{"id":172,"date":"2018-03-05T13:13:08","date_gmt":"2018-03-05T13:13:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/horizon.peachpuff-wolverine-566518.hostingersite.com\/?p=172"},"modified":"2018-05-29T23:44:57","modified_gmt":"2018-05-29T23:44:57","slug":"ultrafine-pollution-particles-create-air-of-menace","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/172\/ultrafine-pollution-particles-create-air-of-menace\/","title":{"rendered":"Ultrafine pollution particles create air of menace"},"content":{"rendered":"

An air quality study has for the first time detected nano-sized particles of air pollution in children\u2019s urine. With a diameter of just 100 nanometers\u00a0– a thousandth of the width of a human hair –\u00a0these ultrafine particles are the smallest particles found in air pollution and have been linked to heart disease and respiratory conditions in previous studies.<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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The research provides the first direct evidence that some of the particulate matter known as black carbon that we inhale in soot and fumes is making it across the lung barrier and into the body\u2019s circulatory system.<\/p>\n

The discovery, and\u00a0the development of the first urine test for UFP<\/a>, means that researchers can now tell how much internal exposure an individual has had to one of the most worrying pollutants, black-carbon nanoparticles.<\/p>\n

It is difficult to measure how much exposure an individual has received, so most studies of its prevalence and effects are done by mapping pollution levels in an area onto rates of population ill health.<\/p>\n

Black carbon<\/strong><\/p>\n

Black carbon is known to have the potential to cause cancer and it is a major component of air pollution. It is produced from the likes of hydrocarbons used in diesel engines and the burning of\u00a0coal and agricultural fields. Globally,\u00a0the World Health Organization estimates as many as 6.5 million premature deaths per year<\/a>\u00a0are attributable to air pollution.<\/p>\n

Professor Tim Nawrot, an environmental epidemiologist at the Centre for Environmental Sciences at Hasselt University in Belgium, and colleagues, have discovered a link between environmental air pollution and life expectancy by studying the DNA of newborn babies. In particular, they have analysed segments of DNA called telomeres, the length of which is linked to ageing and cell death.<\/p>\n

Telomeres are shorter in foetuses and newborn babies whose mothers live close to a main road. The foetuses of those who lived within 250 metres of a main road had 14% shorter telomeres than those who lived further than 250 metres away.<\/p>\n

The work was part of the ENVIRONAGE project, funded by the EU\u2019s European Research Council (ERC), to examine the link between environment and ageing. The next step was to find out whether ultrafine particles of air pollution had crossed from the lung into the blood and, to do so, the researchers took urine samples from 300 children aged 9-12 living in a rural area of Belgium.<\/p>\n

Together with Professor Marcel Ameloot a biophysicist at Hasselt University, they developed a new technique to analyse these samples which is now the subject of a patent application. The samples are illuminated with a laser that emits very short pulses of light, and then the carbon nanoparticles emit light which can be detected using a laser scanning microscope.<\/p>\n

Once the researchers had demonstrated that their technique could be used to detect nanoparticles of black carbon, they assessed the urine of the 300 children \u2013 and discovered that the closer a child was living to a main road, the more black carbon they had in their urine.<\/p>\n

The lungs are lined with a membrane that allows oxygen to diffuse through them and into the blood, but which has historically been thought to prevent the passage of other substances and small particles, so that air pollution is filtered out. However, this is now in question.<\/p>\n

\u2018It shows that the smallest particles really pass the lung barrier and if you find them in urine it means that they come into the blood circulation and go into every organ system,\u2019 said Prof. Nawrot. Although previous lab research has found radioactively labelled carbon nanoparticles in the blood, it did not demonstrate they could pass into the body in real-life settings when people have long-term exposure to low concentrations.<\/p>\n

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\u2018If you find (nanoaparticles) in urine it means that they come into the blood circulation and go into every organ system.\u2019<\/p>\n

Professor Tim Nawrot, Hasselt University, Belgium<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

At the moment the test is expensive and time-consuming but the team is working on a more affordable test and the work may lead to recommended exposure levels for black carbon.<\/p>\n

In another attempt to precisely measure environmental pollution, the ERC-funded Mobilisense trial is kitting out 1,000 Parisians\u00a0with an array of portable monitors to wear as they conduct their daily journeys.<\/p>\n

Pollution monitors<\/strong><\/p>\n

They will carry air pollutant, noise, heart rate and blood pressure monitors in order to measure how their commuting behaviour, whether walking, driving or taking public transport, compares to physical measurements, such as heart rate and blood pressure, as well as the air and noise pollution they encounter.<\/p>\n

Activity is seen as key to improving health in a sedentary world, and in recent years the importance of our daily travels as a source of physical activity has been recognised, says Dr Basile Chaix, director of research at the Pierre Louis Institute of Epidemiology and Public Health in Paris, France.<\/p>\n

The problem with getting people out of their cars and onto the street is that it may increase their exposure to fumes and noise. People spend up to a tenth of their time travelling but travel accounts for almost a third of their exposure to pollutants, he says.<\/p>\n

Dr Chaix aims to provide fine detail about travel and health that urban planners can use to work out how best to create a landscape in which people move around healthily, getting as much exercise as possible with minimum exposure to noise and air pollution.<\/p>\n

In research already completed, commuters in one area wore sensors that measured their activity, to gauge the effects of improving public transport. The scientists found that using public transport was associated with two to three additional minutes of physical activity per 10 minutes of trip, compared with doing the same journey by car.<\/p>\n

In a simulation, however, Dr Chaix demonstrated that a minority of commuters switched from walking to the improved public transport and thus actually reduced their physical exercise.<\/p>\n

