For some time now, scientists and medical experts have been investigating whether air pollution compromises human health, particularly cardiovascular function and respiration. And recent studies are strengthening the evidence that polluted air is bad for our health.
An investigation of 10 major Canadian cities found that, over an 18 year period, there was a strong relationship between health risk and exposure to four common air pollutants. The study looked at carbon monoxide, nitric oxide, sulfur dioxide, and ozone. Risks were the highest during the spring and summer months, with respiratory function suffering more than cardiovascular function.
Automobiles and power plants are major sources of three of these health-aggravating air pollutants: carbon monoxide, nitric oxide, sulfur dioxide. That is why the Environmental Protection Agency has put so much emphasis on cleaning up emissions from these sources during the past few decades.
Many air pollutants have a relatively short lifetime in the atmosphere, so air quality can vary from day to day, depending on weather conditions. But some pollutants travel downwind far enough to impart unhealthy conditions in regions far removed from pollutant sources.
Much progress has been made cleaning up our air in the past 30 years, but there is room for improvement. We all share the atmosphere, and it is no place for inadvertent waste disposal. Clean air is healthy air.
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Web Links
See Vanos et al. Environmental Pollution (2014)
EPA’s Air Trends
Photo, taken on December 13, 2013, courtesy of Dai Luo via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio. Support for Earth Wise comes from the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies in Millbrook, NY.