US Among Top 10 Countries For Pollution-Related Death, Study Shows
Source: The Guardian
US ranks seventh for overall deaths and is the ‘wealthiest’ nation to feature in top 10 with 197,000 lives lost in 2017. The United States is among the top 10 deadliest countries for pollution-related fatalities, according to a landmark new global study, which warns that understanding the magnitude of the pollution crisis is being obstructed by “vested interests and overtaxed political infrastructures”.
Toxic air, water, land and workplaces killed at least 8.3 million people around the world in 2017, accounting for 15% of all premature deaths. Globally, the actual death and disability burden is almost certainly much higher as a multitude of omnipresent toxins – including pharmaceutical waste, plastics, most lead sources, mercury, and hormone disrupting chemicals – are not yet included in the health data analysed in the new report from the Global Alliance on Health and Pollution.
The Pollution and Health Metrics Report updates findings from a seminal Lancet Commission study that found 9 million pollution-related premature deaths in 2015. The biggest burden of deaths falls on low and middle income countries, with India and China responsible for 4.3 million of all pollution-related premature deaths.
But, the US ranks seventh for overall deaths, sandwiched between Bangladesh and Russia, and is the “wealthiest” nation to feature in the top 10 with almost 197,000 American lives lost in 2017. The top 10, which also includes Brazil, Indonesia and Nigeria, account for two thirds of the global pollution death toll. -More...
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/dec/18/us-top-10-countries-pollution-related-deaths-study
Globally, pollution kills three times as many people each year as HIV/Aids, tuberculosis, and malaria combined. It is responsible for 15 times the number of deaths caused by war and other forms of violence.
Air pollution stands out as the biggest cause of death and disability linked to cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, stroke, and certain cancers.
Toxic ambient air, largely caused by vehicles and heavy industry, is responsible for 3.4 million or 40% of pollution related deaths worldwide.
Air pollution in Los Angeles, California. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pollution_in_California
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