Title: “Health effects of air pollution: Going beyond particle mass concentrations”
Abstract
There is substantial evidence of adverse health effects of exposure to air pollution on human health from studies conducted primarily in Western
Europe and North America. However, these relate the health effects mostly to particle mass concentration and are at levels way lower than
observed in urban areas of low- and middle-income countries such as India. There is growing concern that particle mass concentration may not be
the best exposure metric and rather particle toxicity and composition may drive such effects. Thus, we have examined the chemical composition of
PM 2.5 and its oxidative potential for various source and atmospheric aerosols across India. Multiple oxidative potential assays together with
standard bulk particle composition analyses allow us to examine the spatial and temporal variability of fine aerosols and their potential for causing
adverse health effects. In this talk, our recent work in examining toxicity of fine particles and its potential drivers, from diverse real-world
vehicular traffic fleet including roadway tunnels, biomass burning, urban residential outdoor locations and regional background sites will be
presented. The implication of these findings on air quality regulation, policies, and society, at large will be further discussed.
About the Speaker
Dr. Harish C. Phuleria is an associate professor in Environmental Science and Engineering Department at IIT Bombay having about 20 years of experience on environmental monitoring, aerosols chemistry, exposure assessment and environmental health. His primary area of research is quantifying and characterizing the short- and long-term exposures to different environmental stressors such as air pollution and road traffic noise. Dr. Phuleria’s research group focuses on understanding the emissions from vehicular and biomass emissions sources, monitoring and modelling the long-term air pollution exposures in various microenvironments, quantifying toxic chemicals in human tissues and examining the effect of air pollution on children and adults’ health. He holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree in Chemistry from Delhi University and IIT Delhi, additional master’s degree in Environmental Science and Engineering from IIT Bombay and a PhD degree in Environmental Engineering from University of Southern California, Los Angeles, USA.
