Nearly half of all childhood asthma cases in Barcelona are attributable to air pollution

Posted on February 6, 2020 by Respro® UK Ltd

As many as 1,230 cases of childhood asthma in Barcelona–48% of the total–could be attributable to air pollution each year. This is the main conclusion of a new study led by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), a centre supported by “la Caixa”. The study also finds that childhood asthma related to air pollution may have a larger effect on the city’s less socially deprived children.

Asthma is the most common chronic childhood disease and has been associated with increased morbidity and mortality. A recent study by ISGlobal, which used the Health Impact Assessment (HIA) methodology, found that 33% of new childhood asthma cases in Europe were attributable to air pollution.

The new study used the same quantitative approach to estimate the number of childhood asthma cases in the city of Barcelona attributable to three main air pollutants: nitrogen dioxide (NO2), particulate matter (PM2.5) and black carbon (BC). The study, published in Environmental Research, relied on census data for the city of Barcelona. Asthma incidence rates in children between 1 and 18 years of age were collected from the Global Burden of Disease database. Exposure levels for the three pollutants were calculated using a land-use regression model (LUR).

To estimate the burden of childhood asthma, the researchers considered two different scenarios. The first scenario was based on the World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines for maximum air pollution exposure levels. The second scenario reflected the minimum levels of air pollution reported in various scientific studies.

In the first scenario, the researchers found that if the WHO guidelines on annual exposure levels were met, as many as 478 childhood asthma cases attributable to PM2.5 (19% of all cases) and 454 cases attributable to NO2 (18%) could be prevented in Barcelona each year. In the second scenario, if air pollution were reduced to the minimum reported levels, as many as 1,230 childhood asthma cases attributable to NO2 (48% of all asthma cases), 992 cases attributable to PM2.5 (39%) and 789 cases attributable to BC (31%) could be prevented in Barcelona each year.

David Rojas, researcher at ISGlobal and the Colorado State University and coordinator of the study, commented: “This is the first quantitative health impact assessment to include multiple pollutants–NO2, PM2.5 and BC–and the development of childhood asthma, with an environmental health equity perspective in Barcelona.”

The study also described the distribution of air pollution impacts on the development of childhood asthma by socioeconomic status. Using the MEDEA index, which incorporates various indicators related to education and employment status, the researchers classified the population of Barcelona by deprivation level. In general, differences between socioeconomic groups were found for all of the air pollutants studied. David Rojas, coordinator of the study, commented: “Our analysis found more air pollution and subsequently more childhood asthma cases among the less disadvantaged groups in the city.” He also added “in Barcelona, unlike other cities, the wealthy population tends to live where more traffic and air pollution are.”

“Road transport is one of the major air pollution sources”, commented Mark Nieuwenhuijsen, director of the Urban Planning, Environment and Health Initiative at ISGlobal. “Barcelona urgently needs interventions to reduce the amount of motor-vehicle traffic, which has a negative impact on the health of the city’s children. “Reducing traffic does not only reduce air pollution, but also reduce noise and heat island effects and increases physical activity which are all beneficial to health”, he adds.

via Nearly half of all childhood asthma cases in Barcelona are attributable to air pollution | EurekAlert! Science News

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North Texans breathed polluted air nearly 30% of 2018, report says

Posted on February 6, 2020 by Respro® UK Ltd

Air quality in Dallas-Fort Worth reached above-normal pollution levels on 106 days, according to the report.

Air quality in Dallas-Fort Worth reached above-normal pollution levels on 106 days in 2018, according to a new report by the Environment Texas Research and Policy Center.

North Texans were among the 108 million Americans who lived in areas that saw more than 100 days of poor air quality in 2018, according to the report.

The Dallas-Fort Worth area’s 106 days of poor air quality put the metropolitan area at No. 10 among the country’s 10 most-populated metro areas with more than 100 days of poor air quality.

The Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario area in California, east of Los Angeles, took the top spot with 227 days with above-normal pollution levels, according to the report. It was followed by the San Diego area with 160 days.

The Houston area landed in the ninth spot, with 110 days with elevated air pollution.

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality did not respond to a request for comment.

Air pollution in North Texas came from several sources, including, gasoline, diesel, natural gas, coal and fossil fuels used for transportation, and other industrial processes, according to the report. That pollution creates ozone, which is the main component of smog, and particulate matter.

