There is increasing interest in understanding the role of air pollution as one of the greatest threats to human health worldwide. Nine of 10 individuals breathe air with polluted compounds that have a great impact on lung tissue. The nature of the relationship is complex, and new or updated data are constantly being reported in the literature. The goal of our review was to summarize the most important air pollutants and their impact on the main respiratory diseases (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma, lung cancer, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, respiratory infections, bronchiectasis, tuberculosis) to reduce both short- and the long-term exposure consequences. We considered the most important air pollutants, including sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, volatile organic compounds, ozone, particulate matter and biomass smoke, and observed their impact on pulmonary pathologies. We focused on respiratory pathologies, because air pollution potentiates the increase in respiratory diseases, and the evidence that air pollutants have a detrimental effect is growing. It is imperative to constantly improve policy initiatives on air quality in both high- and low-income countries.

The paper presents the test results regarding the evaluation of the accuracy of the PM2.5 and PM10 particulate matter concentration measurement performed with the uRADMonitor A3 fixed air quality monitoring station produced by SC MAGNASCI SRL. The procedure involves the calculation of the accuracy elements: trueness and precision, based on the experimental data obtained by measuring the concentration of particulate matter using the tested analysers in parallel with the reference method, SR EN 12341: 2014, and analysis of data series by Pearson correlation and linear regression.Starting from the nowadays pollution reality, when the level of ambient air pollution is at an unprecedented level both in terms of the diversity of the identified pollutants in the air and the increasing concentrations [1-4], continuous and accurate monitoring is an important first step in the process of stopping and improving air quality. In accordance with ISO 5725 standard series -The accuracy (trueness and precision) of measurement methods and measurement results, accuracy reflects the degree of concordance between the result of an attempt and the accepted reference value. The general term of accuracy is used to refer to trueness and precision, at the same time.Evaluating the trueness of a method involves comparing the value of the acquired results by applying the tested method, which may be a certified reference material (if present) or may be the result of measurement by another method, preferably a reference one. The value of trueness is usually expressed by the trueness error, i.e. the difference between the value obtained by the tested equipment and the value obtained by the reference method. Precision is the general term for the variability of the results of a repeated measurement and is usually expressed based on the values of standard deviations obtained under repeatability/reproducibility conditions with a probability of 95%.The paper presents the procedure and the results obtained within a project that aimed the establish the accuracy of measurements of PM2.5 and PM10 made with uRADMonitor A3 a fixed air quality monitoring station ( fig. 1a); the trueness and variability were calculated, based on experimental data obtained by parallel measurement of the concentration of PM2.5 and PM10 using automatic monitors and the reference method, SR EN 12341:2014 and compared with the requirements of acceptability imposed by the regulations under these conditions:1)the variability condition: to be in line with the uncertainty established by the environmental regulations in force; 2)the Pearson correlation coefficient values, r ≥ 0.97 according to SR EN 14793: 2017 [5]; Pearson correlation and linear regression methods have been used to verify these requirements, these methods being more and more used in different areas of activity, including environmental protection [6][7][8][9]. Experimental partFor the test, PM2.5 and PM10 particulate matter were determined with two uRADMonitor monitors A and B in parallel with 2 Sven Leckel LVS3 typ...

Air quality, especially particulate matter pollution levels in urban areas, is an essential academic and social topic due to its association with health issues and climate change. In Romania, an increasing awareness of urban communities and the availability of low-cost sensors has led to the development of an independent monitoring network currently distributed in over 194 cities and towns. The uRADMonitor® network consists of 630 sensors measuring PM10 and PM2.5 concentration levels. The spatial distribution of the sensors complements the national air quality network with sensors in residential areas, intense traffic zones, and industrial areas. The data are available through a user-friendly web-based platform from uRADMonitor®. Based on data collected in 2021, we present an analysis of PM10 pollution levels in Romania’s five most populated urban areas by employing five annual statistical indicators recommended by the European Environmental Agency. For the case of Timișoara, we also compare the data measured by independent sensors with those from the national monitoring network. The results highlight the usefulness of our community-based network as it complements the national one.

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Patients with respiratory pathologies are the risk group most affected by air pollution, being directly exposed, especially those diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). In this observational study, which included 79 patients, we evaluated whether COPD patients with the frequent exacerbating phenotype or the infrequent exacerbating phenotype live in residences with higher values of air pollution. An air quality monitoring station was installed in each patient’s house for at least 24 h and PM 1.0, PM 2.5, and PM 10 were measured. Average PM 1.0, PM 2.5, and PM 10 values were lower in the group of infrequently exacerbating patients compared to the frequently exacerbating ones. For every 1 µg/m3 increase in the average values of PM 1.0, PM 2.5, and PM 10, there is an increase of 1.7%, 1.8% and 1%, respectively, in the risk of developing exacerbations. More importantly, an average value of PM 1.0, PM 2.5, and PM 10 above 32.21 µg/m3, 82.32 µg/m3 and 42.89 µg/m3 increases the probability of developing an exacerbation by 3.83, 10.14, and 4.12 times, respectively. Our analysis showed that COPD patients with a frequently exacerbating phenotype live in residences with high levels of air pollution compared to infrequently exacerbating ones.