Toxicity Risk Assessment Due to Particulate Matter Pollution from Regional Health Data: Case Study from Central Romania

• Published in: Toxics (Basel) Vol. 12; no. 2; p. 137
• Main Authors: Maftei, Carmen, Vaseashta, Ashok, Poinareanu, Ionut
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 01-02-2024; MDPI
• Subjects: Air pollution; Airborne particulates; cardiovascular; Cardiovascular disease; Cardiovascular diseases; central Romania; Chemical properties; Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; Environmental aspects; Fossil fuels; health; Health aspects; Health risks; indicators; Life expectancy; Mortality; Mountains; Nanoparticles; Outdoor air quality; Particles; Particulate emissions; Particulate matter; Plastic pollution; Pollutants; Pollution control; Risk assessment; Testing; Toxicity; Toxicity testing; Romania; Carpathian Mountains; risk assessment; health; cardiovascular; indicators; PM; central Romania
• ISSN: 2305-6304; 2305-6304
• DOI: 10.3390/toxics12020137

Air pollution poses one of the greatest dangers to public well-being. This article outlines a study conducted in the Central Romania Region regarding the health risks associated with particulate matter (PM) of two sizes, viz., PM
and PM
. The methodology used consists of the following: (i) an analysis of the effects of PM pollutants, (ii) an analysis of total mortality and cardiovascular-related mortality, and (iii) a general health risk assessment. The Central Region of Romania is situated in the Carpathian Mountains' inner arch (consisting of six counties). The total population of the region under investigation is about 2.6 million inhabitants. Health risk assessment is calculated based on the relative risk (RR) formula. During the study period, our simulations show that reducing these pollutants' concentrations below the new WHO guidelines (2021) will prevent over 172 total fatalities in Brasov alone, as an example. Furthermore, the potential benefit of reducing annual PM
levels on total cardiovascular mortality is around 188 persons in Brasov. Although health benefits may also depend upon other physiological parameters, all general health indicators point towards a significant improvement in overall health by a general reduction in particulate matter, as is shown by the toxicity assessment of the particulate matter in the region of interest. The modality can be applied to other locations for similar studies.