eveningstandard--2019-01-21--Did air pollution kill my daughter Green Party selects Rosamund Kissi-Debrah to run for London Asse

Did air pollution kill my daughter? Green Party selects Rosamund Kissi-Debrah to run for London Assembly 2020 elections

Rosamund Kissi-Debrah, whose nine-year-old daughter Ella's death could be linked to air pollution, will run as a London Assembly member for the Green Party.  Ms Kissi-Debrah has been selected as a candidate for the Lewisham and Greenwich constituency in the next election, which will be held in May 2020.  The former teacher, who lives in Hither Green, lost her daughter to a severe asthma attack in February 2013 after three years of asthma-related hospital admissions.  After her death, new evidence presented by Professor Stephen Holgate found that spikes in air pollution could be linked to Ella's 27 asthma episodes that left her in a hospital bed.  Since the evidence came to light, Ms Kissi-Debrah has campaigned for a second inquest into Ella's death to determine whether air pollution was a contributor.  After taking a petition with more than 100,000 signatures to attorney general Geoffrey Cox QC in August of last year, a new inquest was granted on January 11.  Explaining his decision, Mr Cox said: "I have concluded that there is new evidence which may alter the substantial truth of Ella's death."  An original inquest in 2014 concluded Ella had died from severe asthma and acute respiratory failure. Now her mother hopes air pollution will be added to the death certificate.  The family home, near the busy south circular, is in a known 'pollution hotspot'.  Professor Holgate's findings observed a spike in air pollution on the south circular at the same time as many of Ella's hospital admissions.  After the second inquest was granted, Ms Kissi-Debra told the BBC: "It's the right decision. Hopefully if we are successful, national government, local government and individuals have to do something about cleaning up the air."


eveningstandard--2019-04-12--Air pollution monitor in Brixton one of UKaposs most polluted roads is switched off again after

Air pollution monitor in Brixton, one of UK's most polluted roads, is switched off again after nearly eight months offline

An air pollution monitor on one of the most polluted roads in the UK is still not showing readings nearly eight months after it was first taken off line.  The monitor on Brixton Road in Lambeth was flooded last August, and not fixed until March this year.  However recent tests on the equipment used to measure harmful NO2 emissions have revealed faults, and the monitor has been switched off again.  Measurements for particulate matter PM10 are still available.  The monitor is notorious for being the first to breach hourly legal limits for NO2 across the UK, and clean air campaigners are worried that because it is not reporting statistics it is giving the impression air pollution rates are “improving.”  “It’s a little bit of selective reporting on the facts at the moment,” said David Smith, Founder of Little Ninja UK, which campaigns to protect children from air pollution.  “At the most it is remaining consistent, it’s certainly not improving.”  “Generally air pollution in London is improving, now we have got the Ulez, but there is also a responsibility to the general public, particularly people who live in these polluted areas to let them know how bad things are. Children are at terrible risk.  “Breathing this level of pollution every single day, it is damaging their lungs, giving them a higher risk of asthma, which is ultimately going to shorten their lives. It’s so important to be recording what’s going on and having a monitor looking at it. It’s shocking that no one is really reporting about it,” he said.  Lambeth council, who own the monitor, and are responsible for its upkeep, said repair work is “underway.”  Claire Holland, Lambeth cabinet member for environment and clean air, said: “Lambeth Council takes air quality extremely seriously, it is undoubtedly a silent killer and affects our vulnerable residents the most.  “The air quality in central London, and along Brixton Road in particular, is quite simply disgraceful and we are doing huge amounts of work in monitoring and reporting air pollution, raising awareness and knowledge, lobbying for improvements, and putting measures in place to both reduce pollution and mitigate its effects.  “The air quality monitoring station was flooded last year and took a frustratingly long time to fix, due to various contractor issues. It was back online last month but since then further damage has been uncovered and a part needs replacing before it can give accurate readings. That repair work is underway.  “Lambeth has an Air Quality Action Plan that sets out the issues we face in terms of polluted air and the measures we are taking to tackle it, including installing green screens at primary schools, working with businesses to reduce emissions by consolidating supply chains and delivery journeys and working with the Mayor and TfL for a clean bus corridor through Brixton and Streatham that was introduced in 2017.  “However, we know there is still a lot more to be done – and this year we are trialling School Streets road closures to reduce pollution and make it safer for our young people to walk or cycle to school, vastly upgrading our electrical vehicle infrastructure and are planning to introduce fines for car drivers who idle on our streets.”  A spokesperson for King’s College London, who measure pollution levels through the London Air Network, added: “Measuring air pollution is challenging. We are subjecting sensitive equipment to sometimes very dirty air. Equipment faults do occur and we also take equipment off line for testing and assessment.”


eveningstandard--2019-05-05--Measures to reduce air pollution could make heatwaves worse study suggests

Measures to reduce air pollution could make heatwaves worse, study suggests

Measures aimed at lowering air pollution could in turn make heatwaves more severe, a study has suggested.  Researchers believe tiny man-made particles, such as those produced by car exhausts, could have an influence on the severity of future heatwaves.  A computerised model was used by scientists from the University of Edinburgh to carry out research on the impact of particles in the atmosphere.  They concluded that cutting air pollution could inadvertently make heatwaves worse in some parts of the world.  This could happen by disrupting the formation of clouds that reflect heat from the sun back into space.  The researchers suggest this would cause peak day-time temperatures to increase.  Heatwaves in the northern hemisphere would be more likely to be affected because of widespread efforts to improve poor air quality in countries within that region.  Professor David Stevenson, of the University of Edinburgh, said: "We desperately need to improve air quality.  "However, our results suggest that in doing so, we may inadvertently worsen heatwaves. Air pollution and climate change are inextricably linked and we need to develop smart pollution control policies that take these links into account."


breitbart--2019-03-13--Study White People Responsible for Blacks and Latinos Higher Exposure to Pollution

Study: White People Responsible for Blacks' and Latinos' Higher Exposure to Pollution

“The air that Americans breathe isn’t equal,” USA Today says in its report on the study.  “Blacks and Hispanics disproportionately breathe air that’s been polluted by non-Hispanic whites, according to a study,” USA Today says. “This new research quantifies for the first time the racial gap between who causes air pollution – and who breathes it.”  The study is available online, including a portion entitled “significance.”  Racial–ethnic disparities in pollution exposure and in consumption of goods and services in the United States are well documented. Some may find it intuitive that, on average, black and Hispanic minorities bear a disproportionate burden from the air pollution caused mainly by non-Hispanic whites, but this effect has not previously been directly established, let alone quantified. Our “pollution inequity” metric is generalizable to other pollution types and provides a simple and intuitive way of expressing a disparity between the pollution that people cause and the pollution to which they are exposed. Our results are timely, given public debate on issues relating to race, equity, and the regulation of pollution.  USA Today reports that 100,000 Americans die from pollution a year, more “than car crashes and murders combined,” although the exact causes of death and how it relates to pollution are not explained.  “Even though minorities are contributing less to the overall problem of air pollution, they are affected by it more,” Jason Hill, an engineering professor at the University of Minnesota and co-author of the study says in the USA Today report, which notes that he is white.  “Is it fair (that) I create more pollution and somebody else is disproportionately affected by it?” Hill says.  “What is especially surprising is just how large pollution inequity is and has been for well over a decade,” Hill says.  The type of pollution analyzed in the study is PM 2.5 —  grains of particulate matter that are smaller than the width of a human hair, according to USA Today. They are present in car exhaust, from power plants, and burning materials.  The study found that black and Hispanic Americans bear a “pollution burden:” Blacks are exposed to about 56 percent more pollution than is caused by their consumption. For Hispanics, it is slightly higher – 63 percent. However, non-Hispanic whites experience a “pollution advantage,” meaning they breathe about 17 percent less air pollution than whites cause. The formula scientists used in their study is driven by disparities in the amount of goods and services that groups consume and in the exposure to the resulting pollution.  “On average, whites tend to consume more than minorities,” Hill says. “It’s because of wealth.”  “For example, the scientists found that whites spend more money on pollution-intensive goods and services than do blacks and Hispanics, which means they generate more pollution than the other groups do,” USA Today reports.  “Someone had to make the pen you bought at the store,” Julian Marshall, another co-author of the study who is an engineering professor at the University of Washington, says. “We wanted to look at where the pollution associated with making that pen is located. Is it close to where people live? And who lives there?”  But the USA Today report also reveals that “non-Hispanic whites” category used in the study includes Asian-Americans and Native Americans, making the emphasis on wealthy whites seem incongruous.  The study authors used data on expenditures from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, USA Today notes.  USA Today found an expert who agrees with the study for its reporting.  “These findings confirm what most grassroots environmental justice leaders have known for decades, ‘whites are dumping their pollution on poor people and people of color,’” Texas Southern University public affairs professor Robert Bullard said.


eveningstandard--2019-01-14--Clean Air Strategy 2019 How the government plans to tackle air pollution

