Respro® Bulletin Board

Researchers say wildfire smoke is reversing years of air pollution progress

Posted on February 2, 2021 by Respro® UK Ltd

Record-setting wildfires are becoming a regular occurrence in the Western United States. It’s a sobering trend that poses a threat to people across the country, as hazardous smoke pollutes the air.
“Fires burn in California, or in Nevada and Arizona, and prevailing winds carry that smoke as far as the Eastern Seaboard. And it can cause measurable changes in PM2.5 concentrations, very far away,” explained Michael Wara, a senior research scholar at the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment.
Particulate matter 2.5 is a toxic pollutant caused by wildfires and other emissions sources. The microscopic particles are so small they can penetrate deep into a person’s lungs and enter the bloodstream, increasing the risk of having a heart attack or stroke.
Wara says the Clean Air Act of 1990 spurred a nationwide effort to combat this pollution, reducing emissions from sources like factories and cars.
And while enormous progress has been made in the last 30 years, Wara says wildfires are putting that in jeopardy.
“What’s happening in the Western United States over the last decade is a reversal of that progress. The air is actually getting dirtier, and that’s really important because this kind of pollution kills large numbers of people,” said Wara.
In a recently published paper, Wara and a team of researchers examined the changing risk and societal burden of wildfire in the United States. They say wildfire smoke will be one of the most widely felt health impacts of climate change throughout the country, but U.S. clean air regulations are not equipped to deal with it.
“One of the things about the Clean Air Act that is a little odd is traditionally prescribed fire, which is the cheapest way to deal with fuels, is treated as an air pollution source that is subject to the law. Whereas wildfire is treated kind of as an act of God, that no one is responsible for,” Wara said.
He says reversing progress on air pollution puts the health of millions at risk.
“Likely making large numbers of seniors citizens sick. It’s also likely making large numbers of kids sick,” said Wara.
Researchers at the University of California-Irvine examined economic losses from the 2018 California wildfires. Damage to homes and buildings accounted for $27.7 billion in losses; costs associated with the health effects of air pollution surpassed $32 billion.
Wara says year-round fuel management will be a critical strategy in reducing the number of catastrophic wildfires. Through prescribed burns, firefighters remove excess vegetation, thinning forested areas with chainsaws or heavy equipment.
“A prescribed fire is a way to avoid a wildfire. It’s like choosing the battlefield that we fight fire on. If we let nature choose, we’re going to lose,” Wara said.
Wara also says funding is needed to protect the most vulnerable, investing in PPE and air filters in schools and senior living homes. He also believes we need more education and awareness on the serious health hazards of wildfire smoke.
Northern California resident Charles Gragg learned about the dangers firsthand during the 2020 wildfires. For weeks, smoke lingered around his home.
“After a couple of weeks of being in proximity of that fire, I had an episode where I woke up one night and couldn’t breathe,” said Gragg.
Diagnosed with COPD three years ago, Gragg says his chronic lung condition had been mild up until then.
“I realized my oxygen was in the low 80 percent, which is not good. Normally, doctors don’t want your oxygen to drop below 90 percent,” said Gragg. “I was literally gasping for air.” He spent several days at the hospital and says the damage to his health from the smoke can never be fully reversed.
“I’ve got air purifiers in four rooms of my house now, and they run 24/7,” said Gragg. “I downloaded an app and monitor the air daily. I never worried about that before, but you’ve just got to be cognizant of what’s going on around you and know what’s going on.”
Wara says stories like this are becoming more common, “We need to invest in that because the unfortunate reality is this problem is not going to go away anytime soon.”
Researchers say wildfire smoke is reversing years of air pollution progress

Posted in Air Quality, Health Effects of Air Pollution, USA, USA & Canada | Tagged Air Pollution, California, Health Effects of Air Pollution, PM2.5, USA, wildfires | Leave a comment

Court finds Brussels not doing enough to fight air pollution

Posted on February 1, 2021 by Respro® UK Ltd

The government of the Brussels capital region has flaws in its air pollution monitoring policy which is putting residents’ health at risk, a Brussels court ruled Friday.
The court said the region lacked sampling points and monitoring stations along some of the capital’s main roads including Rue de la Loi in the EU quarter and the Petite Ceinture. This means breaches of maximum air pollution levels — set in the EU’s Air Quality Directive — could be undetected.
The court ordered the local government to take immediate action to remedy the situation, including installing one or more air pollution monitoring stations along the city’s busiest roads within the next six months or face daily €300 non-compliance charges.
The case was brought in 2016 by five Brussels residents and environmental legal charity ClientEarth over concerns the city was breaching maximum levels of fine particulate matter (PM10) and of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) pollution, which mainly come from road traffic.
“Any delay in complying with the order would prolong the risk for the health of hundreds of thousands of citizens in Brussels,” said Ugo Taddei, a lawyer with ClientEarth. “These new measurements will finally provide an accurate picture of the pollution problem in Brussels and the most effective ways to solve it.”
Brussels was recently named as one of the top 10 cities in the EU for NO2-linked deaths.
Air pollution is responsible for about 380,000 premature deaths in the EU annually, according to the European Environment Agency.
Court finds Brussels not doing enough to fight air pollution – POLITICO

