World’s Most Polluted Places

World’s Most Polluted Places

• 8. Hexavalent chromium: Sukinda, India
• 9. Radiation: Chernobyl, Ukraine
• 10. Persistent organic pollutants (POPs): Arctic Canada

Air Pollution

Air Pollution

World’s Most Polluted Cities (2014, WHO)

Most Polluted Cities in the US Ozone, or Smog (2016)

• #1: Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA
• #2: Bakersfield, CA
• #3: Visalia-Porterville-Hanford, CA
• #4: Fresno-Madera, CA
• #5: Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ
• #6: Sacramento-Roseville, CA
• #7: Modesto-Merced, CA
• #8: Denver/Aurora, CO
• #9: Las Vegas-Henderson, NV-AZ
• #10: Fort Collins, CO

Most Polluted Cities in the US Particulate Matter (2016)

• #1: Bakersfield, CA
• #2: Visalia-Porterville-Hanford, CA
• #3: Fresno-Madera, CA
• #4: Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA
• #5: El Centro, CA
• #6: Modesto-Merced, CA
• #6: San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA
• #8: Cincinnati-Wilmington-Maysville, OH-KY-IN
• #9: Harrisburg-York-Lebanon, PA
• #10: Lousville/Jefferson County—Elizabethtown—Madison, KY-IN

Health Effects of Air Pollution

• Causes 200,000 premature deaths/yr. in U.S. (6.5-7 million worldwide)
• Causes 1/8 deaths worldwide
• Far more than are killed by auto accidents

Health Effects of Air Pollution

• Air pollution causes lung cancer and asthma and impairs lung development and function
• 220,000 lung cancer deaths/yr (2010)
• Deaths from cardiopulmonary diseases correlate with air pollution levels in US cities
• Both day to day and over time
• Triggers 7.4% of heart attacks worldwide

Health Effects of Air Pollution

• Increased admissions for CHF, asthma, COPD, PVD, and cerebrovascular disease (stroke and TIA)
• Increased ventricular arrhythmias
• Increased lung/breast/liver/upper digestive/pancreatic cancers
• Decreased exercise tolerance, increased pulmonary symptoms

Health Effects of Air Pollution

• Increased risk of diabetes
• Increased risk of DVTs/PEs
• Increased risk of rheumatoid arthritis
• Impaired sperm production
• Premature births (1/3 more common in large towns/cities)
• Pre-eclampsia

Health Effects of Air Pollution

• Increase in SGA and LBW infants
• Increased risk of birth defects (including neural tube defects, circulatory system malformations)
• Increased risk of appendicitis
• ?Via link with inflammation?

Health Effects of Air Pollution

• Accelerated cognitive decline, increased dementia
• Increased numbers of migraines
• ?Autism?
• Days lost from work/school
• Increased risk of suicide

Air Pollution

• Coarse, fine and ultrafine particles
• Ultrafines not regulated, may be most dangerous
• Nanoparticles may contribute to health risks
• Massive dust storms increasing

Air Pollution

• Costing the 34 member OECD states almost $2 trillion/yr, Europe $1.6 trillion/yr, China almost $1.5 trillion/yr, India over $500 billion/yr
• Reductions in air pollution under Clean Air Act Account for up to 15% of overall increase in life expectancy in major U.S. metropolitan areas
• Act has saved $22 trillion in health care costs since 1972 passage
• Saved 160,000 lives in 2010

Ozone Destruction

• Ozone hole over Antarctic (2½X size of Europe = size of North America)
• Arctic ozone hole only 9% less than 2000 maximum
• 40% of Arctic ozone destroyed
• Hole should gradually decrease in size over many years, close by 2060

Effects of Ozone Destruction

• Increased cataracts (UV damage)
• Increased lifetime melanoma risk
• 1/1500 - 1930
• 1/68 - today

Antarctic Ozone Hole

Automobiles

Automobiles

• Number of autos -US: 1.17 car/2 people (88% drive to work)
• - Average American will own 13 cars during his/her lifetime -Mexico: 1/8 -China: 1/100 (increasing, has surpassed US auto sales)
• -Worldwide: over 1 billion cars (1/7 people)

Automobiles

• Over 1.2 million killed, 20-50 million injured/disabled in road accidents annually worldwide
• Toxic air pollution contributes to car accidents
• Average miles traveled/car/year in U.S.
• 1965 - 4,570 mi.
• 1975 - 6,150 mi.
• 1985 - 7,460 mi.
• 1995 - 9,220 mi.
• 2010 – 12,500 mi.

Automobiles

• Average fuel efficiency of U.S. autos stagnant
• Cars and trucks (2015): 33.8 mpg (sticker, reality 26.1 mpg)
• Government mandated fleet mpg of 54.5 mpg by 2025 (real-world estimate 40 mpg)
• European and Japanese standards higher
• Relatively low oil prices (until recently)

Automobiles

• Growing market for low-efficiency pickups, minivans, and sport-utility vehicles
• 45% of all vehicles sold today
• Ford Model T – 25 mpg (1908); Avg. car today – 25.4 mpg (2014)

Automobiles: Alternatives

• Rapid transit -industry squashed in 1930’s and 40’s (GM, Standard Oil, Firestone, etc.) -Convicted under Sherman Antitrust Act

Automobiles: Alternatives

• Car sharing
• Pay-as-you-drive auto insurance
• Build fewer roads (the more roads you build, the more congestion you create)
• “Peak Pricing” and “Congestion Fees”
• E.g., London → 21% decrease in traffic, 43% increase in bus ridership, cleaner air