Temporal Trend of PM10 and the Associated Risk to Human Health in the Lima Metropolitan Area

De La Cruz Rojas L.; Hinostroza L.V.; Tolentino D.Á.; Durand R.P.; Rojas R.A.; De La Cruz A.H.; Caysahuana A.C.; Alfaro J.M.; Mancilla D.B. · International Journal of Sustainable Development and Planning (2025) · DOI: 10.18280/ijsdp.200338

Resumen

Based on the monthly average of PM10 and the 90th percentile of PM10 concentration, respectively, the study's goal was to assess the risk to human health posed by PM10 exposure for residents of the Metropolitan Area of Lima (MAL), Peru, in both the best-case and worst-case scenarios. The National Meteorology and Hydrology Service (SENAMHI) published hourly PM10 concentrations for five monitoring stations from 2010 to 2023. The air quality index (AQI) was used to evaluate the quality of the air. Since there is no toxicity value (TVs) for PM10, the yearly limit value set by the World Health Organization (WHO, 15 µg/m3) and the European Union (EU, 40 µg/m3) was used to generate the hazard quotient (HQ) to assess the danger to human health. The average annual PM10 concentration was higher than the annual limit set by the EU and WHO, ranging from 45.1 µg/m3 to 96.1 µg/m3. According to the AQI, Lima's air quality is categorized as moderate to unhealthy, with most days having dangerous levels. While WHO AQG indicated a potential chronic non-carcinogenic health risk in most months of the year, the worst-case scenario indicated a non-carcinogenic risk for the majority of the period. In the best-case scenario and worst-case scenario based on the EU, both showed higher potential chronic non-cancer risk in the summer and spring months.

Instituciones: Universidad Tecnológica del Perú; Universidad Nacional del Centro del Perú; Universidad Nacional Intercultural de la Selva Central Juan Santos Atahualpa; Universidad Peruana Unión