Schatting van het gezondheidsrisico van stadsbewoners door blootstelling aan luchtverontreiniging tijdens winterepisoden en het effect van verkeersbeperkende maatregelen

Abstract

Winter episodes occur when strong high pressure areas prevail over central Europe. Easterly winds transport emissions from Eastern European source areas, this results in relatively high levels of acidic gasses and, partly acid, aerosols in Western Europe. During a worst-case winter episode 24 h-means concentrations of 500 mug/m3 for sulfurdioxide (SO2) 440 mug/m3 for aerosol and 200 mug/m3 for nitrogenoxide can be reached in the larger cities in the southern part of the Netherlands. Health effects of wintersmog were and still are mainly correlated with increased levels of SO2 and aerosol of which the (acid)secondary aerosol is thought to be an important causative factor. Exposure to a worst case winterepisode mixture may cause the following health effects: 1. Increase of airway complaints and symptoms in persons with cardiovascular and respiratory diseases eventually leading to hospital admissions. 2. Possibly a slightly increased mortality in persons with serious cardiovascular and respiratory diseases and for persons with a delicate health. 3. Decrease of lungfunction in healthy children and adults that holds on for several weeks after the end of the episode. A total limitation of traffic in a city with more than 300.000 inhabitants may result in a decreased health risk of maximally 15% and of about 30% in those streets with very heavy traffic.<br>