Publication: Are All Air Pollution Particles Equal? How Constituents and Sources of Fine Air Pollution Particles (PM2.5) Affect Health
Date
2021-09-03
ISSN
Published
2021-09-03
Author(s)
Abstract
Global studies of the health impacts of
fine particulate matter (PM2.5) have been based on particle
mass, but there is evolving evidence indicating that adverse
health effects can vary depending on the source and
composition of PM2.5. This complicates the equitoxicity
assumption commonly made regarding particle air pollution
while raising the question as to which types of PM2.5 are
most toxic. This report provides a comprehensive review of
health effects of short- and long-term exposures to
source-related components and trace constituents (specific
markers of the individual sources) of fine particulate
matter (PM2.5) in outdoor air pollution. The analysis
evaluates the data and methods used, as well as the
uncertainties in the underlying epidemiological studies,
based on the relevant published literature. Most deaths
attributed to outdoor PM2.5 air pollution (for example, by
the Global Burden of Disease study) are caused by
cardiovascular disease (CVD). The current evidence
summarized in this report indicates that trace constituents
from PM2.5 and PM2.5 mass from fossil-fuel combustion are
among the greatest contributors to PM2.5 toxicity. Notably,
PM2.5 from fossil-fuel combustion poses a larger
cardiovascular disease risk per unit mass of PM2.5 than soil
or biomass particles. Of the fossil-fuel combustion
particles, coal- and traffic-related PM2.5 were found to be
most consistently associated with cardiovascular mortality,
especially due to ischemic heart disease (heart attacks) in
both the short- and long-term exposure studies that were reviewed.
Link to Data Set
Citation
“Thurston, George; Awe, Yewande; Ostro, Bart; Sanchez-Triana, Ernesto. 2021. Are All Air Pollution Particles Equal? How Constituents and Sources of Fine Air Pollution Particles (PM2.5) Affect Health. © World Bank, Washington, DC. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/36269 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”