254 research outputs found
Quartz!? A randomized controlled quartz exposure intervention in the construction industry
No full text
Land use regression models for estimating individual NOx and NO2 exposures in a metropolis with a high density of traffic roads and population
No full textThis study is conducted to characterize the intra-urban distribution of NOx and NO2; develop land use regression (LUR) models to assess outdoor NOx and NO2 concentrations, using the ESCAPE modeling approach with locally specific land use data; and compare NOx and NO2 exposures for children in the Taipei Metropolis by the LUR models, the nearest monitoring station, and kriging methods based on data collected at the measurement sites. NOx and NO2 were measured for 2 weeks during 3 seasons at 40 sampling sites by Ogawa passive badges to represent their concentrations at urban backgrounds and streets from October 2009 to September 2010. land use data and traffic-related information in different buffer zones were combined with measured concentrations to derive LUR models using supervised forward stepwise multiple regressions. The annual average concentrations of NOx and NO2 in Taipei were 72.4 +/- 22.5 and 48.9 +/- 12.2 mu g/m(3), respectively, which were at the high end of all 36 European areas in the ESCAPE project. Spatial contrasts in Taipei were lower than those of the European areas in the ESCAPE project. The NOx LUR model included 6 land use variables, which were lengths of major roads within 25 m, 25-50 m, and 50-500 m, urban green areas within 300 m and 300-5000 m, and semi-natural and forested areas within 500 m, with R-2 = 0.81. The NO2 LUR model included 4 land use variables, which were lengths of major roads within 25 m, urban green areas within 100 m, semi-natural and forested areas within 500 m, and low-density residential area within 500 m, with R-2 = 0.74. The LUR models gave a wider variation in estimating NOx and NO2 exposures than either the ordinary kriging method or the nearest measurement site did for the children of Taiwan Birth Cohort Study (TBCS) in Taipei. (C) 2013 Published by Elsevier B.V
Land Use Regression Models for Ultrafine Particles and Black Carbon Based on Short-Term Monitoring Predict Past Spatial Variation
No full textHealth effects of long-term exposure to ultrafine particles (UFP) have not been investigated in epidemiological studies because of the lack of spatially resolved UFP exposure data. Short-term monitoring campaigns used to develop land use regression (LUR) models for UFP typically had moderate performance. The aim of this study was to develop and evaluate spatial and spatiotemporal LUR models for UFP and Black Carbon (BC), including their ability to predict past spatial contrasts. We measured 30 min at each of 81 sites in Amsterdam and 80 in Rotterdam, The Netherlands in three different seasons. Models were developed using traffic, land use, reference site measurements, routinely measured pollutants and weather data. The percentage explained variation (R(2)) was 0.35-0.40 for BC and 0.33-0.42 for UFP spatial models. Traffic variables were present in every model. The coefficients for the spatial predictors were similar in spatial and spatiotemporal models. The BC LUR model explained 61% of the spatial variation in a previous campaign with longer sampling duration, better than the model R(2). The UFP LUR model explained 36% of UFP spatial variation measured 10 years earlier, similar to the model R(2). Short-term monitoring campaigns may be an efficient tool to develop LUR models
Temporal associations of ambient PM2.5 elemental concentrations with indoor and personal concentrations
No full textTime series studies increasingly evaluate health relevance of the elemental composition of particles smaller than 2.5 mu m (PM2.5). Validation studies have documented that temporal variation of outdoor PM2.5 concentration is correlated with temporal variation of personal exposure, but very few papers have investigated the temporal correlation between outdoor concentration and personal exposure for the elemental composition of PM2.5. We evaluated the temporal association between outdoor concentration and personal exposure for the elements copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), iron (Fe), potassium (K), nickel (Ni), vanadium (V), silicon (Si) and sulfur (S) in three European cities. In Helsinki (Finland), Utrecht (the Netherlands) and Barcelona (Spain) five participants from urban background, five from suburban/rural background and five from busy street sites were selected (15 participants per city). Six outdoor, indoor and personal 96-h average PM2.5 concentrations were measured simultaneously in three different seasons (winter, summer and spring/autumn). Concurrently, samples were collected at a central reference site, reflecting urban background air pollution levels. The temporal variation at the central site was highly correlated with personal exposure for all elements, except Cu. The highest correlations (Pearson's R) were found for S and V (R between 0.87 and 0.98). Lower correlations were found for the elements Cu, Fe and Si associated with non-tailpipe traffic emissions and road dust (Pearson's R between 0.34 and 0.79). For PM2.5 mass the R was lower (between -0.37 and 0.70). Exclusion of observations most affected by indoor sources increased the personal to central site correlations but did not fully explain differences between elements. The generally high correlation between temporal variation of the outdoor concentration and personal exposure supports the use of a central site for assessing exposure of PM components in time series studies for most elements. The different correlations found for the eight elements suggests that epidemiological associations are affected by differences in measurement error. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved
Multi-country willingness to pay study on road-traffic environmental health effects: are people willing and able to provide a number?
