Air pollution in Iceland and the effects on human health. Review

Abstract

This review is on air pollution in Iceland and how it affects human health. Air pollution can be described as a condition, where levels of compounds in the atmosphere are so high that it has undesirable or harmful effects on the general public or undesirable effects on the nature, flora and fauna, or man-built structures. Air pollution can have anthropogenic sources such as burning of fossil fuels, or natural sources such as volcanic eruptions, geothermal areas, and resuspension of soil (sandstorms). Air pollution decreases quality of health and shortens the lifespan. The health effects of air pollution can be divided into direct effects on health where, air pollution causes diseases and indirect effects, where air pollution increases symptoms of underlying diseases. Health protection limits are defined for certain ambient air pollutants. They are to act as reference levels for safe for individuals and are put forth to protect long-term human health. Outdoor air quality has been measured on a regular basis in Reykjavik since 1986. For the first years, only PM10 was measured on a single station, but over the years the number of pollutants measured has increased and more measuring stations have been added. In Iceland air quality is considered very good in general and the ambient pollutant concentrations are usually within defined limits. This is explained by multiple factors such as size of the country and other geographical features as well as weather conditions. Natural disasters can cause increased air pollutant concentrations, as recent volcano eruptions have shown. Several studies have been conducted on the association of air pollution and health of the Icelandic population, but it is essential that this association be examined further to increase the knowledge of adverse health effects of air pollution in Iceland.