It
is a fact
that fossil fuels from diesel cars and coal-powered fire stations cause
dangerous tiny particulate pollution. Sooty air pollution in towns and cities
increases the chances of women giving birth to small babies, new research has
shown.
A
study involving millions of births around the world found that higher pollution
levels raised the risk of low birth-weight. Although small, the effect is said
to be statistically significant. At national population scales it could have an
important impact on child health, said the researchers. Babies are underweight
at birth if they tip the scales at less than 2.5kgs, or 5lbs 8oz. They face an
increased risk of dying in infancy, as well as chronic poor health and impaired
mental development.
The
new study, the largest of its kind ever conducted, focused on tiny sooty carbon
particles called PM10s and even smaller PM2.5s which are known to be linked to
heart and lung problems and early death. They originate from a number of
sources, including diesel exhausts and the chimneys of coal-fired power
stations and factories.
Professor
Tanja Pless-Mulloli, who led the UK arm of the study at the Newcastle
University, said: "As air pollution increases we can see that more babies
are smaller at birth, which in turn puts them at risk of poor health later in
life.
"These
microscopic particles, five times smaller than the width of a human hair, are
part of the air we breathe every day. What we have shown definitively is that
these levels are already having an effect on pregnant mothers."
The research,
published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, examined the impact
of a 10 microgram per cubic meter increase in average exposure to pollution
particles over the course of a pregnancy. Furthermore, a continual trend of
elevated low birth-weight risk with higher levels of air pollution also showed.
For
PM10s, this raised the chances of having a low birth-weight baby by 0.03%,
which was said to be statistically significant. In the case of PM2.5s, a much
larger 10% risk increase was seen.
Pless-Mulloli
added: "The particles which are affecting pregnant mothers mainly come
from the burning of fossil fuels. In the past the culprit may have been coal
fires, now it is primarily vehicle fumes.
"Currently
in some parts of London we see around 40 units of particulate air pollution and
in Newcastle it is around 20 units but going back to the 1960s we saw around
700 units of air pollution. While much has been done to improve air quality,
this study shows we can't be complacent as we've shown that clean air is really
important for the health of our newborns."
The
scientists collected data on more than 3m births at 14 locations in the UK,
north and South America, Asia and Australia.
They
concluded: "The estimated combined associations, although relatively
small, could be of major public health importance considering the ubiquitous
nature of particulate air pollution exposure, and therefore the potential for
considerable population attributable risk, particularly given evidence of
perinatal (around the time of birth) and life-long effects of LBW (low birth
weight) on health."
"The
study is of excellent quality and the conclusions are clear: while the average
effect on each baby is small and so should not alarm individual prospective
parents, for the whole population these small risks add up across millions of
people. “
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