Ambient air quality and health risks as objective indicators to estimate effectiveness of air protection in cities included into the ‘Clean air’ federal project

It is important to estimate effectiveness and results achieved by measures implemented within the ‘Clean Air’ Federal project as regards public health in cities included into it. The aim of this study was to analyze changes in levels of ambient air pollution and airborne health risks in cities included into the ‘Clean Air’ Federal project in dynamics over 2020-2022 and to estimate whether the measures aimed at reduction of emissions were adequate to risk rates and factors. The study relied on analyzing the results of field observations over ambient air quality within social and hygienic monitoring. Monitoring covered priority chemicals that made 95 % contributions to impermissible health risks according to dispersion calculations. Risk assessment was performed as per standard algorithms and indicators. Adequacy of air protection and correctness of its orientation were estimated in Norilsk as an example city. The study established that levels of harmful chemicals in ambient were higher than hygienic standards over the analyzed period in all the cities participating in the project. We did not detect any significant reduction in ambient air pollution; there were no positive trends in health risks rates either. In 2022, a risk of respiratory diseases under chronic exposure was ranked as high (hazard index or HI 10.5÷43) in Chelyabinsk, Mednogorsk, Norilsk, Krasnoyarsk, Lipetsk, and Chita; it was ranked as ‘alerting’ in Bratsk, Chita, Novokuznetsk, Magnitogorsk, and Omsk (HI 4.0÷5.8), A permissible risk was identified over the analyzed period only in Cherepovets (HI function show_eabstract() { $('#eabstract1').hide(); $('#eabstract2').show(); $('#eabstract_expand').hide(); }