According to a new report, air pollutants moving across the globe from one continent to another are capable of significantly lowering air quality in the countries they end up in.  While locally-generated emissions make up the majority of air pollutants, the impact that foreign air pollution has is capable of growing in line with increased emissions, the report – put together by the National Research Council – explained.

“Air pollution does not recognise national borders - the atmosphere connects distant regions of our planet”, the council’s chairman Charles Kolb stated.  “Emissions within any one country can affect human and ecosystem health in countries far downwind.  While it is difficult to quantify these influences, in some cases the impacts are significant from regulatory and public health perspectives.”

The council’s report assessed four different air pollutants, namely so-called persistent organic pollutants, particulate matter, sulphates and ozone.  What was discovered during the research involved in the report was that all four were capable of travelling across vast distances.  And, while there were complications involved in determining what, of a given slice of air pollution, was local in origin and what had come from further afield, in some instances, the pollutant’s place of origin could be determined, along with the length of time it had taken to make the journey.  To take an example, one type of pollution was found to have travelled between the US and Asia over a period of around eight days.

Air Pollution Health Effects

Air pollution health effects depend on the specific type of air pollution more than anything.  Both particulate matter and ozone have been linked to respiratory conditions when inhaled directly.  Bearing in mind that little of either travel internationally in comparison to the levels already present from local emission sources, neither one can  been linked to a minimum damage level.  In other words, nobody really knows how little needs to be inhaled to have a negative health effect so, therefore, even small levels of floating inbound particulate matter/ozone could be potentially harmful, according to the report.

As far as persistent organic pollutants and sulphates are concerned, the primary risk to health comes from the way they build as a result of being transported, the report said.  The more there are, the more they can potentially enter the human food chain. 

Future years are predicted to see increased levels of emissions in some parts of Asia.  The impact of these on the rest of the world could be reduced through implementing stricter emission regulation tactics and through nations working together to combat the threat, the report stressed.