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Air Pollution and Health – A Science-Policy Initiative

December 2019
Annals of Global Health 85(1)

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Air pollution is a major, preventable and manageable threat to people's health, well-being and the fulfillment of sustainable development. Air pollution is estimated to contribute to at least 5 million premature deaths each year across the world. No one remains unaffected by dirty air, but the adverse impacts of air pollution fall most heavily upon vulnerable populations, such as children, women, and people living in poverty - groups to whom States have special obligations under international human rights law. The National Academies of Sciences and Medicine of South Africa, Brazil, Germany and the United States of America are calling upon government leaders, business and citizens to take urgent action on reducing air pollution throughout the world - to the benefit of human health and well-being, to the benefit of the environment and as a condition towards sustainable development. Air pollution is a cross-cutting aspect of many UN Sustainable Development Goals.

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Air pollution is a major, preventable and manageable

threat to people’s health, well-being and the fulfillment

of sustainable development. Air pollution is estimated

to contribute to at least 5 million premature deaths each

year across the world. No one remains unaffected by dirty

air, but the adverse impacts of air pollution fall most heav-

ily upon vulnerable populations, such as children, women,

and people living in poverty — groups to whom States have

special obligations under international human rights law.

Poor air quality threatens human life, population health,

and the future prosperity of children. Air pollution also

threatens the sustainability of the earth’s environment, as

clean air is as vital to life on earth as clean water.

The scientific evidence is unequivocal: air pollution can

harm health across the entire lifespan. It causes disease,

disability and death, and impairs everyone’s quality of life.

It damages lungs, hearts, brains, skin and other organs; it

increases the risk of disease and disability, affecting virtu-

ally all systems in the human body.

The costs of air pollution to society and the economies

of low- and middle-income countries are enormous. These

economic losses are so significant that they can undercut

sustainable development. Economic growth that accepts

air pollution and ignores the public health and environ-

mental impacts is unsustainable and unethical.

Combustion of fossil fuels and biomass is the most sig-

nificant source of air pollution globally. These are also

significant sources of short-lived climate pollutants such

as black carbon, methane, ground-level ozone and the

main sources of CO2 emissions. Many of the solutions to

air pollution issues will also have a positive impact on cli-

mate change mitigation and can make important contri-

butions to meeting a 1.5°C climate target.

Public and private investments in tackling air pollution

are insufficient and do not match the scale of the prob-

lem. Opportunities to create synergies between air pollu-

tion control, climate change mitigation and sustainable

development are many, but have not been fully realized.

Air pollution is a preventable problem. But without

renewed action, air pollution exposure will continue to be

a significant contributor to global mortality. Coupled with

ageing, population growth and urbanization, more people

will suffer and die each year.

Air pollution can be cost-effectively controlled through

a combination of policies, legislation, regulation, stand-

ards and enforcement coupled with implementing new

technologies and increasing social awareness. Air pol-

lution control fosters economic growth and benefits

national economies by averting disease and preventing

productivity losses.

The National Academies of Sciences and Medicine of

South Africa, Brazil, Germany and the United States of

America are calling upon government leaders, business

and citizens to take urgent action on reducing air pol-

lution throughout the world — to the benefit of human

health and well-being, to the benefit of the environment

and as a condition towards sustainable development. Air

pollution is a cross-cutting aspect of many UN Sustainable

Development Goals.

Our five National Academies of Sciences and Medicine

propose the adoption of a global compact on air pollution

to make air pollution control and reduction a priority for all.

Academy of Science of South Africa, et al. Air Pollution and

Health – A Science-Policy Initiative.

Annals of Global Health

2019;

85(1):140, 1–9. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5334/aogh.2656

* Academy of Science of South Africa, ZA

† Brazilian Academy of Sciences, BR

‡ German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, DE

§ U. S. National Academy of Medicine, US

‖ U. S. National Academy of Sciences, US

Corresponding academy: German National Academy of Sciences

Leopoldina (kathrin.happe@leopoldina.org)

EXPERT CONSENSUS DOCUMENTS, RECOMMENDATIONS, AND WHITE PAPERS

Air Pollution and Health – A Science-Policy Initiative

Academy of Science of South Africa*

, Brazilian Academy of Sciences†, German National

Academy of Sciences Leopoldina‡, U. S. National Academy of Medicine§ and U. S.

National Academy of Sciences‖

Air pollution is a major, preventable and manageable threat to people’s health, well-being and the fulllment

of sustainable development. Air pollution is estimated to contribute to at least 5 million premature deaths

each year across the world. No one remains unaected by dirty air, but the adverse impacts of air pollu-

tion fall most heavily upon vulnerable populations, such as children, women, and people living in poverty

— groups to whom States have special obligations under international human rights law. The National

Academies of Sciences and Medicine of South Africa, Brazil, Germany and the United States of America

are calling upon government leaders, business and citizens to take urgent action on reducing air pollution

throughout the world — to the benet of human health and well-being, to the benet of the environment

and as a condition towards sustainable development. Air pollution is a cross-cutting aspect of many UN

Sustainable Development Goals.

