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Temporal and spatial trends of airborne asbestos fiber concentrations in the urban areas of Yazd, Iran

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Abstract

Asbestos fibers are serious health hazards that cause diseases such as lung fibrosis (asbestosis), lung cancer and mesothelioma of the pleura. Thus, the aim of this study was to measure the concentration of asbestos fibers in urban areas of Yazd city. Totally, 60 samples were collected from low, moderate and high traffic areas of Yazd. The sampling of asbestos fibers was carried out by an SKC sampling pump with a flow rate of 10 L/min. The ambient air samples were studied using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy-dispersive X-ray analysis. The mean of asbestos fibers concentrations in the ambient air of the study areas was 9.51 fiber/l. The highest geometric mean of asbestos fibers was found in the southeast of Yazd city. No clear correlation was found between asbestos fibers concentrations and metrological data (p > 0.05, r < 0. 2). The mean concentrations of asbestos fibers in all the sampling points were higher than the standards suggested by World Health Organization for ambient air (2.2 SEM fiber/l). Also, the mean concentration of asbestos fibers in the sampling stations in winter (10.89 fiber/l) was higher than that in summer (8.13 fiber/l). Due to the high volume of traffic, more commuter students, travelers, commuters and tourists, the occurrence of subsequent inversion resulting from cold weather and mechanical corrosion of asbestos-cement sheets caused by rainfalls.

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Acknowledgements

This paper was inspired by the results of a Research project no. 4522 approved by Environmental Science and Technology Research Center, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran. The writers are grateful to The Deputy of Research Department of Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences for providing this research project with the required financial and credit.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Health Engineering, Environmental Science and Technology Research Center, School of Health, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran

    M. Mokhtari, A. Mohammadi & A. Abdolahnejad

  2. Department of Environmental Health Engineering, Environmental Research Center, School of Health, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran

    N. Jafari & Y. Hajizadeh

  3. Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Health, Qazvin University of Medical Sciences, Qazvin, Iran

    R. Ghanbari

  4. Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Health, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Urmia, Iran

    S. Nemati

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  1. M. Mokhtari
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  2. N. Jafari
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  3. A. Mohammadi
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  4. Y. Hajizadeh
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  5. R. Ghanbari
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  6. S. Nemati
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  7. A. Abdolahnejad
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Correspondence to A. Abdolahnejad.

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Editorial responsibility: M. Abbaspour.

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Mokhtari, M., Jafari, N., Mohammadi, A. et al. Temporal and spatial trends of airborne asbestos fiber concentrations in the urban areas of Yazd, Iran. Int. J. Environ. Sci. Technol. 16, 2657–2666 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13762-018-1858-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13762-018-1858-9

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