Hello! The past two blog posts, I addressed the issue of air pollution from the use of illegal refrigerants such as CFC and indoor air pollution. Today, I wanted to talk about how air pollution could possibly affect the risk of people getting COVD-19 and dying from the virus. The British Broadcast Network (BBC) posted an article addressing the issue of how pollutants in the air, such as PM2.5, could have contributed in the outbreak of COVID-19 cases in New York City. Before we continue, let me briefly mention what PM2.5 is.
Particulate Size Comparison
According to the New York State Department of Health website, PM2.5 are ‘tiny particles or droplets in the air that are two- and one-half microns or less in width’. These particles are reduce air quality, visibility and this can be found in haze. They come from various sources such as burning of wood, car exhausts etc (Fine Particles (PM 2.5) Questions and Answers, 2018). They cause irritation to areas such as the eyes and nose to more serious problems such as chronic bronchitis or other respiratory illnesses. Furthermore, a 10-μg/m3 increase corresponds to a 2.24% increase in COVID-19 cases (Zhu, Xie, Huang and Cao, 2020)and 15% increase in COVID-19 (Gerretsen, 2020). In New York City, it was found that the PM2.5 levels in certain areas was higher than both the city’s and World Health Organization’s threshold (12 µg/m3 and 10 µg/m3 respectively) (Gerretsen, 2020).
Besides the obvious reason of the need to cut down the production of PM2.5, what is another reason to know this information? This information is needed for world leaders to be able to locate areas in their countries that have higher exposure to such air pollutants so as to more effectively allocate resources as they may be more prone to contracting COVID-19. These areas are usually lower socio-economic status communities, which further sheds light on the inequality caused by socio-economic status (Failey, 2016). Therefore, the relationship between air pollutants and the virus brings attention to various issues that global leaders need to address.
References:
Failey, T., 2016. Poor Communities Exposed To Elevated Air Pollution Levels. [online] Global Environmental Health Newsletter. Available at: <https://www.niehs.nih.gov/research/programs/geh/geh_newsletter/2016/4/spotlight/poor_communities_exposed_to_elevated_air_pollution_levels.cfm#:~:text=Socioeconomic%20Disparities%20and%20Air%20Pollution,pollution%2C%20compared%20to%20richer%20communities.> [Accessed 6 September 2020].
Gerretsen, I., 2020. How air pollution exacerbates Covid-19. BBC, [online] Available at: <https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200427-how-air-pollution-exacerbates-covid-19> [Accessed 6 September 2020].
Health.ny.gov. 2018. Fine Particles (PM 2.5) Questions And Answers. [online] Available at: <https://www.health.ny.gov/environmental/indoors/air/pmq_a.htm> [Accessed 6 September 2020].
Zhu, Y., Xie, J., Huang, F. and Cao, L., 2020. Association between short-term exposure to air pollution and COVID-19 infection: Evidence from China. The Science of the Total Environment, [online] 727. Available at: <https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S004896972032221X?via%3Dihub> [Accessed 6 September 2020].
In-text Image:
California Air Resources Board, 2020. Particulate Size Comparison. [image] Available at: <https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fww2.arb.ca.gov%2Fresources%2Finhalable-particulate-matter-and-health&psig=AOvVaw2GQsKItIgEdWbh_kZj-ZGS&ust=1599480589412000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=2ahUKEwiFlpDUv9TrAhVrKrcAHS3YAxgQjRx6BAgAEAc> [Accessed 6 September 2020].
Featured photo:
The Guardian, 2020. Our Face Mask Future: Do They Really Help Beat Flu, Coronavirus And Pollution?. [image] Available at: <https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jan/31/our-face-mask-future-do-they-really-help-beat-flu-coronavirus-and-pollution> [Accessed 6 September 2020].