Posted in Air Quality, Europe | Tagged Air Pollution, Belgium, Brussels, EU - European Union, Nitrogen Dioxide NO2, PM10 | Leave a comment

Leading cardiovascular organizations call for urgent action to reduce air pollution

Posted on January 29, 2021 by Respro® UK Ltd

Air pollution is a key risk factor for cardiovascular disease, and a major contributor to the global burden of disease. Long-term exposure to air pollution has also been linked to an increased risk of death from COVID-19. This dangerous “triple threat” of air pollution, COVID-19 and cardiovascular disease should be taken seriously, warn major health authorities.
Four leading cardiovascular organizations – the World Heart Federation (WHF), American College of Cardiology (ACC), American Heart Association (AHA) and European Society of Cardiology (ESC) – today released a joint statement urging the medical community and health authorities to mitigate the impact of air pollution on people’s health.
In 2019, an estimated 6.7 million deaths, or 12 percent of all deaths worldwide, were attributable to outdoor or household air pollution.[1] As many as half of these were due to cardiovascular disease. Air pollution also increases the risk of heart attack, stroke, diabetes and respiratory diseases, which are known to raise a person’s risk of experiencing some of the more severe consequences of COVID-19.
“Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, air pollution was an issue of growing concern due to its impact on people’s health, although it was frequently overlooked as a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. COVID-19 has brought a new, deadly factor to the equation, and the time has come for the health community to speak up and take action,” said Michael Brauer, Chair of the World Heart Federation Air Pollution Expert Group and co-author of the statement.
The statement calls for structural actions to reduce emissions of air pollutants and harmful exposure. It also highlights the important role that healthcare providers play in preventing illnesses related to air pollution, including:
– Advocating for air pollution mitigation as a health measure, further research on air quality and its impact on CVD, and interventions to reduce air pollution and its effect on NCDs
– Providing patients with personal measures to reduce exposure, such as room air filtration systems
– Integrating air pollution into disease management approaches, for example through the use of air quality indices
– Participating in the development of guidelines on air pollution and CVD
– Supporting ministries of environment, energy, and transportation in their mitigation efforts Working to educate and raise awareness on the cardiovascular benefits of clean air
– Collaborating with senior decision-makers in national, regional, and global governmental institutions to make air pollution related heart disease a priority
Leading cardiovascular organizations call for urgent action to reduce air pollution | EurekAlert! Science News

Posted in Air Quality | Tagged Air Pollution, Health Effects of Air Pollution, heart disease, Research | Leave a comment

Dhaka world’s second-most polluted city

Posted on January 29, 2021 by Respro® UK Ltd

Densely populated Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, continues to dominate the list of world cities with the worst air quality, reports news agency UNB.
On Friday, Dhaka occupied the second position in the list. The city of Kolkata in neighbouring India occupied the first place. Karachi and Lahore of Pakistan were in the third and fourth spots.
Dhaka’s air quality index (AQI) at 10.27am read 289, which is considered ‘poor’ that is ‘very unhealthy’.
An AQI between 201 and 300 is considered ‘poor’, while a reading of 301 to 400 is said to be ‘hazardous’, posing serious health risks to city residents.
The capital’s poor air quality has become a serious cause of concern for residents as long-term exposure to air pollution has been linked to an increased risk of dying from COVID-19.
AQI, an index for reporting daily air quality, is used by government agencies to inform people how clean or polluted the air of a certain city is, and what associated health effects might be a concern for them.
In Bangladesh, the overall AQI is based on five criteria pollutants – Particulate Matter (PM10 and PM2.5), NO2, CO, SO2, and Ozone (O3).
Bangladesh has a subtropical monsoon climate characterised by wide seasonal variations in rainfall, high temperatures and humidity. Generally, Dhaka’s air starts getting fresh when monsoon rains begin in mid-June. The air remains mostly acceptable from June to October.
Air pollution consistently ranks among the top risk factors for death and disability worldwide. Breathing polluted air has long been recognised as increasing a person’s chances of developing heart disease, chronic respiratory diseases, lung infections, and cancer, according to several studies.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), air pollution kills an estimated seven million people worldwide every year, largely as a result of increased mortality from stroke, heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer and acute respiratory infections.
Over 80 per cent living in urban areas which monitor air pollution are exposed to air quality levels that exceed WHO guideline limits, with low- and middle-income countries most at risk.
Dhaka world’s second-most polluted city | Prothom Alo

