Excessively polluted air in Serbia at start of heating season

Posted on October 7, 2021 by Respro® UK Ltd

When data from the government’s measuring stations are compared to the World Health Organization’s new recommendations, the air in Serbia is excessively polluted almost everywhere it is monitored, even though the heating season is only beginning. Professor Vladimir Đurđević from the Faculty of Physics in Belgrade pointed to the results of new research that showed ten thousand people die per year from exposure to polluted air.

The institutions aren’t doing their job in the sphere of air pollution control in Serbia, according to speakers at a roundtable organized by the National Ecological Association (NEA). The event was held at the start of the heating season, during which extremes unheard of elsewhere in Europe occur in many places. It worsens the continuously difficult situation in industrial centers like Bor and Smederevo.

Commenting on the report for last year from the Serbian Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA), the former chief of its relevant department Milenko Jovanović said the problems remained the same. The court reinstated him after he was unlawfully fired, but the agency degraded the team, leaving only three people to track the government’s entire network of air monitoring stations.

No one held accountable for violating law, jeopardizing public health

The law doesn’t cover the concentration of heavy metals in the air, Jovanović warned. He said sulfur dioxide has been “eliminated” in Europe from the group of serious pollutants but that in Bor, which is the most polluted city in Serbia, the levels surpassed the legal maximum 374 times last year. On 25 occasions, SO2 presence was dangerous for health for more than three consecutive hours, even though such breaches are officially not tolerated.  

The median level of arsenic was 46 times higher than allowed in 2020 and the legal limits were surpassed by several times also for cadmium and lead. At the same time, public inspection halved the number of its criminal charges and economic offenses, Jovanović revealed. The number of verdicts came in at just 16, compared to 73 from 2018.

Almost half of ten thousand premature deaths can be prevented by following regulations

Professor Vladimir Đurđević from the Faculty of Phisics in Belgrade pointed to a new finding that 9,773 people in Serbia die prematurely every year just from exposure to particulate matter PM2.5. He estimated the total number, including the effect of ozone and nitrogen oxides, is near ten thousand.

The data is from a domestic project for the development of an air protection program. In Đurđević’s words, the number of early deaths can be lowered to between 5,401 and 7,373, depending on which protection measures are applied.

The upper level could be reached if the law was just followed in the segment of emission control and desulfurization in Serbia’s entire fleet of eight large combustion plants, mostly coal-fired power plants, Đurđević said.

For the most optimistic scenario so far, where the death count would drop to 5,401, citizens would have a role including in the replacement of old cars and the introduction of environmentally friendly household heating devices. But the government is responsible for three quarters of preventable deaths, Đurđević added.

Urban population’s exposure in Serbia is two times higher than in EU

Dejan Lekić, another expert from NEA who worked in SEPA, highlighted the new recommendations from the World Health Organization, which drastically reduced the maximum desired levels of PM2.5 and PM10 particles on an annual level.

He said that according to that adjustment, almost every monitoring station registered more than 35 daily breaches, which is the highest number allowed in Serbia. When the same criteria are applied, the air was already excessively polluted on October 3 at almost every station in Serbia.

The exposure of the urban population to PM2.5 and PM10 in Serbia is two times higher than in the EU, Lekić said, citing data from the European Environment Agency. He has created an application called xEco vazduh that shows air quality from public monitoring stations in Serbia.

Electrostatic filters are not enough

Professor Dragana Đorđević from the Institute for Chemistry, Technology and Metallurgy (IHTM) at the University of Belgrade noted that coal-fired power plants in Serbia produce six million tons of ash per year. Electrostatic filtering systems can’t do everything, as they only hold larger particles but not the smaller ones, which are more dangerous, she asserted.

In her words, arsenic, radon and mercury are emitted into the air as gas, which makes them far more dangerous.

