Airborne Environmental Threats to Health & Wellness-An Integrated Overview

Background: The environmental pollution is a growing world problem specifically in developed & developing countries. In these areas G.I.T disorders & diarrheal diseases have replaced by airborne environmental disorders.Methods: Literatures was reviewed on the subject to find out the knowledge regarding Environmental threats of air pollution & its effects on the health of human body. Data and details have been located, selected, extracted and synthesized from different national & international Journals, websites, Proceedings, books, google scholar etc.Result & Conclusion: Changes are taking place in air regularly. Different pollutants are being created from different sources. Indoor air pollution is common among underdeveloped & developing nations. To improve health situation different professional, have to play their roles. Effects of air pollution are sometimes general in nature otherwise may be immediate or delayed. Leading causes of death is cardiovascular diseases like IHD are now being declared as airborne. Emergent airborne diseases are more than 30 like COVID 19 only result in 43.6 lakhs death so far. Toxic & hazardous chemicals are present in air in the form of allergens, neurotoxin, mutagen, carcinogen etc. Air pollutants are carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, Benzene, Ozone, Lead, sulphates, SPM etc. Meteorological effects on health are also related with air including season, atmospheric pressure, heat, cold etc. Indoor air pollutants have also specific health effects.

Genotoxicity Response of Fibroblast Cells and Human Epithelial Adenocarcinoma In Vitro Model Exposed to Bare and Ozone-Treated Silica Microparticles

Indoor air pollutants (IAP), which can pose a serious risk to human health, include biological pollutants, nitric oxide (NO), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), volatile organic compounds (VOC), sulfur dioxide (SO2), carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO2), silica, metals, radon, and particulate matter (PM). The aim of our work is to conduct a multidisciplinary study of fine silica particles (<2.5 μm) in the presence or absence of ozone (O3), and evaluate their potential cytotoxicity using MTS, micronucleus, and the comet test in two cell lines. We analyzed A549 (human basal alveolar epithelial cell adenocarcinoma) and Hs27 (human normal fibroblasts) exposed to dynamic conditions by an IRC simulator under ozone flow (120 ppb) and in the presence of silica particles (40 μg/h). The viability of A549 and Hs27 cells at 48 and 72 h of exposure to silica or silica/ozone decreases, except at 72 h in Hs27 treated with silica/ozone. The micronucleus and comet tests showed a significant increase in the number of micronuclei and the % of DNA in the queue, compared to the control, in both lines in all treatments, even if in different cell times/types. We found that silica alone or with more O3 causes more pronounced genotoxic effects in A549 tumor cells than in normal Hs27 fibroblasts.

The Analysis of Indoor Air Pollutants From Finishing Material of New Apartments at Business Bay, Dubai

Due to fast economic development, Dubai has built many high-rise apartments in a short period of time. The Dubai Municipality attempts to control indoor air quality with strict regulations, but the detailed provisions are still not comprehensive. The objective of this paper is to conduct on-site measurements for new high-rise apartments before moving on to investigate indoor air pollution and to analyze pollutant emissions by type of finishing material. As a methodology, on-site measurements were conducted fornine different housing units (three lower, three middle, and three higher floors) before moving on to investigate the status of indoor air pollution in new apartments. Based on the on-site measurements data, lab experiments with a small chamber for the same finishing materials from the most polluted housing unit (a lower two bedroom unit) were conducted to measure the emission of pollutants over 30 days. The result shows that the average of CH2O (64.4 μg/m3 for studio, 64.5 μg/m3 for one bedroom, and 83.4 μg/m3 for two bedroom) was lower than the standard (100 μg/m3) in all units, while the average TVOC (520.1 μg/m3 in the studio, 509.5 μg/m3 in one bedroom, and 754.7 μg/m3 in two bedroom) exceeded the standard (500 μg/m3) in most of the units. It was proven that regarding the CH2O, silk wallpaper, initial wallpaper, and wallpaper adhesive had the highest emissions and for the TVOC, tile and tile adhesive had the highest emission. During small chamber experiments, CH2O and TVOC emissions tended to decrease gradually over time, but the emission amount changed significantly in high pollutant emission material especially from day 1–10. Therefore, Dubai municipality should establish the regulation for residents to move into their new apartment after at least 10 days to avoid the high polluted emission from the curing process of the interior finishing material.

Plant and Plant Associated Microflora: Potential Bioremediation Option of Indoor Air Pollutants

Indoor air pollution is a significant problem today because the release of various contaminants into the indoor air has created a major health threat for humans occupying indoors. Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) are pollutants released into the environment and persist in the atmosphere due to its low boiling point values. Various types of indoor activities, sources, and exposure to outdoor environments enhance indoor VOCs. This poor indoor air quality leads to adverse negative impacts on the people in the indoor environment. Many physical and chemical methods have been developed to remove or decompose these compounds from indoors. However, those methods are interrupted by many environmental and other factors in the indoor atmosphere, thus limit the applications. Therefore, there is a global need to develop an effective, promising, economical, and environmentally friendly alternatives to the problem. The use of the plant and associated microflora significantly impact reducing the environmental VOC gases, inorganic gases, particulate matter, and other pollutants contained in the air. Placing potted plants in indoor environments not only helps to remove indoor air pollutants but also to boost the mood, productivity, concentration, and creativity of the occupants and reduces stress, fatigue, sore throat, and cold. Plants normally uptake air pollutants through the roots and leaves, then metabolize, sequestrate, and excrete them. Plant-associated microorganisms help to degrade, detoxify, or sequestrate the pollutants, the air remediation, and promote plant growth. Further studies on the plant varieties and microorganisms help develop eco-friendly and environmentally friendly indoor air purifying sources.