Displaying publications 141 - 160 of 476 in total

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  1. Syazwan A, Rafee BM, Hafizan J, Azman A, Nizar A, Izwyn Z, et al.
    PMID: 22570579 DOI: 10.2147/RMHP.S26567
    To meet the current diversified health needs in workplaces, especially in nonindustrial workplaces in developing countries, an indoor air quality (IAQ) component of a participatory occupational safety and health survey should be included.
    Matched MeSH terms: Air Pollution, Indoor
  2. Mohd Jaafar MN, Eldrainy YA, Mat Ali MF, Wan Omar WZ, Mohd Hizam MF
    Environ Sci Technol, 2012 Feb 21;46(4):2445-50.
    PMID: 22296110 DOI: 10.1021/es2025005
    The problems of global warming and the unstable price of petroleum oils have led to a race to develop environmentally friendly biofuels, such as palm oil or ethanol derived from corn and sugar cane. Biofuels are a potential replacement for fossil fuel, since they are renewable and environmentally friendly. This paper evaluates the combustion performance and emission characteristics of Refined, Bleached, and Deodorized Palm Oil (RBDPO)/diesel blends B5, B10, B15, B20, and B25 by volume, using an industrial oil burner with and without secondary air. Wall temperature profiles along the combustion chamber axis were measured using a series of thermocouples fitted axially on the combustion chamber wall, and emissions released were measured using a gas analyzer. The results show that RBDPO blend B25 produced the maximum emission reduction of 56.9% of CO, 74.7% of NOx, 68.5% of SO(2), and 77.5% of UHC compared to petroleum diesel, while air staging (secondary air) in most cases reduces the emissions further. However, increasing concentrations of RBDPO in the blends also reduced the energy released from the combustion. The maximum wall temperature reduction was 62.7% for B25 at the exit of the combustion chamber.
    Matched MeSH terms: Air Pollutants/analysis*; Air Pollution/prevention & control
  3. Awang N, Jamaluddin F
    J Environ Public Health, 2014;2014:408275.
    PMID: 25136371 DOI: 10.1155/2014/408275
    This study was carried out to determine the concentration of lead (Pb), anions, and cations at six primary schools located around Kuala Lumpur. Low volume sampler (MiniVol PM10) was used to collect the suspended particulates in indoor and outdoor air. Results showed that the concentration of Pb in indoor air was in the range of 5.18 ± 1.08 μg/g-7.01 ± 0.08 μg/g. All the concentrations of Pb in indoor air were higher than in outdoor air at all sampling stations. The concentrations of cations and anions were higher in outdoor air than in indoor air. The concentration of Ca(2+) (39.51 ± 5.01 mg/g-65.13 ± 9.42 mg/g) was the highest because the cation existed naturally in soil dusts, while the concentrations of NO3 (-) and SO4 (2-) were higher in outdoor air because there were more sources of exposure for anions in outdoor air, such as highly congested traffic and motor vehicles emissions. In comparison, the concentration of NO3 (-) (29.72 ± 0.31 μg/g-32.00 ± 0.75 μg/g) was slightly higher than SO4 (2-). The concentrations of most of the parameters in this study, such as Mg(2+), Ca(2+), NO3 (-), SO4 (2-), and Pb(2+), were higher in outdoor air than in indoor air at all sampling stations.
    Matched MeSH terms: Air Pollutants/analysis*; Air Pollution, Indoor/analysis*
  4. Syazwan A, Rafee BM, Juahir H, Azman A, Nizar A, Izwyn Z, et al.
    Drug Healthc Patient Saf, 2012;4:107-26.
    PMID: 23055779 DOI: 10.2147/DHPS.S33400
    To analyze and characterize a multidisciplinary, integrated indoor air quality checklist for evaluating the health risk of building occupants in a nonindustrial workplace setting.
    Matched MeSH terms: Air Pollution, Indoor
  5. Abushammala MF, Basri NE, Basri H, Kadhum AA, El-Shafie AH
    Environ Monit Assess, 2013 Jun;185(6):4919-32.
