1 Sabzevar University of Medical Sciences, Sabzevar, Iran
2 Center for Air Resources Engineering and Science, Clarkson University, Potsdam, NY 13699, USA
3 Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, NY 14642, USA
4 Safety Promotion and Injury Prevention Research Center, Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
5 Ministry of Health and Medical Education, Tehran, Iran
6 Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Public Health, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
7 Environmental and Occupational Hazards Control Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Cite this article: Hadei, M., Hopke, P.K., Hashemi Nazari, S.S., Yarahmadi, M., Shahsavani, A. and Alipour, M.R. (2017). Estimation of Mortality and Hospital Admissions Attributed to Criteria Air Pollutants in Tehran Metropolis, Iran (2013–2016).
Aerosol Air Qual. Res.
17: 2474-2481. https://doi.org/10.4209/aaqr.2017.04.0128
HIGHLIGHTS
Pollutants' concentrations in the third year were lower than the first year.
The health impacts attributed to PM10 have increased in the third year.
The health impacts of PM2.5, O3, NO2, and SO2 have decreased in the third year.
PM2.5 and PM10 have shown the highest number of deaths.
ABSTRACT
Health impact assessments are useful for governmental authorities and decision-makers to determine the need for action and address potential public health problems arising from exposure to air pollution. The present study was conducted to assess the short-term health impacts of ambient air pollution in Tehran using the AirQ 2.2.3 model for March 2013–March 2016. Hourly concentrations of PM10, PM2.5, O3, NO2 and SO2 were acquired from the Department of Environment (DOE) and Tehran Air Quality Control Company (TAQCC). Air pollution data was validated according to the USEPA criteria, and only valid monitoring stations for each of the three years were entered to the AirQ 2.2.3 model. The pollutant concentrations were lower in the March 2015 March 2016 period compared to the previous years. The three-year average (± standard deviation) of PM10 and PM2.5 concentrations were 80.21 (± 34.21) and 39.17 (± 17.26) µg m–3, respectively. The three-year averages (± standard deviation) for ozone (O3), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and sulphur dioxide (SO2) were 54.88 (± 24.15), 103.97 (± 25.88) and 39.84 (± 11.17) µg m–3, respectively. The total estimated number of deaths attributed to PM10, PM2.5, O3, NO2 and SO2 over these three years were 4192, 4336, 1363, 2830, and 1216, respectively. The health impacts attributed to all pollutants except for PM10 were estimated to decrease in 2016, compared to the prior years. However, the air quality in Tehran still poses significant risks to public health. In conclusion, urgent efforts are needed such as mandating the replacing of old and poorly functioning vehicles from the roadways in order to reduce the health burden that air pollution is currently imposing on this city.
Keywords: Air pollution; Particulate matter; Ozone; Quantification; Short-term effect
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