UK and EU safe air quality still harmful for health, study says

Even small amount of exposure to minute soot particles – known as PM2.5 – raises the risk of cardiovascular disease

The sooty air pollution spewed out by cars, trucks and factories is causing widespread harm to people’s hearts and lungs even with the smallest amounts of exposure, with government regulations still routinely allowing for dangerous risks to public health, two major new studies have found.

There is no safe amount of a microscopic form of airborne pollution known as PM2.5, consisting of tiny particles of soot measuring less than the width of a human hair, for heart and lung health, US researchers found, with even small amounts raising the risk of potentially serious problems.

In one of the studies, an analysis of 60 million people in the US aged 65 and older from 2000 to 2016 found there was an increased risk of hospitalization for seven major types of cardiovascular disease when exposed to the average levels of PM2.5 found in the US.

The increased level of risk is significant, with the average pollution amount in the US causing the risk of hospital admission to jump by 29%, or nearly a third, compared with the lower air quality guideline level issued by the World Health Organization (WHO).

But even the WHO-recommended level isn’t itself safe, the second study found, with a significant increase in hospital visits occurring for cardiovascular disease and respiratory disease, as well as emergency visits for respiratory problems, when short-term PM2.5 exposure was below the WHO limit.

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https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/feb/21/air-pollution-quality-harmful#:~:text=The%20new%20standard%20cuts%20annual,according%20to%20the%20new%20research.