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New Study Indicates Pollution Causes 189 Excess Deaths Per Year

Alan Berning
/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/14617207@N00/2621375759

A new report from the American Thoracic Society estimates 189 deaths occurred in Indiana because of air pollution annually from 2011 through 2013.

The report, conducted by researchers at the ATS and New York University’s Marron Institute, studied “excess mortality”—the number of pollution-related deaths that could have been avoided if the state adhered to ATS standards for ozone and particulate matter levels. The ATS standards are more stringent than the Environmental Protection Agency’s.

In addition to the 189 excess deaths, the study says Indiana also saw about 470 annual air pollution-related “health events,” such as emergency room visits, bronchitis infections and heart attacks.

The study cross-referenced geographically-specific health studies with ozone and particulate matter levels, comparing air-quality related health issues with with air quality data from the same metropolitan area.

Kevin Cromar, director of the air quality program at the Marron Institute and author of the report, says people don’t exactly die from air pollution, but it does make current health problems worse, or even fatal.

If you’re already susceptible to respiratory disease, you’re chances of getting admitted to the hospital are higher if you’re exposed to higher levels of pollution,” he says.

Indra Frank, Director of Environmental Health and Water Policy for the Hoosier Environmental Council, says even though people may associate air pollution with lung health, particulate matter can also cause problems with the cardiovascular and other systems, too,

“The very finest of air pollutants can make it deep into the lungs and be absorbed,” she says. “All the mechanisms haven’t been worked out yet, but after that absorption, you see an increase in the incidence of heart attacks and other cardiovascular events.”

Indianapolis saw the highest incidence of excess mortality, with86 excess deaths, even though it doesn’t have the poorest relative air quality in the state. Cromar says that’s because the city is so densely populated.

“You could have two locations with the same level of pollution,” he says, “But if the population is ten times higher, then you would expect ten times the number of adverse health impacts.”

Southeastern Indiana’s Clark County had some of the highest levels of air pollution for both ozone and particulate matter in the state. However, because there are fewer residents exposed, the total number of affected people was significantly smaller. 

Frank says Indiana hasn’t exactly been proactive when it comes to enacting air quality regulations.

“We have had a tendency in Indiana to do no more than is necessary under federal law,” she says, “so I think there’s room for improvement there.”

Last year, Indiana joined other states filing suit against the federal government, saying its new power plant emission standards overstepped the government’s boundaries.

According to the Indiana Department of Environmental Management, based on 2013 to 2015 data, all the state’s counties meet the federal government’s standard for ozone levels, and all are also showing a downward trend.

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