Particulate matter can have harmful effects on cardiovascular and respiratory systems, leading to health problems such as asthma attacks, heart attacks and strokes, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Ozone pollution can also cause asthma attacks, and even cause lung damage after long-term exposure, according to the EPA.

A separate report released late last year by Environment Texas Research and Policy Center found that industrial facilities in North Texas released 78,737 pounds of pollution into the air during 2017 without a permit authorizing them to do so.

Across Texas, industrial facilities reported releasing more than 63 million pounds of pollution into the air without permission in 2017, an increase of 27 percent compared with the previous year, the report found. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has the authority to issue fines for as much as $2.3 billion for the violations, but the report found that the TCEQ issued only $1.2 million in fines in 2017.

In a changing climate, the center’s latest report warns that days when pollution levels are above normal could increase. Warmer weather, for example, could help the formation of ozone, and drier conditions combined with warm weather could also increase how often wildfires occur and how intense they could be, the report said.

via North Texans breathed polluted air nearly 30% of 2018, report says

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Global Transport of Smoke from Australian Bushfires

Posted on February 5, 2020 by Respro® UK Ltd

 

The local impacts of the Australian bushfires have been devastating to property and life in Australia while producing extreme air quality impacts throughout the region. As smoke from the massive fires has interacted with the global weather, the transport of smoke plumes around the global have accelerated through deep vertical transport into the upper troposphere and even the lowermost stratosphere, leading to long-range transport around the globe. The smoke from these bushfires will travel across the Southern Ocean completing a global circumnavigation back around to Australia and is particularly pronounced across the southern Pacific Ocean out to South America.

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New research shows outdoor workers are exposed to 15% more pollution than the average Londoner

Posted on February 4, 2020 by Respro® UK Ltd

We are building the evidence base that proves government must act on air quality says British Safety Council.

An app developed by King College London as part of the British Safety Council’s Time to Breathe campaign is building on a growing evidence base that proves outdoor workers are exposed to air pollution well above the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) recommended limits. However, huge variance in quality and coverage of air quality measurement across the UK suggests the problem could be greater than previously thought.

The app gathers data based on London’s air quality monitoring stations and gives individual users a read-out of the air pollution they are exposed to at work. The first data release from British Safety Council confirms that outdoor workers are put at more risk than average Londoners. The WHO says that air pollution is now the world’s largest single environmental health risk and that reducing air pollution could save millions of lives. As well as campaigning to improve ambient air quality the British Safety Council is working on practical solutions to reduce the risks for outdoor workers.

Over six months the Canairy app has gathered data from a sample of Londoners. Outdoor workers were exposed to air pollution averages higher than guidelines for NO2, particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10) and Ozone. Some maximum exposures were nearly two thirds higher than recommended WHO limits. The workers were in two groups, some mostly working in offices and others mostly working outside. Although both groups were exposed to high levels of air pollution, those working outside are exposed to worse pollution than the average Londoner.

The British Safety Council launched Time to Breathe in March 2019. The campaign offers the Canairy app free to give workers and employers information about air pollution exposure as well as providing free advice and guidance. The British Safety Council has called on the government to adopt WHO guidelines in the new Environment Bill. In March 2020 the British Safety Council will be taking the campaign to Manchester to highlight the limitations of air pollution monitoring outside London.

Speaking today at the British Safety Council’s offices in London, head of campaigns Matthew Holder said:

“The first data release confirms that outdoor workers are being exposed to high levels of air pollution with all the health risks that carries. Canairy confirms what we also thought – if you work outside in a city or near a busy road you are putting your health at risk. What is new is that we now have the technology for individual workers to record their exposure. With Canairy and other forms of measurement we are building the evidence base that makes the case for change. As a first step we must urgently adopt the WHO guidelines on PM2.5. But we also need investment in measurement so we can understand who is at risk and how people can limit their exposure to harmful air pollution.”

He went on to say:

“I am really pleased that since we launched this campaign in 2019, we have seen employers ready to take responsibility for protecting their workers from pollution. A new steering group has been established of leading construction and infrastructure companies to look at how we can mitigate the impact of air pollution on outdoor workers. But as well as employers doing their bit, we need national and local government to invest in measurement across the country so that apps like Canairy can give an accurate picture of the pollution workers are breathing in.”

