RESUMEN
OBJECTIVES: To assess whether adverse acute cardiopulmonary health outcomes are associated with concentration of trace metals in airborne particulate matter. METHODS: Daily PM(10) and PM(2.5) were collected for 1 year in Edinburgh, UK, and the water-soluble and total-extractable content of 11 trace metals determined in each sample. Time series were analysed using generalised additive Poisson regression models, including adjustment for minimum temperature and less smoothing of trends. Methods were explored of extending the time series of metal concentration in daily PM(10) for the previous 7 years using multiple regression of the variation in metal content for the 1 year of measurements and the associated variation in air mass source region and other concurrently-measured potential predictor variables. RESULTS: The 1 year of direct measurements showed no evidence of significant associations of particle-bound metal concentration with health outcomes beyond that expected by chance. Analysis of the extended time series showed significant positive associations with cardiovascular admissions both for total PM(10) and for a number of the metals (eg, Cu, Fe, Ni, V, Zn) but the metal effects were no longer significant after adjusting for PM(10). CONCLUSIONS: Within the limitations of the study power, the epidemiological results have not provided evidence for associations between particle-bound metal concentrations and adverse health outcomes that are substantially greater than for total PM. The generally strong correlations between metal and total PM suggest that quantifying independent effects of PM metal exposure on health will be difficult, even using more powerful time series of direct measurements.
Asunto(s)
Contaminantes Atmosféricos/análisis , Enfermedades Cardiovasculares/etiología , Metales/análisis , Material Particulado/análisis , Trastornos Respiratorios/etiología , Contaminantes Atmosféricos/efectos adversos , Enfermedades Cardiovasculares/epidemiología , Exposición a Riesgos Ambientales/efectos adversos , Exposición a Riesgos Ambientales/análisis , Monitoreo del Ambiente/métodos , Monitoreo Epidemiológico , Humanos , Metales/efectos adversos , Material Particulado/efectos adversos , Trastornos Respiratorios/epidemiología , Escocia/epidemiología , Solubilidad , AguaRESUMEN
A new nose-only inhalation facility for rodents has been designed and built for operation within a high containment glove box facility. All operations using the equipment, whether concerned with aerosol generation or animal handling and exposure are conducted under high containment with total operator protection. The facility has been used to investigate known carcinogenic fibres such as the amphiboles. It has been designed to be resistant to most chemicals, under the conditions of an experiment, and can be used with radioactive material within the limitations which would be imposed for radiological protection. This paper describes the construction and validation of the equipment using titanium dioxide.