Changes in extreme events and the potential impacts on human health

Extreme weather and climate-related events affect human health by causing death, injury, and illness, as well as having large socioeconomic impacts. Climate change has caused changes in extreme event frequency, intensity, and geographic distribution, and will continue to be a driver for change in the future. Some of these events include heat waves, droughts, wildfires, dust storms, flooding rains, coastal flooding, storm surges, and hurricanes. The pathways connecting extreme events to health outcomes and economic losses can be diverse and complex. The difficulty in predicting these relationships comes from the local societal and environmental factors that affect disease burden. More information is needed about the impacts of climate change on public health and economies to effectively plan for and adapt to climate change. This paper describes some of the ways extreme events are changing and provides examples of the potential impacts on human health and infrastructure. It also identifies key research gaps to be addressed to improve the resilience of public health to extreme events in the future.

Implications: Extreme weather and climate events affect human health by causing death, injury, and illness, as well as having large socioeconomic impacts. Climate change has caused changes in extreme event frequency, intensity, and geographic distribution, and will continue to be a driver for change in the future. Some of these events include heat waves, droughts, wildfires, flooding rains, coastal flooding, surges, and hurricanes. The pathways connecting extreme events to health outcomes and economic losses can be diverse and complex. The difficulty in predicting these relationships comes from the local societal and environmental factors that affect disease burden.     

Formaldehyde personal exposure measurements and time weighted exposure estimates in children

Residential concentrations of formaldehyde have been associated with poor respiratory health in children, where formaldehyde has been measured using stationary monitors inside homes. Although children spend most of their time indoors at home, there are few studies of children’s personal exposure to formaldehyde. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between personal exposure formaldehyde concentrations, microenvironmental concentrations and time weighted exposure estimates in children.Forty-one primary school children (aged between 9 and 12 years) wore a personal passive sampler over two 24 h periods in two seasons and completed 24 h daily activity diaries and a questionnaire about lifestyle and behaviour. Samplers were co located indoors at home, outdoors at centralised locations and indoors at school for the corresponding period.Personal exposure formaldehyde concentrations in this group of children were generally low with a geometric mean concentration of 9.1 ppb (range <detection limit to 27.3 ppb). There were strong correlations between personal exposure concentrations and both domestic indoor (r_s = .779, p < 0.001) and time weighted estimated (r_s = .802, p < 0.001) concentrations. The time weighted model did not improve the estimate of personal exposure compared with stationary indoor concentrations. Indoor air concentration measured with a single stationary monitor was a suitable surrogate for personal exposure.     

Applicability of a modified MCE filter method with Button Inhalable Sampler for monitoring personal bioaerosol inhalation exposure

In this study, a “modified” mixed cellulose ester (MCE) filter culturing method (directly placing filter on agar plate for culturing without extraction) was investigated in enumerating airborne culturable bacterial and fungal aerosol concentration and diversity both in different environments. A Button Inhalable Sampler loaded with a MCE filter was operated at a flow rate of 5 L/min to collect indoor and outdoor air samples using different sampling times: 10, 20, and 30 min in three different time periods of the day. As a comparison, a BioStage impactor, regarded as the gold standard, was operated in parallel at a flow rate of 28.3 L/min for all tests. The air samples collected by the Button Inhalable Sampler were directly placed on agar plates for culturing, and those collected by the BioStage impactor were incubated directly at 26 °C. The colony forming units (CFUs) were manually counted and the culturable concentrations were calculated both for bacterial and fungal aerosols. The bacterial CFUs developed were further washed off and subjected to polymerase chain reaction–denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) for diversity analysis. For fungal CFUs, microscopy method was applied to studying the culturable fungal diversity obtained using different methods. Experimental results showed that the performance of two investigated methods varied with sampling environments and microbial types (culturable bacterial and fungal aerosols). For bacterial aerosol sampling, both methods were shown to perform equally well, and in contrast the “modified” MCE filter method was demonstrated to enumerate more culturable fungal aerosols than the BioStage impactor. In general, the microbial species richness (number of gel bands) was observed to increase with increasing collection time. For both methods, the DGGE gel patterns were observed to vary with sampling time and environment despite of similar number of gel bands. In addition, an increase in sampling time from 20 to 30 min was found not to substantially alter the species richness. Regardless of the sampling methods, more species richness was observed in the outdoor environment than the indoor environment. This study described a new personal bioaerosol exposure assessment protocol, and it was demonstrated applicable in monitoring the personal bioaerosol exposure in replace of an Andersen-type impactor.     

