A Combined Index for Measurement of Total Air Pollution: Effects of Changing Air Quality Standards

1972 ◽  
pp. 65-81 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lyndon R. Babcock
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
Quality Standards ◽  
Pollution Effects ◽  
Air Quality Standards ◽  
Air Pollution Effects

scholarly journals Urban Population Exposure to Air Pollution in Europe Over the Last Decades

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pierre Sicard ◽  
Evgenios Agathokleous ◽  
Alessandra De Marco ◽  
Elena Paoletti ◽  
Vicent Calatayud
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
Urban Population ◽  
Quality Standards ◽  
Ambient Air ◽  
World Health ◽  
Population Exposure ◽  
Ambient Air Quality ◽  
Air Quality Standards ◽  
The Eu

Abstract Background - The paper presents an overview of air quality in the 27 member countries of the European Union (EU) and the United Kingdom (previous EU-28), from 2000 to 2017. We reviewed the progress made towards meeting the air quality standards established by the EU Ambient Air Quality Directives (Directive 2008/50/EC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) Air Quality Guidelines by estimating the trends (Mann-Kendal test) in national emissions of main air pollutants, urban population exposure to air pollution, and in mortality related to exposure to ambient fine particles (PM2.5) and tropospheric ozone (O3). Results - Despite significant reductions of emissions (e.g. sulfur oxides: ~80%, nitrogen oxides: ~46%, non-methane volatile organic compounds: ~44%, particulate matters with a diameter lower than 2.5µm and 10µm: ~30%), the EU-28 urban population was exposed to PM2.5 and O3 levels widely exceeding the WHO limit values for the protection of human health. Between 2000 and 2017, the annual PM2.5-related number of deaths decreased (- 4.85 per 106 inhabitants) in line with a reduction of PM2.5 levels observed at urban air quality monitoring stations. The rising O3 levels became a major public health issue in the EU-28 cities where the annual O3-related number of premature deaths increased (+ 0.55 deaths per 106 inhabitants). Conclusions - To achieve the objectives of the Ambient Air Quality Directives and mitigate air pollution impacts, actions need to be urgently taken at all governance levels. In this context, greening and re‐naturing cities can help meet air quality standards, but also answer to social needs, as recently highlighted by the COVID-19 lockdowns.

Air pollution, mortality, at-risk population, new entry and life expectancy of the frail elderly in three U.S. cities

2020 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian J. Murray ◽  
Frederick W. Lipfert
Keyword(s):  
At Risk ◽  
Air Pollution ◽  
Time Series ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
Life Expectancy ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Pollution Effects ◽  
Risk Population ◽  
Air Pollution Effects ◽  
New Entrants

AbstractWe present the findings of a new time-series model that estimates short-term health effects of particulate matter and ozone, as applied to three U.S. cities. The model is based on observed fluctuations of daily death counts and estimates the corresponding daily subpopulations at-risk of imminent death; it also shows that virtually all elderly deaths are preceded by a brief period of extreme frailty. We augment previous research by allowing new entrants to this at-risk population to be influenced by the environment, rather than be random. The mean frail subpopulations in the three cities, each containing between 3000 and 5000 daily observations on mortality, pollution, and temperature, are estimated to be about 0.1% of those aged 65 or more, and their life expectancies in this frail status are about one week. We find losses in life expectancy due to air pollution and temperature to be at most one day. Air pollution effects on new entrants into the frail population tend to exceed those on mortality. Our results provide context to the many time-series studies that have found significant short-term relationships between air quality and survival, and they suggest that benefits of air quality improvement should be based on increased life expectancy rather than estimated numbers of excess deaths.

scholarly journals Long-term air pollution exposure and diabetes risk in the elderly population.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maayan Yitshak Sade ◽  
Liuhua Shi ◽  
Elena Colicino ◽  
Heresh Amini ◽  
Joel Schwartz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
Quality Standards ◽  
Ambient Air ◽  
Diabetes Risk ◽  
Diabetes Incidence ◽  
Ambient Air Quality ◽  
Air Quality Standards ◽  
Pollution Levels ◽  
Ambient Air Quality Standards