By recording data on smartphones, the new research employs an approach known as \u2018ecological momentary assessment\u2019 \u2013 assessment that is performed on-site, moment-by-moment.<\/p>\n

\u2018We really want to push behavioural sciences one step further,\u2019 said Dr Chaix, adding that it is moment-by-moment analysis of the individual that could transform studies of health.<\/p>\n

Originally published on\u00a0Horizon<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

An air quality study has for the first time detected nano-sized particles of air pollution in children\u2019s urine. With a diameter of just 100 nanometers\u00a0– a thousandth of the width of a human hair –\u00a0these ultrafine particles are the smallest particles found in air pollution and have been linked to heart disease and respiratory conditions … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":316,"featured_media":173,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"generate_page_header":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,12],"tags":[124,79,24],"class_list":["post-172","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-earth-energy-environment","category-health","tag-air-pollution","tag-research","tag-science"],"yoast_head":"\nUltrafine pollution particles create air of menace - Horizon Magazine Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/172\/ultrafine-pollution-particles-create-air-of-menace\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ultrafine pollution particles create air of menace\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"An air quality study has for the first time detected nano-sized particles of air pollution in children\u2019s urine. 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But these air quality standards do not address the medical implications of the very\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Earth, Energy & Environment"","block_context":{"text":"Earth, Energy & Environment","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/category\/earth-energy-environment\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Air pollution standards currently focus on the mass concentration of particles smaller than 10 micrometres in diameter (PM10) or smaller than 2.5 micrometres (PM2.5). 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In response, European researchers are analysing exhaust particles down to one billionth of a metre, which may\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Earth, Energy & Environment"","block_context":{"text":"Earth, Energy & Environment","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/category\/earth-energy-environment\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Scientists are developing a device to trap and analyse ultrafine particles from car exhausts.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/07\/Trafic_Pantelimon_2.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/07\/Trafic_Pantelimon_2.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/07\/Trafic_Pantelimon_2.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/07\/Trafic_Pantelimon_2.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/07\/Trafic_Pantelimon_2.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/07\/Trafic_Pantelimon_2.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":530,"url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/530\/ceramic-honeycomb-air-filters-could-cut-city-pollution\/","url_meta":{"origin":172,"position":2},"title":"Ceramic honeycomb air filters could cut city pollution","author":"Catherine Collins","date":"October 30, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"A new type of outdoor filter that could cut city air pollution and is scheduled to be debuted at the 2024 Paris Olympics has been awarded the \u20ac3 million\u00a0Horizon Prize on materials for clean air. The prize, which was announced on 30 October at the Innovative Industries for Smart Growth\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Earth, Energy & Environment"","block_context":{"text":"Earth, Energy & Environment","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/category\/earth-energy-environment\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Prototype air filtering stations placed in Paris, France, helped to keep the level of particulates below World Health Organization thresholds. Image credit - Pollution event in Paris by Tangopaso and Mariordo is licensed under CC0 1.0","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/10\/paris-pollution.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/10\/paris-pollution.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/10\/paris-pollution.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/10\/paris-pollution.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/10\/paris-pollution.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/10\/paris-pollution.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1360,"url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/1360\/four-times-more-toxic-how-wildfire-smoke-ages-over-time\/","url_meta":{"origin":172,"position":3},"title":"\u2018Four times more toxic\u2019: How wildfire smoke ages over time","author":"Richard Gray","date":"July 22, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Enormous plumes of smoke thrown into the atmosphere by uncontrolled wildfires may be affecting the health of people living hundreds of miles away. Every year, thousands of fires engulf forests, grasslands and moors across Europe. In 2018, more than\u00a0204,861 hectares of land were left burnt\u00a0in Europe and other countries around\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Earth, Energy & Environment"","block_context":{"text":"Earth, Energy & Environment","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/category\/earth-energy-environment\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Smoke from wildfires can rise many kilometres into the stratosphere and cause air pollution in areas far away from where the flames actually were. Image credit - Pixabay\/Saiho, licenced under Pixabay licence","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/07\/wildfire-1826204_1280.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/07\/wildfire-1826204_1280.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/07\/wildfire-1826204_1280.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/07\/wildfire-1826204_1280.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/07\/wildfire-1826204_1280.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1506,"url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/1506\/black-carbon-and-other-pollution-seeds-clouds-were-just-starting-to-understand-the-climate-implications\/","url_meta":{"origin":172,"position":4},"title":"Black carbon and other pollution seeds clouds. We\u2019re just starting to understand the climate implications","author":"Anthony King","date":"November 30, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Particles\u00a0swirling around our atmosphere\u00a0add to\u00a0climate change, yet much about how they interact with\u00a0sunlight\u00a0and influence the seeding of clouds remains puzzling. Studies are lifting the lid on how these tiny\u00a0particles influence something as big as climate\u00a0by\u00a0analysing them from jet aircraft,\u00a0satellites\u00a0and ground measurements.\u00a0 The leading cause of climate change is rising levels\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Earth, Energy & Environment"","block_context":{"text":"Earth, Energy & Environment","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/category\/earth-energy-environment\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Clouds that form in a polluted area will have different properties from those that form around natural particles such as desert dust. 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Hundreds of patients were arriving in desperate need as they struggled to breathe, while intensive care units struggled to cope with the sudden influx of respiratory problems. Epidemiologists scrambled to trace the source of the outbreak.\u00a0 This\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Earth, Energy & Environment"","block_context":{"text":"Earth, Energy & Environment","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/category\/earth-energy-environment\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"90% of brain development happens by the age of four, so scientists want to understand the effects of air pollution at the earliest stages of life. 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