For six weeks from February 9, 2014, smoke and ash from a fire in the Morwell open cut brown coal mine adjacent to the Hazelwood power station covered parts of the Latrobe Valley, in south eastern ...Australia.
To evaluate the health impact of the mine fire, daily counts of ambulance attendances from July 2010 to March 2015 were analysed.
Time series models were used to evaluate the relative risk of ambulance attendances during the mine fire, in comparison with the remainder of the analysis period, and to also assess the risk of ambulance attendances associated with lagged effects of exposure to mine fire-related PM
levels. The models controlled for factors likely to influence ambulance attendances including seasonality, long-term temporal trends, day of the week, daily maximum temperature and public holidays.
A 10 μg/m
increase in fire-related PM
was found to be associated with a 42% (95%CI: 14-76%) increase in ambulance attendances for respiratory conditions and a 7% (0-14%) increase in all ambulance attendances over a 20-day lag period. A smaller effect associated with exposure to fire-related PM
was identified when assuming shorter lag effects. Similar results were identified when assessing whether ambulance attendances increased during the 30-day mine fire period. There was a 15% (8-21%) increased risk of ambulance attendances for all conditions and a 47% (19-81%) increased risk for respiratory conditions during the mine fire period.
Exposure to smoke and ash from a fire in an open cut brown coal mine was associated with increased ambulance attendances, particularly for respiratory conditions. These findings guide the development and implementation of effective and timely strategies and health service planning to respond and mitigate health risks that arise in affected communities during future major air pollution episodes.
This paper presents a summary of the key findings of the special issue of Atmosphere on Air Quality in New South Wales and discusses the implications of the work for policy makers and individuals. ...This special edition presents new air quality research in Australia undertaken by (or in association with) the Clean Air and Urban Landscapes hub, which is funded by the National Environmental Science Program on behalf of the Australian Government’s Department of the Environment and Energy. Air pollution in Australian cities is generally low, with typical concentrations of key pollutants at much lower levels than experienced in comparable cities in many other parts of the world. Australian cities do experience occasional exceedances in ozone and PM2.5 (above air pollution guidelines), as well as extreme pollution events, often as a result of bushfires, dust storms, or heatwaves. Even in the absence of extreme events, natural emissions play a significant role in influencing the Australian urban environment, due to the remoteness from large regional anthropogenic emission sources. By studying air quality in Australia, we can gain a greater understanding of the underlying atmospheric chemistry and health risks in less polluted atmospheric environments, and the health benefits of continued reduction in air pollution. These conditions may be representative of future air quality scenarios for parts of the Northern Hemisphere, as legislation and cleaner technologies reduce anthropogenic air pollution in European, American, and Asian cities. However, in many instances, current legislation regarding emissions in Australia is significantly more lax than in other developed countries, making Australia vulnerable to worsening air pollution in association with future population growth. The need to avoid complacency is highlighted by recent epidemiological research, reporting associations between air pollution and adverse health outcomes even at air pollutant concentrations that are lower than Australia’s national air quality standards. Improving air quality is expected to improve health outcomes at any pollution level, with specific benefits projected for reductions in long-term exposure to average PM2.5 concentrations.
The Sydney Particle Study involved the comprehensive measurement of
meteorology, particles and gases at a location in western Sydney during
February–March 2011 and April–May 2012. The aim of this ...study was to
increase scientific understanding of particle formation and transformations
in the Sydney airshed. In this paper we describe the methods used to collect
and analyse particle and gaseous samples, as well as the methods employed
for the continuous measurement of particle concentrations, particle
microphysical properties, and gaseous concentrations. This paper also
provides a description of the data collected and is a metadata record for
the data sets published in Keywood et al. (2016a,
https://doi.org/10.4225/08/57903B83D6A5D) and Keywood et al. (2016b,
https://doi.org/10.4225/08/5791B5528BD63).
This study was undertaken with the aim of estimating true personal exposures from data that are less costly and more easily obtained than in detailed measurement programs. We present an evaluation of ...simple methodologies for estimating true personal exposure to nitrogen dioxide (NO
2) that take into account spatiotemporal variability in ambient concentrations across urban areas and which link the latter to personal exposure through indoor/outdoor (I/O) ratios determined from time-activity diaries. To allow us to both develop and evaluate the methods, we designed a measurement program involving volunteers across Melbourne wearing personal passive samplers. Three methods of estimating indoor–outdoor ratios and three approaches to calculating ambient exposure, including network monitors and the complex air quality model TAPM-CTM, were evaluated. All methods except one produced good agreement with the measured values. Importantly, the percentile statistics and standard deviations predicted by these spatial-variation techniques matched well the distribution seen in the measurements. For the best estimates of personal exposure to NO
2, it is recommended that the I/O ratio be calculated using a mass balance method, requiring participants to record daily gas cooking periods and approximate house age. The recommended method for calculating the required ambient outdoor concentration is to use values from the network monitor nearest to a person’s microenvironment. Our research has identified a simple exposure methodology that could be widely applied for epidemiological cohort studies and population exposure estimates in urban areas with fixed monitoring networks, with only minimum information from respondents.
► Simple exposure methodology that could be applied for epidemiological cohort studies. ► Model links personal exposure to ambient concentration via indoor/outdoor ratios. ► I/O ratio calculated using a mass balance method. ► Ambient concentrations from nearest monitor to home or work sites.
