Who Global Air Quality Guidelines

The main objective of these updated global guidelines is to offer health-based air quality guideline levels, expressed as long-term or short-term concentrations for six key air pollutants: PM2.5, PM10, ozone, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide and carbon monoxide. In addition, the guidelines provide interim targets to guide reduction efforts of these pollutants, as well as good practice statements for the management of certain types of PM (i.e., black carbon/elemental carbon, ultrafine particles, particles originating from sand and duststorms). These guidelines are not legally binding standards; however, they provide WHO Member States with an evidence-informed tool, which they can use to inform legislation and policy. Ultimately, the goal of these guidelines is to help reduce levels of air pollutants in order to decrease the enormous health burden resulting from the exposure to air pollution worldwide.

This book presents revised guideline values for the four most common air pollutants - particulate matter, ozone, nitrogen dioxide and sulfur dioxide - based on a recent review of the accumulated scientific evidence. The rationale for selection of each guideline value is supported by a synthesis of information emerging from research on the health effects of each pollutant. As a result, these guidelines now also apply globally. They can be read in conjunction with Air quality guidelines for Europe, 2nd edition, which is still the authority on guideline values for all other air pollutants. As well as revised guideline values, this book makes a brief yet comprehensive review of the issues affecting the application of the guidelines in risk assessment and policy development. Further, it summarizes information on: . pollution sources and levels in various parts of the world, . population exposure and characteristics affecting sensitivity to pollution, . methods for quantifying the health burden of air pollution, and . the use of guidelines in developing air quality standards and other policy tools. Finally, the special case of indoor air pollution is explored. Prepared by a large team of renowned international experts who considered conditions in various parts of the globe, these guidelines are applicable throughout the world. They provide reliable guidance for policy-makers everywhere when considering the various options for air quality management.

This book presents WHO guidelines for the protection of public health from risks due to a number of chemicals commonly present in indoor air. The substances considered in this review, i.e. benzene, carbon monoxide, formaldehyde, naphthalene, nitrogen dioxide, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (especially benzo[a]pyrene), radon, trichloroethylene and tetrachloroethylene, have indoor sources, are known in respect of their hazardousness to health and are often found indoors in concentrations of health concern. The guidelines are targeted at public health professionals involved in preventing health risks of environmental exposures, as well as specialists and authorities involved in the design and use of buildings, indoor materials and products. They provide a scientific basis for legally enforceable standards.

The guidelines are intended to provide background information and guidance to international, national and local authorities in making risk assessment and risk management decisions. In establishing pollutant levels below which exposure does not constitute a significant public health risk, the guidelines provide a basis for setting standards or limit values for air pollutants.

Built on existing WHO indoor air quality guidelines for specific pollutants, these guidelines bring together the most recent evidence on fuel use, emission and exposure levels, health risks, intervention impacts and policy considerations, to provide practical recommendations to reduce this health burden.

Discusses pollution from tobacco smoke, radon and radon progeny, asbestos and other fibers, formaldehyde, indoor combustion, aeropathogens and allergens, consumer products, moisture, microwave radiation, ultraviolet radiation, odors, radioactivity, and dirt and discusses means of controlling or eliminating them.

"This publication represents the views and expert opinions of an IARC Working Group on the Evaluation of Carcinogenic Risk to Humans, which met in Lyon, 8-15 October 2013."

Traffic-Related Air Pollution synthesizes and maps TRAP and its impact on human health at the individual and population level. The book analyzes mitigating standards and regulations with a focus on cities. It provides the methods and tools for assessing and quantifying the associated road traffic emissions, air pollution, exposure and population-based health impacts, while also illuminating the mechanisms underlying health impacts through clinical and toxicological research. Real-world implications are set alongside policy options, emerging technologies and best practices. Finally, the book recommends ways to influence discourse and policy to better account for the health impacts of TRAP and its societal costs. Overviews existing and emerging tools to assess TRAP’s public health impacts Examines TRAP’s health effects at the population level Explores the latest technologies and policies--alongside their potential effectiveness and adverse consequences--for mitigating TRAP Guides on how methods and tools can leverage teaching, practice and policymaking to ameliorate TRAP and its effects

In developing countries the price of rapid growth is all too often noxious airborne pollution, which annually contributes to a disturbing number of avoidable deaths. In recent decades, however, there has been considerable progress in the epidemiology of air pollution, significant changes in international air pollution guidelines, and the emergence of more systematic approaches to air pollution control. While many of these advances have originated in affluent countries, there have been major developments in other parts of the world. In this book, a distinguished cast of leading researchers in both the scientific and policy dimensions of air pollution and health have synthesized the recent developments in the field and their relevance for public health in developing countries. The authors review studies from a wide range of Asian, African and Latin American countries and contrast the findings with those from Europe and North America. They also describe various tools and systems for air pollution management and emphasize approaches that can be used when data is scarce. With a clear focus on the scientific and technical aspects of air pollution and health, this book is essential reading for pollution and health policy-makers, researchers and others concerned with air pollution and health in developing countries.