Health Impacts of Fossil Fuels

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• 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_at_med.usyd.edu.au Phone (02)
9351-3590 (w)
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Basic Criteria for Health

• Survival
• Longevity
• Efficiency
• Well-being

Each is impacted adversely by exposure to fossil
fuel pollutants
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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)

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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
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Benefits Analysis of Particulate Matter Control
Programs A Case Study in Tokyo

• Economic benefits of pre-control PM10 measures in
  
• 1975 (PM10 gt 100µg/M3) and post-control
  levels in
• 1998 (PM10 lt 45µg/M3)
• Health-impact benefit
  Cost (A) per case
• 3,900 long-term deaths
  8,160,000
• 4,700 cases of chronic bronchitis (age gt30years)
  441,333
• 7,800 cases cardiovascular disease (age gt 65
  years) 24,516
• 3,100 cases pneumonia (age gt 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)

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• Ethanol Fine Particulates PM2.5
• Primary PM2.5 emissions are reduced by a
• qualified 50 percent using 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

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While CSIRO Looks for More Experiments with
Aussie Cars etc, Saab (Sweden) Finds Solid
Market for E85-Powered 9-5 Sedan

• At Londons 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.

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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
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"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.pd
  f.
• Claims by CSIRO
• http//www.casanz.org.au/pdf/20G.20Ayers20May2
  02005.pdf
• Highly rigorous critique of CSIRO claims
• http//www.earth.huji.ac.il/data/pics/06_226_CAS_M
  ay_06_rosenfeld2.pdf

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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.

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http//www.catf.us/publications/reports/Diesel_Hea
lth_in_America.pdf
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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/statu
  s/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. 

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City Lung
Clean Lung
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• Adverse impacts on health and well-being
• Exhaust pollution including coarse, fine and
  ultra-fine particles, gaseous irritants, and
  polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) 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

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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
• PAHs /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

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Health Impacts of Fine (PM2.5) Particulate Air
Pollution

• Short term exposure to PM2.5 increases the risk
  for hospital admission for cardiovascular and
  respiratory diseases.
• 18 cases of COPD per 10,000 individuals for every
• 10-µg/m3 increase in PM2.5.
• Every 10-µg/m3 reduction in PM2.5 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
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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
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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
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Pollutants Enhance the Airway Response
to Inhaled Allergens i.e., Hyper-responsiveness
A
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Trigger-threshold for asthma attack
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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
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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
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FEV1 is the volume of air expelled in the first
second of maximal forced expiration from a
position of full inspiration.
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(e.g., PAHs)
(e.g., PM 2.5)
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1 mm tumour with blood supply
R. Kearney
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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.
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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.

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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.

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Human lung in clean-air
Human lung In dirty-air
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Unlimited and free access to clean air of
acceptable quality is a fundamental human
necessity and right.
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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