Excessively polluted air in Serbia at start of heating season
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Years of exposure to air pollution and road traffic noise may raise heart failure risk

Posted on October 6, 2021 by Respro® UK Ltd

Exposure to air pollution and road traffic noise over the course of many years may be associated with an increased risk of developing heart failure, and the correlation appears to be even greater in people who are former smokers or have high blood pressure, according to new research published today in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

“We found that long-term exposure to specific air pollutants and road traffic noise increased the risk of incident heart failure, especially for former smokers or people with hypertension, so preventive and educational measures are necessary,” said Youn-Hee Lim, Ph.D., lead author of the study and assistant professor in the section of environmental health within the department of public health at the University of Copenhagen in Copenhagen, Denmark. “To minimize the impact of these exposures, broad public tactics such as emissions control measures should be implemented. Strategies like smoking cessation and blood pressure control must be encouraged to help reduce individual risk.”

This analysis examined the impact of long-term environmental exposure, specifically from air pollution and road traffic noise, on the development of heart failure in a group of female nurses in Denmark over a 15-to-20-year period.

Researchers collected data from a prospective study of over 22,000 members of the all-female Danish Nurse Cohort study. The women were 44 years of age and older at study enrollment and living in Denmark. Participants were recruited in 1993 or 1999, and when they enrolled, each woman completed a comprehensive questionnaire on body mass index, lifestyle factors (smoking, alcohol consumption, physical activity and dietary habits), pre-existing health conditions, reproductive health and working conditions. Information on heart failure diagnoses was gathered throughout the 20-year follow by linking study participants to the Danish National Patient Register, which includes records on all health care provided at hospitals in Denmark. Patient data was collected through December 31, 2014.  

The study group lived in rural, urban and suburban areas throughout Denmark. To best measure individual exposure to air pollution and road traffic noise, researchers maintained records of each individual’s residential addresses, including any moves to new residences from 1970 and 2014. To determine levels of air pollution, the yearly average concentrations of two components, fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2), were measured using a Danish air pollution modeling system. Road traffic noise levels within a three-kilometer radius from the participants’ residential addresses were estimated using a validated model system called Nord2000 and measured in decibels (dB), the standard unit for the intensity of sound.

The analysis of various pollutants and their effects on incident heart failure found:

– For every 5.1 µg/m3 increase in fine particulate matter exposure over three years, the risk of incident heart failure increased by 17%;

– For every 8.6 µg/m3 increase in NO2 exposure over three years, the risk of incident heart failure increased by 10%;

– For every 9.3 dB increase in road traffic noise exposure over three years, the risk of incident heart failure increased by 12%; and,

– Increased exposure to fine particulate matter and status as a former smoker were associated with a 72% increased risk of incident heart failure.

“We were surprised by how two environmental factors—air pollution and road traffic noise—interacted,” Lim said. “Air pollution was a stronger contributor to heart failure incidence compared to road traffic noise; however, the women exposed to both high levels of air pollution and road traffic noise showed the highest increase in heart failure risk. In addition, about 12% of the total study participants had hypertension at enrollment of the study. However, 30% of the nurses with heart failure incidence had a previous history of hypertension, and they were the most susceptible population to air pollution exposure.”

The study has several limitations. Researchers did not have information on additional variables that may have affected the results of the analysis, such as measures for each individual’s exposure to indoor air pollution or occupational noise; the amount of time spent outdoors; glass thickness of the windows of their home, which may influence noise pollution levels; if they had a hearing impairment; or individual socioeconomic status. Additionally, almost one-fourth of the original participants in the Danish Nurse Cohort were excluded from the final analysis because information was missing at the beginning of the study or at the study’s completion, so selection bias may be a contributing factor. The researchers also note that since they investigated Danish female nurses’ exposure levels and health outcomes, a generalization of the results to men or other populations warrants caution.

Previous research has shown an association between air pollution and cardiovascular disease, and the American Heart Association detailed a collection of research on the risks of pollution in a scientific statement in 2004, with additional updated findings added in 2010. In 2020 the American Heart Association American Heart Association published a scientific statement and policy guidance to address the implications of air pollution amid the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. The policy statement discusses policy guidance at the local, state and federal levels to improve the health of our communities. Short-term exposure to high levels of some air pollutants has also been linked to heart failure.