Objective: Type 2 diabetes mellitus is a major public health concern. We assessed the association between air pollution and first documented diabetes occurrence in a national U.S. cohort of Medicare enrollees to estimate incidence risk. Research design and methods: We included all Medicare enrollees 65 years and older in the fee-for-service program, part A and part B, in the contiguous United States (2000-2016). Participants were followed annually until the first recorded diabetes diagnosis, end of enrollment, or death. We obtained air pollution annual estimates of fine particulate matter (PM2.5), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and ozone (O3) exposures from highly spatiotemporally resolved prediction models. We assessed the simultaneous effect of the pollutants on diabetes incidence using Poisson survival analysis with adjustment for temporal and spatial confounders. We repeated the models in data restricted to ZIP codes with air pollution levels not exceeding the ambient air quality standards during the study period. Results: We have included 264,869,458 person-years of 41,780,637 people. We observed nonlinear associations between the three pollutants and diabetes, with larger risks at lower levels for PM2.5 and O3. When restricting the data to lower air pollution levels, an increased risk for diabetes (Incidence Rate Ratio [95% Confidence Interval] was associated with interquartile range (IQR) increases in PM2.5 (1.048 [1.045;1.051]), O3 (1.016 [1.014;1.18]), and NO2 (1.040 [1.037; 1.043]). Conclusion: We found increased diabetes risk associated with air pollution exposures. The observed effects remained in exposure levels below the national ambient air quality standards in the U.S.

Air Quality Standards Have Room to Improve

Pained ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 193-196
Author(s):  
Michael D. Stein ◽  
Sandro Galea
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Air Pollution ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
Health Effects ◽  
Fine Particle ◽  
Quality Standards ◽  
The United States ◽  
Medicare Beneficiaries ◽  
Air Quality Standards

This chapter focuses on the improvement of air quality in the United States. Laws such as the Clean Air Act (CAA), signed in 1970, resulted in a drastic reduction in air pollution. Since then, emissions have decreased by 50%. Despite these advances, adverse health effects associated with long-term exposure to air pollution continue. Researchers examined the health effects of pollution in a nationwide cohort of 61 million Medicare beneficiaries from 2000 to 2012. They created maps by linking Medicare mortality data, zip codes, and previously published estimates of ozone and fine particle pollutants (PM2.5). The study’s authors found that long-term exposures to fine particle pollutants and ozone, even at levels below current nationally “acceptable” standards, were associated with an increased risk of death. Persons with low incomes showed the highest risks associated with exposures. Vast improvements in air quality have been made in the past decades in the United States, but this study shows that air quality adhering to National Ambient Air Quality Standards still exposes Americans to levels of pollution that can be lethal over many years of exposure. Thus, air quality standards must be revisited in order to alleviate the burden on the most vulnerable populations.

scholarly journals Ambient Air Quality and Human Health: Current Concepts, Part 2

1996 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-39 ◽  
Author(s):  
TEE L Guidotti
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
Human Health ◽  
Health Effects ◽  
State Of The Art ◽  
Quality Standards ◽  
Ambient Air ◽  
Epidemiological Methods ◽  
Air Quality Standards ◽  
Prevalence Studies

This second of two parts continues with the development of a framework for understanding air quality issues and their relationship to human health. Recognized health effects associated with air pollution are described and current controversies regarding ozone and PM10are briefly outlined. Epidemiological methods of investigating air quality effects are discussed, comparing recent landmark studies in Canada. Comparative prevalence studies do not reflect the state of the art in air pollution epidemiology but are frequently cited and conducted in Canada as if they were definitive. The implications of setting air quality standards and objectives on this basis or to meet arbitrary levels of risk of health effects are examined. The current state of the art does not support risk-based air quality standards. A policy of continuous improvement is most protective of both human health and the environment.

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