Respro® Bulletin Board

Higher air pollution in Chinese cities tied to higher mortality rate

Posted on November 7, 2017 by Respro® UK Ltd

New research presented today at APHA’s 2017 Annual Meeting and Expo examined the burden of air pollution and its association with mortality in Chinese cities. The study by researchers at Drexel University Dornsife School of Public Health showed a significant correlation between higher air quality index concentrations and higher mortality rates. The study is the first to provide strong evidence of the burden of air pollution in major Chinese cities, as well as the impacts of air quality and climate change on urban population mortality.

Study authors examined daily air quality data from more than 100 cities in China between 2012 and 2015 and compared the data with mortality numbers available from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Air quality was measured with the air quality index, a pollution yardstick that includes ground-level ozone, particle pollution, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide. A higher air quality index value indicates a greater amount of pollution.

When researchers compared higher air quality index valued cities with mortality rates, they found that the two measures were significantly correlated. They also confirmed that cities with lower air quality index values had lower mortality rates. This correlation remained significant after researchers adjusted for covariates. Significantly, more than 5 percent of the variation in all-cause mortality could be explained by the difference in air quality index across China.

“Our research shows that air pollution is not just significantly linked to health problems like cardiovascular disease, diabetes and asthma, but also to a significantly higher rate of death,” said Longjian Liu, MD, PhD, MSc, who presented the study and serves as a visiting associate professor at Harvard University T.H. Chan School of Public Health and associate professor at Drexel University Dornsife School of Public Health. “People living in cities across the globe need to know how air pollution can harm them long term. They are the ones who will pay the price of poor air quality if action isn’t taken to clean up their air.”

The study observed that the monthly average air quality index of cities differed significantly by temperature, with the highest air quality index values occurring in winter and the lowest in summer. The study also showed significant geographic clustering of cities by air quality index, with the highest values in northern cities and the lowest in southeast China.

Researchers also found that heat index, precipitation and sunshine hours were negatively associated with air quality index.

via Higher air pollution in Chinese cities tied to higher mortality rate — ScienceDaily

Posted in Air Quality, Asia, China | Tagged Air Pollution, China, Research | Leave a comment

Delhi Air Pollution: CM Arvind Kejriwal Asks Sisodia to Shut Delhi Schools For a Few Days

Posted on November 7, 2017 by Respro® UK Ltd

The Indian Medical Association (IMA) has also appealed to the Delhi government to shut down outdoor sports and other such activities in schools keeping in view the harmful impact of air pollution on the health of the children.

New Delhi: On a day when Delhi woke up to a thick cover of smog and worrying levels of air pollution, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal asked his deputy and Education Minister Manish Sisodia to consider shutting schools for a few days in the city.

Delhi was alarmed by a ‘severe’ air quality on Tuesday with a thick haze blanketing the city as pollution levels breached permissible standards by multiple times.

“Considering high level of pollution, I have requested Manish Sisodia, Education Minister, to consider closing schools for few days,” Kejriwal tweeted.

The rapid fall in air quality and visibility began on Monday evening as moisture combined with pollutants shrouded the city in a thick cover of haze. With the morning air reaching severe levels, it has become all the more hazardous for school and college students and office goers.

By 10 am on Tuesday, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) recorded ‘severe’ air quality, meaning the intensity of pollution was extreme.

While an Air Quality Index (AQI) between 0-50 is considered good, Delhi’s average AQI was 411 at 9am on Tuesday morning, which is read as severe. According to the IMD, visibility also took a plunge and it was way below 200 metres.

Kejriwal has also blamed the rising pollution levels on crop burning in adjoining states. In a tweet, he said: “Delhi has become a gas chamber. Every year this happens during this part of year. We have to find a soln to crop burning in adjoining states (sic).”

via Delhi Air Pollution: CM Arvind Kejriwal Asks Sisodia to Shut Delhi Schools For a Few Days

Posted in Air Quality, Asia, India | Tagged Air Pollution, India, New Delhi | 1 Comment

Over 1,500 deaths a year in Ireland due to poor air quality

Posted on November 7, 2017 by Respro® UK Ltd

IRISH air is quietly killing its people.

A new report by the Environmental Protection Agency has revealed that Ireland has repeatedly breached air pollution standards set by the World Health Organization and that these breaches have resulted in over 1500 premature deaths a year.

The report shows that our home heating habits and over-reliance on cars are the primary contributors to our bad air quality.

With the cold months ahead, it’s inevitable that both central heating and the burning of coal for the open fire are set to become a regular fixture within Irish homes, but while that may be keeping you warm and cosy, it can also be significantly compromising your health.

While Ireland has remained within EU air quality levels – something the UK have repeatedly failed to do – it hasn’t met WHO, EEA or the Protection of Human Health criteria.

One particular pollutant that broke WHO rules is particle matter, which can lead to respiratory diseases like asthma.

Speaking on the matter, Pat Kenny from the Environmental Protection Agency said: “When we compare our air quality levels to those recommended by the World Health Organisation, the situation is a bit more complex. We face challenges in reducing our levels of particulate matter and ozone to below those recommended by the WHO Air Quality Guidelines.”

