Principles for setting air quality guidelines to protect human health in Australia

The human health risk associated with PM10 exposure was assessed for the residents of Cluj-Napoca city, Romania, for a best case-scenario based on the monthly average PM10 and for a worst-case scenario based on the monthly 90th percentile of PM10 concentration. As no toxicity value for PM10 was available, for the calculation of the hazard quotient, the toxicity value was considered to be equal to the annual limit value (40 µm/m3) set in the European Union (EU), and to air quality guidelines (20 µm/m3) set by the World Health Organization (WHO). The daily PM10 concentrations for the period 2009–2019, at the four monitoring stations existing in Cluj-Napoca, were obtained from the National Air Quality Monitoring Network. The annual PM10 values ranged between 20.3 and 29.5 µg/m3, and were below the annual limit value (40 µg/m3) set by European and national legislation, but above the annual air quality guideline (20 µg/m3) set by WHO. Generally, the monthly PM10 concentrations were higher from October to March than in the rest of the year. The monthly air quality index (AQI) showed the good to moderate quality of the air during the whole decade; however, there were days when the air quality was unhealthy for sensitive population groups. The air quality was more or less constant during the warm months, and improved significantly for the cold months from 2009 to 2019. In the best-case scenario, calculated using the EU annual limit value for PM10, the potential non-carcinogenic chronic health risk was present only in 2009 and 2010, but in the worst-case scenario, in each year there were periods, especially in the cold months, in which health risk was present. When considering the WHO air quality guidelines in the calculation of the health risk, the potential non-carcinogenic chronic health risk was present between October and March in each year in the best-case scenario, and in most of the months in the worst-case scenario.

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Impact of air quality guidelines on COPD sufferers

International Journal of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease ◽

10.2147/copd.s49378 ◽

2016 ◽

pp. 839 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Youcheng Liu ◽

Karen Poh ◽

Shuang Yan ◽

David Sterling ◽

Suyang Liu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Air Quality ◽

Quality Guidelines ◽

Air Quality Guidelines

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A STUDY ON THE REGULATION FOR INDOOR AIR QUALITY IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES : Indoor air quality guidelines and the measurers for the control of emission sources

Journal of Environmental Engineering (Transactions of AIJ) ◽

10.3130/aije.70.89_4 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 70 (597) ◽

pp. 89-96 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Kenichi AZUMA ◽

Iwao UCHIYAMA ◽

Koichi IKEDA

Keyword(s):

Air Quality ◽

Indoor Air Quality ◽

Indoor Air ◽

Emission Sources ◽

Quality Guidelines ◽

Foreign Countries ◽

Air Quality Guidelines

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Shipping emissions in the Iberian Peninsula and the impacts on air quality

Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics ◽

10.5194/acp-20-9473-2020 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 20 (15) ◽

pp. 9473-9489

Author(s):

Rafael A. O. Nunes ◽

Maria C. M. Alvim-Ferraz ◽

Fernando G. Martins ◽

Fátima Calderay-Cayetano ◽

Vanessa Durán-Grados ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Particulate Matter ◽

Air Quality ◽

Iberian Peninsula ◽

Coastal Region ◽

Negative Effects ◽

Quality Guidelines ◽

Marine Traffic ◽

Shipping Traffic ◽

Pm2.5 And Pm10 ◽

Air Quality Guidelines

Abstract. Marine traffic has been identified as a relevant source of pollutants, which cause known negative effects on air quality. The Iberian Peninsula is a central point in the connection of shipping traffic between the Americas, Africa, and the rest of Europe. To estimate the effects of shipping emissions inland and around the Iberian Peninsula, the EMEP/MSC-W model was run considering and not considering shipping emissions (obtained with STEAM3). Total estimated emissions of CO, CO2, SOx, NOx, and particulate matter (subdivided into elementary carbon – EC, organic carbon – OC, sulfate, and ash) for the study domain in 2015 were respectively 49, 30 000, 360, 710, 4.5, 11, 32, and 3.3 kt yr−1. Shipping emissions increased SO2 and NO2 concentrations, especially near port areas, and also increased the O3, sulfate, and particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10) concentrations over the entire Iberian Peninsula coastline (especially in the south coastal region). Shipping emissions were responsible for exceedances of WHO air quality guidelines for PM2.5 in areas far from the coastline, which confirms that shipping emissions can contribute negatively to air quality, both in coastal and inland areas.

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