NEWS
April 2nd:
Europe’s urban dwellers remain exposed to unhealthy concentrations of air pollution
According to the European Environment Agency (EEA) 253,000 deaths in 2021 could have been avoided in the EU if fine particulate matter concentrations had met WHO recommendations.
In 2021, 97% of Europe’s urban population was exposed to concentrations of fine particular matter (PM2.5) above the annual guideline level of 5 µg/m3 set by the World Health Organization, according to data reported to the European Environment Agency (EEA).
At least 253,000 deaths in the EU in 2021 were attributable to exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) pollution above the WHO recommended concentration of 5 µg/m3, the EEA estimates.
Eight reporting countries including four EU member states (Italy, Czechia, Croatia and Poland) registered concentrations above the EU annual limit value of 25 µg/m3 in 2021. All 37 reporting countries registered concentrations above the WHO annual guide line level of 5 µg/m3.:
Exposure to air pollution causes or aggravates certain diseases like lung cancer, heart disease, asthma, and diabetes according to estimates of health impacts. Measures to reduce air pollution to WHO guideline levels would prevent these 253,000 attributable deaths and also reduce the number of people who are living with the debilitating health effects of air pollution-related diseases, the EEA states.
Northern Italy and Eastern Europe
The highest concentrations were seen in Northern Italy and some eastern European countries. For Eastern Europe, the high concentrations result largely from use of solid fuels combined with an ageing vehicle fleet. In Northern Italy the high concentrations are due to a combination of a high density of anthropogenic emissions and meteorological and geographical conditions that favor the accumulation of air pollutants in the atmosphere and the formation of secondary particles.
Check your air quality
European citizens can check real-time air quality data through different platforms, including the Air Quality Index app published by the European Environment Agency. The app can be found in Android PlayStore or at Apple iOS.
https://www.eea.europa.eu/en/newsroom/news/health-impacts-from-air-pollution
December 1st 2023:
Denmark: Nitrate in drinking water increases the number of colorectal cancers
127 colorectal cancer cases can be avoided each year in Denmark and the Danish society can save $302 million each year if the limit of nitrate in drinking water is reduced to 3.87 mg/L, according to a study published in the journal Science of the Total Environment.
Nitrate in drinking water is a contaminant which can affect human health and has been associated with an increased risk of, amongst other diseases, colorectal cancer.
Based on epidemiologic data from Denmark the study analyzed the association between drinking water nitrate and colorectal cancer, the health and economic consequences of lowering the standard of nitrate in drinking water from 50 mg/L to 9.25 mg/L and 3.87 mg/L.
The drinking water nitrate attributable number of cases was estimated using the risk in the exposed and unexposed population based on current nationwide exposure distributions in Denmark.
Groundwater is used for drinking water
All drinking water in Denmark is produced from groundwater. Danish groundwater normally undergoes no or simple treatment (oxidation and filtration) at the waterworks with no significant changes in nitrate concentrations.
Nitrate levels in the Danish ground- and drinking water are regularly monitored. Generally, the nitrate concentration levels in oxic groundwater correlate to the nitrogen surplus in Danish agriculture. Nitrate polluted groundwater is especially found in areas where the groundwater reservoirs are vulnerable due to poor geologic protection from thin overlying clay layers, and often also because the impact from nitrogen losses from intensive agriculture is high.
Fewer cases of colorectal cancer
The analysis in the study shows that a lower limit of 9.25 mg/L would decrease the annual number of colorectal cancer cases by 72 and by an additional 55 for a stricter limit of 3.87 mg/L. This means that with a level of nitrate of 3.87 mg/L the total amount of Danish colorectal cancer cases that can be avoided each year is 127.
Saved health costs by reducing nitrate in drinking water
The study found that the resulting avoided health-related costs are $179 million per year for the 9.25 mg/L nitrate limit and another $138 million per year for a further reduction to 3.87 mg/L nitrate. This means that the direct and indirect health costs linked to colorectal cancer that can be saved in Denmark are annually is $317 million with a limit of nitrate of 3.87 mg/L.
Costs of reducing nitrate in drinking water
To reduce the levels of nitrate in the drinking water will incur costs linked to either changes in land use management (reducing the level of leaching of agricultural fertilizer nitrates), well reallocation and/or use of treatment technologies (biological denitrification, ion exchange or reverse osmosis). Reducing nitrate levels in the drinking water from public and private wells using these measures in Denmark would cost around $15 million annually.
The Danish economic health benefits are higher than the costs for both limits with net gains of $170 million (9.25 mg/L) and additionally $132 million (3.87 mg/L) a year. With these figures the study finds that there is an annual net Danish national benefit of $302 million with a new standard of 3.87 mg/L nitrate in the Danish drinking water.
"Health-economic valuation of lowering nitrate standards in drinking water related to colorectal cancer in Denmark", Science of the Total Environment; doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.167368
Among the coauthors are MARCHES participant Jörg Schullehner from the Department of Public Health, Aarhus University.
July 6, 2023:
MARCHES workshop on Systematic Reviews in Environmental Health
From the 26th to the 28th of June 2023 the MARCHES project held a Workshop on Systematic Reviews in Environmental Health. The program consisted of lectures and hands-on exercises and group work. The workshop was held at Aarhus University in Denmark.
The topics at the workshop were: Systematic reviews in the knowledge translation cycle, Protocol development, Relevance and Inclusion, Data extraction, Risk of bias, Analyses, GRADEing the evidence and Implications.
The systematic review topics covered by the participants included air pollution and a wide range of health effects such as depression, obesity, and semen quality, as well as drinking water nitrate and birth defects.
The groups worked on their review protocols that will be finalized and published within the coming months.
The participants were representatives from the partners in the MARCHES project and the MISTRAL project which is also a project within the METEOR Cluster. The facilitators at the workshop were Swiss TPH, 3ie and the Danish Royal Library.