Journal of Air Pollution and Health
Volume:7 Issue: 1, Winter 2022

South Africa has the highest ambient air pollution exposure associated with morbidity in the Sub-Saharan region, accounting for a total number of 14356 confirmed cases of mortality on an annual basis. The study assessed air pollution exposure levels of Khayelitsha and Marconi-Beam neighbourhoods that are not monitored by the fixed-site monitoring station provided by the government.

Weekly ambient air pollution measurements of Particulate Matter less than 2.5 µm (PM2.5) and Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) were collected at households in neighbourhoods of Khayelitsha and Marconi-Beam during the summer and winter seasons. PM2.5 measurements were collected using Mesa Labs GK2.05 (KTL) cyclone attached to a GilAir Plus air sampling pump. Gases of NO2 were measured using passive diffusive samplers. Data were recorded on a Microsoft Excel 2016 spreadsheet. Statistical analyses were performed using IBM SPSS Statistics 28.0. The outcome of the seasonal exposure levels will be compared with the South African ambient air quality standards to ascertain the risk of potential exposure to significant levels of PM2.5 and NO2 that are hazardous to human health.

The results suggest that summer NO2 concentrations in the Khayelitsha neighbourhood ranged between (0 and 28 µg/m3 ), while in winter NO2 concentrations nearly doubled. A similar trend was observed regarding PM2.5 behaviour with summer overall exposure level of 7 µg/m3 and 13 µg/m3 during winter.

Whilst there are no legislative guidelines to compare the measured weekly average results, the concentrations were still lower than the World Health Organization (WHO), and South African air quality standards values for PM2.5 and NO2 pollutants.

The applicability of Nanofiber (NF) membranes in air sampling of pollutants for the purpose of determining the airborne concentration has received little attention around the world. The present study aims to optimize the fabrication of NF membrane for the of air sampling application.

The polyvinyl chloride NF membranes were fabricated using needle-based solution electrospinning technique. The experimental design was prepared by Design-Expert v7.0 and data analysis was done by Central Composite Design (CCD) base on Response Surface Methodology (RSM) technique. The ability of the fabricated membranes in air sampling applications was performed by sampling of airborne crystalline silica by them using the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH7602) method and then comparing with the commercial PVC membranes.

The fabricated NF membranes had a mean porosity of 31.60% compared to a porosity of 25.1% in the case of commercial Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) membranes. The electrospun NF membranes had mean pressure drop of 194.23 Pa, which is lower than the 204 Pa pressure drop of commercial PVC filters. The mean concentration of silica sampled by the electrospun NF membrane was 0.14 mg/m3 while this was 0.03 mg/m3 for commercial PVC membrane. The difference concentration of crystalline silica sampled by NF and commercial PVC membranes had the strongest relationship with the electrospinning solution concentration (r=-0.785, p>0.05).

The NF membrane has high performance in sampling the crystalline silica dust from the air stream compared to commercial PVC membranes.

Biomass burning is a principal contributor of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the air. A vast majority of rural households in South Asia are still using crude biomass fuel in kitchens causing poor air quality. This pushes the children and women population to severe exposure risk. In this work, 14 PAHs out of 16 priority PAHs of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA)-bound to Biomass Fuel Smoke Particles (BFSPs) produced during burning various crude biomass fuels in rural kitchens had been characterized.

Representative rural households were taken for this study. Two sets of samples were collected during dry and wet periods using filter paper by a passive collection method and analyzed by High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC).

PAHs with even number of rings (2-ring and 4-ring PAHs) dominated the Biomass Fuel Smoke Particles (BFSPs). PAH contents in BFSPs of the wet period were higher than the dry period samples. Different PAH ratios differed from reported studies on ambient atmosphere particulates and test environment. Higher Incremental Lifetime Cancer Risk (ILCR) values were found during the wet period compared to the dry period in most BFSPs. The risk via ingestion and dermal contact was about 104 to 105 magnitudes higher than the inhalation risk.

The study reported seasonal variation of PAHs from biomass fuels and associated health risks to the exposed population. The higher levels of PAHs and the associated health risks may pose significant risks to the exposed women and children.

Nowadays, air pollution is one of the main health and environmental problems in developing cities, which is a result of the increasing use of fossil fuels, heat generators and the activities of industrial districts and industries.

In order to conduct this descriptive cross-sectional study, the sampling site of Garmsar industrial district in Semnan province was selected. For air sampling, a large sample sampling pump, a cyclone holder filter and a fiberglass filter were used. The air sampling operation lasted from June to September, 2021. Sampling was performed in three days a week at a speed of 0.5 m/s. Therefore, 15 samples were taken per month and 60 samples were taken in each study period to measure each group of particles.

Based on the results of the evaluation of air pollutants, among the measured pollutants, only the amount of suspended particles and sulfur dioxide in some sampling days is higher than the maximum allowable concentration of the standard ambient air. The Air Quality Index (AQI) for Particulate Matter less than 10 µm (PM10) in August exceeded the allowable level (100), and for Sulfur dioxide (SO2) in September.

