Acute exposure to realistic acid fog: effects on respiratory function and airway responsiveness in asthmatics.

Naturally occurring fogs in industrialized cities are contaminated by acidic air pollutants. In Brussels, Belgium, the pH of polluted fogwater may be as low as 3 with osmolarity as low as 30 mOsm. In order to explore short-term respiratory effects of a realistic acid-polluted fog, we collected samples of acid fog in Brussels, Belgium, which is a densely populated and industrialized city, we defined characteristics of this fog and exposed asthmatic volunteers at rest through a face mask to fogs with physical and chemical characteristics similar to those of natural fogs assessed in this urban ar... Mehr ...