Even Short Term Exposure May Be Harmful Report ConcludesWashington (eCanadaNow - The public policy issue surrounding air pollution was made a little clearer by the issuance of a report from the National Academy of Sciences on Tuesday.
The report, which was published late Tuesday afternoon, speaks of the links of smog and air pollution to health issues, and premature death. The report was issued by a National Research Counsel Academy Panel, and reveals in depth that smog and air pollution is an overall hazard, even for short-term exposure.
“Even short term exposure is to smog and ambient air pollution will increase premature death and illness,” the report from the 13-member panel revealed.
Determining the benefits of clean air on the public health should rely not only on existing statistics, but also the amount of hospitalization, illness and lung diseases in areas that suffer from high amounts of smog and air pollution.
There have been previous questions on any causal link between air quality and illness from the Office of Management and Budget, from the White House.
Short-term exposure, in areas of high air pollution, for periods up to 24 hours, may be directly a cause of mortality and illness that has not been revealed in other statistics or studies.
Ground air pollution is sometimes formed when organic compounds from burning fossil fuels mixes with nitrogen oxide, and is seen often as a haze or low lying yellow cloud of smog in heavily industrial areas.
