Smog exposure causes premature death
Posted by feww on April 22, 2008
Scientific report links smog exposure to premature death
(LiveNews.com.au)
Short-term exposure to smog, or ozone, is clearly linked to premature deaths that should be taken into account when measuring the health benefits of reducing air pollution, a US report shows.
The findings contradict arguments made by some White House officials that the connection between smog and premature death has not been shown sufficiently, and that the number of saved lives should not be calculated in determining clean air benefits.
The National Academy of Sciences report released today by a panel of the Academy’s National Research Council says government agencies “should give little or no weight” to such arguments.
“The committee has concluded from its review of health-based evidence that short-term exposure to ambient ozone is likely to contribute to premature deaths,” the 13-member panel said.
It added that “studies have yielded strong evidence that short-term exposure to ozone can exacerbate lung conditions, causing illness and hospitalization and can potentially lead to death.”
The panel examined short-term exposure – up to 24 hours – to high levels of ozone, but said more studies also were needed on long-term chronic exposure where the risk of premature death “may be larger than those observed in acute effects studies alone.”
The Academy’s report “could have important consequences” on such future disputes, said lawyer Vicky Patton of the advocacy group Environmental Defense Fund.
She said the OMB in a number of air pollution regulations has sought to minimize the relationship of pollution and premature deaths, resulting in a lower calculation of health benefits from pollution reductions.
“This has been used by industry to try to attack health standards by minimising the societal benefits,” said Patton. (Source)
Related Links:
- EPA Defies Supreme Court on Climate Change
- Analysis Shows Effective Action on Climate Change Will Have Little Impact on U.S. Economy
- Report confirms ozone pollution can kill
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Fire Earth 
feww said
Hey Eric – It’s always sad to find a fellow human denied their most fundamental right: The right to breathing fresh air without the aid of a nebulizer and steroids injections.
Yes, the Bush administration and the Republican Party are fatally out of touch with reality; however, corporatist dogma doesn’t stop with party politics. The notion that “it isn’t the corporation (country), it’s the management (party) stupid,” is fatally flawed.
Our country needs a new system of economy, an eco-centered economy for the communities of life, which transforms the deadly exponential growth culture into a meaningful model for existence-not death. And for that we need entirely new “politics.”
Please visit the following pages at our affiliate site:
http://edro.wordpress.com/human-impact/
http://edro.wordpress.com/energy-dinosaurs/
Eric Roberts said
This just exemplifies just how out of touch the Bush administration and the Republican party are with reality and thier slavish devotion to republican/corporatist dogma rather than the facts. As an asthmatic, I can personally attest to the effects smog and air pollution have on my lungs. I work near downtown Chicago and on days when the smog is bad or there is a thermal inversion and the air pollutants are trapped in the breatheabl airspace, I have really bad asthma attaks. Last year, I eneded up in the hospital four times because I had trouble breathing to the point where I needed to be put on a nebulizer for several hours and injected with steroids to stop the asthma attack. Anyone who says there isn’t a link is either lying or an idiot (or both heheh)
Eric
Naperville, IL