Years of exposure to air pollution and road traffic noise may raise heart failure risk
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When the Western US burns, the East also gets sick

Posted on October 5, 2021 by Respro® UK Ltd
While states in the Western U.S. have higher concentrations of PM2.5 pollution from smoke, more people in the Eastern U.S. go to emergency rooms due to smoke-related illness, according to a new study in GeoHealth. Credit: O’Dell et al. (2021)/GeoHealth

While most of the largest U.S. wildfires occur in the Western U.S., almost three-quarters of the smoke-related deaths and visits to the emergency room for asthma occur east of the Rocky Mountains.

Smoke exposure, whether from wildfires or local burning, contributes to health problems across the U.S., but the impacts vary by region. A new study finds that smoke contributes to a larger percentage of health problems in the West, but affects greater numbers of people in the East—possibly when they aren’t even aware of the smoky air.

The new study was published in GeoHealth, AGU’s journal investigating the intersection of human and planetary health for a sustainable future.

In the West, where population density is generally lower and smoke concentrations are typically higher, smoke played a larger role in the number of asthma complaints and ER visits, contributing to more than 1% of annual visits in some years. In the East, with its high population density and lower smoke concentrations, there were a higher number of visits overall, even though a smaller percentage were related to smoke (0.3% to 0.6%).

The researchers estimate that long-term smoke exposure results in about 6,300 extra deaths each year, with the highest numbers occurring in the most populous states. Only 1,700 of those deaths occurred in the West.

Fires throw tremendous amounts of pollutants into the air, including toxic gases and soot. Smoke contains tiny particles smaller than 2.5 microns, called PM2.5, that enter the lungs and contribute to multiple health problems. Short-term exposure to PM2.5 from smoke is linked to respiratory health problems, like asthma attacks, and the long-term effects of PM2.5 from smoke are not fully understood. Research on PM2.5 from urban pollution suggests that exposure is linked to lung cancer, heart disease and an overall higher chance of death.

“Large wildfires are projected to increase in frequency and burned area in the Western U.S. Because of that, and projected decreases in urban-sourced PM2.5, fires are expected to become the dominant source of PM2.5 in the U.S. by the end of the century,” said atmospheric scientist and first author Katelyn O’Dell. O’Dell was formerly a graduate student at Colorado State University but is now a postdoctoral researcher at George Washington University. “We wanted to study the impacts of wildfire smoke specifically on health so we can better prepare for that future, when we expect to have more smoke in our lives.”

O’Dell collaborated with epidemiologists at Colorado State University to perform a health impact assessment. The researchers estimated the fraction of asthma ER visits and hospitalizations resulting from PM2.5 in smoke across the country from 2006 to 2018. They used existing data on asthma hospital visits and daily local estimates of PM2.5 based on readings from instruments at ground level and satellite data showing the location of smoke in the atmosphere.

The new study also included the first analysis of the health impacts of 18 hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) present in smoke, such as formaldehyde and benzene. The researchers determined that HAPs are likely a less important but more uncertain factor than PM2.5 in the health problems caused by smoke exposure.

As smoke pollution is likely to increase, the researchers argue that the U.S. needs better national smoke forecasting and alerts so that people in downwind regions know when to take precautions like wearing a mask, limiting time outside and using indoor air purifiers.

“We talk about smoke in the West so much, but we don’t often talk about smoke in the East,” O’Dell said. “I wonder if there’s a lack of awareness because you think, ‘Oh, that’s a Western problem.'” 

O’Dell emphasized that their study didn’t determine the source of the smoke affecting each region and that local burning and Canadian fires also contribute to smoky air in the Eastern U.S. She said that establishing the source of the smoke impacting health in each region is an important next step.

Tarik Benmarhnia, a climate change epidemiologist at the University of California, San Diego, who was not involved in the study, agreed that we need better smoke warning systems, especially for farm workers and others who labor outside. He pointed out that while smoke plumes impact entire regions, they don’t affect all residents equally. Age, race, ethnicity, exposure to other types of air pollution—such as from traffic—and pre-existing health conditions can all put a person at higher risk of developing health problems from smoke. He said that future research should investigate these disparities.