Academy of Science of South Africa et al: Air Pollution and Health – A Science-Policy InitiativeArt. 140, page 2 of 9

Air Pollution Aects the Health of Everyone

Clean air is essential for life and health. Air pollution is the

largest environmental cause of disease and early death in

the world today. It has been associated with at least 5 million

premature deaths every year. While air pollution impacts

everyone, the burden of disease is highest among the poor

and the powerless, minorities and the marginalized.

Air pollution affects people from the beginning until

the end of life, causing a wide range of acute and chronic

diseases from the earliest stages of child development to

extreme old age. Particularly sensitive populations include

infants in the womb, children, the elderly, and people

with pre-existing chronic diseases. Almost all organs, sys-

tems and processes in the human body may be impacted:

the lungs, the heart, the brain, the vascular system, the

metabolism, and reproduction.

Air pollution is a major cause of pneumonia, bronchitis

and asthma in infants and children. It slows the growth of

the developing lungs of children and adolescents. It con-

tributes to heart disease including cardiac arrhythmias

and acute myocardial infarction, stroke, cancer, asthma,

chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, diabetes, allergies,

eczema, and skin ageing. There is emerging and growing

evidence that air pollution contributes to dementia in

adults and impacts brain development in children.

Women in low-income countries are disproportionately

affected by exposure to household air pollution from the

use of solid fuels (coal and biomass) for cooking, and they

bear the greatest burden of pollution-related disease.

Women also bear the main burden of caring for other

household members suffering from air pollution-related

ill health.

The risks of air pollution vary across societies, with vul-

nerability varying among individuals. Factors that affect

individual vulnerability include age, gender, education,

socioeconomic status, location and residence, fuels used

for cooking and heating, and occupation. Biological fac-

tors that increase individual vulnerability include genetic

susceptibility and underlying diseases, such as asthma,

heart disease or diabetes.

Diseases related to air pollution cause productivity

losses that can reduce gross domestic product, cause work

and school absenteeism, and perpetuate existing societal

inequalities. These diseases also result in health care costs

that in rapidly industrializing countries can consume as

much as 7% of national health budgets.

The global economic burden of disease caused by air

pollution (both outdoor and indoor) across 176 countries

was estimated to be USD 3.8 trillion in 2015. The health

and economic benefits of action against air pollution will

generally far outweigh the costs of action.

There is an ethical imperative to work together to pro-

tect everyone against the health risks of air pollution,

which are sustained by the population as an unpaid

adverse consequence of actions by polluters.

Combustion of Fossil Fuels and Biomass is the

Main Source of Air Pollution

The air pollutants of greatest concern for human health

are airborne particulate matter. The unfiltered emissions

of combustion contain significant concentrations of

ultrafine, fine and large particles, including black carbon,

as well as harmful gases.

Air pollution is a complex mixture of different compo-

nents. Levels of fine particles (PM2.5 mass concentration)

along with ozone serve as a robust indicator for regulatory

purposes; with black carbon as a proxy for emissions from

combustion.

The main sources of combustion-related air pollution

are: A. stationary combustion facilities; B. household

heating and cooking; C. controlled biomass burning

and waste combustion; and D. mobile sources. The rela-

tive importance of these sources varies from country to

country.

A Stationary sources include power plants, manufac-

turing facilities and mining with limited emission

controls. Facilities that burn coal or other poor qual-

ity fuels or that rely on diesel-powered generators

due to a lack of grid reliability are generally the

worst offenders.

B Households are an important source of air pollution,

especially in low-income countries that rely on bio-

mass fuels for heating and cooking. They are also a

place where people are greatly exposed.

C Controlled biomass burning sources related to agri-

cultural waste burning and to land and forest clear-

ance are important sources of air pollution in devel-

oping countries. Additional uncontrolled biomass

burning is related to residential and other waste

combustion.

D Mobile sources of air pollution include petroleum-

powered cars, trucks, and buses; in both the pri-

vate and public sectors. They are the main source

of air pollution in cities. Old and poorly maintained

vehicles that burn low-grade fuels are especially

hazardous. Emissions from ships and aircraft are the

major mobile sources of air pollution near ports and

airports.

There are synergies between air pollution control and

climate change mitigation as they share common sources

and, to a large extent, solutions; while the majority of air

pollutants also impact the climate. They also aggravate

each other in multiple ways, e.g. greenhouse gases, such

as methane, contribute to the formation of ground-level-

ozone, and levels of ground-level ozone increase with

rising temperatures and rising temperatures increase the

frequency of wildfires; which in turn further elevate levels

of particulate air pollution.

Black carbon from combustion impacts health but also

regional temperatures, precipitation and extreme weather.

The Arctic and glaciated regions such as the Himalayas are

particularly vulnerable to melting as a result of deposited

black carbon which heats the surface. Changing rain pat-

terns from black carbon aerosol-cloud interactions can

have far-reaching consequences for both ecosystems and

human livelihoods, for example by disrupting monsoons,

and droughts which are critical for agriculture in large

parts of Asia and Africa.

