Pollution now linked to kidney and bladder cancer

aIR pollution has been linked to kidney, bladder and bowel cancer in a study that suggests dirty air is implicated in more than lung disease.

Microscopic particles from car exhausts can raise the risk of death from kidney or bladder cancer by almost 15 per cent, the study of more than 600,000 people showed.

and those living near busy roads, who are exposed to nitrogen dioxide, could see their risk of death from bowel cancer rise by 6 per cent.

Pollution in Britain has been linked to 40,000 premature deaths a year, with heart disease and stroke taking the biggest toll. Lung cancer is one of the next biggest causes of premature death but there has been little evidence as yet on other types of cancer. The study, published in the journal environmental Health Perspectives and led by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health, tracked americans over 22 years.

Researchers looked at three types of pollution alongside cancer. The threat for kidney and bladder cancer came from tiny particles called PM2.5, which are measured in micrograms per metre cubed (ug/m3). each 4.4ug/m3 increase in exposure was found to raise the risk of dying from kidney cancer by 14 per cent and bladder cancer by 13 per cent. Nitrogen dioxide was linked to bowel cancer. each rise in exposure by 6.5 parts per billion raised the risk of dying from bowel cancer by 6 per cent.

Mel evans, clean air campaigner at Greenpeace, said: ‘action to reduce air pollution remains wholly inadequate.’