Ehe prestigious cancer research center Léon Bérard, in the French city of Lyon, has launched a field study to better understand the possible links between air pollution and different types of cancer.
A young team of French and Italian researchers has compared the exposure to pollution linked to different modes of transport, such as the bus, bicycle, car or walking.
Marie Ramel-Delobel is a researcher in the Department of Cancer Prevention at the Center Léon Bérard. “With these indicators, sulfur dioxide, ozone, CO2 and fine particles can be detected. These are the different types of pollutants that are very frequent in the city and that are suspected to be related to the risk of developing cancer. from mom.”
The president of the environmental NGO Breathe,Tony Renucci He assures that France does not respect neither the French nor the European legislation on the limits of atmospheric pollution:“It is urgent to act because today, air pollution accounts for seven million premature deaths worldwide per year. It accounts for 100,000 (premature) deaths in France per year. Three out of four children in the world breathe polluted air.”
While many European governments are lagging behind in enforcing European air pollution standards, some big cities – such as Lyon and Paris – have started to rise to the challenge. They define low-emission zones, thus reducing car traffic.
For years, the European Commission has launched infringement procedures against EU Member States. The reason: alerts on air pollution. Contaminant levels are too high, above legal limits. This harms the health and shortens the life expectancy of many people in Europe.
Witness, the full report on air and online this week on Euronews and Euronews.com.
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