The Measurements of Urban, Marine and Biogenic Air (MUMBA) campaign took place in Wollongong, New South Wales (a small coastal city approximately 80 km south of Sydney, Australia) from ...21 December 2012 to 15 February 2013. Like many Australian cities, Wollongong is surrounded by dense eucalyptus forest, so the urban airshed is heavily influenced by biogenic emissions. Instruments were deployed during MUMBA to measure the gaseous and aerosol composition of the atmosphere with the aim of providing a detailed characterisation of the complex environment of the ocean–forest–urban interface that could be used to test the skill of atmospheric models. The gases measured included ozone, oxides of nitrogen, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, methane and many of the most abundant volatile organic compounds. The aerosol characterisation included total particle counts above 3 nm, total cloud condensation nuclei counts, mass concentration, number concentration size distribution, aerosol chemical analyses and elemental analysis.The campaign captured varied meteorological conditions, including two extreme heat events, providing a potentially valuable test for models of future air quality in a warmer climate. There was also an episode when the site sampled clean marine air for many hours, providing a useful additional measure of the background concentrations of these trace gases within this poorly sampled region of the globe. In this paper we describe the campaign, the meteorology and the resulting observations of atmospheric composition in general terms in order to equip the reader with a sufficient understanding of the Wollongong regional influences to use the MUMBA datasets as a case study for testing a chemical transport model. The data are available from PANGAEA (http://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.871982).
The Australian Air Quality Forecasting System (AAQFS) is one of several newly emerging, high-resolution, numerical air quality forecasting systems. The system is briefly described. A public education ...application of the air quality impact of motor vehicle usage is explored by computing the concentration and dosage of particulate matter less than 10 µm in aerodynamic diameter (PM
10
) for a commuter traveling to work between Geelong and Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, under "business-as-usual" and "green" scenarios. This application could be routinely incorporated into systems like AAQFS. Two methodologies for calculating the dosage are described: one for operational use and one for more detailed applications. The Clean Air Research Programme-Personal Exposure Study in Melbourne provides support for this operational methodology. The more detailed methodology is illustrated using a system for predicting concentrations due to near-road emissions of PM
10
andapplied in Sydney.
Despite significant improvements in fuel and engine technology, road traffic remains a major source of air pollutants, such as oxides of nitrogen, CO, particulate matter, and volatile organic ...compounds. Many recent studies have demonstrated associations between traffic-related air pollution and the adverse effects of exposure to traffic-related air pollution in a wide variety of situations. This paper describes the components of a proposed road pollution modeling-and-alert system that can be deployed by local authorities on sections of roads that are under the continuous risk of exceeding thresholds of acceptable air quality. The system features the use of real-time traffic data from intelligent transportation systems and related sources; a power-based model for the calculation of emissions that takes into account the driving mode of the vehicle as well as characteristics of the road segment; a Lagrangian wall model (LWM) to simulate the dispersion of pollutants from different sources; and an alert-and-response system that will need further input from government authorities, industry, and the community. The ability to combine emissions estimates from a power-based motor vehicle emissions model with the LWM dispersion and chemical transformation capabilities significantly enhances the capacity to minimize population exposure and reduce health impacts of pollution from particular roads of interest. This paper discusses development of the LWM and summarizes outcomes of a verification study performed with the California Department of Transportation Highway 99 tracer dispersion data set. It also presents results of a case study performed to demonstrate capabilities of the LWM.
Despite significant improvements in fuel and engine technology, road traffic remains a major source of air pollutants, such as oxides of nitrogen, CO, particulate matter, and volatile organic ...compounds. Many recent studies have demonstrated associations between traffic-related air pollution and the adverse effects of exposure to traffic-related air pollution in a wide variety of situations. This paper describes the components of a proposed road pollution modeling-and-alert system that can be deployed by local authorities on sections of roads that are under the continuous risk of exceeding thresholds of acceptable air quality. The system features the use of real-time traffic data from intelligent transportation systems and related sources; a power-based model for the calculation of emissions that takes into account the driving mode of the vehicle as well as characteristics of the road segment; a Lagrangian wall model (LWM) to simulate the dispersion of pollutants from different sources; and an alert-and-response system that will need further input from government authorities, industry, and the community. The ability to combine emissions estimates from a power-based motor vehicle emissions model with the LWM dispersion and chemical transformation capabilities significantly enhances the capacity to minimize population exposure and reduce health impacts of pollution from particular roads of interest. This paper discusses development of the LWM and summarizes outcomes of a verification study performed with the California Department of Transportation Highway 99 tracer dispersion data set. It also presents results of a case study performed to demonstrate capabilities of the LWM.
Invasive Cronobacter infections among infants are associated with severe neurologic disabilities and death. Early Cronobacter reports typically featured hospitalized and preterm infants and ...recognized contaminated powdered infant formula (PIF) as a transmission vehicle. To clarify recent epidemiology, we reviewed all cases of bloodstream infection or meningitis among infants that were reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and in the literature (1961–2018; n = 183). Most infants were neonates (100/150 67%); 38% (42/112) died, and 79% (81/102) had reported recent PIF consumption. In the final quarter of the study period (2004–2018), case counts were significantly higher (global average 8.7 cases/year); among US cases, significantly higher proportions occurred among full-term (56% 27/48) and nonhospitalized (78% 42/54) infants. PIF contamination, most commonly from opened containers, was identified in 30% (21/71) of investigations. Our findings reaffirm the need to promote safer alternatives for infant feeding, particularly among neonates.
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