Determinants of the Proinflammatory Action of Ambient Particulate Matter in Immortalized Murine Macrophages

Background: Proximity to traffic-related pollution has been associated with poor respiratory health in adults and children. Objectives: We wished to test the hypothesis that particulate matter (PM) from high-traffic sites would display an enhanced capacity to elicit inflammation. Methods: We examined the inflammatory potential of coarse [2.5–10 μm in aerodynamic diameter (PM2.5–10)] and fine [0.1–2.5 μm in aerodynamic diameter (PM0.1–2.5)] PM collected from nine sites throughout Europe with contrasting traffic contributions. We incubated murine monocytic-macrophagic RAW264.7 cells with PM samples from these sites (20 or 60 μg/cm2) and quantified their capacity to stimulate the release of arachidonic acid (AA) or the production of interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNFα) as measures of their inflammatory potential. Responses were then related to PM composition: metals, hydrocarbons, anions/cations, and endotoxin content. Results: Inflammatory responses to ambient PM varied markedly on an equal mass basis, with PM2.5–10 displaying the largest signals and contrasts among sites. Notably, we found no evidence of enhanced inflammatory potential at high-traffic sites and observed some of the largest responses at sites distant from traffic. Correlation analyses indicated that much of the sample-to-sample contrast in the proinflammatory response was related to the content of endotoxin and transition metals (especially iron and copper) in PM2.5–10. Use of the metal chelator diethylene triamine pentaacetic acid inhibited AA release, whereas recombinant endotoxin-neutralizing protein partially inhibited TNFα production, demonstrating that different PM components triggered inflammatory responses through separate pathways. Conclusions: We found no evidence that PM collected from sites in close proximity to traffic sources displayed enhanced proinflammatory activity in RAW264.7 cells. Key words: copper, endotoxin, inflammation, iron, macrophages, metals, particulate matter, polyaromatic hydrocarbons. Environ Health Perspect 118:1728–1734 (2010). doi:10.1289/ehp.1002105 [Online 27 July 2010

Chapter 19 Noise pollution and its impact on human health and the environment

This chapter deals with (1) the basic theory of sound propagation; (2) an overview of noise pollution problem in view of policy and standards by the World Health Organization, the United States, and the European Union; (3) noise exposure sources from aircraft, road traffic and railways, in-vehicle, work, and construction sites, and occupations, and households; (4) the noise pollution impact on human health and the biological environment; (5) modeling of regional noise-affected habitats in protected and unprotected land areas and the marine environment; (6) noise control measures and sustainability in view of sustainable building design, noise mapping, and control measures such as barriers and berms along roadsides, acoustic building materials, roadway vehicle noise source control, road surface, and pavement materials; and (7) environmental noise pollution management measures and their impact on human health

Monitoring Report Target range for the Clean Air Agreement Initial progress assessmentMonitoring Report Target range for the Clean Air Agreement. Initial progress assessment

De Nederlandse overheid wil de luchtkwaliteit verbeteren, omdat minder luchtvervuiling beter is voor de gezondheid. Ze heeft hiervoor in 2020 het Schone Lucht Akkoord (SLA) gesloten met een deel van de gemeenten en alle provincies. Hierin is afgesproken om de gezondheidseffecten van luchtvervuiling door Nederlandse bronnen in 2030 met 50 procent te verminderen. Het is ook de bedoeling dat de luchtkwaliteit hierdoor gaat voldoen aan de WHO-advieswaarden. De SLA-partijen hebben in maart 2021 aangegeven hoe zij de uitstoot van stikstofoxiden en fijnstof gaan terugdringen (Decentrale UitvoeringsPlannen, DUP’s). Wanneer al deze plannen worden uitgevoerd, zijn de gezondheidseffecten van luchtvervuiling in 2030 met 47 procent gedaald volgens berekeningen van het RIVM. Meer gezondheidswinst is mogelijk (52 procent) als ook de effecten van extra maatregelen voor klimaat en stikstof worden meegerekend. Het nieuwe kabinet moet het beleid hiervoor nog uitwerken. Met de plannen uit de DUP’s lijkt het mogelijk om de WHO-advieswaarden voor de luchtkwaliteit uit 2005 bijna overal te halen. Alleen hanteert de WHO sinds september 2021 veel strengere advieswaarden, die voor een groot deel van Nederland niet haalbaar lijken. Om dat in de toekomst wel mogelijk te maken, zijn extra maatregelen nodig. Dit rapport bevat de informatie om te kunnen berekenen of de doelen van het SLA worden gehaald. Bijvoorbeeld hoeveel de uitstoot en concentraties van stikstofoxiden en fijnstof dalen bij verschillende pakketten van maatregelen. Adviesbureau TAUW heeft uitgerekend hoeveel de uitstoot daarbij daalt. Het RIVM heeft voor de berekeningen van de gezondheidseffecten de resultaten van deze analyse gebruikt.The Dutch government wants to improve air quality, since less air pollution is better for our health. To this end, the government concluded the Clean Air Agreement (Schone Lucht Akkoord, SLA) with a number of municipalities and all provinces in 2020. The agreement includes a commitment to reduce the health effects of air pollution from Dutch sources by 50% by the year 2030. The intention is that this target will also fulfil the WHO air quality guideline values. In March 2021, the SLA participants indicated how they will reduce emissions of nitrogen oxides and particulate matter (Local Implementation Plans). According to calculations by the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), if all these plans are implemented, the health effects of air pollution will decrease by 47% by 2030. More health gains are possible (52%) if the effects of additional measures for the climate and nitrogen are also taken into account. The new government is still working to develop policy in this regard. Based on the Local Implementation Plans, it seems possible to achieve the 2005 WHO guideline values for air quality across nearly all of the Netherlands. Since September 2021, however, much stricter guideline values have been in effect that do not seem feasible for a large part of the country. Additional measures are needed to make this possible in the future. This report contains the necessary information to calculate whether the goals of the SLA are being met, including how much the emissions and concentrations of nitrogen oxides and particulate matter are decreasing with the implementation of various sets of measures. Consultancy firm TAUW has calculated how much emissions will decrease as a result. RIVM used the results of this analysis for the calculations of the health effects