No full textThe health impacts from traffic-related pollutants bring costs to society, which are often not reflected in market prices for transportation. We set out to simultaneously assess the willingness-to-pay (WTP) for traffic-related air pollution and noise effect on health, using a single measurement instrument and approach. We investigated the proportion and determinants of "protest vote/PV responses (people who were against valuing their health in terms of money)" and "don't know"/DK answers, and explored the effect of DK on the WTP distributions. Within the framework of the EU-funded project INTARESE, we asked over 5,200 respondents in five European countries to state their WTP to avoid health effects from road traffic-related air pollution and noise in an open-ended web-based questionnaire. Determinants of PV and DK were studied by logistic regression using variables concerning socio-demographics, income, health and environmental concern, and risk perception. About 10% of the respondents indicated a PV response and between 47-56% of respondents gave DK responses. About one-third of PV respondents thought that costs should be included in transportation prices, i.e. the polluter should pay. Logistic regression analyses showed associations of PV and DK with several factors. In addition to social-demographic, economic and health factors known to affect WTP, environmental concern, awareness of health effects, respondent's ability to relax in polluted places, and their view on the government's role to reduce pollution and on policy to improve wellbeing, also affected the PV and DK response. An exploratory weighting and imputation exercise did not show substantial effects of DK on the WTP distribution. With a proportion of about 50%, DK answers may be a more relevant issue affecting WTP than PV's. The likelihood to give PV and DK response were influenced by socio-demographic, economic and health factors, as well as environmental concerns and appreciation of environmental conditions and policies. In contested policy issues where actual policy may be based on WTP studies, PV and DK answers may indeed affect the outcome of the WTP study. PV and DK answers and their determinants therefore deserve further study in CV studies on environmental health effects
Impact of noise and air pollution on pregnancy outcomes
No full textBackground: Motorized traffic is an important source of both air pollution and community noise. While there is growing evidence for an adverse effect of ambient air pollution on reproductive health, little is known about the association between traffic noise and pregnancy outcomes. Methods: We evaluated the impact of residential noise exposure on small size for gestational age, preterm birth, term birth weight, and low birth weight at term in a population-based cohort study, for which we previously reported associations between air pollution and pregnancy outcomes. We also evaluated potential confounding of air pollution effects by noise and vice versa. Linked administrative health data sets were used to identify 68,238 singleton births (1999-2002) in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with complete covariate data (sex, ethnicity, parity, birth month and year, income, and education) and maternal residential history. We estimated exposure to noise with a deterministic model (CadnaA) and exposure to air pollution using temporally adjusted land-use regression models and inverse distance weighting of stationary monitors for the entire pregnancy. Results: Noise exposure was negatively associated with term birth weight (mean difference = -19 [95% confidence interval = -23 to -15] g per 6 dB(A)). In joint air pollution-noise models, associations between noise and term birth weight remained largely unchanged, whereas associations decreased for all air pollutants. Conclusion: Traffic may affect birth weight through exposure to both air pollution and noise
Airborne Transmission of Coxiella burnetii: Spatial dispersion modelling and the effects of meteorological and environmental conditions on Q fever incidence
No full textThe Netherlands experienced the largest human and veterinary Q fever epidemic ever described. From 2007 through 2010, over 4,000 human cases were notified and approximately a twelve-fold higher number was probably infected by Coxiella burnetii, the causative agent of Q fever. Dairy goat farms, and to a lesser extent dairy sheep farms, were identified as the major source of these human infections with high Coxiella burnetii shedding rates during parturition of the animals. The epidemic curves showed a very clear seasonal pattern with peaks of human Q fever cases following the lambing and kidding season of sheep and goats. In addition, a very clear spatial pattern was visible as well: the majority of the infected farms and human patients were located/living in the same areas in the south of the country, and most human cases were spatially clustered close to the infected farms. Several published papers describing other outbreaks suggested an association between human Q fever incidence and specific meteorological and environmental conditions, such as wind speed and wind direction. With respect to the Dutch epidemic, the potential effects of meteorological and environmental conditions were confirmed by two pilot studies. The current project was based on these two pilot studies and aimed at (1) modelling the airborne dispersion of Coxiella burnetii in the environment with a focus on farm-to-human transmission, and (2) identifying environmental risk factors for the transmission of Coxiella burnetii from infected farms to humans. The main conclusions of this work include: 1) Livestock-related sources of Coxiella burnetii could be identified, even in the early stages of local outbreaks assuming an exponential incidence-distance method. 