COVID-19 Deaths More Frequent In Regions with High Air Pollution Levels

New research finds that high levels of pollution are closely associated with COVID-19 deaths. In a new study that examined 66 administrative regions in France, Italy, Spain, and Germany, researcher Yann Ogen found that 78% of deaths occurred in just 5 regions. These regions had the highest levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) emissions, a gas that accumulates as vehicle emissions get trapped by weather conditions. The gas causes an increased likelihood of respiratory problems like wheezing coughs, colds and flu, lung infections, and bronchitis.

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The results indicate that long-term exposure to this pollutant may be one of the most important contributors to fatality caused by the Covid-19 virus in these regions and maybe across the whole world…Poisoning our environment means poisoning our own body, and when it experiences chronic respiratory stress its ability to defend itself from infections is limited.”

Yaron Ogen, post-doctoral researcher – Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg

Other research has found that air pollution is a potential risk factor for coronavirus in another way. Italian researchers have identified a gene-specific to COVID-19 in outdoor air pollution samples from the Bergamo province in Italy. The study has not been peer-reviewed. Additional research has found that COVID-19 can survive up to three hours suspended in airborne droplets.

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Air Pollution Linked to Higher Number of Hospitalizations for Blood, Skin, and Kidney Conditions

Scientists all over the world are becoming increasingly aware of the damage air pollution does to human health, and a new study from researchers at Harvard has found a link between airborne fine particulate matter and increased hospitalizations for common blood, skin, and kidney conditions. Researchers saw higher instances of hospitalizations for septicemia, urinary tract infections, kidney failure, skin and other tissue infections, and electrolyte disorders. The biggest culprit here is PM2.5, extremely fine particulate matter generated by fossil fuel combustion, power plants, airplanes, wildfires, and other combustion reactions. The study also determined that a little goes a long way. Scientists saw hospitalization numbers rise, even with short-term exposure and at PM2.5 levels lower than current World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines.

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PM2.5?

PM2.5 is defined as particulate matter less than 2.5 micrometers or less in diameter. The smallest particles visible to the human eye are 50 micrometers, and at 2.5 micrometers, these particular particulates are smaller than pollen, plant, or mold spores. Due to their tiny size, these particles bypass the nose and throat, settling in the lungs or even circulatory system. Long-term exposure to PM2.5 can result in heart disease, stroke, asthma, and chronic kidney disease, among other conditions.

Air Conditions

American air quality is greatly improved over the last twenty years. PM2.5 levels, in particular, have dropped 39 percent since 2000. That will likely change, as the Trump administration continues to undermine the Clean Air Act. Recent attempts have moved to disregard methane emissions from power plants, rollback mandates that require states to minimize smog production, and challenge zero-emissions vehicle standards in California. This study and countless others have made the case that this will not be good for our health.

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According to the WHO, 7 million people die each year from conditions caused or exacerbated by fine particle matter in the air. The United States has remained relatively unscathed, but if air quality standards are relaxed, that could change very quickly.

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Harm From Air Pollution Comparable to Smoking

A new study from researchers at several American universities has found that long-term exposure to air pollution, especially ozone, leads to an increase in emphysema that mirrors that of smoking a pack of cigarettes a day for 29 years. Chronic lower respiratory illnesses like emphysema are the fourth leading cause of death in the United States, but the number of people smoking fell to its lowest recorded point in U.S. history in 2017.

Rates of chronic lung disease in this country are going up and increasingly it is recognized that this disease occurs in nonsmokers…We really need to understand what’s causing chronic lung disease, and it appears that air pollution exposures that are common and hard to avoid might be a major contributor…”

Dr. Joel Kaufman

Nuts and Bolts

Of the air pollution examined in this study, researchers found that ground-level ozone, or O3, pollution had the biggest effect on emphysema. The study took place over a period of 18 years in six different cities in the United States – Chicago, Winston-Salem, N.C., Baltimore, Los Angeles, St. Paul, Minnesota, and New York. It found that cities, where average ozone levels rose by 3 ppb (parts per billion), saw a corresponding rise in emphysema rates.

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We were surprised to see how strong air pollution’s impact was on the progression of emphysema on lung scans, in the same league as the effects of cigarette smoking, which is by far the best-known cause of emphysema…”

According to Dr. Kaufman

The United States and Europe have seen declining levels of ozone in cities over the past 30 years. However, countries like India and China have seen the opposite trend. In 2015, the average ozone levels in 74 major Chinese cities increased by 3.4 percent. India and China accounted for 79 percent of premature respiratory deaths attributed to ozone pollution in a 2010 study. That can have serious effects on public health.

The New Normal

In 2015, air pollution killed 6.5 million people worldwide. It’s likely those numbers will keep rising. In the United States, the Trump Administration has been dismantling EPA policies designed to keep air pollution in check. They have finished or are currently in the process of rolling back 22 regulations that govern air pollution and emissions, including changes to the Clean Air Act. Why are we going backward?

