Overview Of Methods To Assess Population Exposure To Ambient Air Pollution

A guide to the principles and methods of air quality assessment aimed at measuring population exposure to ambient air pollutants and estimating the effects on health. Addressed to policy-makers as well as scientists engaged in air quality monitoring, the book responds to the failure of most monitoring systems to provide data that are useful in estimating and managing threats to health. The need for exposure data on populations at special risk is also addressed. Throughout, emphasis is placed on methods of monitoring and modelling that are cost-effective, targeted, and appropriate to local and national conditions. The report has six chapters. The first introduces WHO activities related to air quality management and explains the need for monitoring systems capable of assessing health impact. The types of information required for health impact assessment are described in chapter two, which outlines several methods of monitoring and modelling that can be used to measure the level and distribution of exposure to air pollutants in populations, identify population groups with high exposure, and estimate adverse effects on health. Chapter three formulates a general concept of air quality assessment, offering advice on principles for designing a monitoring network, interpreting and reporting data, and solving problems with quality assurance. Also included is a comparison of the advantages, disadvantages, and costs of different methods for air quality monitoring. Against this background, the fourth and most extensive chapter describes specific methods for the monitoring of carbon monoxide, ozone, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, particulate matter, benzene, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, lead, and atmospheric cadmium. Monitoring strategies for each pollutant are presented according to a standard format, which covers health effects, sources and exposure patterns, monitoring methods, recommended strategies for monitoring and assessment, and a practical example. The remaining chapters offer advice on the collation, analysis, interpretation, and dissemination of data, and summarize the main conclusions and recommendations of the report. Detailed technical guidelines for the use of various methods and models are provided in a series of annexes. The report also reproduces the newly revised WHO air quality guidelines for Europe.

"The combination of scientific and institutional integrity represented by this book is unusual. It should be a model for future endeavors to help quantify environmental risk as a basis for good decisionmaking." â€"William D. Ruckelshaus, from the foreword. This volume, prepared under the auspices of the Health Effects Institute, an independent research organization created and funded jointly by the Environmental Protection Agency and the automobile industry, brings together experts on atmospheric exposure and on the biological effects of toxic substances to examine what is knownâ€"and not knownâ€"about the human health risks of automotive emissions.

Preceded by Exposure assessment in occupational and environmental epidemiology / edited by Mark J. Nieuwenhuijsen. 1st ed. 2003.

Discusses pollution from tobacco smoke, radon and radon progeny, asbestos and other fibers, formaldehyde, indoor combustion, aeropathogens and allergens, consumer products, moisture, microwave radiation, ultraviolet radiation, odors, radioactivity, and dirt and discusses means of controlling or eliminating them.

Spatiotemporal Analysis of Air Pollution and Its Application in Public Health reviews, in detail, the tools needed to understand the spatial temporal distribution and trends of air pollution in the atmosphere, including how this information can be tied into the diverse amount of public health data available using accurate GIS techniques. By utilizing GIS to monitor, analyze and visualize air pollution problems, it has proven to not only be the most powerful, accurate and flexible way to understand the atmosphere, but also a great way to understand the impact air pollution has in diverse populations. This book is essential reading for novices and experts in atmospheric science, geography and any allied fields investigating air pollution. Introduces readers to the benefits and uses of geo-spatiotemporal analyses of big data to reveal new and greater understanding of the intersection of air pollution and health Ties in machine learning to improve speed and efficacy of data models Includes developing visualizations, historical data, and real-time air pollution in large geographic areas

Traffic-Related Air Pollution synthesizes and maps TRAP and its impact on human health at the individual and population level. The book analyzes mitigating standards and regulations with a focus on cities. It provides the methods and tools for assessing and quantifying the associated road traffic emissions, air pollution, exposure and population-based health impacts, while also illuminating the mechanisms underlying health impacts through clinical and toxicological research. Real-world implications are set alongside policy options, emerging technologies and best practices. Finally, the book recommends ways to influence discourse and policy to better account for the health impacts of TRAP and its societal costs. Overviews existing and emerging tools to assess TRAP’s public health impacts Examines TRAP’s health effects at the population level Explores the latest technologies and policies--alongside their potential effectiveness and adverse consequences--for mitigating TRAP Guides on how methods and tools can leverage teaching, practice and policymaking to ameliorate TRAP and its effects