https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/apr/10/vehicle-pollution-results-in-4m-child-asthma-cases-a-year
[Canada ranks #3 in the world for new childhood asthma cases.
images and links in online article]
Damian Carrington Environment editor
Wed 10 Apr 2019 23.30 BST
Vehicle pollution 'results in 4m child asthma cases a year'
Equivalent of 11,000 new cases a day occur worldwide due to toxic air
from traffic, researchers say
Four million children develop asthma every year as a result of air
pollution from cars and trucks, equivalent to 11,000 new cases a day, a
landmark study has found.
Most of the new cases occur in places where pollution levels are already
below the World Health Organization limit, suggesting toxic air is even
more harmful than thought.
The damage to children’s health is not limited to China and India, where
pollution levels are particularly high. In UK and US cities, the
researchers blame traffic pollution for a quarter of all new childhood
asthma cases.
Canada has the third highest rate of new traffic-related asthma cases
among the 194 nations analysed, while Los Angeles and New York City are
in the top 10 worst cities out of the 125 assessed. Children are
especially vulnerable to toxic air and exposure is also known to leave
them with stunted lungs.
The research, published in the journal Lancet Planetary Health, is the
first global assessment of the impact of traffic fumes on childhood
asthma based on high-resolution pollution data.
“Our findings suggest that millions of new cases of paediatric asthma
could be prevented by reducing air pollution,” said Prof Susan Anenberg,
at George Washington University in the US. Asthma can cause deadly seizures.
The key pollutant, nitrogen dioxide, is produced largely by diesel
vehicles, many of which emit far more than allowed on the road even
after the Dieselgate scandal. “Improving access to cleaner forms of
transport, like electrified public transport, cycling and walking, would
reduce asthma, enhance physical fitness, and cut greenhouse gas
emissions,” said Anenberg.
“This landmark study shows the massive global burden of asthma in
children caused by traffic pollution,” said Prof Chris Griffiths, at
Queen Mary University of London and the co-director of the Asthma UK
Centre for Applied Research, who was not part of the research team.
“Asthma is only one of the multiple adverse effects of pollution on
children’s health. Governments must act now to protect children.”
The new study combined detailed NO2 pollution data with asthma incidence
rates and population numbers. Many large studies have already shown a
strong link between traffic pollution and childhood asthma and that
pollution causes damaging inflammation. This data on risks was used to
calculate the number of new cases around the world.
“From the weight of evidence, there is likely a strong causal
relationship between traffic pollution and childhood asthma incidence,”
said Ploy Achakulwisut, also at George Washington University and the
lead author of the new study. “So we can be confident that traffic
pollution has a significant effect on childhood asthma incidence.”
The epidemiological evidence for NO2 being the key pollutant is the
strongest. However, researchers cannot rule out that other pollutants
also pumped out by vehicles, such as tiny particles, are also a factor
as it is not possible to experiment directly on people.
“Childhood asthma has reached global epidemic proportions,” said Prof
Rajen Naidoo, at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa, and
not involved in the study. It indicates that one in eight of all new
cases is due to traffic pollution. “An important outcome from this study
is the evidence that the existing WHO standards are not protective
against childhood asthma.”
The country with the highest national rate of childhood asthma
attributed to traffic pollution is South Korea, with almost a third of
all new cases blamed on vehicles. Japan and Belgium are in the top 10,
along with six Middle Eastern nations, including Saudi Arabia.
Due to their high populations and pollution levels, the top three
countries for the total number of new children getting asthma each year
are China (760,000), India (350,000) and the US (240,000). The
scientists said their research may underestimate the true levels in many
poorer nations where asthma often goes undiagnosed.
“While it is important for parents to try to reduce individual exposure,
maybe by avoiding highly congested roads as much as possible, not
everyone can do this,” said Achakulwisut. “So it is important to call
for policy initiatives to tackle pollution at city, state and national
levels.”
“The good news is that a transition to zero-emission vehicles is already
underway,” she said. Some countries and cities are pledging to phase out
internal combustion engines and policies such as London’s new ultra-low
emission zone are being rolled out. “But this transition needs to become
global, and it needs to happen faster. Each year of delay jeopardises
the health of millions of children worldwide.”
Penny Woods, chief executive of the British Lung Foundation, said: “We
used to think the only real danger roads posed to children was the
threat of a car accident. However now we can see there’s an equally
deadly risk: breathing in air pollution. Rightly, there’s been a huge
effort to reduce road accidents and we need to see an equal commitment
to reducing toxic air.”
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