Outdoor air pollution (such as fine particles emitted by vehicles, from burning solid fuel or tobacco smoke) and indoor air pollution due to dampness are significant contributing environmental factors. Children’s exposure to these factors remains unacceptably high.

“Azerbaijan is on the top of this list where 4-5 infants from 1000 die because of respiratory disease”,-said WHO expert in an interview to news.az during Fifth Ministerial Conference on Environment and Health of European countries in Parma, Italy.

Human activity – transport, energy production, many other industries and domestic heating – creates a form of air pollution called particulate matter (PM).

“Young children are particularly vulnerable to PM, which affects how the lungs work and develop, as well as contributing to asthma, bronchitis and acute respiratory infections. In adults, exposure to man-made PM leads to a loss of 9 months of life expectancy on average across the Region”-says the report.

Full implementation of current legislation is expected to reduce PM’s impact by a third, but the implementation of all possible measures could cut current pollution levels by half.

“We have all needed legislation for that and we work hardly to improve situation”-said Ogtay Shiraliyev, Azerbaijani minister of Health during his speech at the conference.

The health effects of dampness include allergies and asthma. Indoor moisture enables the growth of moulds, fungi and bacteria, and speeds the breakdown of building materials that release chemicals into indoor air. Poor building construction and maintenance, and activities such as cooking and washing, combined with poor ventilation, contribute to the level of dampness in a home. In some countries in the European Region, more than a quarter of people live in damp conditions. Simple preventive measures can reduce indoor dampness and the risk of exposure to the indoor air pollution it creates, but more work is needed to implement them.

Residents of up to 50% of homes in the European Region including Azerbaijan burn solid fuel – coal or wood – for cooking and heating. Research indicates that air pollution in most of these homes exceeds limits set down in WHO air quality guidelines, which can lead to pneumonia, chronic respiratory disease, lung cancer and asthma. Women and children, who spend most time at home, are particularly at risk.

News.Az