Research report (Health Effects Institute)
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Res Rep Health Eff Inst · Nov 2000
Daily mortality and fine and ultrafine particles in Erfurt, Germany part I: role of particle number and particle mass.
Increases in morbidity and mortality have been observed consistently and coherently in association with ambient air pollution. A number of studies on short-term effects have identified ambient particles as a major pollutant in urban air. This study, conducted in Erfurt, Germany, investigated the association of mortality not only with ambient particles but also with gaseous pollutants and indicators of sources. ⋯ Furthermore, the results for SO2 were inconsistent with those from earlier studies conducted in Erfurt. We conclude that both fine particles (represented by particle mass) and ultrafine particles (represented by particle number) showed independent effects on mortality at ambient concentrations. Comparable associations for gaseous pollutants were interpreted as artifacts of collinearity with particles from the same sources.