Academy of Science of South Africa et al: Air Pollution and Health – A Science-Policy Initiative Art. 140, page 3 of 9

Call to Action

The five National Academies of Sciences and Medicine

of South Africa, Brazil, Germany and the United States of

America are issuing a call to action to government leaders,

business and citizens to reduce air pollution in all coun-

tries. This call is underpinned by unequivocal scientific

evidence on the health impacts of air pollution.

Many existing agreements, resolutions, conventions

and initiatives already address aspects of air pollu-

tion. These include the Montreal Protocol, the United

Nations Economic Commission for Europe Convention

on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution, the WHO

Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, and the

World Health Assembly resolution on the health impact

of air pollution.

Therefore, the Academies propose adoption of a global

compact on air pollution. This would ensure sustained

engagement at the highest level and make air pollution

control and reduction a priority for all. It would also

encourage policymakers and other key partners, includ-

ing the private sector, to integrate emission control and

reduction into national and local planning, development

processes, and business and finance strategies. For such

a process to be successful, there would need to be both

political leadership and partnerships including working

together with existing multinational structures.

The Academies recognize that no perfect solution fits

all situations in all countries. Nevertheless, urgent action

is needed in the following areas:

There are many policy and technological solutions to

reduce harmful products of combustion. For stationary

sources this includes implementation of emission con-

trols for industry and power plants or changing to clean

fuels. For households this includes provision of access to

clean household fuels. For controlled biomass burning

this includes enforcement of rules to eliminate garbage

burning and new agricultural techniques to reduce crop

burning. For mobile sources this includes promoting

and investing in sustainable mass transport and urban

infrastructures.

Effective policies and technologies need to be shared.

Where applicable, these strategies should urgently be put

into action in countries at every level of economic devel-

opment across the world. Some solutions enjoy a high

degree of consensus. Where that consensus is lacking or

where the policy choice depends importantly on context

(given the heterogeneity in legal systems, geography, eco-

nomic development stage, sources of pollution), tailoring

of policies is needed, although there are universal actions

that are needed in many parts of the world.

There is a need to collect the success stories in control-

ling air pollution from cities and countries and to extract

lessons from those stories and share those lessons with

countries now beginning to grapple with the issue.

Population exposure is directly related to population

density, pollutant concentration and duration of expo-

sure. In optimizing the costs and benefits of actions taken

to improve air quality priority should be given to the pol-

lution sources where population exposure can be reduced

cost-effectively, and to reducing exposures to the poorest

members of society, recognizing that these two metrics

may at times conflict.

Sufficient monitoring of key pollution metrics, espe-

cially PM2.5 concentrations and population exposures, is

a critical need in all countries. An additional need is for

follow-on statistical analyses that can be used to assess the

success of policy actions.

Co-benefits amongst policy instruments need to be

identified. Priority should be given to policies that maximize

synergies across multiple development goals, including

climate change mitigation and food security. Energy effi-

ciency improvements provide reductions in both CO2 and

harmful products of combustion, as do many other strate-

gies to mitigate climate change such as greater reliance on

renewable energy and electrification of transport.

Efforts need to be made to devise strategies for the

implementation of solutions. These strategies may

include building institutional capacity, improving gov-

ernance, and fostering mechanisms for cross-agency

collaborations and enforcement. Using the tools of risk

assessment and cost-benefit analysis will help in choosing

policy designs and targets. Air pollution control policies

should be designed to deliver cost-effective reductions

in exposures. Ideally, they should also deliver benefits in

other areas, such as climate, or other sectors, such as agri-

culture. Polluters could be incentivized to find the cheap-

est ways of reducing pollution and thereby exposures.

This call for action requires mobilizing finance and

substantial investment in opportunities to reduce air

pollution. Increased funding is also needed for research,

pollution monitoring, infrastructure, management and

control, and stakeholder interaction.

Finally, there needs to be advocacy for action where

citizens are informed and inspired to reduce their air

pollution footprint and advocate for bold commitments

from the public and private sectors.

Note

This statement has first been published in June 2019. It is

available in all official UN-languages and in German and

Portuguese on www.air-pollution.health.

Author Information

Academies Working Group

Maria de Fatima Andrade, Professor of Meteorology and

Atmospheric Sciences, University of São Paulo, São Paulo,

Brazil.

Paulo Artaxo, Professor of Environmental Physics,

University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.

Simone Georges El Khouri Miraglia, Associate Professor

and Leader of the Laboratory of Economics, Health and

Environmental Pollution (LESPA), Federal University of

São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.

Nelson Gouveia, Associate Professor of Epidemiology,

University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.

Alan J. Krupnick, Senior Fellow, Resources for the Future,

Washington, DC, U.S.A.

Jean Krutmann, Scientific Director, IUF — Leibniz Research

Institute for Environmental Medicine, Düsseldorf,

Germany.

