Stricter Air Quality Standards Implementation Could Save Lives, Lessen Sick Days

A report released on Wednesday claimed that there could be at least 9,320 lesser deaths and 19 million lesser sick days should the American Thoracic Society's (ATS) standards for air quality is implemented.

According to Fox News, a group of scientists from New York University and the Marron Institute of Urban Management debated in a new paper that improving air quality standards to a higher, stricter level than those issued by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) could significantly improve the nation's quality of health.

The American Thoracic Society had released recommended air quality standards so they decided to look at what would have been the effect if it had been implemented. The organization found that there would have been fewer deaths, major health crises, and fewer sick days in a year.

Medical Daily reported that the ATS' "Health of the Air" report ranked 30 U.S. cities with the most potential health benefits to have from following ATS standards. It was calculated that California accounted for 37 percent of the extra deaths and other health problem. In Los Angeles alone, meeting ATS standards would avoid 1,341 deaths and nearly 3 million sick days. ATS, along with other researchers analyzed nationwide air quality data from 2011 to 2013, particularly focusing on ozone and fine-particulate matter smaller than 2.5 micrometers in diameter, which are known as the two major sources of pollution.

Researchers estimated that if each country maintained their ozone levels below the EPA standard, there would have been 2,650 fewer deaths and 7.5 million fewer sick days, a dramatic decrease from the 6,410 fewer deaths and 17 million fewer sick days observed with the ATS standard. Of course, it is understandable that when talking about air pollution, it would always do humans good having less of it around.

The authors of the study said that because the report only measured two of the six major sources of pollution identified by the EPA, there is a big chance that the savings human's well-being is higher. Other research concludes that air pollution contribute to as many as 200,000 early deaths every year in the U.S. and 7 million worldwide. 

"As an organization of health care providers and researchers, we know firsthand the toll air pollution takes on people's health, particularly the young and elderly," said Dr. David Gozal, ATS President and Herbert T. Abelson, professor of pediatrics at the University of Chicago. "This report begins to quantify that toll and provides information that, we believe, should inform the setting of national air pollution standards."