“The conclusion of the study is important,” said Benmarhnia, “We systematically underestimate the real public health impact of wildfires, which is related to smoke. And smoke can travel very, very far away.”

When the Western US burns, the East also gets sick
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Turkey’s 13 cities had ‘high air pollution’ in 2020

Posted on October 4, 2021 by Respro® UK Ltd

The aptly titled “Dark Report” from the non-profit Right to Clean Air Platform (THHP) based in Turkey paints a gloomy picture of air pollution in Turkey. The report, based on data from pollution measurement stations, says 13 provinces out of 81 in the country suffered from high levels of air pollution in 2020 – a year when contributions to pollution peaked due to disruptions to daily life caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Average annual particulate matter values (PM10) recorded at 97.7% of the 175 measurement stations, exceeded guideline values set by the World Health Organization (WHO), the report says.

Guideline values set a limit on tolerance of air pollutants before it poses a public health risk. Particulate matter is the most comprehensive indicator for air pollution and includes sulfate, nitrates, ammonia, sodium chloride, black carbon, mineral dust and water. Particles smaller than 10 microns in diameter can penetrate the lungs, endangering human health.

According to the report, air pollution in 45 provinces surpassed national limits in pollutants. Fifteen stations in the provinces of Muş, Iğdır, Malatya and Ağrı in the east, Istanbul, Edirne and Denizli in the west, the capital Ankara, the northern provinces Tokat, Düzce, Sinop and Karabük and the central province of Kayseri indicate they all suffer from high pollution, while only Bitlis and Hakkari, two small provinces in the east, had PM10 below WHO guideline values. The report singles out Muş as having the most polluted air, which “the population has to breathe for 306 days in a year.”

Istanbul, as the country’s most crowded city, prominently figured in the Dark Report, although it boasted a lower PM10 average compared to previous years. Still, the 2020 levels were two times higher than WHO guideline values. Four districts and neighborhoods of the city had levels three times higher level than the WHO limit. These were Mecidiyeköy on the European side of the city, a busy hub of transportation and businesses, the developing suburb Sultangazi, Esenyurt, which has seen a population boom in recent years, and Alibeyköy. In the capital Ankara, air pollution levels recorded by a station in Siteler, an industrial neighborhood dotted with furniture factories, were four times higher than the WHO limits.

In Izmir, the country’s third-largest province, Aliağa fared the worst, with levels more than twice the WHO values. The main pollutants in the industrial hub of Aliağa include a coal-powered plant, factories processing junk metal and petrochemical facilities.

THHP says the increasing number of heat waves Turkey has faced in the last decade has made forest fires more prevalent among the causes of pollution. It gives an example of a fire in Hatay that emitted massive levels of black carbon into the air. Another finding of the report is that coronavirus cases are higher in locations with higher air pollution.

Air pollution weakens the lungs, the main target of COVID-19, which in turn aggravates the cases. THHP Coordinator Buket Atlı says that Turkey must commit to reducing early deaths stemming from air pollution by 55% by 2030 and it needs to declare a strategy against nationwide air pollution, “a great public health problem.”

Turkey’s 13 cities had ‘high air pollution’ in 2020 | Daily Sabah
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Swiss air pollution exceeds new WHO guidelines

Posted on October 1, 2021 by Respro® UK Ltd

On 22 September 2021, the World Health Organisation (WHO) adjusted its healthy guidelines for key air pollutants. Switzerland now regularly exceeds maximum guidelines for several pollutants.

According to WHO, exposure to air pollution is estimated to cause 7 million premature deaths a year globally and result in the loss of millions more healthy years of life. The damage includes reduced lung growth and function, respiratory infections and aggravated asthma in children. In adults it mainly causes ischaemic heart disease and strokes. Evidence is also emerging of other effects such as diabetes and neurodegenerative conditions. The burden of disease attributable to air pollution is on par with unhealthy diet and tobacco smoking, said the health agency.

The WHO said that there was a marked increase in evidence that shows how air pollution affects different aspects of health. After a systematic review of the evidence the body decided to adjust almost all of its air quality guideline levels downwards.