Posted in Air Quality | Tagged Air Pollution, Bangladesh, Dhaka | Leave a comment

Air pollution linked to higher risk of irreversible sight loss

Posted on January 26, 2021 by Respro® UK Ltd

Large UK study found small pollution rise associated with more cases of age-related macular degeneration
“The traditional sign-off with anything to do with with eyes and vision is to encourage everybody to have a routine eye examination once a year, particularly those over 40,” Foster said. “It’s a great way of spotting eye disease.”
Small increases in air pollution are linked to an increased risk of irreversible sight loss from age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a large UK study has found.
Previous work had already found a link between dirty air and glaucoma and a link to cataracts is suspected. The scientists said the eyes have a particularly high flow of blood, potentially making them very vulnerable to the damage caused by tiny particles that are breathed in and then flow around the body.
The study is the first to assess the connection between air pollution and both diagnoses of AMD that the patients said they had been given, and measurements of harmful changes in the retina. It found a small increase in exposure to tiny pollution particles raised the risk of AMD by 8%, while small changes in larger pollution particles and nitrogen dioxide were linked to a 12% higher risk of adverse retinal changes.
AMD is the leading cause of irreversible blindness among the over-50s in high-income countries and there are 200 million people around the world with the condition. In the UK about 5% of people over 65 years old have the disease.
The biggest risk factors for AMD are genetics and poor physical health issues, such as smoking and obesity. But as lifestyles become healthier, the impact of air pollution will become more important, the researchers said, and, unlike genetics, levels dirty air can be reduced with the right policies.
Air pollution is being linked to an increasingly wide range of diseases, and the World Health Organization says 90% of the world population live with dirty air. A global review in 2019 concluded that air pollution may be damaging every organ in the human body, as inhaled particles travel around the body and cause inflammation.
“There is an enormously high flow of blood [to the retina] and we think that as a consequence of that the distribution of pollutants is greater to the eye than to other places,” said Prof Paul Foster, at University College London, UK, and who was part of the study team. “Proportionately, air pollution is going to become a bigger risk factor as other risk factors are brought under control.”
“It’s important to keep things in context – people shouldn’t be looking outside their door and thinking: ‘I can’t go out because it is polluted out there’,” he said. “The study gives people information that they can use to alter their lifestyle choices. For example, it may be another reason why we might consider going for an electric car, instead of buying a diesel.”
The research is published in the journal British Journal of Ophthalmology and used data on 116,000 people in the UK Biobank database aged 40-69 with no eye problems at the start of the study. The health of the retina was examined by scans for more than 50,000 people.
The researchers found that people exposed to an additional 1 microgram per cubic metre of tiny particles had an 8% higher risk of AMD. The average level of tiny particles in the UK is 10µg/m3, which is relatively low compared with many other countries. The researchers took account of other factors that might influence the development of AMD, including age, smoking, weight and deprivation.
“This UK-based study is similar to a 2019 study from Taiwan on traffic-related pollution,” said Prof Chris Inglehearn, at the University of Leeds and not part of the study team. “The fact that these two independent studies reach similar conclusions gives greater confidence that the link they make is real.”
Prof Robert MacLaren, at the University of Oxford, said: “This finding is significant. Furthermore, the study had an average age of around 60 and this small increased risk of 8% is likely to be compounded further over ensuing decades.”
The air pollution data used were levels of outdoor pollution but Foster said levels inside homes were likely to be important. “We suspect there’s a lot more that is relevant going on inside the house,” he said. “Anything that produces smoke is likely to be driving some of the risk.”
Foster said further research on how indoor air pollution affects eye health had been planned but was postponed by the coronavirus pandemic. A recent study found that wood burners triple the level of harmful pollution particles inside homes.
“The traditional sign-off with anything to do with with eyes and vision is to encourage everybody to have a routine eye examination once a year, particularly those over 40,” Foster said. “It’s a great way of spotting eye disease.”
Air pollution linked to higher risk of irreversible sight loss | Air pollution | The Guardian

Posted in Air Quality, Health Effects of Air Pollution, Medical Studies | Tagged Health Effects of Air Pollution, Research, UK | Leave a comment