Clean Air Strategy 2019: How the government plans to tackle air pollution

Household fuels that are considered to be highly polluting could be banned under clean air plans outlined by the Government.  The Clean Air Strategy 2019, released on Monday, aims to reduce harmful pollution, including taking action on problem areas.  Points in the strategy include a messaging service that will provide up-to-date messages about air quality to help those most vulnerable to air pollution.  The Government also wants to work with media outlets to make air quality updates more visible to people.  To increase understanding of air pollution problems, the Government has promised to work with the General Medical Council and Medical Royal Colleges.  According to the report, the strategy aims to "embed air quality into the health professions’ education and training."  The report adds: "We will work with local authorities and directors of public health to equip and enable them to lead and inform local decision-making to improve air quality more effectively."  Other objectives outlined in the plan include environmental targets in reducing harmful deposits of nitrogen, and a promise to make sure future energy policies are geared towards improving air quality.  2. Carry out "targeted local action" to reduce pollution in 'problem' area 3. Commit to a new target for the reduction of harmful nitrogen deposits 4. Report annually on the impacts of air pollution on natural habitats 5. Phase-out of coal-fired power stations and moving towards cleaner power sources 6. Legislate to ban the sale of the most polluting fuels 7. By 2022, ensure only the "cleanest stoves" will be available to purchase 8. Give new powers to local authorities to tackle high pollution in the worst areas 10. Educate people and organisations on how they can reduce their contribution to air pollution  However, some campaigners think the government's plans do not go far enough.  Greenpeace UK welcomed the strategy's objectives, but called for deadlines to be brought forward, claiming the approach was "extremely relaxed."  Morten Thaysen, clean air campaigner for Greenpeace UK, said: "A 2040 phase out date for diesel and petrol is effectively saying that yes, your grandchildren deserve clean air, but your children will just have to go on breathing toxic fumes so as not to disrupt the car industry’s sales forecasts."  UK100, a group of local authority leaders campaigning for clean air, said the Government's plans "will fail" if the UK does not legislate to protect air quality after Brexit.  Polly Billington, director of UK100, said: "Local leaders have consistently stated that Clean Air funding committed by Government to tackle air pollution is simply inadequate on three fronts: not enough funding for those local authority areas that Government has identified as having the most severe air quality challenges, insufficient funding available for tackling the wider sources of air pollution and limited financial support for national measures.”


prisonplanet--2019-03-13--Study White People Responsible for Blacks and Latinos Higher Exposure to Pollution

Study: White People Responsible for Blacks’ and Latinos’ Higher Exposure to Pollution

A study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciencesclaims that white people contribute more to pollution than black and Latino people, but the latter suffer from it more than the white polluters.  “The air that Americans breathe isn’t equal,” USA Today says in its report on the study.  “Blacks and Hispanics disproportionately breathe air that’s been polluted by non-Hispanic whites, according to a study,” USA Today says. “This new research quantifies for the first time the racial gap between who causes air pollution – and who breathes it.”  The study is available online, including a portion entitled “significance.”  Racial–ethnic disparities in pollution exposure and in consumption of goods and services in the United States are well documented. Some may find it intuitive that, on average, black and Hispanic minorities bear a disproportionate burden from the air pollution caused mainly by non-Hispanic whites, but this effect has not previously been directly established, let alone quantified. Our “pollution inequity” metric is generalizable to other pollution types and provides a simple and intuitive way of expressing a disparity between the pollution that people cause and the pollution to which they are exposed. Our results are timely, given public debate on issues relating to race, equity, and the regulation of pollution.  USA Today reports that 100,000 Americans die from pollution a year, more “than car crashes and murders combined,” although the exact causes of death and how it relates to pollution are not explained.  “Even though minorities are contributing less to the overall problem of air pollution, they are affected by it more,” Jason Hill, an engineering professor at the University of Minnesota and co-author of the study says in the USA Today report, which notes that he is white.  This article was posted: Wednesday, March 13, 2019 at 4:54 am


skynewsus--2019-01-12--Air pollution increases risk of miscarriage new study suggests

Air pollution increases risk of miscarriage, new study suggests

Pregnant women face a higher risk of miscarriage if they are exposed to elevated levels of a type of air pollution, a study suggests.  Expectant mothers exposed to higher levels of nitrogen dioxide, a gas created by petrol and diesel vehicles, are 16% more likely to lose their baby.  One researcher at the University of Utah, which led the research, described the findings as "upsetting".  It comes amid a growing concern over air pollution and its links with diseases and conditions such as strokes, dementia and autism.  The NHS says one in eight women who know they are pregnant will miscarry, while the actual figure may be higher because many women lose their child before they know they are pregnant.  Doctors analysed the records of more than 1,300 women who sought help from the University of Utah's emergency department following a miscarriage between 2007 and 2015.  The team of researchers worked out the risk of miscarriage during periods of three to seven days after a spike in the level of common air pollutants, including small particle matter and nitrogen dioxide.  Researchers found an increased risk in miscarriage for women exposed to the elevated levels of nitrogen dioxide, which equalled a rise of 16% for a 10 parts per billion increase during a seven-day window.  But the particulate matter did not significantly increase the risk of miscarriage.  Matthew Fuller, associate professor of surgery at the university, said: "The results of this study are upsetting, and we need to work together as a society to find constructive solutions."  He advised women to raise health concerns with their doctor, and suggested they limit their outdoor activity on days when the air quality is poor.  Research analyst Claire Leiser said the data only related to the most severe cases during a small window of time, and did not account for women who might have gone to their obstetric or primary care providers for support.  She said: "The results are not the whole picture."


sottnet--2019-03-28--Psychosis in teens may be linked to an unlikely culprit air pollution

Psychosis in teens may be linked to an unlikely culprit: air pollution

An association but not a cause-effect relationship  What to make of the findings  An unexpected danger of urban life: Psychotic experiences are more common among teens exposed to the highest levels of nitrogen dioxide and other forms of air pollution, according to a new study. Nitrogen oxides, including nitrogen dioxide, are tailpipe pollutants, entering the air due to burning fuel."One of the most consistent findings over the past few decades has been a link between cities and psychosis," Joanne Newbury , lead author of the study and a postdoctoral researcher at King's College London, said Tuesday.For the study, published Wednesday in the journal JAMA Psychiatry, Newbury and her co-authors explored whether psychotic experiences are more common among teens exposed to higher levels of air pollution. They used data from a study with more than 2,000 participants, all born in England and Wales in 1994 and 1995.Researchers have followed up with each child repeatedly at ages 5, 7, 10, 12 and most recently at 18, Newbury explained. They were asked in a private interview, "Have you ever heard voices that other people cannot hear? Have you thought you were being followed or spied on?" Dr. Helen Fisher, a study co-author and a reader of developmental psychopathology at King's College London, said Tuesday that "when we talk about psychotic experiences, we are talking about people who are experiencing things like hearing or seeing things other people don't or feeling very paranoid."A total of 623 (or 30%) of the teens reported at least one psychotic experience between ages 12 and 18.Next, the researchers gathered hourly emissions data from monitoring sites to assess pollution levels in the places where each teen spent the most time: a home address and two other places such as school., even after the researchers accounted for factors that might also be linked to psychosis, such as cigarette smoking, cannabis dependence and neighborhood crime levels."Odds gradually increase as you move from rural to suburb to urban settings," Newbury said, with teens living in the "most urban settings" having "94% greater odds of psychotic experiences compared to those living in rural settings." Dr. Jim van Os, a professor and head of the Brain Division at University Medical Center Utrecht, wrote in an email that the paper is "nice" but lacks rigor. Sophie Dix , a cognitive researcher and director of research at MQ, a nonprofit that funds mental health research, told the Science Media Centre that "there is more work that needs to be done with this study.""There is no evidence that pollution necessarily causes psychosis or whether this is one of many factors or acting in isolation," said Dix, who was not involved in the research. "There is a bigger picture here, but that does not diminish the importance of these findings and the potential that comes from this." Stefan Reis, who heads the Atmospheric Chemistry and Effects Unit at the NERC Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, a research organization, told Science Media Centre that "the study makes a valuable contribution to the growing body of evidence that air pollution may affect more than just cardio-vascular and respiratory health."Reis, who did not participate in the study, said other variables worth exploring could include "academic attainment in early life stages and cognitive decline in old age due to early-life exposure to air pollution." It's important, he concluded, to further our understanding of "how air pollution is related to mental health outcomes which could in future have implications for air quality policies." Marianthi-Anna Kioumourtzoglou , an assistant professor in the Department of Environmental Health Sciences at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, wrote in an editorial published beside the study that "air pollution exposures are ubiquitous in urban environments," yet they are "modifiable and can be reduced through rigorous regulatory action.""It is especially important to identify other factors that may potentially ameliorate the consequences of air pollution to protect human health," said Kioumourtzoglou, who had no role in the new research. "These could be lifestyle, nutritional, or neighborhood-level factors.""As the global population is becoming increasingly urban, it is of utmost importance to incorporate public environmental health into urban planning decisions."


