Written by BERNICE TRICK
Citizen staff
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Wednesday, 13 August 2008 |
Northern Health's medical health officer for the Interior doesn't quite agree with a prediction that there will be 21,000 Canadian deaths this year, and a total death toll of 800,000 by 2031 due to air pollution.
"Their numbers seem pretty high, in my opinion," Dr. William Osei said in regards to a Canadian Medical Association study released Wednesday.
"Our numbers are pretty low here, about half of what that study reported," he said, referring to a report on Feb. 5 that shows that from about 500 deaths annually in Prince George, only 33 are attributed to bad air quality.
"But I have to say that I don't know yet what methodology (the CMA) used to come up with the numbers. I need to have a good look at their calculation methods to determine how they calculated it exactly before I can fully comment on it.
"It looks like they are looking at premature deaths -- that is anybody who died younger than the average life span of 78 years, while we were calculating deaths at any age due to poor air quality."
CMA president Dr. Brian Day said the majority of deaths predicted will be among people aged 65 and older and will increase as the older population increases with baby boomers beginning to hit 65 years in the next few years.
The study predicts the death toll will increase by 80 per cent to 39,000 deaths annually by 2031-- the majority from heart and lung conditions caused by long-term exposure to dirty air while deaths from short-term exposure will hike to 4,900 people annually by 2013 from the 2,700 predicted this year.
Day added the estimates are conservative since the study assumes air pollution will not increase above today's levels.
Since researchers now have the tools to distinguish air pollution deaths from other causes, like smoking, it has been determined that long-exposure to air pollution damages muscle cells in arteries of the heart, causing them to harden, and short-exposure to smog thickens blood which can clog arteries and cause heart attacks and strokes.
Osei said although air quality in Prince George has improved a lot during the past decade, the long-term effects are what is being watched on a local level.
"Daily air quality is important, but long-term effects are what affects all of us. Those with no heart or lung disease can just go about their business as usual. Those with heart or lung disease should always consider that air quality can affect them, and take the right steps by staying indoors when there is a poor air quality advisory," Osei said.
The CMA study comes less than two weeks after a major Health Canada report warned of an increase in health problems across the nation as the planet's climate changes. That 500-page report said higher levels of ground-level ozone and increased production of pollen and spores will heighten asthma symptoms and allergies, and that poor air quality will lead to more heart attacks, strokes and other cardiovascular disease.
The federal government has pledged to lower greenhouse gas emissions 20 per cent by 2020, and the plan also calls for reducing industrial air pollutants 50 per cent by 2015.
See page 6
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 13 August 2008 )
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