Canadians are paying a heavy price for the environment, with up to 21,000 to die this year due to air pollution, and 90,000 to have died by 2031, a report said Wednesday.
The figures are revealed in a report titled "No Breathing Room: National Illness Costs of Air Pollution," released by the Canadian Medical Association (CMA) in the first large-scale research on the impact of air pollution across Canada.
The report finds that by 2031, almost 90,000 Canadians will have died from the acute short-term effects of pollution and more than 700,000 will be dead from long term exposure.
The economic impact of those deaths will cost the country 8 billion Canadian dollars (8 billion U.S. dollars) in 2008 and over250 billion by 2031.
"We have a serious home-grown pollution problem right here and Canadians, ranging from the very young to the very old, are paying the price." CMA President Dr. Brian Day told a news teleconference on Wednesday.
The study found that while most of the pollution-related deaths in Canada were due to long-term exposure, a growing number can be attributed to short-term, acute exposure to heavy smog.
Even in brief doses, heavy pollution can affect the ability of blood to coagulate, making clotting more likely and giving rise to heart attacks and strokes, said Ted Boadway, CMA's technical advisor on health and the environment.
"Both of which rise during pollution episodes and in the few days afterwards and explain in significant part the number of acute deaths due to air pollution," Boadway told reporters.
In the long-term, he said, the harmful ingredients contained in air pollution can weaken the muscle cells in artery walls, particularly in the heart, causing a number of cardiovascular problems and potentially death.
According to the report, in 2008, 80 percent of those who die due to air pollution will be over 65. Twenty-five Canadians under 19 will die from short-term acute pollution exposure this year.
Day described the report as a road map detailing where the country stands now in terms of pollution, and how much more severe the situation will become if policy makers do not act now to improve air quality.
"This report shows for the first time the tragic effects of the toxic air that we breathe ... across the country ..." he said.
Source: Xinhua
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