The agency said the worst offending places last year were Longford in Co Meath and Ennis, Co Clare.

However, monitoring sites in Finglas, Marino, Rathmines and Coleraine Street in Dublin, Heatherton Park, Cork,
Claremorris, Co Mayo, and Bray, Co Wicklow, also picked up pollution levels above World Health Organisation guidelines.

The ban on smoky coal in cities is expected to be extended nationwide next year.

Traditional fossil fuel burning remains a large contributor to air pollution with increasing evidence that farming is a large contributor.

A new Ambient Air Monitoring Programme is also launching today which aims to provide a 48 hour air-quality forecast to highlight the issue and problem areas.

via Over 1,500 deaths a year in Ireland due to poor air quality

Posted in Air Quality, Europe | Tagged Air Pollution, Environmental Protection Agency - EPA, Ireland, World Heath Organization (WHO) | Leave a comment

Air pollution in Pakistan and Indian causing accidents and illness

Posted on November 6, 2017 by Respro® UK Ltd

SMOG has enveloped most of Pakistan and India, causing road accidents and respiratory problems.

Pakistani meteorologist Mohammad Hanif said yesterday that the pollution, caused by the burning of crops and emissions from factories and brick kilns in Pakistan and neighbouring India, was expected to linger until the middle of the month.

Average air pollution in Pakistan’s major cities is about four times higher than the recommended World Health Organization limits.

Similar problems have been reported in the Indian capital, New Delhi, where air quality was rated “very poor” on Saturday.

Some private schools in New Delhi have suspended sports and outdoor activities.

India’s Supreme Court banned the sale of fireworks in New Delhi ahead of last month’s Hindu Diwali festival in an attempt to curb air pollution in the notoriously smoggy city.

Though reports said air quality was better than last year, pollution levels in the capital hit 18 times the healthy limit a night after the festival, as many ignored the ban.

via Air pollution in Pakistan and Indian causing accidents and illness | The National

Posted in Air Quality, Asia, India | Tagged Air Pollution, New Delhi, Pakistan | Leave a comment

China’s capital issues orange alert for upcoming smog

Posted on November 3, 2017 by Respro® UK Ltd

Beijing issued its first orange smog alert ahead of winter on Friday, forecasting heavy air pollution over the next four days, the second-highest alert in China’s four-tier emergency response system.

Vehicles with National I and II emission standards and trucks transporting waste earth and construction debris will be banned from roads between Nov. 4 and Nov. 8, according to a notice posted on Weather.com – a website affiliated with China’s National Meteorological Administration.

Large parts of northern China suffer from chronic smog during the bitterly cold winters because much of the heating demand is still met by coal. Pollution alerts during the winter pollution season are common in the region – a problem that the government has struggled to solve despite a multi-year effort.

Authorities in smog-blighted northern provinces such as Hebei, Henan, Shandong and Shanxi have urged their major industrial cities to slash steel output ahead of winter, part of the Ministry of Environmental Protection’s smog battle plan to cut levels of hazardous airborne particles known as PM2.5 air pollutants by more than a quarter in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei area by 2017 from 2012 levels.

But measures taken so far have had little or no effect. PM2.5 concentration levels in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei area remained at around 52 micrograms in September, the same as last year.

China’s Environment Minister Li Ganjie acknowledged last month the government’s efforts to meet air quality targets for the year face “huge difficulties,” and has asked for the public’s patience.

Source: China’s capital issues orange alert for upcoming smog

Posted in Air Quality, Asia, China | Tagged Air Pollution, Beijing, China, Hebei, Tianjin | Leave a comment

Air pollution may up mortality risk beyond lung cancer

Posted on November 2, 2017 by Respro® UK Ltd

Air pollution represents a complex mixture of a broad range of carcinogenic and mutagenic substances that may play a role in chronic systemic inflammation, oxidative stress and DNA damage in tissues that could ultimately prove fatal.

Air pollution can increase the risk of death from kidney, bladder and colorectal cancer besides causing lung cancer, a study has showed.

According to researchers, air pollution represents a complex mixture of a broad range of carcinogenic and mutagenic substances that may play a role in chronic systemic inflammation, oxidative stress and DNA damage in tissues that could ultimately prove fatal.

“This research suggests that air pollution was not associated with death from most non-lung cancers, but the associations with kidney, bladder and colorectal cancer deserve further investigation,” said lead author Michelle Turner, researcher at the Barcelona Institute of Global Health (ISGlobal) in Spain.

For the study, published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, the team included more than 600,000 adults in the US and examined associations of mortality from cancer at 29 sites with long-term residential exposure to three ambient pollutants: PM2.5, nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and ozone (O3).

Over 43,000 non-lung cancer deaths were registered among the participants. PM2.5 was associated with mortality from kidney and bladder cancer, with a 14 and 13 per cent increase respectively, for each 4.4 µg/m3 (microgram) increase in exposure.

