Pollution contributed to 6.7 million premature deaths – 4/9/2023 – Marcia Castro

A study published last year showed that air pollution contributed to 6.7 million premature deaths worldwide in 2019.

Inhalable particles up to 2.5 micrometers in size (MP2.5) penetrate the lung alveoli and can pass directly from the lungs into the bloodstream.

Exposure to PM2,5 is associated with increased respiratory disease, heart disease, stroke, emphysema, lung cancer, bronchitis, asthma, chest pain, chronic lung and heart problems, and increased risk of death.

In Brazil, one of the sources of PM2.5 emissions is forest fires. In the Amazon, fires are directly related to deforestation. The Engolindo Fumaça project, a partnership between InfoAmazonia, the Federal University of Acre and the Fiocruz Climate and Health Observatory, showed an association between fires in the Amazon and an increase in hospitalizations due to Covid-19.

Similar results were observed in the western United States between March and December 2020 (about 20,000 infections and 750 deaths from Covid-19 associated with wildfires).

A study published on the 6th showed that, in the Amazon, each additional kilogram of PM2.5 emitted is associated with 23 new cases of respiratory and cardiovascular diseases and each hectare of burned forest represents a cost of R$ 10 million for the health system. health.

The negative effects are not restricted to the area where the burning takes place, but extend for about 500 km from the fire focus.

The study also shows that around 27% of the PM2.5 absorption capacity of the forest is concentrated in indigenous territories. Therefore, the protection of these territories could prevent 15 million cases of respiratory and cardiovascular diseases that would cost the health system around BRL 10 billion.

However, the reversal of the trajectory of accelerated increase in deforestation observed in the previous government is slow. Deforestation in the Amazon from January to March 2023 was the second highest since 2015, just behind last year’s figure.

The World Health Organization (WHO) establishes air quality guidelines based on studies carried out in several countries. In 2021, the WHO recommendation for PM2.5 was set at 5 µg/m³ per year on average.

Before 2021 the value was 10 µg/m³. In the United States this value is 12 µg/m³. A study published last month in the New England Journal of Medicine estimates that a decrease from the standard of 12 to 8 µg/m³ would result in a reduction in the mortality rate in adults aged 65 and over, especially among the most vulnerable (4% lower among high-income whites versus 6% lower among low-income whites and blacks).

The agency that sets the standards in the United States will evaluate a possible change in the standard and estimates that a decrease from 12 to 9 µg/m³ would prevent 4,200 premature deaths per year.

In Brazil, air quality standards were established by the National Council for the Environment (CONAMA) in 2018. The target for PM2.5 is an annual average of 10 µg/m³ (former WHO recommendation) to be achieved in three stages (20, 17, 15 µg/m³).

However, there is no definition of the duration of each stage until the level of 10 µg/m³ is reached. In May 2022, the Federal Supreme Court gave CONAMA a period of 24 months to edit the tolerance levels according to the new WHO rules. Reviewing the standards is necessary. Set the duration of the steps as well.

But above all it is essential to reduce emissions. In Brazil, curbing deforestation and preventing subsequent fires is crucial to this reduction.

PRESENT LINK: Did you like this text? Subscriber can release five free hits of any link per day. Just click the blue F below.