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Airborne particulate matter in Tehran’s ambient air

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Abstract

In recent decades, particulate matter (PM) concentrations in Tehran have exceeded the World Health Organization’s (WHO) guideline on most days. In this study, a search protocol was defined by identifying the keywords, to carry out a systematic review of the concentrations and composition of PM in Tehran’s ambient air. For this purpose, searches were done in Scopus, PubMed, and Web of Science in 2019. Among the founded articles (197 in Scopus, 61 in PubMed, and 153 in Web of Science). The results show that in Tehran, the annual average PM10 exceeded the WHO guidelines and for more than 50.0% of the days, the PM2.5 concentration was more than WHO 24-h guidance value. The PM concentration in Tehran has two seasonal peaks due to poorer dispersion and suspension from dry land, respectively. Tehran has two daily PM peaks due to traffic and changes in boundary-layer heights; one just after midnight and the other during morning rush hour. Indoor concentrations of PM10 and PM2.5 in Tehran were 10.6 and 21.8 times higher than the corresponding values in ambient air. Tehran represents a unique case of problems of controlling PM because of its geographical setting, emission sources, and land use. This review provided a comprehensive assessment for decision makers to assist them in making appropriate policy decisions to improve the air quality. Considering factors such as diversity of resources, temporal and spatial variations, and urban location is essential in developing control plans. Also future studies should focus more on PM reduction plans.

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Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support given by the Research Center for Environmental Health Technology, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran (Grant Number: 98-4-61-16815).

Funding

This study was funded by Iran University of Medical Sciences (Grant Number: 98–4–61-16815).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Research Center for Environmental Health Technology, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Javad Torkashvand & Majid Kermani

  2. Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Public Health, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, IR, Iran

    Javad Torkashvand, Ahamd Jonidi Jafari & Majid Kermani

  3. Center for Air Resources Engineering and Science, Clarkson University, Potsdam, NY, USA

    Philip K. Hopke

  4. Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, NY, USA

    Philip K. Hopke

  5. Environmental and Occupational Hazards Control Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Abbas Shahsavani

  6. Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Public Health and Safety, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Abbas Shahsavani

  7. Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Mostafa Hadei

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  1. Javad Torkashvand
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  2. Ahamd Jonidi Jafari
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  3. Philip K. Hopke
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  4. Abbas Shahsavani
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  6. Majid Kermani
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Correspondence to Majid Kermani.

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Torkashvand, J., Jafari, A.J., Hopke, P.K. et al. Airborne particulate matter in Tehran’s ambient air. J Environ Health Sci Engineer 19, 1179–1191 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40201-020-00573-x

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