Document Type : Original Article

Authors

• Gholamreza Goudarzi ¹
• Sahar Geravandi ²
• Mohammad Javad Mohammadi ³
• Mehdi Vosoughi ³
• Kambiz Ahmadi Angali ⁴
• Elahe Zallaghi ⁵
• Abdol Kazem Neisi ¹
• Saeid Saeidimehr ⁶
• Basir Mohammadi ⁷

¹ Environmental Technologies Research Center; Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Public Health, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran

² Department of Nursing, Islamic Azad University, Tehran Medical Sciences Branch, Tehran, Iran

³ Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Public Health, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran

⁴ Department of Statistics and Epidemiology, School of Health, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran

⁵ Islamic Azad Universities of Science and Research khozestan, Young Researchers Club, Ahvaz, Iran

⁶ Naft grand Hospital, The health affaire organization of oils and refineries industry, Ahvaz, Iran

⁷ Department of Biology, Payam Nour University, Tehran Branch, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

Aims: This study was conducted to assess health-effects of exposure particulate matter (PM ₁₀ ) in Ahvaz city (located in South-Western Iran), during 2009. Materials and Methods: The adverse health effects of PM ₁₀ were calculated by relative risk (RR) and baseline incidence related to health end point PM ₁₀ . A specialized model, the air quality health impact assessment tool (AirQ2.2.3), was used to assess the potential impacts of PM ₁₀ exposure on human health in Ahvaz city during 2009. PM ₁₀ data was taken from Ahvaz Department of Environment. These data were in volumetric base. Health effects are being related to the mass of pollutants inhaled and should convert on the gravimetric basis. Conversion between volumetric and gravimetric units (correction of temperature and pressure), coding, processing (averaging), and filtering are implemented for solving such problem. Results: The results revealed that approximately 3% of total numbers of deaths and respiratory mortality happened when the PM ₁₀ concentration was over 50 μg/m ³ . Sum of total number of deaths attributed to PM ₁₀ was 1165 cases in 2009. Based on the results of this study, 13% of all respiratory mortality were attributed to PM ₁₀ concentration over 20 μg/m ³ in Ahvaz city during 2009. High percentage of the observed health endpoints was associated with a high concentration of measured PM ₁₀ . Conclusion: Year comparison of PM ₁₀ concentration with standard was revealed particle matter concentration in summer and winter season were higher than standard. Although total mean of particle matter was higher than the standard concentration. The higher percentage of deaths perhaps could be the result of higher average PM ₁₀ or because of sustained high concentration days in Ahvaz.

Keywords

• Baseline incidence
• health effects
• relative risk
• respiratory mortality