Air Pollution News and Research

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Air pollution from lead-contaminated soil a cause for concern

Research suggests that air pollution from lead-contaminated soil may explain the seasonal variation in blood lead levels observed in children, particularly those living in urban areas.

27 Feb 2013

Researchers to discuss health issues at Society of Toxicology's Annual Meeting and ToxExpo

Researchers will meet at the Society of Toxicology's Annual Meeting and ToxExpo March 10-16 to discuss a number of health concerns that have received growing public attention over the past several months.

27 Feb 2013

National Jewish Health expert describes potential hazards of energy efficient homes

In an effort to protect the environment and save on energy costs, we are in the midst of a "green" home boom in this country. While that may bode well from an energy-efficiency standpoint, the trend certainly doesn't have everyone breathing easier.

22 Feb 2013

Air pollution exposure raises cardiac death rate

Long-term exposure to high levels of particulate matter with a diameter of 2.5 mm or below increases a person’s chance for dying following a heart attack, show results from a large UK study.

20 Feb 2013

Air pollution associated with increased deaths after heart attacks

Air pollution contributes to an increased number of deaths among patients who have been admitted to hospital with heart attacks, according to a study published online in the European Heart Journal

20 Feb 2013

Direct link between out-of-hospital cardiac arrests and levels of air pollution and ozone

Researchers at Rice University in Houston have found a direct correlation between out-of-hospital cardiac arrests and levels of air pollution and ozone. Their work has prompted more CPR training in at-risk communities.

18 Feb 2013

Briefing examines relationships between high-levels of air pollution exposure and health effects

Lance Waller, PhD, chair of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics at Emory's Rollins School of Public Health, will present preliminary work that explores relationships between high-levels of air pollution exposure and health effects at a press briefing hosted by the American Association for the Advancement of Science on February 17, at 2 p.m. EST, in Boston.

18 Feb 2013

Cyclist pollution exposure minimized by use of quieter roads

Research suggests that using quieter streets with less traffic exposes city cyclists to lower levels of air pollution than using more congested routes, although wind-speed has a significant influence on levels of pollution exposure experienced each day.

14 Feb 2013

New cancer research to be highlighted in AACR Annual Meeting 2013

The AACR Annual Meeting 2013 will bring more than 17,000 scientists, advocates, industry leaders and other professionals to Washington, D.C., for the latest in breakthrough cancer science.

12 Feb 2013

Bronchiolitis, air pollution have ‘synergistic effect’ on asthma risk

Results from a Korean study show that a history of bronchiolitis plus exposure to increased levels of air pollution “synergistically” increases a child’s risk for asthma.

11 Feb 2013

Study shows link between outdoor particulate pollution and impaired fetal growth

Mothers who are exposed to particulate air pollution of the type emitted by vehicles, urban heating and coal power plants are significantly more likely to bear children of low birth weight, according to an international study led by co-principal investigator Tracey J. Woodruff, PhD, MPH, professor of obstetrics and gynecology and reproductive sciences at UC San Francisco along with Jennifer Parker, PhD, of the National Center for Health Statistics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

6 Feb 2013

GSTM gene mutation, air pollution can increase risk of asthma-related cockroach allergy

An allergic reaction to cockroaches is a major contributor to asthma in urban children, but new research suggests that the insects are just one part of a more complex story. Very early exposure to certain components of air pollution can increase the risk of developing a cockroach allergy by age 7 and children with a common mutation in a gene called GSTM may be especially vulnerable.

6 Feb 2013

Breathing indoor air carries significant cancer risks for Chinese women

The hazards of breathing outdoor air in some Chinese cities have been well-documented. Now a University at Buffalo study confirms that breathing indoor air also carries significant cancer risks, especially for Chinese women.

30 Jan 2013

Link between air pollution and people's happiness

Researchers in Canada have found a correlation between air pollution and people's happiness. Their deep analysis, reported in the latest issue of the International Journal of Green Economics, suggests that air pollution may lead to unhappiness while the converse is also true, the unhappier the citizens of a country the more air pollution.

19 Jan 2013

Reducing air pollution from wood stoves may increase life expectancy

Reducing a person’s exposure to wood or biomass smoke can help increase their life expectancy, suggest findings from a study published in the BMJ.

9 Jan 2013

Mortality risk from long-term exposure to traffic pollution

Long-term exposure to air pollution is associated with increased rates of all-cause, cardiopulmonary, and lung cancer mortality, a large German study indicates.

2 Jan 2013

Children in asthma hotspots more likely to experience exercise-induced wheeze

Asthmatic children in New York City neighborhoods with high rates of asthma make many more visits to the emergency room (ER) than those who live in other parts of the city. While socioeconomic factors such as lack of adequate preventive care are part of the equation (high-asthma neighborhoods tend to be lower income), new research points to a possible biological basis for the disparity.

18 Dec 2012

New data show more premature deaths due to household air pollution attributed to basic cookstoves

Writing in the Department of State's "DipNote" blog, Kris Balderston, special representative for the Secretary of State's Global Partnerships Initiative, and Jacob Moss, U.S. coordinator for the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves, highlight the Global Burden of Disease Study 2010 published last week in the Lancet, "which estimates that household air pollution attributed to cooking over open fires or basic cookstoves causes the premature deaths of approximately four million people annually -- many of them women and young children."

18 Dec 2012

Ceramic cookstoves may not reduce risk of pneumonia in young rural Kenyan children

Inexpensive, locally-produced ceramic cookstoves may produce less smoke than traditional indoor 3-stone firepits, but they don't significantly reduce indoor air pollution or the risk of pneumonia in young children, according to results from a small, year-long observational study by researchers working in rural Kenya.

13 Dec 2012

Decreased air pollution continues to increase life expectancy in USA

Significant reductions in air pollution over the past decade have improved life expectancy across various US counties, report researchers, although they stress that optimum air quality levels have not yet been reached.

12 Dec 2012