air pollution mitigation
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INTRODUCTION: Radon is a major indoor air pollutant that poses a significant risk of lung cancer to those exposed in their homes. While mitigation of high radon levels in homes has been shown to be effective, home mitigation rates remain low. This study examines the barriers and facilitators to radon mitigation in homes from the perspectives of authorities responsible for radon risk management, the mitigation industry (contractors), and residents in four European countries (Belgium, Ireland, Slovenia, and the UK) with high radon risks and low mitigation rates. METHODS: A multi-method approach was used to gather data from various stakeholders, including online surveys, content analysis of legal documents, group interviews, workshops, and focus groups. RESULTS: Authorities, contractors, and residents identified various facilitators to radon mitigation, including legal requirements for mitigation, awareness campaigns, low mitigation costs, availability of financial support, accreditation of mitigation contractors, and a perception of radon as a health threat. However, barriers to mitigation were also identified, such as a lack of awareness, fragmented mitigation processes, and inadequate communication between stakeholders. DISCUSSION: The study highlights the complexity of the radon mitigation process and suggests that interventions aimed at increasing mitigation rates should target stakeholders beyond just residents, such as constructors, health professionals, and policy makers. An integrated approach to radon mitigation, from policy to provision, is necessary to effectively lower levels of this indoor air pollutant.
- MeSH
- akreditace MeSH
- látky znečišťující vzduch * MeSH
- lidé MeSH
- průmysl MeSH
- radon * MeSH
- správní úředníci MeSH
- Check Tag
- lidé MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
- práce podpořená grantem MeSH
Air pollution and climate change have a significant impact on human health and well-being and contribute to the onset and aggravation of allergic rhinitis and asthma among other chronic respiratory diseases. In Westernized countries, households have experienced a process of increasing insulation and individuals tend to spend most of their time indoors. These sequelae implicate a high exposure to indoor allergens (house dust mites, pets, molds, etc), tobacco smoke, and other pollutants, which have an impact on respiratory health. Outdoor air pollution derived from traffic and other human activities not only has a direct negative effect on human health but also enhances the allergenicity of some plants and contributes to global warming. Climate change modifies the availability and distribution of plant- and fungal-derived allergens and increases the frequency of extreme climate events. This review summarizes the effects of indoor air pollution, outdoor air pollution, and subsequent climate change on asthma and allergic rhinitis in children and adults and addresses the policy adjustments and lifestyle changes required to mitigate their deleterious effects.
- MeSH
- alergeny MeSH
- alergická rýma * epidemiologie etiologie MeSH
- bronchiální astma * epidemiologie etiologie MeSH
- dítě MeSH
- dospělí MeSH
- klimatické změny MeSH
- látky znečišťující vzduch * škodlivé účinky MeSH
- lidé MeSH
- znečištění ovzduší * škodlivé účinky MeSH
- znečištění vzduchu ve vnitřním prostředí * škodlivé účinky MeSH
- zvířata MeSH
- Check Tag
- dítě MeSH
- dospělí MeSH
- lidé MeSH
- zvířata MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
- práce podpořená grantem MeSH
- přehledy MeSH
BACKGROUND: Evidence on the potential interactive effects of heat and ambient air pollution on cause-specific mortality is inconclusive and limited to selected locations. OBJECTIVES: We investigated the effects of heat on cardiovascular and respiratory mortality and its modification by air pollution during summer months (six consecutive hottest months) in 482 locations across 24 countries. METHODS: Location-specific daily death counts and exposure data (e.g., particulate matter with diameters ≤ 2.5 μm [PM2.5]) were obtained from 2000 to 2018. We used location-specific confounder-adjusted Quasi-Poisson regression with a tensor product between air temperature and the air pollutant. We extracted heat effects at low, medium, and high levels of pollutants, defined as the 5th, 50th, and 95th percentile of the location-specific pollutant concentrations. Country-specific and overall estimates were derived using a random-effects multilevel meta-analytical model. RESULTS: Heat was associated with increased cardiorespiratory mortality. Moreover, the heat effects were modified by elevated levels of all air pollutants in most locations, with stronger effects for respiratory than cardiovascular mortality. For example, the percent increase in respiratory mortality per increase in the 2-day average summer temperature from the 75th to the 99th percentile was 7.7% (95% Confidence Interval [CI] 7.6-7.7), 11.3% (95%CI 11.2-11.3), and 14.3% (95% CI 14.1-14.5) at low, medium, and high levels of PM2.5, respectively. Similarly, cardiovascular mortality increased by 1.6 (95%CI 1.5-1.6), 5.1 (95%CI 5.1-5.2), and 8.7 (95%CI 8.7-8.8) at low, medium, and high levels of O3, respectively. DISCUSSION: We observed considerable modification of the heat effects on cardiovascular and respiratory mortality by elevated levels of air pollutants. Therefore, mitigation measures following the new WHO Air Quality Guidelines are crucial to enhance better health and promote sustainable development.
