Describing Aerosol and Assessing Health Effects in Lima, Peru

The current study aims to discover the chemical-morphological characteristics of PM10 through the analysis of Inductively Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-AES) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), respectively, in the Metropolitan Area of Lima (MEAL) in the period from January 04 to 18, 2019. The study also aims to analyze the aerosol optical depth (AOD) in the period from January 1, 2014 to October 15, 2020. The effect of the PM2.5 concentrations on health in 2016 has also been quantified. The results indicate that the daily PM10 value of 50 μg/m3 recommended by the World Health Organization was exceeded on 75% of the monitored days. The morphological analysis of PM10 demonstrated the presence of particles of anthropogenic and geogenic origin. Particles from building activities and secondary aerosol formation were found, as well as particles associated with the resuspension of soil and marine aerosols. In 2016, 718, 1426, and 4295 cases of all-cause mortality, on average, could have been avoided in the MEAL if the annual average of PM2.5 would have decreased from 26.53 μg/m3 to 23.88 μg/m3, 21.22 μg/m3, or 10 μg/m3, respectively. In 2016, 1.58%, 3.14% and 9.47% of all causes are respectively attributed to fine aerosol (PM2.5) over 23.88 μg/m3, 21.22 μg/m3, and 10 μg/m3. Policy makers to legally reduce the PM2.5 concentrations in the MEAL could use this result.