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Wildfires, Air Pollution, and the Fire Retardant’s Toll On the Ecosystem

The wildfires in California have dominated the headlines lately. The devastation has been serious, but it’s easy to forget about the what this means for the health of those both caught in the fires and trying to live their lives normally in spite of the high levels of air pollution they’re currently dealing with. Those in California are being exposed to hazardous air conditions, and air pollution can cause serious health issues. Additionally, a new study from the University of Texas has found that poor air quality has reduced global life expectancy by 2 years. The severity of these wildfires is another sign of how close we are to this kind of climate event becoming our new normal, leaving us fighting environmental and medical battles on multiple fronts.

Quality of Life

Life won’t return to normal for CA residents for a while. During the peak of the smoke and air pollution from the fires, the air quality index (AQI) in areas of CA was registering as high as a 313. For some context, good quality registers from 0 to 50. Numbers are down from their peak, but parts of Northern CA are still dealing with air unhealthy for sensitive groups. Vulnerable populations include children, the elderly, those with heart or lung conditions, and pregnant women.

Air pollution can have a serious impact on health. A recent study from the University of Texas examined air pollution data from the Global Burden of Disease Study in an effort to understand the consequences of atmospheric particulates. Joshua Apte is an assistant professor in the Cockrell School’s Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering and in the Dell Medical School’s Department of Population Health.

The fact that fine particle air pollution is a major global killer is already well known…And we all care about how long we live. Here, we were able to systematically identify how air pollution also substantially shortens lives around the world. What we found is that air pollution has a very large effect on survival – on average about a year globally.”

The Great Outdoors

2018 is the most destructive wildfire season recorded in California, with over 1.6 million acres burned and 2.9 million dollars in damage costs. The previous holder of that title was 2017, and that isn’t a new trend. All of the conditions needed for an intense fire season are there: dry conditions due to little rain, the hottest summer on record, warm winds that regularly exceed 50 miles an hour, and plenty of fuel for the fire to consume. Those conditions are also creating an increasingly longer wildfire season. According to Scott McLean, deputy chief of communications for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, that trend will likely continue.

It’s progressively been getting longer. We don’t even call it a season anymore, to be frank with you. We’re seeing wildfires every week of each year right now…We’ve basically taken the season aspect out of the equation.”

The Red Stuff

There are also environmental concerns with the way we fight forest fires, namely Phos-chek, the weapon of choice for modern firefighters. Previously owned by Monsanto (the product is now produced by Israel Chemicals Ltd.), Phos-chek is frequently seen streaming out of planes like a crimson waterfall. Although the formula is kept secret, the fire retardant is composed primarily of fertilizers like ammonium phosphate combined with clay or guar thickeners designed to keep the solution from dispersing in the air. Phos-chek use in the state of CA has multiplied rapidly over the last few years, going from 9 million gallons sprayed in 2014 to 19 million gallons used in 2016. That trend promises to continue, as more than a million gallons of the chemical were used on the Mendocino Complex fire this year.

There wasn’t a serious look at the environmental impact of Phos-chek until a Montana judge ordered a thorough examination of the product in 2014. Previous attempts by the U.S. Forest Service to determine the environmental impact of the fire retardant have proclaimed it safe, despite marine plant and animal deaths recorded after the use of the chemical. In 2002, fire retardant chemicals dropped in the Fall River in Oregon killed 22,000 fish in one day. Now, reports maintain that Phos-chek does no harm if it’s used correctly and well away from bodies of water, which are highly susceptible to phosphate pollution.

The Feedback Loop

Proponents of Phos-chek and other phosphate-based fire retardants mention that the chemicals perform a service beyond fire containment – fertilization. But how does that actually work? Phosphorus is an essential nutrient for plant growth, but too much of it is detrimental to plant health. Excess phosphorus, which remains in the soil for 3 to 5 years, causes plants to develop yellowing leaves due to an inability to properly absorb nutrients like iron, manganese, and zinc. It also harms root funghi, interfering with a plant’s ability to absorb water.

Firefighting organizations are dumping 19 million pounds of this phosphate-based fertilizers a year, and that’s also harming native plants. According to Andy Stahl, executive director of Forest Service Employees for Environmental Ethics,

Phosphate fertilizer, e.g., Phos-Chek, can have adverse effects on plants adapted to nutritionally poor soil by increasing competition from invasive species better suited to growing in the newly-fertilized soil. For this reason, the U.S. Forest Service bars aerial fire retardant from being used in critical habitat of many threatened or endangered plants.”

In many ways, we keep telling the same story. We eliminate the natural systems that keep our bodies and environment healthy. We look for the most likely cause and often accept the first plausible explanation.  It’s not that simple and the longer we think it is, the likelihood of actually addressing climate change drastically decreases.

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Air Pollution Causes People to Lose A Year of Education

Air pollution leads to people losing the equivalent of one year of education, says a new study conducted in China. Developing countries are more likely to have poor air quality, and 95% of the world’s population is breathing unsafe air. This has resulted in an estimated 6.5 million premature deaths worldwide from air pollution in 2016. We’re aware of the toxic effects of air pollution on our health and environment, but this study looks at some of the more subtle side effects of unsafe air. A year’s worth of education is what people are losing on average. Xi Chen at Yale School of Public Health in the US, a member of the research team, said,

Polluted air can cause everyone to reduce their level of education by one year, which is huge…But we know the effect is worse for the elderly, especially those over 64, and for men, and for those with low education. If we calculate [the loss] for those, it may be a few years of education.”

