The highly intercorrelated nature of air pollutants makes it difficult to examine their combined effects on health. As such, epidemiological studies have traditionally focused on single-pollutant models that use regression-based techniques to examine the marginal association between a pollutant and a health outcome. These relatively simple, additive models are useful for discerning the effect o...

A series of field studies involving repetitive functional measurements in relatively small populations of healthy children and adults engaged in normal outdoor activities has shown that significant decrements in respiratory function are associated with exposures to ozone (O3) at concentrations below the national ambient air quality standard. The ability to detect such effects can be attributed,...

This historical cohort study was designed to clarify the association between air pollution and low birth weight (LBW) amongst women referred to Tehran hospitals in 2007. In total, 225 eligible pregnant women who lived within 5 km of an air pollution monitoring station during their pregnancy were selected for the study. Data were collected via interview and hospital records. Exposure to each pol...

BACKGROUND Late-onset asthma (onset > 12 years) is pathologically distinct from early-onset asthma. The mechanism of air pollution is not a classic allergic inflammation and could have differential effect on late-onset and early-onset asthma. However, there is little known about the association of onset-age phenotype and air pollution. In this population-based study, we aimed to determine the a...

As we increasingly recognize the complexity of the pollutants in indoor and outdoor microenvironments, a broad array of inhaled mixtures has assumed scientific, public health, and regulatory importance. Few adverse effects of environmental pollutants are specific, that is, uniquely associated with a single agent; the adverse effects that might be considered in an investigation of the consequenc...

Beijing has suffered from major air pollution in recent years from PM10. In this study, we investigated the transport pathways and potential sources of PM10 concentration based on backward trajectories and PM10 concentration records from 2003 to 2009. Four transport pathways of high PM10 existed. One was the northwest pathway, which had the most frequency of occurrence in spring and winter, and...

BACKGROUND To meet the current diversified health needs in workplaces, especially in nonindustrial workplaces in developing countries, an indoor air quality (IAQ) component of a participatory occupational safety and health survey should be included. OBJECTIVES The purpose of this study was to evaluate and suggest a multidisciplinary, integrated IAQ checklist for evaluating the health risk of ...

Tradescantia pallida cv. purpurea, a popular garden plant in Brazil, was used for the Tradescantia micronucleus (Trad-MCN) assay. In situ monitoring of the genotoxicity of air pollutants was carried out by sentinel approach, using the plant grown in the field or using the plants in pots which were carried to the monitoring sites. Two highly polluted sites, in São Paulo city (Cerqueira Cesar and...

While enforceable National Environmental Quality Standards for pollutants exist in Pakistan, ambient air quality guidelines have never been established. However, there is no reliable epidemiological/toxicological monitoring system in place in Pakistan to provide a basis for establishing guidelines for various air pollutants. This paper reviews the World Health Organization air quality guideline...

We have been observing the Earth's upper atmosphere from space for several decades, but only over the past decade has the necessary technology begun to match our desire to observe surface air pollutants and climate-relevant trace gases in the lower troposphere, where we live and breathe. A new generation of Earth-observing satellites, capable of probing the lower troposphere, are already orbiti...