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Carboxyhemoglobin concentrations in blood from donors in Chicago, Milwaukee, New York, and Los Angeles
Insights
Urban air quality is poor, with widespread carbon monoxide (CO) exposure exceeding Clean Air Act standards. Nonsmoking city dwellers in Chicago, Los Angeles, Milwaukee, and New York showed elevated carboxyhemoglobin levels, indicating significant CO exposure.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Health
- Toxicology
- Public Health
Background:
- Carbon monoxide (CO) is a toxic gas produced by incomplete combustion.
- Urban air pollution poses risks to public health.
- The Clean Air Act of 1971 established quality standards for air pollutants.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the extent of carbon monoxide exposure among residents in major US cities.
- To compare CO exposure levels in urban populations against established air quality standards.
Main Methods:
- Venous blood samples were collected from adult blood donors in Chicago, Los Angeles, Milwaukee, and New York.
- Carboxyhemoglobin (COHb) levels in blood were analyzed to quantify CO exposure.
- Control samples from individuals breathing CO-free air were used for comparison.
Main Results:
- Nonsmoking blood donors in the studied cities exhibited significantly higher COHb levels (greater than 1.5%) compared to controls (0.45%).
- These elevated COHb levels indicate widespread exposure to carbon monoxide in urban environments.
- The observed exposure levels exceeded the quality standards set by the Clean Air Act of 1971.
Conclusions:
- Urban residents in Chicago, Los Angeles, Milwaukee, and New York experience regular and significant exposure to carbon monoxide.
- Air quality in these cities, as indicated by CO levels, did not meet the standards set by the Clean Air Act.
- Public health initiatives may be needed to mitigate CO exposure in urban areas.
Abstract:
To determine the carbon monoxide exposure experienced by the residents of Chicago, Los Angeles, Milwaukee, and New York, venous blood samples were obtained from adults at arbitrarily chosen blood bank collection sites in the four cities and analyzed for circulating carbon monoxide, carboxyhemoglobin. For comparative purposes, blood was obtained from volunteers breathing carbon monoxide-free air and was found to contain 0.45 percent carboxyhemoglobin. By contrast a high percentage of all the nonsmoking blood donors breathing city air had carboxyhemoglobin saturations greater than 1.5 percent, which indicated that exposure to carbon monoxide in excess of that permitted by the quality standards of the Clean Air Act of 1971 was widespread and occurring regularly.