Lapollution kills and makes sick. Who could ignore it today? The annual number of deaths attributed to pollution in France is estimated between 40,000 and 67,000. That is more than 10 times the number of deaths by road accident. Pollution affects the most vulnerable subjects such as children, pregnant women, the elderly, and those who suffer from a chronic respiratory or cardiac pathology.
Pollution peaks are associated with more frequent respiratory infections. The association with Covid 19-related mortality was recently confirmed by a French team. The association with RSV (Respiratory Syncytial Virus) bronchiolitis has been established in children. It is probably the same with the flu. Sudden deaths are also more frequent during pollution peaks.
However, it is chronic pollution that has significant long-term health effects, particularly on chronic diseases such as asthma. The mechanisms linking pollution and lung cancer, an epidemiological reality known for several years, are beginning to be elucidated. The harmful effects of pollution and in particular of particles less than 2.5 microns in diameter (PM 2.5) are now well established.
The casualty figures are grossly underestimated
To protect populations, an objective often proclaimed by our elected officials, we must reduce pollution and this in a drastic and urgent way. A short-term lever is the reduction of pollution linked to the use of heat engines, particularly diesel, which are major sources of fine particles. Dust emitted by non-exhausted vehicles, in particular brake dust, must also be taken into account.
This presupposes a major effort by car manufacturers to meet the pollution standards enacted by Europe, standards which have been evolving since 1992. The latest Euro 6 version dates back almost 10 years and the implementation of a more drastic standard, the Euro 7 standard, was planned before the end of 2021.
We are coming to the end of 2022! How many deaths and illnesses have been caused by this delay, which is the result of financial issues that clearly take precedence over health issues? A recent modeling (1) suggests that the implementation of this Euro 7 standard on polluting emissions from vehicles could prevent 5,900 deaths in France between 2027 and 2050, i.e. around 260 deaths per year. And that’s not counting the suffering of thousands of patients.
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