Link Between Lung Cancer, Heart Deaths and Tiny particles of DUST (Chemtrails)

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NIEHS Press Release - Link Strengthened Between Lung Cancer, Heart Deaths and

Tiny Particles of Soot, Dust - March 5, 2002

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* Health and Healing *

Sunday, March 31, 2002 3:25 PM

Link Between Lung Cancer, Heart Deaths and Tiny

particles of DUST (Chemtrails)

 

 

- http://www.niehs.nih.gov/oc/news/lchlink.htm -

 

 

March 5, 2002

BYU Contact: Michael Smart

(801) 378-7320

 

NIEHS Contact: Bill Grigg

grigg

(301) 402-3378

 

 

Link Strengthened Between Lung Cancer, Heart Deaths and Tiny

Particles of Soot, Dust

Years of exposure to the high concentrations of tiny particles of

soot and dust from cars, power plants and factories in some metropolitan areas

of the United States significantly increase residents' risk of dying from lung

cancer and heart disease, according to a study financed largely by the National

Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and conducted by scientists at

Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah; the University of Ottawa, Ontario, the

American Cancer Society and New York University School of Medicine, Tuxedo, N.Y.

 

Arden Pope, professor of economics at Brigham Young University in

Provo, Utah, the study's co-leader, said that while far less than the risks

associated with active cigarette smoking, " we found that the risk of dying from

lung cancer as well as heart disease in the most polluted cities was comparable

to the risk associated with nonsmokers being exposed to second-hand smoke over a

long period of time. "

 

The study evaluated the effects of air pollution on human health

over a 16-year period.

 

Previous studies have linked soot in the air to many respiratory

ailments and even death, but the new findings " provide the strongest evidence to

date that long-term exposure to fine particulate air pollution common to many

metropolitan areas is an important risk factor for cardiopulmonary mortality, "

as well as lung cancer deaths, the authors said in this week's issue of the

Journal of the American Medical Association.

 

George Thurston, Sc.D., associate professor of environmental

medicine at NYU School of Medicine and study's co-leader, said, " This study

provides the most definitive epidemiological evidence to date that long-term

exposure to air pollution in the United States is associated with lung cancer

deaths. "

 

The study assessed the impact of particles smaller than 2.5 microns

(called fine particulate matter) in cities across the United States. It analyzed

data from some 500,000 adults who were followed from 1982 to 1998 as part of an

ongoing cancer study. The data, which included cause of death, were linked to

air pollution levels for cities nationwide using advanced statistical modeling

to control for individual risk factors, such as age, smoking status, body mass,

and diet, as well as for regional differences among the study populations.

 

The researchers calculated that the number of deaths from lung

cancer increases by 8% for every 10 micrograms of fine particulate matter per

cubic meter, according to the study. Larger particles and gaseous pollutants

were generally not as associated with higher number of deaths.

 

The health dangers of tiny particles of soot in the air have been

the focus of considerable controversy since 1997, when the Environmental

Protection Agency issued new regulations tightening its standards to cover

particles smaller than 2.5 microns (a human hair is 100 microns thick). Industry

fought the regulations, but the EPA prevailed and the agency is now considering

new rules for limiting the emission of the particles.

 

The EPA set annual average limits on fine particular matter to 15

micrograms per cubic meter in 1997. However, many cities presently exceed that

standard. According to the study, from 1979 to 1983, the annual average was 24

ug/m3 in New York City, 27 ug/m3 in Los Angeles, 23 ug/m3 in Chicago and 26

ug/m3 in Washington D.C. The levels have come down over the years, and in 1999

and 2000 the annual average was 16.ug/m3 in New York, 20 ug/m3 in Los Angeles,

18 ug/m3 in Chicago and 15 ug/m3 in Washington, D.C. Despite this improvement in

levels, the study shows that the prevailing levels of fine particulate matter

air pollution in the U.S. are still associated with significant risk of cancer

and cardio-pulmonary deaths.

 

The new study extends previous studies that linked chronic exposure

to the small particles to deaths from lung cancer and other causes, and

addresses many of the criticisms of the earlier studies. It substantially

extends the follow-up analysis of an earlier study by Dr. Pope and colleagues of

this same cohort, for example. It greatly expands exposure data to include

gaseous co-pollutant data on gaseous pollutants and the newest data on fine

particulate matter collected nationwide in 1999 and 2000. It also incorporates

extensive individual-level information on other cancer risk factors such as

occupation and diet, including total fat consumption and consumption of fruit

and vegetables.

 

The study's co-authors are: Richard Burnett, Ph.D., and Daniel

Krewski, Ph.D., of University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada; Michael Thun, M.D. and

Eugenia Calle, Ph.D., of American Cancer Society, Atlanta; and Kazuhiko Ito,

Ph.D., of New York University School of Medicine.

 

The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, the major

financial supporter of the study, is a part of the National Institutes of

Health.

 

# # # #

 

a.. Dr. Thurston may be reached through the NYU news office at

(212) 404-3555

b.. An interview with an NIEHS scientist on this work can be

arranged at (301) 402-3378

 

 

The URL for this press release is:

http://www.niehs.nih.gov/oc/news/lchlink.htm

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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