Estimating the health effects of PM10 on the population of Sanandaj City during 2010–2014 using AirQ model

One of the air pollutant indices includes particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter less than or equal to 10 μg/m3 (PM10). Particulate matter has extensive effects on the respiratory and cardiovascular systems. Dissemination of such particles for a longer period can lead to increased mortality and hospitalization. In this study, the data of PM10 pollutant were gathered from the Kurdistan Department of Environment. Furthermore, PM10 effects on the total mortalities, cardiovascular mortalities, respiratory mortalities, and hospitalizations caused by respiratory and cardiovascular diseases were analyzed using AirQ software. The results reported the highest mean concentration of PM10 in 2014. This software predicted a total death toll of 57, 60, 57, 51, and 55 cases per 100,000 people during 2010–2014, respectively. Moreover, it was estimated that 3.4, 8, 1.2, 10.8, and 11.5 percent of all deaths could be attributed to the concentrations >20 μg/m3 of PM10. Due to the lack of suitable database for recording death toll attributable to air pollutants, this software could be considered as an alternative for estimating the health effects of air pollutants.