Air pollution and daily mortality: Associations with particulates and acid aerosols
- Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA (United States) Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA (United States)
- Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC (United States)
- Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA (United States)
The association between total daily mortality and air pollution was investigated for a 1-year period (September 1985 through August 1986) in St. Louis and in the counties in eastern Tennessee surrounding Kingston/Harriman. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relative importance of various measures of particulate and gaseous air pollution as predictors of daily mortality. Concentrations of inhalable particles (PM[sub 10]), fine particles (PM[sub 2.5]), the elemental composition of these particles, and aerosols acidity were measured daily during the period of study. The effect of each air pollutant on daily mortality was estimated after controlling for meteorologic and seasonal influences. Total mortality in St. Louis was found to increase 16% (95% CI - 1 to 33%) for each 100 [mu]g/m[sup 3] increase in PM[sub 10], and by 17% (95% CI - 12 to 57%) in eastern Tennessee. Positive but progressively weaker associations were found with PM[sub 2.5], sulfate, and aerosol acidity concentrations in both communities. Associations with gaseous pollutants - sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, and ozone - were all far from statistical significance. Because of the short monitoring period for daily particulate air pollution, the power of this study to detect associations was limited. Nevertheless, statistically significant associations with PM[sub 10] were found in St. Louis, and, more importantly, the estimated effects were consistent between the two communities studied and with other reported analyses of the effects of particles on daily mortality. These data suggest that the acidity of particles is not as important in associations with daily mortality as the mass concentrations of particles. 36 refs., 1 fig., 2 tabs.
- OSTI ID:
- 6710190
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-9105413--; CNN: ES-01108; ES-00002; RP-1001; Cooperative Agreement CR-811650
- Journal Information:
- Environmental Research; (United States), Journal Name: Environmental Research; (United States) Vol. 59:2; ISSN ENVRAL; ISSN 0013-9351
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.
AEROSOLS
AIR POLLUTION
BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS
CHALCOGENIDES
COLLOIDS
COMMUNITIES
DAILY VARIATIONS
DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
DISPERSIONS
HUMAN POPULATIONS
ILLINOIS
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
MISSOURI
MONITORING
MORTALITY
NITROGEN COMPOUNDS
NITROGEN DIOXIDE
NITROGEN OXIDES
NORTH AMERICA
OAK RIDGE
OXIDES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
OZONE
PARTICLE SIZE
PARTICLES
PARTICULATES
POLLUTION
POPULATIONS
RURAL POPULATIONS
SIZE
SOLS
STATISTICAL MODELS
SULFATES
SULFUR COMPOUNDS
SULFUR DIOXIDE
SULFUR OXIDES
TENNESSEE
URBAN AREAS
URBAN POPULATIONS
USA
VARIATIONS