QUANTIFICATION OF THE HEALTH EFFECTS OF EXPOSURE TO OZONE IN TABRIZ BY USING AIRQ MODEL

Health effects of air pollution have increased recently and there are a lot of
concerns. Troposphere ozone is a pollutant that mainly enters the body through the respiration. This
gas cause respiratory complications (reduced lung capacity, asthma, and nasal congestion), eye
burning sensation, and failure of immune defense against infectious diseases. This study was
conducted to examine the hygienic effects of ozone pollution in Tabriz since it is one of the polluted
Iranian metropolises.
Materials & Methods: Ozone data were taken from the Department of Environment Office of East
Azerbaijan Province in Tabriz (TDOE). Conversion between volumetric and gravimetric units
(correction of temperature and pressure), processing and filtering were implemented. The hygienic
effects resulting from exposure to ozone gas (such as mortality rates, Respiratory diseases,
cardiovascular diseases and COPD) were estimated using Air Quality Model in Tabriz.
Results: The results of this study showed that the relative risk (RR) attributed proportion (AP) and
cumulative of total mortality made by the ozone were 350 persons respectively in Tabriz. O3 (1 hour
average) and 98th percentile of ozone was 63.21 and 99.06 μg/m3 respectively. About 2.4% of the
cardiovascular mortalities, 0.27% of respiratory mortalities and 0.3% of the patient's hospitalization
suffering from the chronic pulmonary clogging have been attributed to more than 10 micrograms per
cubic meter of the ozone concentrations in Tabriz.
Conclusion: This study showed for 10 μg/m3 increase in ozone concentration, the risk of mortality
increased about 0.45%. Also the results of other studies showed ozone pollution in metropolitan of
Tabriz is approximately equal with Tehran. Therefore, air pollution in Tabriz must be considered as a
serious problem and requires the attention of the decision makers for the control of it. The higher
ozone pollutant value can depict mismanagement in urban air quality.