sottnet--2019-04-02--SOTT FOCUS Pollution in Pre-Industrial Europe

SOTT FOCUS: Pollution in Pre-Industrial Europe

Last week, I wrote about Jason Hickel's romantic idea that people in the past "lived well" with little or no monetary income. I noted that prior to the Industrial Revolution, clothing was immensely expensive and uncomfortable. The cotton mills changed all that.As a French historian noted in 1846, "Machine production...brings within the reach of the poor a world of useful objects, even luxurious and artistic objects, which they could never reach before."Today, I wish to turn to pollution.Let's start with air quality. In the 17th century London, Claire Tomalin observed in Samuel Pepys: The Unequalled Self, "Every household burnt coal ... The smoke from their chimneys made the air dark, covering every surface with sooty grime. There were days when a cloud of smoke half a mile high and twenty miles wide could be seen over the city ...."In a similar vein, Carlo Cipolla in his book Before the Industrial Revolution: European Society and Economy 1000-1700, quotes from the diary of British writer John Evelyn, who wrote in 1661:The streets were just as dirty. John Harrington invented the toilet in 1596, but bathrooms remained rare luxuries two hundred years later. Chamber pots continued to be emptied into streets, turning them into sewers. To make matters worse, even large towns continued to engage in husbandry well into the 18th century. As Fernand Braudel noted in The Structures of Everyday Life,Lawrence Stone observed in The Family, Sex and Marriage in England 1500-1800 that "In towns in the eighteenth century, the city ditches, now often filled with stagnant water, were commonly used as latrines;A "special problem" in London, Stone wrote, was the "poor holes" or "large, deep, open pits in which were laid the bodies of the poor, side by side, row by row. Only when the pit was filled with bodies was it finally covered with earth." As one contemporary writer, whom Stone quotes, observed, "How noisome the stench is that arises from these holes."According to Stone, "Then there was "the prevalence of intestinal worms," which is "a slow, disgusting and debilitating disease that caused a vast amount of human misery and ill health ... In the many poorly drained marshy areas, recurrent malarial fevers were common and debilitating diseases ... [and] perhaps even more heart-breaking was the slow, inexorable, destructive power of tuberculosis."The situation was no better on the European mainland. In the middle of the 17th century, Queen Anne of Austria and mother of Louis XIV noted that "Paris is a horrible place and ill smelling.In the 19th century, pollution remained a problem. In Inside the Victorian Home: A Portrait of Domestic Life in Victorian England, Judith Flanders noted Waldo Emerson's observation that "no one ... [in England] wore white because it was impossible to keep it clean." According to Flanders, hair brushes looked "black after once using" and tablecloths were laid just before eating, "as otherwise dust settled from the fire and they became dingy in a matter of hours."In 1858, the stench from the River Thames was so bad that "the curtains on the river side of the building were soaked in lime chloride to overcome the smell". The effort was unsuccessful, with Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli once fleeing a committee room "with a mass of papers in one hand, and with his pocket handkerchief applied to his nose," because the stench was so bad. He called the river "a Stygian pool, reeking with ineffable and intolerable horrors."Keep in mind that even after the Industrial Revolution had begun, much of the pollution was still non-industrial. Henry Mayhew, an English social researcher and journalist, found that the Thames contained "ingredients from breweries, gasworks, and chemical and mineral manufactories; dead dogs, cats, and kittens, fats, offal from slaughterhouses; street-pavement dirt of every variety; vegetable refuse; stable-dung; the refuse of pig-styes; night-soil; ashes; tin kettles and pans ... broken stoneware, jars, pitchers, flower-pots, etc.; pieces of wood; rotten mortar and rubbish of different kinds."Fast-forward to 2015 and the BBC reported "more than 2,000 seals have been spotted in the Thames over the past decade ... along with hundreds of porpoises and dolphins and even the odd stray whale ... There are now 125 species of fish in the Thames, up from almost none in the 1950s." Similarly, average concentrations of suspended particulate matter in London rose from 390 in 1800 to a peak of 623 in 1891, before falling to 16 micrograms per cubic meters in 2016. Today, air in the capital of the United Kingdom ranks as one of the cleanest among the world's major cities.


sottnet--2019-08-27--Smog Sadness Is there a link between mental illness and air pollution

Smog & Sadness: Is there a link between mental illness and air pollution?

Could the very air we breathe have an impact on our mental health? That's the suggestion coming out of a new international study conducted in the United States and Denmark. After analyzing long-term data sets from both countries, researchers from the University of Chicago say they have identified a possible link between exposure to environmental pollution, specifically polluted air, and an increase in the onset of psychiatric and mental health problems in a population.That association was actually found to be even greater in Denmark, where poor air quality exposure during the first 10 years of a person's life was found to predict a two-fold increase in the likelihood of developing schizophrenia or a personality disorder."Our study shows that living in polluted areas, especially early on in life, is predictive of mental disorders in both the United States and Denmark," explains computational biologist Atif Khan, the study's first author, in a media release. "The physical environment - in particular air quality - warrants more research to better understand how our environment is contributing to neurological and psychiatric disorders."Of course, it would be wholly inaccurate to suggest that air pollution alone can cause someone to develop schizophrenia . Most mental illnesses, schizophrenia included, develop due to a complex mix of genetic predispositions and unique life events or experiences. However, scientists have long theorized that purely environmental factors and conditions also play a role in the severity, time of emergence, and progression of mental disorders.For the study, researchers analyzed two population data sets. The first was a U.S. health insurance claims database housing 11 years worth of claims across 151 million people. The second data set included all 1.4 million people born in Denmark between 1979-2002 who were still alive, and still living in Denmark by their 10th birthday.Air pollution levels in specific areas were measured using the air quality standards set by both countries, respectively. For example, for the U.S. the EPA's air quality measurements were used. As far as estimating each person's exposure to polluted air , it was a bit easier for researchers to track individual Danes because they had access to each Danish participants' citizen ID number. For Americans, air pollution exposure estimates were limited to county areas."We strived to provide validation of association results in independent large datasets," comments study leader Andrey Rzhetsky.The study has ruffled some feathers in the scientific community and has been met with a bit more criticism than usual. In fact, PLOS Biology, the study's publishing journal, received so much negative feedback on the study that they published a companion piece from professor John Ioannidis of Stanford University."A causal association of air pollution with mental diseases is an intriguing possibility. Despite analyses involving large datasets, the available evidence has substantial shortcomings and a long series of potential biases may invalidate the observed associations," asserts Ioannidis in his companion article. "More analyses by multiple investigators, including contrarians, are necessary."Additionally, the study's own authors admit that just because they observed an association between air pollution and mental disorders, that does not necessarily indicate causation. Moving forward, they would like to conduct further research on the matter, in order to determine if air pollution's impact on the brain is similar to other stress-causing conditions or outside factors.The study is published in PLOS Biology.


sottnet--2019-10-06--Air pollution able to reach the placenta around a developing baby

Samples of placenta collected, after women in Belgium gave birth, revealed soot, or black carbon, embedded within the tissue on the side that faces the baby, researchers report online September 17 in Nature Communications.estimated based on emissions of black carbon near her home."There's no doubt that air pollution harms a developing baby," says Amy Kalkbrenner, an environmental epidemiologist at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee who was not involved in the new work. born prematurely or with low birth weight (SN: 5/13/15).These developmental problems have been tied toBut the new study, Kalkbrenner says, suggests thatThe study looked particularly at black carbon, a pollutant emitted in the burning of fossil fuels such as gasoline, diesel and coal. Researchers in Belgium at Hasselt University in Diepenbeek and Katholieke Universiteit Leuven usedThe technique involves using extremely fast laser bursts — each one-quadrillionth of a second — to excite electrons within the tissue, which then emits light."The black carbon particles truly stand out uniquely" from the rest of the tissue, says Bryan Spring, a biomedical physicist from Northeastern University in Boston who was not involved in the work.The researchers also looked atin the northeast of Belgium. More soot was found in the samples from 10 women who experienced higher pollution levels in their residential areas than the 10 who had lower levels.Kalkbrenner finds it reassuring "that they're getting an actual correlation where higher measures of the air pollution ... went along with higher measures of black carbon particles." The study suggests it might be possible to test for a person's exposure to pollution from tissue samples or even blood, she says. Currently, scientists primarily estimate pollution exposure based on where a person lives, which can leave out other sources such as those encountered at work.


sottnet--2019-11-13--Air pollution nanoparticles linked to brain cancer for first time

New research has linked air pollution nanoparticles to brain cancer for the first time.The ultra-fine particles (UFPs) are produced by fuel burning, particularly in diesel vehicles, and higher exposures significantly increase people's chances of getting the deadly cancer. Previous work has shown that nanoparticles can get into the brain and that they can carry carcinogenic chemicals.Brain cancers are rare, and the scientists have calculated that an increase in pollution exposure roughly equivalent to moving from a quiet city street to a busy one leads to one extra case of brain cancer for every 100,000 people exposed."Environmental risks like air pollution are not large in magnitude - their importance comes because everyone in the population is exposed," said Scott Weichenthal, at McGill University in Canada, who led the study. "So when you multiply these small risks by lots of people, all of sudden there can be lots of cases. In a large city, it could be a meaningful number, particularly given the fact that these tumours are often fatal."The research analysed the medical records and pollution exposure of 1.9 million adult Canadians from 1991 to 2016. Such large studies provide strong evidence, though not a causal link., but as this is the first study, it is important that other researchers replicate it.Toxic air has been linked to other effects on the brain, including. The World Health Organization says air pollution is a "silent public health emergency".The new study, published in the journal Epidemiology, found thatThe pollution levels in the cities studied - Toronto and Montreal - ranged from 6,000/cm3 to 97,000/cm3. Weichenthal said people living with pollution of 50,000/cm3 have a 50% higher risk of brain cancer than those living with 15,000/cm3."I think [Toronto and Montreal] are typical of major cities," he said. "I wouldn't expect the nanoparticles to be any less harmful anywhere else." The analysis by the researchers took account of factors including income, smoking and obesity, and whether people moved house."We don't know a lot about the causes of brain tumours, so any environmental factors we can identify are helpful in increasing understanding," Weichenthal said. The team only had air pollution data for the more recent period of the study and assumed the differences between different streets and districts were the same in the past. "We think this is reasonable because major highways don't move around," he said.Prof Jordi Sunyer, at the Barcelona Institute for Global Health in Spain, who was not involved in the new research, said: "This is an important finding, given that UFPs are directly emitted by combustion cars and."Prof Barbara Maher, at the University of Lancaster, UK, said iron-rich nanoparticles from traffic pollution were likely to be carcinogenic and were therefore a plausible possible cause of brain cancer. She said nanoparticles were not regulated and were rarely even measured.The research used three-year averages of nanoparticle levels, but Maher said understanding the health impact of repeated exposure to short-lived spikes was vital: "We have measured these outside primary schools in the UK, where UFP particle numbers regularly exceed 150,000 per cubic centimetre of playground air."Weichenthal said he avoided heavily polluted streets when walking and cycling. "At an individual level, it is always a good idea to reduce your exposure to pollutants. But the more important actions are at a regulatory level, where you can take action that reduces everyone's exposure - that is where the real benefits come in."


