深圳市城区居民室内空气污染现状调查

目的了解深圳市城区居民室内污染现状。方法于2008年12月对南山区28套住宅厨房、客厅、卧室空气中甲醛（HCHO）、二氧化碳（CO2）、可吸入颗粒物（Phi10）、苯系物（苯、甲苯、二甲苯）浓度进行检测,同时调查可能的影响因素。结果28户家庭室内苯系物的平均浓度均〈0．05mg／m^3,HCHO、CO2、PM10的平均浓度分别为0．025mg／m^3、0．077％、0．258mg／m^3;苯系物、HCHO、CO2浓度低于《室内空气质量标准》（GB／T18883—2002）的标准值,PM10平均浓度超标66．7％。厨房、客厅和卧室污染物浓度总体分布差异,以及温度、吸烟对污染物的影响均无统计学意义（P〉0．05）,室内相对湿度与PM10浓度呈正相关（P〈0．05）。结论深圳市城区居民室内PM10污染相对严重,高湿度环境可能会使其浓度升高。     

Inorganic analysis of dust fall and office dust in an industrial area of Jordan

This article deals with the determination and comparison of heavy metals and water-soluble anions and cations in indoor dust and outdoor dust fall in the petroleum refinery area in Jordan. Three sampling sites were considered in the Jordanian petroleum refinery complex for the collection of dust fall and office dust samples. These samples were analyzed for water-soluble anions (F-, Cl-, Br-, NO3-, C2O4(2-), and SO4(2-)) and cations (Li+, Na+, K+, Mg2+, and Ca2+) using auto-suppressed ion chromatography. Heavy metals (Pb, Cd, Cu, Zn, Cr, Fe, and Al) were determined using flame or graphite-furnace atomic absorption. No correlations were found between heavy metal concentrations in dust fall and office dust samples, indicating different sources. High enrichment factors for heavy metals were found in dust-fall samples, except for Fe and Cr. Zinc showed the highest and cadmium the lowest flux rates.     

沙尘暴PM2.5对大鼠肺细胞DNA损伤效应

目的探讨沙尘暴细颗粒物（PM205）对大鼠肺细胞的遗传损伤作用。方法采用气管直接注入染毒法，分别给大鼠灌注0，1．5，7．5，37．5mg／kg剂量的颗粒物悬浮液。灌注24h后处死大鼠，采用单细胞凝胶电泳技术（SCGE）检测肺细胞DNA的损伤。结果沙尘暴和正常天气PM2.5均可引起大鼠肺细胞DNA损伤，且随剂量增加而损伤增大。正常天气PM2．5比沙尘暴PM2．5对肺细胞DNA的损伤更大，但差异无统计学意义。结论沙尘暴和正常天气PM2.5均可引起大鼠肺细胞DNA的损伤，由于沙尘暴PM2.5浓度远高于正常天气PM2.5，导致沙尘暴PM2.5对DNA的毒性远大于正常天气PM2．5。     

The threat of Asian dust storms on asthma patients: A population-based study in Taiwan

This study explores the relationship between Asian dust storms (ADSs), asthma hospital admissions and average medical cost discharge. We adopt the hospitalisation data from the Taiwan National Health Insurance research database covering the period from 2000 to 2009. The autoregressive integrated moving average with exogenous variables (ARIMAX) analyses were performed to explore the relationship between ADS and asthma hospital admissions, adjusting for temperature, air pollutants and season dummy. The results show that ADS events do generate a critical influence upon the occurrences of asthma on post-ADS events from days 1 through 3, with an average of 17–20 more hospitalised admissions, and have stronger effects on preschool children, middle-aged people and the elderly. From the perspective of medical expenses, the cost of hospitalised admissions for asthma substantially rises daily, on average, by NT$634,698 to NT$787,407 during ADS event days. This study suggests that government should establish a forecast and alert system and release warnings about dust storms, so that the individuals predisposed to asthma can take precautionary measures to reduce their outdoor exposure. Consequently, personal risk and medical expenditure could be reduced significantly, especially for preschool children, middle-aged people and the elderly with asthma.     

Effects of the Asian dust events on daily mortality in Seoul,Korea

The Korean peninsula has a long history of dust clouds blown by winds from the arid deserts of Mongolia and China in springtime; these are called Asian dust events. Public concern about the possible adverse effects of this dust has increased, because the dust arrives in Korea after having passed over heavily industrialized eastern China. The present study explored the effect of Asian dust events on daily mortality in Seoul, South Korea, during the period 1995-1998. We evaluated the association between daily death counts and the dust events using Poisson regression analysis, adjusted for time trends, weather variables, and the day of the week. Between 1995 and 1998, we identified 28 Asian dust days in Seoul. The estimated percentage increase in the rate of deaths from 3-day moving averages of exposure was 1.7% (95/ confidence interval: -1.6 to 5.3) for all causes, 2.2% (95% confidence interval: -3.5 to 8.3) for deaths of persons aged 65 years and older, and 4.1% (95% confidence interval: -3.8 to 12.6) for cardiovascular and respiratory causes. Our results provide weak evidence that the Asian dust events are associated with risk of death from all causes. However, the association between the dust events and deaths from cardiovascular and respiratory causes was stronger and it suggests that persons with advanced cardiovascular and respiratory disease may be susceptible to the Asian dust events.     

