Swiss researchers say traffic pollution kills thousands across Europe
More than 40,000 people are dying every year in Switzerland, Austria and France as a result of air pollution, with traffic fumes to blame for half the deaths, according to researchers at Basel University.
The study – published in the British medical journal, “The Lancet” – found that up to six per cent of all deaths in the three countries were pollution-related. It was conducted by Dr Nino Kunzli of Basel University’s Institute for Social and Preventive Medicine.
Kunzli’s team also found that traffic fumes were to blame for 25,000 new cases of chronic bronchitis and 500,000 asthma attacks every year. The researchers calculated that the resulting health costs in the three countries amounted to 1.7 per cent of gross domestic product.
“Traffic-related air pollution remains a key target for public-health action in Europe,” Kunzli said. “Although individual health risks of air pollution are relatively small, the public-health consequences are considerable.”
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