Volcanic Gases:Silent Killers

This is the accepted manuscript. The final version is available at http://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007%2F11157_2015_14.Volcanic gases are insidious and often overlooked hazards. The effects of volcanic gases on life may be direct, such as asphyxiation, respiratory diseases and skin burns; or indirect, e.g. regional famine caused by the cooling that results from the presence of sulfate aerosols injected into the stratosphere during explosive eruptions. Although accounting for fewer fatalities overall than some other forms of volcanic hazards, history has shown that volcanic gases are implicated frequently in small-scale fatal events in diverse volcanic and geothermal regions. In order to mitigate risks due to volcanic gases, we must identify the challenges. The first relates to the difficulty of monitoring and hazard communication: gas concentrations may be elevated over large areas and may change rapidly with time. Developing alert and early warning systems that will be communicated in a timely fashion to the population is logistically difficult. The second challenge focuses on education and understanding risk. An effective response to warnings requires an educated population and a balanced weighing of conflicting cultural beliefs or economic interests with risk. In the case of gas hazards, this may also mean having the correct personal protection equipment, knowing where to go in case of evacuation and being aware of increased risk under certain sets of meteorological conditions. In this chapter we review several classes of gas hazard, the risks associated with them, potential risk mitigation strategies and ways of communicating risk. We discuss carbon dioxide flows and accumulations, including lake overturn events which have accounted for the greatest number of direct fatalities, the hazards arising from the injection of sulfate aerosol into the troposphere and into the stratosphere. A significant hazard facing the UK and northern Europe is a “Laki”-style eruption in Iceland, which will be associated with increased risk of respiratory illness and mortality due to poor air quality when gases and aerosols are dispersed over Europe. We discuss strategies for preparing for a future Laki style event and implications for society

Environmental pollutants and odds of hospitalization for asthma in children - São José dos Campos, Brazil, in the years 2004-2005

OBJETIVO: estimar a associação entre exposição a poluentes atmosféricos e internações por asma brônquica MÉTODO: trata-se de um estudo ecológico de séries temporais, que incluiu indivíduos de 0 a 10 anos residentes de São José dos Campos, para o período de 2004 e 2005. Os dados das internações por asma foram obtidos do DATASUS. Os dados de níveis ambientais de material particulado, dióxido de enxofre e ozônio foram obtidos da Companhia de Tecnologia de Saneamento Ambiental (CETESB) e de temperatura e umidade da Fundação de Ciência, Aplicações e Tecnologia Espaciais (FUNCATE). Foram feitos modelos de defasagem de 0 a 7 dias e analisados por regressão logística binária, obtendo-se as odds ratio e seus respectivos intervalos de confiança de 95%, pelo SPSS 15.0. RESULTADOS: houve 809 internações com variações diárias de 0 a 7. Foi possível identificar associação do material particulado tanto no mesmo dia da exposição quanto nos próximos três, quinto e sexto dias com as internações; o dióxido de enxofre esteve associado às internações no primeiro, segundo e terceiro dias após a exposição e o ozônio no terceiro dia após a exposição ao gás. Dessa maneira, esse estudo mostrou associação entre poluentes atmosféricos e internações por asma numa cidade de porte médio.OBJECTIVE: to estimate the association between exposure to air pollutants and hospital admissions for asthma. METHODS: this is an ecological study of time series, which included individuals from 0 to10 years living in Sao Jose dos Campos, for the period 2004 to 2005.Data of hospitalizations for asthma were obtained from DATASUS. The data of ambient levels of particulate matter, sulfur dioxideand ozone were obtained from the Company of Technology of Environmental Sanitation (CETESB) and temperature and humidity from the Foundation for Science, Technology and Space Applications (FUNCATE). Lag models have been made from 0 to 7 days and analyzed by binary logistic regression,yielding odds ratios and their confidence intervals of 95% by SPSS 15.0. RESULTS: there were 809 admissions, ranging from 0 to 7. It was possible to identify an association of the particulate matterboth on the same day of exposure and the next third, fifth and sixth days with the admissions; sulfurdioxide was associated with hospitalizations in the first, second and third days after exposure andozone on the third day after exposure to gas. Thus, this study showed an association between airpollutants and asthma hospitalization in a medium-sized city

The Precautionary Principle (with Application to the Genetic Modification of Organisms)

We present a non-naive version of the Precautionary (PP) that allows us to avoid paranoia and paralysis by confining precaution to specific domains and problems. PP is intended to deal with uncertainty and risk in cases where the absence of evidence and the incompleteness of scientific knowledge carries profound implications and in the presence of risks of "black swans", unforeseen and unforeseable events of extreme consequence. We formalize PP, placing it within the statistical and probabilistic structure of ruin problems, in which a system is at risk of total failure, and in place of risk we use a formal fragility based approach. We make a central distinction between 1) thin and fat tails, 2) Local and systemic risks and place PP in the joint Fat Tails and systemic cases. We discuss the implications for GMOs (compared to Nuclear energy) and show that GMOs represent a public risk of global harm (while harm from nuclear energy is comparatively limited and better characterized). PP should be used to prescribe severe limits on GMOs

Associations Between Acute Respiratory Infections, Cooking Fuel Sources, and Climate Change in Cox’s Bazar Refugee Camps From 2018-2020

