空气污染会缩短人均寿命
文章来源:未知 文章作者:enread 发布时间:2013-07-14 08:02 字体: [ ]  进入论坛
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A new study links heavy air pollution from coal burning to shorter lives in northern China. Researchers estimate that the half-billion people alive there in the 1990s will live an average of 5 years less than their southern counterparts because they breathed dirtier air.

一项新的研究表明由于烧煤引发的严重空气污染将缩短中国北方居民的寿命。研究人员估计,因为呼吸更污浊的空气,上世纪90年代居住于北方的5亿居民要比南部的居民平均少活5年。
 
China itself made the comparison possible: for decades, a now-discontinued government policy provided free coal for heating, but only in the colder north. Researchers found significant differences in both particle pollution of the air and life expectancy1 in the two regions, and said the results could be used to extrapolate the effects of such pollution on lifespans elsewhere in the world.
 
The study by researchers from China, Israel and the United States was published Tuesday in the Proceedings2 of the National Academy of Sciences.
 
While previous studies have found that pollution affects human health, "the deeper and ultimately more important question is the impact on life expectancy," said one of the authors, Michael Greenstone, a professor of environmental economics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
 
"This study provides a unique setting to answer the life expectancy question because the (heating) policy dramatically alters pollution concentrations for people who appear to be of otherwise identical health," Greenstone said in an email. "Further, due to the low rates of migration3 in China in this period, we can know people's exposure over long time periods," he said.
 
The policy gave free coal for fuel boilers4 to heat homes and offices to cities north of the Huai River, which divides China into north and south. It was in effect for much of the 1950-1980 period of central planning, and, though discontinued after 1980, it has left a legacy5 in the north of heavy coal burning, which releases particulate6 pollutants7 into the air that can harm human health. Researchers found no other government policies that treated China's north differently from the south.
 
The researchers collected data for 90 cities, from 1981 to 2000, on the annual daily average concentration of total suspended particulates8. In China, those are considered to be particles that are 100 micrometers or less in diameter, emitted from sources including power stations, construction sites and vehicles.
 
The researchers estimated the impact on life expectancies9 using mortality data from 1991-2000. They found that in the north, the concentration of particulates was 184 micrograms per cubic meter - or 55 percent - higher than in the south, and life expectancies were 5.5 years lower on average across all age ranges.
 
The researchers said the difference in life expectancies was almost entirely10 due to an increased incidence of deaths classified as cardiorespiratory - those from causes that have previously11 been linked to air quality, including heart disease, stroke, lung cancer and respiratory illnesses.
 
Total suspended particulates include fine particulate matter called PM2.5 - particles with diameters of no more than 2.5 micrometers. PM2.5 is of especially great health concern because it can penetrate12 deep into the lungs, but the researchers lacked the data to analyze13 those tiny particles separately.
 
The authors said their research can be used to estimate the effect of total suspended particulates on other countries and time periods. Their analysis suggests that every additional 100 micrograms of particulate matter per cubic meter in the atmosphere lowers life expectancy at birth by about three years.
 
The study also noted14 that there was a large difference in particulate matter between the north and south, but not in other forms of air pollution such as sulfur15 dioxide and nitrous oxide16.
 
Francesca Dominici, a professor of biostatistics at Harvard School of Public Health who has researched the health effects of fine particulate matter in the U.S., said the study was "fascinating."
 
China’s different treatment of north and south allowed researchers to get pollution data that would be impossible in a scientific setting.
 
Dominici said the quasi-experimental approach was a good approximation of a randomized experiment, "especially in this situation where a randomized experiment is not possible."
 
She said she wasn't surprised by the findings, given China's high levels of pollution.
 
"In the U.S. I think it's pretty much been accepted that even small changes in PM2.5, much, much, much smaller than what they are observing in China, are affecting life expectancy," said Dominici, who was not involved in the study.