    PMID: 23054277 DOI: 10.1007/s10661-012-2913-5
    Methane (CH₄) is one of the most relevant greenhouse gases and it has a global warming potential 25 times greater than that of carbon dioxide (CO₂), risking human health and the environment. Microbial CH₄ oxidation in landfill cover soils may constitute a means of controlling CH₄ emissions. The study was intended to quantify CH₄ and CO₂ emissions rates at the Sungai Sedu open dumping landfill during the dry season, characterize their spatial and temporal variations, and measure the CH₄ oxidation associated with the landfill cover soil using a homemade static flux chamber. Concentrations of the gases were analyzed by a Micro-GC CP-4900. Two methods, kriging values and inverse distance weighting (IDW), were found almost identical. The findings of the proposed method show that the ratio of CH₄ to CO₂ emissions was 25.4 %, indicating higher CO₂ emissions than CH₄ emissions. Also, the average CH₄ oxidation in the landfill cover soil was 52.5 %. The CH₄ and CO₂ emissions did not show fixed-pattern temporal variation based on daytime measurements. Statistically, a negative relationship was found between CH₄ emissions and oxidation (R(2) = 0.46). It can be concluded that the variation in the CH₄ oxidation was mainly attributed to the properties of the landfill cover soil.
    Matched MeSH terms: Air Pollutants/analysis*; Air Pollution/statistics & numerical data
  6. Edimansyah BA, Rusli BN, Naing L, Azwan BA, Aziah BD
    PMID: 19323052
    The purpose of this study was to determine the indoor air quality (IAQ) status of an automotive assembly plant in Rawang, Selangor, Malaysia using selected IAQ parameters, such as carbon dioxide (CO2), carbon monoxide (CO), temperature, relative humidity (RH) and respirable particulate matter (PM10). A cross-sectional study was conducted in the paint shop and body shop sections of the plant in March 2005. The Q-TRAK Plus IAQ Monitor was used to record the patterns of CO, CO2, RH and temperature; whilst PM10 was measured using DUSTTRAK Aerosol Monitor over an 8-hour time weight average (8-TWA). It was found that the average temperatures, RH and PM10 in the paint shop section and body shop sections exceeded the Department of Safety and Health (DOSH) standards. The average concentrations of RH and CO were slightly higher in the body shop section than in the paint shop section, while the average concentrations of temperature and CO2 were slightly higher in the paint shop section than in the body shop section. There was no difference in the average concentrations of PM10 between the two sections.
    Matched MeSH terms: Air Pollutants, Occupational/analysis*; Air Pollution, Indoor/analysis*
  7. Hassan R, Mohd Yusof M, Kamarudin NA
    Malays J Med Sci, 2010 Oct;17(4):67-70.
    PMID: 22135564 MyJurnal
    An atlanto-occipital dislocation is a rare airbag-induced injury in trauma patients. We report a case of an atlanto-occipital dislocation in a 6-year-old patient who was an unrestrained passenger in the front seat of a vehicle involved in a low-speed motor vehicle accident. This case illustrates the fatal threat of airbag deployment to the child passenger travelling in the vehicle front seat even in a low-speed collision, and supports the recommendation that children under 12 years of age travelling in vehicles with dual airbag systems should be seated in the back.
    Matched MeSH terms: Air Bags
  8. Ahmad Sarji S, Wan Abdullah W, Wastie M
    Biomed Imaging Interv J, 2006 Apr;2(2):e21.
    PMID: 21614228 DOI: 10.2349/biij.2.2.e21
    To examine the role of imaging in diagnosing and assessing fungal infections in paediatric patients undergoing chemotherapy in a facility, which had high fungal air contamination due to adjacent building construction work.
    Matched MeSH terms: Air Pollution
  9. Abdullah MZ, Saat AB, Hamzah ZB
    Environ Monit Assess, 2012 Jun;184(6):3959-69.
