1 / 31

Health Impacts of Fossil Fuels Ethanol-Blended Fuels are Mandatory Assoc. Prof. Ray Kearney

Health Impacts of Fossil Fuels Ethanol-Blended Fuels are Mandatory Assoc. Prof. Ray Kearney Dept. of Infectious Diseases and Immunology The University of Sydney. Email: rkearney@med.usyd.edu.au Phone: (02) 9351-3590 (w). Basic Criteria for Health. Survival Longevity Efficiency

lynnea
Download Presentation

Health Impacts of Fossil Fuels Ethanol-Blended Fuels are Mandatory Assoc. Prof. Ray Kearney

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Health Impacts of Fossil Fuels • Ethanol-Blended Fuels are Mandatory • Assoc. Prof. Ray Kearney • Dept. of Infectious Diseases and Immunology • The University of Sydney Email: rkearney@med.usyd.edu.au Phone: (02) 9351-3590 (w)

  2. Basic Criteria for Health • Survival • Longevity • Efficiency • Well-being Each is impacted adverselyby exposure to fossil fuel pollutants

  3. Average Unit Pollution Health-Costs for Inner and Outer Sydney Note: Data are for all sources: Vehicle, Industry, Domestic/Commercial Band 1 (Inner Sydney) - $ 8,895,927,250 Band 2 (Outer Sydney) - $ 2,654,876,235 Av cost (Bands 1 and 2) - $ 5.78 billion (approx) Annual health-cost due to vehicle pollution only in Sydney -$ 2-3 billion (approx)

  4. Note: Twice as many people die in Sydney from air pollution than in road accidents Amoako, L., Ockwell, A., Lodh, M., ‘The Economic Consequences of the Health Effects of Transport Emissions in Australian Capital Cities’ Bureau of Transport and Regional Economics, 2003

  5. Benefits Analysis of Particulate Matter Control Programs – A Case Study in Tokyo • Economic benefits of pre-control PM10 measures in 1975 (PM10 > 100µg/M3) and post-control levels in 1998 (PM10 < 45µg/M3) Health-impact benefitCost ($A) per case • 3,900 long-term deaths 8,160,000 • 4,700 cases of chronic bronchitis (age >30years) 441,333 • 7,800 cases cardiovascular disease (age > 65 years) 24,516 • 3,100 cases pneumonia (age > 65 years) 19,591 • 2,500 cases chronic obstructive pulmonary disease 16,504 • 390,000 asthma attacks 54.39 • 4,500 cases of acute bronchitis in children 76.45 Point estimate (1999) of total benefit: $A 47.5 billion (incl. cost of lost wages) A.S. Voorhees - J. Risk Research Vol. 8, 311-329 (June, 2005)

  6. Ethanol & Fine Particulates: PM2.5 • Primary PM2.5 emissions are reduced by a • qualified50 percentusing 10 percent ethanol • blends. • Primary PM2.5 linked to aromatics which • ethanol can replace. • Primary PM2.5 linked to deposits, which are • also linked to aromatics. • Secondary PM2.5 organic formation is linked to • aromatics which ethanol can replace. • G. Whitten et al., 2004 • http://www.ethanolrfa.org/pubs.shtml

  7. While CSIRO Looks for More Experiments with Aussie Cars etc, Saab (Sweden) Finds Solid Market for E85-Powered 9-5 Sedan At London’s Clean Energy Show (May, 2005) Saab showcased bioethanol-fuelled car - the 9-5 BioPower: • does not raise atmospheric levels of CO2 • delivers more power than petrol equivalent (150bhp to 180bhp) • cheaper fuel (25% less) • the Saab low-pollution car qualifies for free parking in Swedish cities • fastest growing premium brand car in UK Note: Other manufacturers including Chrysler, Ford and Mazda already have flexi-cars (up to E85) in progressive countries that have mandated ethanol.

  8. PM 2.5 plumes (yellow) Coal Power Stations, Oil refineries, or Smelters. Metropolis e.g., Adelaide & Melbourne Professor Daniel Rosenfeld, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

  9. "Suppression of Rain and Snow by Urban and Industrial Air Pollution" • Evidence by Professor Daniel Rosenfeld: http://earth.huji.ac.il/data/pics/Science_Smoke.pdf. • Claims by CSIRO: http://www.casanz.org.au/pdf/%20G.%20Ayers%20May%202005.pdf • Highly rigorous critique of CSIRO claims: http://www.earth.huji.ac.il/data/pics/06_226_CAS_May_06_rosenfeld2.pdf

  10. Fossil Fuel - the New Asbestos! -The Art of Perpetuating a Public Health Hazard – “Denial” of a hazard by an expert may not imply – “the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth” M. Greenberg (J. Occup. & Environ. Med. 2005; Vol 47: 137-144) The same techniques to support the use of white asbestos (chrysotile) as a safe material are being used to subvert the community into thinking exposure to vehicle pollutants is without risk to health and well-being.

  11. http://www.catf.us/publications/reports/Diesel_Health_in_America.pdfhttp://www.catf.us/publications/reports/Diesel_Health_in_America.pdf

  12. Exceedances of Toxic PM2.5 National Environment Protection Council (NEPC) reported: • "Ozone, PM10 and PM2.5 are the pollutants of concern, having peak concentrations at or above the NEPM standards and no consistent downward trend" http://www.deh.gov.au/atmosphere/airquality/status/index.html • A  main problem identified is with ozone and fine particles PM2.5 ” The 2001 peak PM2.5 levels are above the advisory reporting standards at the four jurisdictions (NSW, Victoria, Queensland and WA) that provided data”.

