Asthma admissions have been reported to increase during thunderstorms. In some cases, this has been attributed to rises in pollen or fungal spore counts occurring alone or in combination with rainfall. We tested the hypothesis that thunderstorms in general are associated with asthma admissions, and investigated the possible roles of pollen, fungal spores, ozone, and other meteorological factors. We obtained data on multiple pollen and fungal spore counts, rainfall, temperature, ambient ozone concentrations, and asthma admissions for 32 dates when lightning strikes were recorded in the Cardiff/Newport area, and 64 matched dates in previous and subsequent years. Poisson regression models were used to investigate associations between admissions and proposed causative environmental factors. The number of asthma admissions was greater on days with thunderstorms than on control days (p<0.001). There were no associations or interactions between admissions and any pollen or fungal spore counts or rainfall. After adjusting for thunderstorms, there was an independent association between increasing ozone concentration, when temperature was included in the model, and increasing admissions (p=0.02). Asthma admissions are increased during thunderstorms. The effect is more marked in warmer weather, and is not explained by increases in grass pollen, total pollen or fungal spore counts, nor by an interaction between these and rainfall. There was an independent, positive association between ozone concentrations and asthma admissions.

Background: Winter temperature inversions—layers of air in which temperature increases with altitude—trap air pollutants and lead to higher pollutant concentrations. Previous studies have evaluated associations between pollutants and emergency department (ED) visits for asthma, but none have considered inversions as independent risk factors for ED visits for asthma.Objective: We aimed to assess associations between winter inversions and ED visits for asthma in Salt Lake County, Utah.Methods: We obtained electronic records of ED visits for asthma and data on inversions, weather, and air pollutants for Salt Lake County, Utah, during the winters of 2003 through 2004 to 2007 through 2008. We identified 3,425 ED visits using a primary diagnosis of asthma. We used a time-stratified case-crossover design, and conditional logistic regression models to calculate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) to estimate rate ratios of ED visits for asthma in relation to inversions during a 4-day lag period and prolonged inversions. We evaluated interactions between inversions and weather and pollutants.Results: After adjusting for dew point and mean temperatures, the OR for ED visits for asthma associated with inversions 0–3 days before the visit compared with no inversions during the lag period was 1.14 (95% CI: 1.00, 1.30). The OR for each 1-day increase in the number of inversion days during the lag period was 1.03 (95% CI: 1.00, 1.07). Associations were only apparent when PM10 and maximum and mean temperatures were above median levels.Conclusions: Our results provide evidence that winter inversions are associated with increased rates of ED visits for asthma.

The design and construction of a radiant furnace are described. Acute toxicity experiments were conducted using the radiant furnace as a fire model to produce smoke from Douglas fir (D. fir), southern yellow pine (SYP), and tempered hard- board (THB). The correlation of blood carboxyhemoglobin (COHb) and mortality to irradiation time, smoke concentration, mass loss, carbon monoxide (CO) con centrations, and carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations is reported. At 2.5 w/cm 2, toxicity was characterized by post-exposure lethality with sublethal COHb ex posure levels. LC 50's (median lethal concentrations) were 59.5 (D. fir), 66.6 (SYP), and 86.5 mg/L (THB) and the IT50's (median lethal irradiation times) were 6.8 (D. fir), 6.9 (SYP), and 9.3 minutes (THB). For 5.0 w/cm 2, most deaths occurred dur ing the 30 minute exposure and COHb levels were in a lethal range. LC50's at 5.0 w/cm2 were 101.6 (D. fir), 100.1 (SYP), and 58.1 mg/L (THB), and the IT50's were 2.7 (D. fir, SYP) and 2.6 minutes (THB). Data were compared to those produced in other combustion toxicity test methods, and the advantages of the radiant furnace with continuous sample mass-loss monitoring are discussed.

No abstract

No abstract