Health Effects of Ozone and Particle Pollution cont'd

Study upon Study upon Study...
Studies showing the dangers of particle pollution are pouring in by the thousands. More than 2,000 peer-reviewed studies on the subject have been published since 1996, when the EPA last reviewed the standards for particle pollution. The new studies validate the research done before 1996, showing the strong relationship between particle pollution, illness, hospitalization and premature death.

Most research distinguishes exposure to particle pollution by whether the elevated levels last for a “short term” or a “long term.” Short-term exposure occurs when particle pollution levels are particularly high over a period of a few hours to a few days. Studies of year-round or long-term exposure measure air pollution and health effects over a number of years. Both types of exposure are harmful to your health.

Researchers these days are exploring possible differences in health effects of the three sizes of particles and particles from different sources, such as diesel particles from trucks and buses or sulfates from coal-fired power plants. So far, the evidence remains clear that all particles from all sources are dangerous.

Short-Term Exposure Can Be Deadly
First and foremost, short-term exposure to particle pollution can kill. Deaths can occur on the very day that particle levels are high, or within one to two months afterward. Unfortunately, particle pollution does not just make people die a few days earlier than they might otherwise, these are deaths that would not have occurred if the air were cleaner.¹¹ Particle pollution also diminishes lung function, causes greater use of asthma medications and increased rates of school absenteeism, emergency room visits and hospital admissions. Other adverse effects can be coughing, wheezing, cardiac arrhythmias and heart attacks. According to the findings from some of the latest studies, short-term increases in particle pollution have been linked to:

• death from respiratory and cardiovascular causes, including strokes;^12,13,14,15
• increased numbers of heart attacks, especially among the elderly and in people with heart conditions;¹⁶
• inflammation of lung tissue in young, healthy adults;¹⁷
• increased hospitalization for cardiovascular disease, including strokes and congestive heart failure;^18,19
• increased emergency room visits for patients suffering from acute respiratory ailments;^20,21
• increased hospitalization for asthma among children;^22,23,24 and
• increased severity of asthma attacks in children.²⁵

Year-Round Exposure
Breathing high levels of particle pollution day in and day out also can be deadly. Chronic exposure to particle pollution can shorten life by one to three years.²⁶ Other impacts range from premature births to serious respiratory disorders, even when the particle levels are very low.

Year-round exposure to particle pollution has also been linked to:

• increased hospitalization for asthma attacks for children living within 200 meters (218 yards) of roads with heavy truck or trailer traffic;²⁷
• slowed lung function growth in children and teenagers;^28,29
• significant damage to the small airways of the lungs;³⁰
• increased risk of dying from lung cancer;³¹ and
• increased risk of death from cardiovascular disease.³²

Alarmingly, the risks may be even greater than previously thought. Earlier studies of the long-term health risks of air pollution relied on estimates of the average exposure to people in the community. New evidence from a study published in 2005 suggests that those estimates may be far too low. Tracking 23,000 residents of Los Angeles and looking at data from monitors nearest to them, researchers found that the risk of premature death from fine particle pollution may be three times higher than previously reported.³³