- MeSH
- kardiovaskulární nemoci * MeSH
- látky znečišťující vzduch * toxicita analýza MeSH
- látky znečišťující životní prostředí * MeSH
- lidé MeSH
- mortalita MeSH
- nemoci dýchací soustavy * MeSH
- pevné částice škodlivé účinky analýza MeSH
- velkoměsta MeSH
- vysoká teplota MeSH
- vystavení vlivu životního prostředí škodlivé účinky analýza MeSH
- znečištění ovzduší * škodlivé účinky analýza MeSH
- Check Tag
- lidé MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
- práce podpořená grantem MeSH
- Geografické názvy
- velkoměsta MeSH
Two new single-family houses identified as insufficient with regard to existing radon barrier efficiency, have been selected for further examination. A complex set of radon diagnosis procedures has been applied in order to localise and quantify radon entry pathways into the indoor environment. Independent assessment of radon entry rate and air exchange rate has been carried out using the continuous indoor radon measurement and a specific tracer gas application. Simultaneous assessment of these key determining factors has turned out to be absolutely crucial in the context of major cause identification of elevated indoor radon concentration.
As the world's factory, China has enjoyed huge economic benefits from international export but also suffered severe environmental consequences. Most studies investigating unequal environmental exchange associated with trade took China as a homogeneous entity ignoring considerable inequality and outsourcing of pollution within China. This paper traces the regional mismatch of export-induced economic benefits and environmental costs along national supply chains by using the latest multiregional input-output model and emission inventory for 2012. The results indicate that approximately 56% of the national GDP induced by exports has been received by developed coastal regions, while about 72% of air pollution embodied in national exports, measured as aggregated atmospheric pollutant equivalents (APE), has been mainly incurred by less developed central and western regions. For each yuan of export-induced GDP, developed regions only incurred 0.4-0.6 g APE emissions, whereas less developed regions from western or central China had to suffer 4-8 times the amount of emissions. This is due to poorer regions providing lower value added and higher emission-intensive inputs and having lower environmental standards and less efficient technologies. Our results may pave a way to mitigate the unequal relationship between developed and less developed regions from the perspective of environment-economy nexus.
