The air pollution from factory smokestacks, vehicles, cigarette smoke, and other sources have been linked by experts to diseases including lung cancer. These experts believe there is a direct link between the higher risks of lung cancer with increased exposure to fine particles found in air pollution. Most of us know that smoking cigarettes is one of the main causes of lung cancer. But less known is that breathing heavily polluted air long-term can raise the risk of lung cancer as much as breathing second-hand smoke.
In a recent study, the largest impact of air pollution causing lung cancer was with non-smokers. Scientists observed that their study participants' chance of death was the same as if they were "moderately" overweight when air pollution levels increased.
Study Detail
As many as a half million people were studied over more than 15 years. One primary source of information/data came from the American Cancer Society's ongoing program that has tracked the health of over 1.2 million people since 1982.
Not too surprising, the experts found that any level of air pollution is unsafe. As air pollution worsened, so did the risk of dying from lung cancer - more so than any other disease. In fact, the risk of lung cancer death went up by 8% for every 10 micrograms of fine particles in a cubic meter (about 3 feet by 3 feet) of air.
Where We Are Today
50,000 to 100,000 Americans die each year from the effects of outdoor particulate air pollution. In the 1970s air pollution was really high and so were death rates. In recent years, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has put limits on emissions, but most cities don't meet the standards.
Use Austin Air Purifiers
Pollution impacts our health. Reduce health risks by cleaning your indoor air using an air purifier that has a pre-filter (for large particles), a High Efficiency Particulate Arresting (HEPA) filter, and carbon (with enhancing compounds) to remove odors and gasses.
