One of the main research macro-areas of the Centre has as its theme air quality and the impact on human and environmental health. The POLARIS Research Centre was founded in 2008, 15 years ago, as the Research Center – POLveri in Ambiente e RIschio per la Salute (the acronym POLARIS).
Emissions change the quality of the air we breathe. Although it is impossible to establish precise parameters that define “good air quality,” there is no doubt that cities with high vehicular traffic have “low quality” air. Epidemiological studies demonstrate a close correlation between cardio-respiratory diseases and high levels of pollution.
The Centre brings together professors and researchers in the field of topics related to monitoring, chemical-physical and microbiological characteristics and the impact of indoor and outdoor dust on human health and the environment. The aim is to deepen and exchange knowledge, information and perspectives to define the threshold values of exposure risk, the mechanisms of action at cellular and organ function levels, indirect targets and identification of possible markers of exposure and effect (damage). The Centre includes research groups that in recent years have contributed significantly to the knowledge of the environmental risk to health associated with the presence of particulate matter in the environment.
An integrated experimental research becomes, therefore, fundamental to understand which particulates and which particles and compounds constitute a risk to health. Epidemiological studies provide statistical data between PM concentration and effects, but the complexity of PM, made up of multiple chemical elements, also requires experimental approaches on laboratory models, to allow the identification of which compounds and at what concentration they determine the effects highlighted by epidemiological data.
Le maggiori attività dei gruppi di ricerca che si occupano di qualità dell’aria ed effetti sulla salute sono: The main activities of the research groups dealing with air quality and health effects are:
- Monitoring of Particulate Matter (PM) and Ulftrafine Particulate Matter (UFP) in outdoor and indoor environments
- Evaluation of effects on in vitro and in vivo systems
- Clinical and epidemiological evaluation of health effects
This page collects the research projects of the POLARIS Interdepartmental Centre currently underway, funded by Italian and foreign/international institutions, on the topic “Air and Health” .
For more information on the projects the Centre has been involved in over the past few years, visit the dedicated page in the Archive.