Act on air pollution, the silent killer

Curb the problem for it kills eight million people yearly worldwide and is also the
main cause of climate change.
WHAT causes as many or more deaths in Malaysia as road accidents but has not been
known to be such a dangerous killer?
Air pollution.
This “killer” is not as dramatic or visible as car crashes, but is even more dangerous as
it penetrates and contaminates our vital organs, leading to serious diseases and
thousands of death.
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The deaths were due to heart disease (3,630), stroke (1773), lung cancer (670),
pulmonary disease (148) and lower respiratory disease (29).
In 2013, road accidents killed 7,129 people in Malaysia, slightly more than the outdoor
air pollution figure for 2012.
But the WHO study does not include indoor or household air pollution, which may have
harmed many more people. If the deaths from this were known and added, the total
deaths caused by air pollution overall would almost certainly be higher than those
caused by road accidents.
It is timely to get these new details on the serious health effects of air pollution.
Malaysians have been enduring the effects of the annual “haze” caused by burning in
forest and agriculture areas in Indonesia. Memories of the misery this caused in 2015
are still fresh. Fortunately, the haze has been largely absent so far this year.
WHO estimates that 4.3 million die prematurely each year from indoor pollution, and 3.7
million from outdoor pollution.
And 92% of people in the world live in places that do not meet the WHO health standard
for outdoor air quality.
The WHO report, Ambient air pollution: A global assessment for exposure and burden
of disease, is based on satellite data and ground station monitors for more than 3,000
rural and urban locations.
The figures for Malaysia show that the country has a PM2.5 annual median
concentration of 15 (ranging from 9 to 24) micrograms per cubic metre. This is 50%
above the WHO’s guideline limit of 10.
By comparison, other Asian countries had the following air pollution levels: China (54),
India (62), Thailand (25), Singapore (17) and Indonesia (14).
The PM2.5 level is the annual median concentration of particulate matter of a diameter
less than 2.5 micrometres. PM2.5 includes pollutants such as sulphate, nitrates and
black carbon, which penetrate deep into the lungs and in the cardiovascular system,
posing the greatest health risks.
Due to the premature deaths, Malaysia also suffered 160,693 years of life lost in 2012,
attributable to outdoor air pollution, according to the WHO report.
The adverse effects of this hidden killer have been growing fast (8% increase in deaths
from 2008 to 2013). It was responsible for one out of every nine deaths (11.6% of the
total) in the world in 2012, according to WHO. That makes it one of the top causes of
deaths globally.
The air-pollution related deaths worldwide were due to ischaemic heart diseases and
strokes (72%), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or acute lower respiratory
infections (14%) and lung cancer (14%) in 2012.
Ninety percent of the deaths are in developing countries and two out of three occur in
our neighbourhood – the Southeast Asia and the Western Pacific regions.
Countering air pollution should thus be a top priority. What should be done? First,
collect more details through improvements in monitoring air pollution and its effects.
Second, make the public more aware so they can take action to avoid being exposed.
Third, and most important, identify the causes of the pollution and take action to
eliminate or reduce them.
Among the causes of outdoor air pollution are emissions from transport vehicles, coal-
fired power plants, industrial factories, burning of wastes, and fires in forest and
agricultural areas. Indoor pollution is mainly caused by the use of cooking fuels based
on wood and coal.
Besides the direct effects on human health, air pollution is also a major cause of global
warming, which in turn also affects health.
It is thus doubly important to tackle these causes. Actions should include the following:
Reduce vehicle emissions through better energy-efficiency and air-pollution standards
for vehicles and control of private transport.
Give priority to public transport and promote clean transport such as railways, bicycles
and walkways.
Phase out coal-powered plants, shift to clean modes of power, and promote renewable
energy.
Impose strict air pollution controls in industry and phase in clean low-emissions
technologies.
Phase out the use of wood and charcoal as household fuels, and replace them with safe
and efficient stoves.
Reduce waste through recycling and reuse, introduce alternatives to open incineration
of solid waste and stop the open burning of household wastes.
Stop the burning of forests, mangroves and in agriculture; this is the most important to
prevent the South-east Asian “haze.”
Take measures so as to adhere to the WHO guidelines for outdoor and indoor air
pollution.
Air pollution reduction measures should become part of wider health and environmental
strategies and be given priority and resources in the country’s development plans.
The problem must also be given the global attention it deserves. Reducing air pollution
is one of the targets of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. And in May
2016, the World Health Assembly for the first time adopted a four-point road map to
tackle air pollution.
Air pollution reduction is crucial to tackling the world’s biggest health and environmental
problems.
Though the serious environmental effects of air pollution are well known, we are only at
the starting phase of understanding the huge health problem it causes.
While the actions needed are quite clear, getting them implemented will be an immense
challenge, as the causes of air pollution are presently so much embedded in modern
lifestyles and economic structures.