Environmental Risks to Public Health in the United Arab Emirates: A Quantitative Assessment and Strategic Plan

Gibson, Jacqueline Mac Donald; Farah, Zeinab S.

doi:10.1289/ehp.1104064

Cited by 21 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…We note that these statistics are similar to those from other developed environments (e.g. New York, USA) and slightly lower than those found for London, UK [4]. However, as infectious diseases are reduced as important factors for human morbidity and mortality in developing countries, the effects on long-term latency diseases from environmental contamination associated with construction, production of goods, availability of private transportation, increases in consumption, etc.…”

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 72%

Indoor Air Quality in the United Arab Emirates

Funk¹,

Pleil²,

Pedit³

et al. 2014

JEP

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Air quality was measured inside 628 United Arab Emirates (UAE) personal residences. Weekly average concentrations of carbon monoxide (CO), formaldehyde (HCHO), hydrogen sulfide (H 2 S), nitrogen dioxide (NO 2), sulfur dioxide (SO 2), and three size fractions of particulate matter (PM 2.5 , PM c , and PM 10) were determined in each home. In a subset of the homes, measurements of outdoor air quality, ultrafine PM concentrations, and elemental PM concentrations were also made. Questionnaires were administered to obtain information on housing demographics and lifestyle habits. Air measurements were performed using simple and cost effective passive samplers. The 90 th percentiles of indoor CO, HCHO, H 2 S, NO 2 , and SO 2 were 1.55 ppm, 0.05 ppm, 0.12 ppm, 0.01 ppm, and 0.05 ppm, respectively. Median indoor PM 2.5 , PM c , and PM 10 , concentrations were 5.73 µg/m 3 , 29.4 µg/m 3 , and 35.2 µg/m 3 , respectively. The median indoor concentration of ultrafine PM was 3.62 × 10 10 particles/m 3. Indoor/outdoor ratios for PM were 0.44, 0.41, and 0.38 for ultrafine PM, PM 2.5 , and PM 10 , respectively. These values fall within the range of other indoor air studies findings conducted in developing countries. Air conditioning, smoking, and attached kitchens were significantly correlated with indoor levels of carbon monoxide. In addition, indoor concentrations of PM 2.5 and PM 10 were significantly correlated with vehicles parked within five meters of the home, central air conditioning, and having attached kitchens. This is the first robust indoor air * Corresponding author. W. E. Funk et al. 710 quality data set developed for the UAE. This study demonstrates that screening level tools are a good initial step for assessing air quality when logistical issues (distance, language, cultural, training) and intrusion into personal lives need to be minimized.

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Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 72%

Indoor Air Quality in the United Arab Emirates

Funk¹,

Pleil²,

Pedit³

et al. 2014

JEP

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“…Several studies about public health situation, challenges and future aspects of health systems in Arab countries have been published [55][56][57]. Similarly, several studies in environmental and occupational health risks in Arab countries have also been published [58][59][60][61][62][63]. However, up to the authors' best knowledge, no reports about the quantity and quality of public, environmental and occupational health from Arab countries had been published [64][65][66][67].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Public, environmental, and occupational health research activity in Arab countries: bibliometric, citation, and collaboration analysis

et al. 2015

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BackgroundThe objective of this study was to analyze quantity, assess quality, and investigate international collaboration in research from Arab countries in the field of public, environmental and occupational health.MethodsOriginal scientific articles and reviews published from the 22 Arab countries in the category "public, environmental & occupational health" during the study period (1900 – 2012) were screened using the ISI Web of Science database.ResultsThe total number of original and review research articles published in the category of "public, environmental & occupational health" from Arab countries was 4673. Main area of research was tropical medicine (1862; 39.85%). Egypt with 1200 documents (25.86%) ranked first in quantity and ranked first in quality of publications (h-index = 51). The study identified 2036 (43.57%) documents with international collaboration. Arab countries actively collaborated with authors in Western Europe (22.91%) and North America (21.04%). Most of the documents (79.9%) were published in public health related journals while 21% of the documents were published in journals pertaining to prevention medicine, environmental, occupational health and epidemiology.ConclusionResearch in public, environmental and occupational health in Arab countries is in the rise. Public health research was dominant while environmental and occupation health research was relatively low. International collaboration was a good tool for increasing research quantity and quality.

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“…The coarse fraction of PM 10 was collected on 30-mm inner diameter ring films, while the PM 2.5 was collected on standard 47-mm Teflon filters. PM samples were collected for 24 h once every six days, using the European standard (EN12341 2.3 m 3 h −1 ) [25,26].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Characterization of Fine Particulate Matter in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates Using Complementary Experimental Techniques

et al. 2018

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Airborne particulate matter (PM) pollutants were sampled from an urban background site in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. The fine fraction (PM 2.5 ) (particulates with aerodynamic diameters of less than 2.5 µm) was collected on 47-mm Teflon filters and analyzed using a combined set of non-destructive techniques in order to provide better understanding of the sources of pollutants and their interaction during transport in the atmosphere. These techniques included gravimetric analysis, equivalent black carbon (EBC), X-ray fluorescence, scanning electron microscopy, and X-ray diffraction. Generally, the PM 2.5 concentrations are within the limits set by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United States (US) Environmental Protection Agency. The EBC content is in the range of 10-12% of the total PM concentration (2-4 µg m −3 ), while S (as ammonium sulfate), Ca (as calcite, gypsum, and calcium carbonate), Si (as quartz), Fe, and Al were the major sources of PM pollution. EBC, ammonium sulfate, Zn, V, and Mn originate from anthropogenic sources such as fossil fuel burning, traffic, and industrial emissions. Natural elements such as Ca, Fe, Al, Si, and Ti are due to natural sources such as crustal materials (enhanced during dust episodes) and sea salts. The average contribution of natural sources in the total PM 2.5 mass concentration over the sampling period is about 40%, and the contribution of the secondary inorganic compounds is about 27% (mainly ammonium sulfate in our case). The remaining 22% is assumed to be secondary organic compounds.

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Environmental Risks to Public Health in the United Arab Emirates: A Quantitative Assessment and Strategic Plan

Cited by 21 publications

References 20 publications

Indoor Air Quality in the United Arab Emirates

Indoor Air Quality in the United Arab Emirates

Public, environmental, and occupational health research activity in Arab countries: bibliometric, citation, and collaboration analysis

Characterization of Fine Particulate Matter in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates Using Complementary Experimental Techniques

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