Dust and Health: Challenges and Solutions

Description

This book discusses the sources, human health hazards and risk prevention strategies associated with aeolian dust particles (fine and ultrafine) in the atmosphere. It covers the challenges of accurately forecasting aeolian dust and the need to raise public awareness on the warning signs and harmful impacts of airborne dust. Also discussed is the presence of microorganisms, heavy metals and other pollutants in dust which contributes to harmful impacts on human health as well as management and treatment options for the various health issues that can result from exposure. The book is a useful resource for scientists, engineers and policymakers interested in dust and health. Preface Introduction References Acknowledgments Contents Chapter 1: Dust Effects and Human Health 1 Introduction 2 Human Health Risks 2.1 Human Health Risks Assessment 2.2 Dust Effects on Human Health 2.3 Effects on Immune System 2.4 Effects on Nervous System 2.5 Respiratory Diseases 2.6 Lungs 2.7 Asthma 2.8 Stomach Diseases 2.9 Cardiovascular Diseases 2.10 Eye Diseases 2.11 Skin Diseases 2.12 Maternity and Reproduction 2.13 Carcinogenic Effects 2.14 Lung Cancer 3 Conclusion References Chapter 2: Quantification of the Inhaled Deposited Dose During Sand and Dust Storms 1 Introduction 2 Atmospheric Dust Particles: Sources and Geographical Distribution 3 Health Effects of Dust Particles 4 Personal Exposure Pathways 5 Inhaled Deposited Dose 6 Exposure Scenarios during an SDS 6.1 Exposure Outdoors 7 Exposure Indoors 8 Recommendations References Chapter 3: Sources, Drivers, and Impacts of Sand and Dust Storms: A Global View 1 Background on Sand and Dust Storms 2 Drivers of SDS 2.1 Wind Regime and Intensity 2.2 Moisture 2.3 Vegetation 2.4 Anthropogenic Drivers 3 Impacts of SDS 3.1 Vegetation Cover 3.2 Animals 3.3 Human 3.4 Marine Ecosystems 3.5 Terrestrial Ecosystems (Phosphorus Cycle) 3.6 Atmosphere and Hydrological Cycles 3.7 Aquatic Ecosystem 3.8 Global Sources of SDS 3.9 SDS Sources Classification 3.10 Composition Contents of Global SDS 3.11 Feedback Impacts of Human Activities and SDS 3.12 Human Impacts on SDS 3.13 SDS Effects on Humans 4 Conclusion References Chapter 4: Exposure of Dust Storms and Air Pollution (PM10, PM2.5) and Associated Health Risk in the Arid Region 1 Arid and Semi-Arid 1.1 Dust Storms 1.2 PM10 and PM2.5 1.3 Natural and Anthropogenic Mixtures in Dust 1.4 Health Impact of Desert Dust 1.5 4.6. Mortality 1.6 Respiratory and Cardiovascular/Cerebrovascular Diseases 1.7 Other Health Complaints 1.8 Health Disorders Not Reported in Arid and Semi-Arid Studies 1.9 Silicosis 2 Conclusion References Chapter 5: Dust and Eye Inflictions 1 Introduction 2 Dust and Its Composition 3 Toxic Agents in Dust 4 Heavy Metals in Dust 5 Microorganisms in Dust 6 Arthropods in Dust 7 Effects of Dust to Eyes 8 Conjunctivitis 9 Dry Eye Syndrome 10 Meibomian Gland Dysfunction 11 Glaucoma 12 Cadmium and Glaucoma 13 Lead and Glaucoma 14 Mercury and Glaucoma 15 Cobalt and Glaucoma 16 Pathophysiology of Glaucoma References Chapter 6: Epidemiology of Dust Effects: Review and Challenges 1 Health Outcomes 1.1 Mortality 2 Morbidity 2.1 Respiratory Diseases 2.2 Cardiovascular Disease 2.3 Infectious and Atopic Diseases 3 Exposure Assessment 3.1 Dust as a Binary Variable 3.2 Dust as a Continuous Variable 4 Epidemiological Modeling of Dust Exposure 4.1 Study Designs 4.1.1 Time-Series Studies 4.1.2 Case-Crossover Studies 4.2 Confounders 4.3 Question of Interest 4.3.1 Dust as a Confounder 4.3.2 Dust as an Effect Modifier 5 Future Directions 5.1 Methodology 5.2 Health Outcomes 5.3 Geographical Distribution References Chapter 7: Dust Storm and Infant Health 1 Introduction 2 Sand and Dust Storms (SDS) and Health Impacts 3 SDS Physical, Chemical, and Biological Characteristics 4 SDS Concentration Variations 5 Variation of the Human Health Risk by Age 6 Dust Storms and Infant Health 7 Parental Exposure 8 Acute and Lagging Impacts 9 Geographical