2) The distance between positive farms and the residential addresses of cases was a major predictor for Q fever incidence rates. 3) Atmospheric dispersion models - mechanistic models describing the transport of particles in the atmosphere using meteorological information (wind speed, wind direction, temperature, solar radiation, etc.) – are suitable for dispersion modelling of airborne pathogens. Modelled airborne Coxiella burnetii concentrations were a better predictor for Q fever incidence than distance alone. 4) Several variables related to transmission through re-aerosolisation from a contaminated environment – such as the sensitivity of soils to wind erosion – increased the correlation to reported Q fever incidence rates and thus probably influenced Coxiella burnetii exposure. The output tools from this study thus include a source identification model and a model to determine the time-dependent areas at risk given the location of a known source and atmospheric and environmental conditions. The latter tool could be fed with meteorological forecast data to establish predictions up to a few days ahead, or even with long-term climate scenarios. Nevertheless, we highly recommend applying our methods to other outbreak data and pathogens to better validate our findings. Also, more effort should be invested in determining time-dependent emission rates of Coxiella burnetii and defining a protocol for systematic and active surveillance (including air sampling) during future outbreaks of Coxiella burnetii or other zoonoses. This could lead to a better estimation of the public health risk of a future outbreak, and to more detailed and accurate hazard maps that could be used for spatial planning of livestock operations
Wipes coated with a singlet-oxygen-producing photosensitizer are effective against human influenza virus but not against norovirus
No full textTransmission of enteric and respiratory viruses, including human norovirus (hNoV) and human influenza virus, may involve surfaces. In food preparation and health care settings, surfaces are cleaned with wipes; however, wiping may not efficiently reduce contamination or may even spread viruses, increasing a potential public health risk. The virucidal properties of wipes with a singlet-oxygen-generating immobilized photosensitizer (IPS) coating were compared to those of similar but uncoated wipes (non-IPS) and of commonly used viscose wipes. Wipes were spiked with hNoV GI.4 and GII.4, murine norovirus 1 (MNV-1), human adenovirus type 5 (hAdV-5), and influenza virus H1N1 to study viral persistence. We also determined residual and transferred virus proportions on steel carriers after successively wiping a contaminated and an uncontaminated steel carrier. On IPS wipes only, influenza viruses were promptly inactivated with a 5-log10 reduction. D values of infectious MNV-1 and hAdV-5 were 8.7 and 7.0 h on IPS wipes, 11.6 and 9.3 h on non-IPS wipes, and 10.2 and 8.2 h on viscose wipes, respectively. Independently of the type of wipe, dry cleaning removed, or drastically reduced, initial spot contamination of hNoV on surfaces. All wipes transferred hNoV to an uncontaminated carrier; however, the risk of continued transmission by reuse of wipes after 6 and 24 h was limited for all viruses. We conclude that cleaning wet spots with dry wipes efficiently reduced spot contamination on surfaces but that cross-contamination with noroviruses by wiping may result in an increased public health risk at high initial virus loads. For influenza virus, IPS wipes present an efficient one-step procedure for cleaning and disinfecting contaminated surfaces
Radio-frequency electromagnetic field (RF-EMF) exposure levels in different European outdoor urban environments in comparison with regulatory limits
No full textConcerns of the general public about potential adverse health effects caused by radio-frequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMFs) led authorities to introduce precautionary exposure limits, which vary considerably between regions. It may be speculated that precautionary limits affect the base station network in a manner that mean population exposure unintentionally increases.; The objectives of this multicentre study were to compare mean exposure levels in outdoor areas across four different European cities and to compare with regulatory RF-EMF exposure levels in the corresponding areas.; We performed measurements in the cities of Amsterdam (the Netherlands, regulatory limits for mobile phone base station frequency bands: 41-61V/m), Basel (Switzerland, 4-6V/m), Ghent (Belgium, 3-4.5V/m) and Brussels (Belgium, 2.9-4.3V/m) using a portable measurement device. Measurements were conducted in three different types of outdoor areas (central and non-central residential areas and downtown), between 2011 and 2012 at 12 different days. On each day, measurements were taken every 4s for approximately 15 to 30min per area. Measurements per urban environment were repeated 12 times during 1year.; Arithmetic mean values for mobile phone base station exposure ranged between 0.22V/m (Basel) and 0.41V/m (Amsterdam) in all outdoor areas combined. The 95th percentile for total RF-EMF exposure varied between 0.46V/m (Basel) and 0.82V/m (Amsterdam) and the 99th percentile between 0.81V/m (Basel) and 1.20V/m (Brussels).; All exposure levels were far below international reference levels proposed by ICNIRP (International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection). Our study did not find indications that lowering the regulatory limit results in higher mobile phone base station exposure levels
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