Environmental air pollution

Each year, millions of dollars are expended to fund research on the causes and effects of environmental air pollution. While chemists and biologists quantify and measure the physical relationships between emission sources, emissions, and deposition, policy analysts attempt to estimate historic, current, or future emissions and deposition without making measurements at each emission source or deposition site. The work of each group is quite dependent upon the work of the other. For example, policy analysts use the results obtained by chemists and biologists as an input to their calculations. In turn, the estimates provided by the policy analysts provide information to policy-makers regarding which pollutants are likely to be the cause of current or future problems — these problem areas are those for which basic research, such as that conducted by the biologists and chemists, will be funded. 

Singh, R., Sram, R.J., Binkova, B., Kalina, I., Popov, T.A., Georgieva, T., Garte, S., Taioli, E., Farmer, P.B. (2007). The relationship between biomarkers of oxidative DNA damage, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon DNA adducts, antioxidant status and genetic susceptibility following exposure to environmental air pollution in humans. Mutat. Res. 620 83-92. 

Voigt K, Welzl G, Briiggemann R (2004) Data analysis of environmental air pollutant monitoring systems in Europe. Environmetrics 15 577-596... 

The catalytic reduction or decomposition of nitrogen oxides, particularly NO to N2, is very important from the viewpoint of environmental air pollution. The selective reduction by hydrocarbons in the presence of air has been extensively studied as a potential process in NO emission control for Diesel and lean-bum engines (see certain recent publications [61]). 

A wide range of sulfur radicals have been reported. Sulfur dioxide (S02 ), sulfite radical (SO ), sulfate radical (SOJ ) and peroxomonosulfate radical (SOs") can all be formed from sulfur dioxide, which is an environmental air pollutant, as well as from sulfites and bisulfites used as preservatives [114-118] and methods of their production and their reactivity has been previously reviewed [119]. Briefly, SOa acts as a one electron reductant whereas the others are all oxidising species with being the strongest one electron oxidant [117-119]. 

We are unaware of deposition studies in healthy neonates or infants, probably owing to concerns over the use of radiotracers in this popnlation (33). There are some deposition studies, related to therapeutic drug dehveiy, in spontaneously breathing or ventilated infants with lung diseases (216-218). Also, filter and animal lung models have been used to assess deposition in infants (219-222). One of the limitations of these studies is that deposition is often related to the amount of radioactivity delivered into the nebulizer unit and not to what is actually inhaled. Hence, there is a clear necessity for improved deposition studies to better imderstand health risks from environmental air pollutions or to improve inhalation therapy in neonates and infants. 

Kreyling WG, Dirscherl P, Perron GA, Heilmann P, Josten M, Miaskowski U, Neuner M, Reitmeir P, Ruprecht L, Schumann G, Takenaka S, Ziesenis A, Heyder J. Health effects of sulfur-related environmental air pollution HI. Nonspecific respiratory defense capacities. Inhalation Tox 1999 11 In press. 

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