helped this process. Documented reports of fatalities from carbon monoxide poisonings are still worrying. However, studies on health effects of non-fatal, long term, low dose, indoor exposure to carbon monoxide and other pollutants, are still inconclusive and too infrequently documented. Of particular concern are the levels of air pollutants found in the domestic indoor environment in developing countries, despite simple interventions such as vented stoves having shown their value. Exposure to biomass smoke is still a level that would be considered unacceptable on health grounds in developed countries. As in the occupational environment, steps need to be taken to control the risks from exposure to the harmful constituents of indoor air in the home. However, the difficulty regarding regulation of the domestic indoor environment is its inherent privacy. Monitoring levels of pollutants in the home and ensuring regulations are adhered to, would likely prove difficult, especially when individual behaviour patterns and activities have the greatest influence on pollutant levels in indoor air. To this end, the Department of Health is developing guidance on indoor air pollution to encourage the reduction of pollutant levels in indoor domestic air. The importance of the effects of domestic indoor air on health and its contribution to the health of the worker are increasingly appreciated. Occupational physicians, by training and interest, are well placed to extend their interests into the environmental field and to focus on this important area.

Air Pollutants↗
PubMed1977

[The determination of resort and stress-areas by air pollution 2. communication: the evaluation of air pollution in spreadout areas, classification into stress-categories (authors transl)].

To qualify the air pollution by SO2 and particulate matter in wide spreaded areas a method for complex terrain was used in the Austrian Alps. The working model which was chosen is described in report 1. It is possible to classify the investigated area according to stress-categories by adjusting the data. For the qualification of results of measurements for dust fall the criterias were used according to KOFLER and BENGER. Two different situations were considered for the separation of limits for the stress-categories for SO2: areas which are polluted in first line by area sources, and areas which are polluted in first line by point sources.--The limits which were used in the study of Salzburg are introduced and discussed.--According to the method which is described above all municipalities of Tyrol and Salzburg were classified in stress-categories during to their air quality. The results are introduced.

Air Pollution↗
PubMed2004

Studies on photochemical reactions of air pollutants. XIV.Photooxidation of sulfur dioxide in air by various air pollutants.

Upon exposure to sunlight, or to artificial light at wavelengths longer than 290 nm, sulfur dioxide in air underwent oxidation to give sulfur trioxide in the presence of air pollutants such as biacetyl (2,3-butanedione), benzaldehyde and nitrogen dioxide, but not in their absence. Only nitrogen dioxide completely oxidized sulfur dioxide to sulfur trioxide.

Air Pollutants↗
PubMed2006

Seasonal confounding in air pollution and health time-series studies: effect on air pollution effect estimates.

A major statistical challenge in air pollution and health time-series studies is to adequately control for confounding effects of time-varying covariates. Daily health outcome counts are most commonly analysed by Poisson regression models, adjusted for overdispersion, with air pollution levels included as a linear predictor and smooth functions for calendar time and weather variables to adjust for time-varying confounders. Various smoothers have been used so far, but the optimal strategy for choosing smoothers and their degree of smoothing remains controversial. In this work, we evaluate the performance of various smoothers with different criteria for choosing the degree of smoothing in terms of bias and efficiency of the air pollution effect estimate in a simulation study. The evaluated approaches were also applied to real mortality data from 22 European cities. The simulation study imitated a multi-city study. Data were generated from a fully parametric model. Model selection methods which optimize prediction may lead to increased biases in the air pollution effect estimate. Minimization of the absolute value of the sum of the partial autocorrelation function of the model's residuals (PACF), as a criterion to choose the degree of smoothness, gave the smallest biases. The penalized splines (PS) method with a large number of effective dfs (e.g. 8-12 per year) could be used as the basic, relatively conservative, analysis whereas the PS and natural splines in combination with PACF could be applied to provide a reasonable range of the effect estimate.

Air Pollution↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Short-term effects of exposure to urban air pollution on human health in Europe. The APHEA Projects (Air Pollution and Health: a European Approach].