sputnik--2019-03-12--Study Shows Air Pollution Leads to Extra 88 Million Deaths Globally Each Year

Study Shows Air Pollution Leads to Extra 8.8 Million Deaths Globally Each Year

The researchers used a model to simulate atmospheric chemical processes and "interactions with the hand, oceans and biosphere," according to the study, to determine the global exposure of the population to air pollution in the year 2015. Although the study focused on Europe, statistical models were used to extend the findings to other parts of the world, leading to a worldwide figure of 8.8 million premature deaths each year.  According to the researchers, between 40 and 80 percent of deaths from ambient air pollution in Europe are due to cardiovascular events, such as heart attacks and strokes. In addition, the report found that air pollution reduces the mean life expectancy in Europe by 2.2 years.  "This means that air pollution causes more extra deaths a year than tobacco smoking, which the WHO estimates was responsible for an extra 7.2 million deaths in 2015," senior author Thomas Munzel, a professor at the University Medical Centre Mainz in Germany, told AFP.  "The number of deaths from cardiovascular disease that can be attributed to air pollution is much higher than expected. In Europe alone, the excess number of deaths is nearly 800,000 a year, and each of these deaths represents an average reduction in life expectancy of more than two years… Smoking is avoidable, but air pollution is not," he added.  In May 2018, the WHO estimated that air pollution in cities and rural areas had resulted in 4.2 million premature deaths worldwide in 2016.  The recent study published in the European Heart Journal also found that most deaths were caused by fine particulate matter, or PM2.5. PM2.5 consists of microscopic solids and liquid droplets in the air that are so small they can be inhaled and even absorbed by the bloodstream, according to the WHO.  The current average annual limit for PM2.5 in Europe is 25 micrograms per cubic meter, which is 2.5 times greater than the WHO guideline of 10 microgram per cubic meter.  "The current limit of 25 μg/m3 should be adjusted downwards to the WHO guideline of 10 μg/m3. Many other countries, such as Canada, the USA and Australia use the WHO guideline; the EU is lagging a long way behind in this respect. Indeed, new evidence may lead to a further lowering of the WHO guideline in the near future," Munzel is quoted as saying by the European Society of Cardiology.  On Tuesday, Scott Edwards, co-director at Food & Water Watch, an organization that champions healthy food and clean water for all, told Sputnik that the "biggest threat to air quality and public health arises from our reckless reliance on fossil fuels as our primary source of energy," noting the significance of shifting to wind, solar and geothermal systems.  "Combusting oil, gas and coal to drive our power plants, automobiles, heating and cooling systems and mass transit results in massive amounts of dangerous air emissions that impact local communities and costs billions of dollars in medical expenses. While much of the push for a rapid shift to clean, renewable energy economy rightfully focuses on climate change, we should also remember that moving to wind, solar and geothermal systems will also eliminate all the fossil fuel-emitted air pollution that is cutting many thousands of lives short every day," Edwards added.


sputnik--2019-11-13--'We Are Dying': Indian Actress Richa Chadha Lambastes Gov't Over ‘Failure’ to Curb Pollution Spike

“Masaan” star, actress Richa Chadha, known for making bold statements and choices of characters in her films, has taken straight aim against the government over increased levels of pollution in New Delhi. The city has recently been named the most polluted capital in the world.  Calling it a failure of the Government, the actress tweeted, “we are dying”.  The Air Quality Index (AQI) in areas of the national capital city spiked to the “hazardous” category, 500 in some areas, with 425 being the overall level on Tuesday.  Residents, however, will have no respite as pollution levels are expected to spike to the emergency category in the near future, due to the dip in temperatures and wind speeds, according to the government's air quality monitor.  Netizens also joined lampooning the government over its inefficiency to control the situation. Some also condemned voters for choosing the government on the basis of caste, creed and religion while negating important issues like health and education.  The PM 2.5 levels of AQI had already breached the emergency threshold of 300 on Monday.  At the levels of PM 2.5 – tiny atmospheric particulate matter less than 2.5 microns in diameter can enter deep into the lungs and bloodstream, threatening chronic diseases and conditions including lung disease, heart disease, cancer, and asthma.


sputnik--2019-11-15--Air Pollution: India’s National Capital to Re-introduce Road Rationing if Pollution Remains Critical

The Chief Minister of the National Capital, New Delhi, Arvind Kejriwal said on Friday, if the air quality situation does improve, the restriction would be re-introduced after a gap of two days, from Monday 18 November.  According to data released by the state government, the vehicular population in Delhi was 10.9 million by March 2018, with an annual growth rate of 5.81 per cent. Of this, cars and jeeps numbered 3.2 million and will be the primary targets of the road rationing scheme.  India’s top courts had blamed the federal and state governments for allowing the situation to slip to critical levels.  The High Court of Delhi on Thursday 14 November, criticised the government of the national capital and other enforcement authorities over the critical level of air pollution in the city.  Earlier this week, the apex court of India had sought data on air quality in Delhi from the local government. The Supreme Court of India had also directed the Delhi government to furnish the Air Quality Index data during the enforcement of road-rationing.  The apex court had called for the federal government and administrations of states neighbouring with Delhi for allowing the situation to deteriorate. It had also requested that the federal government explore hydrogen-based automobile fuel to help mitigate air pollution.


sputnik--2019-11-25--Lahore Air Pollution A ‘Silent Murderer’- Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan

While launching the Clean Green Pakistan Index on Monday, Prime Minister Imran Khan said Lahore’s air pollution is a “silent murderer”.  The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief, who was in Islamabad, said his government remains fully focused on its commitment to improve the deteriorating environmental condition across the country, adding that the pollution level in Lahore has “reached to the level of India’s capital city Delhi.”  International human rights organisation Amnesty International has urged global support for Lahore, as the region is blanketed by thick smog posing a health risk to its residents.  The prime minister pinned the blame on deforestation.  “We have been cutting our trees and in the last 10 years over 70 percent of Lahore’s city has been deforested,” Khan said.  Talking further about environmental degradation in the country, the Pakistan prime minister said we ruined our rivers by “disposing of our sewage in it.”  Khan appealed to the youth to become a part of the campaign to make Pakistan clean and green, as he said, it’s not just the government’s job to ensure a better environment.  Pakistan has also blamed India for the deteriorating air quality in Lahore.  Delhi has also suffered from poor air quality. Schools across city were closed for over a week recently as the air quality index (AQI) was rated as 'Severe', forcing a Public Health Emergency to be declared.


tass--2019-12-02--Scientists study oil products pollution on Franz Josef Land

ARKHANGELSK, December 2. /TASS/. Specialists of the Russian Arctic Nature Park jointly with the Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Geography began the Clean Arctic project to analyze the effect of oil products’ pollution on soils, vegetation and the ecosystem’s other components on the Franz Josef Land Archipelago. The project will continue for three years, the national park’s Director Alexander Kirilov told TASS.  "We’ve begun the Clean Arctic project on Franz Josef Land, which will continue for three years," he said. "Scientists will analyze distribution of oil products in the seasonal melt layer in the Arctic."  "Researchers will see how much oil products affect components of the ecosystem in high latitudes," he continued. "The results will be applied to plan further revegetation of those territories."  Cleaning effort on Franz Josef Land has been underway since 2012, and between 2012 and 2017 more than 45,000 tonnes of waste was removed from the archipelago. Cleaning works have been practically finalized on the Alexandra Land, the Hooker, Heiss and Graham Bell Islands, and cleaning work should yet be carried out on the Rudolf and Hofmann Islands.  "Polluted areas still remain in places, where fuel used to be stored <...> and thus quite many oil products still remain in the soil," the Clean Arctic project’s leader, geologist Dmitry Kryukov noted.  As part of the project, specialists will take soil samples and compare them with "clean" areas. "Thus, the studies will let us see how the environment may change under the effect of such pollutants," Alexander Dobryansky of the Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Geography commented. The first samples have been taken on the Alexandra Land.  Conditions on the islands, where the cleaning took place, are different, and thus specialists used different methods to revegetate the soils. The studies will also show how effective the chosen methods were and what impact they have on the ecosystem.  Results of the studies on the Arctic islands will serve as an input into remote analysis of pollution, including by radar imaging. It is very hard to receive good pictures of the high-latitudinal Arctic from satellites as the territory practically always is under layers of clouds, the expert said.  "When we study the territory, we are gaining references in order to use space imaging to decipher the objects we need: pollution and structure of landscapes," he explained. "But in order to use radar imaging, which works regardless of clouds, we need to have a database of spectral images in different shooting ranges."  "Sets of references and comparison with how objects are represented in optical images will be used to develop a method of decoding radar imaging for the high-Arctic conditions," he added.  This method could be employed both on Franz Josef Land’s islands and on other islands as well as on the mainland with similar conditions: for example, on Novaya Zemlya and Severnaya Zemlya archipelagoes.  "The technologies could be used practically along the entire northern shore of continental Russia," Dobryansky pointed out. "In the Lena’s estuary in Yakutia, for example, there is still lots of environmental damage. The work there is supported financially by the Rosneft company."  The Russian Arctic National Park is Russia’s northernmost and biggest nature reserve, which covers an area of 8.8 million hectares. It was established on June 15, 2009. The Park includes a northern part of the Novaya Zemlya Archipelago’s Severny Island and the entire Franz Josef Land Archipelago.


