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In 2014, the World Health Organization (WHO) called air pollution the world's single largest environmental health risk. Pollution is linked to one in eight deaths worldwide.1 In May 2015, the World Health Assembly delivered the first resolution on air pollution, urging member states to take serious action to curb global levels of pollutants by developing air-quality monitoring systems and mechanisms to track illnesses caused by air pollution.1 Many Canadians may not consider the large burden that air pollution places on our health. In 2008, it was estimated that more than 20 000 premature deaths related to outdoor air pollution occur each year in Canada.2 Yet, current Canadian standards for air pollutant levels3 lag behind WHO guidelines.4
What pollutes our air? A mix of fine particulates and gases are generated from natural and man-made sources. Fine particulates are formed from the burning of fossil fuels and wood, from dust from paved and unpaved roads, and from construction sources. The smaller the particulate, the more harmful it is to health; particulates of less than 2.5 μm in diameter (PM2.5) are considered to be the most harmful. Other substances classified as air pollutants include nitrogen oxides (from transportation and industrial emissions), volatile organic compounds (largely from industrial emissions) and ground-level ozone (formed by the interaction of sunlight with volatile organic compounds and nitrogen oxides).
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