Outdoor and Indoor Ambient Air Pollution and Its Harmful Effects on Public 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 (15 July 2022) | Viewed by 6895

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Institute of Methodologies for Environmental Analysis (IMAA), National Research Council (CNR), 85050 Tito Scalo, Italy
Interests: environmental monitoring; particulate matter; chemical composition; trace elements; aerosol source identification; air quality and health; biomonitoring; statistical analysis
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Methodologies for Environmental Analysis (IMAA), National Research Council (CNR), 85050 Tito Scalo, Italy
Interests: particulate matter; atmospheric dust; compositional data analysis; source apportionment; multiple linear regression model
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Nowadays, ambient air pollution is recognized as the most important environmental threat due to its negative effects on air quality and public health. The composition of both indoor and outdoor air ambient varies widely depending on their sources. Specific components of aerosol, emitted into the atmosphere by natural processes and human activities such as metals, organics, and volatile organic compounds are believed to induce relevant toxicological effects. The chemical characterization of atmospheric pollutants and the identification of their sources represent key tools for the assessment of environmental and human health impacts. This Special Issue enters this context and invites submissions of novel and original papers and reviews on ambient air pollution including but not limited to studies regarding outdoor and indoor ambient air pollution and its harmful effects on public health and the identification of natural and anthropogenic pollution sources.

Dr. Rosa Caggiano
Dr. Antonio Speranza
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • air pollution
  • public health
  • fine aerosol particles
  • indoor air
  • outdoor air
  • aerosol chemical characterization
  • volatile organic compounds
  • metals
  • source apportionment

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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18 pages, 2831 KiB  
Article
Characteristics and Health Risk Assessment of Mercury Exposure via Indoor and Outdoor Household Dust in Three Iranian Cities
by Reza Dahmardeh Behrooz, Mahsa Tashakor, Reza Asvad, Abbas Esmaili-Sari and Dimitris G. Kaskaoutis
Atmosphere 2022, 13(4), 583; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos13040583 - 5 Apr 2022
Cited by 15 | Viewed by 3229
Abstract
This study aims to increase our current knowledge on the concentration of particulate-bound mercury (PBM) in urban environments of three Iranian cities, where high concentrations of dust particles can act as carriers for mercury transport and deposition. A total of 172 dust samples [...] Read more.
This study aims to increase our current knowledge on the concentration of particulate-bound mercury (PBM) in urban environments of three Iranian cities, where high concentrations of dust particles can act as carriers for mercury transport and deposition. A total of 172 dust samples were collected from Ahvaz, Asaluyeh, and Zabol residential houses and in outdoor air and were analyzed for total mercury content. Ahvaz is a highly industrialized city with large metallurgical plants, refineries, and major oil-related activities, which were assumed to contribute to elevated contents of PBM in this city. Very high levels of Hg contamination in Ahvaz indoor dust samples were calculated (Contamination Factor: CF > 6). Sampling sites in Asaluyeh are influenced by Hg emissions from the South Pars Gas Field. However, the results revealed a relatively lower concentration of PBM in Asaluyeh, with a low-to-moderate level of Hg contamination. This is likely ascribed to the lower content of total mercury in hydrocarbon gases than crude oil, in addition to the absence of metal smelting plants in this city compared to Ahvaz. Zabol, as a city devoid of industrial activity, presented the lowest levels of PBM concentration and contamination. Indoor dust in Ahvaz showed considerable potential to cause a non-carcinogenic health risk for children, mainly through the inhalation of PBM, while the health risk for other cities was below safe limits. The trend of health risk was found in the order of indoor > outdoor and children > adults in all studied cities. Full article
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Review

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19 pages, 1311 KiB  
Review
An Evaluation of Risk Ratios on Physical and Mental Health Correlations due to Increases in Ambient Nitrogen Oxide (NOx) Concentrations
by Stephanie Shaw and Bill Van Heyst
Atmosphere 2022, 13(6), 967; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos13060967 - 14 Jun 2022
Cited by 14 | Viewed by 3040
Abstract
Nitrogen oxides (NOx) are gaseous pollutants contributing to pollution in their primary form and are also involved in reactions forming ground-level ozone and fine particulate matter. Thus, NOx is of great interest for targeted pollution reduction because of this cascade [...] Read more.
Nitrogen oxides (NOx) are gaseous pollutants contributing to pollution in their primary form and are also involved in reactions forming ground-level ozone and fine particulate matter. Thus, NOx is of great interest for targeted pollution reduction because of this cascade effect. Primary emissions originate from fossil fuel combustion making NOx a common outdoor and indoor air pollutant. Numerous studies documenting the observed physical health impacts of NOx were reviewed and, where available, were summarized using risk ratios. More recently, the literature has shifted to focus on the mental health implications of NOx exposure, and a review of the current literature found five main categories of mental health-related conditions with respect to NOx exposure: common mental health disorders, sleep, anxiety, depression, and suicide. All the physical and mental health effects with available risk ratios were organized in order of increasing risk. Mental health concerns emerged as those most influenced by NOx exposure, with physical health impacts, such as asthma, only beginning to surface as the fourth highest risk. Mental health conditions occupied seven of the top ten highest risk health ailments. The results summarized in this narrative review show that there are clear positive correlations between NOx and negative physical and mental health manifestations, thus strengthening the argument in support of the reduction in ambient NOx levels. Full article
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