# Pollution is deadlier than car crashes in EU



## ERGO PROXY (Jul 21, 2007)

More than 100 million people in the region encompassing 53 countries also lack access to safe drinking water, a problem most acute in rural areas, the group which compiles data for the European Union said in a report.

Levels of air pollution reduce life expectancy by as much as two years in the most affected areas of Belgium, the Netherlands, northern Italy and parts of Poland and Hungary, the report said.


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## _00_deathscar (Mar 16, 2005)

Either the Europeans have a weak immunity to any sort of deviation from the normal, or if pollution was really as deadly as it is said to be, we'd be hearing of thousands of deaths in Hong Kong alone each day.


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## Xusein (Sep 27, 2005)

Source?


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## Slartibartfas (Aug 15, 2006)

Source would be nice indeed.


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## ERGO PROXY (Jul 21, 2007)

TenRot said:


> Source?


http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUSL1021191920071010?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews&rpc=22&sp=true

Reuters


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## Jaeger (May 11, 2006)

Wherever there is heavy industry, heavy congestion and mass population there will be pollution problems.

Europe is no worse than anywhere else, and China, India and the emerging industrial nations seem to have the largest growth in pollution,
if anything Europe and indeed the US are becoming cleaner as a result of more global manufacturing occurring in China and the Far East.


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## goschio (Dec 2, 2002)

http://english.sepa.gov.cn/zwxx/hjyw/200610/t20061020_94926.htm

Pollution Shortens Life Expectancy Worldwide
2006-10-20
By Tracee Herbaugh, Associated Press

NEW YORK -- More than 10 million people are at risk for lung infection, cancer and shortened life expectancy because they live in the 10 worst-polluted cities in the world, according to a report issued Wednesday.

The report published by the Blacksmith Institute, an international environmental research group, lists 10 cities in eight countries where pollution poses health risks and fosters poverty.

"Living in a town with serious pollution is like living under a death sentence," the report said. "If the damage does not come from immediate poisoning, then cancers, lung infections, mental retardation, are likely outcomes."

The worst-polluted places in the world, the report said, are in secluded areas far away from capitals or tourist areas.

These countries, which are mostly part of the developing world, generally have few or inadequate pollution controls, and the problem is compounded by the local governments' "lack of knowledge" and the inability of citizens to enforce justice.

Three Russian cities are among the most polluted - Dzherzhinsk, Norilsk and Rudnaya Pristan. The other cities are Linfen, China; Haina, Dominican Republic; Ranipet, India; Mayluu-Suu, Kyrgyzstan; La Oroya, Peru; Chernobyl, Ukraine; and Kabwe, Zambia.

According to the report the cities are reminders of an early industrial era, with most pollution stemming from relics such as unregulated lead and coal mines or unrefined nuclear weapons manufacturing plants.

In Chernobyl, the report estimates 5.5 million people are still threatened by radioactive material that continues to seep into groundwater and soil 20 years after the nuclear power plant exploded there.

Residents of Linfen, which is in the heart of China's coal-producing Shanxi province, suffer from bronchitis, pneumonia and lung cancer because of the poor air quality.

And according to the report, the 300,000 people in Dzherzhinsk, a chemical weapons manufacturing site during the Cold War era, have a life expectancy about "half that of the richest nations." The life expectancy for men in the city is about 42 years and about 47 for women.

Richard Fuller, director and founder of the Blacksmith Institute said the report was intended to shed light on the problem as well as the solutions.

"The good news is we have known technologies and proven strategies for eliminating a lot of this pollution," he said.

The report was compiled over seven years by a team of environmental and health experts, including faculty from Johns Hopkins University, Mount Sinai Medical Center and the City University of New York.

The top 10 list was compiled from more than 300 areas nominated by non-governmental agencies, local communities and international environmental authorities. The list of criteria included the size of the affected population, severity of the toxins involved and reliable evidence of health impacts.

Dave Hanrahan, Blacksmith Institute's chief of global operations, said some solutions to these problems could be as simple as reducing dust levels and removing contaminated soil.

"The most important thing is to achieve some practical progress in dealing with these polluted places," he said. "There is a lot of good work being done in understanding the problems and identifying possible approaches."

(ENN 2006-10-20)


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## Jonesy55 (Jul 30, 2004)

ERGO PROXY said:


> More than 100 million people in the region encompassing 53 countries also lack access to safe drinking water, a problem most acute in rural areas, the group which compiles data for the European Union said in a report.
> 
> Levels of air pollution reduce life expectancy by as much as two years in the most affected areas of Belgium, the Netherlands, northern Italy and parts of Poland and Hungary, the report said.


When did the EU expand to 53 countries?


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## RawLee (Jul 9, 2007)

Jonesy55 said:


> When did the EU expand to 53 countries?


100million in 53 countries...that includes the northwestern asian countries. So there might be 1 billion living in them,and then 100 million is not a big number!


