by Walther Ploos van Amstel
We spend around 6% of our time commuting, but this can account for about 30% of our exposure to some air pollutants. There is widespread scientific consensus that short- and long-term exposures to air pollution are associated with significant health burdens for the population. This evidence continues to strengthen and evolve as air pollution is …
New research by lobby group Transport and Environment debunks carmakers’ claims that Euro 7 standards won’t significantly improve the quality. The truck industry organization ACEA says: ‘Significant progress has been made in the EU on reducing air pollution from vehicles, under the current Euro 6/VI standards. Euro 7 is unlikely to make much more of …
A lot of bullshit is written about air quality and traffic. But, unfortunately, lazy media blindly take over the screaming press releases about the hundreds of thousands of deaths without delving into the different types of air pollution and the causes; fake news. A new report by the lobby organization CleanCities on traffic and NO2 …
Scientists are increasingly concerned by the health impact of air pollution produced by the wear of vehicle tires. The particles are especially damaging due to the toxic chemicals they are made from, say scientists from Imperial College London. The Guardian reports about it. The warning follows UK government data showing that significantly more tiny pollution particles now come …
In 2019 the Mayor of London launched the world’s first 24-hour Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) in central London. Later in 2021, the zone was expanded across inner London, up to, but not including, the North and South Circular Roads. The ULEZ is now 18 times the size of the original area and covers four …
Over 5 percent of Europeans die prematurely because of inadequate air quality; poor air is unhealthy. The EU Environment Agency presented new figures on air quality. In 2020, 96% of the European population was exposed to more particulate matter (PM2.5) than the World Health Organization considers healthy. NOx and Ozone also cause health problems. The …
Unborn babies have air pollution particles in their developing lungs and other vital organs as early as the first trimester, new research has revealed. Scientists at the University of Aberdeen, UK, and Hasselt University, Belgium, studied air pollution nanoparticles, called black carbon – or soot particles – to see whether these can reach the foetus. …
Air pollution is one of the biggest environmental threats to human health, alongside climate change. New World Health Organization (WHO) Global Air Quality Guidelines (AQGs) provide evidence of air pollution’s damage to human health at even lower concentrations than previously understood. The guidelines recommend new air quality levels to protect the health of populations by …
It was a tough week for air quality folks. Suddenly, wood smoke is more important than traffic emissions. Even, more harmful than smoking. Painful for policymakers. Up until last year, home biomass burners were still getting subsidies for their poisonous smoke. We know better now.
The burning of fossil fuels (coal, petrol, diesel, and wood) is a major source of airborne fine particulate matter (PM2.5), and a key contributor to the global burden of premature mortality and disease. Global Burden of Disease (GBD) reports only the health impacts of total PM2.5 and does not distinguish mortality from fossil-fuel derived PM2.5 and that …