Since the concentration of particulate matter and sulfur dioxide and consequently the amount of AQI in some sampling days is higher than the maximum allowable concentration of ambient air standard, continuous monitoring of emission sources, determination and control of emission sources, and creating local and industrial guidelines in this area is essential.

Hospital microorganisms are the potential sources of infection for patients and staff. Exposure to bioaerosols is relevant to a wide range of health effects, including infectious diseases, acute toxic effects, and allergies.

In this study, ZTHV02 sampling device was used to evaluate and determine the density of bacterial airborne bioaerosols. The culture medium used in this study was tryptophan agar for bacterial agents to which the antibiotic cyclohexamide was added to prevent fungal growth. Sampling time was 10 min on average. The collected samples were immediately taken to the laboratory and incubated for 48 h. Then the number of colonies was counted and the bacteria were identified. Finally, bacterial density was expressed in CFU/m3.

The results showed that the mean total density of bacteria measured in Imam Hossein hospital were 16.07 CFU/m3. The ICU unit of Imam Hossein hospital has the highest bacterial contamination. The most abundant bacteria observed in the air of Imam Hossein hospital were enterococci, Pseudomonas species, coagulase negative staphylococci, Klebsilla species and group D non-enterococcal streptococci, respectively.

Pseudomonas, Klebsiella and Enterococcus species were obtained. The number of bacteria was not significantly related to ambient temperature and humidity, but their number in the evening shift (appointment time) was significantly higher than the morning shift (p<0.05). High density of airborne bacteria in the studied hospitals can be considered as an important risk factor for the health of employees and patients.

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 25% of mortality in developing countries arises from environmental hazards. Over the years, soaring demand for humanity’s essential needs has prompted industrial-scale production and the generation of large quantities of waste. Petroleum refineries generate large quantities of waste which gives rise to health effects such as cancer, eye defects, birth defects, and reproductive defects. Furthermore, the residents living around refineries encounter several hazards arising from operations that generate noise, radiation, chemicals, vibration, dust and toxic pollutant gases. The current research landscape indicates that Petroleum Refinery Emissions or PREs pose significant risks to human health, safety and the environment. Therefore, this paper presents a concise review of the acute and chronic effects of PREs on the health and safety of residents living within the vicinity of petroleum refineries. The reviewed literature revealed that PREs cause various cancers, leukaemia, as well as cardiovascular, respiratory, and reproduction disorders. Hence, numerous approaches to mitigate, eliminate or address the short and long term effects of PREs have been proposed in the literature. The proposed approaches include the bioremediation as well as the monitoring and evaluation of PREs to promptly detect, remediate and eliminate the hazards. However, other measures that could help address the outlined occupational health and environmental safety-related issues will go a long way in mitigating or curbing the socio-economic, environmental, health and safety impacts of PREs and industrial wastes.

Indoor quality is an important and necessary concern towards indoor use, which sustains the health of the occupants. Indoor health is the resultant of exposure to all building materials, the contents of room equipment, occupant activities, and the ability of the space to eliminate negative effects on life. This paper adequately describes sources of pollutant exposure, pollutant movement, biological processes, health impacts, all of which can cause Sick Building Syndrome (SBS). Furthermore, indoor depollution measures to counteract SBS need to be carried out at the stages of building design and construction. Based on the interests and needs, here it is necessary to propose a certification of potential SBS at the design and construction stages. Thus, SBS responsibilities can be proportionately distributed to designers, contractors, and building users.

Emission large amounts of air pollutants can cause many problems in the environment and human health. The purpose of this review study was evaluating consequences and health effects of toxic air pollutants and expressing strategies for controlling these pollutants.

A narrative review of the literature was done based on searched databases. All relevant studies published 1998 until 2021 gathered. According to the databases, 360 articles were retrieved. 24 studies were screened after review and 16 full-text articles entered into the analysis process. Finally, 9 articles were selected in this study.

The results of this study showed that industrialization, increasing urbanization, technological development, rapid population growth, increased desertification and deforestation, occurrence of dust phenomenon, uncontrolled growth of motor vehicles, entry of various pollutants and environmental degradation cause a phenomenon called air pollution. Based on the results, the toxic air pollutants causes many health endpoints in human such as respiratory disease, asthma, chronic lung disease, respiratory and
cardiovascular system dysfunction, decreased immune system, headache, dizziness, gastrointestinal disease and increased risk of cancer (lung, stomach, intestine, eye, liver and brain).

According to research related to the subject, air pollution is a positive function of energy consumption, volume of industrial activities, and the uncontrolled increase of human activities. The most vital factors are increasing the level of public awareness, reducing the exposure to toxic air pollutants, improving quality of the products and consumption of consumed fuels.