6 Human Diseases Associated with Direct Inhalation of Metal-PM from
the Atmosphere . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
7 Management Strategies to Reduce Air Contamination by Metal-PM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
8 Future Perspectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
9 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Keywords Atmospheric contamination · Cancer · Inhalation · Dry/wet deposition ·
Hazard index · Metal bioaccumulation · Metal speciation · Plant foliar uptake
Abbreviations
ATSDR
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
EDI
Estimated daily intake
EPA
Environmental Protection Agency
ESEM
Environmental scanning electron microscopy
GIS
Geographic information system
GPS
Global positioning system
GSH
Glutathione
HI
Hazard index
HQ
Hazard quotient
ILTCR
Lifetime cancer risk
MDI
Maximum daily intake
Metal-PM Heavy metal-enriched particulate matter
PN
Particulate matter
ROS
Reactive oxygen species
SH
Thiol
THQ
Total hazard quotient
USEPA
United States Environmental Protection Agency
WHO
World Health Organization
XRD
X-ray diffraction
1 Introduction
The atmosphere plays a major role in contaminant cycle at the global scale. Atmospheric contamination by particulate matter (PM)-bound metals is a great issue for
the public and for government agencies worldwide owing to their highly toxic nature
(Popoola et al. 2018; Zhang et al. 2017). Heavy metal(loid)s constitute an important
class of atmospheric pollutants primarily because of their toxic effects on living
beings with high persistence, specific gravities, densities, atomic weights, and
tendency to bioaccumulate (Murtaza et al. 2019; Natasha et al. 2018a; Shahid
et al. 2014, 2017a; Shakoor et al. 2015). Therefore, several previous studies emphasized the need of understanding the fate, behavior, chemistry, biochemistry, ecology,
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