ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH IN PORT AND HARBOR AREAS: AIR HUMIDITY MODIFYING RESPIRATORY HEALTH IN DROBETA TURNU SEVERIN, ROMANIA

摘要

Given the heterogeneity of individual health responses to air pollution, the severity of health effects experienced by a susceptible subgroup may be much greater than that experienced by the total population. This may hinder adequate protection of an entire population, even when a low threshold value is established. A particular situation arises when the considered region has special conditions, such as high air humidity, which occurs in the vicinity of large water surfaces. This situation is prevalent for ports and harbors that are also busy industrial regions where many people work and live. Calculating concentration-risk relationships for respiratory health effects of ambient air quality, we discuss the conditions for which the air humidity modifies the adverse effect of airborne particulate matter. The data used were gathered in Drobeta Turnu Severin, Romania, which is a port at the Danube River just behind the "Iron Gates." Due to the large water surface retained by the barrage, the studied area experiences strong variations in air humidity that might modify the adverse effect of certain air pollutants. For the study of particulate matter, generalized linear statistical models are widely used and we present and interpret their application to hospital admissions in Turnu Severin. As a result we find that absolute air humidity significantly weakens the adverse effect of Total Suspended Particles (TSP) on asthma. Humidity has a protective effect on chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), but this is weakened by the interaction with TSP. The results, presented as concentration-risk relationships, demonstrate that there is no threshold value for the adverse effects of airborne particulate matter.