Air Pollution News and Research

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Incidence of type 2 diabetes and hypertension increases with exposure to NOx

The incidence of type 2 diabetes and hypertension increases with cumulative levels of exposure to nitrogen oxides, according to a new study led by researchers from the Slone Epidemiology Center (SEC) at Boston University.

6 Jan 2012

Report provides expanded review of six new EPA air quality regulations

A report by researchers at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health provides an expanded review of six new air quality regulations proposed or recently adopted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's.

22 Dec 2011

BU professor to study incidence of hypertension, diabetes and asthma in African American women

Patricia F. Coogan, ScD, an associate professor of epidemiology at Boston University's Slone Epidemiology Center (SEC), recently was awarded funding for two grants from the National Institutes of Health.

21 Dec 2011

EPA rule to help protect kids' brain from autism

SafeMinds sees a brighter future after the implementation of long-overdue EPA regulation of hazardous air pollution from coal-fired power plants. Less mercury means its potent neurotoxic effects are less likely to harm childhood development.

16 Dec 2011

Increased temperatures can shorten gestation time and lead to stillbirth

Queensland University of Technology (QUT) world-first research has found a link between increases in temperature and the incidence of stillbirth and shorter pregnancies.

16 Dec 2011

HDE and DEP exposure can lead to development of asthma

A study conducted by researchers at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) has found that diesel exhaust particulates (DEP) and house dust extract (HDE) causes pulmonary inflammation that aggravates asthma.

15 Dec 2011

Exposure to smoke decreases lung function in firefighters

After monitoring firefighters working at prescribed burns in the southeastern U.S., University of Georgia researchers found that lung function decreased with successive days of exposure to smoke and other particulate matter.

8 Dec 2011

Dust storms have adverse effect on hospital EDs for COPD

A new study published in the journal Respirology reveals that dust storms have an adverse effect on emergency hospital admission for chronic lung disease, often known as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

6 Dec 2011

Energy Policy details human and environmental cost of cooking food using woody biomass

For many people in the developing world getting enough food to eat is a persistent challenge. However the challenge does not stop there. A new issue of the international journal Energy Policy details the human and environmental cost of cooking food using the only energy source available to many people, woody biomass.

29 Nov 2011

Smoke-reducing chimneys prevent pneumonia among young children

Researchers at the University of Liverpool and the universities of California, Berkley and del Valle, Guatemala, have found that cases of severe pneumonia among young children are reduced by one-third in homes with smoke-reducing chimneys on cooking stoves.

11 Nov 2011

Wood stoves with chimneys linked to reduced childhood pneumonia

Cooking stoves with chimneys can lower exposure to indoor wood smoke and reduce the rate of severe pneumonia by 30 percent in children less than 18 months of age, according to a new air pollution study funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), part of the National Institutes of Health.

11 Nov 2011

Exposure to air pollution may increase risk of RA

Exposure to some types of air pollution, especially sulfur dioxide — one of the six most common pollutants in the United States — is associated with a somewhat increased risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis, according to research presented this week at the American College of Rheumatology Annual Scientific Meeting in Chicago.

7 Nov 2011

Replacing short auto trips with bicycle trips would yield major health benefits

Cutting out short auto trips and replacing them with mass transit and active transport would yield major health benefits, according to a study just published in the scientific journal Environmental Health Perspectives.

3 Nov 2011

Potential new protein target for pulmonary hypertension

A protein critical to development appears to have a grave impact on lungs exposed to smoking and air pollution, researchers report.

18 Oct 2011

UEA scientists to assess future impact of global warming on allergic diseases

A new study by an international team of scientists including the University of East Anglia (UEA) will assess the future impact of global warming on allergic diseases.

18 Oct 2011

Broken biogeochemical cycle of phosphorus will impact food security

Should the periodic table bear a warning label in the 21st century or be revised with a lesson about elemental supply and demand? If so, that lesson could start with one element considered a staple of life - but growing endangered, like the Asiatic dhole - phosphorus.

15 Oct 2011

Three-step strategy for healthy bones and strong muscles

For this year's World Osteoporosis Day, the International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF) is releasing a 24-page report promoting a three-step strategy for healthy bones and strong muscles.

14 Oct 2011

WHO releases global survey of worst, best cities for air pollution

"Cities in Iran, India, Pakistan and the capital of Mongolia rank among the worst on the planet for air pollution, while those in the United States and Canada are among the best, according to the first global survey released Monday by the World Health Organization," the Associated Press/San Francisco Chronicle reports.

28 Sep 2011

Scientists warn about climate-induced increase in death rates over the next 60 years

Scientists are warning that death rates linked to climate change will increase in several European countries over the next 60 yrs.

28 Sep 2011

Traffic fumes can raise risk for heart attack for at least six hours: Study

According to British researchers breathing in heavy traffic fumes can trigger a heart attack. Heart attack risk is raised for about six hours post-exposure and goes down again after that, researchers found. They say in the British Medical Journal that pollution probably hastens rather than directly cause attacks. But repeated exposure is still bad for health, they say, substantially shortening life expectancy, and so the advice to people remains the same - avoid as far as is possible.

22 Sep 2011