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The first person in the UK to have air pollution listed as a cause of death

bbc.com

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Re: The first person in the UK to have air pollution listed as a cause of death

#131

Post by btilly »

lmilcin wrote: post #93
satysin wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I live in [redacted], [redacted] and we often have high air pollution warnings and you really can feel it in the air. During lockdown, back in April and May, there was a noticeable difference in the air quality. It felt different. When we went out for a walk you could also tell the difference in noise pollution from there being so few cars on the roads. It was lovely. There is a church nearby that we can sometimes he…

Only minority of cars are responsible for majority of pollution. A single badly maintained diesel car produces as much pollution as thousands of legal new cars. Same goes for trucks -- the low in air pollution you felt was likely not due to less cars but less trucks (and possibly busses, depending on where in Europe you live)

I don't know why this correct comment got downvoted.

A car without a catalytic converter generates as much toxic pollution as 100 new cars with catalytic converters. A car whose catalytic converter has broken and which has engine trouble produces even more. And diesel produces more than gas. (Though new vehicles of both types are about equal.)

Thus a single badly maintained diesel car can produce as much pollution as thousands of legal new cars. Smog truly is a situation where a tiny majority of vehicles produce the vast majority of the problem.

Re: The first person in the UK to have air pollution listed as a cause of death

#132

Post by kingsloi »

h0l0cube wrote: post #127
kingsloi wrote: post #91

Shameless plug, I've been working on a community air quality monitor for my little community https://millerbeach.community I live a few miles from steel mills, oil refineries, who take advantage of Lake Michigan, constantly polluting both air and water, occasionally dumping/"releasing" more toxic chemicals than permitted and don't raise the alarm for a few days: https://www.in.gov/idem/cleanwater/2576.htm , killing t…

> I've been working on a community air quality monitor for my little community Some people lament how little impact they can have on government policy on these problems, so I'm heartened to see such initiatives from the bottom up. Imagine if even .1% of the global population were monitoring air quality? Such data could have real value to lawyers, journalists, policy makers, city planners, etc.

I agree! I always liked the phrase "be the change you want to see" or whatever, every little helps in my opinion. If bringing awareness to a few strangers on the internet about the air pollution in my poor city helps, then I'll take it.

FYI, there are quite a few sensors throughout the world, maybe consider hosting your own: https://www.purpleair.com/map

Re: The first person in the UK to have air pollution listed as a cause of death

#133

Post by TheAceOfHearts »

I'm regularly shocked by the air quality outside of my apartment ever since I bought a few high quality air filters. As soon as I step outside I can easily smell the difference in air quality, even when websites report that the air quality should be fine.

I've been taking sulforaphane supplements to help protect myself from air pollution as well. Here's a reference [0] to support the claim that sulforaphane helps protect against air pollution:

> Sulforaphane optimizes glutathione, serving as a nutritional "seatbelt"

> But consumption of this non-nutrient appears to be important – even essential – for optimal health. Sulforaphane promotes the production of glutathione, a powerful antioxidant that facilitates the body's excretion of a wide range of toxic substances, including pesticides, aflatoxin, and air pollutants. Glutathione binds with many of these toxins and forms mercapturic acids, which can be excreted and measured in urine.

> Robust clinical evidence has demonstrated that sulforaphane is beneficial for people who live in areas where air quality is poor due to pollution levels. An intervention study in Qidong, China, an area known for its high levels of air pollution, found that sulforaphane markedly increased the production of mercapturic acid metabolites of benzene and acrolein, known carcinogens present in air pollution. These effects manifested within 24 hours of sulforaphane administration in a dose-dependent manner.

> More importantly, however, these effects were sustained – even after several months – demonstrating that sulforaphane did not exhaust the body's capacity to protect itself from environmental threats and suggesting that regular consumption of sulforaphane in foods or dietary supplements provides a kind of nutritional "seatbelt" that protects against future toxic exposures. These findings have relevance for people living in the western part of the United States, where forest fires, which are sources of many airborne pollutants, are common.

[0] https://www.foundmyfitness.com/episodes/jed-fahey-q-a

Re: The first person in the UK to have air pollution listed as a cause of death

#134

Post by wongarsu »

dotancohen wrote: post #120
AdrianB1 wrote: post #99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What I observed in my area is that people are not loving cars more than their health, but they cannot make a difference at a personal level, many don't want to change anything and then people who care stop believing anything can be done and give up. Air pollution is not a fire you can extinguish in 15 minute and move on, it is mass phenomenon with millions of tiny participants, it is the death of the thousand cuts an…

If only we had some form of organization which represented the interest of the People, with the authority to decree and enforce statute.

Maybe something where everyone can choose a person with similar values as themselves, and the person that's chosen by the most people will deal with all the details and day-to-day stuff. And it would be good if we had such a thing both for nationwide problems and for local issues, so we can solve problems both locally and on a larger scale.

