Air Pollution News and Research

RSS

Physically active children in urban areas have high black carbon exposure, study finds

Children from urban areas of New York City who engaged in vigorous daily exercise had greater exposure to black carbon, a traffic-related pollutant, than children who were less active, according to a study by a multidisciplinary team of researchers from Columbia University's College of Physicians & Surgeons and Columbia's Mailman School of Public Health.

26 Oct 2016

Cleaner burning biomass-fuelled cookstoves reduce risk of burns in children by 40%, study finds

Initial results from the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine-led Cooking and Pneumonia Study in Malawi indicate that cooking with cleaner burning biomass-fuelled cookstoves reduced the risk of burns in children under the age of five by over 40% compared to traditional open fire cooking.

26 Oct 2016

Exposure to air pollution may contribute to blood vessel damage among young healthy adults

Fine particulate matter air pollution may be associated with blood vessel damage and inflammation among young, healthy adults, according to new research in Circulation Research, an American Heart Association journal.

25 Oct 2016

Treating volatile exhaust streams in the pharmaceutical industry: an interview with Jeff Kudronowicz

Capturing and destroying harmful emissions from pharmaceutical processes can be challenging. It’s not because the pollutants, referred to as volatile organic compounds (VOCs) or hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) are difficult to destroy using catalytic or thermal technologies.

From Anguil Environmental Systems 12 Oct 2016

New WHO model provides detailed air pollution-related health data

A new World Health Organization air quality model confirms that 92% of the world’s population lives in places where air quality levels exceed WHO limits. Information is presented via interactive maps, highlighting areas within countries that exceed WHO limits.

30 Sep 2016

High indoor temperatures may worsen COPD symptoms

High indoor temperatures appear to worsen symptoms of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD, particularly in homes that also have high levels of air pollutants, according to new research published in the Annals of the American Thoracic Society.

30 Sep 2016

GACD funds international research projects that aim to prevent, manage chronic lung diseases

Members of the Global Alliance for Chronic Diseases are funding more than thirteen international research projects into the prevention and management of chronic lung diseases.

28 Sep 2016

Changes to city design, transport can have significant impact on health

A new Series, published in The Lancet quantifies the health gains that could be achieved if cities incentivised a shift from private car use to cycling and walking, and promoted a compact city model where distances to shops and facilities, including public transport, are shorter and within walking distance.

27 Sep 2016

Smoke from indoor biomass fuel linked to COPD among rural women in Bangladesh

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is one of the leading causes of death in the world.

26 Sep 2016

Global study assesses countries on health-related Sustainable Development Goals

Worldwide, good progress has been made towards some of the health-related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) since 2000, particularly in reducing under-5 and neonatal mortality, family planning, and the rollout of universal health care.

24 Sep 2016

Study quantifies benefits of healthy city design

Previous studies have shown a correlation between the design of cities and growing epidemics of injuries and non-communicable diseases such as heart disease, diabetes and cancer.

23 Sep 2016

UofL researchers receive NIH funding to explore how environmental exposures influence health of children

The National Institutes of Health today announced a team of researchers headed by Janice Sullivan, M.D., of the University of Louisville is among grant recipients nationwide receiving funding for a seven-year, multicenter initiative called Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes.

21 Sep 2016

Bloomberg Philanthropies to donate $300 million to create Bloomberg American Health Initiative

The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health today announced that Bloomberg Philanthropies, founded by businessman, philanthropist, World Health Organization Global Ambassador for Noncommunicable Diseases, and three-term mayor of New York City Michael R. Bloomberg, will give $300 million to create the Bloomberg American Health Initiative.

15 Sep 2016

Exposure to air pollution at place of residence could be risk factor for type 2 diabetes

Exposure to air pollution at the place of residence increases the risk of developing insulin resistance as a pre-diabetic state of type 2 diabetes.

8 Sep 2016

Simple changes to car’s ventilation system during traffic jams may limit exposure to pollution

With millions of motorists set to hit the road for the bank holiday weekend, drivers have been urged to close windows and turn off fans while in traffic jams to avoid breathing in dangerously high levels of air pollution.

25 Aug 2016

High exposure to unconventional natural gas wells linked to migraine headaches, sinus and fatigue

New research suggests that Pennsylvania residents with the highest exposure to active natural gas wells operated by the hydraulic fracturing ("fracking") industry are nearly twice as likely to suffer from a combination of migraine headaches, chronic nasal and sinus symptoms and severe fatigue.

25 Aug 2016

Essential oils could treat inflammation of lung and liver induced by air pollution

Certain ingredients in essential oils made from plants such as cloves, anise, fennel and ylang-ylang could serve as a natural treatment of lung and liver conditions caused by air pollution.

23 Aug 2016

Cloth masks not very effective in offering protection against air pollution, study shows

Results of a new study by environmental health scientists at the University of Massachusetts Amherst suggest that inexpensive cloth masks worn by people who hope to reduce their exposure to air pollution vary widely in effectiveness and could be giving users a false sense of security, especially in highly polluted areas.

19 Aug 2016

Smoke waves induced by climate change likely to affect millions in coming decades

Wildfires threaten more than land and homes. The smoke they produce contains fine particles (PM2.5) that can poison the air for hundreds of miles.

16 Aug 2016

Researchers to investigate on engaging Chicago communities in air pollution monitoring

Chicago communities with poor air quality can soon be more involved in air pollution monitoring with help from Kansas State University.

11 Aug 2016