- MeSH
- socioekonomické faktory MeSH
- znečištění ovzduší * MeSH
- znečištění životního prostředí MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
- práce podpořená grantem MeSH
- Geografické názvy
- Čína MeSH
This study estimated current benzo(a)pyrene (BaP) concentration levels, population exposure and potential health impacts of exposure to ambient air BaP in Europe. These estimates were done by combining the best available information from observations and chemical transport models through the use of spatial interpolation methods. Results show large exceedances of the European target value for BaP in 2012 over large areas, particularly in central-eastern Europe. Results also show large uncertainties in the concentration estimates in regions with a few or no measurement stations. The estimation of the population exposure to BaP concentrations and its health impacts was limited to 60% of the European population, covering only the modelled areas which met the data quality requirement for modelling of BaP concentrations set by the European directive 2004/107/EC. The population exposure estimate shows that 20% of the European population is exposed to BaP background ambient concentrations above the EU target value and only 7% live in areas with concentrations under the estimated acceptable risk level of 0.12 ng m(-3). This exposure leads to an estimated 370 lung cancer incidences per year, for the 60% of the European population included in the estimation. Emissions of BaP have increased in the last decade with the increase in emissions from household combustion of biomass. At the same time, climate mitigation policies are promoting the use of biomass burning for domestic heating. The current study shows that there is a need for more BaP measurements in areas of low measurement density, particularly where high concentrations are expected, e.g. in Romania, Bulgaria, and other Balkan states. Furthermore, this study shows that the health risk posed by PAH exposure calls for better coordination between air quality and climate mitigation policies in Europe.
- MeSH
- benzopyren * škodlivé účinky analýza MeSH
- biomasa MeSH
- incidence MeSH
- látky znečišťující vzduch * škodlivé účinky analýza MeSH
- lidé MeSH
- nádory plic epidemiologie etiologie MeSH
- rizikové faktory MeSH
- vystavení vlivu životního prostředí * škodlivé účinky analýza MeSH
- vytápění MeSH
- znečištění ovzduší * škodlivé účinky analýza MeSH
- znečištění vzduchu ve vnitřním prostředí škodlivé účinky analýza MeSH
- Check Tag
- lidé MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
- Geografické názvy
- Evropa epidemiologie MeSH
- východní Evropa epidemiologie MeSH
Clay's Library of Health and the Environment
384 s.
The Radon program in the Czech Republic has a relatively long and rich history. Procedures, which enable to evaluate the risk of radon penetration from the ground, to protect new buildings, to find existing buildings with elevated indoor radon levels and to realise remedial measures in such buildings, have been developed, published and tested. In some cases, the whole system may fail due to psychological or sociological reasons. Three types of problems (conflicts) will be presented: human behaviour affecting measurement results, conflict between individual and 'all-society' points of view, interpretation of radon risk itself.
Reasons of low effectiveness of radon remedial measures have been studied on several unsuccessfully remediated houses. Based on the thorough analysis, factors responsible for failures are clarified. The possibilities of how to improve the effectiveness of installed measures are also discussed. Experience in this field is documented by several examples of additionally mitigated houses. After application of additional measures, indoor radon concentration in the studied houses decreased in average 5.3 times. Costs for additional mitigation were at least four times cheaper compared with costs required for installation of original measures.
- MeSH
- bydlení MeSH
- dávka záření MeSH
- dekontaminace metody MeSH
- financování organizované MeSH
- monitorování radiace metody MeSH
- radiační ochrana metody MeSH
- radioaktivní látky znečišťující vzduch analýza MeSH
- radon analýza MeSH
- znečištění vzduchu ve vnitřním prostředí analýza prevence a kontrola MeSH
- Geografické názvy
- Česká republika MeSH
Carbon dioxide capture and storage (CCS) is considered as one of the options for reducing CO2 emissions. CCS can be applied to large point sources of CO2, such as power plants and in large industrial processes. The CO2 capture is to produce a concentrated stream of highpressure CO2. The capture systems typically employ absorption of CO2 from flue gases with CO2 concentration up to 15 %. The oxygen-fuel systems use oxygen instead of air for fuel combustion to produce mainly water vapour and CO2 (more than 80 %); the water vapour is easily removed by cooling. In precombustion capture, the fuel is converted to CO2 (15-60 %) and H2 at high pressure; then CO2 is separated by adsorption or absorption. The emerging capture technologies require development of largescale membrane separation processes, novel absorption solvents and sorbents, membrane-absorbent systems, hightemperature oxygen transport membranes for oxygen production, oxyfuelling via chemical looping, combined reaction/ separation systems and new high-temperature materials.
