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Dust storms are a common phenomenon in arid and semi-arid areas, and their impacts on both physical and human environments are of great interest. Number of studies have associated atmospheric PM pollution in urban environments with origin in natural soil/dust, but less evaluated the dust spatial patterns over a city. We aimed to analyze the spatial-temporal behavior of PM concentrations over the city of Beer Sheva, in southern Israel, where dust storms are quite frequent. PM data were recorded during the peak of each dust episode simultaneously in 23 predetermined fixed points around the city. Data were analyzed for both dust days and non-dust days (background). The database was constructed using Geographic Information System and includes distributions of PM that were derived using inverse distance weighted (IDW) interpolation. The results show that the daily averages of atmospheric PM10 concentrations during the background period are within a narrow range of 31 to 48 μg m-3 with low variations. During dust days however, the temporal variations are significant and can range from an hourly PM10 concentration of 100 μg m-3 to more than 1280 μg m-3 during strong storms. IDW analysis demonstrates that during the peak time of the storm the spatial variations in PM between locations in the city can reach 400 μg m-3. An analysis of site and storm contribution to total PM concentration revealed that higher concentrations are found in parts of the city that are proximal to dust sources. The results improve the understanding of the dynamics of natural PM and the dependence on wind direction. This may have implications for environmental and health outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: High concentrations of particulate matter (PM) air pollution have been associated with death and hospital admissions due to cardiovascular morbidity. However, it is not clear a) whether high levels of non-anthropogenic PM from dust storms constitute a health risk; and b) whether these health risks are exacerbated in a particular demographic. Methods: This study comprised all patients above 18 years old admitted to Soroka University Medical Center (1000 bed tertiary hospital, Be’er- Sheva, Israel, 2001–2010) with a primary diagnosis of acute coronary syndrome (ACS). Data on meteorological parameters and PM10 (particulate matter <10 μm in aerodiameter) were obtained from monitoring stations in the city of Be'er-Sheva. Data were analyzed using a case crossover analysis to examine the effect of dust exposure on hospitalization due to ACS and the interaction with co-morbidities and demographic factors. Results: There were 16,734 hospitalizations due to ACS during the study period. The estimated odds of hospitalization due to ACS was significantly associated with PM10 during non dust storm days at the same day of the exposure (lag0); OR = 1.014 (95%CI 1.001–1.027) for a 10 μg/m3 increase, while a delayed response (lag1) was found during the dust storm days; OR = 1.007 (95%CI 1.002–1.012). The effect size for the dust exposure association was larger for older (above the age of 65), female or Bedouin patients. Conclusions: Exposure to non-anthropogenic PM is associated with cardiovascular morbidity. Health risk associated dust exposure is gender and age specific with older women and Bedouin patients being the most vulnerable groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]