The Susceptible

In addition to the elderly, at-risk populations include children, men, low-educated people, and individuals with mental disorders. This study also identified how air pollution impacts cognitive ability. Subjects were more likely to lose language ability, rather than math ability. Longer exposure also meant a greater decrease in these abilities and a greater likelihood of developing dementia and mental illness.

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China

China is notorious for their poor air quality. More than half of the people that die from air pollution every year, more than three million people, live in China and India. The government has been focused on improving their air quality, closing down 500 factories, forcing 300,000 older cars off the roads, and reducing coal consumption by a whopping 30 percent. But that is likely not enough. Less than three years ago, the smog and air pollution in Beijing was at eight times the level considered healthy by the World Health Organization.

Can We Fix It?

Air pollution is a serious health hazard. Like many of the emerging causes of disease, it is a problem of our own making. Factories in all of their forms (industrial and farmed) have permanently altered our atmosphere and left billions worldwide at an increased risk of physical conditions like heart disease, emphysema, cancer, and asthma, among others. Studies have previously confirmed that air pollution can affect cognitive performance, but now the link between the loss of overall intelligence and air pollution has been drawn.

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China has already put programs in place to combat air pollution. That will provide crucial intel into whether or not air pollution can be effectively dealt with for ourselves and the next generation.

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U.S. EPA reverses policy on ‘major sources’ of pollution

After 23 years, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is withdrawing the portion of the Clean Air Act designed to reduce air emissions of mercury, lead, benzene, and arsenic. This move from President Trump’s EPA is a departure from the “once-in always-in” policy established in 1995 and is the latest in a long line of attempts to revoke federal EPA regulations. The petroleum and other fossil fuel industries, utility companies, and chemical manufacturers stand to benefit from the ability to reclassify major sources of air pollution as “area” pollution. More than 4.6 million people worldwide die from airborne pollution yearly and dismantling one of the policies designed to curb it is unsustainable, unhealthy, and shows the U.S. as a country unwilling to put aside petty squabbles and focus on urgent global issues.

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Lower Standards

The EPA and Republicans in Congress like the leaders on the Senate Environment and Public Works committee, Senators John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), asserts that this relaxing of the Clean Air Act will be a good thing. According to Bill Wehrum, assistant administrator of the EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation, “It will reduce regulatory burden for industries and the states, while continuing to ensure stringent and effective controls on hazardous air pollutants…”

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This policy affects stationary sources of air pollutants, which are divided into two different categories, major sources and area sources. Major sources release either 10 million tons of any listed toxic air pollutant or 25 tons per year of a mixture of air pollutants. Any other sources of air pollutants is an area source. The biggest issue of contention is the 1995 “once-in always-in” policy that permanently classifies a pollutant generator as a major source (and subject to the increased scrutiny and regulation that come with that) if it is still emitting a certain level of toxins at an assigned date. Now, those major sources that are below the threshold of pollution are no longer subject to the maximum achievable control technology.

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So It Goes

This is not the first effort by the Environmental Protection Agency to recently relax regulations. The Trump administration has targeted over 67 environmental laws, more than half of which have been overturned or are in the process of being rolled back. Most of the reasons for these changes have been economic or bureaucratic. Ironically, the environment doesn’t seem to be high on the list of priorities.

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Household Cleaners May Damage Lungs Like Pack-a-Day Smoking Habit, According to New Study

Scientists at Norway’s University of Bergen found that using toxic cleaning products has as much of an impact on health as smoking a pack of cigarettes a day.

The study tracked 6,000 people, with an average age of 34 at the time of enrollment in the study, who used the cleaning products over a period of two decades, according to the research published in the American Thoracic Society’s American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.Lung function declined in women who regularly used cleaning products. They, such as those who worked as cleaners, was equivalent over the period to those with a 20-cigarette daily smoking habit.

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While the short-term effects of cleaning chemicals on asthma are becoming increasingly well documented, we lack knowledge of the long-term impact. We feared that such chemicals, by steadily causing a little damage to the airways day after day, year after year, might accelerate the rate of lung function decline that occurs with age.” – Dr. Cecile Svanes, professor at the University of Bergen in Norway, senior author of the study.

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The study measured lung function by testing the amount of air the subjects could forcefully breathe out. They examined the results alongside a questionnaire where participants were asked about they use cleaning products. The study found that women who used the cleaning products regularly have decreased lung capacity and an increased rate of asthma. The products seemed to affect women more than men, though the scientists noted that the number of male participants was limited. The mode of chemical cleaner—be it spray or other liquid—was not statistically relevant, only that a chemical cleaner was used.

When you think of inhaling small particles from cleaning agents that are meant for cleaning the floor and not your lungs, maybe it is not so surprising after all.” – Øistein Svanes, a doctoral student.

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