Hello everyone! For this new blog post, I will be looking into issues with regards to outdoor air pollution also known as Ambient air pollution.
Ambient (outdoor air pollution) is a major cause of death and disease globally. Outdoor air pollution are produced from natural and anthropogenic sources. As natural sources of outdoor air pollution that often originated from natural forest fires and dust storms, the contribution from human activities now exceed the natural sources.
Some examples of human activities of outdoor air pollution:
- Fuel combustion Motor vehicles
- Energy power plants (production of heat and electricity)
- Manufacturing factories
- Household cooking activities
- Forest fires- transboundary haze
(https://www.nps.gov/subjects/air/sources.htm)
(https://www.nps.gov/subjects/air/sources.htm)
One of the most common forms of outdoor air pollution include the emissions of particulate matter (PM) such as PM10 and PM2.5. PM is a term that describes the mixture of solid particles and liquid extremely small droplets suspended in air.
The size of particles and its exposure in air causes health problems:
- PM10 (particles with a diameter of 10 micrometres or less): these particles are inhalable particles that are small enough to pass through the throat and nose and enter the lungs. These particles can affect the heart and lungs and cause serious health effects.
- PM2.5 (particles with a diameter of 2.5 micrometres or less): these particles are so small they can get deep into the lungs and into the bloodstream. There is sufficient evidence that exposure to PM2.5 over long periods (years) can cause adverse health effects.
These particulate matter contains microscopic solids or liquid droplets that are extremely small and as inhalable particles posed serious health issues. The particles less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter, also known as PM2.5 poses the greatest health risk. In the context of Singapore, during a prolonged haze period due to transboundary haze from neighbouring countries, the elderly are the most vulnerable group and sensitive to the effects of particulate matter. In addition to that, clinical studies have generally shown a greater impact of particulate matter (PM) air pollution on health than the gaseous components. PM and its prolonged exposure, have a greater impact on those with cardiovascular disease. Chronic and acute exposure to elevated PM2.5 levels is closely associated with elevated risks for ischemic heart disease, heart failure, and cerebrovascular disease. (Hamanaka & Mutlu, 2018).
What are the short-term and long-term exposure to PM?
Short-term exposure appears to worsen pre-existing diseases while long-term exposure could result in disease and increases the rate of progression. Some of the common short term exposure can lead to irritated eyes, nose and throat, worsening asthma and lung diseases, heart attacks. On the other hand, long term exposure can result in reduced long function, development of cardiovascular and respiratory diseases and increased rate of disease progression.
To conclude, we can see that air pollution from particulate matter is a one of the major contributor to cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. The duration of exposure can result in varying effects on PM-related health effects. For the next few blog posts, we will analyse the various countries which has been experiencing high levels of PM such as India and China.
Thank you for reading!
For the next blog post in line, I will be sharing a more insights into air pollution in India, one of the most polluted cities in the world.
References:
Hamanaka, R., & Mutlu, G. (2018, October 30). Particulate Matter Air Pollution: Effects on the Cardiovascular System. Retrieved September 11, 2020, from https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fendo.2018.00680/full
https://www.epa.gov/pm-pollution/particulate-matter-pm-basics
https://www.nea.gov.sg/our-services/pollution-control/air-pollution/air-quality
https://ourworldindata.org/air-pollution
https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/environment/air/Pages/particulate-matter.aspx