Health Impact Assessment of the Ambient PM2.5 Concentration in Karaj, Iran, during 2012-2015

Background: Perfectly clean air cannot be found in nature. It contains a certain abundance of particles, including dust, dirt, soot, smoke, and liquid droplets. Mounting evidence indicates increase in particle concentrations and health effects attributed to them in developing countries. In this work, we focused on the determination of number of cardiovascular, respiratory diseases and total death associated with PM2.5 in Karaj city during 2012 to 2015. Material and Methods: The health effects of PM2.5 concentrations in ambient air of Karaj was determined using AirQ+ software. Air pollution data was obtained from the Department of Environmental Protection of this city. To validate the data, WHO criterion was performed. After all, data processed by Excel was given to the model. Results: The annual average PM2.5 concentrations in ambient air of this city during the study was higher than WHO health protective guideline (10 µg m–3). The concentration of pollutant has been reduced during the study period but there is a sudden increase in 2015. In addition, the most attributable proportion was estimated in Karaj in 2012 (59.04% for long-term and 5.86 for short-term effects). PM2.5 exposure has caused 275 and 60 natural deaths due to long-term and short-term exposure in 2012 which is unexpected. Conclusion: Regarding the health effects of PM2.5 in ambient air of Karaj city, the importance of controlling air pollution in this metropolis is becoming increasingly evident.