Study: Half of US Deaths from Pollution Linked to Out-of-State Emissions

A new study looks at air pollution and its effects on premature¹ deaths in the United States. Premature deaths are defined as those that take place before the average age of death.

Researchers found that half of all such deaths related to air pollution resulted from pollution that came from another state.

The study is the first to estimate how pollution crossing state lines affects early deaths, says Steven Barrett. He is a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a co-writer of a report on the study.

Worldwide, an estimated 4.2 million premature deaths are linked to outdoor air pollution. Most of those deaths are from heart disease, stroke and lung disease, as well as acute breathing infections in children, reports the World Health Organization.

Efforts to deal with outdoor air pollution have largely centered on relationships between local sources of pollution and local air quality. But Barrett and other researchers found that, in the United States, cross-state pollution is a major concern.

"Pollution is even less local than we thought," Barrett said.

The computer model his team developed for the study looked at the atmospheric² chemistry processes and weather conditions over an 11-year period. It then tied that information to information on human exposures and health risks.

The researchers then examined how each of the lower 48 states affects pollution and people's health in every other state.

The model included records from 2005, 2011 and 2018 on different sources and kinds of pollutants³. The pollution came from seven producers of emissions⁴, including electric power stations, road transportation, shipping⁵, railroads and airplanes.

The team found that electric power plants -- which release sulfur⁶ dioxide -- were the biggest contributor to deaths related to pollution from other states. In 2005, sulfur dioxide from power plants was involved in 75 percent of cases of premature deaths from out-of-state pollutants.

Net exporters and net importers

Not all states contribute to the problem equally, the study showed. Many states in the northern, middle part of the country, such as North Dakota, are "net exporters" of pollution-related health effects. That is in part because of their low populations in comparison to the amount of pollution they create.

Many states on the east coast are "net importers" of air pollution. New York is hit especially hard, with 60 percent of early deaths related to air pollution coming from out-of-state emissions.

Doctor Peter Muennig studies health effects of air pollution at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health in New York City. He praised the new research.

"This is a great study," said Muennig, who was not involved in the research.

A notable limit, he said, is that the information is based on models, which can be complex and more likely to contain mistakes.

Barrett said the researchers tried to measure areas of uncertainty⁷ in the models.

He said, "Like with climate change, not knowing the exact number doesn't mean you don't take action, because uncertainty cuts both ways and reality could be worse than our central estimates, as well as better."

Barrett added that the team has a large amount of data that policymakers could use to try to lower the number of deaths.

The study was published this month in Nature.

Words in This Story

Words in This Story

source –n. where something comes from

exposure - n. the act of coming into contact with some substance

contributor - n. something that provides or adds to a condition or situation

net - adj. describing an amount that has all reductions and additions accounted for

emissions - n. pollution or gasses that are released from factories or industrial centers

uncertainty –n. a condition of not being sure about something

1 premature   

adj.比预期时间早的；不成熟的，仓促的

参考例句：

• It is yet premature to predict the possible outcome of the dialogue.预言这次对话可能有什么结果为时尚早。
• The premature baby is doing well.那个早产的婴儿很健康。

2 atmospheric   

adj.大气的，空气的；大气层的；大气所引起的

参考例句：

• Sea surface temperatures and atmospheric circulation are strongly coupled.海洋表面温度与大气环流是密切相关的。
• Clouds return radiant energy to the surface primarily via the atmospheric window.云主要通过大气窗区向地表辐射能量。

3 pollutants   

污染物质（尤指工业废物）( pollutant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Pollutants are constantly being released into the atmosphere. 污染物质正在不断地被排放到大气中去。
• The 1987 Amendments limit 301(g) discharges to a few well-studied nonconventional pollutants. 1987年的修正案把第301条（g）的普通排放限制施加在一些认真研究过的几种非常规污染物上。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

4 emissions   

排放物( emission的名词复数 )； 散发物（尤指气体）

参考例句：

• Most scientists accept that climate change is linked to carbon emissions. 大多数科学家都相信气候变化与排放的含碳气体有关。
• Dangerous emissions radiate from plutonium. 危险的辐射物从钚放散出来。

5 shipping   

n.船运（发货，运输，乘船）

参考例句：

• We struck a bargain with an American shipping firm.我们和一家美国船运公司谈成了一笔生意。
• There's a shipping charge of ￡5 added to the price.价格之外另加五英镑运输费。

6 sulfur   

n.硫，硫磺（=sulphur）

参考例句：

• Sulfur emissions from steel mills become acid rain.炼钢厂排放出的硫形成了酸雨。
• Burning may produce sulfur oxides.燃烧可能会产生硫氧化物。

7 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。