Health indicator method report : Clean Air Agreement

Luchtvervuiling heeft invloed op de gezondheid van de burger. Tot voor kort vormden Europese normen de basis voor het luchtbeleid in Nederland. Inmiddels is duidelijk dat blootstelling aan concentraties vervuilende stoffen onder de normen ook gezondheidseffecten kunnen veroorzaken. Om die reden wil de rijksoverheid de luchtkwaliteit in Nederland verbeteren. In het Schone Lucht Akkoord worden hiervoor extra maatregelen opgenomen. Het doel is de gezondheidsschade door luchtvervuiling in 2030 te verminderen. Het akkoord is een samenwerkingsverband tussen de rijksoverheid en een groot aantal provincies en gemeenten. Het RIVM heeft gezondheidsindicatoren ontwikkeld waarmee het rijk, provincies en gemeenten hun ambitie om met luchtkwaliteitsbeleid de gezondheid te verbeteren, kunnen berekenen. De gezondheidsindicatoren geven ook aan in welke sectoren of gebieden extra luchtkwaliteitsmaatregelen mogelijk zijn om de gewenste gezondheidswinst in hun regio te bereiken. De gezondheidsindicatoren zijn in opdracht van het Ministerie van Infrastructuur en Waterstaat (IenW) ontwikkeld. Het RIVM beschrijft in dit rapport wat de wetenschap onder milieu-gezondheidsindicatoren verstaat. Ook geeft het aan hoe de gezondheidsindicatoren zijn ontwikkeld. Daarna wordt het rekensysteem stap voor stap uitgelegd en worden de resultaten met enkele voorbeelden voor Nederland voor 2016 en 2030 geïllustreerd. Ten slotte wordt dieper ingegaan op de keuzes die bij de ontwikkeling van de indicatoren zijn gemaakt, en volgen enkele aanbevelingen.Air pollution affects the health of citizens. Until recently, Dutch air policy was based on European standards but it has now become clear that even exposure to concentrations of pollutants below these standards can cause health effects among the general public. The Dutch government is therefore committed to improving the air quality in the Netherlands. The Clean Air Agreement contains additional measures to this end. The objective is to reduce damage to health due to air pollution by 2030. The agreement is a partnership between the government and numerous provinces and municipalities. RIVM has developed health indicators that can be used in calculations to enable these parties to improve public health through air quality policy. The health indicators also indicate the sectors or areas in which additional air quality measures can be introduced to achieve the desired health benefits in their regions. The Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management (IenW) commissioned the development of these health indicators. In this report, RIVM describes what science means by environmental health indicators and explains how the health indicators were developed. The calculation method is subsequently explained step by step and the results are illustrated by a few examples for the Netherlands for 2016 and 2030. Finally, the choices made in developing the indicators are discussed in detail and several recommendations made.Ministerie van Infrastructuur en Waterstaat, Directie duurzame leefomgeving en circulaire economie (DLCE