The Correlation Between Air Pollution and Health Effects on Adults and Children
Summary
Air pollution is an exceeding problem in our country and many other countries worldwide. It has caused economic hardship, taken many people’s lives, degraded our oceans, and ultimately changed our planet’s physicality. Specifically, over the last hundred years, it has been scientifically proven that air pollution has been contributed to adverse health effects, including asthma, cancer, cardiovascular diseases, obesity, and many more. Many people don’t realize that we are regularly consuming these pollutants, which can significantly affect our unborn future generations. For example, there is compelling evidence that periconceptional exposure to environmental toxins causes adverse effects on fetal development through alterations in epigenetic mechanisms that produce heritable modifications in gene expression (Vecoli et al.). Meaning, fetuses can become exposed to harmful chemicals when in the womb, and the effects that pollution can cause can be passed on for generations. For this project, I researched how air pollutants cause health problems for fetal and infant years and how this impacts upcoming generations (Vieira, 2015). I also wanted to collect data to see how pollution affects older generations and what this means for overall human health, specifically in Indiana. I did this by investigating Indiana’s pollution rates and comparing people’s health in lower pollution areas to very high pollution and collected data for infant disease.
Figure 1.
This image shows statistics from the World Health Organization. This image is a great representation of how serious the problem of pollution is. Pollution inside and outside of the home kills millions of people each year. This is important because many people don’t realize our households also have pollution. Our society has revolved our lives around consuming, which is one of the main reasons our pollution crisis has gotten so bad. Unfortunately, we are now experiencing the burdens that come with this mass consumption. These exceedingly high consumption practices have directly and indirectly led to increased carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxides, and particulate matter in our air. These pollutions are due to industrial emissions, urbanization, fossil fuel usage, transportation of goods, and more (Air Pollution: Everything You Need to Know 2020). To explain some of the side effects of these chemicals on fetuses, it’s been found that carbon monoxide can dissolve in the maternal plasma, which means fetal tissues can be more at risk of hypoxia due to this exposure. High levels of nitrogen dioxide are also associated with the aorta’s corrosion (Vecoli et al.). This also applies to older generations as many other pollutants and chemicals that we breathe daily can lead to many possible diseases that affect our heart, skin, and lungs.
Indiana’s Pollution
So why should we care so much about pollution, and how does this pollution relate to Indiana? Well, Indiana has ranked the 43rd cleanest state when it comes to pollution (America’s Health Rankings | AHR). From this number, it’s evident that Indiana is one of the less clean states when it comes to pollution by its very low ranking. Indiana’s highest air pollution comes from coal-fired power plants. Not only does this release toxic chemicals into the air that people are breathing in on an everyday basis, but these pollutants can also be passed to a potential fetus. Of the toxic chemicals that submerge into Indiana’s environment, the ones heavily seen are arsenic, lead, and mercury, especially from these coal-fired plants. These air pollutants can cause health problems such as strokes, cancer, asthma, and heart problems.
Even though coal-fired plants aren’t the only culprit for air pollution, these plants cause millions of pounds of gases to be released into the atmosphere around us each year. These chemicals include carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxide, and sulfur dioxide. Like mentioned previously, these gases come with a range of adverse health effects. The reason these chemicals are so prevalent in Indiana is because of the coal-fire stacks. What comes out of the coal-fire stacks at the plant settles onto nearby Indiana towns or farms, which people unknowingly breathe in and consume without the academic knowledge they are being harmed (Segall 13 Investigates: Indiana’s Toxic Air). The worst part is that these power plants follow the government’s legal limits, so an exceeding amount of pollution will be continued to be released if more laws aren’t put into place to limit them. While the pollution in Indiana is certainly below average compared to the rest of the country, the state is taking to make its citizens’ environment better.
Methodology/Results
Figure 2.
Let’s first start by looking at this air quality map in Indiana, shown in figure 2 (Indiana Air Quality Map). The blue areas are considered the cleanest areas. As you can see, there is nowhere on the map that shows any blue regions; therefore, there are no very clean areas. The map is very concerning as we have expelled so much pollution that no part in our state has any clean areas. The pollution in this country has been growing exponentially over the last few decades. If our government doesn’t set in place better laws or ways to reduce the amount of pollution we allow companies and factories to expel, we will see more red on the map. I used this image to look at all the individual counties in the red section, investigate the cancer rates in adults and their offspring, and compare those rates to people living in communities where the pollution has a median quality as a green area.
When I ran a simulation to see how the air pollution has changed overtime in Indiana, in the 1990s, the whole state was blue, and then in a short 20 years, there were no longer any blue showing meaning no areas of the state were considered clean. I found this interesting, so I wanted to investigate further. To start, The Clean Air Act was last amended in 1990. This amendment addressed environmental issues like acid rain, toxic pollutants, areas still not at regulation standards, and ozone layer depletion. Therefore, we should have expected to see more clean parts of the state with new regulated standards (US Legal). Yet, Indiana has become increasingly worse with pollution every year. This is because Indiana has about 1.5% of U.S. economically recoverable coal reserves. The state is the nation’s eighth-largest coal producer. Its mines yielded almost 35 million tons of coal in 2018 and accounted for nearly 5% of U.S. coal production. Indiana is the fifth-largest producer of bituminous coal in the nation, all of which is produced from 12 surface and 6 underground mines in the Indiana portion of the coal-rich Illinois Basin (U.S. Energy Information Administration – EIA – Independent Statistics and Analysis). Because our nation and other counties rely so heavily on Indiana to produce energy, and our population steadily increasing, the more energy we need is increasing; therefore, the amount of pollution in this state is increasing.