The guidelines set out new healthy guideline levels for six pollutants, which include particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10), ozone (O₃), nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) sulfur dioxide (SO₂) and carbon monoxide (CO).

The annual guideline for PM2.5 was halved from 10µg/m3 to 5µg/m3 – PM2.5 particulate matter penetrates into lungs with the potential to pass through the lungs into other organs. The same annual rates for PM10 were cut from 20µg to 15µg and for NO2 they were cut from 40µg to 10µg.

Much of Switzerland regularly exceeds these new guidelines. In 2019, Bern came in with a PM2.5 reading of 10.9 μg/m³, well in excess of the new guideline of 5µg/m3.

Air pollution in Switzerland is seasonal. In 2019, air quality in Bern declined in November from around 8 μg/m³ of PM2.5 to 11.6μg/m³. This then climbed to 14.7 μg/m³ in January, and then to a yearly high of around 18 μg/m³ in February, the most polluted month.

In winter, burning wood, gas and heating oil add to Switzerland’s pollution. In addition, between 2-3% of the electricity generated in Switzerland is from fossil fuels.

During September 2021, Bern managed PM2.5 levels under 5µg for only 3 out of 30 days, according to IQAir. On the worst day air concentration of PM2.5 rose as high as 14.8µg/m3, close to three times the annual guideline limit. September air in Bern scored better on PM10 concentrations. The new annual WHO guideline is 15µg/m3. Bern had PM10 concentrations above this level for only 17 out of 30 days (57%).

Much of Switzerland’s pollution comes from vehicles and factories. Cars and trucks generate large amounts of NO2 and SO2 in addition to rubber particles from their tyres, which continue to accumulate. 200 tonnes of these particulates have been spread around Switzerland over the last 20 years alone.

Those most at risk from poor air quality are people living near factories and areas of dense traffic. Road commuters are also exposed to road pollution.

Swiss air pollution exceeds new WHO guidelines

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Europe’s industrial air pollution costing hundreds of billions: EEA

Posted on September 30, 2021 by Respro® UK Ltd

Air pollution from industries in Europe causes health and environmental damage estimated at up to €430 billion for a single year, the European Environment Agency (EEA) said Wednesday (29 September).

In 2017, industrial air pollution cost society between €277 billion and €433 billion, according to a new report from the agency.

“This is equivalent to about two to 3% of EU GDP, and is higher than many individual Member States’ total economic output that year,” the EEA said in a statement.

While European industry has made “significant progress” in reducing its environmental and climate impact, “societal costs or ‘externalities’ caused by air pollution from the sector remain high.”

The effects of the pollution include illness and premature death as well as the deterioration of ecosystems, habitats and crops. These have all been given an estimated monetary value in the report.

Of the 11,000-plus sites reporting pollutant emissions, 211 are responsible for half of the total costs, according to the report. These are mainly located in Germany, the UK, Poland, Spain and Italy.

Air pollution from thermal power plants – mostly run on coal – is the most dangerous to health and the environment, followed by emissions from heavy industry, fuel production and processing, according to the EU agency.

These are followed by lighter industries, waste management, livestock farming and wastewater treatment.

Among the 30 most polluting facilities on the continent, 24 are thermal power plants, 15 of which are in Western Europe including seven in Germany, according to the study.

The single most polluting plant is in Poland but the next four are in Germany.

Despite slight improvements, “air pollution is still a major health risk for Europeans,” the agency warned last week, as the levels of fine particulate matter, ozone and nitrogen oxides are often above air quality standards.

Europe’s industrial air pollution costing hundreds of billions: EEA – EURACTIV.com

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Air pollution linked to nearly 6 million premature births in 2019, study finds

Posted on September 29, 2021 by Respro® UK Ltd

A new study released Tuesday from the University of California, San Francisco and the University of Washington found air pollution likely caused millions of babies to be born prematurely and under a healthy weight in 2019. Babies who are born with low birth weights or born prematurely have significant health disadvantages, including higher rates of major illnesses throughout their lives. 

