Fresh air polluted by exhaust fumes and industrial emissions causes lung cancer, a team of World Health Organisation experts has officially declared. Outdoor air pollution was officially classified as carcinogenic to humans by the cancer arm of the WHO after a review of the latest scientific evidence from around the world. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) also highlighted an apparent link between air pollution and an increased risk of bladder cancer, although the findings were less conclusive. Levels of pollution vary widely between urban and rural areas, but the working group said their findings applied to all regions of the world, and sent a “strong signal” to governments to tackle the problem immediately. Dr Kurt Straif, head of the IARC Monographs Section which identifies environmental causes of cancer, said: “The air we breathe has become polluted with a mixture of cancer-causing substances. “We now know that outdoor air pollution is not only a major risk to health in general, but also a leading environmental cause of cancer deaths.” The latest available data suggest that in 2010, air pollution was responsible for the deaths of 223,000 lung cancer patients around the world. Scientists from the IARC studied more than 1,000 academic papers on polluted air and, separately, small particles found in polluted air. They found that the risk of developing lung cancer rises in tandem with increasing levels of either, concluding for the first time that outdoor air pollution is a cause of cancer. Prof David Phillips of King’s College London, a member of the working group, said there was no particular threshold at which pollution becomes dangerous. “The higher the pollution, the greater the cancer risk,” he explained. “It does not suddenly kick in at a particular level.” The programme had previously classed a variety of individual chemicals and mixtures found in polluted air as carcinogens, such as diesel engine exhaust, solvents, metals, and dusts. Dr Dana Loomis, deputy head of the IARC monographs section, explained: “Our 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.” Although the findings do not come as a surprise, they are likely to significantly increase the pressure on governments around the world to tackle pollution, which has risen rapidly around the world during industrialisation and was already known to raise the risk of conditions like heart and respiratory diseases. Traffic, power stations, industrial and agricultural emissions, and cooking and heating in the home are the main causes of air pollution. Dr Christopher Wild, director of the IARC, said: “Classifying outdoor air pollution as carcinogenic to humans is an important step. There are effective ways to reduce air pollution and, given the scale of the exposure affecting people worldwide, this report should send a strong signal to the international community to take action without further delay.” |
據(jù)英國(guó)《每日電訊報(bào)》報(bào)道,世界衛(wèi)生組織的專家們正式宣布,被汽車尾氣和工業(yè)廢氣污染的空氣會(huì)導(dǎo)致肺癌。 世界衛(wèi)生組織回顧了來(lái)自世界各地的最新證據(jù)后,正式將戶外空氣污染定為致癌物質(zhì)。 國(guó)際癌癥研究機(jī)構(gòu)也強(qiáng)調(diào)了空氣污染和膀胱癌發(fā)病率增加的明顯關(guān)聯(lián),雖然還未被確定。 都市和鄉(xiāng)村的污染程度有很大的不同,但是研究組人員稱他們的結(jié)果是來(lái)自全球所有區(qū)域的,并且極力要求各個(gè)政府盡快解決這個(gè)問(wèn)題。 庫(kù)爾特?斯特萊夫博士是國(guó)際癌癥研究機(jī)構(gòu)專論部的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)者,這個(gè)部門專門識(shí)別導(dǎo)致癌癥的環(huán)境因素。他說(shuō):“我們呼吸的空氣已被一種混合的致癌物質(zhì)所污染。” “現(xiàn)在我們知道戶外空氣污染不但是對(duì)健康不利的主要因素,而且是癌癥死亡的主要環(huán)境因素?!?/p> 最新的數(shù)據(jù)表明,在2010年,空氣污染造成全世界22.3萬(wàn)人死于肺癌。 國(guó)際癌癥研究機(jī)構(gòu)的科學(xué)家們研究了1000多份空氣污染的學(xué)術(shù)報(bào)告,分別在被污染的空氣中找到了小顆粒物。 他們發(fā)現(xiàn)患肺癌的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)與空氣污染的增加是有關(guān)的,首次證明戶外空氣污染是癌癥的誘因。 倫敦國(guó)王學(xué)院的戴維?菲利普斯教授是工作組的成員之一。他說(shuō)沒(méi)有特定的臨界值可以判定污染到達(dá)什么水平才算危險(xiǎn)。“污染指數(shù)越高,患癌癥的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)越大,”他解釋說(shuō)?!八粫?huì)突然達(dá)到一個(gè)特定的水平。” 該計(jì)劃曾將一些單獨(dú)的化學(xué)物質(zhì)和受污染空氣中的混合物歸類于致癌物質(zhì),如柴油機(jī)排氣,溶劑,金屬和灰塵。 國(guó)際癌癥研究機(jī)構(gòu)專論部副主任達(dá)納?盧米斯博士解釋說(shuō):“我們的任務(wù)是評(píng)估每個(gè)人呼吸的空氣而不是關(guān)注特定的空氣污染物?!?/p> “從相同方向研究的結(jié)果表明:患肺癌的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)對(duì)于暴露于空氣污染中的人們來(lái)說(shuō)正顯著增加?!?/p> 雖然研究結(jié)果并不讓人感到驚訝,但他們可能會(huì)對(duì)世界各國(guó)政府在解決污染的問(wèn)題上施加壓力。這些污染在全球工業(yè)化期間迅速飆升,人們也已知它們會(huì)提高患心臟病和呼吸疾病的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)。 交通、電力站、工業(yè)和農(nóng)業(yè)的排污,家庭做飯和供暖是空氣污染的主要原因。 克里斯托弗?懷爾德博士是IARC的主任,他說(shuō):“將室外空氣污染歸類為致癌物對(duì)人類來(lái)說(shuō)是一個(gè)重要的步驟。我們有許多有效的方法來(lái)減少空氣污染??紤]到空氣污染范圍影響著全球人民,這個(gè)報(bào)告應(yīng)該向國(guó)際社會(huì)發(fā)出強(qiáng)烈信號(hào),讓他們立即采取行動(dòng)?!?/p> 相關(guān)閱讀 呼吸霧霾會(huì)加快動(dòng)脈硬化引發(fā)中風(fēng) (譯者 鐘鳳鳳 編輯 丹妮) |