Source: Business Insider
A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that any level of air pollution, really, could lead to thousands of deaths every year.
Over 61 million people’s health records were examined for the study, as well as data on air pollution across the U.S. Findings indicated that even a slight rise in a key pollutant known as PM2.5, resulted in an increase of 7.3% death rate for seniors — or the equivalent of 120,000 deaths.
Furthermore the study found that air pollution impacts low-income Americans and persons of color the most, as reported by Business Insider.
Researchers concluded that even in areas where air pollution levels were “nearly safe”, there was still a strong correlation between pollution and death rates, and therefore there is no “safe” level of air pollution.
Most countries currently exceed the recommended maximum of 20 micrograms of particulate matter pollution by a lot, many reaching levels beyond 70 micrograms.
Read full story at: Business Insider