Improving bioaerosol exposure assessments of composting facilities — Comparative modelling of emissions from different compost ages and processing activities

We present bioaerosol source term concentrations from passive and active composting sources and compare emissions from green waste compost aged 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 12 and 16 weeks. Results reveal that the age of compost has little effect on the bioaerosol concentrations emitted for passive windrow sources. However emissions from turning compost during the early stages may be higher than during the later stages of the composting process. The bioaerosol emissions from passive sources were in the range of 10³–10⁴ cfu m⁻³, with releases from active sources typically 1-log higher. We propose improvements to current risk assessment methodologies by examining emission rates and the differences between two air dispersion models for the prediction of downwind bioaerosol concentrations at off-site points of exposure. The SCREEN3 model provides a more precautionary estimate of the source depletion curves of bioaerosol emissions in comparison to ADMS 3.3. The results from both models predict that bioaerosol concentrations decrease to below typical background concentrations before 250 m, the distance at which the regulator in England and Wales may require a risk assessment to be completed.     

Improved interpretation of in-diffusion measurements with confined swelling clays

Diffusion is considered the principal transport mechanism of radio-nuclides and other low-molecular-weight pollutants in compacted clays used as barriers at various disposal and storage sites, for example, at projected deep repositories for radioactive waste. Porous filters are routinely used to confine swelling clays in diffusion studies of radio-tracers. The presence of the filter gives rise to considerable mass-transfer limitations at the clay boundary that result in erroneous diffusion parameters. We have solved the problem of in-diffusion with due account for this phenomenon by means of Fourier transforms. By using literature data on the in-diffusion of traces of radioactive cesium in an argillaceous rock (Opalinus clay) and a compacted bentonite (FEBEX bentonite), we have demonstrated that taking into account the mass-transfer limitations considerably improves the quality of the theoretical fit of the time evolution of radio-tracer concentration in the reservoir. Besides that, we have shown that ignoring the mass-transfer limitations leads to a noticeable underestimation of both the effective diffusion coefficient and the specific sorption capacity of the clay.     

低温等离子体灭活微生物气溶胶的效果及影响因素

微生物气溶胶相关的突发性疫情时有发生,故研发新型高效的微生物气溶胶灭活技术已引起广泛关注。采用低温等离子体灭活枯草芽孢杆菌气溶胶,对低温等离子体电学特性和光学特性进行测定诊断,并测定活性氧。从细菌可培养性、细胞膜完整性、蛋白质泄露及细胞矿化4个方面分析评估灭活效果,并以杀菌率为指标,研究了外加电压、流速及相对湿度对灭活效果的影响。结果表明,低温等离子体可实现枯草芽孢杆菌气溶胶灭活,灭活效果显著。随着外加电压的增加,灭活效率呈上升趋势。在外加电压为10~13 kV时,对应灭活效率为48%~83%。灭活效率与流速成反比,随着流速的增加,灭活效率减小。流速为11~14 L·min⁻¹时,灭活效率为80%~47%。在不同相对湿度条件下,灭活效率呈先上升后下降的趋势。在RH=40%时,灭活效率达到最大值,为86%。这表明低电压、高流速和高相对湿度不利于微生物气溶胶灭活。本研究结果可为低温等离子体灭活微生物气溶胶技术的应用提供参考。     

On the interpretation of event and sub-event rainfall chemistry

Variations in precipitation chemistry between and within rain events have been examined in order to identify possible relationships with synoptic, mesoscale and micrometeorological processes. A microprocessor-based acid rain monitor was used to provide high resolution meteorological and rain chemistry data from which two case study events have been selected to illustrate event and sub-event rainfall chemistry characteristics. Event rainfall chemistry is strongly influenced by the history of the prevailing air mass and the synoptic situation. From back trajectories calculated at the 950 mbar level it is clear that air mass history can change markedly within a few hours. These observations emphasise the value of high resolution rainfall chemistry measurements. Pollutant concentrations in rainwater have been shown to fluctuate markedly within the course of individual events as a result of both advective and scavenging processes. Advective effects may result from: (a) air mass discontinuities at frontal zones; and/or (b) variable rainfall interception of the air mass prior to arrival at the site. A simple mathematical model has been developed to describe the scavenging mechanisms and it shows good agreement with field observations. Theoretical considerations suggest that in-cloud processes give rise to most of the observed decline in concentrations.     

