Health impact assessment of exposure to PM10 in Ilam city using Air Q software

Air pollution is a major environmental issue in the world that can be harmful for human health. The aim of this study was to determine the health impacts of particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter ≤10μm (PM10) in Ilam in 2013 and 2014. The air pollution data were obtained from the Ilam Department of Environmental Protection. The data were analyzed by Excel software, and the annual mortality and morbidity due to cardiovascular and respiratory diseases attributed to PM10 exposure were estimated by Air Q software. According to the results, the average of annual, winter, and summer PM10 concentration was 68.1, 46.7, and 89.3 μg/m3, respectively, in 2013. In 2014, the average annual, winter, and summer PM10 concentrations were 51.4, 40.3, and 62.6 μg/m3, respectively. The total mortality, cardiovascular mortality, respiratory mortality, and hospital admissions due to cardiovascular and respiratory diseases in 2013 were estimated at 89, 47, 9, 46, and 119 cases, respectively, and in 2014 they were estimated at 64, 33, 6, 33 and 85 cases, respectively. The results revealed that 9.6% of total mortality in 2013 and 5.8% total mortality in 2014 were associated with concentrations of more than 20 μg/m3 PM10 concentration. Therefore, it is concluded that exposure to PM10 can increase morbidity and mortality. Thus, urgent and substantial actions to deal with the adverse effects of particulate matters are found to be necessary.