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Cleaner Air Linked To Reduced Death Rates
October 16, 2002Two population studies in this week's issue of THE LANCET highlight how poor air quality is directly related to increased risk of death from respiratory and cardiovascular disease.
Luke Clancy from St James Hospital, Dublin, and colleagues from Trinity College and Dublin Institute of Technology, Dublin, Ireland, and Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, USA, examined the effect of the 1990 coal ban in Dublin on population death-rates in the six years before and after the ban was introduced. The average concentrations of black smoke decreased by 70% (36 micrograms per cubic meter) after the ban on coal sales; this was associated with an overall decrease in non-trauma death rate of nearly 6%, in which death by respiratory causes decreased by around 15%, and by cardiovascular causes by around 10%. This related to an estimated reduction of 116 respiratory deaths and 243 cardiovascular deaths every year after the ban was implemented. Numerous studies have confirmed that increased air-pollution concentrations increase mortality but this study shows that decreasing air pollution is associated with a marked reduction in mortality.
In a second study, a research team from the Netherlands assessed the relation between traffic-related air pollution and death based on data from participants of an ongoing study (the Netherlands Cohort study on Diet and Cancer [NLCS]). 5000 people from the NLCS (age 55-69 years) were studied from 1986 to 1994. Long-term exposure to traffic-related air pollutants (black smoke and nitrogen dioxide) was estimated for the home address in 1986 of each participant. 11% of the study population died during follow-up; people who lived near a main road were around twice as likely to die from cardiopulmonary disease (affecting heart and / or lungs), and were 1.4 times more likely to die from any cause. However, excluding death from cardiopulmonary disorder or lung cancer, there were no other cause-specific associations between pollution exposure and mortality.
In an accompanying Commentary (p 1184), Annette Peters from the National Research Centre for Environment and Health, Neuherberg, Germany, concludes: "Clearly further research is needed, but the research reported today has direct relevance to public-health policy, since both coal-burning and traffic emissions continue to be major sources of particulate exposure worldwide. Emission control and effective local interventions are needed to lighten the health burden of particulate air-pollution everywhere."
See also review article - Air Pollution and Health (p 1233).
Lancet
In an accompanying Commentary (p 1184), Annette Peters from the National Research Centre for Environment and Health, Neuherberg, Germany, concludes: "Clearly further research is needed, but the research reported today has direct relevance to public-health policy, since both coal-burning and traffic emissions continue to be major sources of particulate exposure worldwide. Emission control and effective local interventions are needed to lighten the health burden of particulate air-pollution everywhere."
See also review article - Air Pollution and Health (p 1233).
Lancet
Air Pollution Current Events and Air Pollution News RSSResearch reveals exactly how coughing is triggered by environmental irritants
Scientists have revealed how environmental irritants such as air pollution and cigarette smoke cause people to cough, in research published today in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.
Exposures to metals and diesel emissions in air linked to respiratory symptoms in children
Exposure shortly after birth to ambient metals from residential heating oil combustion and particles from diesel emissions are associated with respiratory symptoms in young inner city children.
Hidden threat: Elevated pollution levels near regional airports
Scientists are reporting evidence that air pollution - a well-recognized problem at major airports - may pose an important but largely overlooked health concern for people living near smaller regional airports.
Consumption of certain fish during pregnancy associated with poorer cognitive performance
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Nitrogen loss threatens desert plant life, study shows
As the climate gets warmer, arid soils lose nitrogen as gas, reports a new Cornell study. That could lead to deserts with even less plant life than they sustain today, say the researchers.
Air pollution increases infants' risk of bronchiolitis
Infants who are exposed to higher levels of air pollution are at increased risk for bronchiolitis, according to a new study.
USC study finds big air pollution impacts on local communities
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Researchers discover links between city walkability and air pollution exposure
A new study compares neighborhoods' walkability (degree of ease for walking) with local levels of air pollution and finds that some neighborhoods might be good for walking, but have poor air quality.
Shifting the world to 100 percent clean, renewable energy as early as 2030 -- here are the numbers
Most of the technology needed to shift the world from fossil fuel to clean, renewable energy already exists. Implementing that technology requires overcoming obstacles in planning and politics, but doing so could result in a 30 percent decrease in global power demand.
Report examines hidden costs of energy production and use
A new report from the National Research Council examines and, when possible, estimates "hidden" costs of energy production and use -- such as the damage air pollution imposes on human health -- that are not reflected in market prices of coal, oil, other energy sources, or the electricity and gasoline produced from them.
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