The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has followed up its June 2012 announcement that re-classified certain diesel emissions, with a new report that now cites outdoor air pollution as carcinogenic to humans in the same Group 1 category as diesel particulate matter.
The IARC says that after thoroughly reviewing the latest available scientific literature, the world’s leading experts convened by the IARC monographs programme concluded that there was sufficient evidence that exposure to outdoor air pollution causes lung cancer (Group 1).
The IARC’s evaluation showed growing risks of lung cancer as exposure to particulate matter and air pollution increased. The new report says: “Although the composition of air pollution and levels of exposure can vary dramatically between locations, the conclusions of the working group apply to all regions of the world.”
Listed as the predominant sources of outdoor air pollution were transportation, stationary power generation, industrial and agricultural emissions, and residential heating and cooking.
Air pollution is already known to increase risks for a wide range of diseases, such as respiratory and heart disease. Diesel emits fine particulate matter (PM), usually composed of carbon and trace toxic substances, which are fine enough to penetrate deep into the lungs, where it can cause a range of symptoms that can in extreme circumstances lead to premature death.
The latest IARC report comes hard on the heels of this week’s refusal by German and UK car manufacturers to adopt a new EU directive that would see reduced passenger car emissions.
This is likely to place the heavy transport and light vehicle industry under increased regulatory scrutiny in Europe and globally, with states acquiring more empirical knowledge of the increasing problems of environmental pollution as a both public health and a cost issue.
Says Dr Dana Loomis, deputy head of the Monographs Section: “The task was to evaluate the air everyone breathes rather than focus on specific air pollutants. The results from the reviewed studies point in the same direction: the risk of developing lung cancer is significantly increased in people exposed to air pollution.”
IARC Monographs evaluations are based on independent review of over 1000 scientific papers from studies across five continents. The studies analyse the carcinogenicity of various pollutants present in outdoor air pollution, especially particulate matter and transportation-related pollution.
The IARC is a specialised division of the World Health Organization (WHO).
