The effects of air pollution to man is not strange; with the adverse results of air pollution to the ozone layer and human health, man has been looking for adequate answers to solve problems that are associated with these effects. However, air pollution is now the biggest problem on environmental health, and researchers say that about 3.7 million premature deaths occur annually – this is from a 2012 survey. Furthermore, a new research has already indicated that air pollution can even harm a baby in the womb.
Lots of scientists at the imperial college have found a connection of road traffic pollution to cause harmful effects on the health of unborn babies. This is due to the fumes from exhaust, soot, and dust from the road traffic. In this research, more than a million infants were studied and it was proposed that pregnant women exposed to air pollution from roads are liable to endanger their newborns without them knowing it, thus, giving birth to babies with low birth weights. Although, in this research, the noise pollution from road traffic does not have any effects on babies’ health.
Air pollution causes an alteration in human sperm, premature births, and low birth weights, thus, imperiling human procreation according to research.
Furthermore, it is essential to know that, the low birth weight of a baby (below 5 pounds) may cause serious health damages to an infant, and such health problems may include, breathing problems, susceptibility to infections, and a decrease in blood sugar. Most babies with low birth weight are more likely to have diabetes, heart diseases, and other related diseases than babies born at normal conditions.
The research was carried out in London, and the researchers have also proposed that their results do not only apply to London alone but to other countries all over the globe and they are pleading on the administration of every country to challenge the problems of polluting automobiles in their cities.
The study made in London was published on Wednesday in the British Medical Journal, and this study is in line with a recent survey made by UNICEF which proposed that about 17 million babies below one year are at a high risk of health damage due to the inhalation of toxic air around their environment which could distort their cognitive development.
With the study made in Britain (London), scientists have also studied the birth weights of more than 500,000 infants that are born between 2006 and 2010. They have also associated the results with the amount of air pollution in traffics.
Moreover, damages associated with air pollution begin in a man’s sperm. In another recent research done in Taiwan, scientists from Chinese University of Hong Kong analyzed about 6,475 men from the age 14 to 49 and they have proposed that the increase in the exposure of air pollution of a man may cause a distortion in a man’s sperm. According to the research, most of the participants involved are not smokers and they are not chronic alcohol drinkers.
Also, from an article gotten from Newsweek on air pollution, it has been affirmed that air pollution imposes a greater percentage risk in the distortion of a man’s sperm. This is because air pollution contains lots of harmful particles and heavy metals. These harmful particles and metals include CO (Carbon monoxide), SO2 (Sulphur IV Oxide), Cadmium, and cyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. These particles and metals are known to be carcinogenic, hence, causing harmful effects on the quality of semen.
With the existence of harmful chemicals today, the probability of couples getting pregnant is getting low and about 48.5 million couples are affected by this problem. Infertility is on the rise and lots of researchers have advocated for worldwide plans in the mitigation of air pollution to enhance reproductive health.
Once a woman becomes pregnant successfully, it is important to ensure that safety measures are taken into special consideration due to the pollution in road traffics. Because pollution on road traffic imposes a greater health risk on a developing fetus.
An editorial piece on air pollution in the New York Times has also affirmed that the normal fine particulate matter 2.5 of the United States Environmental Protection Agency is 12 micrograms per cubic meter. Although, when it comes to WHO, it is lesser with a limit of 10 micrograms per cubic meter. It is important to know that there is a no level that measures the best safety when it comes to air pollution; this affirmation was done by a study in the Imperial College of London.
There are no doubts that lots of scientists believe that the need to impose environmental policies is essential, this will help to decrease the amount of road pollution in situations like road traffic; if these policies are not put in place, the future of man is dire. Certainly, it is high time we look into the counsels made by Lloyd to ban the use of vehicles because they impose harmful effects on our cities.
