Transcript Outdoor Air Quality - Physicians for Social Responsibility

UNHEALTHY AIR
PHYSICIANS FOR SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
MAY 24TH 2016
WHAT’S IN THE AIR?
Criteria Pollutants:
Ozone (O3)
Carbon monoxide (CO)
Sulfur oxides (SOx)
Nitrogen oxides (NOx)
Particulate matter (PM 2.5 and 10)
Lead (also an air toxic)
Air Toxics/HAPs:
Volatile Organic Compounds
Polycylic Aromatic Hydrocarbons
(PAHS)
Metals
Dioxins and many others
Greenhouse gases:
Carbon dioxide (CO2)
Methane (CH4)
Nitrous Oxide (N2O)
• Clean Air Act of 1973, amended in 1990
• Two types of National Ambient Air Quality Standards: public health and public welfare protection
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WHAT’S IN THE AIR: CRITERIA
POLLUTANTS
• Ozone (O3)
• Nitrogen oxides (NOx)
• Carbon monoxide (CO)
• Particulate matter (PM 2.5
and 10)
• Sulfur oxides (SOx)
• Lead (also an air toxic)
Sources:
Cars
Motor vehicles
Coal-fired power plants
Industrial facilities
Regulations:
Atmospheric monitoring
State Implementation Plans
WHAT’S IN THE AIR: TOXIC AIR POLLUTANTS
• Volatile Organic
Compounds
• Polycyclic Aromatic
Hydrocarbons (PAHS)
• Metals
• Dioxins and many
others
• 188 of these are toxins
• 33 on a priority list
• Potential to cause cancers
• Includes benzene, found in
gasoline
• And perchloroethylene,
produced by some dry
cleaning facilities
WHAT’S IN THE AIR: GREENHOUSE GASES
• Carbon dioxide (CO2)
• Methane (CH4)
• Nitrous Oxide (N2O)
• EPA regulates power plant CO2
emissions
• Regulates methane from the oil
and gas industries also
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CLEAN AIR ACT
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SOURCES OF AIR POLLUTION
Stationary Sources
Mobile Sources
Major Sources
Chemistry and Meteorology
Health and Ecosystem Effects
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Criteria Pollutants:
Particulate Matter
Considered the most lethal form of air pollution
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Criteria Pollutants:
Particulate Matter
• Sources include cars and power plants
• Capable of passing through bodily barriers to
reach organs
• Study in March 2016 suggested that particulate air
pollution caused 16,000 preterm births a year
• 2012 the EPA strengthened the air pollution
standards for the first time in 15 years
OZONE
• Constituent of smog
• Not emitted by a single, specific source
• Low-income communities and communities of color
shoulder burden of health effects
• Emissions can be carried over great distances
• Health impacts include asthma, lung damage and can
affect fetal development
OZONE
EPA changed the ozone
standard to 70ppb in 2015
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POLYCYCLIC AROMATIC
HYDROCARBONS (AIR TOXICS)
• Large family of chemicals
• Many carcinogenic and/or mimic estrogen
• Often enter the body on or in particulates
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POLYCYCLIC AROMATIC
HYDROCARBONS (AIR TOXICS)
Routes of Exposure
• Most are lipophilic so can attach to fatty stores within the body
• Of the more than 100 forms of PAHs, 15 are "reasonably anticipated to be human carcinogens"
Source: National Toxicology Program
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DIESEL PARTICULATE MATTER
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CLIMATE CHANGE AND HEALTH
Climate change increases:
• Heat-Related Illness
• Water-borne diseases
• Vector-borne diseases
• Food production issues/Famine
• Air pollution
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CLIMATE CHANGE AND AIR POLLUTION
• Higher temps accelerate formation of
ozone/smog from nitrogen oxides and VOCs
• Climate change increases exposure to
elevated concentrations of PM2.5 through
changes in regional weather patterns
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HOW TO HELP REDUCE AIR POLLUTION
• Choose Clean Energy provider to
purchase electricity
• Buy food locally; Eat lower on the food
chain; avoid beef
• Join PSR e-list for national and/or state
legislation on air toxics emissions and
contact your elected officials urging
action
• Support policymakers who advocate for
clean air and water and action on
climate change
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RECOMMENDATIONS TO REDUCE
EXPOSURE TO AIR POLLUTION
• Follow the Air Quality Index at airnow.gov and
modify behaviors accordingly
• Avoid idling (diesel cars/trucks)
• When you do exercise outside, stay as far as you
can from heavily trafficked roads. Then shower and
wash your clothes to remove fine particles.
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