Effects of Asian dust storm events on daily mortality in Taipei, Taiwan

In spring, windblown dust storms originating in the deserts of Mongolia and China make their way to Taipei City. These occurrences are known as Asian dust storm events. The objective of this study was to assess the possible effects of Asian dust storms on the mortality of residents in Taipei, Taiwan, during the period from 1995 to 2000. We identified 39 dust storm episodes, which were classified as index days. Daily deaths on the index days were compared with deaths on the comparison days. We selected two comparison days for each index day, 7 days before the index day and 7 days after the index day. The strongest estimated effects of dust storms were increases of 7.66% in risk for respiratory disease 1 day after the event, 4.92% for total deaths 2 days following the dust storms and 2.59% for circulatory diseases 2 days following the dust storms. However, none of these effects were statistically significant. This study found greater specificity for associations with respiratory deaths, and this increases the likelihood that the association between dust events and daily mortality represents a causal relationship.     

Effects of Asian dust storm events on daily stroke admissions in Taipei, Taiwan

In spring, windblown dust storms originating in the deserts of Mongolia and China make their way to Taipei city. These occurrences are known as Asian dust storm (ADS) events. The objective of this study was to assess the possible associations of ADS on the hospital stroke admissions of residents in Taipei, Taiwan, during the period from 1996 to 2001. We identified 54 dust storm episodes, which were classified as index days. Daily stroke admissions on the index days were compared with admissions on the comparison days. We selected two comparison days for each index day, 7 days before the index days and 7 days after the index days. The study results indicated a statistically significant association between ADS events and daily primary intracerebral hemorrhagic stroke admissions 3 days after the event (relative risk of 1.15; 95% CI, 1.01-10.10). We also found a positive but nonsignificant association between ADS events and ischemic stroke admissions 3 days following the dust storms. This was due mainly to PM(10). We conclude that more attention be given to ADS events and health in the future.     

沙尘暴PM_(2.5)对大鼠肺、心、肝组织的氧化损伤效应

目的探讨沙尘暴细颗粒物(PM2.5)对大鼠肺、心、肝组织的氧化损伤作用。方法采用气管直接注入染毒法,灌注24h后处死大鼠,测定肺、心、肝组织超氧化物歧化酶(SOD)活性、谷胱甘肽(GSH)含量及脂质过氧化作用(LPO)水平。结果(1)沙尘暴和正常天气PM2.5均可引起肺、肝脏SOD酶活性的降低,而心脏SOD酶活性无显著性变化。(2)沙尘暴和正常天气PM2.5均可引起肺脏GSH含量降低,使肝脏中GSH含量呈现先升高后降低的非线性变化特征,而心脏GSH含量无显著性变化。(3)沙尘暴和正常天气PM2.5均可引起肺、心、肝脏的LPO水平升高。(4)正常天气PM2.5比沙尘暴PM2.5对各测量指标的影响较大,但统计学上均无显著性差异,但由于沙尘暴PM2.5浓度远高于正常天气PM2.5,所以沙尘暴PM2.5产生的效应较大。结论沙尘暴和正常天气PM2.5对大鼠肺、心、肝组织均有不同程度的氧化损伤作用,沙尘暴PM2.5的急剧增高使其毒性作用更为严重。     

Dustborne microorganisms in the atmosphere over an Asian dust source region, Dunhuang

The dust event injects microorganisms into the atmosphere and could facilitate the dispersal of biological particles affecting leeward ecosystem and human health. In this study, the dustborne microorganisms in the atmosphere over the Taklimakan Desert, Asian dust source, were identified by culture-independent method. Dusts were collected using a balloon at about 800 m above the ground in an Asian dust source region, Dunhuang. After DNA were directly extracted from the dusts collected filters, 16S and 18S rRNA genes of microorganisms were amplified, cloned, and sequenced. The rDNA sequence data indicated that dust particles include fungi closely related to Rickenella fibula, Ceriporiopsis gilvescens, and bacteria belonging to the genus Brevibacillus, Staphylococcus, Rhodococcus, Delftia, Pseudomonas, and Agrobacterium tumefaciens. These results suggest that dust particles in the atmosphere over Dunhuang could carry these many fungi and bacteria and might play a significant role in leeward ecosystem. Presented at the 5th Int Workshop on Sandstorms and Associated Dustfall, Urumqi, China, 22 May 2008     

A comparison of mortality related to urban air particles between periods with Asian dust days and without Asian dust days in Seoul, Korea, 2000-2004

Recent papers have reported that Asian dust events have been associated with increased risks of all-cause mortality and rates of respiratory illness. The current study was designed to estimate the relative risk of mortality associated with Asian dust events. We used the daily counts of non-accidental deaths, air pollution and meteorological data in Seoul, Korea from 2000 to 2004. We divided all days during the study period into two groups according to the presence or absence of Asian dust events. For each group, we conducted time-series analysis to estimate the relative risk of total non-accidental death when the concentration of each air pollutant increased by the inter-quartile range (IQR). The average concentrations of every air pollutant on the days without a dust event were lower than those on the days with such an event. We found that the effect sizes of air pollution on daily death rates in the model without Asian dust events were larger than those in the model with Asian dust events, and were statistically significant for all air pollutants (PM(10), CO, NO(2), and SO(2)) except for O(3). Our results suggest that we are likely to underestimate the risk of urban air particles if we analyze the effect size of air pollution on daily mortality during Asian dust events. We hypothesize that the real health effect is much larger than previous results suggested.     

