Long-term concentrations of fine particulate matter and impact on human health in Verona, Italy

Özet

Verona is an Italian city which experiences low levels of air quality due to its location near the centre of the PoValley, one of the most polluted areas in Italy and in Europe. High pollutant concentrations, in particular of fineaerosol particles, are associated with detrimental effects on human health. The present study analyses theground-based measurements of particulate matter with a diameter ≤ 2.5 μm (PM2.5) and ≤ 10 μm (PM10) registeredin Verona and its province since 2002 to 2015. The annual means and the number of days when theEuropean standards were exceeded show that air quality has slightly improved in the analysed period, withstatistically significant negative trends present in both PM10 and PM2.5 levels. The annual mortality due todifferent diseases attributable to PM2.5 has been estimated for the period 2009–2014 by employing concentration-response functions based on epidemiological cohort studies. Results show that, on average, about 299deaths per year (3 are infants) are caused by PM2.5 related diseases in Verona province. Among these, about 88deaths per year (1 is infant) occur in Verona municipality. This means that 11.3% of the total deaths due todiseases of the respiratory and cardiovascular systems is attributable to long-term exposure to PM2.5 pollution.