Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons

This thesis presents a comprehensive analysis of the global
health impacts of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in ambient air,
conducted on the basis of a high-resolution emission inventory, global chemical
transport modeling, and probabilistic risk assessment. One of the main
strengths of the thesis is the concentration downscaling process, which
provides a linkage between emissions and exposure concentrations at a
comparatively high resolution. Moreover, by focusing on individual susceptibility,
the thesis proposes an instrumental revision of current risk assessment
methodology and argues that, if individual susceptibility were not taken into
consideration, the overall risk would be underestimated by 55% and the
proportion of highly vulnerable populations would be underestimated by more
than 90%.