You can read the full report here: Outdoor worker exposure in London: first release from Canairy

via New research shows outdoor workers are exposed to 15% more pollution than the average Londoner | PoliticsHome.com

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Slovenia’s Worst Air Pollution in Celje, Zagorje & Murska Sobota

Posted on January 31, 2020 by Respro® UK Ltd

Slovenia’s most polluted cities are located in the east of the country, with air quality improving compared to the situation half a century ago, shows a survey by the National Institute of Public Health. However, air pollution is still the key environmental factor affecting health and premature mortality rates, the newspaper Delo reports Thursday.

The air in Celje and Zagorje in the east, and Murska Sobota in the north-east is found to be the most polluted in Slovenia in terms of particle pollution. The daily concentration of dust particles in these cities exceeds the statutory limit more than 35 times per year.

Excessive particle pollution was also recorded in Maribor, as well as Hrastnik and Trbovlje which, like Zagorje, are situated in the industry-heavy Zasavje region, shows the survey on Slovenians’ mortality rates in cities plagued by particle pollution.

Poor air quality has a significant detrimental effect on cardiovascular disease, according to the National Institute of Public Health. Between 2016 and 2018, when the study was conducted, almost 1,000 people died from pollution-related causes, accounting for almost 25% of all deaths in the cities in the study.

Up to 70 cardiac patients per year die due to air pollution health ramifications in Ljubljana, while in Celje citizens were exposed to excessive levels of PM10 particles in the air for almost a month and a half in total last year.

Due to air pollution, aggravated by traffic and, most notably, household emissions, Slovenia records 1,700 cases of premature deaths, shows the Environment Agency data.

via Slovenia’s Worst Air Pollution in Celje, Zagorje & Murska Sobota

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Heavy traffic pollution may affect kids’ brain development

Posted on January 29, 2020 by Respro® UK Ltd

High levels of exposure to traffic-related air pollution at a very young age may lead to structural changes in the brain, a new imaging study suggests.

Brain scans of 12-year-old children show reduced thickness of the cortex and decreased gray matter volume in those who lived less than a quarter of a mile (400 meters) from a major highway at age 1, according to a report in PLoS ONE.

“The take-home message is that the quality of air we breathe matters, especially to our children,” said lead author Travis Beckwith, a research fellow at the Imaging Research Center at the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center in Ohio.

Having a thinner cortex and less gray matter may suggest there are fewer brain cells and fewer connections in the brain, Beckwith said in an email.

“This, in turn, can alter or impair function, depending on where it is located and when this is occurring,” Beckwith said. “A question we haven’t answered yet is whether these results are the brain failing to develop properly or if brain cells are dying due to exposure. If it’s a developmental problem, it’s possible the brain can rewire itself to compensate. If established cells are dying, the change in function can be more pronounced and possibly permanent.”

The areas of the brain that appear to be most impacted are the primary motor and sensory cortex, Beckwith said. “The primary motor cortex is responsible for planning out movements and the execution of those movements,” he explained. “The primary sensory cortex (is involved in) tactile senses, such as how things feel, sensing temperature and vibrations as well as identifying objects based on touch.”

The cerebellum – which handles a lot of fine tuning in motor control and which may play a role in regulating emotions and behavior as well – was also largely affected, Beckwith said.

To take a closer look at the possible impact of traffic-related air pollution, Beckwith and his colleagues performed MRI scans on 135 kids participating in a larger research project, the Cincinnati Childhood Allergy and Air Pollution Study, or CCAAPS. That long-term study recruited the families of children younger than 6 months old to examine the health impact of early childhood exposure to air pollution.

Children participating in CCAAPS were brought to the clinic at ages 1, 2, 3, 4, 7 and 12 years. During each visit, caregivers filled out questionnaires that asked about the children’s health, general wellbeing, housing characteristics and residential history. At age 12, the children were assessed on reading ability, executive function, mental health, intelligence and other neurodevelopmental outcomes. They were also given MRI scans.

Pollution exposure for each child was estimated using data from an air sampling network that included 27 sites in the Cincinnati area.

For the new study, Beckwith and colleagues compared children with the highest exposure to traffic related air pollution during the first year of life, based on residential address, to those with the lowest exposure.

After accounting for other factors that could influence brain development, including maternal IQ and neighborhood poverty level, the researchers found that children exposed to the highest pollution levels had thinner cortexes compared to those with little pollution exposure.

