Abstract
Epidemiological studies suggest that the main part of chronic effects from air pollution is likely to be linked with particulate matter (PM). Oxidative potential (OP) of PM is gaining strong interest as a promising health exposure metric. This study combined atmospheric detailed composition results obtained for seven different urban background environments over France to examine any possible common feature in OP seasonal variations obtained using two assays (acid ascorbic (AA) and dithiothreitol (DTT)) along a large set of samples ( N > 700 ). A remarkable homogeneity in annual cycles was observed with a higher OP activity in wintertime at all investigated sites. Univariate correlations were used to link the concentrations of some major chemical components of PM and their OP. Four PM components were identified as OP predictors: OC, EC, monosaccharides and Cu. These species are notably emitted by road transport and biomass burning, targeting main sources probably responsible for the measured OP activity. The results obtained confirm that the relationship between OP and atmospheric pollutants is assay- and location-dependent and, thus, the strong need for a standardized test, or set of tests, for further regulation purposes.
Highlights
Atmospheric pollution has been ranked as the fourth risk factor for premature mortality worldwide [1]
We can assume that particulate matter (PM) mass and OPv may be rather consistent across the French territory on annual average, except for the Alpine sites
This study reported the seasonal variations of acellular oxidative potential along a large set of samples (N > 700) corresponding to seven different urban background environments
Summary
Atmospheric pollution has been ranked as the fourth risk factor for premature mortality worldwide [1]. Epidemiological studies suggest that the largest part of chronic effects from air pollution can be linked to Particulate Matter (PM) [2,3,4] and its capacity to induce oxidative stress in vivo through the generation of excessive reactive oxygen species (ROS) and/or the inadequate antioxidant defences [5]. ROS from PM, and acellular assays are gaining a strong interest for their quick and non-invasive character. In this context, Oxidative Potential (OP) of PM, an acellular metric based on the ability of particles to elicit oxidative reactions, is considered as a promising health exposure evaluation, as OP integrates particle size, surface properties and chemical composition of the PM [5,6,7]. Better understanding the correlations between oxidative effects and chemical composition of PM—and, further, their emission sources—is essential to possibly develop future regulations using OP
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