Concentrations and health effects of short- and long-term exposure to PM2.5, NO2, and O3 in ambient air of Ahvaz city, Iran (2014-2017).

The primary objective of the present study was to evaluate the concentrations and short and long-term excess mortality attributed to PM2.5, NO2, and O3 observed in ambient air of Ahvaz during March 2014 to March 2017 period using the AirQ + software developed by the World Health Organization (WHO), which is updated in 2016 by WHO European Centre for Environment and Health. The hourly concentrations of PM2.5, O3, and NO2 measured at different regulatory monitoring network stations in Ahvaz city were obtained from the Department of Environment (DOE) of the city. Then, for various air quality monitoring stations, the 24-h average concentration of PM2.5, 1-h average of NO2 concentration, and maximum daily 8-h O3 concentrations were calculated using Excel 2010 software. When the maximum daily 8-h ozone means exceeding the value of 35, it was subtracted from 35 to calculate SOMO35 indicator for modeling. Validation of air quality data was performed according to the Aphekom and WHO's methodologies for health impact assessment of air pollution. Year-specific city population and baseline incidence of the health outcomes were obtained. The three-year averages of PM2.5, NO2, and O3 concentrations were 68.95 (±39.86) μg/m3, 135.90 (±47.82) μg/m3, and 38.63 (±12.83) parts-per-billion-volume (ppbv), respectively. SOMO35 values of ozone were 6596.66, 3411.78, and 470.88 ppbv in 2014-2015, 2015-2016, and 2016-2017 years, respectively. The AP and number of natural deaths due to NO2 were higher than PM2.5 except the last year (2016-2017), causing about 39.18%, 40.73%, and 14.39% of deaths within the first, the second, and the third year, respectively. However, for the last year, the natural mortality for PM2.5 was higher than NO2 (34.46% versus 14.39%). The total number of natural mortality caused by PM2.5 and NO2 in all years was 4061 and 4391, respectively. A significant number of deaths was estimated to be attributed to the given air pollutants. It can be concluded that by designing and implementing air pollution control strategies and actions, both health effects and economic losses will be prevented.