Respiratory disease and particulate air pollution in Santiago Chile: contribution of erosion particles from fine sediments.
Air pollution in Santiago is a serious problem every winter, causing thousands of cases of breathing problems within the population. With more than 6 million people and almost two million vehicles, this large city receives rainfall only during winters. Depending on the frequency of storms, statistics show that every time it rains, air quality improves for a couple of days, followed by extreme levels of air pollution. Current regulations focus mostly on PM10 and PM2.5, due to its strong influence on respiratory diseases. Though more than 50% of the ambient PM10s in Santiago is represented by soil particles, most of the efforts have been focused on the remaining 50%, i.e. particulate material originating from fossil and wood fuel combustion, among others. This document emphasizes the need for the creation of erosion/sediment control regulations in Chile, to decrease respiratory diseases on Chilean polluted cities.
Instituto Forestal, Santiago, Chile; Department of Hydrology and Water Resources, University of Arizona, 1133 E. James E. Rogers Way, PO Box 210011, Tucson, AZ 85721-0011, USA. Electronic address: pablogarciach@gmail.com.
Pablo A
PA
Garcia-Chevesich
División de Epidemiología, Escuela de Salud Pública, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile; Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad de Tarapacá, Arica, Chile.
Sergio
S
Alvarado
USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Flagstaff, AZ, USA.
Daniel G
DG
Neary
Department of Hydrology and Water Resources, University of Arizona, 1133 E. James E. Rogers Way, PO Box 210011, Tucson, AZ 85721-0011, USA; Facultad de Ingeniería Forestal, Universidad de Talca, Talca, Chile.
Rodrigo
R
Valdes
Department of Hydrology and Water Resources, University of Arizona, 1133 E. James E. Rogers Way, PO Box 210011, Tucson, AZ 85721-0011, USA.
Juan
J
Valdes
Instituto Forestal, Santiago, Chile.
Juan José
JJ
Aguirre
Universidad Andrés Bello, Santiago, Chile.
Marcelo
M
Mena
Facultad de Ingeniería Forestal, Universidad de Talca, Talca, Chile. Electronic address: rpizarro@utalca.cl.
Roberto
R
Pizarro
Instituto Forestal, Santiago, Chile.
Paola
P
Jofré
Facultad de Ingeniería Forestal, Universidad de Talca, Talca, Chile.
Mauricio
M
Vera
Facultad de Ingeniería Forestal, Universidad de Talca, Talca, Chile.
Claudio
C
Olivares
D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D000397:Air Pollution / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D002677:Chile / Q000453:epidemiology; D002947:Cities / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D052638:Particulate Matter / Q000032:analysis*; D012140:Respiratory Tract Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012621:Seasons
D000393:Air Pollutants; D052638:Particulate Matter
Air pollution; Erosion; PM10; Santiago; Sedimentation