[Index]
Keeping air pollution in check can
add two years to your life
Geneva, 29 November
2004 - Fine particles in the air
we breathe could be reducing our life
expectancy by two years or more. This
is the conclusion that scientists modelling
the link between air pollution and health
effects have come to. It will be discussed
in Geneva this week (29 November-3 December)
by the Parties to the Convention on Long-range
Transboundary Air Pollution* of the United
Nations Economic Commission for Europe
(UNECE).
Twenty-five years of
action under the Convention has had notable
successes. For example, sulphur pollution
across Europe has been cut by two thirds
and is expected to fall even further in
the next few years. For other pollutants
progress is also being made, though cuts
have been more modest. But one group of
pollutants has escaped international control
measures. These are the fine particles.
Fine particles, or particulate
matter, are created when fossils fuels
and wood are burnt and they are emitted
from motor vehicle exhausts. They can
also be formed in the air from mixtures
of pollutant gases. While larger particles
fall from the air quite quickly, the fine
ones can stay in the air much longer and
travel great distances from their emission
sources.
It has long been known
that fine particles can be inhaled with
the air we breathe, passing down into
our lungs, where they cause damage. But
it is relatively recently that scientific
studies have begun to show the extent
of the health effects and how these can
be linked to the concentrations of fine
particles in the air.
The joint World Health
Organization (WHO)/Convention Task Force
on Health has considered the information
from various studies around the world
as well the recent findings of a WHO systematic
review of scientific evidence. It concludes
that there is a wide range of health effects
associated with the exposure to fine particles
at concentrations common in Europe. Most
remarkably, the recent studies show not
only problems with lung and respiratory
disease but also increased risk of cardiovascular
disease, which is a leading cause of death.
The Task Force has developed a method
for linking exposure to particulate matter
with life expectancy.
Using this methodology,
scientists at the International Institute
for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) have
modelled the effects of fine particulates
across Europe. The results show (see figure
below) that in the year 2000 large decreases
in life expectancy - up to two years or
more - occurred in many areas of Europe.
Even after the pollution reduction measures
planned by countries up to 2010, the impacts
of particulate matter will still be considerable
in many areas. To put the estimates into
perspective, in Europe particulate matter
causes about the same loss of life expectancy
as road accidents.
There are no quick fixes
and the effects will continue unless action
is taken on many fronts. The key to initial
success will be to identify those measures
that are most effective and can be introduced
most quickly and easily. In the long term
current international agreements may need
to be updated to ensure Europe-wide benefits.
With this in mind, the Convention’s
Parties are proposing to set up an expert
group to consider the problem in more
detail.
Figure. Estimated loss
of life expectancy (in months) due to
fine particulate matter in 2000 (left)
and 2010 (right)
Source: IIASA
For more information,
please contact:
Keith BULL
Environment and Human Settlements
Division
United Nations Economic Commission
for Europe (UNECE)
Palais des Nations, office 346
CH - 1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland
Phone: +41(0)22 917 23 54
Fax: +41(0)22 917 06 21
E-mail: [email protected]
Web site: http://www.unece.org/env/lrtap/
___________
* The Convention has 49 Parties: Armenia,
Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium,
Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Canada,
Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark,
Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany,
Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy,
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Liechtenstein,
Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco,
Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal,
Republic of Moldova, Romania, Russian
Federation, Serbia and Montenegro, Slovakia,
Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland,
the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia,
Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United
States and the European Community.
Ref: ECE/ENV/04/P18