| Air pollution comprises dust, smoke
and gases in the air we breathe. It arises from natural sources
such as volcanoes, agricultural practices etc, but is caused mainly
by traffic and industry. Contributors to indoor air pollution
include ambient air pollution, dust, tobacco smoking, the inefficient
burning of fuels for cooking and heating, household chemicals,
furnishings wall and floor coverings etc. The list is long.
Common pollutants include:
- metals, such as lead or mercury;
- gases, such as ozone, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, sulphur
dioxide, etc; and
- particulate matter, mineral ash, smoke, and engine exhaust.
The net result is that in cities across the EU, air pollution
(particularly suspended particles) may cause many tens of thousands
of premature deaths from respiratory diseases annually.
Contribution from Key Action 4
Among the projects selected for Key Action 4 – Environment
and Health, 14 are devoted to air pollution. By revealing causal
links between pollutants and health effects, and providing tools
for measuring exposures and effects, they will favour the development
of protective measures and feed into the process of regulating
pollutant emissions.
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Impact of released
mercury
Mercury is toxic and volatile. Following its
release into the air from incinerators, factories,
dumps and mining sites, it is subsequently deposited
on land and water.
The EMECAP project(1) is focusing on the Mercury-Cell
Chlor-Alkali (MCCA) sector, which numbers 63
plants in Europe and accounts for 15% of mercury
emissions worldwide.
EMECAP is developing:
- a convenient microanalyser with good networking
features for measuring atmospheric mercury
levels;
- a mathematical model for simulating mercury
dispersion;
- a new software to correlate environmental
and epidemiological data; and
- innovative samplers/dosimeters for measuring
personal exposure to gaseous mercury.
Epidemiological and environmental measurements
will be performed in and around two pilot MCCA
plants. The collected data will provide valuable
information on the health impact of mercury
exposure in such areas, and will be used to
develop the correlation algorithm.
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European Mercury Emissions from Chlor-Alkali Plants.
QLK4-2000-00489 |
Prof. Paolo Dario
Scuola Superiore di Studi Universitary e Perfezionamento
Sant'Anna (IT)
dario@mail-arts.sssup.it
http://www.emecap.com |
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Reaching the limits
in ambient air |
| Air
pollution and cardiovascular effects
The HEAPSS project(2) is examining the link
between air pollution and acute myocardial infarction
(AMI). In five EU cities, partners are recording
daily levels of gaseous and particulate pollutants
(including ultrafine particles), meteorological
data, and incidence rates for first-time AMI
in the general population and death/ hospital
admissions among AMI survivors. They are also
collecting patient data.
The project aims to identify individual characteristics
that increase vulnerability to air pollution,
and to establish dose-response relationships
between pollutants and health effects. This
will provide a scientific basis for air pollution
prevention strategies and early-warning systems
for susceptible subgroups.
(2) Health effects of
air pollution on susceptible subpopulations
– traditional air pollutants, ultra-fine
particles, and myocardial infarction: database
and health assessment: QLK4-2000-00708
Dr Francesco Forastiere
Department of Epidemiology
Agency for Public Health (IT)
Epiamb1@asplazio.it
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Exhaustive research
Another project(3) is focusing on motor engine
exhaust, in particular on the particulate matter
(PM) it contains.
In collaboration with an established European
epidemiological study, partners are sampling
and analysing ambient PM and freshly generated
diesel and gasoline engine PM. They are screening
the samples for bioactivity in various in vitro
systems and on selected target cells. Provocation
tests will then be carried out on healthy and
more sensitive subjects, such as asthmatic and
allergic individuals.
Finally, epidemiologists and statisticians
will relate the physico-chemical characteristics
of the PM to the results of the various tests
and to the epidemiological findings.
(3) Health effects of
particles from motor engine exhaust and ambient
air pollution – a European collaborative
project:
QLK4-1999-04582
Prof. Thomas Sandström
Umeå University Hospital (SE)
Fax: +46 90 141 369 |
| Ultimately,
both projects should contribute to the
revision of Council Directive 1999/30/EC
relating to limit values for sulphur dioxide,
nitrogen oxides, lead and particulate
matter in ambient air. |
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Polycyclic aromatic
hydrocarbons
Some health effects of air pollution have been
linked to the presence of DNA-bound polycyclic
aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH-DNA adducts) in exposed
individuals. The EXPAH project(4) is testing
the hypothesis that PAHs carried by airborne
particles are the major source of genotoxicity
in organic mixtures associated with air pollution.
The project is focusing on populations in three
European cities. It aims to measure exposures,
collect information on lifestyle factors such
as diet, and look for DNA adducts, biomarkers
of DNA damage,
susceptibility factors, and DNA modifications
due to oxidative stress. Partners are developing
an in vitro human cell model in which to study
the genotoxicity of complex mixtures adsorbed
on to airborne particles. The results will be
used to assess the risk associated with air-pollution-linked
exposure to PAHs. |
(4)
Effects of PAHs in environmental pollution on
exogenous and endogenous DNA damage. QLK4-2000-00489
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Prof. Peter Farmer
Medical Research Council (UK)
Pbf1@le.ac.uk
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