Isocyanic acid in the atmosphere and its possible link to smoke-related health effects
- 16 May 2011
- journal article
- Published by Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
- Vol. 108 (22), 8966-8971
- https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1103352108
Abstract
We measured isocyanic acid (HNCO) in laboratory biomass fires at levels up to 600 parts per billion by volume (ppbv), demonstrating that it has a significant source from pyrolysis/combustion of biomass. We also measured HNCO at mixing ratios up to 200 pptv (parts-per-trillion by volume) in ambient air in urban Los Angeles, CA, and in Boulder, CO, during the recent 2010 Fourmile Canyon fire. Further, our measurements of aqueous solubility show that HNCO is highly soluble, as it dissociates at physiological pH. Exposure levels > 1 ppbv provide a direct source of isocyanic acid and cyanate ion (NCO(-)) to humans at levels that have recognized health effects: atherosclerosis, cataracts, and rheumatoid arthritis, through the mechanism of protein carbamylation. In addition to the wildland fire and urban sources, we observed HNCO in tobacco smoke, HNCO has been reported from the low-temperature combustion of coal, and as a by-product of urea-selective catalytic reduction (SCR) systems that are being phased-in to control on-road diesel NO(x) emissions in the United States and the European Union. Given the current levels of exposure in populations that burn biomass or use tobacco, the expected growth in biomass burning emissions with warmer, drier regional climates, and planned increase in diesel SCR controls, it is imperative that we understand the extent and effects of this HNCO exposure.This publication has 48 references indexed in Scilit:
- Aspects of the Atmospheric Chemistry of AmidesChemphyschem, 2010
- Carbamylation-Dependent Activation of T Cells: A Novel Mechanism in the Pathogenesis of Autoimmune ArthritisThe Journal of Immunology, 2010
- An infrared spectral database for detection of gases emitted by biomass burningVibrational Spectroscopy, 2010
- 110 Years of the Meyer–Overton Rule: Predicting Membrane Permeability of Gases and Other Small CompoundsChemphyschem, 2009
- Bhopal Gas Tragedy: review of clinical and experimental findings after 25 yearsInternational Journal of Occupational Medicine and Environmental Health, 2009
- Indoor air pollution from biomass fuel smoke is a major health concern in the developing worldTransactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 2008
- Measurement of the Henry's law coefficient and first order loss rate of PAN in n‐octanolGeophysical Research Letters, 2005
- Nonmethane hydrocarbon and oxy hydrocarbon measurements during the 2002 New England Air Quality StudyPublished by American Geophysical Union (AGU) ,2004
- Emission of trace gases and aerosols from biomass burningGlobal Biogeochemical Cycles, 2001
- Nonadiabatic effects in the photodissociation of vibrationally excited HNCO: The branching between singlet (a 1Δ) and triplet (X 3Σ−) NHThe Journal of Chemical Physics, 1998