Particulate matter and bacteria characteristics of the Middle East Dust (MED) storms over Ahvaz, Iran

Goudarzi, Gholamreza; Shirmardi, Mohammad; Khodarahmi, Fatemeh; Shahraki, Abdolrazagh Hashemi; Alavi, Nadali; Ankali, Kambiz Ahmadi; Soleimani, Zahra; Marzouni, Mohammad Bagherian

doi:10.1007/s10453-014-9333-7

Cited by 67 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…The DOD Enhanced Particulate Matter Surveillance Program, for instance, reported average PM 2.5 concentrations ranging from 33–117 µg/m 3 across 15 sites in Southwest Asia and Afghanistan, with an average concentration of approximately 70 µg/m 3 across all sites (DRI, 2008). Other studies conducted in this region have reported similar findings, with average concentrations ranging from approximately 20 – 320 µg/m 3 , depending on the site (Brown et al 2008; Goudarzi et al 2014; Tsiouri et al 2015). Consistency with previously reported measurements reinforces the quality of our PM 2.5 predictions as well as suggests that PM exposure among U.S. military personnel is in excess of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as well as World Health Organization PM standards.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 74%

Use of visual range measurements to predict fine particulate matter exposures in Southwest Asia and Afghanistan

Masri

Garshick

Hart

et al. 2016

Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association

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Military personnel deployed to Southwest Asia and Afghanistan were exposed to high levels of ambient particulate matter (PM) indicating the potential for exposure-related health effects. However, historical quantitative ambient PM exposure data for conducting epidemiological health studies are unavailable due to a lack of monitoring stations. Since visual range is proportional to particle light extinction (scattering and absorption), visibility can serve as a surrogate for PM2.5 concentrations where ground measurements are not available. We used data on visibility, relative humidity (RH), and PM2.5 ground measurements collected in Kuwait from years 2004 to 2005 to establish the relationship between PM2.5 and visibility. Model validation obtained by regressing trimester average PM2.5 predictions against PM2.5 measurements in Kuwait produced an r2 value of 0.84. Cross validation of urban and rural sites in Kuwait also revealed good model fit. We applied this relationship to location-specific visibility data at 104 regional sites between years 2000 and 2012 to estimate monthly average PM2.5 concentrations. Monthly averages at sites in Iraq, Afghanistan, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Djibouti, and Qatar ranged from 10 to 365 µg/m3 during this period, while site averages ranged from 22 to 80 µg/m3, indicating considerable spatial and temporal heterogeneity in ambient PM2.5 across these regions. These data support the use of historical visibility data to estimate location-specific PM2.5 concentrations for use in future epidemiological studies in the region.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 74%

Use of visual range measurements to predict fine particulate matter exposures in Southwest Asia and Afghanistan

Masri

Garshick

Hart

et al. 2016

Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association

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“…The ground-level ozone (GLO) as an ambient and groundlevel pollutant poses many concerns to target community associated with chemical property, health effect, and control; ozone appears in air by a photochemical reaction between heat, sunlight, NOX, and hydrocarbons mostly in the form of VOCs (Trasande and Thurston 2005;Lippmann 1989;EPA 2013;Schlink et al 2006;Sheffield et al 2015;Sousounis et al 2002;Wang et al 2015). Several investigations around the world reported the impact of GLO in producing symptoms particularly in respiratory systems such as lung disease, asthma attacks, and pulmonary inflammation (Gryparis et al 2004;Frischer et al 1993;McClellan et al 2009;Goudarzi et al 2013;Mraihi et al 2015;Peng et al 2015;Pride et al 2015;Raaschou-Nielsen et al 2013;Woerman 2013). Also, many researchers found an association between premature death and high concentration of GLO in Asia, Europe, and the USA (Bell et al 2004;Samoli et al 2009).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Cardiovascular and respiratory mortality attributed to ground-level ozone in Ahvaz, Iran

