New concentration-response functions for seven morbidity endpoints associated with short-term PM exposure and their implications for health impact assessment.

Background: Morbidity burdens from ambient air pollution are associated with market and non-market costs and are therefore important for policymaking. The estimation of morbidity burdens is based on concentration-response functions (CRFs). Most existing CRFs for short-term exposures to PM assume a fixed risk estimate as a log-linear function over an extrapolated exposure range, based on evidence primarily from Europe and North America.

New seasonal pattern of pollution emerges from changing North American wildfires.

Rising emissions from wildfires over recent decades in the Pacific Northwest are known to counteract the reductions in human-produced aerosol pollution over North America. Since amplified Pacific Northwest wildfires are predicted under accelerating climate change, it is essential to understand both local and transported contributions to air pollution in North America. Here, we find corresponding increases for carbon monoxide emitted from the Pacific Northwest wildfires and observe significant impacts on both local and down-wind air pollution.

Exploration of the Global Burden of Dementia Attributable to PM2.5: What Do We Know Based on Current Evidence?

Exposure to ambient PM pollution has been linked to multiple adverse health effects. Additional effects have been identified in the literature and there is a need to understand its potential role in high prevalence diseases. In response to recent indications of PM as a risk factor for dementia, we examine the evidence by systematically reviewing the epidemiologic literature, in relation to exposure from ambient air pollution, household air pollution, secondhand smoke, and active smoking.

The Effects of Heat Exposure on Human Mortality Throughout the United States.

Exposure to high ambient temperatures is an important cause of avoidable, premature death that may become more prevalent under climate change. Though extensive epidemiological data are available in the United States, they are largely limited to select large cities, and hence, most projections estimate the potential impact of future warming on a subset of the U.S.

Impacts of air pollutants from rural Chinese households under the rapid residential energy transition.

Rural residential energy consumption in China is experiencing a rapid transition towards clean energy, nevertheless, solid fuel combustion remains an important emission source. Here we quantitatively evaluate the contribution of rural residential emissions to PM (particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter less than 2.5 μm) and the impacts on health and climate.

Fuel Use Trends for Boiling Water in Rural China (1992-2012) and Environmental Health Implications: A National Cross-Sectional Study.

Survey data from a comprehensive national survey of ∼34 000 households were analyzed for the mix status and transition trajectory of energy for boiling water in rural Chinese households from 1992 to 2012. In 1992, ∼6% of households reported using electricity, biogas, or liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) to boil drinking water; in 2012, the proportion was ∼60%. Income per capita appeared most strongly associated with this transition toward electricity and other clean fuels.

Impacts of rural worker migration on ambient air quality and health in China: From the perspective of upgrading residential energy consumption.

In China, rural migrant workers (RMWs) are employed in urban workplaces but receive minimal resources and welfare. Their residential energy use mix (REM) and pollutant emission profiles are different from those of traditional urban (URs) and rural residents (RRs). Their migration towards urban areas plays an important role in shaping the magnitudes and spatial patterns of pollutant emissions, ambient PM (fine particulate matter with a diameter smaller than 2.

Urbanization-induced population migration has reduced ambient PM concentrations in China.

Direct residential and transportation energy consumption (RTC) contributes significantly to ambient fine particulate matter with a diameter smaller than 2.5 μm (PM) in China. During massive rural-urban migration, population and pollutant emissions from RTC have evolved in terms of magnitude and geographic distribution, which was thought to worsen PM levels in cities but has not been quantitatively addressed.

Direct Energy Consumption Associated Emissions by Rural-to-Urban Migrants in Beijing.

Hundreds of millions of rural residents have migrated to cities in China in recent years. Different lifestyles and living conditions lead to substantial changes in their household energy. Here, we present the result of a survey on direct household energy use of low-skilled rural-to-urban migrants in Beijing.