Pollution is responsible for the deaths of about 9 million people annually

Pollution was responsible for the premature death of nine million people in 2019, according to a study published today by the Lancet Review, a report that did not improve, mainly due to poor air quality and contamination by chemicals, especially lead.

Four years after the first study of the species, the situation remained virtually unchanged: about one in six premature deaths worldwide is due to pollution, according to the Lancet Commission on Pollution and Health.

Pollution and anthropogenic waste that pollute the air, water and land rarely kill directly, but are behind many serious diseases – heart disease, cancer, respiratory problems, acute diarrhea …

“The health implications remain enormous and low- and middle-income countries are bearing the brunt,” said Richard Fuller, co-author and co-director of the commission.

They account for 92% of deaths and most of the financial losses due to the problem.

“Attention and funding have increased slightly since 2015, despite the documented increase in public concerns about pollution and its effects on health,” he said.

Although premature deaths attributed to extreme poverty-related infections have decreased, those attributed to air pollution and chemical contamination have increased.

“The impact of pollution on health remains far greater than that of war, terrorism, malaria, HIV, tuberculosis, drugs and alcohol,” and “the number of deaths due to pollution rivals that due to smoking,” he said. .

In 2019, air pollution was attributed to 6.7 million deaths, to water pollution 1.4 million, to lead pollution 900,000.

“The fact that the lead situation has worsened, especially in the poorest countries, that the death toll has risen is appalling,” Fuller told AFP.

Exposure to toxic substances can also delay the mental development of children.

Although mortality due to household pollution (related to fuel combustion, water or sanitation problems) has declined, especially in Africa, the most “modern” forms of infection are killing more than 20 years ago. In 2000, premature deaths due to air pollution amounted to 2.9 million, in 2019 it is estimated that they reached 4.5 million.

Microparticles and ozone in the air, exposure to lead and carcinogens in the workplace, chemical pollution in the environment are gaining ground, primarily in Asia.

“If we can not grow in a clean and ecological way, then we are doing something terribly wrong,” Fuller said.

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