An Economic Analysis of the Environmental Impact of PM2.5 Exposure on Health Status in Three Northwestern Mexican Cities

Introduction: This study provides an economic assessment of the health effects due to exposure to particulate matter PM2.5 in three medium-size cities of northwestern Mexico: Los Mochis, Culiacan and Mazatlán. People in these cities are exposed to high pollutant concentrations that exceed limits suggested in domestic and international guidelines. PM2.5 is an air contaminant negatively associated with people’s health when is highly concentrated in the atmosphere; its diameter is below 2.5 µm and causes the air to appear hazy when levels are elevated. To account for the economic impact of air pollution, a Health Impact Assessment (HIA) was used by the means of the European Aphekom Project. We figured the cost-savings of complying with current environmental standards and computed gains in life expectancy, total avoidable premature mortality, preventable cardiovascular disease, and the economic costs of air pollution related to PM2.5. A formal analysis of air pollution epidemiology is not pursued in this paper. Results: The cost of reducing PM2.5 pollution associated with negative health outcomes was based on two different scenarios: Official Mexican Standard (NOM, Spanish acronym) and World Health Organization (WHO) environmental standards. The mean PM2.5 concentrations in 2017 were 22.8, 22.4 and 14.1 µg/m3 for Los Mochis, Mazatlán and Culiacan, respectively. Conclusions: The mean avoidable mortality for all causes associated to PM2.5 exposure in these cities was 638 for the NOM scenario (i.e., with a reduction to 12 µg/m3) compared to 739 for the WHO scenario (reduction to 10 µg/m3). Complying with the WHO guideline of 10 µg/m3 in annual PM2.5 mean would add up to 15 months of life expectancy at age 30, depending on the city. The mean economic cost per year of the PM2.5 effects on human life in these three cities was USD 600 million (NOM scenario) and USD 695 million (WHO scenario). Thus, effective public health and industrial policy interventions to improve air quality are socially advantageous and cost-saving to promote better health.S

Responding to Natural and industrial Disasters: Partnerships and Lessons Learned

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to provide insights learned from disaster research response (DR2) efforts following Hurricane Harvey in 2017 to launch DR2 activities following the Intercontinental Terminals Company (ITC) fire in Deer Park, Texas, in 2019. METHODS: A multidisciplinary group of academic, community, and government partners launched a myriad of DR2 activities. RESULTS: The DR2 response to Hurricane Harvey focused on enhancing environmental health literacy around clean-up efforts, measuring environmental contaminants in soil and water in impacted neighborhoods, and launching studies to evaluate the health impact of the disaster. The lessons learned after Harvey enabled rapid DR2 activities following the ITC fire, including air monitoring and administering surveys and in-depth interviews with affected residents. CONCLUSIONS: Embedding DR2 activities at academic institutions can enable rapid deployment of lessons learned from one disaster to enhance the response to subsequent disasters, even when those disasters are different. Our experience demonstrates the importance of academic institutions working with governmental and community partners to support timely disaster response efforts. Efforts enabled by such experience include providing health and safety training and consistent and reliable messaging, collecting time-sensitive and critical data in the wake of the event, and launching research to understand health impacts and improve resiliency

The Influence of Plastic Barriers on Aerosol Infection Risk during Airport Security Checks

Plastic barriers physically separate queuing passengers in airport security check areas as a measure against aerosol transmission. However, this may create “canyons” that interfere with the existing ventilation design: potentially inhibiting airflow, concentrating exhaled viruses, and exacerbating aerosol transmission risk. Accordingly, this study investigated the transmission implications of installing plastic barriers in a security check area with computational fluid dynamics (CFD). Two air distribution schemes were modeled: one with linear air supply diffusers aligned vertically to (Case 1) and another with diffusers parallel with (Case 2) the orientation of partitions. The drift-flux model was used to calculate the spread of viral bioaerosols with 5 µm in diameter; then the Wells–Riley equation was applied to assess aerosol transmission risk for SARS-CoV-2. According to simulation results, in Case 1, installing plastic barriers resulted in relatively small changes in volume with a high infection risk of 1% or greater in the breathing zone within the first 25 min. However, in Case 2, using plastic barriers resulted in the continuous increase in this volume within the first 25 min while this volume was near zero if without plastic barriers. In conclusion, installing plastic barriers needs careful consideration because they do not reduce the risk of airborne SARS-CoV-2 transmission and might even exacerbate it without localized ventilation and air cleaning.https://doi.org/10.3390/su14181128

The Influence of Plastic Barriers on Aerosol Infection Risk during Airport Security Checks

Plastic barriers physically separate queuing passengers in airport security check areas as a measure against aerosol transmission. However, this may create “canyons” that interfere with the existing ventilation design: potentially inhibiting airflow, concentrating exhaled viruses, and exacerbating aerosol transmission risk. Accordingly, this study investigated the transmission implications of installing plastic barriers in a security check area with computational fluid dynamics (CFD). Two air distribution schemes were modeled: one with linear air supply diffusers aligned vertically to (Case 1) and another with diffusers parallel with (Case 2) the orientation of partitions. The drift-flux model was used to calculate the spread of viral bioaerosols with 5 µm in diameter; then the Wells–Riley equation was applied to assess aerosol transmission risk for SARS-CoV-2. According to simulation results, in Case 1, installing plastic barriers resulted in relatively small changes in volume with a high infection risk of 1% or greater in the breathing zone within the first 25 min. However, in Case 2, using plastic barriers resulted in the continuous increase in this volume within the first 25 min while this volume was near zero if without plastic barriers. In conclusion, installing plastic barriers needs careful consideration because they do not reduce the risk of airborne SARS-CoV-2 transmission and might even exacerbate it without localized ventilation and air cleaning

Formative persons and organizations.

Selected participant comments discuss formative persons or organizations who socialized them to nature in childhood. (DOCX)</p

Focus groups characteristics.

Focus groups characteristics.</p

Perceptual and material barriers to accessing nature.

(DOCX)</p

Push of the built environment.

Selected comments reveal predominantly negative attitudes toward the built environment which turn individuals toward nature-seeking. (DOCX)</p

Safety and risk concerns as barriers to accessing nature.

(DOCX)</p

Conceptual framework describing a general model of exposure pathways to nature engagement identified through qualitative methods.

Conceptual framework describing a general model of exposure pathways to nature engagement identified through qualitative methods.</p