The European “Year of the Air”: fact, fake or vision?

Abstract

(EEB) or the EC Joint Research Centre (JRC) as well as international organizations like WHO or Health Effects Institute (HEI) provide extensive pooled information on air pollution-related health effects, partially looking at certain air pollutants or specific situations and their impact. Nevertheless, speakers at the current HEI′s Annual meeting in San Francisco summarized and concluded that many components of the particulate matter mixture appear to be associated with some effects, but no specific component has been associated with all effects (EEA 2013; European Commission 2013; HEI 2010a, b, 2013; IIASA 2013; WHO Regional Office for Europe 2013a, b). The WHO Regional Office for Europe is implementing two projects: (a) evidence on health aspects of air pollution, to review EU policies—REVIHAAP; and (b) health risks of air pollution in Europe—HRAPIE; with financial support from the European Commission (EC). (WHO Regional Office for Europe 2013a). Furthermore, Thematic Strategy on Air Pollution (TSAP) was started (IIASA 2013): “The European Commission is currently reviewing the EU air policy and in particular the 2005 Thematic Strategy on Air Pollution. It is envisaged that in 2013 the Commission will present proposals for revisions of the Thematic Strategy.” Following REVIHAAP’s (WHO Regional Office for Europe 2013a) decision, the HRAPIE project (WHO Regional Office for Europe 2013b) concluded for TSAP (IIASA 2013): “The core cost-effectiveness analysis is to include estimates of impact of long term (annual average) exposure to PM2.5 on all-cause (natural) mortality in adult populations (age 30+), based on a linear CRF (cumulative risk function), with relative risk of 1.062 (95 % CI 1.040– 1.083) per 10 μg/m. The impacts are to be calculated at all levels of PM2.5.” These mortality coefficient estimates for the CRF were taken from the meta-analysis of Hoek et al. (2013). The European Commission (EC) has announced 2013 the “Year of the Air” declaring that air pollution remains a concern for public health and the environment despite obvious progress in the reduction of emissions of different air pollutants over the last decades. To improve the situation, the EC is currently reviewing their strategy on air pollution and related policies, also supported, for example, by results from a public survey based on 25,000 responses out of 506 million citizens in Europe (European Commission 2013). Specific action seems to be necessary, because current EU standards for ambient air quality are weaker than those recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) who intends to minimize health effects of air pollutants worldwide. EU affiliated organizations such as European Environment Agency (EEA), European Environmental Bureau