Exposure and health impacts of outdoor particulate matter in two urban and industrialized area of Tabriz, Iran

Akbar Gholampour,Hasan Taghipour,Ramin Nabizadeh,Amir Hossein Mahvi,Simin Naseri,Sasan Faridi,Noushin Rastkari,Masud Yunesian,Shahrokh Nazmara

doi:10.1186/2052-336x-12-27

Abstract

Numerous studies have shown associations between air pollution and health effects on human. The aims of the present study were to provide quantitative data on variation of atmospheric particulate matter (PM) concentration and the impact of PM on the health of people living in Tabriz city. The approach proposed by the World Health Organization (WHO) was applied using the AirQ 2.2.3 software developed by the WHO European Centre for Environment and Health, Bilthoven Division. The concentration of particulate matter were measured at urban and industrial suburban sites in Tabriz, Iran, from September 2012 to June 2013. TSP and PM10 samples were collected using high volume samplers. PM2.5 and PM1 were measured by Haz-Dust EPAM-5000 particulate air monitors. The annual average concentrations of TSP, PM10, PM2.5, and PM1 in the urban site were 142.2 ± 76.3, 85.3 ± 43.9, 39 ± 19.1, and 28.4 ± 14.9 μg/m3 (mean ± SD), respectively. Also in industrial suburban, the total average concentrations of TSP, PM10, PM2.5, and PM1 were measured as 178.7 ± 52.7, 109.9 ± 30.2, 40.0 ± 10.9, and 31.4 ± 9.1 μg/m3, respectively. The PM10/TSP ratio for the whole study period ranged between 0.35-0.91 and 0.32-0.79 in the urban and suburban sites, respectively. Total mortalities associated with TSP, PM10 and PM2.5 concentrations were 327, 363, and 360, respectively. Furthermore, the cardiovascular mortalities for TSP and PM10 were 202 and 227 individual, respectively. According to the attributable respiratory mortalities of 99 and 67 associated respectively with TSP and PM10, it is clear that cardiovascular mortality resulted from PM might attributed to total mortality. The maximum 24-hour concentration of PM was observed during winter followed by autumn and the lowest one was during spring.

Highlights

Industrialization, urbanization and increasing of population are resulting in the pollution of environment [1,2]
The present study was carried out to determine the mass levels of total suspended particulates (TSP), PM10, PM2.5, and PM1 and seasonal variations of water soluble ionic species associated with TSP and PM10 particles in urban and industrial suburban sites of Tabriz
The annual average concentrations of TSP, PM10, PM2.5, and PM1 in the industrial suburban were higher than urban sites

Summary

Introduction

Industrialization, urbanization and increasing of population are resulting in the pollution of environment [1,2]. Deterioration of urban air quality has become an increasing and widespread concern in both developed and developing communities [3,4,5]. Particulate matter (PM) is the pollutant with the most undesired health effects [6]. The most important effects of air pollution on human health have been attributed to the existence of PM at high levels The fine particulate fraction of total suspended particulates (TSP) (i.e., PM2.5) arises from combustion processes. PM2.5 have received more attentions in recent years due to its stronger ability in developing adverse health impacts [8,16,17]

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Conclusion