1,500 die prematurely due to air pollution; new report
At least 1,500 people die prematurely here every year due to the effects of air pollution - but we still have one of Europe’s lowest death rates as a result of poor air quality,
The Air quality in Europe — 2017 report report from the European Environment Agency (EEA) shows that 1,480 deaths here in 2014 were attributable to “particulate matter”, 10 to nitrogen dioxide and 20 to concentrations of ozone in the air.
In terms of premature deaths EEA said particulate matter, the biggest killer in terms of environment pollution, had the least impact on Ireland along with Iceland, Norway, Sweden and Finland. The highest impact was found to be in central and eastern Europe.
Furthermore, EEA was able to say that 374 years of life were lost per 100,000 people here due to environmental pollution. That compares to an EU average of 1,040 years.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency particulate matter has a number of sources including domestic solid fuel burning, diesel fuelled vehicle emissions, agriculture and even natural sources such as sea salt and wind-blown dust.
Most people living in European #cities are exposed to poor #airquality. Our latest estimates show that fine particulate matter continues to cause the premature death of more than 400 000 Europeans annually. More here: https://t.co/tVnUONw9J1 pic.twitter.com/Z2dTDC5htx
— EU EnvironmentAgency (@EUEnvironment) October 11, 2017
The biggest causes of nitrogen dioxide are traffic emissions. According to the EPA, at ground level, higher concentrations of ozone in the air have adverse implications for human health, affecting the functioning of the respiratory system.
The Environmental Environment Agency said air pollution is the single largest environmental health risk in Europe and the disease burden resulting from it is "substantial".
"Heart disease and stroke are the most common reasons for premature death attributable to air pollution and are responsible for 80 % of cases;
lung diseases and lung cancer follow."