theguardianuk--2019-01-03--Delhi air pollution surges to emergency levels

Delhi residents woke to a thick, grey smog on Thursday as air pollution in the Indian capital surged to emergency levels.  The state-run Central Pollution Control Board’s air quality index, which shows the concentration of poisonous particulate matter known as PM 2.5, stood at 440, up from 430 on Wednesday and about 12 times the US government-recommended level of 35.  Pollution levels hit 500 in some parts of Delhi, and there was very poor visibility in some areas. Last year the high was 450 on 23 December.  A sharp drop in temperatures and wind speed, combined with vehicle and industrial emissions, dust from building sites and smoke from the burning of waste, has increased pollution over much of north India including Delhi, which is home to more than 20 million people.  The cold weather has forced some people, especially those spending the night in the open, to burn small fires to keep warm, adding to the smog.  In October and November as pollution spiked, the government adopted measures ranging from a temporary ban on construction activities and waste burning to a clampdown on polluting industrial plants such as coal-fired power stations.  Critics say the measures were inadequate and poorly implemented, largely because of a lack of resources and political will.  “Climatic conditions have contributed to the crisis, but let’s admit that most steps announced in 2018 have failed miserably,” said Sunil Dahiya, a senior campaigner with Greenpeace.  India is home to the world’s 14 most polluted cities, with Delhi the sixth worst, the World Health Organization has said. Toxic air caused 1.24 million deaths in India in 2017, or 12.5% of the total, according to a study published in Lancet Planetary Health.


theguardianuk--2019-01-11--Air pollution as bad as smoking in increasing risk of miscarriage

Air pollution 'as bad as smoking in increasing risk of miscarriage'

Air pollution is as bad for pregnant women as smoking in raising the risk of miscarriage, according to a scientific study. They said the finding was upsetting and that toxic air must be cut to protect the health of the next generation.  Air pollution is already known to harm foetuses by increasing the risk of premature birth and low birth weight. Recent research has also found pollution particles in placentas.  The effect of long-term exposure to dirty air on the risk of miscarriage has been analysed previously. Studies from Brazil to Italy to Mongolia found a link, but others failed to do so.  However, the latest study is the first to assess the impact of short-term exposure to air pollution. It found that raised levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO ) pollution that are commonplace around the world increased the risk of losing a pregnancy by 16%.  “It’s pretty profound,” said Dr Matthew Fuller, at the University of Utah’s department of emergency medicine and one of the research team. “If you compare that increase in risk to other studies on environmental effects on the foetus, it’s akin to tobacco smoke in first trimester pregnancy loss.” NO is produced by fuel burning, particularly in diesel vehicles.  The research, published in the journal Fertility and Sterility, was conducted in Salt Lake City in the US, and surrounding urban areas. But Fuller said the results were applicable elsewhere: “There are many places in the world that suffer from pollution that is far greater, so this is not a problem unique to Utah. This is a problem we are all facing.” NO levels in Salt Lake City are similar to those in cities such as London and Paris.  Fuller was initially alerted to the issue when a family member lost a miscarried during a particularly poor period of air quality in 2016. He said: “That triggered the question in my mind and then I started noticing anecdotally that I was seeing spikes in miscarriage numbers in the emergency department during and after [pollution spikes].”  Fuller teamed up with the population health scientist Claire Leiser and others to see if the effect was real. They analysed the records of more than 1,300 women who attended the emergency department after miscarriages from 2007 and 2015.  A woman’s exposure to air pollution at the time of the miscarriage was compared with similar times when she did not miscarry, meaning that age, weight, income and other personal factors were accounted for. The strongest link with a lost pregnancy was the level of NO in the seven days before the miscarriage.  The average seven-day NO level across the whole period was 34 micrograms per cubic metre (μg/m3), but peaked at 145μg/m3. The researchers found an increase in NO pollution of 20μg/m3 was associated with a 16% rise in the risk of miscarriage. “Many of us think there is an effect [of air pollution] on our health, but to find out there are actual effects on unborn children is very upsetting,” said Fuller.  Higher levels of particle pollution were also linked to a greater risk of miscarriage, as found in a previous study, but the association in the new work was not statistically significant. However, other recent studies on long-term exposure to particle pollution in Iran, Italy, Mongolia and the US found significant links. Other air pollutants, including ozone and sulphur dioxide have also been implicated in these analyses.  The mechanism by which air pollution could harm a foetus has not yet been established but a likely hypothesis is that the pollutants cause oxidative stress and inflammation.  Dr Sarah Stock, at the University of Edinburgh and not part of the research team, said: “Air pollution is clearly detrimental to the health of millions of mothers, babies and children worldwide. Measures to reduce the impact of air pollution are crucial to ensure the health of future generations.”  But she noted that the risk of miscarriage varied substantially with the number of weeks of pregnancy and that the study had not been able to record this information, potentially introducing a bias into the result.  Leiser said: “If we were able to get the gestation stage that would be a real benefit, to get a sense of when the woman is most at risk. There really needs to be more studies done on this specific issue. But we know enough about air pollution and birth outcomes to say, if you are pregnant, talk to your doctor.”  The best action is to cut overall levels of pollution in urban areas, said Fuller. However he said women could choose to time their pregnancies to avoid the most polluted times of year. This is winter in Utah and many other places, but will vary depending on local conditions.  Fuller also said pregnant women could avoid exertion on polluted days and consider buying indoor air filters. “But in the developing world these are luxuries many people can’t afford,” he said.


theguardianuk--2019-01-14--New air pollution plans improve on EU rules government claims

New air pollution plans improve on EU rules, government claims

The government has set out new plans on air pollution that ministers say go beyond existing EU rules, with a pledge to improve air quality nationwide to the standards the World Health Organization (WH0) recommends.  Farmers will be subject to air quality regulations for the first time to cut their growing contribution to pollution, under the government plans set out on Monday, while diesel vehicle drivers and owners of wood-burning stoves will also face restrictions.  Under the government’s plans, only the cleanest forms of biomass stoves will be available from 2022, and farmers will be required to reduce their fertiliser use and the emissions of ammonia – a potent air-polluting gas, which can combine with other forms of air pollution to lodge small particles deep in the lungs – from fertiliser and livestock. Sales of bituminous or traditional house coal may also be phased out.  Ministers said the number of people living in areas with pollution above WHO guidelines would be halved by 2025. The government said air pollution was one of the biggest threats to public health in the UK, behind only cancer, obesity and heart disease.  But critics said the plans were short on detail, with no deadlines for meeting the WHO limits, and fell short of the status of EU targets, which are enshrined in law. Legal challenges to the government over its failure to adhere to EU rules, which resulted in a supreme court ruling against ministers last year, have played a key part in bringing air pollution to government attention in the last five years.  The social and economic costs of air pollution in the UK were likely to be greater than previously thought, the government said, citing calculations that the cost of air pollution could reach £18.6bn between now and 2035. Ministers said the new plans should reduce the cost to the NHS and society by £1.7bn a year by 2020, rising to £5.3bn a year from 2030.  Fresh science on the dangers of air pollution has been piling up. On Saturday, the Guardian reported new evidence that air pollution can increase the risk of miscarriage in early pregnancy, compared by one doctor to the effects of smoking. In recent years, studies have linked air pollution to dementia, heart conditions and birth defects. About 7 million people a year are estimated to die from air pollution around the world.  Michael Gove, the environment secretary, said the UK needed a new strategy to improve air quality. “The evidence is clear: while air quality has improved significantly in recent years, air pollution continues to shorten lives, harm our children and reduce quality of life,” he said.  After Brexit, the UK will no longer be subject to EU legislation on air pollution, which the government has flouted repeatedly in the last decade, and which has formed the basis of challenges by campaigners that have forced ministers to change course and put in place measures to reduce the problem.  The government has not made it clear whether there will be new legislation that would allow ministers to be held to account in future over the commitments they are making.  Simon Alcock, the head of public affairs at ClientEarth, a legal advocacy group that has taken the government to court on several occasions, called for a clearer framework: “Action to protect people’s health must be a requirement, not a nice-to-have.”  Gove said traffic pollution – targeted by campaigners as the key source of small particles that lodge deep in the lungs, and nitrogen oxides and other gases that irritate the breathing passages – was only part of the problem. “While air pollution may conjure images of traffic jams and exhaust fumes, transport is only one part of the story, and the new strategy sets out the important role all of us can play in reducing emissions and cleaning up our air to protect our health,” said Gove.  There were no new major measures in the strategy to combat pollution from vehicles, but a restatement of last year’s pledge to end the sale of new conventional petrol and diesel vehicles by 2040, which campaigners said was too far away.  Morten Thaysen, a clean air campaigner for Greenpeace UK, said: “The government is saying all the right things about the huge cost in human lives and money, but is proposing nothing new to tackle pollution from road transport. A 2040 phase-out date for diesel and petrol is effectively saying that yes, your grandchildren deserve clean air, but your children will have to go on breathing toxic fumes so as not to disrupt the car industry’s sales forecasts.”  A spokeswoman for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs told the Guardian: “We will not weaken our environmental protection when we leave the EU, but will maintain and even enhance our already high environmental standards. Our clean air strategy shows how we will go further and faster than the EU in reducing human exposure to particulate-matter pollution. This will be underpinned by new England-wide powers to control major sources of air pollution, plus new local powers to take action in areas with an air pollution problem.”


