Health assessment of environmental pollutants

The health assessments of environmental air contaminants are at present frequently based upon probability of cancer, if this has been identified as a potential result of prolonged exposure to the particular inhalation hazard. However, for many airborne hazards chronic inhalation exposure may result in morbidity or mortality risks due to chronic degenerative diseases such as emphysema, fibrosis, or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease that may be nearly as great or greater than those of more widely recognized neoplastic or proliferative disease. The relative hazards of environmentally released radioactive and chemical air contaminants, i.e., radon daughters and diesel engine exhaust, are discussed as examples