Synergic Influence of Gaseous, Particulate, and Biological Pollutants on Human Health

This book is a unique merger of two divergent parts. The first part is a presentation of the existing knowledge on the characteristics of basic air pollutants and their documented impact on human health. The focus is on the main gaseous, airborne particles (including fiber particles) and biological pollutants. The first part is a literature review conducted by the authors who are actively engaged in studying the described pollutants. The second part contains a study of methods used for the evaluation and prognosis of health effects to exposure to particular pollutants.

Most of the chapters of this book go beyond the well-documented, solid facts and contain the authors' own evaluation of the utility and limitations of particular methods, as well as their suggestions for further studies. The reader who manages to wade through this part is sure to understand that the main drawback of the described methods is the impossibility to precisely assess the health effects of exposure to the combination of a few/many air pollutants, while one of the biggest problems is the effect of synergy. The last chapters of the book focus on the attempts to consider the effect of synergy and the analysis of the tedious work of many researchers to construct the tools enabling, to some extent, the prognosis of the health effects of simultaneous exposure to many air pollutants.

The book also reveals the synergism of pollutants and social problems, reinforcing the adverse health effect of the population living not only in highly industrialized areas, but also in postindustrial areas. According to the authors, the construction of suitable tools which would at least partially allow for the evaluation of the collective impact of social factors and the conglomerate of the air pollutants on health of particular communities constitutes a great challenge and may inspire the readers to think deeply on this subject.

This book is an invaluable volume for air protection professionals and Ph.D. students, environmental engineers, environmental health researchers, and public health policy makers.