theguardianuk--2019-01-30--Air pollution and teenage mental health linked in study

Children who lived in areas with higher air pollution when younger are significantly more likely to have developed major depression by the age of 18, according to research.  In the first analysis of how common air pollutants affect teenage mental health, researchers found young people were three to four times more likely to have depression at 18 if they had been exposed to dirtier air at age 12. Comparison with earlier work indicates that air pollution is a greater risk factor than physical abuse in raising the risk of teenage depression.  The scientists said their findings are particularly significant because 75% of mental health problems begin in childhood or adolescence, when the brain is developing rapidly. The work also suggests a link between toxic air and antisocial behaviour, but more work is needed to confirm this. A larger study is expected later this year.  “High levels of air pollution are just not good for you, and particularly for your children, whether that be physical or mental health,” said Helen Fisher at Kings College London, who led the research. “It is sensible to try to avoid the areas with the highest levels of air pollution. We really should be pushing for local and national government to reduce those levels.”  The study, published in the journal Psychiatry Research, combined information from a group of children in London with high-resolution data on air pollution levels.  Of the 284 children studied, those who lived in the top 25% most polluted areas at age 12 were found to be three to four times more likely to have depression at 18, compared with those living in the 25% least polluted areas. In comparison, previous work has shown that children who suffer physical abuse are one and a half times more likely to develop depressive disorders.  The researchers took into account other factors that could affect mental health, such as a family history of mental illness, level of income, bullying and smoking habits. They also looked at levels of anxiety and ADHD, but found no link to air pollution.  The increase in risk of antisocial behaviour was three to five times higher. But unlike the link to depression, the result was not statistically significant, potentially because the number of adolescents in the study that behaved badly was small.  Compared with physical health, the effect of air pollution on mental health has been relatively little studied. Research on adults has so far produced conflicting results, although there is strong evidence that air pollution can result in a “significant reduction in intelligence”.  The study was not designed to investigate the cause of the depression suffered by the adolescents, but Fisher said inflammation caused by toxic pollution was most likely: “We know the pollutant particles are small enough to cross the blood-brain barrier [and] we know there are big links between inflammation in the brain and the development of depressive symptoms.”  She said children and adolescents are particularly vulnerable. “Their brains are developing, hormonally things are changing hugely, and they are exposed to a lot of stressful things,” such as forming their relationship with the world, as well as exams and looking for work, she said.  Fisher said further research was important as tackling air pollution was likely to be less difficult than other factors that cause psychiatric harm. “If we can really understand what is going on, then we have the option potentially to intervene early and do something about it,” she said.  “This study emphasises the dangers of air pollution to the teenage population of the UK, particularly those living in urban areas,” where mental health problems are higher, said Robin Russell-Jones, a public health doctor.  Levels of nitrogen dioxide pollution are at illegal levels in most urban parts of the UK and small particle pollution exceeds World Health Organization guidelines in many places. The government accepts dirty air shortens lives and harms children, but its latest action plan on roadside pollution was described as “pitiful” by environmental lawyers.  Prof Chris Griffiths, a founding member of the Doctors Against Diesel campaign, said: “Further studies are needed, but the urgency to reduce dramatically the exposure of young people to toxic air pollution remains.”  “The revelations are truly shocking and saddening and demonstrate just how critical it is that this public health crisis is properly dealt with,” said Jenny Bates, at Friends of the Earth.  Rebecca Daniels, at health charity Medact, said: “The government’s response is severely lacking – we need robust and comprehensive clean air policies now, including drastically reducing the number of polluting vehicles on our roads.”


theguardianuk--2019-02-04--Europes most deprived areas hit hardest by air pollution

Europe's most deprived areas 'hit hardest by air pollution'

Europe’s poorest, least educated and most jobless regions are bearing the brunt of the air pollution crisis, according to the first official stocktake of its kind.  Nearly half of London’s most deprived neighbourhoods exceeded EU nitrogen dioxide (NO2) limits in 2017 compared with 2% of its wealthiest areas.  Heart-attack survivors exposed to long-term air pollution in the Greater London area were more likely to be readmitted to hospital, where they also had higher mortality rates.  Similar findings were reported in France, Germany, Malta, the Netherlands, Wales and Wallonia, according to data-mining analysis from the European Environment Agency (EEA).  Shirley Rodrigues, the deputy mayor of London, said the government had “a moral obligation” to act on the city’s 9,000 pollution-related early deaths and the £4bn annual cost to the NHS.  She said: “There is a vast inequality in London between the richest and poorest areas. The richest areas own the most cars but people in the most deprived areas have the worst air quality – and the lowest car ownership figures. There is a moral obligation on the mayor – and on all of us – to act.”  While accepting there had been “some noise” against a £12.50 ultra-low emission zone rate due to begin on 1 April, she said the mayor had received a a lot of public support for the charge.  The mother of Ella Kissi-Debrah, who died of an asthma attack linked to air pollution, wants this recorded on the death certificate, which could be a way of focusing the debate, said Hans Bruyninckx, the EEA’s executive director.  “You can see those connections are already being made by citizens,” he said. “The question is: are we making them at a policy level?”  Across Europe, more than half a million people die prematurely each year from exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5), ozone (03) and NO2, but the extent to which the numbers are skewed by class has been under-researched.  Diarmid Campbell-Lendrum, the World Health Organization’s climate change and health team leader, said: “We’ve known at the global level for a long time that the poorest countries are much more exposed than the richest. It’s shocking to see that these inequities are also clear even within one of the richest continents in the world.”  Data in the EEA report shows that heart attacks and strokes account for 80% of early deaths from pollution, followed by lung diseases and cancers.  Polluted air is also being increasingly linked to new-onset type 2 diabetes in adults, obesity in children, systemic inflammation, Alzheimer’s disease and IQ deficiency.  Older people and children in working-class urban areas are most likely to suffer from its impacts.  “They are also the ones who tend to have the least say in how and where they live, work or go to school, which, in turn, affects their exposure to these environmental health hazards,” the report says. “As a result, their health tends to suffer the most from the impacts of air pollution, noise and extreme temperatures.”  Exposure to PM2.5 – by far the biggest killer – and O3 was highest in eastern European states blighted by poverty, unemployment and poor education.  Across Europe, Kosovo has suffered the most damaging impacts from PM2.5, and Iceland the least.  The EU’s environment commissioner, Karmenu Vella, said: “It is our fundamental duty to to aim for a high level of protection, respect the precautionary principle and take preventive rather than remedial action to promote social justice. The patterns of vulnerability and exposure are set to continue unless we take action that is more decisive.”


theguardianuk--2019-02-15--Did air pollution kill nine-year-old Ella

Did air pollution kill nine-year-old Ella?

This Friday marks six years since Ella Kissi-Debrah’s death, which her mother believes was partly caused by air pollution. Plus: 15-year-old George Bond explains why he is going on today’s school climate strike  Ella Kissi-Debrah lived 25 metres (82ft) from the heavily polluted South Circular Road in Lewisham, London. She died in February 2013 at the age of nine after three years of seizures and 27 visits to hospital for asthma attacks. Until the end of 2010, Ella had been in good health. An expert last year linked her death to the dangerously high levels of pollution from diesel traffic that breached legal limits.  Anushka Asthana talks to Rosamund Kissi-Debrah, Ella’s mother, about her fight to reopen the inquest so that air pollution can be recognised as a contributing factor to her death. Asthana also talks to Jocelyn Cockburn, the lawyer who represents Kissi-Debrah. Cockburn hopes an inquest will provide a better understanding of whether Ella’s death was avoidable and force the government and other bodies to account for their inaction over air pollution.  Plus: teenager George Bond explains why he won’t be going to school today and is instead joining others across the country in a nationwide school climate strike.