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## Slartibartfas (Aug 15, 2006)

ERGO PROXY said:


> http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUSL1021191920071010?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews&rpc=22&sp=true
> 
> Reuters


This article is horribly vague in fact. I am not even sure which region this study covers at all. 

Moreover it would be nice to know what the criterias for "safe water" are. 

And last but not least, I would like to know which countries or regions are most effected by the lack of "safe water". 


All in all, I dont doubt however that pollution is a very important issue that needs to be tackled, not just in developing regions but as much in the developed ones.


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## ERGO PROXY (Jul 21, 2007)

Slartibartfas said:


> This article is horribly vague in fact.


You are right. *Reuters* cannot be trusted. :lol:


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## gladisimo (Dec 11, 2006)

Oh No! 100 mil ppl in the EU don't have access to safe drinking water!

And pollution takes a full TWO years off your life!

...

Meanwhile in Africa...South America...Asia...the Middle East... lol


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## DanielFigFoz (Mar 10, 2007)

This is hard to belive.


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## Jaeger (May 11, 2006)

If it's 53 Countries, it must include the whole of Europe, including Eastern Europe, parts of Russia (including Moscow) and Turkey, as well as Albania and lots of Eastern European Countries.There are over 850 million people in Europe.

My main problem with the article is picking out places like Northern Italy, which is extremely beautiful and has the Italian Lakes and the Alps close by - I have never noticed much pollution in Northern Italy or Switzerland.

There may be some pollution around Rotterdam, but thats the price you have to pay for being one of the biggest and most important ports in the world, and the air in the Netherlands and Belgium has always generally seemed quite healthy to me.


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## ♣628.finst (Jul 29, 2005)

Jaeger said:


> My main problem with the article is picking out places like Northern Italy, which is extremely beautiful and has the Italian Lakes and the Alps close by - I have never noticed much pollution in Northern Italy or Switzerland.


In Alpine Switzerland and Northern Italy, the air and water quality is generally good. However, around major cities on the foothills, it is very different. In Switzerland, there is an industrial belt through From Bern to Zuerich, which could be somewhat polluted from light industries. In Italian side, it is extremely polluted by both light and heavy industries. Milano, Bergamo, Brescia, Torino, Padova, Vicenza, Como, Trento, Bologna, Varese, Bellinzona, Locarno are major industrial cities in the region.


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## Slartibartfas (Aug 15, 2006)

Gherkin said:


> In Alpine Switzerland and Northern Italy, the air and water quality is generally good. However, around major cities on the foothills, it is very different. In Switzerland, there is an industrial belt through From Bern to Zuerich, which could be somewhat polluted from light industries. In Italian side, it is extremely polluted by both light and heavy industries. Milano, Bergamo, Brescia, Torino, Padova, Vicenza, Como, Trento, Bologna, Varese, Bellinzona, Locarno are major industrial cities in the region.




I dont really get it. Especially Switzerland? How could they have bad water. 
I mean Austria is also industrialized and has its fair share of heavy industry as well. Still I am not aware of any such stories. Actually the city of Vienna with most of the industry around has tap water other regions would sell bottled...

All alpine regions should have no problem regarding clear water access, if they have they would only need to invest into a solid water infrastructure. And thats what confuses me when I think of Switzerland, as this country in general has a superb infrastructure.


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## Slartibartfas (Aug 15, 2006)

ERGO PROXY said:


> You are right. *Reuters* cannot be trusted. :lol:


Straw man.

Thats not the meaning of "vague". 
If you think its not vague, than please tell me which regions this study the whole article is about covers. And where within that region are the most severe problems...

I dont put anything in that article in question. I say I would like to get articles that are able to give me the key informations in an article that isn't that short after all.


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## ♣628.finst (Jul 29, 2005)

Slartibartfas said:


> All alpine regions should have no problem regarding clear water access, if they have they would only need to invest into a solid water infrastructure. And thats what confuses me when I think of Switzerland, as this country in general has a superb infrastructure.


In the alpine regions--- it is clean to moderate.

In the piedmont (Both in Italy and Switzerland)--- it could be very polluted. The superb infrastructure only allows the access of safe drinking water, but it does not mean that the water quality on the rivers are clean. The industrial belt in Northern half of Po Valley is very polluted, but the access of safe drinking water is well above the average of EU.


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## ChrisZwolle (May 7, 2006)

_00_deathscar said:


> Either the Europeans have a weak immunity to any sort of deviation from the normal, or if pollution was really as deadly as it is said to be, we'd be hearing of thousands of deaths in Hong Kong alone each day.


I think it could be true. We are so clean in the Netherlands, people get sick drinking water in southern France or Spain. We are used to nothing.


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## cernoch (Aug 7, 2007)

Do not be disordered! I´ve seen a geography exercise book where was written that the most polluted county in Europe is the Czech Republic. However, I cannot complain about life here (till now at least).


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