The new findings confirm and extend what’s been seen in other imaging studies, said Darby Jack, an associate professor of environmental health sciences at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health in New York City. “This is one more piece in a very important puzzle,” Jack said.

Other studies have found that children exposed to high levels of traffic-related pollution tend to perform poorly on standardized tests, Jack said. “This study is getting us one step closer to understanding the underlying biology.”

A limitation of this and other studies on pollution and brain development is that children living in areas with high pollution tend to be poorer than those who get to breathe clean air, Jack noted. But the fact that only certain brain areas appear to be affected suggests it’s actually the pollution exposure that is altering the brain, he added.

Taken as a whole, the research connecting pollution to changes in brain development “is getting quite convincing,” Jack said.

SOUREC: bit.ly/2RV8gCu PLoS ONE, online January 24, 2020.

via Heavy traffic pollution may affect kids’ brain development – Reuters

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Red Sea huge source of air pollution, greenhouse gases: study

Posted on January 29, 2020 by Respro® UK Ltd

Hydrocarbon gases bubbling from the bottom of the Red Sea are polluting the atmosphere at a rate equivalent to the emissions of some large fossil fuel exporting countries, researchers said Tuesday.

The gases seeping from the waters — which are ringed by the resorts and ports of several countries, including Egypt, Israel, Jordan and Saudi Arabia — then mix with emissions from industrial shipping and turned into noxious pollutants that are very harmful to human health.

The Middle East holds more than half of the world’s oil and gas reserves and the intense fossil fuel exploitation that takes place there, and the region releases enormous amounts of gaseous pollutants into the atmosphere.

But during a 2017 expedition around the Gulf, researchers at the Max Plank Institute for Chemistry noticed that levels of ethane and propane in the air above the Northern Red Sea were up to 40 times higher than predicted, even accounting for regional manmade emissions.

The team analysed possible sources for the gas emissions, including traffic, agriculture, burning of biomass, and power generation from hydrocarbons.

They came to an unexpected conclusion: the two gases had to be seeping out of the sea bed after escaping natural subterranean oil and gas reservoirs.

They were then carried by currents to the surface, where they mix with another greenhouse gas, nitrous oxide, which is emitted in high amounts by industrial shipping.

The resulting gas compounds are extremely harmful to human health, according to the team’s study, published in Nature Communications.

“I have to admit that I was surprised myself with these results,” lead author Efstratios Boursoukidis told AFP.

“We spent almost two years working on this dataset to confidently prove that the emissions were coming some two kilometres below the sea surface.”

The team calculated that the rate of ethane and propane leakage was “comparable in magnitude” to those of several hydrocarbon exporting nations, such as the United Arab Emirates or Kuwait.

The emissions result in another source of atmospheric methane, a potent greenhouse gas, the study said.

The situation is exacerbated by nitrous oxide pollution from the large number of shipping containers passing through the northern Red Sea, one of Earth’s busiest transport lanes.

And it’s only likely to get worse as the route gets busier.

“In the coming decades, ship traffic through the Red Sea and Suez Canal is expected to continue to increase, with a concomitant rise in nitrogen oxide emissions,” said Boursoukidis.

“We expect that such increase will amplify the role of this source, leading to significant deterioration of the regional air quality.”

via Red Sea huge source of air pollution, greenhouse gases: study – France 24

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Air pollution impacts can be heart-stopping: Biggest study of dangerously small particulate matter and cardiac arrest

Posted on January 28, 2020 by Respro® UK Ltd

There is an increased risk of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) even from short-term exposure to low concentrations of fine particulate matter PM2.5, an international study has found, noting an association with gaseous pollutants such as those from coal burning/mining, bushfires and motor vehicles.

The nationwide study of data from Japan, chosen for its superior monitoring, population density and relative air quality, is believed to be by far the largest of its kind. It provides comprehensive evidence of the relationship between PM2.5 and cardiac arrests, using a sample three times larger than all previous research combined and demonstrating the impacts on groups such as the elderly.

The study led by the University of Sydney concludes that worldwide, standards should be tightened; the implications also point to the need for cleaner energy sources.

The findings publish today in the high-impact journal The Lancet Planetary Health.

The corresponding and senior author, from the University of Sydney School of Medicine, Professor Kazuaki Negishi, said previous research into air pollution and acute cardiac events had been inconsistent, especially at air concentrations that met or bettered the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines.

