Respiratory exposure to chemicals and human health

Many hazardous chemicals are absorbed into human body through respiration and have effects on human health. The 21st Century COE (center of excellence) "Environmental Monitoring and Prediction of Long- and Short-term Dynamics of Pan-Japan Sea Area--Construction of Monitoring Network and Assessment of Human Effects" (Leader: Kazuichi Hayakawa, Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Kanazawa University) concentrates on atmospheric pollution caused by human activities occurred in countries, Japan, China, Korea and Russia, surrounding Pan-Japan Sea as one of major projects. My talk focuses on atmospheric pollution caused by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) and nitropolycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (NPAH), which clearly exists in this area, and demonstrates the following aspects concerning this issue: 1) The 21st Century "Environmental Monitoring and Prediction of Long- and Short-term Dynamics of Pan-Japan Sea Area--Construction of Monitoring Network and Assessment of Human Effects," 2) Importance of PAH and NPAH as hazardous pollutants emitted from combustion of fossil fuels such as coal and oil, 3) Current status of atmospheric pollution of PAH and NPAH of Pan-Japan Sea Area, focusing on coal combustion systems such as heating in China and diesel-engine automobiles in Japan, and 4) Health effects of PAH and NPAH such as lung cancer and endocrine disruption.