Air pollution kills 29,000 Britons a year

This video is called In the Slow Lane: Is Britain doing enough to tackle air pollution from transport? | 17.07.2013.

From daily The Morning Star in Britain:

Polluted air killing up to 29,000 people every year

Friday 11th April 2014

Public Health England report finds toxic particles are killings tens of thousands.

Up to 29,000 people are choking to death on polluted air every year across Britain, according to alarming new public health figures released yesterday.

Environmental campaigners responded by demanding strict policing of air pollution levels.

Researchers for Public Health England announced in the report that airborne particles of smog, dust and industrial contaminants were linked to 306,835 years of lost life nationwide — with Westminster faring worst of all.

The tiny toxic particles are known to penetrate the lungs’ spongy tissue and cross into the bloodstream, where they can cause heart and lung diseases, cancers, aggravate asthma and in some cases prove fatal.

Friends of the Earth Scotland’s Emilia Hanna said it was now clear that air pollution was a leading environmental health risk.

She said: “We need to see cleaner streets with less traffic congestion, more people walking and cycling to work and improved public transport.

“If we lived in cleaner cities where the air was safe to breathe these would be more pleasant places for us to spend time in, and we would live longer, healthier lives.”

See also here.

THE PIGEONS MEASURING LONDON’S AIR POLLUTION “A team of 10 birds, otherwise known as Pigeon Air Patrol, carries pollution sensors and GPS devices to help study areas of the city with high levels of nitrogen dioxide.” [HuffPost]

STUDY: 1.1 MILLION DIE PREMATURELY IN INDIA EACH YEAR BECAUSE OF POOR AIR QUALITY 52 percent of air pollution-related deaths take place in India and China. [HuffPost]

USA: Monday, the Supreme Court invalidated the regulatory scheme adopted recently by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to minimize emissions of hazardous air pollutants from older coal- and oil-burning power plants. The new regulations, which began taking effect earlier this year, were expected to reduce certain toxic wastes spewed into the air by as much as 90 percent: here.

OVER HALF OF AMERICA LIVES IN AREAS WITH UNHEALTHY AIR POLLUTION LEVELS The American Lung Association says 52 percent of the population is living in a county with such bad air pollution, it could “shorten life or cause lung cancer.” [Lydia O’Connor, HuffPost]

AIR POLLUTION KILLS 3.3 MILLION A YEAR “Air pollution is killing 3.3 million people a year worldwide, according to a new study that includes this surprise: Farming plays a large role in smog and soot deaths in industrial nations.” [AP]

What’s the solution to air pollution? By Irene Lorenzo, 25 Oct 2016: here.

One of the main challenges in addressing air pollution in specific cities, from Beijing to Detroit, is identifying the individual aerosol particles (particles suspended in the atmosphere) that make up the pollution. Because the particles are so small — most measuring only 100 to 200 nanometers — they have been difficult to identify. And their behavior in the atmosphere (how they scatter) has been poorly understood: here.

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