Week 8 Flashcards
(21 cards)
Primary source of SO2
Energy industries-37.5%
Primary source of NO2
Road transport- 33.6
Primary source of PM 2.5
Residential- 43.1%
Primary source of NH3
Agriculture- 87.65%
Primary source of NMVOCs
Industrial-54.1%
Schemes to reduce air pollution around mega cities
UK- LEZs
Barcelona- Speed restrictions
Milan- Cheaper public transport
What can long range transport of pollutants result in?
Air quality exceedance over a downwind country
Morbidity- definition
State of being diseased/unhealthful- incidence of ill health in a population
Mortality-definition
State of being mortal- incidences of death in a population (no. of deaths per 1000)
Acute effects of air pollutants
Irritation to eyes/nose/ respiratory issues e.g. bronchitis, headaches, nausea
Chronic effects of air pollutants
Respiratory disease, lung cancer, heart disease
Financial effects of air pollutants
healthcare, time off work, human welfare
Biological mechanism of ozone leading to cellular damage
O₃ reacts with lung cell lipids/proteins, forming ROS (e.g., O₂⁻, H₂O₂, OH·). ROS cause oxidative stress, damaging membranes, proteins, and DNA. This triggers inflammation, apoptosis, and mitochondrial dysfunction, leading to lung injury.
Health effects of PM
Respiratory
Cardiovascular
Metabolic- diabetes
Cancers
Neurological
Birth outcomes and fertility
What are alveolar macrophages?
Primary immune cells in the lungs- ingest and remove inhaled particles
Health effects of O2 and NO2
Cardiovascular- heart disease, stroke
Respiratory, airway irritation lung inflammation
Fertility
Studying AQ- health risks - Epidilogical studies
Mortality and morbidity rates -
Can fail to find significant relationships
Must find a v. strong relationship to be valid
Studying AQ- health risks - Episodic relationships
Relate daily/weekly mortality events to coincident incidences of air pollution.
Air pollution is more subtle than this
Need to account for other factors
Heatwave of 2003- case study
Heatwave was associated with high concentration of O3 and PM10.
Air was trapped under a shallow boundary layer capped by and inversion layer
Pollution and death led to elevated deaths in the UK
Main issues with health pollution studies?
Controlling for other variables requires intensive efforts
Understanding cause of death
Long term cohort studies= lots of effort
Approximating exposure with ambient monitoring networks
Getting detailed info on size composition of particles and how they effect health
Scaling up and assuming all particles respond the same
