Health impact assessment of short-term exposure to NO2 in Kermanshah, Iran using AirQ model

Yusef Omidi,Gholamreza Goudarzi,Seyed Mohammad Daryanoosh,Ali Mirza Heidari

doi:10.15171/ehem.2016.06

Abstract

Background: Epidemiological studies have illustrated that exposure to atmospheric nitrogen oxides (NO2/NOX) is responsible for an increased risk of acute or chronic diseases such as cancer. In this study the health risks associated with nitrogen dioxide (NO2) were assessed in the city of Kermanshah, the capital of Kermanshah province, Iran. Methods: Data on hourly NO2 levels that had been measured with the Environ tech model M200 was taken from the Kermanshah Environmental Protection Agency (KEPA). The AirQ2.2.3 model was used to quantify data based on baseline incidence (BI), relative risk (RR), and attributable proportion (AP). The number of cases of cardiovascular mortality (CM), acute myocardial infarction (MI), and hospital admissions for chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (HACOPD) was estimated. Results: The results of the current study show that there were 33, 16, and 13 cases of CM, acute MI, and HACOPD, respectively, attributable to NO2 exposure. Furthermore, 26.85% of health impacts occurred on days when NO2 levels did not exceed 40 μg/m3. For every 10 μg/m3 increase in the NO2 level, the risk of CM, MI, and HACOPD rose about 0.2%, 0.36%, and 0.38%, respectively. Conclusion: In order to reduce the number of cases of mortality and morbidity caused by exposure to NO2, several immediate steps should be taken by the government to control emissions from various sources, particularly car exhaust, to reduce the levels of NO2 in the atmosphere.

Highlights

Air pollution due to industrialization and urbanization is one of the major environmental issues of the current century, especially in developing countries [1,2,3,4]
nitrogen dioxide (NO2), several immediate steps should be taken by the government to control emissions from various sources, car exhaust, to reduce the levels of NO2 in the atmosphere
The average summer NO2 level was 63.08 μg/m3, which is lower than the winter average of 77.34 μg/m3

Summary

Introduction

Air pollution due to industrialization and urbanization is one of the major environmental issues of the current century, especially in developing countries [1,2,3,4]. Because of its adverse effects on human health, exposure to air pollution is related to increased rates of mortality and morbidity [5,6,7,8]. NO2 is a gas with oxidant properties that is capable of diminishing the air quality in many urban and industrial contexts as well as the indoor air of homes with domestic combustion devices. The main source of NO2 in the urban atmosphere is gas released from road traffic. Epidemiological studies have illustrated that exposure to atmospheric nitrogen oxides (NO2/NOX) is responsible for an increased risk of acute or chronic diseases such as cancer. In this study the health risks associated with nitrogen dioxide (NO2) were assessed in the city of Kermanshah, the capital of Kermanshah province, Iran

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion