Carcinogenic Risk of Air Particles in the Moravian-Silesian Region (Czech Republic)

Abstract

The complex and systematic description of morphological, mineralogical, physicochemical and toxicological features of urban and rural particulate matter PM10 is essential because of their harmful impacts on human health condition. The exposure to ambient particulate matter PM10 is known to be able to trigger inflammatory process, allergic reaction of different type, modification of DNA and carcinogenic transformation of many various cell types of the human body. The effects mentioned above have been confirmed with lots of in vitro and in vivo studies. Although the ambient particulate matter is the subject of large spectrum of epidemiological studies and scientific explorations, there is still lack of data concerning the assessment of human health risks in association with ex - posure to ambient air particles including particulate matter PM10. These pieces of information are necessary especially for primary prevention of many human diseases - such as a chronic obstructive disease, bronchial asthma, Crohn disease, ulcerous colitis, several degenerative diseases of central nervous system. The data discussing the negative influences of particulate matter PM10 on human health are also essential for researching new – more efficient – drugs and choice of the best available treatment in relation to an initi - ating factor or factors. Moreover, the amount of environmental pollutants is still rising therefore it is unavoidable to find out all their potential negative impacts on human health condition. To take the facts described above into account, this article is devoted to the topic of PM10 participation in pathogenesis of the most dangerous and often incurable human disease – the cancer. At the present time, it is namely supposed that a contact of organism with particulate matter PM10 has a significant role in developing of several types of malignant human tumours. Among these kinds of cancers, there are two types of carcinoma with rising number in human population – that is small-cell lung carcinoma and a carcinoma of colon and rectum. Besides these ones, the exposure of organism to particulate matter PM10 is considered to be an important etiopathogenic factor of some types of skin cancer and malignant tumours of scrotum. Because of the facts mentioned above it is necessary to devote to studying of negative effects of particulate matter PM10 sufficient rate of vigilance.