Air pollution bad for your health

The editorial calls on Canada to adopt and enforce the WHO guidelines on airquality standards. The Canadian standard for the peak daily concentration of airparticles of less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter is 28 micrograms per cubicmeter; the WHO guideline is lower - at 25 micrograms per cubic meter. Theeditorial says the WHO guidelines should be adopted and enforced at the federaland provincial-territorial level. It says best practices for reducing pollution shouldbe shared across jurisdictions, and that enforcement and practices should takeinto account local sources of pollution.

Behind the editorial's call are some alarminghealth statistics.The WHO says pollution is linked to one in eight deaths worldwide. In 2008,doctors estimated more than 20,000 Canadians per year died prematurely due inpart to outdoor air pollution. Air pollution has both short and long term effects onhumans. Higher concentrations of pollutants have been associated withincreased admissions to hospital for respiratory diseases like asthma and chronicobstructive pulmonary disease and for heart disease. This may surprise you, butair pollution has also been linked to an increased risk of Alzheimer's disease.

Children are especially vulnerable to air pollution. A large population study ofkids who live in southern California found that increased concentrations ofnitrogen dioxide and other air pollutants had affected the development of theirlungs. That is a precursor to lung and heart disease later in life. Just to show youthat this is cause and effect and not an associated finding, air pollution levels inCalifornia have been going down. Two thousand California kids had their lungfunction measured; as levels of nitrogen dioxide in the atmosphere went down,lung function in this kids improved.

There are many sources of air pollution that are man made. Thecontributionsfrom the oil and gas industry are well known. Wood burning stoves also add toair pollution. Diesel powered vehicles contribute more than half of all nitrogendioxide emissions in Canada. Diesel powered buses increase the risk to kids. Around 10 million Canadians live near major highways and intersections thatexpose them to pollution related to traffic. Schools that are situated close tomajor traffic centres increase the risk further still.

Despite the health statistics,I think it's unlikely we'll see major cuts in air pollution in the near future. With somuch of our economic output depending on oil and gas, there's a tendency inCanada to see a win on air pollution as a loss for the economy. Another factoroften cited as a barrier to progress are overlapping jurisdictions andresponsibilities of cities, the provinces and the federal government. It's hard tobuild a broad consensus that gets everyone moving in the same direction.

Thatsaid, the editorial in CMAJ makes the point that while Canada lags behind,Beijing and Paris (both pictured on this blog)have made progress - proving that it can be done. In themeantime, the editorial urges us to consider the things we do as individuals thatharm air quality - and act accordingly.

Dr. Brian Goldman is the host of CBC Radio's White Coat Black Art, which returns with new episodes this fall. Visit cbc.ca/whitecoat for more information about our exciting new season.