A replacement for simple back trajectory calculations in the interpretation of atmospheric trace substance measurements

Trajectory calculations are often used for the interpretation of atmospheric trace substances measurements. However, two important effects are normally neglected or not considered systematically: first, measurements of trace substances sample finite volumes of air, whereas a trajectory tracks the path of an infinitesimally small particle; second, turbulence and convection. Advection by the deformative synoptic-scale atmospheric flow is responsible for the fact that a compact measurement volume is in fact turned into filamentary structures at earlier times, which a single trajectory cannot represent. Turbulence and convection add to this by causing a growth of the volume (backward in time) where processes such as emissions can affect measured concentrations. In this paper, we show that both effects are substantial and may be the largest sources of error when using trajectory calculations to establish source–receptor relationships. We use backward simulations with a Lagrangian particle dispersion model (LPDM) and cluster analysis of the particle positions to derive more representative single “trajectories” (transport paths) and trajectory ensembles. This reduces errors caused by filamentation and backward growth of the measurement volume to a few percent as compared to using a single, mean-wind trajectory and also yields estimates of the spread of the region of influence. Thus, we recommend to replace simple back trajectory calculations for interpretation of atmospheric trace substances measurements in the future by backward simulations with LPDMs, possibly followed by the clustering of particle positions as introduced in this paper.     

Updated methods for assessing the impacts of nearby gas drilling and production on neighborhood air quality and human health

An explosive growth in natural gas production within the last decade has fueled concern over the public health impacts of air pollutant emissions from oil and gas sites in the Barnett and Eagle Ford shale regions of Texas. Commonly acknowledged sources of uncertainty are the lack of sustained monitoring of ambient concentrations of pollutants associated with gas mining, poor quantification of their emissions, and inability to correlate health symptoms with specific emission events. These uncertainties are best addressed not by conventional monitoring and modeling technology, but by increasingly available advanced techniques for real-time mobile monitoring, microscale modeling and source attribution, and real-time broadcasting of air quality and human health data over the World Wide Web. The combination of contemporary scientific and social media approaches can be used to develop a strategy to detect and quantify emission events from oil and gas facilities, alert nearby residents of these events, and collect associated human health data, all in real time or near-real time. The various technical elements of this strategy are demonstrated based on the results of past, current, and planned future monitoring studies in the Barnett and Eagle Ford shale regions.

Implications: Resources should not be invested in expanding the conventional air quality monitoring network in the vicinity of oil and gas exploration and production sites. Rather, more contemporary monitoring and data analysis techniques should take the place of older methods to better protect the health of nearby residents and maintain the integrity of the surrounding environment.     

Organophosphate pesticide exposure and child health in China

Currently, organophosphate pesticides (OPs) are widely used for agriculture in China and around the world. A few epidemiological studies have examined the association between exposure to OPs and children’s health, but these studies reported inconsistent results. In view of the limitations of testing techniques and the intrinsic incompleteness of scientific evidence from current studies, we have considered some issues which may be interpreted and handled with caution.     

Environmental and health impacts of spraying COVID-19 disinfectants with associated challenges

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Coronavirus refers to a group of widespread viruses. The name refers to the specific morphology of these viruses because their spikes look like a...     

Daily surface UV exposure and its relationship to surface pollutant measurements

For the past 30 years, the stratospheric ozone layer has decreased in the Northern Hemisphere. The main effect of this ozone decrease was an expected increase in the UV radiation at the Earth's surface, but there has been no clear evidence of an increasing urban trend in surface UV. This study shows that specific air pollutants can reduce the increased surface levels of UV radiation and offers an explanation for why the expected surface UV increases have not been observed, especially in urban regions. A U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) UV monitoring site at the University of California at Riverside combined with air pollution data from a site operated by the California Air Resources Board in Rubidoux, CA, provided the basis of this study. The 1997 South Coast Ozone Study (SCOS-97) provided three key ingredients: black carbon, PM10 concentrations, and collocated radiometric measurements. The Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) satellite data were used to provide the stratospheric ozone levels that were included in the statistical model. All of these input parameters would be used to test this study's hypothesis: the expected increase of surface UV radiation, caused by decreases in stratospheric ozone, can be masked by increases in anthropogenic emissions. The values for the pollutants were 7:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. averages of the instrument's values taken during summer 1997. A statistical linear regression model was employed using the stratospheric ozone, black carbon, PM10, and surface ozone concentrations, and the sin (theta) and cos (theta). The angle theta is defined by theta = 2pi (Julian date/365). This model obtained a coefficient of determination of 0.94 with an uncertainty level (p value) of less than 0.3% for all of the variables in the model except ground-level ozone. The final model, regressed against a data set from a remote, western North Carolina site, resulted in a coefficient of determination of 0.92. The model shows that black carbon can reduce the Diffey-weighted UV levels that reach the surface by as much as 35%, depending on the season.     