Academy of Science of South Africa et al: Air Pollution and Health – A Science-Policy InitiativeArt. 140, page 4 of 9

Philip J. Landrigan, Professor of Biology and Director,

Program in Global Public Health and the Common Good,

Boston College, Boston, U.S.A.

Kristy Langerman, Senior Lecturer, University of

Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa.

Tafadzwa Makonese, Senior Researcher and Lab Manager,

University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa.

Angela Mathee, Director MRC Environment & Health

Research Unit, South African Medical Research Council

(SAMRC), Johannesburg, South Africa.

Stuart Piketh, Professor of Environmental Science,

North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa.

Beate Ritz, Professor of Epidemiology and Environmental

Health Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles,

U.S.A.

Paulo H. N. Saldiva, Director, Institute of Advanced Studies,

University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.

Jonathan Samet, Dean, Colorado School of Public Health,

Aurora, U.S.A.

Tamara Schikowski, Head of Research Group

“Environmental epidemiology of lung, brain and skin

aging”, IUF — Leibniz Research Institute for Environmen-

tal Medicine, Düsseldorf, Germany.

Alexandra Schneider, Head of Research Group

“Environmental Risks”, Institute of Epidemiology,

Helmholtz Zentrum München — German Research Center

for Environmental Health, Neuherberg, Germany.

Kirk R. Smith, Professor of Global Environmental Health,

University of California, Berkeley, U.S.A. and Director,

Collaborative Clean Air Policy Centre, Delhi, India.

Claudia Traidl-Hoffmann, Chair and Institute of

Environmental Medicine, UNIKA-T, Technical University

of Munich and Helmholtz Zentrum München — German

Research Center for Environmental Health, Augsburg,

Germany.

Alfred Wiedensohler, Head of Department for

Experimental Aerosol and Cloud Microphysics, Leibniz

Institute for Tropospheric Research, Leipzig, Germany.

Caradee Wright, Specialist Scientist, South African Medical

Research Council (SAMRC), Parktown, South Africa.

Invited External Experts

David Richard Boyd, United Nations Special Rapporteur on

Human Rights and the Environment, Office of the United

Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR),

Geneva, Switzerland.

Valentin Foltescu, Senior Science and Programme Officer,

Climate and Clean Air Coalition Secretariat, United

Nations Environment, New Delhi, India.

Richard Fuller, Lancet Commission on Pollution and

Health Co-Chair, Pure Earth and Global Alliance on Health

and Pollution, New York, U.S.A.

Dorota Jarosińska, Programme Manager, World Health

Organization, European Centre for Environment and

Health, Bonn, Germany.

Jacqueline Myriam McGlade Former Chief Scientist,

United Nations Environment, Nairobi, Kenya.

Drew Shindell, Duke University Durham, NC, U.S.A. and

Chair of the Scientific Advisory Panel, Climate and Clean

Air Coalition, Paris, France.

Secretariat

Marcos Cortesao Barnsley Scheuenstuhl, Executive

Director of International Affairs, Brazilian Academy of

Sciences (ABC), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

John P. Boright, Director of International Affairs, U.S.

National Academy of Sciences (NAS), Washington, DC,

U.S.A.

Siyavuya Bulani, Senior Liaison Officer, Academy of

Science of South Africa (ASSAf), Pretoria, South Africa.

Margaret Hamburg, Foreign Secretary, U.S. National

Academy of Medicine (NAM), Washington, DC, U.S.A.

Kathrin Happe, Deputy Head of Department of Science —

Policy — Society, German National Academy of Sciences

Leopoldina, Halle (Saale), Germany.

Jan Nissen, Senior Officer, Department of International

Relations, German National Academy of Sciences Leopol-

dina, Halle (Saale), Germany.

Isabel Scheer, Assistant, Department of International Rela-

tions, German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina,

Halle (Saale), Germany.

Funding Statement

Funding for this article was provided by the US National

Academy of Sciences and the US National Academy of

Medicine.

Competing Interests

The authors have no competing interests to declare.

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How to cite this article: Academy of Science of South Africa, Brazilian Academy of Sciences, German National Academy of

Sciences Leopoldina, U. S. National Academy of Medicine and U. S. National Academy of Sciences. Air Pollution and Health – A

Science-Policy Initiative.