Goudarzi

Geravandi

Foruozandeh

et al. 2015

Environ Monit Assess

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Ahvaz, the capital city of Khuzestan Province, which produces Iran's most oil, is on the rolls of fame in view of air pollution. It has also suffered from dust storm during the recent two decades. So, emissions from transportation systems, steel, oil, black carbon, and other industries as anthropogenic sources and dust storm as a new phenomenon are two major concerns of air pollution in Ahvaz. Without any doubt, they can cause many serious problems for the environment and humans in this megacity. The main objective of the present study was to estimate the impact of ground-level ozone (GLO) as a secondary pollutant on human heath. Data of GLO in four monitoring stations were collected at the first step and they were processed and at the final step they were inserted to a health effect model. Findings showed that cumulative cases of cardiovascular and respiratory deaths which attributed to GLO were 43 and 173 persons, respectively. Corresponding RR for these two events were 1.008 (95% CI) and 1.004 (95% CI), respectively. Although we did not provide a distinction between winter and summer in case of mentioned mortalities attributed to GLO, ozone concentrations in winter due to more fuel consumption and sub adiabatic condition in tropospheric atmospherewere higher than those GLO in summer.

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“…Fungal and bacterial bioaerosols can cause acute diseases, infections, asthma, rhinitis, and allergies in indoor air, such as ORs (Azimi et al, 2013; Dales et al, 1991; Goudarzi et al, 2014; Khan and Karuppayil, 2012; Mandal and Brandl, 2011; Saadoun et al, 2008; Soleimani et al, 2016). Patients may also be a source of airborne microorganisms that can affect other vulnerable patients, personnel, and visitors in hospitals (Qudiesat et al, 2009).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Concentration and type of bioaerosols before and after conventional disinfection and sterilization procedures inside hospital operating rooms

Dehghani

Sorooshian

Nazmara

et al. 2018

Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety

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Operating rooms (ORs) in hospitals are sensitive wards because patients can get infections. This work aimed to characterize the type and concentration of bioaerosols in nine ORs of an educational hospital before and after sterilization and disinfection. During 2017, fungal samples were incubated at 25–28 °C for 3–7 days and bacterial samples at 37 °C for 24–48 h. The study results showed that the concentrations of fungi before cleaning procedures (for both of disinfection and sterilization) were limited from 4.83 to 18.40 CFU/m3 and after cleaning procedures ranged from 1.90 to 8.90 CFU/m3. In addition, the concentrations of bacteria before cleaning procedures were limited 14.65–167.40 CFU/m3 and after cleaning procedures ranged from 9.50 to 38.40 CFU/m3. The difference between the mean concentrations of airborne bioaerosols before and after sterilization was significantly different than the suggested value of 30 CFU/m3 (p ≤ 0.05). The bacterial concentration was higher than the recommended value (30 CFU/m3) in 41% of the ORs. The main fungal species identified in the indoor air of ORs (before vs. after sterilization) were A. fumigatus (25.6 vs. 18.3%), A. Niger (11.6 vs. 5.8%), Penicillium spp. (5.5 vs. 3.3%), Alternaria spp. (2.8 vs. 0.7%), Fusarium spp. (9.7 vs. 3.7%), Mucor spp. (15 vs. 12.7%), Cephalotrichum spp. (1.7 vs. 0.8%), A. Flavus (24.6 vs. 18.5%), Cladosporium spp. (2.6 vs. 0.8%), and Trichoderma spp. (0 vs.0.9%). The growth of biological species even after sterilization and disinfection likely resulted from factors including poor ventilation, sweeping of OR floors, inadequate HVAC filtration, high humidity, and also lack of optimum management of infectious waste after surgery. Designing well-constructed ventilation and air-conditioning systems, replacing HEPA filters, implementing more stringent, frequent, and comprehensive disinfection procedures, and controlling temperature and humidity can help decrease bioaerosols in ORs.

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Particulate matter and bacteria characteristics of the Middle East Dust (MED) storms over Ahvaz, Iran

Cited by 67 publications

References 33 publications

Use of visual range measurements to predict fine particulate matter exposures in Southwest Asia and Afghanistan

Use of visual range measurements to predict fine particulate matter exposures in Southwest Asia and Afghanistan

Cardiovascular and respiratory mortality attributed to ground-level ozone in Ahvaz, Iran

Concentration and type of bioaerosols before and after conventional disinfection and sterilization procedures inside hospital operating rooms

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