    PMID: 21822578 DOI: 10.1007/s10661-011-2236-y
    Biomonitoring of multi-element atmospheric deposition using terrestrial moss is a well-established technique in Europe. Although the technique is widely known, there were very limited records of using this technique to study atmospheric air pollution in Malaysia. In this present study, the deposition of 11 trace metals surrounding the main petroleum refinery plant in Kerteh Terengganu (eastern part of peninsular Malaysia) has been evaluated using two local moss species, namely Hypnum plumaeforme and Taxithelium instratum as bioindicators. The study was also done by means of observing whether these metals are attributed to work related to oil exploration in this area. The moss samples have been collected at 30 sampling stations in the vicinity of the petrochemical industrial area covering up to 15 km to the south, north, and west in radius. The contents of heavy metal in moss samples were analyzed by energy dispersive x-ray fluorescence technique. Distribution of heavy metal content in all mosses is portrayed using Surfer software. Areas of the highest level of contaminations are highlighted. The results obtained using the principal components analysis revealed that the elements can be grouped into three different components that indirectly reflected three different sources namely anthropogenic factor, vegetation factor, and natural sources (soil dust or substrate) factor. Heavy metals deposited mostly in the distance after 9 km onward to the western part (the average direction of wind blow). V, Cr, Cu, and Hg are believed to have originated from local petrochemical-based industries operated around petroleum industrial area.
    Matched MeSH terms: Air Pollutants/analysis*; Air Pollution/statistics & numerical data
  10. Latif MT, Baharudin NH, Velayutham P, Awang N, Hamdan H, Mohamad R, et al.
    Environ Monit Assess, 2011 Oct;181(1-4):479-89.
    PMID: 21181256 DOI: 10.1007/s10661-010-1843-3
    The renovation of a building will certainly affect the quality of air in the vicinity of where associated activities were undertaken, this includes the quality of air inside the building. Indoor air pollutants such as particulate matter, heavy metals, and fine fibers are likely to be emitted during renovation work. This study was conducted to determine the concentration of heavy metals, asbestos and suspended particulates in the Biology Building, at the Universiti Kebangsaan, Malaysia (UKM). Renovation activities were carried out widely in the laboratories which were located in this building. A low-volume sampler was used to collect suspended particulate matter of a diameter size less than 10 μm (PM₁₀) and an air sampling pump, fitted with a cellulose ester membrane filter, were used for asbestos sampling. Dust was collected using a small brush and scope. The concentration of heavy metals was determined through the use of inductively coupled plasma-mass spectroscopy and the fibers were counted through a phase contrast microscope. The concentrations of PM₁₀ recorded in the building during renovation action (ranging from 166 to 542 μg m⁻³) were higher than the value set by the Department of Safety and Health for respirable dust (150 μg m⁻³). Additionally, they were higher than the value of PM₁₀ recorded in indoor environments from other studies. The composition of heavy metals in PM₁₀ and indoor dust were found to be dominated by Zn and results also showed that the concentration of heavy metals in indoor dust and PM₁₀ in this study was higher than levels recorded in other similar studies. The asbestos concentration was 0.0038 ± 0.0011 fibers/cc. This was lower than the value set by the Malaysian Department of Occupational, Safety and Health (DOSH) regulations of 0.1 fibers/cc, but higher than the background value usually recorded in indoor environments. This study strongly suggests that renovation issues need to be considered seriously by relevant stakeholders within the university in order to ensure that the associated risks toward humans and indoor environment are eliminated, or where this is not feasible, minimized as far as possible.
    Matched MeSH terms: Air Pollutants/analysis*; Air Pollution, Indoor/statistics & numerical data*
  11. Omar M, Sulaiman I, Hassan A, Wood AK
    Radiat Prot Dosimetry, 2007;124(4):400-6.
