Since air pollutants are difficult and expensive to control, a strong scientific underpinning to policies is needed to guide mitigation aimed at reducing the current burden on public health. Much of the evidence concerning hazard identification and risk quantification related to air pollution comes from epidemiological studies. This must be reinforced with mechanistic confirmation to infer causality. In this review we focus on data generated from four contrasting sources of particulate air pollution that result in high population exposures and thus where there remains an unmet need to protect health: urban air pollution in developing megacities, household biomass combustion, wildfires and desert dust storms. Taking each in turn, appropriate measures to protect populations will involve advocating smart cities and addressing economic and behavioural barriers to sustained adoption of clean stoves and fuels. Like all natural hazards, wildfires and dust storms are a feature of the landscape that cannot be removed. However, many efforts from emission containment (land/fire management practices), exposure avoidance and identifying susceptible populations can be taken to prepare for air pollution episodes and ensure people are out of harm’s way when conditions are life-threatening. Communities residing in areas affected by unhealthy concentrations of any airborne particles will benefit from optimum communication via public awareness campaigns, designed to empower people to modify behaviour in a way that improves their health as well as the quality of the air they breathe.

中文翻译：

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空气中颗粒物毒性和健康影响的全球性质：关注特大城市、野火、沙尘暴和住宅生物质燃烧。

由于空气污染物难以控制且成本高昂，因此需要强有力的政策科学基础来指导旨在减轻当前公共卫生负担的缓解措施。与空气污染相关的危害识别和风险量化的大部分证据来自流行病学研究。必须通过机械确认来推断因果关系来加强这一点。在本次审查中，我们重点关注四种不同的颗粒空气污染来源产生的数据，这些来源导致人口高暴露，因此在哪些方面仍然存在保护健康的需求：发展中的特大城市的城市空气污染、家庭生物质燃烧、野火和沙漠沙尘暴. 依次取每个，保护人口的适当措施将涉及倡导智慧城市，并解决持续采用清洁炉灶和燃料的经济和行为障碍。像所有自然灾害一样，野火和沙尘暴是无法消除的景观特征。然而，可以通过排放控制（土地/火灾管理实践）、避免接触和识别易感人群等方面的许多努力来为空气污染事件做好准备，并确保人们在危及生命的情况下免受伤害。居住在受任何空气传播颗粒不健康浓度影响的地区的社区将受益于通过公众宣传活动进行的最佳沟通，旨在使人们能够以改善他们的健康和他们呼吸的空气质量的方式改变行为。