Atmospheric Nanoparticles and Their Impacts on Public Health

Slezáková, Klára; Morais, Simone; Pereira, Maria do Carmo

doi:10.5772/54775

Cited by 37 publications

(28 citation statements)

References 87 publications

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“…Little is known about the interaction of aerosol particles with and within clouds and is highlighted as a major research uncertainty by the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) [ Solomon et al, ; Stocker et al , ]. The health implications of aerosols are also important due to growing evidence of the adverse health effects that nanoparticle air pollution causes [ Slezakova et al , ]. As a notable example, the World Health Organization (WHO) named airborne particulate matter and, specifically, nanoparticles, a major cause of premature infant mortality [ WHO, , ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Currently, there is neither an atmospheric global model to explicitly include nanoparticles as relevant ice nucleating particles, nor does the IPCC consider them in major comparative modeling studies. However, of note is that nanoparticles are considered in human health impacts by both the IPCC and the WHO [ Slezakova et al , ]. On another front, experimental challenges have so far precluded researchers from evaluating various hypotheses regarding the role of nanosized materials in snow formation [ Welti et al , ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Snow‐borne nanosized particles: Abundance, distribution, composition, and significance in ice nucleation processes

2015

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Physicochemical processes of nucleation constitute a major uncertainty in understanding aerosol‐cloud interactions. To improve the knowledge of the ice nucleation process, we characterized physical, chemical, and biological properties of fresh snow using a suite of state‐of‐the‐art techniques based on mass spectrometry, electron microscopy, chromatography, and optical particle sizing. Samples were collected at two North American Arctic sites, as part of international campaigns (2006 and 2009), and in the city of Montreal, Canada, over the last decade. Particle size distribution analyses, in the range of 3 nm to 10 µm, showed that nanosized particles are the most numerous (38–71%) in fresh snow, with a significant portion (11 to 19%) less than 100 nm in size. Particles with diameters less than 200 nm consistently exhibited relatively high ice‐nucleating properties (on average ranged from −19.6 ± 2.4 to −8.1 ± 2.6°C). Chemical analysis of the nanosized fraction suggests that they contain bioorganic materials, such as amino acids, as well as inorganic compounds with similar characteristics to mineral dust. The implication of nanoparticle ubiquity and abundance in diverse snow ecosystems are discussed in the context of their importance in understanding atmospheric nucleation processes.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Snow‐borne nanosized particles: Abundance, distribution, composition, and significance in ice nucleation processes

2015

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“…Supercoarse particles (>10,000 nm diameter) do not enter the respiratory system. The coarse particles (diameter 2500-10,000 nm), represented by pollen, spores, sea salt aerosols, or by the particles generated through wind erosion, deposit on the ground within few hours after their production but can also enter the upper airways of the human respiratory tract, from where they can be eliminated back into the atmosphere by coughing, or they can be ingested by swallowing [10]. The fine particles (100-2500 nm diameter) produced naturally (through nuclei-mode particles coagulation or through vapour molecules condensation on particles surfaces) but mostly through anthropogenic processes (vehicles or industry emissions) [11], can enter the respiratory tract till the alveoli level.…”

Section: Atmospheric Nanoparticlesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Oxidative Stress Produced by Urban Atmospheric Nanoparticles

Mitrea¹,

Toader²,

Hoteiuc³

2020

Nanomaterials - Toxicity, Human Health and Environment

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In urban areas, the diesel-fuelled and bio-fuelled vehicles represent the major sources of nanoparticles complemented by nanotechnology with different types of particles, in addition to natural and to other anthropogenic sources. The atmospheric nanoparticles differ in composition, size, shape or oxidant capacity, presenting a large variability that causes difficulties in their measurements and health impact identification. The oxidative stress can be initiated by atmospheric nanoparticles through different mechanisms: interaction between nanoparticles and tissue cells, cellular internalisation of nanoparticles, activation of signalling pathways, decrease of the cellular antioxidants, activation of the pro-inflammatory cascade, lipid peroxidation, activation of cellular signalling pathway that leads to apoptosis, etc. Ultrafine particles (<100 nm) represent ~80% of the total atmospheric particles and produce inflammation through oxidative stress mechanisms. The atmospheric nanoparticles can penetrate the skin and can be inhaled or ingested affecting different organs and leading to different diseases: neurodegeneration, thrombogenesis, atherosclerosis, asthma, lung cancer, heart arrest, etc.

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“…Unlike fine or coarse PM particles, there is no effective monitoring or regulation of nanoparticles. The main anthropogenic sources of these particles are from vehicles and industrial emissions, including coal combustion products [157]. Besides carbonaceous matter, both CFA and diesel emissions contain nanosized metal oxide particles as free particles and also as attached to other particles including soot [158].…”

Section: Studies Show That Iron Oxide (Fe 2 O 3 )mentioning

confidence: 99%

Geoengineering, Coal Fly Ash and the New Heart-Iron Connection: Universal Exposure to Iron Oxide Nanoparticulates

Whiteside¹,

Herndon²

2019

JAMMR

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Globally, air pollution is the leading environmental cause of human disease and death, and it is a major contributor to cardiovascular disease. Air pollution damages the cardiovascular system by oxidative stress, inflammation, endothelial dysfunction, and pro-thrombotic changes. Ultrafine particulate matter from the combustion of fossil fuels delivers the most potent and harmful elements of air pollution. Coal fly ash is a rich source of nano-sized metal, iron oxide, and carbonaceous particles. Previous findings revealed that coal fly ash is widely utilized in undisclosed tropospheric aerosol geoengineering. Proper iron balance is central to human health and disease, and the harmful effects of iron are normally prevented by tightly controlled processes of systemic and cellular iron homeostasis. Altered iron balance is linked to the traditional risk factors for cardiovascular disease. The iron-heart hypothesis is supported by epidemiological, clinical, and experimental studies. Biogenic magnetite (Fe3O4) serves essential life functions, but iron oxide nanoparticles from anthropogenic sources cause disease. The recent finding of countless combustion-type magnetic nanoparticles in damaged hearts of persons from highly polluted areas is definitive evidence of the connection between the iron oxide fraction of air pollution and cardiovascular disease. Spherical magnetic iron oxide particles found in coal fly ash and certain vehicle emissions match the exogenous iron pollution particles found in the human heart. Iron oxide nanoparticles cross the placenta and may act as seed material for future cardiovascular disease. The pandemic of non-communicable diseases like cardiovascular disease and also rapid global warming can be alleviated by drastically reducing nanoparticulate air pollution. It is crucial to halt tropospheric aerosol geoengineering, and to curb fine particulate emissions from industrial and traffic sources to avoid further gross contamination of the human race by iron oxide-type nanoparticles.

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Atmospheric Nanoparticles and Their Impacts on Public Health

Cited by 37 publications

References 87 publications

Snow‐borne nanosized particles: Abundance, distribution, composition, and significance in ice nucleation processes

Snow‐borne nanosized particles: Abundance, distribution, composition, and significance in ice nucleation processes

Oxidative Stress Produced by Urban Atmospheric Nanoparticles

Geoengineering, Coal Fly Ash and the New Heart-Iron Connection: Universal Exposure to Iron Oxide Nanoparticulates

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