For Immediate Release
Contact: Diane Maple 415-905-1744
After May 27: 202-785-3355
NEW EVIDENCE OF AIR POLLUTION'S DAMAGING EFFECTS PRESENTED AT AMERICAN LUNG ASSOCIATION/AMERICAN THORACIC SOCIETY MEETING
SAN FRANCISCO, May 19--New studies presented here at the American Lung Association/American Thoracic Society International Conference add to the evidence that air pollution is harmful and even deadly.
"Like the ill-fated canaries carried into mine shafts to warn miners about toxic air, millions of children and adults around the world who have lung disease are often the first to be affected by poor air quality," said American Lung Association Managing Director John R. Garrison. "The impact of air pollution on their health and lives should serve as a warning for the rest of us."
One researcher who analyzed five recent studies on pollution and children described his findings of a relationship between exposure to particulate air pollution and drops in children's lung function. Dr. Douglas Dockery of Harvard University School of Public Health analyzed the studies, in which children made daily measurements of their lung function with a peak flow meter. Dr. Dockery looked at the number of children each day who had large drops in lung function and found that while average changes were small, there were substantial increases in the number of children with moderate to severe changes in lung function following exposure to particulate air pollution.
"While these changes are apparently reversible, they are clinically significant, particularly for children with asthma and similar reactive airway disease," he said.
Reducing particulate air pollution levels can reduce illness and death, an Irish study presented at the conference found. Scientists studied the effect of changes in coal-burning regulations in Dublin that banned the sale of a type of polluting coal, and found that for three winters after the ban, black smoke dropped significantly compared with the three winters before the ban. Over the same periods, total deaths dropped by 4%, heart disease deaths dropped by 7%, and respiratory deaths by 19%.
"Our study indicates that there can be a dramatic drop in respiratory deaths from a simple measure" such as banning a certain type of coal, said Dr. Luke Clancy of St. James Hospital in Dublin.
A third study presented at the conference found that the risk of illness and death are increased substantially in people with asthma during high-ozone episodes. Scientists at New York University School of Medicine studied daily asthma hospital admissions and deaths in New York City in 1988-90, and compared them with daily air pollution measurements.
George D. Thurston, Sc.D., Associate Professor of Environmental Medicine at NYU School of Medicine, found that the risk of hospitalization for people with asthma jumped 15% and their risk of death rose 40% on days with the highest pollution. The largest increases in asthma hospital admissions and death were seen in children. "The increases we find in New York City hospital admissions and mortality on high ozone days are severe and important, but it is also important to realize that they are indicators of a much broader spectrum of impacts in the population as a whole," Dr. Thurston said.
These studies were presented as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency considers tightening air quality standards for ozone and particulate matter, two of the most pervasive air pollutants. The American Lung Association and the American Thoracic Society support the new standards. EPA will propose final standards for soot and smog by July 19 as a result of ALA litigation. "There's great support for these standards in epidemiology and toxicity studies being presented at the ALA/ATS International Conference," Dr. Dockery said. He noted that the current debate over air pollution standards has focused on how many deaths are caused by air pollution, but that his and other studies presented at the conference focus on illness caused by pollution. "Without adequate air pollution standards, we will continue to see unnecessary disease and suffering that we know we can prevent," he said.
A study released May 13 by the American Lung Association concludes that cleaning up smog and soot beyond currently acceptable levels would bring major health and economic benefits and could boost the economy. The report concludes that even modest declines in smog and soot would prevent tens of billions of dollars in health damages and premature deaths each year. Ozone air pollution is the noxious summer smog familiar to residents of almost every urban area in the United States. For children, people with asthma, and those who exercise and labor outdoors, as well as other sensitive individuals, ozone is a real health threat.
Ozone is a gas formed in the atmosphere when sunlight reacts with emissions from motor vehicles and industrial smokestacks. Ozone levels typically rise during the summer months when higher temperatures and increased sunlight combine with stagnant atmospheric conditions.
A caustic irritant that essentially burns the tissues of the respiratory tract, ozone causes short-term inflammation and may lead to eventual scarring of the lungs. In healthy people, exposure to ozone can cause shortness of breath, chest pain, wheezing and coughing. People with existing respiratory diseases are at particular risk from ozone. Adverse health effects have been detected at ozone concentrations well below the current air quality standard. Particulate matter pollution is a mixture of airborne particles of various sizes and composition, including soot, ashes, dust and acid droplets. The very smallest particles, primarily those from industrial sources, can be inhaled deeply into the lungs where they can be absorbed into the bloodstream or remain lodged for extended periods of time. It is these fine particles that are most damaging to health.
Exposure to particulate matter can cause coughing, wheezing and decreased breathing ability in otherwise healthy adults and children. Particulate pollution can trigger asthma attacks and respiratory illness in sensitive individuals. Recent research also has linked exposure to relatively low concentrations of particulate matter to premature death, especially among the elderly and those with heart and lung disease.
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