The risks of acute exposure to black carbon in Southern Europe: results from the MED-PARTICLES project.
OBJECTIVE
While several studies have reported associations of daily exposures to PM2.5 (particles less than 2.5 µm) with mortality, few studies have examined the impact of its constituents such as black carbon (BC), which is also a significant contributor to global climate change.


METHODS
We assessed the association between daily concentrations of BC and total, cardiovascular and respiratory mortality in two southern Mediterranean cities. Daily averages of BC were collected for 2 years in Barcelona, Spain and Athens, Greece. We used case-crossover analysis and examined single and cumulative lags up to 3 days.


RESULTS
We observed associations between BC and all mortality measures. For a 3-day moving average, cardiovascular mortality increased by 4.5% (95% CI 0.7 to 8.5) and 2.0% (95% CI 0 to 4.0) for an interquartile change in BC in Athens and Barcelona, respectively. Considerably higher effects for respiratory mortality and for those above age 65 were observed. In addition, BC exhibited much greater toxicity per microgram than generic PM2.5.


CONCLUSIONS
Our findings suggest that BC, derived in western industrialised nations primarily from diesel engines and biomass burning, poses a significant burden to public health, particularly in European cities with high-traffic density.
Air Pollution Epidemiology Section, Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, CAL EPA, Oakland, California, USA Centre for Research in Environmental Epidemiology, Barcelona Biomedical Research Park, Barcelona, Spain.
Bart
B
Ostro
Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research (IDAEA), Spanish Council for Scientific Research (CSIC), Barcelona, Spain.
Aurelio
A
Tobias
Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research (IDAEA), Spanish Council for Scientific Research (CSIC), Barcelona, Spain.
Angeliki
A
Karanasiou
Department of Hygiene, Epidemiology and Medical Statistics, Medical School, University of Athens, Athens, Greece.
Evangelia
E
Samoli
Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research (IDAEA), Spanish Council for Scientific Research (CSIC), Barcelona, Spain.
Xavier
X
Querol
Department of Hygiene, Epidemiology and Medical Statistics, Medical School, University of Athens, Athens, Greece.
Sophia
S
Rodopoulou
Centre for Research in Environmental Epidemiology, Barcelona Biomedical Research Park, Barcelona, Spain Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), Barcelona, Spain.
Xavier
X
Basagaña
ERL, Institute of Nuclear and Radiological Science & Technology, Energy & Safety N.C.S.R. Demokritos, Athens, Greece.
Kostas
K
Eleftheriadis
ERL, Institute of Nuclear and Radiological Science & Technology, Energy & Safety N.C.S.R. Demokritos, Athens, Greece.
Evangelia
E
Diapouli
ERL, Institute of Nuclear and Radiological Science & Technology, Energy & Safety N.C.S.R. Demokritos, Athens, Greece.
Stergios
S
Vratolis
Centre for Research in Environmental Epidemiology, Barcelona Biomedical Research Park, Barcelona, Spain Centre for Research in Epidemiology and Population Health, INSERM & UMRS, Villejuif, France.
Benedicte
B
Jacquemin
Department of Hygiene, Epidemiology and Medical Statistics, Medical School, University of Athens, Athens, Greece Department of Primary Care and Public Health Sciences, King's College, London, UK.
Klea
K
Katsouyanni
Centre for Research in Environmental Epidemiology, Barcelona Biomedical Research Park, Barcelona, Spain.
Jordi
J
Sunyer
Department of Epidemiology Lazio Region, Rome, Italy.
Francesco
F
Forastiere
Department of Epidemiology Lazio Region, Rome, Italy.
Massimo
M
Stafoggia
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D018533:Biomass; D002244:Carbon / Q000032:analysis*; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000401:mortality*; D002423:Cause of Death; D002648:Child; D018592:Cross-Over Studies; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005260:Female; D006115:Greece / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D052638:Particulate Matter / Q000032:analysis / Q000633:toxicity*; D012140:Respiratory Tract Diseases / Q000401:mortality*; D053260:Soot / Q000032:analysis*; D013030:Spain / Q000453:epidemiology; D001335:Vehicle Emissions
D052638:Particulate Matter; D053260:Soot; D001335:Vehicle Emissions; D002244:Carbon