Inconsistencies in previous data were addressed through the size and robustness of this study, which found that more than 90 percent of OHCAs occurred at PM2.5 levels lower than the WHO guideline (and Australian standard level), a daily-average of 25 micrograms per cubic metre (?g/m3). As well, 98 percent of OHCAs happened at levels lower than the Japanese or American daily standard level of 35 ?g/m3.

“Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest is a major medical emergency — with less than one in 10 people worldwide surviving these events — and there has been increasing evidence of an association with the more acute air pollution, or fine particulate matter such as PM2.5,” said Professor Negishi, a cardiologist and Head of Medicine, Nepean Clinical School, at the Faculty of Medicine and Health.

“We analysed almost a quarter of a million cases of out-of-hospital cardiac arrests and found a clear link with acute air pollution levels.

“Our study supports recent evidence that there is no safe level of air pollution — finding an increased risk of cardiac arrest despite air quality generally meeting the standards.

“Given the fact that there is a tendency towards worsening air pollution — from increasing numbers of cars as well as disasters such as bushfires — the impacts on cardiovascular events, in addition to respiratory diseases and lung cancer — must be taken into account in health care responses.”

Professor Negishi, who previously conducted field work after the 2014 massive Hazelwood coal mine fire in Victoria, said that where cardiovascular impacts were concerned, those generally at risk were the elderly: “If you’re young and healthy, there should be no immediate risk of devastating consequence.” However, he highlights these findings are only in relation to the short-term and that the effects can last for up to five years.

The paper concludes that there is an “urgent” need to improve air quality. “As no boundary exists in air quality among countries, a global approach to tackle this crucial health issue is necessary for our planet,” the authors state.

Research key findings and what it means

The study drew upon data from Japan because the country keeps comprehensive records of its air pollution levels as well as a high-quality, nationwide repository of OHCA.

The researchers found a 1- 4 percent increased risk associated with every 10 ?g/m3 increase in PM2.5.

Put another way, Sydney has recently been experiencing increased air pollution because of bushfire smoke and, on its worst day PM2.5 surpassed the standard of 25 ?g/m3 to jump to more than 500 ?g/m3 in the suburb of Richmond, comparable to levels of continuous cigarette smoking. There are about 15,000 OHCAs annually in Australia so in a hypothetical situation, if there is a 10-unit increase in the daily average of PM2.5, it could lead to another 600 OHCAs resulting in 540 deaths (10% survival rate globally).

The Lancet Planetary Health paper compared OHCA that occurred up to three days after the air pollution recorded; however, the effects on the heart can occur up to five-seven days after acute air pollution, Professor Negishi says, so the entire cardiovascular impacts could be worse than indicated.

Also analysed were the impacts regarding sex and age.

Although the impacts did not divide along gender lines, for people aged over 65, PM2.5 exposure was significantly associated with incidence of all-cause OHCA.

The data revealed an association between short-term exposure to carbon monoxide, photochemical oxidants and sulphur dioxide and all-cause OHCA but not with nitrogen dioxide. Professor Negishi explains that it was likely that the levels of nitrogen dioxide, for example from car emissions, were not high enough to result in OHCA.

Adding to known impacts of air pollution on cardiovascular mortality generally, this study plugs important gaps in knowledge about the effects of short-term exposure to acute air pollution on OHCA.

The authors state: “Combined with air quality forecasts, our results can be used to predict this emergency condition and to allocate our resources more efficiently.”

Air pollution fast facts

  • There are two main sources of PM2.5 worldwide:

1. Traffic/motor vehicles

2. Bushfires (massive annual events in California and the Amazon as well as in Australia)

  • Both PM2.5 and PM10 cannot be seen by the human eye and increase the chances of cardiac arrest, meaning the heart stops, which if untreated tends to result in death within minutes.
  • Particulate matter PM10 is relatively course dust, created for example from grinding operations and stirred up on roads; in comparison, PM2.5 is fine particulate matter, which can travel further into the body and stay for longer.
  • The most dangerous air pollution is PM2.5 — fine particulate matter that measures about 3 percent the diameter of a human hair.

This research is a collaboration between the University of Sydney, the University of Tasmania/Menzies Institute for Medical Research, Monash University, the University Centre for Rural Health in Australia and Gunma University in Japan.

via Air pollution impacts can be heart-stopping: Biggest study of dangerously small particulate matter and cardiac arrest — ScienceDaily

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