A new report by The Lancet has carried out research related to the effects of air pollution. The report found that even short term exposure to air that contains PM2.5 can increase the chances of cardiac arrest.
The study examined emergency care for two years in Japan, while also examining air pollution levels at the respective time. In particular, the levels of PM2.5 that could be found in the air.
Particulate Matter (PM) comes in a variety of microscopic sizes, which makes it easy to be breathed in. Generally, it comes from transportation, construction sites, and fires.
Safe Levels of PM2.5 Are Not Safe
The big takeaway of this report is that what has been thought of as safe levels for PM2.5 is wrong. Japan and the United States have the same definition of “safe level” in regard to this particle.
Which is that only 35 micrograms of PM2.5 per cubic meter.
While the World Health Organization (WHO) has a higher standard of 25 micrograms of PM2.5 per cubic meter.
When in Japan and US “safe levels,” the report states that 98.5% of cardiac arrest cases occurred. In comparison when in the “safe levels” of WHO, 92% of cardiac arrest cases occurred.
The findings in this report make it clear that the world needs to re-examine its air pollution levels.
Not The Only Report to Come to This Conclusion
Air pollution has been studied thoroughly over the years and many reports have found similar outcomes, that the safe levels of PM2.5 are not really safe.
A recent report by PNAS found that PM2.5 has been responsible for 107,000 premature deaths in the United States in 2011.
A report by the BMJ found a link between short term exposure to PM2.5 levels within the WHO guideline and new causes of hospital admissions.
The scientific evidence is here, where is the action to reduce PM2.5 levels?