Presented by Anushka Asthana with Rosamund Kissi-Debrah, Jocelyn Cockburn and George Bond; produced by India Rakusen, Rachel Humphreys, Rose de Larrabeiti , Brenna Daldorph and Axel Kacoutié executive producers Phil Maynard and Nicole Jackson


theguardianuk--2019-02-27--Pollution map reveals unsafe air quality at almost 2000 UK sites

Pollution map reveals unsafe air quality at almost 2,000 UK sites

Almost 2,000 locations across the UK have levels of air pollution that exceed safety limits, according to a pollution map released by campaigners.  In 2017, the worst location for nitrogen dioxide pollution was Kensington and Chelsea, followed by Leeds and Doncaster.  Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) is one of the most harmful pollutant gases, irritating the lungs and potentially causing breathing difficulties. Road traffic is a leading source.  On Tuesday the mayor of London issued a high pollution alert for the capital as people across the UK basked in the unseasonably warm February weather. It was the first alert since last July, towards the end of a long heatwave and dry spell.  Traffic and other emissions from local sources were mainly to blame for this week’s dirty air, with only light winds to disperse them and air from the continent bringing further pollutants.  In April the first ultra-low emission zone will come into force in central London. The scheme is expected to cut harmful emissions by as much as 45%, according to the mayor’s office.  The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said high levels of particulate matter in the air were also recorded in the past few days in the East and West Midlands. Other regions were also expected to experience localised pollution in hotspots, carrying on at least into Wednesday.  The new map of nitrogen dioxide pollution limit breaches for recent years shows that Earl’s Court station in London was worst overall, with a recording of 129.5 micrograms per cubic metre, compared with the 40μg/m3 limit set out in the government’s air quality objectives.  A monitoring station near the Ikea store in Brent, north London, recorded levels slightly above 100μg/m3 in 2016, while Kensington High Street, Euston Road and Strand in central London were all above 90μg/m3 in 2017.  Air near Neville Street in Leeds was found to be just under the 100μg/m3 level, closely followed by two locations in Hickleton, Doncaster. Other hotspots included Brighton, Sheffield and Coventry, where the levels on Holyhead Road were found to be near twice the advised limit, at about 76μg/m3 in 2016.  Friends of the Earth, which mapped the sites and collated the data, said it was further evidence of the dire air quality across the country as a result of burgeoning traffic emissions and poor government controls on emissions sources. The group called for tougher action by ministers.  Simon Bowens, a clean air campaigner at FoE, said: “It’s unforgivable that across the UK there are nearly 2,000 locations over air quality limits, leaving millions of us breathing dangerously polluted air. The government needs to step up and do more to help deal with this air pollution crisis. They can’t just carry on leaving the difficult decisions with local authorities, many of which are severely under-resourced.”  He said the map showed that air pollution was not just a problem for big cities. “Unacceptably toxic air can be found across much of the UK, even in smaller towns,” he said. “It is harming the health of people across the country and is especially bad for young children whose lungs are still developing.”  Air pollution is known to shorten lives and reduce the quality of life for tens of thousands of people, and in recent studies it has also been linked to health problems from dementia to heart disease and miscarriage. Children are most at risk: exposure to air pollution when young can have lifelong effects as it can stunt the lungs and affect intelligence.  A fresh inquest into the death of Ella Kissi-Debrah, a nine-year-old from south London, is expected to be asked to consider whether her death six years ago from an asthma-related seizure could have been linked to high levels of air pollution.  The data used for the map was taken from the most recent annual air quality status reports that have been submitted to government, most of them from last year, with the results adjusted for distance and other factors.

Fiona Harvey Environment correspondent and Niamh McIntyre


theguardianuk--2019-03-12--Air pollution deaths are double previous estimates finds research

Air pollution deaths are double previous estimates, finds research

The number of early deaths caused by air pollution is double previous estimates, according to research, meaning toxic air is killing more people than tobacco smoking.  The scientists used new data to estimate that nearly 800,000 people die prematurely each year in Europe because of dirty air, and that each life is cut short by an average of more than two years. The health damage caused by air pollution in Europe is higher than the global average. Its dense population and poor air results in exposure that is among the highest in the world.  The new research, published in the European Heart Journal, indicates that while air pollution hits the lungs first, its impact via the bloodstream on heart disease and strokes is responsible for twice as many deaths as respiratory diseases.  The analysis builds on research published in September and confirms that calculation of 8.8m early deaths a year from outdoor air pollution around the world, double previous estimates.  “To put this into perspective, this means that air pollution causes more extra deaths a year than tobacco smoking,” said Prof Thomas Münzel at the University Medical Centre Mainz in Germany and one of the scientists behind the new study. “Smoking is avoidable but air pollution is not.”    Prof Jos Lelieveld of the Max-Plank Institute for Chemistry in Mainz and also part of the team, said: “Since most air pollutants come from the burning of fossil fuels, we need to switch to other sources of energy urgently. When we use clean, renewable energy, we are not just fulfilling the Paris agreement to mitigate the effects of climate change, we could also reduce air pollution-related death rates by up to 55%.”  The new research combined three sets of data: air pollution exposure, population density and age, and the health impacts of toxic air. It calculated a much higher number of premature deaths because better data on the wide impacts of air pollution is now available.  There was previously little data about the effect of high levels of air pollution and results from second-hand smoking studies were used instead, leading to an underestimate of deaths. There are now more than 40 large studies, including important research from China. Research also now covers a wider range of health impacts, including diabetes and high blood pressure, which also increases the estimated number of deaths.  The estimates of early deaths varied significantly between countries. In Germany, there were 154 early deaths per 100,000 people, with an average reduction of 2.4 years in life expectancy. In the UK, there were 98 deaths per 100,000 and a cut in lifespan of 1.5 years. Lelieveld said the UK’s lower number may be because Atlantic winds help to disperse pollution.  Münzel said small particles, less than 2.5 microns in size (PM2.5), are not paid sufficient attention when tackling cardiovascular disease. “The prevention guidelines for CVD must adopt air pollution as an important risk factor,” he said. The EU’s PM2.5 limit is more than double the World Health Organization (WHO) guideline used by Canada and Australia.  “The EU is lagging a long way behind,” Münzel said.“We as doctors and patients cannot alter the limits for air pollution, so the politicians have to stand up and give us an environment that keeps us safe.”  Prof Metin Avkiran of the British Heart Foundation said: “Air pollution is clearly a huge problem across Europe. We need to see WHO guidelines in UK law in order to drive decisive action to protect the nation’s health.”  Penny Woods, the chief executive of the British Lung Foundation, said: “Toxic air doesn’t just cut lives short. It also seriously affects the health and quality of life of millions of people.”  The scientists acknowledge there are large uncertainties in their early death estimates for Europe, which range from 645,000 to 934,000. Some deaths could have been misattributed to air pollution, but it is as likely that the true number of deaths could be even higher, they said.  The effects of air pollution on infant deaths was not included, because the evidence is not yet as strong. The new work also only considered PM2.5 and ozone, and not other particles, nitrogen dioxide or other pollutants.


theguardianuk--2019-03-13--Social disaster South Korea brings in emergency laws to tackle dust pollution

'Social disaster': South Korea brings in emergency laws to tackle dust pollution

South Korea has passed emergency measures to tackle the “social disaster” being unleashed by air pollution, after record levels of fine dust blanketed most of the country in recent weeks.  The national assembly passed a series of bills on Wednesday giving authorities access to emergency funds for measures that include the mandatory installation of high-capacity air purifiers in classrooms and encouraging sales of liquified petroleum gas vehicles, which produce lower emissions than those that run on petrol and diesel.  The measures will give government officials access to a US$2.65bn emergency fund, as criticism mounts of President Moon Jae-in’s failure to tackle the crisis.  Air pollution has become a key political issue after the concentration of fine dust particles surged to record levels in many parts of the country last week, according to South Korean media.  Seven major cities suffered record-high concentrations of dangerous PM 2.5 particles, according to the National Institute of Environmental Research.  The World Health Organization has warned that air pollution poses a major public health risk due to its links with a host of respiratory and cardiovascular illnesses.  Seoul has already introduced emergency measures, such as limiting vehicle use, curbing the use of coal-fired power stations and cutting the amount of dust generated by building sites and power plants. But they have had little success.  The crisis has also created friction with China, which South Korean public health experts say is responsible for between 50% and 70% of fine dust pollution in the Seoul area, home to almost half the country’s population. Experts say the particles, from Chinese deserts and factories, are carried to the Korean peninsula by prevailing westerly winds.  Chinese officials, however, rejected the claims, and urged South Korea to first determine if its own factories, power plants and vehicles were to blame.  “If we really want to solve the problem, we may first have to confirm what the problem is. If we don’t find any problem (at home), we must think that it has been from outside,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang said, according to Kyodo news.  Moon, whose personal approval ratings have dipped due to the crisis, has ordered officials to work with their Chinese counterparts on possible solutions, including the use of cloud-seeding to create artificial rain over the Yellow Sea, which divides the two countries, Yonhap said.


theguardianuk--2019-04-10--Vehicle pollution results in 4m child asthma cases a year

Vehicle pollution 'results in 4m child asthma cases a year'