    PMID: 17510205
    Measurements of external radiation level, radon/thoron daughters concentrations in air and uranium/thorium concentrations in airborne mineral dust at 16 amang plants in Malaysia were carried out for three consecutive months to assess radiation dose to workers. Estimated occupational dose was within the range of 1.7-10.9 mSv y(-1). The mean total dose at the amang plants was 4.1 mSv y(-1). Overall, it was found that the major dose contribution of 80% came from external radiation. Radon/thoron daughters and airborne mineral dust contributed to only 11 and 9% of the total dose, respectively.
    Matched MeSH terms: Air Pollutants, Occupational/analysis*; Air Pollutants, Radioactive/analysis
  12. Alam A, Azam M, Abdullah AB, Malik IA, Khan A, Hamzah TA, et al.
    Environ Sci Pollut Res Int, 2015 Jun;22(11):8392-404.
    PMID: 25537287 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-014-3982-5
    Environmental quality indicators are crucial for responsive and cost-effective policies. The objective of the study is to examine the relationship between environmental quality indicators and financial development in Malaysia. For this purpose, the number of environmental quality indicators has been used, i.e., air pollution measured by carbon dioxide emissions, population density per square kilometer of land area, agricultural production measured by cereal production and livestock production, and energy resources considered by energy use and fossil fuel energy consumption, which placed an impact on the financial development of the country. The study used four main financial indicators, i.e., broad money supply (M2), domestic credit provided by the financial sector (DCFS), domestic credit to the private sector (DCPC), and inflation (CPI), which each financial indicator separately estimated with the environmental quality indicators, over a period of 1975-2013. The study used the generalized method of moments (GMM) technique to minimize the simultaneity from the model. The results show that carbon dioxide emissions exert the positive correlation with the M2, DCFC, and DCPC, while there is a negative correlation with the CPI. However, these results have been evaporated from the GMM estimates, where carbon emissions have no significant relationship with any of the four financial indicators in Malaysia. The GMM results show that population density has a negative relationship with the all four financial indicators; however, in case of M2, this relationship is insignificant to explain their result. Cereal production has a positive relationship with the DCPC, while there is a negative relationship with the CPI. Livestock production exerts the positive relationship with the all four financial indicators; however, this relationship with the CPI has a more elastic relationship, while the remaining relationship is less elastic with the three financial indicators in a country. Energy resources comprise energy use and fossil fuel energy consumption, both have distinct results with the financial indicators, as energy demand have a positive and significant relationship with the DCFC, DCPC, and CPI, while fossil fuel energy consumption have a negative relationship with these three financial indicators. The results of the study are of value to both environmentalists and policy makers.
    Matched MeSH terms: Air Pollutants/analysis; Air Pollution/analysis
  13. Suhaimi NF, Jalaludin J
    Biomed Res Int, 2015;2015:962853.
    PMID: 25984536 DOI: 10.1155/2015/962853
    Some of the environmental toxicants from air pollution include particulate matter (PM10), fine particulate matter (PM2.5), and ultrafine particles (UFP). Both short- and long-term exposure could result in various degrees of respiratory health outcomes among exposed persons, which rely on the individuals' health status.

    METHODS: In this paper, we highlight a review of the studies that have used biomarkers to understand the association between air particles exposure and the development of respiratory problems resulting from the damage in the respiratory system. Data from previous epidemiological studies relevant to the application of biomarkers in respiratory system damage reported from exposure to air particles are also summarized.

    RESULTS: Based on these analyses, the findings agree with the hypothesis that biomarkers are relevant in linking harmful air particles concentrations to increased respiratory health effects. Biomarkers are used in epidemiological studies to provide an understanding of the mechanisms that follow airborne particles exposure in the airway. However, application of biomarkers in epidemiological studies of health effects caused by air particles in both environmental and occupational health is inchoate.

    CONCLUSION: Biomarkers unravel the complexity of the connection between exposure to air particles and respiratory health.

    Matched MeSH terms: Air Pollutants/toxicity*; Air Pollution/adverse effects
  14. Hariri A, Paiman NA, Leman AM, Md Yusof MZ
    Iran J Public Health, 2014 Aug;43(8):1045-59.
