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New study: A high concentration of nanometer particles was found to be associated with inflammatory indices in the respiratory tract in subjects from the Haifa area

(haipo) - A first study of its kind conducted in collaboration with the Ministry of Environmental Protection, the Ministry of Health and the Ichilov Hospital, examined the relationship between nanometer particle load and health risks in the Haifa Bay compared to Gush Dan, using biological monitoring in body fluids; the study found a positive relationship between high concentrations of nanometer-sized particles in samples EBC (respiratory condensation) for inflammatory indices in the respiratory tract in subjects from the Haifa area.

Dr. Isabella Karkis, Director of the Department of Environmental Epidemiology in the Public Health Division of the Ministry of Health:
"The Ministry of Health accompanied the study with the understanding that the findings and their effects on public health are important, since studies of this type make it possible to advance the regulatory process in lowering the level of environmental exposure and thus prevent morbidity. The biological monitoring carried out in the study checks the human reactions at the cellular level of the respiratory system, and the initial reactions of the people exposed to air pollutants, constitute indicators for assessing health status even before the manifestation of the disease, so that it is possible to start examining the relevant treatment in the early stages of the disease and even prevent it."

Prof. Lizzie Fairman, Director of the Environment and Employment Research Laboratory at the Ichilov Hospital (1992-2023) and faculty of the Department of Environment and Employment at the School of Public Health, Tel Aviv University School of Medicine: "Small nanometer-sized particles are the most dangerous for the human body. Being so small, they escape the immune system and through the bubbles of the lung manage to reach the bloodstream. So the damage is focused on the lungs and also on other systems such as blood vessels, connective tissues, etc. The future research that will examine exposure to infection Air must expand the range and not limit it to micrometer-sized particles."

The Ministry of Environmental Protection, the Ministry of Health and the Tel Aviv Medical Center Ichilov informed Lahi Pa:

A first study of its kind examined the relationship between nanometer particle load and health risks in Haifa Bay compared to Gush Dan through biological monitoring in body fluids; The study, conducted in Ichilov, with the support and accompaniment of the Ministry of Environmental Protection and the cooperation of the Ministry of Health, found a positive relationship between high concentrations of nanometer-sized particles in EBC (respiratory condensation) samples and inflammatory indices in the respiratory tract in subjects from the Haifa area.

The research was carried out by Prof. Lizzie Fairman, director of an environmental occupational laboratory - Tel Aviv Medical Center, Mor Dahabesh, MsC, the research coordinator and data processing manager with the support and assistance of Dr. Amelia Hardak, director of the pulmonary unit at Bnei Zion Hospital in Haifa.

Samples from police officers

At the beginning of the study, a population of police officers in Tel Aviv and Haifa were compared to students in Tel Aviv and Haifa. These populations were selected to check whether the pollution in Haifa and Tel Aviv is the result of traffic pollution and not other pollution. This phase of the study did not find significant differences in all the indices tested but it included a small number of subjects.

In the police population, the biological samples tested were sputum and fluid samples from the lungs which are obtained in a very simple way: the air we emit is at a temperature of 37 degrees, and if it is cooled it becomes a liquid. This action is called Condensate in English. This liquid reflects the liquid above the cells lining the respiratory tract and all the particles we breathe every day are in this liquid. With this simple method it is possible to obtain samples that contain many particles that we are interested in testing.

The effects of the corona virus

The corona epidemic affected the research and therefore it was necessary to change the research methods and the population of the subjects. The researchers were not allowed to recruit police officers nor to collect sputum samples, because the way the sample was taken created particles that increased the risk of contracting the corona virus. As an alternative, medical teams at Bnei Zion Hospital in Haifa and Tel Aviv Medical Center were tested. Instead of sputum, saliva samples were tested.

In addition, in this part of the study, the researchers also examined lung function, examination of inflammatory cells and chemical substances in saliva. The presence of very small nanometer-sized particles, and the content of metals in pulmonary condensation fluid were also tested.

Using the Latent Class Analysis (=LCA) statistical method, a group of subjects characterized by a high Body Mass Index (BMI), a high concentration of small nanometer-sized particles in the respiratory tract, and a high concentration of the LDH-Lactic Dehydrogenase enzyme (this enzyme checks damage in the respiratory tract) and a high percentage of lymphocytes in saliva. In this group there was a high number of Haifa residents. The subjects in this group reported more allergic symptoms, annoying cough and the presence of a lot of phlegm in the respiratory tract.
In addition, it was found that among the Haifa population the concentration of metals such as molybdenum (Mo), niobium (Nb) and zirconium (Zr) was higher compared to the other groups in the study.

Reducing air pollution in the Gulf

According to the researchers, a small population was tested, and although the researchers tried to neutralize the effect of the corona epidemic, in their opinion it may have had a masking effect. The researchers believe that there is a need for further research on the effect of small nanometer-sized particles in larger populations and their research supports actions to reduce air pollution in the Gulf.

Alongside the promotion of the government's plan to stop the activity of the petrochemical industry in Haifa Bay, the Ministry of Environmental Protection continues the supervision and enforcement actions, which in the last decade have resulted in a significant reduction and decrease in emissions and concentrations in the environment of air pollutants in Haifa Bay.

contact: At watsapBy email

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6 תגובות

  1. And with constant exposure for 7 months to the dust of a rock crusher in some building and finding bacteria and fungus in the lungs and urinary tract coughing and a lot of phlegm in Kiryat Yam?

  2. Stupid research
    Compare breathing problems in
    Policemen in Tel Aviv
    In front of students in Haifa.
    And they say that the pollution in Haifa is similar to Tel Aviv.

    As far as I know
    Police officers in Tel Aviv are at sea level and students in Haifa live and breathe in Rosh Carmel a few hundred meters above sea level. The wind has already removed the pollution of Haifa Bay. And that's how health research comes out.
    Return the money to the fund that funded such research.

  3. How much more money will be thrown on studies that have already been done many times, and the results are also known. And as it is said: "There is nothing new in the West"...
    ...and in the east...and in the north...and in the south,

    • And I'm sure there are also in the Center and Sharon. People need to wake up and realize how common respiratory diseases and infections are in recent years and how many deaths they cause. I don't understand how people don't realize that they are poisoning us on a daily basis instead of caring for healing. Really playing the role of God.

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