西安市部分手术室尘埃粒子数与浮游菌监测报告

目的了解西安市市属医院洁净手术室环境质量状况,为保障手术室洁净质量提供参考。方法采用现场采样与检测方法,对西安市 15所市属医院的洁净手术室进行空气洁净度检测与分析。结果共监测51间手术间。其中二级医院24间,三级医院27间;Ⅰ级手术室26间,Ⅲ级手术室25间。Ⅰ、Ⅲ级洁净手术室≥0.5 μm/粒径合格率分别为76.92%、80.00%,≥5 μm/粒径合格率分别为73.08%、88.00%。Ⅰ级和Ⅲ级洁净手术室尘埃粒子数合格率分别为61.54%和80.00%,经检验差异无统计意义（χ2=2.092,P＞0.05）。三级医院洁净手术室尘埃粒子数合格率为85.19%,高于二级医院的58.33%（χ2=4.600,P<0.05）。二、三级医院手术区浮游菌检测合格率分别为87.50%、92.59%,周边区合格率分别为95.83%、92.59%,二、三级医院手术区及周边区浮游菌检测合格率比较差异均无统计学意义（均P＞0.05）。结论西安市市属医院洁净手术室尘埃粒子数和浮游菌均存在不同程度超标,尤其是二级医院应加强手术室环境质量管理。     

Phylogenetic diversity and vertical distribution of a halobacterial community in the atmosphere of an Asian dust (KOSA) source region, Dunhuang City

The microbial communities transported by Asian desert dust (KOSA) events have attracted much attention as bioaerosols because the transported microorganisms are thought to influence the downwind ecosystems in Korea and Japan. We have analyzed bioaerosol samples collected at 10 and 800 m above the ground within the KOSA source area, Dunhuang City, China. The samples were studied by epifluorescent microscopy, revealing the presence of bacterial cells attached to mineral particles. The microorganisms in the bioaerosol samples were able to grow in media containing up to 20% NaCl, suggesting that bacteria tolerant to high salinities remain viable in the atmosphere. Phylogenetic analysis using 16S rDNA sequences revealed that halobacterial communities in the bioaerosol samples collected at both 10 and 800 m above the ground comprised a few bacterial species related to Bacillus pumilus and Staphylococcus spp. The active mixing processes of the boundary layer presumably transports viable halotolerant bacteria into the free atmosphere, where the long-range atmospheric transport of desert dust is frequently observed.     

Indoor exposures to air pollutants and allergens in the homes of asthmatic children in inner-city Baltimore

This paper presents indoor air pollutant concentrations and allergen levels collected from the homes of 100 Baltimore city asthmatic children participating in an asthma intervention trial. Particulate matter (PM), NO2, and O3 samples were collected over 72 h in the child's sleeping room. Time-resolved PM was also assessed using a portable direct-reading nephelometer. Dust allergen samples were collected from the child's bedroom, the family room, and the kitchen. The mean PM10 concentration, 56.5+/-40.7 microg/m3, is 25% higher than the PM2.5 concentration (N=90), 45.1+/-37.5 microg/m3. PM concentrations measured using a nephelometer are consistent and highly correlated with gravimetric estimates. Smoking households' average PM2.5 and PM10 concentrations are 33-54 microg/m3 greater than those of nonsmoking houses, with each cigarette smoked adding 1.0 microm/m3 to indoor PM2.5 and PM10 concentrations. Large percentages of NO2 and O3 samples, 25% and 75%, respectively, were below the limit of detection. The mean NO2 indoor concentration is 31.6+/-40.2 ppb, while the mean indoor O3 concentration in the ozone season was 3.3+/-7.7 ppb. The levels of allergens are similar to those found in other inner cities. Results presented in this paper indicate that asthmatic children in Baltimore are exposed to elevated allergens and indoor air pollutants. Understanding this combined insult may help to explain the differential asthma burden between inner-city and non-inner-city children.     

Cancer Mortality in Relation to Asbestos in Municipal Water Supplies

The mortality experience of twenty-two municipalities in Quebec grouped by evidence of exposure to asbestos fibers in water supplies (known high, possible high, and probable low exposures) was evaluated. Excess mortality due to cancer of the stomach (males), pancreas (females), and lung (males) was observed in the two municipalities with known high exposures. The excesses among males may have been due to occupational exposure to asbestos. The absence of excess mortality due to pancreatic cancer among males suggested that the excess among females was not due to waterborne asbestos. The study therefore did not reveal evidence of excess cancer mortality that could be attributed to exposure to asbestos in drinking water.