During the '80s, evidence was collected that air pollutants concentrations close to, or lower than, air quality standards could negatively influence public health at short term, i.e. within a few days. The European Union financed, between 1993 and 1995, the study "Short term effects of Air Pollution on Health: a European Approach using epidemiological time-series data" (APHEA-1 project), involving more than 25 millions inhabitants in 15 cities, investigated between 1977 and 1991. In this paper, the main results, already published in various scientific journals, are reported. The health effects were studied as mortality for natural causes, cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, and as emergency hospital admissions for all respiratory diseases, bronchial asthma, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The pollutants whose measures were available for the analysis are sulphur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), particulate matter (PM) measured either as black smoke or total suspended particulate, and ozone (O3). The analysis was carried out by each participating group following a detailed protocol, defined during various workshops, through the construction of Poisson regression models, adjusted for autocorrelation and overdispersion, accounting for variables influencing the daily count of deaths, such as long time trends, season, temperature, day of the week. This paper reports the results of the meta-analysis, performed using the values of each city, as relative risk of dying or being admitted to hospital associated with increases of 50 micrograms/m3 in the 24 hours average concentrations of each pollutant. The daily number of natural deaths was associated with increases in the levels of PM, SO2, O3, and NO2. Cardiovascular and respiratory deaths were associated with increases of the levels of PM, SO2, and O3; cardiovascular deaths were associated also with increases of NO2 concentrations. Emergency hospital admissions for the whole group of respiratory disorders are less consistently associated with PM, SO2, and NO2, whereas there is evidence of association with O3. COPD admissions are related to the air pollutant levels, especially those of O3. Lastly, NO2 levels may play a role in exhacerbating asthma, and SO2 levels can have an effect on asthma in children. A second study is currently going on, involving over 40 millions residents in 34 cities. The aims of this project are: to evaluate the dose-response relationship, to investigate on synergy among pollutants, on the "harvesting" phenomenon, on the geographical differences inside Europe and with the U.S. through the collaboration with a similar American study now in progress. The existence of an association between daily variations in the levels of urban air pollution and adverse health effects was confirmed in Europe. This association is weak, but it involves the whole resident population, so it is a major cause of concern from the public health point of view.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

Environmental control of indoor air pollution.

Indoor air pollution is becoming an increasing problem in industrialized countries. Most people spend their time indoors which results in chronic exposure to indoor allergens and irritants. New products have been introduced to the environment to which humans are not immunologically adapted. This article describes the main sources of indoor air pollution and the best ways to control exposure to indoor air pollutants.

Air Pollution, Indoor↗
PubMed2000

The National Morbidity, Mortality, and Air Pollution Study. Part II: Morbidity and mortality from air pollution in the United States.

BACKGROUND: Epidemiologic time-series studies conducted in a number of cities have identified, in general, an association between daily changes in concentration of ambient particulate matter (PM) and daily number of deaths (mortality). Increased hospitalization (a measure of morbidity) among the elderly for specific causes has also been associated with PM. These studies have raised concerns about public health effects of particulate air pollution and have contributed to regulatory decisions in the United States. However, scientists have pointed out uncertainties that raise questions about the interpretation of these studies. One limitation to previous time-series studies of PM and adverse health effects is that the evidence for an association is derived from studies conducted in single locations using diverse analytic methods. Statistical procedures have been used to combine the results of these single location studies in order to produce a summary estimate of the health effects of PM. Difficulties with this approach include the process by which cities were selected to be studied, the different analytic methods applied to each single study, and the variety of methods used to measure or account for variables included in the analysis. These individual studies were also not able to account for the effects of gaseous air pollutants in a systematic manner.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2000

The application of reporter gene assays for the determination of the toxic potency of diffuse air pollution.

Diffuse air pollution consists of a mixture of numerous compounds. It is emitted by many distributed sources and is omnipresent due to atmospheric transport. Risk assessment of the complex mixture of air pollutants on the basis of the toxicity of the individual compounds is not yet possible because the chemical identity and/or toxicity of the constituencies of a substantial fraction is unknown. In addition, no adequate procedures are available to integrate toxicity data of such complex mixtures, so that an individual risk assessment of the constituents of air pollution disregards possible combination effects. In the present study, an approach has been developed to assess the toxic potency by using in vitro bio-assay techniques. Genotoxicity was assessed in the umu-assay, a reporter gene assay using a strain of Salmonella typhimurium stably transfected with a plasmid (pSK1002) carrying the SOS-gene umuC fused to the reporter gene lacZ. Arylhydrocarbon-receptor activation was assessed in the DR-CALUX-assay, using a stably transfected H4IIE hepatoma cell line containing a plasmid for the luciferase gene under transcriptional control of dioxin-responsive elements. Samples of airborne particulate matter (APM) were collected with a high volume sampler next to a highway and in a natural conservation area. Both assays proved to be applicable to quantify genotoxicity and the presence of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in small extracts from air-filter samples. Results indicate that PAHs from traffic exhausts seem to be largely responsible for an increased genotoxic activity of APM collected down-wind from the highway (western wind). APM collected at eastern wind directions seems to have a different composition of compounds, with a higher genotoxic activity that is less related to highway-emitted PAH-like compounds. At northern wind directions, APM is relatively less genotoxic and contains less PAHs than at other wind directions. Dioxin-like compounds contribute negligibly to the Ah-receptor agonistic potency of APM. Airborne pollutants with genotoxic and/or PAH-like characteristics form an undesired mutagenic risk, which will be evaluated in further in vivo studies.

Air Pollutants↗