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Newly detected air pollutant mimics damaging effects of cigarette smoke
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by JeffHuang | August 18, 2008 at 04:40 pm
776 views | 7 Recommendations | 12 comments
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UPDATED: August 19, 12:01pm
New study also shows Shipping Pollution may cause 60,000 deaths worldwide. In connection to my previous post below, pollution from ships are yet to be regulated and it is a major health risk to the world.
The tiny particles travel large distances and can become lodged in the lungs, posing a serious health hazard.
Previous studies have shown ship smoke may be responsible for as many as 60,000 deaths worldwide, according to an earlier study conducted at the University of Delaware.
With all the controversies and talk about the pollution in Beijing, here are some more bad news about air pollution. Thank goodness the yellow and dirty air floating around Beijing is just fog right (sarcasm).
Beijing, Shanghai, LA, and many more industrialized cities around the world has a major problem with air pollution and steps needs to be taken to decrease the amount of these negative gas emissions.
Studies have shown that these airborn molecules are similar to cigarettes which causes tobacco-related diseases amongst non-smokers. We need to take drastic steps to decrease the amount of air pollution we are causing or else everybody would have to be equipped with a gas mask soon.
Louisiana scientists are reporting in a study scheduled for presentation today at the 236th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society. Inhaling those pollutants exposes the average person up to 300 times more free radicals daily than from smoking one cigarette, they added.
The discovery could help explain the long-standing medical mystery of why non-smokers develop tobacco-related diseases like lung cancer
"Free radicals from tobacco smoke have long been suspected of having extremely harmful effects on the body," Dellinger said. "Based on our work, we now know that free radicals similar to those in cigarettes are also found in airborne fine particles and potentially can cause many of the same life-threatening conditions. This is a staggering, but not unbelievable result, when one considers all of diseases in the world that cannot currently be attributed to a specific origin."
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Most RecentMost Recommended Comments (12)
at 00:21 on August 19th, 2008
JeffHuang, I like this story. It's good stuff.
I always wondered why people went so nuts over smoking when there is much, much, worth out there that needs to be doubt with, like Cars! Dioxin, Asbestos, And the list is long! Out law Smoking yet allow harmful Car fumes, Garden and house hold chemicals that do have a much more harmful effect on Life then Tabasco ever would! Now mind you I am not against Cigarette ban, however it is somewhat ridiculous to ban cigarettes and allow much worth to be legal and used in excess!
at 00:22 on August 19th, 2008
The problem is not limited to China though, Take a look at Toronto, New York, Mexico City, London.... Same story same problem!
at 06:22 on August 19th, 2008
That picture I added shows a partial view on Brussels, Belgium (the tower on the right is that of the City Hall), taken at sunset on the 19th of February 2008.
Belgium has "guidelines" about how many days during 1 year the amount of particles of microscopic dust can cross a certain % in each city, however, for years, that number of days (in the majority of the bigger cities) is reached... somewhere between March and May... Need I say more?
Ganymedes1985 has contributed a photo to this story.
at 06:53 on August 19th, 2008
What the world looks like on the way to Baltimore.
angel_girl_x has contributed a photo to this story.
at 08:50 on August 19th, 2008
This shot was taken at dusk in Varanasi. You couldn't see the particulates in the air until the flash went off and needless to say, I was surprised at what we were breathing. But it made more sense after seeing the burning ghats the next morning.
While I agree that smoking is harmful to your lungs, the level of pollutants in our air and water that governments around the world deem safe is atrocious. And though times are critical for action, our elected officials still sit around trying to find more reasons to point fingers and leverage power, rather than investing money, energy and resources to developing positive solutions.
While reductions are important, what we need is to take another look at how we regard this planet. We've done so much damage to this planetary ecosystem and yet we're still striving on reducing our impact? What about going to the other side of the balance and actually cleaning up this mess we've made?
K-W has contributed a photo to this story.
at 12:38 on August 19th, 2008
People should know about this, it is very serious.
at 23:42 on August 19th, 2008
Morning in Ostrava - There´s a big factory - Mittal steel.
Debora91 has contributed a photo to this story.
at 23:43 on August 19th, 2008
Morning in Ostrava (CZ)- There´s a big factory - Mittal steel.
Debora91 has contributed a photo to this story.
at 07:41 on August 20th, 2008
This one was token with my Fuji Compact camera in my neighboorhood. (city Geel, Belgium)
TomVH2007 has contributed a photo to this story.
at 15:23 on August 22nd, 2008
We noticed a long line of brown haze in the air for miles on the drive to the site. We thought it would be a forest fire. We found its point of origin. It turned out to be a power plant in Tampa Bay, Florida. The brown haze can be seen as a faint line across the sky extending off the right hand side of the photo. It was a very clear and very hot day. There was hardly any wind, even at 1,000' on the broadcast tower I was hanging from. This one looks like Al Gore's movie cover. Look at the large size of this one to get the full effect. Note, the only thing in the sky in this photo is smoke from the power plant.
hilights360 has contributed a photo to this story.
at 20:43 on August 31st, 2008
This is the Pulp Mill located at Campbell River, British Columbia. Amazing with all the smoke rising from the stacks where it all ends up.
Brian Fllmore has contributed a photo to this story.
at 13:16 on September 1st, 2008
Incinerator Des Carrières, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, Builded in 1931,the city ordered the end of the operations in 1992 as it became obvious that population living in the neighborhood was suffering from the emanations.
photofil55 has contributed a photo to this story.