The World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has published a report on the connection between air pollution and cancer.  IARC convened a multidisciplinary panel to develop an approach for evaluating the carcinogenicity of air pollution.  Emissions from motor vehicles, industrial processes, power generation, the household combustion of solid fuel, and other sources contribute to pollution around the world.  Scientists do not yet understand the all of the precise chemical and physical features of air pollution, which vary around the world due to differences in the sources of pollution, climate, and meteorology.  However, they know that it contains specific chemicals known to be carcinogenic to humans.

According to the report, air pollution has been linked to several malignancies, including lung cancer, urinary bladder cancer, and acute leukemia.  Several causal factors for lung cancer have been well established by scientific evidence.  In particular, cigarette smoking is the dominant cause of lung cancer and accounts for the majority of cases and in most countries.  Additionally, lung cancer has also been proven to be caused by occupational agents and indoor radon.  Air pollution has not only been a significant cause of lung cancer, but has also been shown to exacerbate the impact of other causes of cancer.

In an analysis of the IARC report, Reuters reports in 2010, 223,000 deaths from lung cancer worldwide resulted from air pollution and there is also convincing evidence that air pollution increases the risk of bladder cancer.  Air pollution, mostly caused by transport, power generation, industrial or agricultural emissions and residential heating and cooking, is already known to raise risks for a wide range of illnesses including respiratory and heart diseases.  Reaching these results was a long process because there is a lengthy lag time between exposure to pollution and the onset of lung cancer.

A study in JAMA published earlier this year examined the major health problems present in the U.S. and trends over time in these conditions in order to inform the future of health policy.  Researchers examined data covering the period between 1990 and 2010.  The U.S. ranked as having mediocre overall health, as compared to other countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.  Premature death was most common as a result of ischemic heart disease, road injury, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer, and stroke.  Given the findings of IARC, it may indicate that the air pollution in the U.S. is having a detrimental impact on the health of Americans.