    PMID: 25927034
    This study aimed to develop an index that can rank welding workplace that associate well with possible health risk of welders.
    Matched MeSH terms: Air Pollutants, Occupational
  15. Wahid NB, Latif MT, Suan LS, Dominick D, Sahani M, Jaafar SA, et al.
    Bull Environ Contam Toxicol, 2014 Mar;92(3):317-22.
    PMID: 24435135 DOI: 10.1007/s00128-014-1201-1
    This study aims to determine the composition and sources of particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter of 10 μm or less (PM10) in a semi-urban area. PM10 samples were collected using a high volume sampler. Heavy metals (Fe, Zn, Pb, Mn, Cu, Cd and Ni) and cations (Na(+), K(+), Ca(2+) and Mg(2+)) were detected using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, while anions (SO4 (2-), NO3 (-), Cl(-) and F(-)) were analysed using Ion Chromatography. Principle component analysis and multiple linear regressions were used to identify the source apportionment of PM10. Results showed the average concentration of PM10 was 29.5 ± 5.1 μg/m(3). The heavy metals found were dominated by Fe, followed by Zn, Pb, Cu, Mn, Cd and Ni. Na(+) was the dominant cation, followed by Ca(2+), K(+) and Mg(2+), whereas SO4 (2-) was the dominant anion, followed by NO3 (-), Cl(-) and F(-). The main sources of PM10 were the Earth's crust/road dust, followed by vehicle emissions, industrial emissions/road activity, and construction/biomass burning.
    Matched MeSH terms: Air Pollutants/analysis*; Air Pollution/statistics & numerical data*
  16. Soyiri IN, Reidpath DD
    PLoS One, 2013;8(10):e78215.
    PMID: 24147122 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0078215
    Forecasting higher than expected numbers of health events provides potentially valuable insights in its own right, and may contribute to health services management and syndromic surveillance. This study investigates the use of quantile regression to predict higher than expected respiratory deaths. Data taken from 70,830 deaths occurring in New York were used. Temporal, weather and air quality measures were fitted using quantile regression at the 90th-percentile with half the data (in-sample). Four QR models were fitted: an unconditional model predicting the 90th-percentile of deaths (Model 1), a seasonal/temporal (Model 2), a seasonal, temporal plus lags of weather and air quality (Model 3), and a seasonal, temporal model with 7-day moving averages of weather and air quality. Models were cross-validated with the out of sample data. Performance was measured as proportionate reduction in weighted sum of absolute deviations by a conditional, over unconditional models; i.e., the coefficient of determination (R1). The coefficient of determination showed an improvement over the unconditional model between 0.16 and 0.19. The greatest improvement in predictive and forecasting accuracy of daily mortality was associated with the inclusion of seasonal and temporal predictors (Model 2). No gains were made in the predictive models with the addition of weather and air quality predictors (Models 3 and 4). However, forecasting models that included weather and air quality predictors performed slightly better than the seasonal and temporal model alone (i.e., Model 3 > Model 4 > Model 2) This study provided a new approach to predict higher than expected numbers of respiratory related-deaths. The approach, while promising, has limitations and should be treated at this stage as a proof of concept.
    Matched MeSH terms: Air Pollutants/toxicity; Air Pollution/adverse effects
  17. Syed Abdul Mutalib SN, Juahir H, Azid A, Mohd Sharif S, Latif MT, Aris AZ, et al.
    Environ Sci Process Impacts, 2013 Sep;15(9):1717-28.