The World Health Organization has estimated that approximately 90% of the global population lives with outdoor air pollution, and 50% of the global populations also lives with indoor air pollution from wood, coal and dung-fueled fires inside the home.

The study looked at how air pollution affected multiple parts of pregnancy, including length of pregnancy, birth weight, preterm birth and weight loss after birth. It’s the first study to include indoor air pollution, which accounted for two thirds of the documented effects. 

In 2019, air pollution resulted in nearly 6 million premature births and 3 million underweight babies worldwide, according to the study. And in the United States, ambient air pollution contributed to an estimated 12,000 premature births.

Meanwhile, in Southeast Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, premature births and low birth weights could be reduced by 78% if air pollution was reduced, the study found. The two geographic areas have both common indoor air pollution, due to indoor cook-fires, and some of the highest premature birth rates in the world. 

“The air pollution-attributable burden is enormous, yet with sufficient effort, it could be largely mitigated,” said lead author Rakesh Ghosh in a press release. Ghosh is a a prevention and public health specialist at the Institute for Global Health Sciences at UCSF.

In a previous study, the same team found that air pollution directly contributed to the deaths of 500,000 newborns in 2019. 

“With this new, global and more rigorously generated evidence, air pollution should now be considered a major driver of infant morbidity and mortality, not just of chronic adult diseases,” Ghosh said. “Our study suggests that taking measures to mitigate climate change and reduce air pollution levels will have significant health co-benefit for newborns.”   

Air pollution linked to nearly 6 million premature births in 2019, study finds – CBS News

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Air pollution is number one public health risk in Ghana, affecting infants and elderly

Posted on September 27, 2021 by Respro® UK Ltd

Air pollution, from both outdoor and indoor activities are dangerous to the environment and human health, but infants and the elderly in Ghana are at greater risk as they make the majority who fall ill from the pollution, a World Bank study has found out.

In a presentation at a one-day workshop on air pollution, September 24, 2021 in Accra, George Amoasah, the World Bank Environmental Specialist outlined the natural sources of emissions which include smoke from bush or forest fires, windblown dust, pollen and mold spores, volcanic activity, sea spray, and so on.

“The anthropogenic sources include fuel combustion from motor vehicles, electricity and heat generation, industrial and mining activities, solid waste landfills and waste incineration, household sources of air pollution,” he said.

He indicated that household air pollution is mainly from anthropogenic activities such as incomplete combustion of solid biomass fuels (e.g., wood, charcoal, crop waste, dung), coal and kerosene, for cooking, heating, and lighting needs.

Citing a World Bank report on air pollution said an estimated 20.5 million Ghanaians – over 70 per cent of the population – burn solid fuels e.g., fuelwood, charcoal, dung and so on, in their homes for cooking and heating.

“Air pollution’s disease burden is disproportionately borne by infants and the elderly,” he said.

The report finds that 100 per cent of Ghana’s population is exposed to air pollution levels exceeding WHO’s guidelines, and 16,000 people die prematurely from it.

Approximately 66 per cent of air pollution related deaths in rural areas are due to Household Air Pollution, the report found.

“Air pollution is deadly, causing or contributing to heart attacks, strokes, lung cancer, and respiratory diseases. It is Ghana’s number one environmental risk to public health and its sixth-ranked overall risk for death,” said Pierre Laporte, World Bank Country Director of Ghana at the opening of the dissemination workshop.

“Ghana’s air pollution is responsible for eight per cent of total mortality with approximately 16,000 Ghanaians dying prematurely each year. More than half of these deaths are in our cities with nearly as many occurring in rural areas,” he added.

The World Bank study also found that in 2017, air pollution in Ghana had an estimated average cost of $2.5 billion or an equivalent of 4.2 per cent of GDP.

The study estimates the cost of Ghana’s greenhouse gas emissions to the global community is, on average $2.3 billion each year (though the estimated range is $1.5 to $3.2 billion), equivalent to just under 4 per cent of Ghana’s GDP.

Air pollution is number one public health risk in Ghana, affecting infants and elderly – World Bank – Ghana Business News
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