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Selected Works of Ying Li
Article
Burden of Disease Attributed to Anthropogenic Air Pollution in the United Arab Emirates: Estimates Based on Observed Air Quality Data
Science of the Total Environment (2010)
  • Ying Li, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
  • Jacqueline MacDonald Gibson, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
  • Prahlad Jat, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
  • Gavino Puggioni, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
  • Mejs Hasan, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
  • J. Jason West, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
  • William Vizuete, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
  • Kenneth Sexton, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
  • Marc L. Serre, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
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Abstract
This study quantifies the national burden of disease attributed to particulate matter (PM) and ozone (O3) in ambient air in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), a rapidly growing nation in which economic development and climatic conditions pose important challenges for air quality management. Estimates of population exposure to these air pollutants are based on observed air quality data from fixed-site monitoring stations. We divide the UAE into small grid cells and use spatial–statistical methods to estimate the ambient pollutant concentrations in each cell based on the observed data. Premature deaths attributed to PM and O3 are computed for each grid cell and then aggregated across grid cells and over a year to estimate the total number of excess deaths attributable to ambient air pollution. Our best estimate is that approximately 545 (95% CI: 132–1224) excess deaths in the UAE in the year 2007 are attributable to PM in ambient air. These excess deaths represent approximately 7% (95% CI: 2–17%) of the total deaths that year. We attribute approximately 62 premature deaths (95% CI: 17–127) to ground-level O3 for the year 2007. Uncertainty in the natural background level of PM, due to the frequent dust storms occurring in the region, has significant impacts on the attributed mortality estimates. Despite the uncertainties associated with the integrated assessment framework, we conclude that anthropogenic ambient air pollution, in particular PM, causes a considerable public health impact in the UAE in terms of premature deaths. We discuss important uncertainties and scientific hypotheses to be investigated in future work that might help reduce the uncertainties in the burden of disease estimates.
Keywords
  • environmental burden of disease,
  • mortality,
  • ambient air pollution,
  • exposure assessment,
  • risk assessment,
  • relative risk,
  • United Arab Emirates
Disciplines
Publication Date
September 9, 2010
DOI
10.1016/j.scitotenv.2010.08.017
Citation Information
Ying Li, Jacqueline MacDonald Gibson, Prahlad Jat, Gavino Puggioni, et al.. "Burden of Disease Attributed to Anthropogenic Air Pollution in the United Arab Emirates: Estimates Based on Observed Air Quality Data" Science of the Total Environment Vol. 408 Iss. 23 (2010) p. 5784 - 5793 ISSN: 1879-1026
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/ying-li/2/