Annals of Global Health

. 2019; 85(1):140, 1–9. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5334/aogh.2656

Published: 16 December 2019

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Feb 2024
SCI TOTAL ENVIRON

Ambient air pollution is a health concern in Latin America given its large urban population exposed to levels above recommended guidelines. Yet no studies have examined the mortality impact of air pollutants in the region across a wide range of cities. We assessed whether short-term levels of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) from modeled estimates, are associated with cardiovascular and respiratory mortality among adults in 337 cities from 9 Latin American countries. We compiled mortality, PM2.5 and temperature data for the period 2009–2015. For each city, we evaluated the association between monthly changes in PM2.5 and cardiovascular and respiratory mortality for sex and age subgroups using Poisson models, adjusted for seasonality, long-term trend, and temperature. To accommodate possibly different associations of mortality with PM2.5 by age, we included interaction terms between changes in PM2.5 and age in the models. We combined the city-specific estimates using a random effects meta-regression to obtain mortality relative risks for each sex and age group. We analyzed 3,026,861 and 1,222,623 cardiovascular and respiratory deaths, respectively, from a study population that represents 41 % of the total population of Latin America. We observed that a 10 μg/m³ increase in monthly PM2.5 is associated with an increase of 1.3 % (95 % confidence interval [CI], 0.4 to 2.2) in cardiovascular mortality and a 0.9 % increase (95 % CI -0.6 to 2.4) in respiratory mortality. Increases in mortality risk ranged between −0.5 % to 3.0 % across 6 sex-age groups, were larger in men, and demonstrated stronger associations with cardiovascular mortality as age increased. Socioeconomic, environmental and health contexts in Latin America are different than those present in higher income cities from which most evidence on air pollution impacts is drawn. Locally generated evidence constitutes a powerful instrument to engage civil society and help drive actions to mitigate and control ambient air pollution.

Associations between fine particulate air pollution and cause specific mortality in 337 cities in Latin America from 2009 to 201

Article

Sep 2023

Assessing the Human Health Benefits of Climate Mitigation, Pollution Prevention, and Biodiversity Preservation

Article

Full-text available

Jan 2024

Background Since the Industrial Revolution, humanity has amassed great wealth and achieved unprecedented material prosperity. These advances have come, however, at great cost to the planet. They are guided by an economic model that focuses almost exclusively on short-term gain, while ignoring natural capital and human capital. They have relied on the combustion of vast quantities of fossil fuels, massive consumption of the earth’s resources, and production and environmental release of enormous quantities of chemicals, pesticides, fertilizers, and plastics. They have caused climate change, pollution, and biodiversity loss, the “Triple Planetary Crisis”. They are responsible for more than 9 million premature deaths per year and for widespread disease – impacts that fall disproportionately upon the poor and the vulnerable. Goals To map the human health impacts of climate change, pollution, and biodiversity loss. To outline a framework for assessing the health benefits of interventions against these threats. Findings Actions taken by national governments and international agencies to mitigate climate change, pollution, and biodiversity loss can improve health, prevent disease, save lives, and enhance human well-being. Yet assessment of health benefits is largely absent from evaluations of environmental remediation programs. This represents a lost opportunity to quantify the full benefits of environmental remediation and to educate policy makers and the public. Recommendations We recommend that national governments and international agencies implementing interventions against climate change, pollution, and biodiversity loss develop metrics and strategies for quantifying the health benefits of these interventions. We recommend that they deploy these tools in parallel with assessments of ecologic and economic benefits. Health metrics developed by the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study may provide a useful starting point. Incorporation of health metrics into assessments of environmental restoration will require building transdisciplinary collaborations. Environmental scientists and engineers will need to work with health scientists to establish evaluation systems that link environmental and economic data with health data. Such systems will assist international agencies as well as national and local governments in prioritizing environmental interventions.

Promoting Behavioral Change and Public Awareness for Sustainable Clean Air

Chapter

Oct 2024

Psychological factors play a crucial role in shaping individual behaviors related to air pollution. This chapter focuses on avenues for promoting behavioral changes and public awareness for sustainable clean air. It discusses how the nexus of behavioral change and public awareness forms the cornerstone of efforts to achieve sustainable clean air. By synergistically leveraging individual actions, community engagement, policy support, and continuous improvement, this dynamic interplay can drive positive environmental outcomes and a culture of environmental responsibility and stewardship for the benefit of present and future generations. Behavioral science offers valuable insights into the complex interactions between human behavior and air quality. Therefore, by integrating behavioral principles into air quality management strategies, policymakers, researchers, and practitioners can develop more effective interventions to promote sustainable behaviors, reduce air pollution, and protect public health and the environment. Behavioral science concepts and theories can be tailored to contribute to the development of more effective interventions and strategies to address air quality management challenges, promote sustainable behaviors, and improve environmental outcomes. For instance, by combining public awareness campaigns, behavioral nudges, incentive programs, social marketing campaigns, community-based initiatives, and policy advocacy, stakeholders can create a comprehensive approach to address air quality challenges and foster a culture of environmental stewardship and sustainability. The nexus of behavioral changes and public awareness creates a feedback loop wherein successful behavioral interventions inform future awareness campaigns and policy decisions. In conclusion, the chapter offers examples to demonstrate the effectiveness of evidence-based behavioral interventions and strategies in promoting sustainable clean air through the incorporation of behavior change techniques such as goal setting, feedback, incentives, and social norms into intervention programs and stakeholders to effectively motivate individuals and communities to adopt pollution-reducing behaviors and contribute to air quality improvement efforts. This will also require the integration of behavioral insights into regulatory and enforcement mechanisms that leverage behavioral science principles to demonstrate the effectiveness of using behavior change techniques to incentivize sustainable practices, enhance compliance, and achieve sustainable clean air goals. The monitoring and evaluation of behavioral changes and public awareness initiatives for mitigating air pollution is necessary for assessing their effectiveness, improvement, and execution of target interventions where needed.

