World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe

2021

CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research - Zenodo, 2022

Legal notice Preparation of this report has been co-funded by the European Environment Agency as part of a grant with the European Topic Centre on Human Health and the Environment (ETC-HE) and expresses the views of the authors. The contents of this publication does not necessarily reflect the position or opinion of the European Commission or other institutions of the European Union. Neither the European Environment Agency nor the European Topic Centre on Human Health and the Environment are liable for any consequences stemming from the reuse of the information contained in this publication.

1995

Environmental Health Perspectives, 1983

www.amfiteatrueconomic.ro

The EU's environmental policies and strategies have been developed since the 1970s and underline that the sustainable economic development and well-being of the European Union countries are based on their natural environment. They are aimed at national and global air quality regulations that support the improvement of the air quality and the health of the population. The principal objective of this paper is to highlight the importance of the varied and complex action of the polluting environment on the organism. A convergent objective is the development of pollution management solutions and highlighting good practices for combating and reducing pollution and improving air quality. In this regard, the results of the analysis presented in the paper indicate that a healthier environment can prevent diseases caused by polluted air and decrease the number of deaths caused by respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. This statement represents the main result obtained by applying the methods of multidimensional data analysis (factorial analysis, principal component analysis, cluster analysis) to evaluate the complexity of contemporary environmental and health challenges. On the other hand, the use of tools and examples of the good practices for implementing strategies to improve environmental factors, especially air quality, are particularly useful in creating specific policies that lead to improving the quality of the environment and, implicitly, the health of the population.

An air pollution health risk assessment (AP-HRA) estimates the health impact to be expected from measures that affect air quality, in different socioeconomic, environmental, and policy circumstances. As such, it is an important tool for informing public policy decisions. This document introduces the concept of AP-HRA, describes in broad terms how the health risks of outdoor air pollution and its sources are estimated, and gives an overview of the general principles for the proper conduct of an AP-HRA for various scenarios and purposes. The information is aimed at a broad audience of readers who do not need to know how to apply the tools, but seek a general understanding of the concepts, scope and principles of AP-HRA.

Epidemiology, 2006

Impact, 2016

Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health, Part A, 2008

Chapter 2 reviews the scientific evidence on the health effects of exposure to ambient air pollution. The chapter reflects the Colloquium series' focus on the health significance of exposures to particulate matter. Evidence from epidemiological, toxicological and clinical studies in Canada, the United States, Europe, and internationally will be presented. The chapter also summarizes new insights from emerging literature and address challenges for risk management. Chapter 3 provides an overview of the role of ambient air quality measurement, emission inventories and modeling in air quality management. The Chapter provides examples from North America and Europe to illustrate the current status, strengths and limitations of emission inventories, air quality monitoring networks and air quality modeling activities. The Chapter provides guidance on current best practice to inform the development of measurement, monitoring and modeling capacity relevant to air quality management policy development and policy evaluation. Chapter 4 presents strategies for improving ambient air quality at the local, regional and global levels. Case studies from North America, Europe and Asia provide examples to illustrate each of the approaches and identify factors associated with successful policy development and implementation. Evidence to demonstrate the effectiveness of various air quality management approaches is presented. Chapter 5 discusses key emerging issues faced by air quality managers and policy-makers with the growing awareness of the health impacts of poor air quality and the increasing costs to achieve further reductions. These issues include the challenges of managing hot spots and environmental justice and equity considerations. Innovative policy initiatives to complement standards-based air quality management approaches are identified, including integrated strategies oriented towards achieving climate change co-benefits and broader sustainability objectives.

SSRN Electronic Journal, 2022

Abstract Epidemiological studies have shown that air pollution is associated with cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, leading to increased sickness, hospital admissions, and premature death. Assessing the health impact attributed to air pollutants is critical to managing air pollution risks. This paper presents the methodology supporting the health risk assessment chapters of the yearly Air Quality in Europe reports published by the European Environment Agency. The assessments estimate the number of premature deaths and years of life lost attributed to exposure to fine particulate matter, ozone, and nitrogen dioxide concentration levels for 41 countries across Europe. The year 2017 was chosen to showcase the methodology by estimating the risk of exposure to these three pollutants individually and how much the 41 countries would benefit if the European Union limit values and the World Health Organization air quality guidelines (as defined in 2005) would have been attained. In 2017, the most significant health impacts in absolute levels are estimated for countries with the largest populations. However, in relative terms, the most significant impacts are observed in central and south-eastern European countries included in the analysis, and the lowest in the northern and north-western parts of Europe. The largest benefit results from attaining the 2005 World Health Organization’s air quality standards for fine particulate matter, leading to a reduction of over 32% on numbers of premature deaths and years of life lost levels. The new Air Quality Guidelines published in 2021 by the World Health Organization will imply changes in the current methodology and the assessment outcome. A sensitivity analysis of the underlying sources of uncertainty in the assessment steps. The two main contributors affecting the estimations are the concentration-response function and the minimum concentration level affecting human health.