I also used this interactive map to compare counties in Indiana that were lower in air quality ranking to higher ranking counties. One of the counties that I chose to look farther into was Orange County, Indiana, shown in green in the image above (Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME).
In the photos, the square outlined in black represents Orange County. As you can see, for endocrine diseases, lung cancer, and breast cancer in both the male and female populations, the levels at which these diseases occur are at a meager rate. As you can see for the tracheal, bronchus, and lung cancer, Orange County is in blue, which means a lower level of these diseases are present. In this image, the counties circulating Orange County appear to be leaning towards more of a yellow section, so areas ranked lower in air quality show more disease. The data shows that the female population is affected more heavily by these health-related issues than the male population. This is because about 5% to 10% of breast cancers are hereditary, caused by abnormal genes passed from parent to child. Therefore, breast cancer rates will be prevalent throughout the generations.
The two images above show Marion County, which is the county in Indianapolis. You can see in figure 2, Indianapolis is in a red zone. The red shows that it is a filthy, polluted area. This county is outlined in a black square, but the inside is showing yellow regions. If you compare the two counties, you can see Marion county has more prevalence of diseases. This is because it’s located in Indianapolis. Indianapolis is polluted for many reasons. Cities typically are more contaminated than suburbs because of car pollution, factory pollution. Indianapolis is one of the most polluted cities. For instance, “Indianapolis’ ozone pollution (smog) has worsened, and the metro area is now ranked the 54th most polluted city in the nation, according to the 2018 “State of the Air” report released by the American Lung Association in Indiana today. This is a significant increase, as the city is ranked the 93rd most polluted city for ozone in last year’s report. The metro area also ranked 13th most polluted for year-round particle pollution and 21st most polluted for short-term particle pollution (Indianapolis Metro Area Ozone Pollution Worsens).”As far as health goes, living in Indianapolis could lead people to develop diseases like lung cancer, people could develop heavy coughs, asthma, respiratory problems, and more health-related issues (EPA). It is vital to use data from websites that study the pollution and disease rates to give the people, cities, and the country a reasonable estimate. They need to focus more on the problem, that is pollution. Comparing these two counties proves that counties in an industrial climate are more at risk for diseases.
How Pollutants Affect the Young
I wanted to dive deeper into how these pollutants can negatively affect unborn children and see if these adverse effects or genetic changes from chemicals can proceed in generations to come. Indiana has in place a Newborn screening law; “Indiana’s Newborn Screening law requires every baby to be tested for 49 different conditions including endocrine disorders, cystic fibrosis, inborn errors of metabolism, hemoglobinopathies, congenital heart defects, and hearing loss. To rapidly detect these conditions for early intervention.” This method was issued to possibly combat the number of children being born with health conditions. This information is then submitted to the IBDPR. The IBDPR is a population-based surveillance system to monitor the prevalence rates of fetal, infant, and child health conditions. The list that follows is from the 2018 annual report. Cardiovascular, genitourinary, and musculoskeletal defects are the most common structural congenital disabilities across the U.S. and Indiana. Of the 6,739 structural birth defects for the reporting period: 3,727 were cardiovascular, • 949 were genitourinary, and • 784 were musculoskeletal. The IBDPR team is partnering with SUID and SDY to further understand genetic causes of death and move forward with more genetic screenings to work towards mortality prevention, especially in younger age groups (Segall 13 Investigates: Indiana’s Toxic Air).
Above is an image from the IBDPR. This image shows the central body regions affected by some condition of those living in Indiana. As you can see, the central nervous system is hit the hardest for children, and the particulate matter is mainly responsible for neurological diseases. Many young deaths occur in Indiana that can be prevented. 623 Hoosier infants died before their first birthday in 2016, and 22% of those deaths were due to congenital malformations. Usually, congenital malformations are due to genetic reasons, which could be prevented if Indiana has stricter pollution limits. When looking at a study that specifically studied genetic and epigenetic mechanisms linking air pollution. These researchers wanted to determine if abnormal fetal epigenetic rearrangement dependent on environmental stressors might predispose individuals to different diseases. In this case, they were looking at the environmental linkage factors to CHD. CHD is shortened for coronary heart disease, which develops when the coronary arteries become too narrow. A large amount of evidence shows that maternal exposure to harmful compounds is a risk factor increasing the possibility of a fetus developing CHD (Kim et al.). From their studies, it can be proven that pollutants can affect children before their time on Earth. This is a huge problem because not only are they exposed before birth, they will be exposed during their years on Earth. This accumulation of pollution before and after birth can be detrimental to an individual’s life span. The World Health Organization estimates that 93% of the world’s children aged <15 years—1.8 billion children—breathe air that puts their health and development at risk (“Home.” World Health Organization). So, if these children are born already with health conditions, the harm will only increase as they age as it is almost impossible to stay away from harmful pollutants. Impaired fetal growth represents one of the greatest public health threats to this generation of children. Another example shows that environmental exposure causes impaired fetal growth; “more than 30 million low-birth-weight (LBW) (less than 2,500g) infants are born annually worldwide. It is now widely accepted that altered fetal growth, LBW, and rapid growth in early childhood (catch-up growth) are associated with an increased risk of multiple diseases in adulthood, including hypertension, obesity, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and cancers (Zheng et al., 2016).” Not only will these genetic malfunctions be an issue in the children’s lifetime, but genes also get passed down from generation to generation. The mutated genes one might have to overcome in their lifetime can be passed onto future generations.
