To What Extent Can Air Pollution Affect You?

By Dr. Magdy Badran

CAIRO, Feb. 8 (SEE) - Air pollution is a major environmental risk to health, mood, productivity, and learning.

New data from the World Health Organization shows that 9 out of 10 people breathe air containing high levels of pollutants and around 7 million people die every year from exposure to polluted air. The majority (90%) of these fatalities occur in low and middle-income countries.

Air pollution is a broad term applied to any chemical, physical, or biological agent that modifies the natural characteristics of the atmosphere. It is typically separated into two categories: outdoor air pollution and indoor air pollution.

Particulate matter is the general term used for a mixture of solid particles and liquid droplets in the air. It includes aerosols, smoke, fumes, dust, ash, and pollen. Fine particulate matter is the particulate matter that is 2.5 microns in diameter and less. It is also known as PM2.5 or respirable particles because it penetrates the respiratory system further than larger particles.

Most fine particulate matter comes from fuel combustion, both from mobile sources such as vehicles and from stationary sources such as power plants, industry, households or biomass burning.

Indoor air pollution is now recognized as a serious source of respiratory diseases, including lung cancer. During fall and winter, the risk increases, when windows are tightly shut and less fresh air can circulate.

It may be two to five times worse (sometimes a 100x worse) than the air outdoors. Indoor smoke is a serious health risk for some 3 billion people who cook and heat their homes with biomass, kerosene fuels and coal for cooking, heating, and lighting.

This form of energy usage is associated with high levels of indoor air pollution and an increase in the incidence of respiratory infections and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

About half the world’s population burn biomass fuel (wood, crop residues, animal dung, and coal) for cooking and heating purposes. Exposure to biomass smoke is a major contributor to illness and death among the population.

Children, women and the elderly are most affected. The risk of developing low birth weight and respiratory tract infections is greatly increasing in children living in homes using biomass.

Common indoor air pollutants are dust mites, pollen, mold, carbon monoxide, and excessive carbon dioxide.Sources of indoor air pollution also include household cleaners, fuel-burning heat sources, toxic fumes from new furniture, humidity that allows mold to grow, cosmetics, pesticides, perfumes, and hair sprays.

Air pollution in smokers’ homes can reach outdoor levels in the worst cities. Cigarette smoke may produce 10 times more air pollution than diesel car exhaust. Environmental tobacco smoke produces fine particulate matter. For outdoor air, the World Health Organization says the safe exposure limit for PM2.5 particles is an average of 25 micrograms, or 25 millionths of a gram, per cubic meter of air over a 24-hour period, or average annual levels of 10 micrograms per cubic meter.

Over a lifetime, a non-smoker living with a smoker will inhale about 6 grams more particulate matter than a non-smoker living in a smoke-free home.

Air pollution is considered as the major environmental risk factor in the incidence and progression of some diseases such as asthma, lung cancer, Alzheimer's diseases, autism, retinopathy, fetal growth, and low birth weight.

It has myriad effects on pulmonary immune responses. Air pollution can worsen asthma symptoms and allergic rhinitis.

Exposure of the skin to air pollutants has been associated with skin aging and inflammatory or allergic skin conditions such as atopic dermatitis, eczema, psoriasis or acne, while skin cancer is among the most serious effects. Ambient air pollutants may cause skin damage by generation of free radicals, induction of inflammatory cascade, disruption of skin barrier and alterations of skin microflora.

Air pollution creates a barrier that decreases the ability of sunlight Ultraviolet Light B rays to reach the earth’s atmosphere, potentially reducing the body’s capacity to produce vitamin D naturally. Vitamin D deficiency is more prevalent in air polluted areas than in non-polluted areas. Vitamin D plays numerous roles in the prevention of at least 45 chronic diseases.

Worldwide, ambient air pollution is responsible for about 4 million deaths per year, 16% of the lung cancer deaths, 25% of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease deaths and about 26% of respiratory infection deaths.

Recently, new research has found that air pollution can hurt your sleep and impact your mood. There is a direct link between air quality and overall mental health and happiness.

Greater exposure to nitrogen dioxide and small particulates are linked with a greater chance of having low sleep efficiency. Human exposure to mattress-released pollutants is amplified by the sleep microenvironment due to the close and intimate contact of the human body with the bed. Beds and pillows serve as dust reservoirs for a complex mixture of bacteria, fungi, allergens and volatile organic compounds which may attack people during sleep.

Air pollution may cause upper airway swelling, damage the mucous membranes of the nose and throat and contribute to sleep apnea. Sleep apnea is a disorder in which breathing repeatedly stops and starts. It is a serious medical condition. Complications include daytime fatigue, high blood pressure, heart problems, and type 2 diabetes.

What can you do to help reduce air pollution? Limit driving by using public transportation, biking and walking. Conserve energy, remember to turn off lights, computers, and electric appliances when not in use, run dishwashers and clothes washers only when full and use energy efficient light bulbs. Seal containers of household cleaners, workshop chemicals and solvents to prevent volatile organic compounds from evaporating into the air.

To reduce your home’s indoor air pollution: cleaning and dusting should be thorough, get rid of odors; don’t mask them, remove or reduce allergens, open windows and doors to increase air flow to give your house better ventilation, make sure your gas stove is well-ventilated, remove carpeting if possible, keep trash covered, remove shoes at the door and make your house smoke-free.