Overview
Under the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, Minister of Finance, and Chairman of Dubai Municipality, we are proud to announce the "EnviroCities 2008 International Conference" that the Environmental Center for Arab Towns (ECAT) is jointly organizing with the Harvard School of Public Health. The theme of this year' conference will be 'Sources and Health Effects of Air Pollution: Knowledge to Practice'. Over 20 renowned researchers from around the world will be invited to bring together the current state of science for air pollution sources and their health impacts on the community.
Over the past fifteen years, an ever-increasing number of epidemiologic studies have shown significant associations between the concentrations of particulate and gaseous air pollutants and adverse respiratory and cardiovascular health effects. These effects include excess rates of daily and annual mortality, hospital admissions, emergency room and clinician visits for respiratory and cardiac diseases, increased usage of medications, and lost time from work and school. Similarly, inhalation exposures of human or experimental animals to air pollutants have made a substantial contribution to advancing our understanding of biological mechanisms whereby pollutants can produce adverse health effects.
In spite of the great progress made in assessing the adverse health effects of air pollution, linking health outcomes to specific sources has been challenging. This is mostly due to the fact that individuals are exposed to pollutants from multiple sources, which makes it difficult to assess human exposures to specific source emissions. Recent technological advances in geographic information systems, spatial statistics, air pollution models, outdoor and personal exposure monitoring, remote sensing and source emission monitoring, have enabled exposure and health effects scientists to assess population risks as they relate to different pollution source types. This will be critical to our efforts to develop cost effective emission control strategies to minimize risks and progress towards solutions.