Environmental and occupational exposure of metals and female reproductive health

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Untainted environment promotes health, but the last few decades experienced steep upsurge in environmental contaminants posing detrimental...     

Emerging environmental, health and safety issues in China: practical impacts on international investors

The Chinese government at the highest levels continues to stress the importance of environmental protection. The environmental consequences of rapid industrialisation and a burgeoning population are now unavoidable to citizens and government ministers alike. Among the major challenges for environmental protection and health and safety regulations in China are improving the transparency of government bodies and statistics, encouraging horizontal and vertical coordination on regulation and projects between and within ministries, ensuring economic viability of both municipal and commercial sector environmental protection projects, and enforcing ever-strengthening regulations. Government officials at all levels will no doubt feel pressure to advance new legislation while maintaining a high level of GDP growth, which invariably will place a priority on development and not on environmental, health and safety issues. Given the increasingly precarious economic conditions and ongoing reform of state-owned enterprises, it may be difficult for the Chinese government to follow through on high-minded efforts. This paper discusses the changing regulatory framework, likely enforcement inequities and implications for multinationals seeking to comply.     

Effects of radiation exposure on brain health: a state of the art and new challenges

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Good brain health refers to a condition in which a person may fully realize their talents and improve their psychological, emotional, cognitive, and...     

Use,exposure, and environmental impacts of pesticides in Pakistan: a critical review

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The excessive use of pesticides is posing major threats to humans and the environment. However, the environmental exposure and impact of pesticides in...     

Dioxin exposure and public health in Chapaevsk, Russia

One of the largest environmental polluters in Chapaevsk (Samara Region, Russia) is the Middle Volga chemical plant. From 1967 to 1987, it produced hexachlorocyclohexane (lindane) and its derivatives. Currently, it produces crop protection chemicals (liquid chlorine acids, methyl chloroform, vinyl chloride, and some other chemicals). Dioxins were detected in air (0.116 pg/m3), in soil (8.9-298 ng/kg), in the town's drinking water (28.4-74.1 pg/liter), and in the cow's milk (the content of 2,3,7,8-TCDD was 17.32 pg TEQ/g fat). The mean content of dioxins in seven pooled samples of human milk (40 individual trials) was 42.26 pg TEQ/g fat, in four female workers' blood samples -412.4 pg TEQ/g fat, in six residents blood samples (those who lived 1-3 km from the chemical plant) -75.2 pg TEQ/g fat, in four residents' blood samples (5-8 km from the plant) -24.5 pg TEQ/g fat. To assess cancer risk and reproductive health status, official medical statistical information was used. In general, the male cancer mortality observed rate in Chapaevsk is higher than expected. The SMR is higher for lung cancer 3.1(C.I. 2.6-3.8), urinary organs 2.6(C.I. 1.7-3.6). Chapaevsk women have a higher risk overall due to breast cancer 2.1(C.I. 1.6-2.7) and cervix cancer 1.8(C.I. 1.0-3.1). The incidence rates were higher for lung cancer in males and for female breast cancer in all age groups compared to Russia and Samara Region in 1998. Significant disruptions in reproductive function were detected. The mean frequency of spontaneous abortions in the last seven years was statistically higher 24.4% in Chapaevsk (compared to other of the towns region). The average rate of premature labor was 45.7 per 1000 women in Chapaevsk that is significantly higher than in most Samara Region towns. The frequency of newborns with low birth weight was 7.4%. In Russia and in most of the Samara Region towns, this rate is lower (6.2-5.1%) but not statistically different. For the determination of congenital morphogenetic conditions (CMGC), 369 children born between 1990 and 1995 were examined. The average number of CMGC per child was significantly higher, 4.5 for boys and 4.4 for girls. The first results indicated serious disruptions associated with high dioxin levels in human milk and blood in Chapaevsk. We suggest that Chapaevsk is an incredibly interesting site for further environmental-epidemiological research to assess the impact of dioxins on human health.