Dust storms include particulate matter that is transported over land and sea with biota that could impact downwind ecosystems. In addition to the physico-chemical compositions, organismal diversities of dust from two storm events in southern Israel, December 2012 (Ev12) and January 2013 (Ev13), were determined by pyro-sequencing using primers universal to 16S and 18S rRNA genes and compared. The bio-assemblages in the collected dust samples were affiliated with scores of different taxa. Distinct patterns of richness and diversity of the two events were influenced by the origins of the air masses: Ev13 was rich with reads affiliated to Betaproteobacteria and Embryophyta, consistent with a European origin. Ev12, originated in north-Africa, contained significantly more of the Actinobacteria and fungi, without conifers. The abundance of bacterial and eukaryotic reads demonstrates dissemination of biological material in dust that may impose health hazards of pathogens and allergens, and influence vegetation migration throughout the world.

Quantitative information on the contribution of dust storms to atmospheric PM 10 (particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter 10 µm) levels is still lacking, especially in urban environments with close proximity to dust sources. The main objective of this study was to quantify the contribution of dust storms to PM 10 concentrations in a desert urban center, the city of Beer-Sheva, Negev, Israel, during the period of [2001][2002][2003][2004][2005][2006][2007][2008][2009][2010][2011][2012]. Toward this end, a background value based on the "dust-free" season was used as a threshold value to identify potentially "dust days. " Subsequently, the net contribution of dust storms to PM 10 was assessed. During the study period, daily PM 10 concentrations ranged from 6 to over 2000 µg/m 3 . In each year, over 10% of the daily concentrations exceeded the calculated threshold (BV t ) of 71 µg/m3 . An average daily net contribution of dust to PM 10 of 122 µg/m 3 was calculated for the entire study period based on this background value. Furthermore, a dust storm intensity parameter (Ai) was used to analyze several storms with very high PM 10 contributions (hourly averages of 1000-5197 mg/m 3 ). This analysis revealed that the strongest storms occurred mainly in the last 3 yr of the study. Finally, these findings indicate that this arid urban environment experiences high PM 10 levels whose origin lies in both local and regional dust events.Implications: The findings indicate that over time, the urban arid environment experiences high PM 10 levels whose origin lies in local and regional dust events. It was noticed that the strongest storms have occurred mainly in the last 3 yr. It is believed that environmental changes such as global warming and desertification may lead to an increased air pollution and risk exposure to human health. IntroductionNumerous studies have reported high concentrations of ambient particulate matter (PM) during dust events in different parts of the world (e.g., Dayan et al., 1991;Gertler et al., 1995;Rodriguez et al., 2001;Kallos et al., 2006;Escudero et al., 2007; Koçak et al., 2007a; Mitsakou et al., 2008; Contini et al., 2010;Alolayan et al., 2013). More importantly, several studies have found excess in mortality and morbidity during dust storm episodes (e.g., Chen et al., 2004;Gyan et al., 2005; Perez et al., 2008;Neophytou et al., 2013).Due to the proximity of Israel to the global dust belt, which extends from West Africa to the Arabian Desert, dust events can increase daily PM 10 (PM with an aerodynamic diameter 10 mm) levels in the center of Israel (Tel Aviv) to as high as 2100 mg/m 3 (Ganor et al., 2009;Kalderon-Asael et al., 2009), which is significantly above all air quality standards. The Negev region in southern Israel is frequently impacted by dust storms (Dayan et al., 1991;Erell and Tsoar, 1999;Offer et al., 2008;Ganor et al., 2010). Hourly average PM 10 concentrations can reach 4200 mg/m 3 during storms in the northern Negev (Offer and Azmon, 1994). The intense dust storms in the N...

BackgroundHigh concentrations of particulate matter (PM) air pollution have been associated with death and hospital admissions due to cardiovascular morbidity. However, it is not clear a) whether high levels of non-anthropogenic PM from dust storms constitute a health risk; and b) whether these health risks are exacerbated in a particular demographic.MethodsThis study comprised all patients above 18 years old admitted to Soroka University Medical Center (1000 bed tertiary hospital, Be’er- Sheva, Israel, 2001–2010) with a primary diagnosis of acute coronary syndrome (ACS). Data on meteorological parameters and PM10 (particulate matter <10 μm in aerodiameter) were obtained from monitoring stations in the city of Be'er-Sheva. Data were analyzed using a case crossover analysis to examine the effect of dust exposure on hospitalization due to ACS and the interaction with co-morbidities and demographic factors.ResultsThere were 16,734 hospitalizations due to ACS during the study period. The estimated odds of hospitalization due to ACS was significantly associated with PM10 during non dust storm days at the same day of the exposure (lag0); OR = 1.014 (95%CI 1.001–1.027) for a 10 μg/m3 increase, while a delayed response (lag1) was found during the dust storm days; OR = 1.007 (95%CI 1.002–1.012). The effect size for the dust exposure association was larger for older (above the age of 65), female or Bedouin patients.ConclusionsExposure to non-anthropogenic PM is associated with cardiovascular morbidity. Health risk associated dust exposure is gender and age specific with older women and Bedouin patients being the most vulnerable groups.

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