The governance-gender intersection in global mining and its socio-environmental impacts

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Full-text available

Jul 2024
J CLEAN PROD

J. Andres Dominguez-Gómez

Knowledge, attitudes and practices about air pollution and its health effects in 6th to 11th-grade students in Colombia: a cross-sectional study

Article

Full-text available

Jun 2024

Introduction Globally, air pollution is the leading environmental cause of disease and premature death. Raising awareness through environmental education and adequate communication on air quality could reduce the adverse effects. We aimed to assess the knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) regarding air pollution and health and determine the factors associated with these KAP in children and adolescents. Methods In 2019–2020, a cross-sectional study was conducted on 6th–11th grade high school students in five municipalities in Colombia. Variables collected included: age, sex, private or public school, any medical history, emergency room visits due to respiratory symptoms in the last year, and whether students played sports. The main exposure was the School Environmental Project. The outcomes were the KAP scale [0% (the lowest score) to 100% (the highest score)]. The factors associated with KAP levels were evaluated with independent mixed regressions due to the multilevel structure of the study (level 1: student; level 2: school), and the exponential coefficients (95% confidence interval-CI) were reported. Results Among 1,676 students included, 53.8% were females. The median knowledge score about air pollution and its health effects was 33.8% (IQR: 24.0–44.9), 38.6% knew the air quality index, 30.9% knew the air quality alerts that occurred twice a year in these municipalities and 5.3% had high self-perceived knowledge. Positive attitudes, pro-environmental practices, being female, grade level, attending a private school, having respiratory diseases, and the school environmental project importance were associated with higher knowledge scores. The median attitudes score was 78.6% (IQR: 71.4–92.9). Pro-environmental attitudes were associated with knowledge-increasing, being female, attending a private school, and the school environmental project. The median pro-environmental practices score was 28.6% (IQR: 28.6–42.9). During air quality alerts, 11.6% had worn masks, 19% had reduced the opening time of windows and 15.9% avoided leaving home. Pro-environmental practices were associated with knowledge-increasing and attitudes-increasing, and lower practices with higher grade levels, visiting a doctor in the last year, and practicing sports. Discussion Children and adolescents have low knowledge scores and inadequate pro-environmental practices scores regarding air pollution. However, they demonstrate positive attitudes towards alternative solutions and express important concerns about the planet’s future.

Guidelines for Modeling and Reporting Health Effects of Climate Change Mitigation Actions

Article

Full-text available

Nov 2020

Qi-Yong Liu

Guidelines for Modeling and Reporting Health Effects of Climate Change Mitigation Actions BACKGROUND: Modeling suggests that climate change mitigation actions can have substantial human health benefits that accrue quickly and locally. Documenting the benefits can help drive more ambitious and health-protective climate change mitigation actions; however, documenting the adverse health effects can help to avoid them. Estimating the health effects of mitigation (HEM) actions can help policy makers prioritize investments based not only on mitigation potential but also on expected health benefits. To date, however, the wide range of incompatible approaches taken to develop�ing and reporting HEM estimates has limited their comparability and usefulness to policymakers. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this effort was to generate guidance for modeling studies on scoping, estimating, and reporting population health effects from climate change mitigation actions. METHODS: An expert panel of HEM researchers was recruited to participate in developing guidance for conducting HEM studies. The primary litera�ture and a synthesis of HEM studies were provided to the panel. Panel members then participated in a modified Delphi exercise to identify areas of consensus regarding HEM estimation. Finally, the panel met to review and discuss consensus findings, resolve remaining differences, and generate guidance regarding conducting HEM studies. RESULTS: The panel generated a checklist of recommendations regarding stakeholder engagement: HEM modeling, including model structure, scope and scale, demographics, time horizons, counterfactuals, health response functions, and metrics; parameterization and reporting; approaches to uncer�tainty and sensitivity analysis; accounting for policy uptake; and discounting. DISCUSSION: This checklist provides guidance for conducting and reporting HEM estimates to make them more comparable and useful for policy�makers. Harmonization of HEM estimates has the potential to lead to advances in and improved synthesis of policy-relevant research that can inform evidence-based decision making and practice. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP6745

Quantification of ambient PM2.5 concentrations adjacent to informal brick kilns in the Vhembe District using low-cost sensors

