Air pollution in cities has a direct impact on life expectancy
From Véronique MARTINACHE (AFP) - 3 hours ago
PARIS - Air pollution in major European cities, linked in particular to road traffic, has a direct impact on life expectancy, according to the conclusions of a European scientific program published on Wednesday.
Led for three years in 12 European countries by more than 60 scientists, the Aphekom project, coordinated by the Institute for Public Health Surveillance (InVS), set out to determine the health and economic impacts of air pollution and to assess the effect of regulations in this area.
It thus shows that life expectancy in large European cities could increase up to 22 months for people aged 30 and over if the guide value recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) for fine particles was respected.
In the 25 major cities studied, totaling 39 million inhabitants, exceeding the threshold of 10 micrograms per m3 of air set by the WHO for the annual average level of fine PM2,5 particles (less than 2,5 microns) results in 19.000 deaths per year.
From an economic point of view, it weighs for around 31,5 billion euros per year (health expenditure, absenteeism, etc.).
Of the 25 cities, Stockholm is the only one below the WHO threshold (9,4 micrograms / m3).
Bucharest and Budapest, which have the highest levels of fine particles, could lower their life expectancy by 22 and 19 months, respectively.
France "is in a median situation", indicated Christophe Declercq (InVS).
The 9 French cities analyzed could gain "4 to 8 months" of life expectancy, or "around 3.000 annual deaths". Marseille would have the most to gain, ahead of Lille, Paris, Lyon, Strasbourg, Bordeaux, Rouen, then Le Havre and Toulouse.
These are "average exposure values", underlined Christophe Declercq, with "strong heterogeneity depending on the neighborhood".
Fine particles, which can penetrate deep into the respiratory tract, are emitted by combustion. In large urban areas, vehicle emissions, especially from diesel engines, contribute nearly a third of them.
The Aphekom project has also shown that living near road traffic significantly increases the risk of chronic diseases. He estimated that in 10 European cities, 15% of childhood asthma could be attributed to urban traffic.
"On average 30% of the population of the 10 cities taken into account by Aphekom lives within 75 meters of a road on which more than 10.000 vehicles circulate per day", underlined Nino Künzli (Center for Research in Environmental Epidemiology, Creal , Barcelona).
The impact of traffic-related pollution is also found in chronic bronchitis or in cardiovascular pathologies, but less solid data are available and scientists prefer to substantiate their work before providing figures, said Laura Perez (Creal , Barcelona).
On the other hand, the Aphekom project has shown a "considerable" reduction, of the order of 66%, in the levels of sulfur dioxide (SO2) in the ambient air since the 90s and the establishment of a European legislation aimed at reducing sulfur levels in fuels. A decrease which made it possible to prevent some 2.200 premature deaths in 20 European cities analyzed.
“There would be big benefits to having good air quality management, especially with regard to road traffic,” said Alistair Hunt (University of Bath, UK).
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