Epidemiologic studies have consistently reported associations between outdoor fine particulate matter (PM2.5) air pollution and adverse health effects. Although Asia bears the majority of the public health burden from air pollution, few epidemiologic studies have been conducted outside of North America and Europe due in part to challenges in population exposure assessment. We assessed the feasibility of two current exposure assessment techniques, land use regression (LUR) modeling and mobile monitoring, and estimated the mortality attributable to air pollution in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. We developed LUR models for predicting wintertime spatial patterns of NO2 and SO2 based on 2-week passive Ogawa measurements at 37 locations and freely available geographic predictors. The models explained 74% and 78% of the variance in NO2 and SO2, respectively. Land cover characteristics derived from satellite images were useful predictors of both pollutants. Mobile PM2.5 monitoring with an integrating nephelometer also showed promise, capturing substantial spatial variation in PM2.5 concentrations. The spatial patterns in SO2 and PM, seasonal and diurnal patterns in PM2.5, and high wintertime PM2.5/PM10 ratios were consistent with a major impact from coal and wood combustion in the city’s low-income traditional housing (ger) areas. The annual average concentration of PM2.5 measured at a centrally located government monitoring site was 75 μg/m3 or more than seven times the World Health Organization’s PM2.5 air quality guideline, driven by a wintertime average concentration of 148 μg/m3. PM2.5 concentrations measured in a traditional housing area were higher, with a wintertime mean PM2.5 concentration of 250 μg/m3. We conservatively estimated that 29% (95% CI, 12–43%) of cardiopulmonary deaths and 40% (95% CI, 17–56%) of lung cancer deaths in the city are attributable to outdoor air pollution. These deaths correspond to nearly 10% of the city’s total mortality, with estimates ranging to more than 13% of mortality under less conservative model assumptions. LUR models and mobile monitoring can be successfully implemented in developing country cities, thus cost-effectively improving exposure assessment for epidemiology and risk assessment. Air pollution represents a major threat to public health in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, and reducing home heating emissions in traditional housing areas should be the primary focus of air pollution control efforts.

/pdf/an-assessment-of-air-pollution-and-its-attributable-3r3h34etod.pdf

An assessment of air pollution and its attributable mortality in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.

Particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10) and trace gas (CO2, NO2, and SO2) emissions were measured at different units of the Mugher cement factory and nearby residential areas. The prevalence of respiratory system diseases of the community proximate and distant from the factory was also analyzed using clinical records. The emission dispersion pathways were also investigated using a web-based online READY HYSPLIT Dispersion Model and wind rose diagram. Results show the mean ambient air quality for particulate matter PM2.5 (120–973 µg/m3) and PM10 (140–998 µg/m3) at the Mugher cement plant and PM2.5 (106–198 µg/m3) and PM10 (101–303 µg/m3) at a nearby village. The emissions of particulate matter at the factory and nearby village were above the limited value of 150 µg/m3 prescribed by Ethiopian ambient air quality guidelines. Acute bronchitis (37.4%), chronic bronchitis (20%), and skin infection (15%) were the dominant diseases observed. Based on age, the highest impact (50.8%) was observed in ages ranging from 0 to 14 whereas that of the age group 15 to 60 was 47%. Restriction of cement particulate emission and demarking a buffer zone between the cement factory and settlements complemented with continued monitoring, and regulatory enforcement should be a top priority to the local authority.

Impact of cement factory emission on air quality and human health around Mugher and the surrounding villages, Central Ethiopia

Experts have suggested that microscale biogas systems offer a source of renewable energy that improves indoor air quality, but such impacts have not been directly measured. This study documented cooking behaviors and measured 2.5-μm particulate matter (PM2.5 ), carbon monoxide (CO), and sulfur dioxide (SO2 ) concentrations within 14 institutional kitchens in Kampala, Uganda, that prepare meals using biogas (n=5), a mixture of biogas and fuelwood (n=3), and fuelwood (n=6). Small institutions (10-30 people) with biogas kitchens had 99% lower concentrations of PM2.5 (21 μg/m3 ) than fuelwood kitchens (3100 μg/m3 ). Larger institutions (>100 people) had biogas systems that produced insufficient gas and relied on fuelwood to meet over 90% of their energy needs. PM2.5 concentrations in these biogas-firewood kitchens were equivalent to concentrations in fuelwood kitchens. Although concentrations of hydrogen sulfide (H2 S) in biogas were as high as 2000 ppm, 75% of systems had undetectable H2 S levels (<100 ppm) in the biogas. Kitchens using biogas with high H2 S had correspondingly higher SO2 concentrations in the kitchen air. However, even the highest SO2 concentration in biogas kitchens (150 μg/m3 ) was lower than SO2 concentration in fuelwood kitchens (390 μg/m3 ). The results suggest that biogas systems can offer air quality improvements if sized properly for energy demands.

The impact of biogas and fuelwood use on institutional kitchen air quality in Kampala, Uganda.

Corrigendum to “Results from a pilot-scale air quality study in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia”[Atmospheric Environment 39 (2005) 7849–7860]

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Corrigendum to “Results from a pilot-scale air quality study in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia”[Atmospheric Environment 39 (2005) 7849–7860]