Article

Full-text available

Dec 2023

The widespread exposure to ambient PM 2.5 poses a substantial health risk globally, with a more pronounced impact on low- to medium-income nations. This study investigates the spatiotemporal distribution of PM 2.5 in the communities hosting informal brickmaking industries in Vhembe District. Utilizing Dylos DC1700, continuous monitoring of PM 2.5 was conducted at nine stations adjacent to informal brick kilns from March 2021 to February 2022. The study determined the correction factor for PM 2.5 measurements obtained from the Dylos DC1700 when it was collocated with the GRIMM Environmental Dust Monitor 180. Additionally, the diurnal and seasonal variations across monitoring stations were assessed, and potential PM 2.5 sources were identified. The study also evaluated the compliance of ambient PM 2.5 concentrations across the stations with the South African National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) limits. Annual PM 2.5 concentrations for the stations ranged from 22.6 to 36.2 μgm ⁻³ . Diurnal patterns exhibited peak concentrations in the morning and evening, while seasonal variations showed higher concentrations in winter and lower concentrations in summer and spring. All monitoring stations reported the highest daily exceedance with respect to the daily NAAQS limit in the winter. Major PM 2.5 sources included domestic biomass combustion, vehicular emissions, industrial emissions, and construction sites. Well-calibrated low-cost sensors could be employed in suburb regions with scarce air quality data. Findings from the study could be used for developing mitigation strategies to reduce health risks associated with PM 2.5 exposure in the area.

Global emissions pathways under different socioeconomic scenarios for use in CMIP6: a dataset of harmonized emissions trajectories through the end of the century

Article

Full-text available

Apr 2019
GMD

We present a suite of nine scenarios of future emissions trajectories of anthropogenic sources, a key deliverable of the ScenarioMIP experiment within CMIP6. Integrated assessment model results for 14 different emissions species and 13 emissions sectors are provided for each scenario with consistent transitions from the historical data used in CMIP6 to future trajectories using automated harmonization before being downscaled to provide higher emissions source spatial detail. We find that the scenarios span a wide range of end-of-century radiative forcing values, thus making this set of scenarios ideal for exploring a variety of warming pathways. The set of scenarios is bounded on the low end by a 1.9 Wm-2 scenario, ideal for analyzing a world with end-of-century temperatures well below 2 ∘C, and on the high end by a 8.5 Wm-2 scenario, resulting in an increase in warming of nearly 5 ∘C over pre-industrial levels. Between these two extremes, scenarios are provided such that differences between forcing outcomes provide statistically significant regional temperature outcomes to maximize their usefulness for downstream experiments within CMIP6. A wide range of scenario data products are provided for the CMIP6 scientific community including global, regional, and gridded emissions datasets.

Ambient Air Pollution, Noise, and Late-Life Cognitive Decline and Dementia Risk

Article

Full-text available

Apr 2019

Exposure to ambient air pollution and noise is ubiquitous globally. A strong body of evidence links air pollution, and recently noise, to cardiovascular conditions that eventually may also affect cognition in the elderly. Data that support a broader influence of these exposures on cognitive function during aging is just starting to emerge. This review summarizes current findings and discusses methodological challenges and opportunities for research. Although current evidence is still limited, especially for chronic noise exposure, high exposure has been associated with faster cognitive decline either mediated through cerebrovascular events or resulting in Alzheimer's disease. Ambient environmental exposures are chronic and affect large populations. While they may yield relatively modest-sized risks, they nevertheless result in large numbers of cases. Reducing environmental pollution is clearly feasible, though lowering levels requires collective action and long-term policies such as standard setting, often at the national level as well as at the local level.

Air quality 2018 - EEA report 12 2018

Book

Full-text available

Nov 2018

The current report presents an updated overview and analysis of air quality in Europe from 2000 to 2016. It reviews the progress made towards meeting the air quality standards established in the two EU Ambient Air Quality Directives and towards the World Health Organization (WHO) air quality guidelines (AQGs). It also presents the latest findings and estimates on population and ecosystem exposure to the air pollutants with the greatest impacts and effects. The evaluation of the status of air quality is based mainly on reported ambient air measurements, in conjunction with modelling data and data on anthropogenic emissions and their evolution over time.

The impact of air pollution on deaths, disease burden, and life expectancy across the states of India: the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017

