Exposure Assessment of Air Pollution in Lungs

• Published in: Atmosphere Vol. 13; no. 11; p. 1767
• Main Authors: Paul, Akshoy Ranjan, Jain, Anuj, Saha, Suvash C
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI AG 01.10.2022
• Subjects: Aerosols; Agricultural production; Air flow; Air pollution; Air quality; Air quality indexes; Cardiopulmonary system; Computer applications; Distribution; Efficiency; Environmental aspects; exposure assessment; Health aspects; human airways; Inhalation; Literature reviews; Lung cancer; Nitrogen dioxide; Outdoor air quality; Particle deposition; Particles; Particulate emissions; Particulate matter; Pollutants; Pollution surveys; regional deposition fraction (RDF); Research methodology; Researchers; Respiration; Respiratory diseases; Respiratory organs; respiratory suspended particulate matter (RSPM); Respiratory system; Surveying; Suspended particulate matter; Three dimensional models; Turbulence models; India
• ISSN: 2073-4433; 2073-4433
• DOI: 10.3390/atmos13111767

In this article, a comprehensive literature survey on air pollution and its effects on the human respiratory system is carried out. Based on the knowledge gaps, a computational assessment is proposed to find the impact of air quality on respiratory suspended particulate matter (RSPM) deposition in the human airways. A realistic 3D geometric model of the human airway was constructed to study the airflow characteristics and RSPM (PM2.5 and PM10) transport and deposition in it for normal and moderate inhalation patterns (corresponding to natural breathing) of air having an unhealthy air quality index (AQI). The results identify inertial impact as the primary mechanism of particle deposition in the human airways. They also reveals the significant differences in the deposition patterns of PM2.5 and PM10 in the right and left bronchial airways.