Four million children develop asthma every year as a result of air pollution from cars and trucks, equivalent to 11,000 new cases a day, a landmark study has found.  Most of the new cases occur in places where pollution levels are already below the World Health Organization limit, suggesting toxic air is even more harmful than thought.  The damage to children’s health is not limited to China and India, where pollution levels are particularly high. In UK and Australian cities, the researchers blame traffic pollution for three-quarters of all new childhood asthma cases.  Canada has the third highest rate of new traffic-related asthma cases among the 194 nations analysed, while Los Angeles and New York City are in the top 10 worst cities out of the 125 assessed. Children are especially vulnerable to toxic air and exposure is also known to leave them with stunted lungs.  The research, published in the journal Lancet Planetary Health, is the first global assessment of the impact of traffic fumes on childhood asthma based on high-resolution pollution data.  “Our findings suggest that millions of new cases of paediatric asthma could be prevented by reducing air pollution,” said Prof Susan Anenberg, at George Washington University in the US. Asthma can cause deadly seizures.  The key pollutant, nitrogen dioxide, is produced largely by diesel vehicles, many of which emit far more than allowed on the road even after the Dieselgate scandal. “Improving access to cleaner forms of transport, like electrified public transport, cycling and walking, would reduce asthma, enhance physical fitness, and cut greenhouse gas emissions,” said Anenberg.  “This landmark study shows the massive global burden of asthma in children caused by traffic pollution,” said Prof Chris Griffiths, at Queen Mary University of London and the co-director of the Asthma UK Centre for Applied Research, who was not part of the research team. “Asthma is only one of the multiple adverse effects of pollution on children’s health. Governments must act now to protect children.”  The new study combined detailed NO2 pollution data with asthma incidence rates and population numbers. Many large studies have already shown a strong link between traffic pollution and childhood asthma and that pollution causes damaging inflammation. This data on risks was used to calculate the number of new cases around the world.  “From the weight of evidence, there is likely a strong causal relationship between traffic pollution and childhood asthma incidence,” said Ploy Achakulwisut, also at George Washington University and the lead author of the new study. “So we can be confident that traffic pollution has a significant effect on childhood asthma incidence.”  The epidemiological evidence for NO2 being the key pollutant is the strongest. However, researchers cannot rule out that other pollutants also pumped out by vehicles, such as tiny particles, are also a factor as it is not possible to experiment directly on people.  “Childhood asthma has reached global epidemic proportions,” said Prof Rajen Naidoo, at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa, and not involved in the study. It indicates that one in eight of all new cases is due to traffic pollution. “An important outcome from this study is the evidence that the existing WHO standards are not protective against childhood asthma.”  The country with the highest national rate of childhood asthma attributed to traffic pollution is South Korea, with almost a third of all new cases blamed on vehicles. Japan and Belgium are in the top 10, along with six Middle Eastern nations, including Saudi Arabia.  Due to their high populations and pollution levels, the top three countries for the total number of new children getting asthma each year are China (760,000), India (350,000) and the US (240,000). The scientists said their research may underestimate the true levels in many poorer nations where asthma often goes undiagnosed.  “While it is important for parents to try to reduce individual exposure, maybe by avoiding highly congested roads as much as possible, not everyone can do this,” said Achakulwisut. “So it is important to call for policy initiatives to tackle pollution at city, state and national levels.”  “The good news is that a transition to zero-emission vehicles is already underway,” she said. Some countries and cities are pledging to phase out internal combustion engines and policies such as London’s new ultra-low emission zone are being rolled out. “But this transition needs to become global, and it needs to happen faster. Each year of delay jeopardises the health of millions of children worldwide.”  Penny Woods, chief executive of the British Lung Foundation, said: “We used to think the only real danger roads posed to children was the threat of a car accident. However now we can see there’s an equally deadly risk: breathing in air pollution. Rightly, there’s been a huge effort to reduce road accidents and we need to see an equal commitment to reducing toxic air.”


theguardianuk--2019-04-10--Zambians can pursue mining pollution claim in English courts

Two thousand Zambian villagers who say their lives have been ruined by toxic runoff from the world’s second-largest opencast mine have won the right to pursue a claim through the English courts.  In a landmark judgment, the supreme court ruled that the mining conglomerate Vedanta Resources, which is based in London, and its Zambian subsidiary Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) can be held to account by English judges, despite the companies’ arguments that they should defend themselves in Zambia.  The decision opens the doors to a range of other cases to be brought against parent companies based in the UK for the actions of their subsidiaries overseas. Oliver Holland, associate solicitor at Leigh Day, who represented the Zambians, said: “I can see companies around London looking at their policies and thinking: what’s going to happen now?”  Cases against Royal Dutch Shell, Unilever and BHP Billiton over allegations of polluting communities in developing countries have been awaiting a decision in the Vedanta case before they can proceed.  The case was brought by 1,826 residents of the Chingola region, in Zambia’s Copperbelt province, who say that effluent from the Nchanga opencast mine has polluted their water supplies.  A vast operation covering nearly 30 sq km, the copper mine and its processing plant lie close to the Kafue River and its tributaries. Local farmers and fisherman claim to have suffered continual pollution since Vedanta bought KCM in 2004, including an incident in 2006 which they say turned the Kafue bright blue with copper sulphate and acid, and poisoned water sources for 40,000 people.  Chemicals believed to be draining into the local water supply include heavy metals such as lead and cadmium, which the claimants say have led to them suffering chronic illnesses and deaths.  “The villagers live close to the river, which we say that the effluent goes into, so it’s polluting their water sources and farmland,” Holland said. “They are saying they have to drink polluted water because there is no other water source.”  James Nyasulu from Chingola, a long term campaigner in the case, said the decision will finally enable thousands of victims of pollution to seek justice. “Their livelihoods, land and health have been irreparably damaged by pollution which has rendered the River Kafue completely polluted and unable to support aquatic life.”  The claimants first issued their case in the hight court in London in 2015, claiming negligence and breach of statutory duty over the release of effluent, but before it could proceed Vedanta challenged the jurisdiction of the English courts. The supreme court’s decision on Wednesday confirmed rulings in both the high court and the court of appeal.  A key point in the case were claims in company literature published by Vedanta – a £10bn company – that it took responsibility for environmental and sustainability standards across the group. It had agreed to submit to action in the Zambian courts alongside KCM, but the supreme court justices agreed with the claimants’ argument that there was a risk they may not have access to justice in Zambia, and so allowed the case against both companies to be heard in England.  “Had it not been for the access to justice problem, this court would therefore have refused the claimants permission to serve these English proceedings out of the jurisdiction upon KCM in Zambia,” Lord Briggs told the court. “As it is, however, the non-availability of access to justice in Zambia means that the proceedings against both defendants must continue in England.”  A spokesperson for Vedanta and KCM said the judgment was a procedural one relating to the jurisdiction of the case. “It is not a judgment on the merits of the claims,” the spokesperson said. “Vedanta and KCM will defend themselves against any such claims at the appropriate time.”  The claim against Vedanta and KCM can now proceed in the high court.


theguardianuk--2019-06-25--Air pollution may affect number of eggs ovaries can produce

Air pollution 'may affect number of eggs ovaries can produce'

Air pollution has been linked to a drop in activity of a woman’s ovaries, researchers have revealed.  Experts say the findings suggest the female reproductive system is affected by environmental factors, although the study does not look specifically at the impact of air pollution on fertility.  However, they added that if such an effect were permanent, it might mean that women might have a shorter period of their life in which to reproduce and an earlier menopause.  “Environmental aspects of our lives matter so we should take care about indoor environments as well as external,” said the study’s lead researcher, Antonio La Marca, of the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, in Italy.  The findings, presented at the annual meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology, are based on a study of levels of a hormone called AMH. This is released by cells in the ovaries and gives an indication of a woman’s ovarian reserve – the number of viable eggs the ovaries can produce. This level differs between women and is affected by a number of factors, including genetics, age and smoking. Its link to fertility is debatable: a low ovarian reserve does not necessarily mean natural conception will be difficult.  However, La Marca said previous studies had suggested there could be a link between higher air pollution and reduced fertility in women, and animal models have inferred air pollution could affect levels of AMH.  To explore the issue further, La Marca and colleagues looked at AMH levels in about 1,300 women, the samples being collected in Modena between early 2007 and autumn 2017. From the participants’ home addresses, the team estimated daily levels of small particulates known as PM2.5s and PM10s, as well as levels of nitrogen dioxide.  For women over the age of 25, levels of AMH in the blood fell with age. After taking age into account, though, the team found AMH levels were lower among women who lived in areas with higher levels of air pollutants.  More specifically, when the team split the air pollution levels into four bands, they found women living amid the worst pollution were two to three times more likely than those in the other bands to have AMH levels below 1ng/ml – a level the team say signifies a severely low ovarian reserve. La Marca said previous research had shown only about 10% of healthy women under the age of 30 had such low levels of AMH.  La Marca said while the link between AMH levels and the chances of becoming pregnant naturally in the short term remained unclear, the results suggested environmental factors could play a role in female reproductive health.  “Having a high AMH is in some way a reproductive advantage because women with a higher AMH are going to have a longer reproductive lifespan,” he said, adding it was also significant to those undergoing IVF. “If you have a high AMH you will have a higher number of eggs after ovulatory stimulation which turn into a higher number of embryos,” he said.  The study has limitations, not least that the team was unable to take into account other factors, such as poverty and poorer health, that tend to be more prevalent in areas of high pollution and might also affect AMH levels. What’s more, AMH and pollution levels were not tracked over time.  Richard Anderson, a professor of clinical reproductive science at the University of Edinburgh, said while the impact of environmental factors on sperm count and quality was a topic of much research, there had been far less work on possible impacts on the female reproductive system.  “This does show a reduction in the activity of the ovaries in women [living in areas of high air pollution],” he said, although he pointed out the levels of air pollution women were directly exposed to was not measured.  Anderson said questions remained. “There is uncertainty in whether this is a permanent effect, which might indicate perhaps a reduced reproductive lifespan and an earlier menopause, or whether this is a temporary effect that women could recover from if they are no longer exposed to those chemicals,” he said.