Protecting Human Health From Air Pollution

Dominici, Francesca; Peng, Roger D.; Barr, Christopher D.; Bell, Michelle L.

doi:10.1097/ede.0b013e3181cc86e8

Cited by 400 publications

(164 citation statements)

References 51 publications

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“…A multi-pollutant approach of analysing air quality in Nairobi can be useful in identifying common-sources across the city, as well as in identifying possible health effects that could arise from exposure to multiple pollutants, and not just a single pollutant. (Dominici et al, 2010).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Nairobi experiment in using low cost air quality monitors

deSouza¹,

Nthusi

Klopp

et al. 2017

Clean Air J.

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Many African cities have growing air quality problems, but few have air quality monitoring systems in place. Low cost air quality sensors have the potential to bridge this data gap. This study describes the experimental deployment of six low cost air quality monitors consisting of an optical particle counter Alphasense OPC-N2 for measuring PM 1 , PM 2.5 and PM 10 , and Alphasense A-series electrochemical (amperometric) gas sensors: NO2-A43F, SO2-A4, NO-A4 for measuring NO 2 , NO and SO 2 in four schools, the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) headquarters and a community center in Nairobi. The monitors were deployed on May 1 2016 and are still logging data. This paper analyses the data from May 1 2016 to Jan 11 2017. By examining the data produced by these sensors, we illustrate the strengths, as well as the technical limitations of using low cost sensors for monitoring air quality. We show that despite technical limitations, sensors can provide indicative measurements of air quality that are valuable to local communities. It was also found that such a sensor network can play an important role in engaging citizens by raising awareness about the importance of addressing poor air quality. We conclude that these sensors are clearly a potentially important complement but not a substitute for high quality and reliable air quality monitoring systems as problems of calibration, certification, quality control and reporting remain to be solved

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Nairobi experiment in using low cost air quality monitors

deSouza¹,

Nthusi

Klopp

et al. 2017

Clean Air J.

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“…During the last decade, and following the recommendation of the US National Research Council (NRC, 2004), an increasing number of studies have investigated the health response associated with the simultaneous exposure to several pollutants, using a multi-pollutant approach (Dominici et al, 2010). A review of statistical methods available to solve the multi-pollutant problem is presented by Billionet et al (2012).…”

Section: Particulate Matter and Healthmentioning

confidence: 99%

Particulate matter, air quality and climate: lessons learned and future needs

et al. 2015

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Abstract. The literature on atmospheric particulate matter (PM), or atmospheric aerosol, has increased enormously over the last 2 decades and amounts now to some 1500-2000 papers per year in the refereed literature. This is in part due to the enormous advances in measurement technologies, which have allowed for an increasingly accurate understanding of the chemical composition and of the physical properties of atmospheric particles and of their processes in the atmosphere. The growing scientific interest in atmospheric aerosol particles is due to their high importance for environmental policy. In fact, particulate matter constitutes one of the most challenging problems both for air quality and for climate change policies. In this context, this paper reviews the most recent results within the atmospheric aerosol sciences and the policy needs, which have driven much of the increase in monitoring and mechanistic research over the last 2 decades.The synthesis reveals many new processes and developments in the science underpinning climate-aerosol interactions and effects of PM on human health and the environment. However, while airborne particulate matter is responsible for globally important influences on premature human mortality, we still do not know the relative importance of the different chemical components of PM for these effects. Likewise, the magnitude of the overall effects of PM on climate remains highly uncertain. Despite the uncertainty there are many things that could be done to mitigate local and global problems of atmospheric PM. Recent analyses have shown that reducing black carbon (BC) emissions, using known control measures, would reduce global warming and delay the time when anthropogenic effects on global temperature would exceed 2 • C. Likewise, cost-effective control measures on ammonia, an important agricultural precursor gas for secondary inorganic aerosols (SIA), would reduce regional eutrophication and PM concentrations in large areas of Europe, China and the USA. Thus, there is much that could be done to reduce the effects of atmospheric PM on the climate and the health of the environment and the human population.A prioritized list of actions to mitigate the full range of effects of PM is currently undeliverable due to shortcomings in the knowledge of aerosol science; among the shortcomings, the roles of PM in global climate and the relative roles of Published by Copernicus Publications on behalf of the European Geosciences Union. 8218S. Fuzzi et al.: Particulate matter, air quality and climate different PM precursor sources and their response to climate and land use change over the remaining decades of this century are prominent. In any case, the evidence from this paper strongly advocates for an integrated approach to air quality and climate policies.

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“…As governmental agencies are debating how to best approach the task of reducing exposure to a mixture of air pollutants, multipollutant statistical approaches are developing rapidly to fill a much needed research gap (Dominici et al, 2010;Greenbaum and Shaikh, 2010;Johns et al, 2012). In the near future, we expect that further advances in statistical approaches and multipollutant exposure metrics will provide additional insight into the question of how to separate health effects associated with one pollutant from effects of another pollutant that may be highly correlated (Austin et al, 2012;Barzyk et al, 2012;Levy et al, 2012;Pachon et al, 2012;Sun et al, 2013;Oakes et al, 2014;Park et al, 2014).…”

Section: Common Issues and Considerationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Particulate matter components, sources, and health: Systematic approaches to testing effects

Adams

Greenbaum

Shaikh

et al. 2015

Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association

229

119

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This paper describes a comprehensive epidemiologic and toxicologic research program to evaluate whether some components and sources of PM may be more toxic than others. This question is important for regulatory agencies in setting air quality standards to protect people's health. The results show that PM from coal and oil combustion and from traffic sources was associated with adverse health outcomes, but other components and sources could not definitively be ruled out. Thus, given current knowledge, the current practice of setting air quality standards for PM mass as a whole likely remains an effective approach to protecting public health.

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Protecting Human Health From Air Pollution

Cited by 400 publications

References 51 publications

A Nairobi experiment in using low cost air quality monitors

A Nairobi experiment in using low cost air quality monitors

Particulate matter, air quality and climate: lessons learned and future needs

Particulate matter components, sources, and health: Systematic approaches to testing effects

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