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It’s worth saying the average pollution levels are not capturing the full health impacts. You could easily have a spike along roads due to diesel but at the sam

It’s worth saying the average pollution levels are not capturing the full health impacts. You could easily have a spike along roads due to diesel but at the same time a reduction in the average, because roads are only one of the emission sources. But they are where people spend a lot of their time, in cars and buses in traffic, walking, cycling; and nearby many people are living, and going to shops and cafes. A lot of the effects of pollution are hyper local.

cptskippy 7y ago
To add to this, cumulative improvements in air quality over time don't mean squat if your current levels are still considered harmful. If you reduce your exposure to lead by 50% annually and you're still well above the safe exposure limit, you might be making progress and still not having positive impacts on health.
- plorkyeran 7y ago
  There isn't a magical threshold where things flip from "harmful" to "not harmful" and it doesn't matter how far above the harmful line you are. Reducing your exposure to lead by 50% annually will have big positive health impacts even if it's still too high.
  - cptskippy 7y ago
    Actually there are limits for how much lead is considered harmful in your system. OSHA has exposure limits that indicate amounts per hour, and those amounts decrease the longer you're exposed. It takes a long time for lead to leave your system and prolonged exposure at levels higher than your system can process will result in a net gain or build up. If you're above the acceptable limit, and you don't reduce exposure to below that limit, then there's no benefit.
    - plorkyeran 7y ago
      OSHA picking an acceptable limit does not mean that the harm when below that limit is zero, or that harm does not increase as you go higher above that limit. Being exposed to ten times the limit is worse than being exposed to twice the limit.
tomatocracy 7y ago
Yes - it’s local to the point that air quality can vary significantly within a matter of feet along large or congested roads and walking closer to buildings/further from the road in these areas is a surprisingly simple thing you can do to improve the quality of air you breath.
- Filligree 7y ago
  Or indoors, for that matter. It's very easy for a house to reach 50 to 100 on an AQM meter, which isn't going to be immediately noticeable, but which very well could have long-term consequences. A good HEPA filter will take care of that. As a bonus, if you're allergic, you'll get rid of most of the pollen that way.

cptskippy 7y ago

To add to this, cumulative improvements in air quality over time don't mean squat if your current levels are still considered harmful. If you reduce your exposure to lead by 50% annually and you're still well above the safe exposure limit, you might be making progress and still not having positive impacts on health.

plorkyeran 7y ago
There isn't a magical threshold where things flip from "harmful" to "not harmful" and it doesn't matter how far above the harmful line you are. Reducing your exposure to lead by 50% annually will have big positive health impacts even if it's still too high.
- cptskippy 7y ago
  Actually there are limits for how much lead is considered harmful in your system. OSHA has exposure limits that indicate amounts per hour, and those amounts decrease the longer you're exposed. It takes a long time for lead to leave your system and prolonged exposure at levels higher than your system can process will result in a net gain or build up. If you're above the acceptable limit, and you don't reduce exposure to below that limit, then there's no benefit.
  - plorkyeran 7y ago
    OSHA picking an acceptable limit does not mean that the harm when below that limit is zero, or that harm does not increase as you go higher above that limit. Being exposed to ten times the limit is worse than being exposed to twice the limit.

tomatocracy 7y ago

Yes - it’s local to the point that air quality can vary significantly within a matter of feet along large or congested roads and walking closer to buildings/further from the road in these areas is a surprisingly simple thing you can do to improve the quality of air you breath.

Filligree 7y ago
Or indoors, for that matter. It's very easy for a house to reach 50 to 100 on an AQM meter, which isn't going to be immediately noticeable, but which very well could have long-term consequences. A good HEPA filter will take care of that. As a bonus, if you're allergic, you'll get rid of most of the pollen that way.