WHO Air Quality Guidelines 2021–Aiming for Healthier Air for all: A Joint Statement by Medical, Public Health, Scientific Societies and Patient Representative Organisations (original) (raw)
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2011
Bridging the Gap from Sources to Health Outcomes," an international specialty conference sponsored by the American Association for Aerosol Research, was held to address key uncertainties in our understanding of adverse health effects related to air pollution and to integrate and disseminate results from recent scientific studies that cut across a range of air pollution-related disciplines. The Conference addressed the science of air pollution and health within a multipollutant framework (herein "multipollutant" refers to gases and particulate matter mass, components, and physical properties), focusing on five key science areas: sources, atmospheric sciences, exposure, dose, and health effects. Eight key policy-relevant science questions integrated across various parts of the five science areas and a ninth question regarding findings that provide policy-relevant insights served as the framework for the meeting. Results synthesized from this Conference provide new evidence, reaffirm past findings, and offer guidance for future research efforts that will continue to incrementally advance the science required for reducing uncertainties in linking sources, air pollutants, human exposure, and health effects. This paper summarizes the Conference findings organized around the science questions. A number of key points emerged from the Conference findings. First, there is a need for greater focus on multipollutant science and management approaches that include more direct studies of the mixture of pollutants from sources with an emphasis on health studies at ambient concentrations. Further, a number of research groups reaffirmed a need for better understanding of biological mechanisms and apparent associations of various health effects with components of particulate matter (PM), such as elemental carbon (EC), certain organic species, ultrafine particles, and certain trace elements such as Ni, V, and Fe(II), as well as some gaseous pollutants. Although much debate continues in this area, generation of reactive oxygen species induced by these and other species present in air pollution and the resulting oxidative stress and inflammation were reiterated as key pathways leading to respiratory and cardiovascular outcomes. The Conference also underscored significant advances in understanding the susceptibility of populations, including the role of genetics and epigenetics and the influence of socioeconomic and other confounding factors and their synergistic interactions with air pollutants. Participants also pointed out that short-and long-term intervention episodes that reduce pollution from sources and improve air quality continue to indicate that when pollution decreases so do reported adverse health effects. In the limited number of cases where specific sources or PM 2.5 species were included in investigations, specific species are often associated with the decrease in effects. Other recent advances for improved exposure estimates for epidemiological studies included using new technologies such as microsensors combined with cell phone and integrated into real-time communications, hybrid air quality modeling such as combined receptor-and emissions-based models, and surface observations used with remote sensing such as satellite data.
The Global Health Cost of PM 2.5 Air Pollution A Case for Action Beyond 2021
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International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
While the link between cardiovascular and respiratory conditions and air pollution is well-known, recent studies provided a growing body of evidence that polluted air, particularly air with high levels of particulate matter with a diameter smaller than 2.5 micrometers (PM 2.5), can have a range of negative impacts on health, both in terms of mortality and morbidity. It is time to emphasize the role of environmental factors as contributory factors or determinants of both global and individual health levels, and to consider them together as a health priority, as enviropathies (meant as pathologies caused, triggered or worsened by environmental exposure). Bringing attention to harmful air pollution exposure has fostered population studies, which developed accurate quantification of environmental exposure in polluted regions, aiding our understanding of the dose-response relationship between pollutants and diseases. Those efforts have influenced local and global health policy strategies...
ASSESSING THE IMPACT OF AIR POLLUTION ON PUBLIC HEALTH
Air pollution is a pressing global issue with significant implications for public health. This research paper aims to provide a comprehensive review of the impact of air pollution on public health, focusing on various pollutants, their sources, and associated health effects. Through an extensive literature review, this paper examines the current state of air pollution globally, its adverse health effects, vulnerable populations, and strategies for mitigation. Key findings underscore the urgent need for collaborative efforts to address air pollution and protect public health.