Health impact assessment of exposure to PM10 in Ilam city using Air Q software

Abstract

<span>Air pollution is a major environmental issue in the world that can be harmful for human health. The aim of this study was to determine the health impacts of particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter ≤10μm (PM₁₀) in Ilam in 2013 and 2014. The air pollution data were obtained from the Ilam Department of Environmental Protection. The data were analyzed by Excel software, and the annual mortality and morbidity due to cardiovascular and respiratory diseases attributed to PM₁₀ exposure were estimated by AirQ software<span lang="AR-SA" dir="RTL">.</span><span class="shorttext">According to the results,</span> the average of annual, winter, and summer PM₁₀ concentration was 68.1, 46.7, and 89.3 μg/m³, respectively, in 2013. In 2014, the average annual, winter, and summer PM₁₀concentrations were 51.4, 40.3, and 62.6μg/m³, respectively. The total mortality, cardiovascular mortality, respiratory mortality, and hospital admissions due to cardiovascular and respiratory diseases in 2013 were estimated at 89, 47, 9, 46, and 119 cases, respectively, and in 2014 they were estimated at 64, 33, 6, 33 and 85 cases, respectively. <span class="shorttext">The results revealed</span> that 9.6% of total mortality in 2013 and 5.8% total mortality in 2014 were associated with concentrations of more than 20 μg/m³PM₁₀concentration. Therefore, it is concluded that exposure to PM₁₀ can increase morbidity and mortality. Thus, urgent and substantial actions to deal with the adverse effects of particulate matters are found to be necessary.</span>