How is Pollution Still a Problem
The image above is a picture taken in Indianapolis. This image clearly shows smog and pollution coming from the factories located in this area. This is a prime example of what the people living in this community breathe every single day. Unfortunately, these issues don’t seem to be receiving the attention they deserve. For example, “Since early 2017, the EPA has successfully: canceled a requirement for oil and gas companies to report methane emissions; stopped enforcing a rule that prohibited the use of hydrofluorocarbons in air conditioners and refrigerators; stopped requiring authorities to track tailpipe emissions on federal highways; changed a rule designed to limit toxic emissions from major industrial polluters, weakened a pollution permitting program; lifted a summertime ban on E15 ethanol/gasoline fuel blend and repealed the Obama-era Clean Power Plan and replaced it with the less stringent Affordable Clean Energy Rule (Saenz, E. ).” This is a frightening statistic as our country should be determined to lower our emissions and keep companies responsible for the pollution they are contributing to society to live in a safer and cleaner environment. The pollution epidemic is critical to control because these negative health effects can flow throughout a family tree (Olden et al.). Epidemiological studies show that pollution and other environmental factors can cause epigenetic changes across populations. It is essential to look at these connections to fetal health, maternal health, and pollution to see how pollutions cause disease in people and future generations and protect our generations living now. Millions are falling ill to constant air pollution, and we must protect our communities and our society from living in an unsafe, contaminated world.
Implications for Results:
Throughout my research, I have been able to conclude that air pollution in Indiana not only affects those that are currently living, but air pollution can cross from a mother to a fetus and cause detrimental effects to the unborn child. These genetic variations or health conditions that arise at birth will accumulate through their lifetime as air pollution is always prevalent. The majority of our world is polluted, and by breathing every day, we are harming ourselves. My results can raise awareness for Indiana’s poorly regulated air quality control and conduct more research on Indiana areas that have the most genetic hardship from these pollutants. My results can allow those to become aware of the danger their unborn children can be in. Researchers can perform more genetic testing on children and the parents of children born with genetic variations and diseases. Ultimately, air pollution is a huge problem for our county and many others. I hope my research has brought awareness of how devasting air pollution affects may be.
References:
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Kim, Juyong Brian, et al. “Cumulative Lifetime Burden of Cardiovascular Disease From Early Exposure to Air Pollution.” Journal of the American Heart Association, John Wiley and Sons Inc., 17 Mar. 2020, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7335506/.
Olden, Kenneth, et al. “Discovering How Environmental Exposures Alter Genes Could Lead To New Treatments For Chronic Illnesses.” Health Affairs, 1 May, 2011, www.healthaffairs.org/doi/full/10.1377/hlthaff.2011.0078.
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Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), US County Profile: Orange County, Indiana. Seattle, WA: IHME, 2016.
Saenz, E. (2019, August 05). Federal Report Indicates End of Decades-Long Air Quality Improvement. Retrieved November 19, 2020, from https://www.indianaenvironmentalreporter.org/posts/federal-report-indicates-end-of-decades-long-air-quality-improvement
Segall, Bob. “13 Investigates Indiana’s Toxic Air.” Wthr.com, WTHR, 7 Feb. 2013, www.wthr.com/article/news/local/13-investigates-indianas-toxic-air/531-b24f5670-6fb3-4375-8ec8-3cd85e10d0d2.
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U.S. Energy Information Administration – EIA – Independent Statistics and Analysis. Indiana – State Energy Profile Analysis – U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). https://www.eia.gov/state/analysis.php?sid=IN.
US Legal, I. Find a legal form in minutes. Environmental Law. https://environmentallaw.uslegal.com/federal-laws/clean-air-act/.
Vieira, S. E. (2015, June 10). The health burden of pollution: the impact of prenatal exposure to air pollutants. International journal of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4468952/.
Vecoli, Cecilia, et al. “Genetic and Epigenetic Mechanisms Linking Air Pollution and Congenital Heart Disease.” Journal of Cardiovascular Development and Disease, MDPI, 29 Nov. 2016, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5715723/.
Zheng, T., Zhang, J., Sommer, K., Bassig, B. A., Zhang, X., Braun, J., … Kelsey, K. (2016). Effects of Environmental Exposures on Fetal and Childhood Growth Trajectories. Annals of global health. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5967632/.
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