Ambient air pollution in terms of fine and coarse particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10) has been shown to increase adult and infant mortalities. Most studies have estimated the risk of mortalities through attributable proportions and number of excess cases with no reference to the time lost due to premature mortalities. Disability adjusted life years (DALYs) are necessary to measure the health impact of Ambient particulate matter (PM) over time. In this study, we used life-tables for three years (2014–2016) to estimate the years of life lost (YLL), a main component of DALYs, for adult mortalities (age 30+ years) and postneonatal infant mortalities (age 28+ days–1 year) associated with PM2.5 exposure and PM10 exposure, respectively. The annual average of PM2.5 and PM10 concentrations were recorded as 87.9 μg/m3 and 167.5 μg/m3, which are 8 times greater than the World Health Organization (WHO) air quality guidelines of 10 μg/m3 and 20 μg/m3, respectively. Results indicated a total of 252.18 (95% CI: 170.69–322.92) YLL for all ages with an increase of 27,474.61 (95% CI: 18,483.02–35,370.58) YLL over 10 years. The expected life remaining (ELR) calculations showed that 30- and 65-year-old persons would gain 2.34 years and 1.93 years, respectively if the current PM2.5 exposure levels were reduced to the WHO interim targets (IT-1 = 35 μg/m3). Newborns and 1-year old children may live 79.81 and 78.94 years, respectively with an increase in average life expectancy of 2.65 years if the WHO PM10 interim targets were met (IT-1 = 70 μg/m3). Sensitivity analyses for YLL were carried out for the years 2015, 2025, and 2045 and showed that the years of life would increase significantly for age groups between 30 and 85. Life expectancy, especially for the elderly (≥60 years), would increase at higher rates if PM2.5 levels were reduced further. This study can be helpful for the assessment of poor air quality represented by PM2.5 and PM10 exposures in causing premature adult mortalities and postneonatal infant mortalities in developing countries with high ambient air pollution. Information in this article adds insights to the sustainable development goals (SDG 3.9.1 and 11.6.2) related to the reduction of mortality rates attributed to ambient air levels of coarse and fine particulate matter.

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This study investigated the impact of COVID-19 lockdown on particulate matter concentrations, specifically PM 2.5 and PM 10 , in Kuwait. We studied the variations in PM 2.5 and PM 10 between the lockdown in 2020 with the corresponding periods of the years 2017–2019, and also investigated the differences in PM variations between the ‘curfew’ and ‘non curfew’ hours. We applied mixed-effect regression to investigate the factors that dictate PM variability (i.e., dust and meteorological covariates), and also processed satellite-based aerosol optical depths (AOD) to determine the spatial variability in aerosol loads. The results showed low PM 2.5 concentration during the lockdown (33 μg/m 3 ) compared to the corresponding previous three years (2017–2019); however, the PM 10 concentration (122.5 μg/m 3 ) increased relative to 2017 (116.6 μg/m 3 ), and 2019 (92.8 μg/m 3 ). After removing the ‘dust effects’, both PM 2.5 and PM 10 levels dropped by 18% and 31%, respectively. The mixed-effect regression model showed that high temperature and high wind speed were the main contributors to high PM 2.5 and PM 10 , respectively, in addition to the dust haze and blowing dust. This study highlights that the reductions of anthropogenic source emissions are overwhelmed by dust events and adverse meteorology in arid regions, and that the lockdown did not reduce the high concentrations of PM in Kuwait.

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The prevalence of surface contaminants, such as potentially harmful bacteria, within building environments in the State of Kuwait is not known.To the authors’ knowledge, this article is the frst of such a report. A total of 342 stool samples were collected from 46 secondary schools to evaluate indoor occurrences of E. coli bacteria within selected lavatory surfaces. After microbiological testing, the results for the spread of the E. coli bacteria were categorized by total count, sampling location dependency, contamination level comparison between genders, and lavatory fxtures (i.e. seat and squat toilets). The results revealed that 7 schools have a bacterial contamination problem, there is cross-contamination between surfaces in the lavatory stalls, the boys’ lavatories were less sanitary than the girls’, and that the squat-style toilets are more contaminated than the seat-style. The results suggest that there is signifcant risk of spread of bacterial infection among students via contaminated hands and surfaces in the lavatory area in some schools. Thus, this study emphasizes the need to improve environmental hygiene and enhanced sanitation in these schools. In addition, conclusions can be drawn as to the effectiveness of the janitorial staff employed by the schools and the effcacy of the cleaning regime used in the lavatories. Furthermore, based on the fndings, there are architectural design consequences as squat-style toilets might be excluded in lavatories designed for schools to be constructed in the future.