#webreathe

Our study shows that air pollution standards have to be taken more seriously. We estimated that 43% of mortality during the late neonatal period may be triggered by peaks of PM10 > 50 μg/m3. We do not claim that air pollution was the major, let alone the only, cause of death in these infants, but our data suggest that air pollution may precipitate death in infants with preexisting conditions.  (...) European regulation, which currently uses standards that are considerably higher than those of the WHO (2006), stipulates that we may have a maximum of 35 days/year with a mean PM10 > 50 μg/m3. In Belgium, this standard is barely met at present, and although minor improvements due to emission reduction measures are expected, the limit value of 50 μg/m3 will continue to be exceeded frequently in the coming decade. 

(...) The argument that it is difficult to meet standards in densely populated areas ignores the fact that the importance of a factor with respect to public health increases in proportion to the number of people who are exposed to it.

La UE ha fijado un límite para las partículas finas de 25 mg/m³ -superior a los 10 mg/m³ fijados por la OMS-, y se ha demostrado que los efectos adversos de la contaminación del aire sobre la salud están presentes incluso en concentraciones muy por debajo.

(...)

Los resultados mostraron que entre los 312.944 participantes, 2.095 desarrollaron cáncer de pulmón durante los 13 años que duró el seguimiento. Los investigadores vieron que por cada incremento de 5 microgramos por metro cúbico de contaminación (PM2.5), el riesgo de cáncer de pulmón se incrementaba en un 18%

When Americans think of health, we instinctively see in our mind’s eye the medical profession and the hospitals and clinics in which they treat illness. We usually do not think of architects and other design professionals. But what if we invited designers to help us reinvent aspects of preventive medicine? What if we adopted design strategies that lead to less sedentary lifestyles?

"We've all woken up to the fact that in London over 4,000 people die prematurely every year because of the air quality - that's worse than 9/11," he said.

"We're not just talking about a few elderly people dying a few months early. On average they're dying 11 years early.

It has been estimated that 90% of urban air pollution in rapidly growing cities in developing countries is attributable to motor vehicle emissions (UNEP, 2011) so while there are many sources of air pollution in Nairobi, including open air burning of refuse and biomass (Gatari, 2006), industrial operations and domestic cooking fires, motor vehicles play a critical role in the problem