Differences on Birth Outcome 9.1 Africa 9.2 South Korea 9.3 United States of America 9.4 Caribbean Region 9.5 Spain 10 Geographical Differences on Respiratory System 10.1 Japan 10.2 Taiwan 10.3 USA 10.4 Australia 11 Conclusion References Chapter 8: Dust and Microorganisms: Their Interactions and Health Effects 1 Natural and Anthropogenic Dusts 1.1 Origins of Natural Dust 1.1.1 Mixture of Natural Dust with Anthropogenic Dust 2 Bioaerosols Associated with Dust Events and Airborne Microbial Dispersion Around East Asia 2.1 Dust Particle Carrier of Airborne Microorganisms Against Environmental Stresses 2.2 Microbial Communities Associated with Dust Events 3 Impacts of Long-Range Transported Microorganisms on Human Health 3.1 Allergy Induction by Bioaerosols Associated with Dust Events 3.2 Pathogens Transported by Dust Events 4 Health Impact of Dust and Bioaerosols 4.1 Dust and Infectious Diseases 5 Environmental Dust and Possible Connection with NTM 6 Dust and Tuberculosis Bioaerosols 7 Dust as Fomites 8 Dust and Bioaerosols Interaction: Laboratory Attempt 8.1 Different Dust Types and Bioaerosol Coexisting Experiments 8.2 Simulation Chamber Experiments 8.2.1 Aerosol Generation 8.2.2 Aerosol Sampling from the Chambers 8.2.3 The Result and Further Chamber Experiments 9 Speculation and Future Research Activities References Chapter 9: Microbiology of Sand and Dust Storms and the Effects on Human Health in Iran and Other Persian Gulf Countries 1 Introduction 2 Bioaerosols and Sources of Atmospheric Microorganisms 3 Effect of Environmental Factors on Microbial Survival and Transmission 3.1 Temperature 3.2 Ambient Air Relative Humidity 3.3 Precipitation 3.4 Wind Speed and Direction 3.5 Seasonal Changes 3.6 Atmospheric Pollutants 3.7 Other Factors 3.7.1 Microorganisms in the West Asia SDS Events 3.7.2 Effects of SDS Bioaerosols on Human Health 3.7.3 Bacteria Identified in SDS and their Health Impacts 3.7.4 Fungi Identified in SDS and Their Health Effects 3.7.5 Septate Hyaline Molds 3.7.6 Dematiaceous (Pheo) Hyphomycetes 3.7.7 Aseptate Hyaline Molds 4 Conclusion References Chapter 10: Assessment of the Airborne Microbes in the Dust of the Arabian Gulf Region 1 Introduction 2 Methodology 3 Detection and Quantification of Microbial Activities 4 Microbial Counts 5 Quantification of Aerobic Bacteria 6 Gram Method 7 Molecular Identification of Isolated Microorganisms 8 Bacterial Isolate Molecular Identification 8.1 DNA Extraction from Bacterial Pure Cultures 8.2 Amplification of 16S rDNA Gene 8.3 Sequencing of Amplified rDNA 9 Fungal Isolates Molecular Identification 9.1 DNA Extraction from Fungal Pure Cultures 9.2 PCR Amplification of Internal Transcribed Spacer (ITS) Region 9.3 Identification of Isolated Fungi 9.4 Optimization of Microbial Growth Conditions 9.5 Growth Media 10 Results 10.1 Detection and Quantification of Microorganisms 10.2 Microbial Counts 10.3 Isolation and Characterization of Microbial Species 10.4 Molecular Analysis of Isolated Bacteria 11 Molecular Analysis of Isolated Fungi 12 Discussion 13 Conclusion References Chapter 11: Pollen Prevalence and Health Impact in Kuwait 1 Introduction 2 Materials and Methods 2.1 The Study Area 2.2 Pollen Sample Collection and Preparation 2.3 Microscopic Identification 2.4 Pollen Types and Statistical Analysis 3 Results 3.1 Prevalence of Pollen in Kuwait 3.2 Multicollinearity Among Pollen Types 3.2.1 Association Between Pollen Types and Health 3.3 Best-Fit Model between Allergy Patients and Pollens References Chapter 12: Dust and Health: Control Methods and Strategies 1 Introduction 1.1 Health and Dust 1.2 Effects on the Respiratory System 1.3 Effects on the Cardiovascular System 1.4 Effects on Eyes 1.5 Effects on Infants 2 Success Stories in Controlling Dust Using Native Plantations 2.1 Native Plants as Control Measures for SDS 3 Future Studies 3.1 Controlling Regional Source Areas of Sand and Dust Storms (SDS) 3.2 Molecular Biology as a Future Solution 4 Conclusions and Recommendations References Index