News

24th June 2004

Pollution harming lungs of unborn babies

The World Health Organisation (WHO) have said that babies' lungs can be damaged by air pollution even before they are born.

In a report to be published later this year, WHO says studies have confirmed that pollutants in the can impair lung growth in the womb. The main problem comes from soot particles emitted by vehicle exhausts.

The team of scientists at WHO carried out a review of recent research which studied the effects of pollution on childrens' lungs. A paper outlining their findings was circulated at a European Health Conference. The full study is expected to be published in the autumn.

The paper states, "Findings of various population-based studies are supported by animal exposure studies, indicating that intrauterine as well as post-natal exposures to pollutants can lead to impaired lung growth."

The paper also says that there is now substantial evidence about the harmful effects of air pollution on pregnancy and infant health. It says this evidence is enough to "infer a causal relationship between particulate pollution and respiratory deaths in infants in their first year of life."

However, it also says the number of available studies is limited and their results are not fully consistent.

The paper concludes, "The amount of ill-health attributable to air pollution among European children is high... current knowledge about the health effects of air pollution is sufficient for a strong recommendation to reduce children's current exposure to air pollutants, in particular to the pollutants related to traffic."

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