"Rewriting the Myths, Redefining the Realities"
The World Health Organization reports that 3 million people now die
each year from the effects of air pollution. This is three times the
1 million who die each year in automobile accidents. A study
published in The Lancet in 2000 concluded that air pollution in
France, Austria, and Switzerland is responsible for more than 40,000
deaths annually in those three countries. About half of these deaths
can be traced to air pollution from vehicle emissions.
In the United States, traffic fatalities total just over 40,000 per
year, while air pollution claims 70,000 lives annually. U.S. air
pollution deaths are equal to deaths from breast cancer and prostate
cancer combined. This scourge of cities in industrial and developing
countries alike threatens the health of billions of people.
Governments go to great lengths to reduce traffic accidents by
fining those who drive at dangerous speeds, arresting those who
drive under the influence of alcohol, and even sometimes revoking
drivers’ licenses. But they pay much less attention to the deaths
people cause by simply driving the cars. While deaths from heart
disease and respiratory illness from breathing polluted air may lack
the drama of deaths from an automobile crash, with flashing lights
and sirens, they are no less real.
Air pollutants include carbon monoxide, ozone, sulfur dioxide,
nitrogen oxides, and particulates. These pollutants come primarily
from the combustion of fossil fuels, principally coal-fired power
plants and gasoline-powered automobiles. Nitrogen oxides can lead to
the formation of ground-level ozone. Particulates are emitted from a
variety of sources, primarily diesel engines. “Smog”—a hybrid word
used to describe the mixture of smoke and fog that blankets some
cities—is primarily composed of ozone
and particulates. The air in most urban areas typically contains a
mixture of pollutants, each of which may increase a person’s
vulnerability to the effects of the others. Exposure to carbon
monoxide slows reflexes and causes drowsiness, since carbon monoxide
molecules bind to hemoglobin, reducing the amount of oxygen that red
blood cells can carry. Nitrogen dioxide can aggravate asthma and
reduce lung function, as well as making airways more sensitive to
allergens. Ozone also causes lung inflammation and reduces lung
function and exercise capacity.
Smaller particulates, especially those 10 micrometers in diameter
(1/2,400 of an inch) or smaller, can become lodged in the alveolar
sacs of the lungs. They are associated with higher admissions to
hospitals for respiratory problems and with increased mortality,
particularly from respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. As
particulate concentrations in the air rise, so do death rates.
When people inhale particulates and ozone at concentrations commonly
found in urban areas, their arteries become more constricted, thus
reducing blood flow and oxygen supply to the heart. This is why air
pollution aggravates heart conditions and asthma.
Unlike some pollutants that have threshold levels below which no
health effects are seen, ozone and particulates have negative health
effects even at very low levels. Thus no “safe” level of such
pollutants exists. Research published in Science in 2001 noted that
in industrial as well as developing countries, exposures to current
levels of ozone and particulates “affect death rates,
hospitalizations and medical visits, complications of asthma and
bronchitis, days of work lost, restricted-activity days, and a
variety of measures of lung damage.”
While these affect health care systems, they also take a toll on the
economy. The increased monetary expenses related to air pollution
induced illness include the costs of medication, absences from work,
and child care expenses. In the Canadian province of Ontario, for
example, which has a population of 11.9 million, air pollution costs
citizens at least $1 billion annually in hospital admissions,
emergency room visits, and worker absenteeism. According to the
World Bank, the social costs of exposure to airborne dust and lead
in Jakarta, Bangkok, and Manila approached 10 percent of average
incomes in the early 1990s. In China, which has some of the world’s
worst urban air pollution, the illnesses and deaths of urban
residents due to air pollution are estimated to cost 5 percent of
the gross domestic product.
The economic costs of air pollution argue for reducing income taxes
and raising taxes on fossil fuels. This would encourage more
efficient fuel use, a shift to clean energy sources, and the
adoption of pollution controls. The alternative is to spend more on
health insurance to treat air pollution-related ailments. Raising
the costs of polluting fuels will reduce suffering and premature
death.
In response to traffic congestion and their notorious air pollution
problems, Mexico City and São Paulo restrict people from driving on
certain days of the week, based on the last digit on their license
plates. And Bogotá, Colombia, has put in place a series of measures
to reduce air pollution from transportation; in the process, it has
become a more livable city. Since 1995, the city has reduced traffic
during rush hours by 40 percent and increased the gasoline tax. Some
120 kilometers (75 miles) of main arteries are closed for seven
hours each Sunday, which allows the streets to be used for walking,
bicycling, and jogging.
The solutions to urban air pollution are not difficult to discern.
Individuals can reduce car usage in favor of cycling, walking, and
mass transit and can use more fuel-efficient cars. Urban planning
commissions and regional governments can redirect transportation
funding toward mass transit options: light rail, heavy rail, or
rapid bus transit.
Copyright 2002 A&H Publishing Corporation