Environmental pollution can have devastating health consequences for the people and animals living in the area. Remember the epidemiological triad? The environment corner plays no smaller part in the effect on hosts and agents in the manifestation of disease.
Particulate matter (PM), small solid particles floating in the air, can get into the nose and mouth and cause coughing and irritation. Really small particles can even get down into the lungs and diffuse into the blood stream.[1] These PMs are believed to be the indirect cause of 4.2 million death around the world every year, by causing cancer, heart disease, stroke and difficulty breathing.[2] As many as 29% of deaths from lung cancer, 24% of deaths from stroke, and 43% of deaths from COPD are caused by air pollution.[3]
When we think of air pollution, we usually assume it comes from cars and factories. But one of the largest sources in developing countries of air pollution comes from household pollutants. Cooking or heating fires using wood, dung or coal, without adequate ventilation to get rid of the smoke, are believed to cause 3.8 million premature deaths every year.[4] Of course, mold, hazardous building materials and volatile organic compounds can also cause serious health problems.[5]
Besides causing illness and death in and of themselves, air pollutants can also weaken a person and make them more susceptible to other diseases. Exposure to such pollutants can decrease lung function and cause respiratory infections or aggravated asthma.[6]
So what to do to solve these health problems?
Reduction in harmful emissions in both cities and households require a multipronged approach including education and switching to cleaner sources. In the home, the World Health Organization recommends low-emission stoves to reduce the amount of pollutants that escape into the room. They also suggest ethanol and liquid petroleum for combustion, rather than kerosene and unprocessed coal, which tend to produce dangerous compounds such as carbon monoxide, mercury and arsenic.[7] Simple behavior changes such as drying wood before burning it will improve efficiency and reduce harmful byproducts.[8]
As for air pollution in large cities, many different areas and avenues must be discussed. Encouraging walking, bicycling, or efficient public transport; keeping green spaces within cities; and improving waste reduction, recycling and management can all reduce harmful emissions.[9] When factories began using air scrubbers, it greatly reduced pollution. Air scrubbers are efficient enough to control around 98% of emissions.[10]
This is a difficult and far-reaching problem. City emissions
naturally come with industrialization, but home emissions are present even in
the poorest areas. Multiple control points must be set up and acted on, and no
one method is correct for every area. Each individual environment, health risk
and culture must be analyzed individually for a meaningful resolution.
[1] https://www.cdc.gov/air/particulate_matter.html
[2] https://www.who.int/airpollution/ambient/en/
[3] https://www.who.int/airpollution/ambient/health-impacts/en/
[4] https://www.who.int/airpollution/household/health-impacts/en/
[5] https://www.who.int/airpollution/household/pollutants/en/
[6] https://www.who.int/airpollution/ambient/health-impacts/en/
[7] https://www.who.int/airpollution/household/interventions/technology/en/
[8] https://www.who.int/airpollution/household/interventions/behaviour/en/
[9] https://www.who.int/airpollution/ambient/interventions/en/
Vet Med and One Health 