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 expectancy tlMys     
n.期望,预期,(根据概率统计求得)预期数额
参考例句:
  • Japanese people have a very high life expectancy.日本人的平均寿命非常长。
  • The atomosphere of tense expectancy sobered everyone.这种期望的紧张气氛使每个人变得严肃起来。
2 proceedings Wk2zvX     
n.进程,过程,议程;诉讼(程序);公报
参考例句:
  • He was released on bail pending committal proceedings. 他交保获释正在候审。
  • to initiate legal proceedings against sb 对某人提起诉讼
3 migration mDpxj     
n.迁移,移居,(鸟类等的)迁徙
参考例句:
  • Swallows begin their migration south in autumn.燕子在秋季开始向南方迁移。
  • He described the vernal migration of birds in detail.他详细地描述了鸟的春季移居。
4 boilers e1c9396ee45d737fc4e1d3ae82a0ae1f     
锅炉,烧水器,水壶( boiler的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Even then the boilers often burst or came apart at the seams. 甚至那时的锅炉也经常从焊接处爆炸或裂开。 来自英汉非文学 - 科学史
  • The clean coal is sent to a crusher and the boilers. 干净的煤送入破碎机和锅炉。
5 legacy 59YzD     
n.遗产,遗赠;先人(或过去)留下的东西
参考例句:
  • They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
  • He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。
6 particulate 4mMzPG     
adj.微小的;n.微粒,粒子
参考例句:
  • A special group was organized to dig up the particulate of the case.成立了一个专门小组来查明该案件的各个细节。
  • Lungs retain relatively insoluble particulate material.肺脏内留有不溶解的颗粒物质。
7 pollutants 694861490fe64672170a0da250a277c7     
污染物质(尤指工业废物)( pollutant的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Pollutants are constantly being released into the atmosphere. 污染物质正在不断地被排放到大气中去。
  • The 1987 Amendments limit 301(g) discharges to a few well-studied nonconventional pollutants. 1987年的修正案把第301条(g)的普通排放限制施加在一些认真研究过的几种非常规污染物上。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
8 particulates 24011a21c8b46b35a9bfd904211c7c51     
n.微粒,粒子( particulate的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Techniques for controlling particulates include filtering, washing, centrifugal separation, and electrostatic precipitation. 控制颗粒污染物的技术包括过滤、洗涤、离心分离、静电沉降。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
  • Only micronic particulates penetrate to the depth of the lung. 只有微细粒子穿透到肺深部。 来自辞典例句
9 expectancies 1ab24b5aebe5ca8a1e16243584b0462e     
期待,期望( expectancy的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Each of us came with his own expectancies. 我们每个人都有自己的希望。
  • In fact, modern lifestyles are actually exacerbating the gap between male and female life expectancies. 实际上,现代生活方式确实加大了男女寿命差别的鸿沟。
10 entirely entirely     
ad.全部地,完整地;完全地,彻底地
参考例句:
  • The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
  • His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。
11 previously bkzzzC     
adv.以前,先前(地)
参考例句:
  • The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
  • Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿,解释原先发生了什么。
12 penetrate juSyv     
v.透(渗)入;刺入,刺穿;洞察,了解
参考例句:
  • Western ideas penetrate slowly through the East.西方观念逐渐传入东方。
  • The sunshine could not penetrate where the trees were thickest.阳光不能透入树木最浓密的地方。
13 analyze RwUzm     
vt.分析,解析 (=analyse)
参考例句:
  • We should analyze the cause and effect of this event.我们应该分析这场事变的因果。
  • The teacher tried to analyze the cause of our failure.老师设法分析我们失败的原因。
14 noted 5n4zXc     
adj.著名的,知名的
参考例句:
  • The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
  • Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。
15 sulfur ps4wC     
n.硫,硫磺(=sulphur)
参考例句:
  • Sulfur emissions from steel mills become acid rain.炼钢厂排放出的硫形成了酸雨。
  • Burning may produce sulfur oxides.燃烧可能会产生硫氧化物。
16 oxide K4dz8     
n.氧化物
参考例句:
  • Oxide is usually seen in our daily life.在我们的日常生活中氧化物很常见。
  • How can you get rid of this oxide coating?你们该怎样除去这些氧化皮?
TAG标签: China air pollution
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