Study: Half of US Deaths from Pollution Linked to Out-of-State Emissions
2020-02-24
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1A new study looks at air pollution and its effects on premature deaths in the United States.
2Premature deaths are defined as those that take place before the average age of death.
3Researchers found that half of all such deaths related to air pollution resulted from pollution that came from another state.
4The study is the first to estimate how pollution crossing state lines affects early deaths, says Steven Barrett.
5He is a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a co-writer of a report on the study.
6Worldwide, an estimated 4.2 million premature deaths are linked to outdoor air pollution.
7Most of those deaths are from heart disease, stroke and lung disease, as well as acute breathing infections in children, reports the World Health Organization.
8Efforts to deal with outdoor air pollution have largely centered on relationships between local sources of pollution and local air quality.
9But Barrett and other researchers found that, in the United States, cross-state pollution is a major concern.
10"Pollution is even less local than we thought," Barrett said.
11The computer model his team developed for the study looked at the atmospheric chemistry processes and weather conditions over an 11-year period.
12It then tied that information to information on human exposures and health risks.
13The researchers then examined how each of the lower 48 states affects pollution and people's health in every other state.
14The model included records from 2005, 2011 and 2018 on different sources and kinds of pollutants.
15The pollution came from seven producers of emissions, including electric power stations, road transportation, shipping, railroads and airplanes.
16The team found that electric power plants -- which release sulfur dioxide -- were the biggest contributor to deaths related to pollution from other states.
17In 2005, sulfur dioxide from power plants was involved in 75 percent of cases of premature deaths from out-of-state pollutants.
18Not all states contribute to the problem equally, the study showed.
19Many states in the northern, middle part of the country, such as North Dakota, are "net exporters" of pollution-related health effects.
20That is in part because of their low populations in comparison to the amount of pollution they create.
21Many states on the east coast are "net importers" of air pollution.
22New York is hit especially hard, with 60 percent of early deaths related to air pollution coming from out-of-state emissions.
23Doctor Peter Muennig studies health effects of air pollution at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health in New York City.
24He praised the new research.
25"This is a great study," said Muennig, who was not involved in the research.
26A notable limit, he said, is that the information is based on models, which can be complex and more likely to contain mistakes.
27Barrett said the researchers tried to measure areas of uncertainty in the models.
28He said, "Like with climate change, not knowing the exact number doesn't mean you don't take action, because uncertainty cuts both ways and reality could be worse than our central estimates, as well as better."
29Barrett added that the team has a large amount of data that policymakers could use to try to lower the number of deaths.
30The study was published this month in Nature.
31I'm Ashley Thompson.
1A new study looks at air pollution and its effects on premature deaths in the United States. Premature deaths are defined as those that take place before the average age of death. 2Researchers found that half of all such deaths related to air pollution resulted from pollution that came from another state. 3The study is the first to estimate how pollution crossing state lines affects early deaths, says Steven Barrett. He is a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a co-writer of a report on the study. 4Worldwide, an estimated 4.2 million premature deaths are linked to outdoor air pollution. Most of those deaths are from heart disease, stroke and lung disease, as well as acute breathing infections in children, reports the World Health Organization. 5Efforts to deal with outdoor air pollution have largely centered on relationships between local sources of pollution and local air quality. But Barrett and other researchers found that, in the United States, cross-state pollution is a major concern. 6"Pollution is even less local than we thought," Barrett said. 7The computer model his team developed for the study looked at the atmospheric chemistry processes and weather conditions over an 11-year period. It then tied that information to information on human exposures and health risks. 8The researchers then examined how each of the lower 48 states affects pollution and people's health in every other state. 9The model included records from 2005, 2011 and 2018 on different sources and kinds of pollutants. The pollution came from seven producers of emissions, including electric power stations, road transportation, shipping, railroads and airplanes. 10The team found that electric power plants -- which release sulfur dioxide -- were the biggest contributor to deaths related to pollution from other states. In 2005, sulfur dioxide from power plants was involved in 75 percent of cases of premature deaths from out-of-state pollutants. 11Net exporters and net importers 12Not all states contribute to the problem equally, the study showed. Many states in the northern, middle part of the country, such as North Dakota, are "net exporters" of pollution-related health effects. That is in part because of their low populations in comparison to the amount of pollution they create. 13Many states on the east coast are "net importers" of air pollution. New York is hit especially hard, with 60 percent of early deaths related to air pollution coming from out-of-state emissions. 14Doctor Peter Muennig studies health effects of air pollution at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health in New York City. He praised the new research. 15"This is a great study," said Muennig, who was not involved in the research. 16A notable limit, he said, is that the information is based on models, which can be complex and more likely to contain mistakes. 17Barrett said the researchers tried to measure areas of uncertainty in the models. 18He said, "Like with climate change, not knowing the exact number doesn't mean you don't take action, because uncertainty cuts both ways and reality could be worse than our central estimates, as well as better." 19Barrett added that the team has a large amount of data that policymakers could use to try to lower the number of deaths. 20The study was published this month in Nature. 21I'm Ashley Thompson. 22The Reuters news agency reported this story. Ashley Thompson adapted it for VOA Learning English. George Grow was the editor. 23_______________________________________________ 24Words in This Story 25Words in This Story 26source -n. where something comes from 27exposure - n. the act of coming into contact with some substance 28contributor - n. something that provides or adds to a condition or situation 29net - adj. describing an amount that has all reductions and additions accounted for 30emissions - n. pollution or gasses that are released from factories or industrial centers 31uncertainty -n. a condition of not being sure about something