[Prediction of acute inhalational effects in the assessment of a risk to human health].

The paper deals with a problem in choosing the criteria for a risk of acute inhalational exposures. It analyzes Russian, foreign, and international criteria for ambient air quality, by using the most authoritative sources (Agency of Toxic Compounds and Diseases Registration; Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment of US Environmental Protection Agency, etc.). The priority indices of the severity of acute toxic effects upon acute (within one hour) inhalational exposure to the most common ambient air pollutions (nitric dioxide, sulfur dioxide, carbon dioxide, and ozone) are determined. The issues of prediction of the regulated indices of evaluation of varying toxic effects on the population's health are considered. Valid models have been developed to predict the reference concentrations upon acute inhalational exposure to chemical substances, which allow the uncertainty in the assessment of the risk caused by acute exposure to ambient air pollutions to be reduced.