In turn, exposure to NO2 was associated with colorectal cancer death, with a 6 per cent increase per each 6.5 ppb (parts per billion) increment.

No significant associations were observed with cancer at other sites.

Source: Air pollution may up mortality risk beyond lung cancer

Posted in Air Quality, Health Effects of Air Pollution, Medical Studies | Tagged Air Pollution, Health Effects of Air Pollution, Nitrogen Dioxide NO2, Ozone O3, PM2.5, Research | Leave a comment

Dust Storms Blanket Khuzestan, Western Iran

Posted on November 1, 2017 by Respro® UK Ltd

Schools were closed across parts of Iran amid severe dust storms that prompted officials to release “red alert” warnings as the concentration of dust and particles in the air has soared above safe levels.

Several cities in the oil-rich province of Khuzestan and western parts of Iran were facing volumes 30 times higher than considered safe.

Citing the Environmental Protection Office in Khuzestan, the government’s official news agency, IRNA, reported that “the volume of dust and particles in several cities of the province passed the red-alert level” as of October 30.

The Iranian government considers the normal volume of particulate matter to be 150 micrograms per cubic meter. This standard is much lower in the U.S., especially for smaller particle concentration. Any level between 101-150 is already dangerous for vulnerable individuals.

At the same time the next day, the volume topped 4,200 micrograms per cubic meter in Abadan, 1,785 micrograms in Shadegan, and 1,245 micrograms per cubic meter in Sousangerd. Air pollution in the early hours of October 31 in Ahvaz was reportedly 239 micrograms per cubic meter.

Dozens of schools in the provinces of Khuzestan, Ilam, and Kurdistan were forced to shut down on October 31.

On November 1, IRNA reported that the situation is still severe.

Quoting Khuzestan’s Governor-General’s Department of Crisis Management, the Iran Students News Agency (ISNA) reported that schools in nine cities of the province were shut down because of high air pollution.

The poor air quality also forced governmental offices in Ahvaz and six other cities in Khuzestan — Hamidieh, Karoun, Bavi, Dasht-e Azadegan, Hoveizeh, and Shadegan — to close down at noon.

According to local reports, the volume of air pollution in the western city of Sanandaj on October 31 was nine times higher than the standard level and posed a serious risk.

Air pollution kills 35,000 people every year in Iran, according to the Iranian Environmental Protection Organization.

“Air pollution also kills 5,000 people in Iran’s capital city, Tehran,” said Mohammad Darvish, director-general of the organization’s office for education and popular cooperation.

Iranian media have published many reports about the skyrocketing levels of air pollution in Iran’s metropolitan cities, including Tehran, Mashhad, Isfahan, and Ahvaz, as well as cities in Sistan and Baluchestan Province.

Iran’s vice president and head of the Environmental Protection Organization in President Hassan Rouhani’s first cabinet, Masoumeh Ebtekar, also warned of the deteriorating condition of some of the country’s wetlands to dangerous levels and blamed Turkey for building too many dams.

“Excessive construction of dams in Turkey has plunged the Hoor al-Azim wetlands into a dangerous condition,” she said in June.

Ebtekar called on the Iranian Foreign Ministry to step in and save the wetlands from desiccation through talks with Ankara.

Turkey, however, has repeatedly dismissed such comments as unfounded.

Meanwhile, Ebtekar also blamed the desiccation of wetlands in neighboring Iraq and the reduction of its rivers’ water levels for jeopardizing Hoor al-Azeem.

Source: Dust Storms Blanket Khuzestan, Western Iran

Posted in Air Quality, Iran, Middle East | Tagged Air Pollution, Iran, Khuzestan | Leave a comment

How dangerous is the air where you live? UK’s most polluted towns and cities revealed

Posted on October 31, 2017 by Respro® UK Ltd

Research suggests the air in 44 out of 51 British towns and cities has failed pollution tests – posing a risk to human health.

Millions of people in the UK are inhaling air considered too dangerous to breathe by the World Health Organisation (WHO), a report has revealed.

WHO’s air quality database showed 44 out of 51 British towns and cities had failed its tests for fine sooty particles smaller than 2.5 microns across.

The particles, known as PM2.5s, have been linked to causing heart disease and premature death and they should not exceed 10 micrograms per cubic metre of air, according to the organisation.

But a significant number of places exceeded the amount required to keep air safe.

Dr Toby Hillman, one of the report’s authors from the Royal College of Physicians, said: “There isn’t a safe limit for the amount of pollution that’s been defined as yet and we know the effects of poor air quality run from cradle to grave; it’s a lifetime threat to human health.

“This is a really direct and tangible impact on UK health from the drivers of climate change, and taking action on air quality should be a priority.”

:: Here is a list of the worst places in the UK for air quality according to average annual PM2.5 numbers (in micrograms):

Glasgow – 16

Scunthorpe – 16

Eastbourne – 15

Leeds – 15

London – 15

Salford – 15

Southampton – 15

Armagh – 14

Birmingham – 14

Cardiff – 14