Re: The first person in the UK to have air pollution listed as a cause of death

#135

Post by dwd »

pietrovismara wrote: post #25

This pandemic gave me so much to think about air pollution. It puzzles me how we can have, just in Europe, around 800k yearly premature deaths caused by pollution[0] and still not care at all. On the other hand, covid-19 hasn't caused yet as many deaths but we quickly intervened, as it should be. Why can't we, as a society, react with the same effectiveness to air pollution? - [0]: https://academic.oup.com/eurheartj/…

One of the surprising things from working at home, was how noticeable the pollution was when venturing back into the city for in-office days. Just one poorly maintained diesel 4x4 or an older bus and you can taste the particulates/VOCs in the air.

On the other hand the neighbour's lawnmower would often send clouds of burnt oil through the yard requiring a frantic closing of all windows.

Re: The first person in the UK to have air pollution listed as a cause of death

#136

Post by lmilcin »

btilly wrote: post #131
lmilcin wrote: post #93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Only minority of cars are responsible for majority of pollution. A single badly maintained diesel car produces as much pollution as thousands of legal new cars. Same goes for trucks -- the low in air pollution you felt was likely not due to less cars but less trucks (and possibly busses, depending on where in Europe you live)

I don't know why this correct comment got downvoted. A car without a catalytic converter generates as much toxic pollution as 100 new cars with catalytic converters. A car whose catalytic converter has broken and which has engine trouble produces even more. And diesel produces more than gas. (Though new vehicles of both types are about equal.) Thus a single badly maintained diesel car can produce as much pollution as…

I got used to downvotes. There is no rhyme and reason on HN or anywhere else for that matter. Sometimes I think people just downvote to avoid facing the reality.

I understand it is not politically correct to say most cars are not the problem (or at least not the most of it).

In ideal world we would not be driving petrol guzzlers but instead have cars that run on electricity from our own home solar panels.

But the reality is that a well maintained car emits thousands times less harmful stuff than cars from couple decades ago. The new norms that automakers are facing are really crazy restrictive and sometimes hit the very limits of physics and thermodynamics.

The problem is when people get around these rules, drive unmaintained cars, drive cars that are way larger and more powerful than is needed or cheat by removing converters and installing them only for inspection.

Especially the last one. Here in Poland this is practically the norm and people treat this as part of life and feel proud they "saved". Then they complain we have bad air.

Re: The first person in the UK to have air pollution listed as a cause of death

#137

Post by h0l0cube »

kingsloi wrote: post #132
h0l0cube wrote: post #127

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I've been working on a community air quality monitor for my little community Some people lament how little impact they can have on government policy on these problems, so I'm heartened to see such initiatives from the bottom up. Imagine if even .1% of the global population were monitoring air quality? Such data could have real value to lawyers, journalists, policy makers, city planners, etc.

I agree! I always liked the phrase "be the change you want to see" or whatever, every little helps in my opinion. If bringing awareness to a few strangers on the internet about the air pollution in my poor city helps, then I'll take it. FYI, there are quite a few sensors throughout the world, maybe consider hosting your own: https://www.purpleair.com/map

Thanks for the link! I forgot this was a thing. I remember seeing this map on HN when the California wildfires were at their peak.

There's 4 active people using this in the city I'm in - between a million people. I really wish the device was cheap and reliable enough you could just pick it up at your local electronics store for 50 bucks. Having one with an onboard e-ink display seems very Kickstart-able. Or hopefully air quality measurement on smart watches will become a thing in the not too distant future.

Re: The first person in the UK to have air pollution listed as a cause of death

#138

Post by sjg007 »

pmiller2 wrote: post #35
qlm wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sorry for nitpicking on a serious comment, but wouldn't using the royal we here mean that you personally are going to hold polluters and companies liable?

That would imply they had actual power to do so. One average individual isn't going to be able to do anything to those who are polluting our air. Case in point: the US government is one of the top 10 greenhouse gas polluters in the world. You really think one individual without billions of dollars backing them can do anything against the US government?

Yep. I do believe one person can make a difference.

Re: The first person in the UK to have air pollution listed as a cause of death

#139

Post by qmmmur »

kingsloi wrote: post #91

Shameless plug, I've been working on a community air quality monitor for my little community https://millerbeach.community I live a few miles from steel mills, oil refineries, who take advantage of Lake Michigan, constantly polluting both air and water, occasionally dumping/"releasing" more toxic chemicals than permitted and don't raise the alarm for a few days: https://www.in.gov/idem/cleanwater/2576.htm , killing t…

Is your tech stack complicated for this? Id love to set this up with a raspberry pi out the window and broadcast the data like a local website..

Re: The first person in the UK to have air pollution listed as a cause of death

#140

Post by sjg007 »

goodpoint wrote: post #22
stuaxo wrote: post #6

I hope this will lead to changes in roads in London and other places. The closest school to me in London is next to a busy road with twice the legal level of no2, you can see all the buildings along that road are noticeably blacker from exhaust smoke. While electric cars may help a bit, rubber from breaking and tyres is an issue, and cares have been getting much bigger over the last 5 years.

Electric cars still have a significant environmental impact due to the space they take in a city, the production and recycling of the cars, and road maintenance. The efficiency of combined use of trains, electric buses and bicycles dwarfs electric cars. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_efficiency_in_transport

There's no way you will get rid of cars. Maybe it is easier to contain the externalities of electric cars than others.
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