Global health burden of ambient PM2.5 and the contribution of anthropogenic black carbon and organic aerosols
Year: 2021
Type: article
Abstract: Chronic exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) poses a major global health risk, commonly assessed by assuming equivalent toxicity for different PM2.5 constituents. We used a data-informed global atmospheric model and recent exposure–response functions to calculate the health burden of ambient PM2.5 from ten source categories. We estimate 4.23 (95% confidence interval 3.0–6.14) million excess deaths annually from the exposure to ambient PM2.5. We distinguished contributions and major sources of black carbon (BC), primary organic aerosols (POA) and anthropogenic secondary organic aerosols (aSOA). These components make up to ∼20% of the total PM2.5 in South and East Asia and East Africa. We find that domestic energy use by the burning of solid biofuels is the largest contributor to ambient BC, POA and aSOA globally. Epidemiological and toxicological studies indicate that these compounds may be relatively more hazardous than other PM2.5 compounds such as soluble salts, related to their high potential to inflict oxidative stress. We performed sensitivity analyses by considering these species to be more harmful compared to other compounds in PM2.5, as suggested by their oxidative potential using a range of potential relative risks. These analyses show that domestic energy use emerges as the leading cause of excess mortality attributable to ambient PM2.5, notably in Asia and Africa. We acknowledge the uncertainties inherent in our assumed enhanced toxicity of the anthropogenic organic and BC aerosol components, which suggest the need to better understand the mechanisms and magnitude of the associated health risks and the consequences for regulatory policies. However our assessment of the importance of emissions from domestic energy use as a cause of premature mortality is robust to a range of assumptions about the magnitude of the excess risk.
Source: Environment International
Institutions: Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, German Centre for Cardiovascular Research, University of Helsinki, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Cyprus Institute
Language: English
Subfield: Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $3,500
Funders: University of Pittsburgh, Deutsches Klimarechenzentrum, European Commission, Academy of Finland, Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Max-Planck-Institut für Chemie, National Institutes of Health, Horizon 2020, Fogarty International Center, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership
Awards: G1519825775, University of Pittsburgh HIV-Comorbidities Research Training Program in South Africa, The Adolescent to Adult Patient-centered HIV Transition Study (ADAPT), G2705591391, G3716792215, G438972410, Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East – Climate and Atmosphere Research Centre, Pan-African Network For Rapid Research, Response, Relief and Preparedness for Infectious Diseases Epidemics, African Association for Health Professions Education and Research, Cardiometabolic Outcomes, Mechanisms and approach to prevention of Dolutegravir Associated Weight Gain In South Africa, From sea-bed to test-bed: harvesting the potential of marine microbes for industrial biotechnology, G6159170586, G7200865844, G8009214406
OpenAlex ID: W4200318896