Assessment of PM2.5 concentrations on Human Health: A case study of Delhi, India

Abstract:

Connection of air quality with human health is well established in the literature. However the associated health risks due to fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) concentration is not well known in India, while the assigned mean threshold values are 60 μg/m³ for 24-hour period and 40 μg/m³ for annual period. Both are considered safe concentration limits regarding human health effects. However, the daily and annually concentrations of PM_2.5 were observed more than three times of NAAQS in the present study for a year. This study relates the incessant exposure to significant levels of PM_2.5 to deleterious health effects, such as heart and lung diseases. The relation between environmental air quality and human health has been studied through different parameters e.g., hazard quotient (HQ), lifetime incremental cancer risk (LICR), and individual risk for different groups of ages in Delhi, the capital city of India. These analysis lead to additional insights into health disparities and may suggest that more rigorous strategies. This may be application to other urban areas across the nation. In this study, we propose to quantify such impacts through estimation of different health risk factors.