The stakes for air quality
Based on in-depth studies, it has been established that air quality has an impact on human health. The World Health Organisation. (WHO), through its cancer research centre (CICR), categorised outdoor air pollution as a human carcinogen in 2013. Exposure to today’s pollution, particularly through fine particles, contributes to the development of diseases of the respiratory and cardiovascular systems. This phenomenon is particularly critical in certain urban areas, and can also lead to neurological disorders and cancer. Young people (children, adolescents and young adults) are the most vulnerable, and can be affected by developmental and reproductive disorders, among other things.
Poor air quality also particularly affects people suffering from chronic pathologies, which, according to Santé Publique France, currently cause 40,000 premature deaths in France. Although efforts and progress have been made in recent years, the health authorities are still very concerned about this issue.
What pollutants in the air threaten us?
Numerous particles and compounds of natural origin are suspended in the air, as are those resulting from human activity. Mineral particles can come from far-off horizons (e.g. particles from the Sahara transported by sandy winds) or from rural areas through agriculture and industrial sites.
In urban and suburban areas, the most critical emissions come from means of transport (vehicle engines, tyre wear and braking systems) and combustion residues (oil and wood heating, coal-fired power stations for electricity generation).
Fine particles are particularly harmful because of their ability to enter the body via the respiratory tract and penetrate the cardiovascular system via the alveoli in the lungs in the case of the smallest particles.
Secondary pollutants such as ozone result from general pollution through solar radiation and episodes of high heat (indirect effect of global warming); under the effect of winds, ozone pollution can be higher in rural areas than in the urban environment that generates the original pollution. Ozone causes respiratory and eye irritation.
Benzene is a highly toxic volatile, classified as a carcinogen, produced by the incomplete combustion of carbon-based products in road traffic and heating systems. It is also widely used in industry as a raw material in the manufacture of chemical substances (dyes, solvents, pharmaceutical products, etc.) and is therefore a risk not only in the industrial manufacturing phases but also in its use, particularly in the home in a closed environment.