Characterization and in vitro biological effects of ambient air PM₁₀ from a rural, an industrial and an urban site in Sulaimani City, Iraq

Abstract

High urban atmospheric pollution is caused by economic and industrial growth, especially in developing countries. The objective of this study was to assess possible relationships between in vitro effects on human alveolar epithelial cells of source-related dust types collected at Sulaimani City (Iraq), and to determine their mineralogical and chemical composition. A passive sampler was used to collect dust particles at a rural, an industrial and an urban sampling site during July and August 2014. The samples were size-fractionated by a low-pressure impactor to obtain respirable dust with aerodynamic diameters of less than 10 µm. The dust was mainly composed of quartz and calcite. Chrysotile fibers (white asbestos) were also found at the urban site. Dust from the industrial and urban sites triggered cytotoxic and genotoxic effects in the cells, whereas only minor effects were observed for the sample from the rural site.

Keywords:

• Ambient air PM₁₀
• A549 lung cells
• toxicity
• Sulaimani City
• Iraq

Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank Jean-Luc Besombes (Université Savoie Mont Blanc, LCME Laboratory Molecular Chemistry and Environment Chambéry, France) for PAHs analysis. ATA sincerely thanks the KurdDAAD scholarship program (57076440) for awarding him a Ph.D. Fellowship. The findings are not the official opinions of NIEHS or NIH. We are grateful to the two reviewers and the editor, whose comments helped us greatly improve the manuscript.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported in part by P30-ES013508 awarded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS).