AOSC Seminar by Dr. Jos Lelieveld, 9/2/2021
AOSC Seminar
Dr. Jos Lelieveld
Max-Planck Institute
Title: Impacts of air pollution on public health
Abstract:
The long-term exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5), nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and ozone (O3) poses a main public health risk. We used a data-informed global atmospheric model, applying an updated emission inventory and recent exposure-response functions to estimate the health burdens of air pollutants from different source categories. We estimated excess mortality from PM2.5 and O3 among children and adults, and the NO2-related new asthma incidence among children and adolescents. We also distinguished black carbon (BC), primary organic aerosols (POA) and anthropogenic secondary organic aerosols (aSOA), which are more harmful than other PM2.5 constituents, related to their high oxidative potential in the epithelial lining fluid of the lungs. Considering these species to be approximately twice as hazardous as other PM2.5 compounds, domestic energy use emerges as a leading cause of mortality attributable to PM2.5, notably in Asia and Africa, while in Europe and America the use of fossil fuels predominates. We find that globally, the mean loss of life expectancy from air pollution surpasses that of HIV/AIDS and infectious diseases by a large margin, exceeds that from all forms of violence by an order of magnitude, and rivals that of tobacco smoking.
Bio:
Jos Lelieveld did his PhD work at the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry in Mainz, Germany, and received his PhD degree from the Faculty of Physics and Astronomy at Utrecht University, the Netherlands (1990). He was at Stockholm University (1991) and the University of California, San Diego (1992), and held professorships at Wageningen University from 1993 (Air Quality) and Utrecht University from 1995 (Atmospheric Physics and Chemistry). In 2000 he became director at the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry. Since 2008, he is also affiliated at the Cyprus Institute in Nicosia, Cyprus. Further, he is spokesperson of a graduate school, associated editor of several scientific journals, and a member of the German national academy of sciences. He published about 500 articles, for which he received international distinctions. His research addresses atmospheric chemistry, climate change and planetary health.
Contact: Russ Dickerson
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AOSC Seminar
Pre-seminar refreshment: N/A
Seminar: 3:30-4:30pm, Zoom
Meet-the-Speaker: 4:30-5:00pm, Zoom [For AOSC Students only]
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