    PMID: 23831918 DOI: 10.1039/c3em00161j
    The objective of this study is to identify spatial and temporal patterns in the air quality at three selected Malaysian air monitoring stations based on an eleven-year database (January 2000-December 2010). Four statistical methods, Discriminant Analysis (DA), Hierarchical Agglomerative Cluster Analysis (HACA), Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs), were selected to analyze the datasets of five air quality parameters, namely: SO2, NO2, O3, CO and particulate matter with a diameter size of below 10 μm (PM10). The three selected air monitoring stations share the characteristic of being located in highly urbanized areas and are surrounded by a number of industries. The DA results show that spatial characterizations allow successful discrimination between the three stations, while HACA shows the temporal pattern from the monthly and yearly factor analysis which correlates with severe haze episodes that have happened in this country at certain periods of time. The PCA results show that the major source of air pollution is mostly due to the combustion of fossil fuel in motor vehicles and industrial activities. The spatial pattern recognition (S-ANN) results show a better prediction performance in discriminating between the regions, with an excellent percentage of correct classification compared to DA. This study presents the necessity and usefulness of environmetric techniques for the interpretation of large datasets aiming to obtain better information about air quality patterns based on spatial and temporal characterizations at the selected air monitoring stations.
    Matched MeSH terms: Air Pollutants/analysis*; Air Pollution/analysis*
  18. Abushammala MF, Basri NE, Elfithri R
    Environ Monit Assess, 2013 Dec;185(12):9967-78.
    PMID: 23797636
    Methane (CH₄) emissions and oxidation were measured at the Air Hitam sanitary landfill in Malaysia and were modeled using the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change waste model to estimate the CH₄ generation rate constant, k. The emissions were measured at several locations using a fabricated static flux chamber. A combination of gas concentrations in soil profiles and surface CH₄ and carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions at four monitoring locations were used to estimate the CH₄ oxidation capacity. The temporal variations in CH₄ and CO₂ emissions were also investigated in this study. Geospatial means using point kriging and inverse distance weight (IDW), as well as arithmetic and geometric means, were used to estimate total CH₄ emissions. The point kriging, IDW, and arithmetic means were almost identical and were two times higher than the geometric mean. The CH₄ emission geospatial means estimated using the kriging and IDW methods were 30.81 and 30.49 gm(−2) day(−1), respectively. The total CH₄ emissions from the studied area were 53.8 kg day(−1). The mean of the CH₄ oxidation capacity was 27.5 %. The estimated value of k is 0.138 year(−1). Special consideration must be given to the CH₄ oxidation in the wet tropical climate for enhancing CH₄ emission reduction.
    Matched MeSH terms: Air Pollutants/analysis*; Air Pollution/statistics & numerical data
  19. Raaschou-Nielsen O, Beelen R, Wang M, Hoek G, Andersen ZJ, Hoffmann B, et al.
    Environ Int, 2016 Feb;87:66-73.
    PMID: 26641521 DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2015.11.007
    Particulate matter (PM) air pollution is a human lung carcinogen; however, the components responsible have not been identified. We assessed the associations between PM components and lung cancer incidence.
    Matched MeSH terms: Air Pollution
  20. Mohamad N, Latif MT, Khan MF
    Ecotoxicol Environ Saf, 2016 Feb;124:351-362.
    PMID: 26590697 DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2015.11.002
    This study aimed to investigate the chemical composition and potential sources of PM10 as well as assess the potential health hazards it posed to school children. PM10 samples were taken from classrooms at a school in Kuala Lumpur's city centre (S1) and one in the suburban city of Putrajaya (S2) over a period of eight hours using a low volume sampler (LVS). The composition of the major ions and trace metals in PM10 were then analysed using ion chromatography (IC) and inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), respectively. The results showed that the average PM10 concentration inside the classroom at the city centre school (82µg/m(3)) was higher than that from the suburban school (77µg/m(3)). Principal component analysis-absolute principal component scores (PCA-APCS) revealed that road dust was the major source of indoor PM10 at both school in the city centre (36%) and the suburban location (55%). The total hazard quotient (HQ) calculated, based on the formula suggested by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), was found to be slightly higher than the acceptable level of 1, indicating that inhalation exposure to particle-bound non-carcinogenic metals of PM10, particularly Cr exposure by children and adults occupying the school environment, was far from negligible.
    Matched MeSH terms: Air Pollutants/analysis; Air Pollution, Indoor/analysis*
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