Exposure to Particulate Matter and its Health Impacts (an AirQ Approach)

Background & Aims of the Study: Recent studies indicated that particulate matter can havethe lung irritation, chronic lung diseases, lung tissue, etc. The aim objective of this studywas to assess the mortality associated with exposure to PM10 concentrations in Ilam, Iran,during 2013.Materials & Methods: PM10 data were taken from Ilam s Local Agency of Environment(I-LAE). The annual mortality, including total, cardiovascular, and respiratory due to PM10were estimated, using AirQ2.2.3 software model. The relative risk (RR) and baselineincidence (BI) defaulted by WHO were used for this purpose.Results: The number of excess cases for total, cardiovascular and respiratory mortality wasestimated 161, 85 and 17 persons, respectively for a year exposure to PM10 among thepeople. About 3.95% of mortalities were occurred in the days with concentration levels lessthan 20 μg/m3. The most percentage of person-days attributed to different levels of PM10was found to be in concentration of 40-49 μg/m3.Conclusions: In order to diminish the health impacts of particulate matter in Ilam city,health training by health systems should be conducted to public people especially personswith chronic lung and heart diseases, elderly and children to reduce their activities in thedusty days.