Why walking by a main road is as bad for you as smoking
And beware of your air freshener, too!
At SIX, William Phin has already had to deal with a deadly fight for breath — a problem which, thanks to worsening air quality, affects an increasing number of adults and children. Shortly after his first birthday, William was struck down by a mystery lung infection. He was left dependent on oxygen cylinders to help him breathe until he was almost three.
William has obliterative bronchiolitis (OB), a disease that causes inflammation in the lungs, and a build-up of fibrous scar tissue that stops oxygen being absorbed. A lung transplant is the only cure.
‘William has 38 per cent of the lung capacity of a healthy child of his age,’ says his father Duncan, 42, a data analyst, who lives with his wife Fiona, 41, and William in the seaside resort of Whitley Bay, north of Newcastle, a place where air quality would not normally be an issue.
‘We couldn’t believe how fast he went from being a chubby baby to being emaciated. the doctors didn’t know what it was and the longer it went on without us knowing, the more worried we were about what was going to happen to him.’
Obliterative bronchiolitis is thought to be an abnormal reaction to a common cold virus among people with a particular genetic make-up — or it may be triggered by exposure to pollution. Whatever the cause, experts say the condition is exacerbated by pollution.
William is just one of the millions of people of all ages who are affected by life-limiting breathing and other health problems linked to pollution, including heart disease, stroke and diabetes.
Pollution contributes to 40,000 deaths a year, according to a report this week by the Royal College of Physicians and the Royal College of Paediatric and Child Health.
Indeed, average life expectancy is reduced by about nine months because of air pollution, according to the World Health Organisation, which estimates 29,000 deaths in Britain are directly caused every year by air contaminated with by-products of aircraft and vehicle engines.
THeissue was laid bare last year when it was revealed that despite safety claims, virtually all diesel cars exceed emission limits and air quality routinely breaches international pollution regulations.
It’s not simply that pollution makes breathing problems worse, it can trigger conditions such as asthma, says Jonathan Grigg, a professor of paediatric respiratory and environmental medicine at Bart’s Health NHS trust in London, and a co-author of the new report, every Breath We take.
‘Contrary to earlier reports linking asthma to dust mites and domestic furnishings, pollution is the real culprit,’ he says.
‘From the Seventies, onwards there was a big increase in asthma, especially in preschool children.
‘If you live next to a busy road there are consequences for your child.’
Indeed, a study published in 2004 suggested someone walking down London’s Marylebone Road would breathe in the equivalent pollution of one cigarette in 48 minutes.
But it’s not just outdoor pollution that poses a health risk. According to the new report, pollution inside the home — caused by everything from boiler fumes to air fresheners — is a risk too. As well as faulty boilers, fly sprays, air fresheners, DIY and cleaning products all affect the quality of air indoors.
One of the culprits are so-called Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) — one, limonene, used to give products a citrus smell — is dangerous to inhale on its own. It can react with air to create toxic formaldehyde, which causes lung irritation and, in large quantities cancer, and potentially fatal inflammation of other body tissue.
the harm from outdoor pollution such as car exhausts occurs as tiny particles from it penetrate deep into the lungs and collect in the tiny air sacs (alveoli) where oxygen enters the bloodstream.
these particles set up damaging lung inflammation as the body reacts to the foreign invasion. the toxins within them travel into the blood, damaging blood vessel walls, interfering with signals about blood sugar levels, or setting up cell changes that can lead to cancer.
As well as these particles, damage is caused by gases such as nitrogen dioxide, sulphur dioxide and ozone which irritate the airways and interfere with oxygen absorption, worsening symptoms for those with pre- existing lung disease. Also to blame is carbon monoxide, which prevents supply of oxygen to the heart.
Most urban dwellers are breathing contaminated air. In London three-quarters of kerbside tests for pollution found nitrogen dioxide