Abstract

This study investigated the short-term effects of exposure particulate matter (PM10) in Zabol, Iran, from 2013 to 2015. The concentrations of PM10 recorded from 2013 to 2015 were given as the input to the software (AirQ 2.2.3) developed by the World Health Organization (WHO) to estimate the attributed proportion of the health effects and the number of excess cases related to total mortality (TM), cardiovascular mortality (CM), respiratory mortality (RM), hospital admissions due to cardiovascular disease (HACD), and hospital admissions due to respiratory disease (HARD). According to the data, 73 days during 2013-2014 and 144 days during 2014-2015 in Zabol exceeded the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) guideline limits. This finding indicates the impact of the windy period on the ambient air condition of Zabol's airshed. Moreover, the number of excess cases attributed to TM, CM, RM, HACD, and HARD per 100,000 people was estimated as 182, 96, 18, 94, and 243 individuals during 2013-2014. However, these values increased by about 50% during 2014-2015. This significant level of health effects of PM10 on the residents of Zabol necessitates urgent controlling/management actions to reduce dust storms in this region.