Particle lung deposited surface area (LDSAal) size distributions in different urban environments and geographical regions: Towards understanding of the PM2.5 dose-response

Teemu Lepistö; Henna Lintusaari; Anna Oudin; Luis M F Barreira; Jarkko V Niemi; Panu Karjalainen; Laura Salo; Ville Silvonen; Lassi Markkula; Jussi Hoivala; Petteri Marjanen; Sampsa Martikainen; Minna Aurela; Felipe Reyes Reyes; Pedro Oyola; Heino Kuuluvainen; Hanna E Manninen; Roel P F Schins; Michal Vojtisek-Lom; Jakub Ondracek; Jan Topinka; Hilkka Timonen; Pasi Jalava; Sanna Saarikoski; Topi Rönkkö

doi:10.1016/j.envint.2023.108224

Particle lung deposited surface area (LDSA^al) size distributions in different urban environments and geographical regions: Towards understanding of the PM_2.5 dose-response

Environ Int. 2023 Oct:180:108224. doi: 10.1016/j.envint.2023.108224. Epub 2023 Sep 20.

Authors

Teemu Lepistö¹, Henna Lintusaari², Anna Oudin³, Luis M F Barreira⁴, Jarkko V Niemi⁵, Panu Karjalainen², Laura Salo², Ville Silvonen², Lassi Markkula², Jussi Hoivala², Petteri Marjanen², Sampsa Martikainen², Minna Aurela⁴, Felipe Reyes Reyes⁶, Pedro Oyola⁶, Heino Kuuluvainen², Hanna E Manninen⁵, Roel P F Schins⁷, Michal Vojtisek-Lom⁸, Jakub Ondracek⁹, Jan Topinka¹⁰, Hilkka Timonen⁴, Pasi Jalava¹¹, Sanna Saarikoski⁴, Topi Rönkkö²

Affiliations

¹ Aerosol Physics Laboratory, Physics Unit, Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences, Tampere University, Tampere 33014, Finland. Electronic address: teemu.lepisto@tuni.fi.
² Aerosol Physics Laboratory, Physics Unit, Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences, Tampere University, Tampere 33014, Finland.
³ Umeå University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Public Health and Clinical Medicine, Section of Sustainable Health, Sweden; Division of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
⁴ Atmospheric Composition Research, Finnish Meteorological Institute, Helsinki 00101, Finland.
⁵ Helsinki Region Environmental Services Authority HSY, Helsinki 00066, Finland.
⁶ Centro Mario Molina Chile, Santiago, Chile.
⁷ IUF-Leibniz Research Institute for Environmental Medicine, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany.
⁸ Centre of Vehicles for Sustainable Mobility, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Czech Technical University in Prague, Prague 160 00, Czechia.
⁹ Laboratory of Aerosol Chemistry and Physics, ICPF CAS, Prague 165 00, Czechia.
¹⁰ Department of Genetic Toxicology and Epigenetics, Institute of Experimental Medicine AS CR, 142 20 Prague, Czechia.
¹¹ Inhalation Toxicology Laboratory, Department of Environmental and Biological Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio 70211, Finland.

PMID: 37757619
DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2023.108224

Abstract

Recent studies indicate that monitoring only fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) may not be enough to understand and tackle the health risk caused by particulate pollution. Health effects per unit PM_2.5 seem to increase in countries with low PM_2.5, but also near local pollution sources (e.g., traffic) within cities. The aim of this study is to understand the differences in the characteristics of lung-depositing particles in different geographical regions and urban environments. Particle lung deposited surface area (LDSA^al) concentrations and size distributions, along with PM_2.5, were compared with ambient measurement data from Finland, Germany, Czechia, Chile, and India, covering traffic sites, residential areas, airports, shipping, and industrial sites. In Finland (low PM_2.5), LDSA^al size distributions depended significantly on the urban environment and were mainly attributable to ultrafine particles (<100 nm). In Central Europe (moderate PM_2.5), LDSA^al was also dependent on the urban environment, but furthermore heavily influenced by the regional aerosol. In Chile and India (high PM_2.5), LDSA^al was mostly contributed by the regional aerosol despite that the measurements were done at busy traffic sites. The results indicate that the characteristics of lung-depositing particles vary significantly both within cities and between geographical regions. In addition, ratio between LDSA^al and PM_2.5 depended notably on the environment and the country, suggesting that LDSA^al exposure per unit PM_2.5 may be multiple times higher in areas having low PM_2.5 compared to areas with continuously high PM_2.5. These findings may partly explain why PM_2.5 seems more toxic near local pollution sources and in areas with low PM_2.5. Furthermore, performance of a typical sensor based LDSA^al measurement is discussed and a new LDSA^al_2.5 notation indicating deposition region and particle size range is introduced. Overall, the study emphasizes the need for country-specific emission mitigation strategies, and the potential of LDSA^al concentration as a health-relevant pollution metric.

Keywords: Exposure; Human respiratory tract; Particulate matter; Regional aerosol; Ultrafine particles; Urban air quality.