This project investigates drivers of respiratory infections in the world\u27s largest refugee camp, Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh. Due to the high volume of Rohingya Muslims refugees leaving their home country due to the Myanmar Crisis, the camp is overcrowded, leading to an increase in the spread of non-communicable diseases. This research focuses on the impact of cooking fuels, rainfall, and acute respiratory infections. Environmental changes have the increased potential to add to the spread of respiratory infections in a densely populated and undersupplied refugee camp. Additionally, increased rainfall relates to an increase in the number of refugees in indoor shelters at any given time. Previous studies have investigated the association between fuel sources and rainfall, but not in a complex humanitarian crisis. This project adds to existing research regarding respiratory infections in Cox’s Bazar, and how environmental changes influence these findings

Environmental Factors in Northern Italy and Sickle Cell Disease Acute Complications: A Multicentric Study

Background: Environmental factors seem to influence clinical manifestations of sickle cell disease (SCD), but few studies have shown consistent findings. We conducted a retrospective multicentric observational study to investigate the influence of environmental parameters on hospitalization for vaso-occlusive crises (VOC) or acute chest syndrome (ACS) in children with SCD. Methods: Hospital admissions were correlated with daily meteorological and air-quality data obtained from Environmental Regional Agencies in the period 2011–2015. The effect of different parameters was assessed on the day preceding the crisis up to ten days before. Statistical analysis was performed using a quasi-likelihood Poisson regression in a generalized linear model. Results: The risk of hospitalization was increased for low maximum temperature, low minimum relative humidity, and low atmospheric pressure and weakly for mean wind speed. The diurnal temperature range and temperature difference between two consecutive days were determined to be important causes of hospitalization. For air quality parameters, we found a correlation only for high levels of ozone and for low values at the tail corresponding to the lowest concentration of this pollutant. Conclusions: Temperature, atmospheric pressure, humidity and ozone levels influence acute complications of SCD. Patients’ education and the knowledge of the modes of actions of these factors could reduce hospitalizations

Impact of Extreme Temperatures on Ambulance Dispatches Due to Cardiovascular Causes in North-West Spain

Introduction and objectives. The increase in mortality and hospital admissions associated with high and low temperatures is well established. However, less is known about the influence of extreme ambient temperature conditions on cardiovascular ambulance dispatches. This study seeks to evaluate the effects of minimum and maximum daily temperatures on cardiovascular morbidity in the cities of Vigo and A Coruña in North-West Spain, using emergency medical calls during the period 2005–2017. Methods. For the purposes of analysis, we employed a quasi-Poisson time series regression model, within a distributed non-linear lag model by exposure variable and city. The relative risks of cold- and heat-related calls were estimated for each city and temperature model. Results. A total of 70,537 calls were evaluated, most of which were associated with low maximum and minimum temperatures on cold days in both cities. At maximum temperatures, significant cold-related effects were observed at lags of 3–6 days in Vigo and 5–11 days in A Coruña. At minimum temperatures, cold-related effects registered a similar pattern in both cities, with significant relative risks at lags of 4 to 12 days in A Coruña. Heat-related effects did not display a clearly significant pattern. Conclusions. An increase in cardiovascular morbidity is observed with moderately low temperatures without extremes being required to establish an effect. Public health prevention plans and warning systems should consider including moderate temperature range in the prevention of cardiovascular morbidityD.R. was supported by a postdoctoral research followship of the Xunta de Galicia (Spain)S

How do environmental, demographic, and geographical factors influence the spread of Covid-19

Abstract. Italy was the first European country to experience a rapid increase in confirmed cases and deaths of the novel Coronavirus disease (COVID-19). This study explains how COVID-19 transmitted so rapidly in northern Italy, analysing the underlying relationships between infected people and environmental, demographic, and geographical factors that influenced its spread. This study analyses data on COVID-19 cases alongside environmental data. This study finds out that cities with little wind, high humidity and frequently high levels of air pollution — exceeding safe levels of ozone or particulate matter — had higher numbers of COVID-19 related infected individuals and deaths. Overall, then, results here suggest that that geo-environmental factors may have accelerated the spread of COVID-19 in northern Italian cities, leading to a higher number of infected individuals and deaths..Keywords. Air pollution, Environment and health, Natural hazards, Risk assessment, Urban environment, Sustainable development and policy assessment, Sustainable Growth.JEL. F64, I10, I18, I19,  H75, H84, Q50, Q51, Q52, Q53, Q55, Q58

Environmental, demographic, and geographical factors affecting the diffusion of covid-19: A case study

Italy was the first European country to experience a rapid increase in confirmed cases and deaths of the novel Coronavirus disease (COVID-19). This study explains how COVID-19 transmitted so rapidly in northern Italy, analysing the underlying relationships between infected people and environmental, demographic, and geographical factors that influenced its spread. This study analyses data on COVID-19 cases alongside environmental data. This study finds out that cities with little wind, high humidity and frequently high levels of air pollution — exceeding safe levels of ozone or particulate matter — had higher numbers of COVID-19 related infected individuals and deaths. Overall, then, results here suggest that that geo-environmental factors may have accelerated the spread of COVID-19 in northern Italian cities, leading to a higher number of infected individuals and deaths.Keywords. Air pollution; Environment and health; Natural hazards; Risk assessment; Urban environment; Sustainable development and policy assessment; Sustainable growth.JEL. F64; I10; I18; I19;  H75; H84; Q50; Q51; Q52; Q53; Q55; Q58