  13. ‘Clean’ Lung ‘City’ Lung

  14. Adverse impacts on health and well-being Exhaust pollution including coarse, fine and ultra-fine particles, gaseous irritants, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH’s) either alone or in combination, are known to be associated with, for example: • inflammatory lung diseases e.g., asthma, bronchitis and alveolitis • increased cardio-vascular disease • risk for exercise-induced heart damage • limited blood flow and increased blood clotting • increased mucous production and airway hyper- responsiveness • 1/5 lung cancer deaths (USA) and accelerated tumour growth • premature death • significant risk of ovarian cancer

  15. Adverse impacts on health and well-being (Cont.) • symptoms of anaemia e.g., tiredness, headaches, fatigue and shortness of breath. • low birth weight and small head circumference of neonate. • intra-uterine growth retardation (for each 10 nanograms PAH’s /M3 increase) • certain leukaemias e.g., from exposure to benzene. • loss in productivity, absenteeism from work and school. • increased sensitivity to bacterial products in airways • more severe common viral asthma • reduced male fertility • adverse effects on lung development for age 10 – 18 years

  16. Health Impacts of Fine (PM2.5) Particulate Air Pollution • Short term exposure to PM2.5 increases the risk for hospital admission for cardiovascular and respiratorydiseases. • 18 cases of COPD per 10,000 individuals for every 10-µg/m3 increase in PM2.5. • Every 10-µg/m3 reduction inPM2.5 reduces hospitalization due to heart failure by 3156 in 246,598 annual cases (204 Counties in USA}. F. Dominici, et al. J. American Medical Assoc. 8 March, 2006 Vol 295 p1127-34

  17. The Normal Alveolus (Left-Hand Side) and the Injured Alveolus in the Acute Phase of Acute Lung Injury and the Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (Right-Hand Side). NEJM (2000) 342, p 1334-49

  18. Cascade of Triggers Culminating in Acute Myocardial Infarction Coronary thrombosis and acute myocardial infarction • Air-pollution triggers • predisposing to • thrombosis: • Inc. coagulability • Inc. inflammation • Inc. viscosity • Inc. vasoconstriction NEJM (2004) 351, p1716

  19. PollutantsEnhance the Airway Response to InhaledAllergens i.e., Hyper-responsiveness A 20 Trigger-threshold for asthma attack 15 B 10 Hyper-responsiveness 5 0 house-mite pollen pollution combined e.g., PM2.5 dust A - Severe asthma B - Episode to lower doses of allergens

  20. Diesel Exhaust Particles (DEP) increase receptors for endotoxin (LPS) Enhanced Inflammation (LPS) H. Takano et. al. 2002 New England Journal of Medicine, 2002, Vol. 347, p. 417 - 428

  21. FEV1 is the volume of air expelled in the first second of maximal forced expiration from a position of full inspiration.

  22. Tumour - Cell Growth and Death Normal cell Carcinogen Initiation and transformation Tumour Tumour cell ( early growth) Dormancy death rate = division rate Apoptosis ( cell suicide) Acceleration of Tumour growth Inflammation (e.g., PAHs) (e.g., PM 2.5)

  23. 1 mm tumour with blood supply R. Kearney

  24. New Scientist - 9 March, 2002 Big city killer If the cigarettes don't get you the traffic pollution will UP TO a fifth of all lung cancer deaths in cities are caused by tiny particles of pollution, most of them from vehicle exhausts. That's the conclusion of the biggest study into city pollution to date, which tracked half a million Americans for 16 years. It suggests the impact is far greater than feared. The research focused on particles less than 2.5 micrometres in diameter, known as PM2.5s. These fine particles are thought to kill by lodging deep in the lungs. The researchers found that the long-term death rate from lung cancer rose by 8 per cent for every 10-microgram increase in the average concentration of PM2.5s per cubic metre. The increased risk is comparable with the risks to long-term passive smokers.

  25. The Global Supply/Demand Reality • Global oil reserves equate to approx. 35 years supply based on 29 billion barrels annually and a total global reserve of one trillion barrels. • Australian consumption of crude oil and condensate in 2004 could be sustained by its remaining economic reserves for only 9.3 years(Geosciences Australia). ACTION: Political stewardship, vision and preparedness are needed NOW to adopt viable alternative fuels.

  26. Implications for Australia • Australia is highly dependent on road transport for the movement of both goods and people. • Currently committed almost entirely to products of crude oil to fuel that transport Implications: • Great vulnerability to constraints in the global price and supply of petroleum • Escalating sickness-care costs ACTION:Australia needs an urgent shift, not tokenism, in policy from conventional fuels to more sustainable cleaner alternatives (e.g., 20% by 2020), including ethanol.

  27. Human lung in clean-air Human lung In dirty-air

  28. Unlimited and free access to clean air of acceptable quality is a fundamental human necessity and right.

  29. Greater use of clean, alternative fuels, including ethanol, is essential to reduce costly health impacts “You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to live.…” ‘Desiderata’-1927

More Related