Beijing issues yellow alert for heavy air pollution

Posted on January 25, 2021 by Respro® UK Ltd

China’s capital Beijing has issued a yellow alert for heavy air pollution which took effect from Sunday, prompting officials to take a series of steps to contain the smog.
A series of measures will be taken from Sunday, including the suspension of a number of outdoor construction operations, and halting or restricting production by manufacturing companies, the municipal air pollution emergency response office said.
The capital’s air quality is expected to gradually improve on Tuesday, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
Under China’s four-tier warning system for air pollution, red is the most severe followed by orange, yellow and blue.
The Chinese capital, which for over a decade has acquired notoriety for heavy pollution especially in winter, has reported a considerable improvement in the last few years.
Beijing reported a 53-per cent decrease in PM 2.5 density in the past five years, achieving the goal set for the city’s 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-2020), according to local authorities.
The city’s PM 2.5 density was reduced by over a half in 2020 compared to that of 2015, giving the capital city the lowest density and sharpest decline in PM 2.5 within the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and the nearby areas, data released by the Beijing Municipal People’s Congress said on Saturday.
The average concentration of PM 2.5 in the metropolis was 38 micrograms per cubic meter in 2020, a year-on-year decline of 9.5 per cent and the lowest measurement since the data was first collected in 2013.
The improved air quality marked a step closer to meeting the level-2 national standard for PM 2.5 control, which is 35 micrograms per cubic meter, it said.
The PM 2.5 reading is a gauge monitoring airborne particles of 2.5 microns or less in diameter, which can penetrate deep into people’s lungs.
Beijing also lowered its carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP by over 23 per cent during the same period.
It plans to plant 10,000 hectares of trees in 2021 in a bid to raise the municipality’s forest coverage to about 45 per cent in the next five years.
Beijing issues yellow alert for heavy air pollution – The Economic Times

Posted in Air Quality, Asia, China | Tagged Air Pollution, Beijing, China, PM2.5 | Leave a comment

Air pollution linked to increased mental health outpatient visits

Posted on January 22, 2021 by Respro® UK Ltd

More pollution in the air could be linked to higher rates of mental health service use, researchers at the Yale School of Public Health found in a new study.
The findings, which were recently published in the journal Environmental Research, stem from nearly six years of outpatient visits data collected at two major hospitals in Nanjing, China—a heavily polluted major city in China. After comparing the numbers with the amount of particulate matter found in the air every day, researchers discovered that visits were generally higher when the air quality was particularly poor.
More research is needed to fully understand why—and how—air quality impacts the rate at which mental health services are used. But according to YSPH Assistant Professor Sarah Lowe, Ph.D., who was the first author of the study, the findings underscore the need for further investments in mental health services when air pollution gets worse.
“Here, we show that particulate matter is having these more general effects, not just on symptoms but also on service use,” she said.
Air pollution is made up of many different components, from the carbon monoxide emitted by vehicles to the sulfur dioxide found around industrial plants. But Lowe and her collaborators decided to focus on particulate matter—small bits of soil, organic compounds and liquid—because it poses the biggest danger to human health. These micron-sized specks of dust can rip through lung tissue and even enter the bloodstream, through which they can influence mental health.
“These tiny particles not only have effects on the lungs, the heart and the brain,” said YSPH Assistant Professor Kai Chen, Ph.D., who worked on the study as its senior author, “but they also have effects on other organs of your body.”
And in Nanjing, the concentration of particulate matter exceeded China’s air-quality standards for almost one-fifth of all days the researchers observed. Its impact on psychological disorders could be clearly reflected in a subsequent uptick of visits to the city’s two hospitals, they found.
Notably, researchers found that this uptick was more pronounced for men and older populations. Lowe said this unequal distribution may be because of societal and behavioral differences across different parts of Chinese society, but more research is needed to truly find out why.
Still, this new study stands as one of the only articles dedicated to the link between particulate matter and the demand for specifically outpatient mental health services. Lowe and Chen hope their research spurs further investigation into the subject—and into the ways in which particulate matter impacts health.
“There could be other reasons that we simply couldn’t explore with the data we had,” Lowe explained.
For example, on a heavily polluted day, there might be fewer competing activities, such as outdoor social or sporting events, which may lead people to show up at their appointments. Or it could be that air pollution leads to increases in physical symptoms such as difficulty breathing, which could lead someone to seek out mental services for help.
“We don’t know that level of detail, and I think that would be a really interesting direction for future research,” she said.
Air pollution linked to increased mental health outpatient visits