Temporal profile of PM 10 and associated health effects in one of the most polluted cities of the world (Ahvaz, Iran) between 2009 and 2014

Abstract

Ahvaz, Iran ranks as the most polluted city of the world in terms of PM10 concentrations that lead to deleterious effects on its inhabitants. This study examines diurnal, weekly, monthly and annual fluctuations of PM10 between 2009 and 2014 in Ahvaz. Health effects of PM10 levels are also assessed using the World Health Organization AirQ software. Over the study period, the mean PM10 level in Ahvaz was 249.5 µg m−3, with maximum and minimum values in July (420.5 µg m−3) and January (154.6 µg m−3), respectively. The cumulative diurnal PM10 profile exhibits a dominant peak between 08:00–11:00 (local time) with the lowest levels in the afternoon hours. While weekend PM10 levels are not significantly reduced as compared to weekdays, an anthropogenic signature is instead observed diurnally on weekdays, which exhibit higher PM10 levels between 07:00–17:00 by an average amount of 14.2 µg m−3 as compared to weekend days. PM10 has shown a steady mean-annual decline between 2009 (315.2 µg m−3) and 2014 (143.5 µg m−3). The AirQ model predicts that mortality was a health outcome for a total of 3777 individuals between 2009 and 2014 (i.e., 630 per year). The results of this study motivate more aggressive strategies in Ahvaz and similarly polluted desert cities to reduce the health effects of the enormous ambient aerosol concentrations.

Lag time structure of cardiovascular deaths attributed to ambient air pollutants in Ahvaz, Iran, 2008–2015

“…In this case, lag structures should be applied. However, we can't use mul tiple lags in one model, as the collinearity between these parameters is high [27]. In order to deal with this problem, distributed lag models (DLM) with smoothing functions have been used [28].…”

“…In order to deal with this problem, distributed lag models (DLM) with smoothing functions have been used [28]. In studies DLMs have been used for quantifying the cumulative effect of pollutants over multi ple-lagged days [27,29].…”

“…It is the capital city of Khuzestan province, and is located at 31°20′ N and 48°40′ E. According to the 2011 census, Ahvaz resides 286 032 house holds and 1.11 million people [27].…”

Assessment of respirable particulates in two residential areas of Kuwait State during dusty and nondusty storms: A time-series comparative study

“…Furthermore, many studies reported increased hospital admittance for respiratory and cardiovascular diseases owing to exposure to dust storms [3,4] . In addition to the public health effects, the agriculture, air traffic, and tourism are also affected [5][6][7] . Dust storms have great environmental effects, including reduction of visibility, soil erosion, ground water salinization, and climatic change.…”

“…Dust storms are one of the major natural sources of respirable particulates in Kuwait State [10,11] . Several European [3,12] , USA [13] , Middle East [7,14] , Kuwait [15,16] , and Chinese studies [17] revealed high risk of lung cancer, heart diseases, and chronic obstructive lung diseases among those exposed to PM10.…”