Article

Full-text available

Dec 2018

Background: Air pollution is a major planetary health risk, with India estimated to have some of the worst levels globally. To inform action at subnational levels in India, we estimated the exposure to air pollution and its impact on deaths, disease burden, and life expectancy in every state of India in 2017. Methods: We estimated exposure to air pollution, including ambient particulate matter pollution, defined as the annual average gridded concentration of PM2.5, and household air pollution, defined as percentage of households using solid cooking fuels and the corresponding exposure to PM2.5, across the states of India using accessible data from multiple sources as part of the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2017. The states were categorised into three Socio-demographic Index (SDI) levels as calculated by GBD 2017 on the basis of lag-distributed per-capita income, mean education in people aged 15 years or older, and total fertility rate in people younger than 25 years. We estimated deaths and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) attributable to air pollution exposure, on the basis of exposure-response relationships from the published literature, as assessed in GBD 2017; the proportion of total global air pollution DALYs in India; and what the life expectancy would have been in each state of India if air pollution levels had been less than the minimum level causing health loss. Findings: The annual population-weighted mean exposure to ambient particulate matter PM2·5 in India was 89·9 μg/m3 (95% uncertainty interval [UI] 67·0-112·0) in 2017. Most states, and 76·8% of the population of India, were exposed to annual population-weighted mean PM2·5 greater than 40 μg/m3, which is the limit recommended by the National Ambient Air Quality Standards in India. Delhi had the highest annual population-weighted mean PM2·5 in 2017, followed by Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Haryana in north India, all with mean values greater than 125 μg/m3. The proportion of population using solid fuels in India was 55·5% (54·8-56·2) in 2017, which exceeded 75% in the low SDI states of Bihar, Jharkhand, and Odisha. 1·24 million (1·09-1·39) deaths in India in 2017, which were 12·5% of the total deaths, were attributable to air pollution, including 0·67 million (0·55-0·79) from ambient particulate matter pollution and 0·48 million (0·39-0·58) from household air pollution. Of these deaths attributable to air pollution, 51·4% were in people younger than 70 years. India contributed 18·1% of the global population but had 26·2% of the global air pollution DALYs in 2017. The ambient particulate matter pollution DALY rate was highest in the north Indian states of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Delhi, Punjab, and Rajasthan, spread across the three SDI state groups, and the household air pollution DALY rate was highest in the low SDI states of Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Assam in north and northeast India. We estimated that if the air pollution level in India were less than the minimum causing health loss, the average life expectancy in 2017 would have been higher by 1·7 years (1·6-1·9), with this increase exceeding 2 years in the north Indian states of Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and Haryana. Interpretation: India has disproportionately high mortality and disease burden due to air pollution. This burden is generally highest in the low SDI states of north India. Reducing the substantial avoidable deaths and disease burden from this major environmental risk is dependent on rapid deployment of effective multisectoral policies throughout India that are commensurate with the magnitude of air pollution in each state. Funding: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; and Indian Council of Medical Research, Department of Health Research, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.

Ambient Air Pollution and Pregnancy-Induced Hypertensive Disorders: a Systematic Review and Meta- Analysis

Article

Oct 2014

Spatial variability in air pollution exposure in relation to socioeconomic indicators in nine European metropolitan areas: A study on environmental inequality

Article

Mar 2019
ENVIRON POLLUT

A limited number of studies have addressed environmental inequality, using various study designs and methodologies and often reaching contradictory results. Following a standardized multi-city data collection process within the European project EURO-HEALTHY, we conducted an ecological study to investigate the spatial association between nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ), as a surrogate for traffic related air pollution, and ten socioeconomic indicators at local administrative unit level in nine European Metropolitan Areas. We applied mixed models for the associations under investigation with random intercepts per Metropolitan Area, also accounting for the spatial correlation. The stronger associations were observed between NO 2 levels and population density, population born outside the European Union (EU28), total crimes per 100,000 inhabitants and unemployment rate that displayed a highly statistically significant trend of increasing concentrations with increasing levels of the indicators. Specifically, the highest vs the lowest quartile of each indicator above was associated with 48.7% (95% confidence interval (CI): 42.9%, 54.8%), 30.9% (95%CI: 22.1%, 40.2%), 19.8% (95%CI: 13.4%, 26.6%) and 15.8% (95%CI: 9.9%, 22.1%) increase in NO 2 respectively. The association with population density most probably reflects the higher volume in vehicular traffic, which is the main source of NO 2 in urban areas. Higher pollution levels in areas with higher percentages of people born outside EU28, crime or unemployment rates indicate that worse air quality is typically encountered in deprived European urban areas. Policy makers should consider spatial environmental inequalities to better inform actions aiming to lower urban air pollution levels that will subsequently lead to improved quality of life, public health and health equity across the population.

Acute effects of air pollutants on spontaneous pregnancy loss: a case-crossover study

Article

Dec 2018
FERTIL STERIL

Objective: To investigate the relationship between acute exposure to air pollutants and spontaneous pregnancy loss. Design: Case-crossover study from 2007 to 2015. Setting: An academic emergency department in the Wasatch Front area of Utah. Patient(s): A total of 1,398 women who experienced spontaneous pregnancy loss events. Intervention(s): None. Main outcome measure(s): Odds of spontaneous pregnancy loss. Result(s): We found that a 10-ppb increase in 7-day average levels of nitrogen dioxide was associated with a 16% increase in the odds of spontaneous pregnancy loss (odds ratio [OR] = 1.16; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.01-1.33; P=.04). A 10-μg/m3 increase in 3-day and 7-day averages of fine particulate matter were associated with increased risk of spontaneous pregnancy loss, but the associations did not reach statistical significance (OR3-day average = 1.09; 95% CI 0.99-1.20; P=.05) (OR7-day average = 1.11; 95% CI 0.99-1.24; P=.06). We found no evidence of increased risk for any other metrics of nitrogen dioxide or fine particulate matter or any metric for ozone. Conclusions: We found that short-term exposure to elevated levels of air pollutants was associated with higher risk for spontaneous pregnancy loss.

It's time to consider pollution in NCD prevention

Article