Canaries in the coal mine

Abstract

Up until 30 years ago, coalminers relied on canaries as warning systems against harmful gases and pollutants underground. The miners listened for birdsong and if the birds fell silent, then they knew there was danger to their health and to take action. Today we have much more sophisticated information and reporting on the quality of air. We know precisely the levels and composition of pollutants in the air that are responsible for almost 500,000 deaths annually [1]. The problem is however, that nobody appears to be listening. The air we breathe reduces our life expectancy by on average 8.6 months in Europe (fig. 1) [2]. Fine particle pollution (particles with a 50% cut-off aerodynamic diameter of 2.5 µm) is estimated to account for some 5 million lost years of life in the European Economic Area (www.efta.int/eea) countries every year [3]. Exposure to ground-level ozone concentrations above critical health levels is associated with more than 20 000 premature deaths in the European Union (EU) annually [4]. Yet, 17 EU Member States are being taken to court by the European Commission …