Skip to content

MENU

Quick guide to air pollution
MENUMENU
  • Public
    • Understanding
      • Annual Pollution Maps
      • Breathe London Blueprint
      • Clean Air in Cities App
      • Defra modelling 2015
      • Defra annual reports
      • How polluted is my road?
      • LAEI 2013
      • London Air
      • 187 focus areas
      • Mayor's useful links
      • 50 polluted roads
      • NO2 diffusion tubes
      • Oxford Street NO2
      • Schools near roads
      • Roadside modelling
      • South East schools
      • What kills Londoners?
    • Action
      • 10 steps
      • Airgonomics podcast
      • Chief Airgonomics Officer
      • Cycle Streets routes
      • EN 13779 hospitals
      • EN 13779 London 2014
      • Face masks
      • Get our mobile app
      • LAQM
      • Legal guide
      • London Plan
      • Mayoral questions
      • Mode choice
      • Putney Society
      • Sunday Times Clean Air Campaign
      • TfL cycling routes
      • Under the Dome (Part 7 from 9.36 mins)
      • Using FOIA/EIR
      • Using social media
    • Smog
      • airTEXT
      • Breathe London - Sloane Street
      • Copernicus
      • Defra hourly bulletins
      • Defra UK-Air
      • EEA Air Quality Index
      • Episodes
      • Health advice
      • Hourly bulletins
      • Jetstream
      • London Air
      • Mayor's school report 2016
      • MetClim
      • Met Office guide
      • Modelling
      • Plume London
      • RBKC monitors
      • SAS selection deaths 2013
      • Smog list on Twitter
      • 24 hour forecast
      • 84 hour pressure
      • 5 day weather
      • 10 day weather
      • 2 week weather
      • World cities AQI
  • Media
    • Media
      • News alerts
      • News
      • Statements
    • Links
      • Davey Cartoons
      • Flickr
      • Facebook
      • LinkedIn
      • Twitter
      • Vimeo
      • You Tube
  • Policy
    • Policy
      • Our Manifesto 2016
      • Clean Air Act
      • Health
      • Indoor
      • Legal
      • Olympics
      • Solutions
      • Sources
  • Resources
    • Guides
      • Guides
      • Guide to the 'Clean Air in Cities' app
      • Pollution Check
      • Pollution Suppressor
      • Smog
    • Resources
      • Davey Cartoons
      • App
      • Ella's Law
      • Indoor air
      • One Atmosphere (Vimeo)
      • One Atmosphere (YouTube)
      • Photos
      • Presentations
      • Videos
    • Links - Ella's Law
      • Clean Air (Human Rights) Bill
      • Ella’s Law
      • ellaslaw.uk
      • Ella Roberta Family Foundation
      • Inquest
      • EU lessons
      • Library briefing
      • New WHO AQGs
      • Petition
      • Supporters
      • The CCC's advice
    • Links - Health
      • Aphekom
      • Cognitive effects on children
      • COMEAP
      • IARC: Diesel
      • IARC: Outdoor/PM
      • JAMA
      • NO2 health study
      • NO2 meta-analysis
      • Public Health Indicators
      • PHI COMEAP advice
      • PHI Defra data
      • PHI PHE advice
      • RCP report 2016
      • Wellcome Witness - Air Pollution Research in Britain 1955 - 2000
      • WHO guidelines 2005
      • WHO AQG 2008
      • WHO AQG update 2017
      • WHO air pollution
      • WHO indoor guidelines
      • WHO HRAPIE
      • WHO outcomes
      • WHO publications
      • WHO REVIHAAP
    • Links - Legal
      • Air Quality Directive
      • AQSR 2010
      • CJEU judgment 2021
      • ClientEarth case
      • DG Environment
      • EU infringement cases
      • ECJ Judgement
      • EU Clean Air
      • EU Clean Air | Twitter
      • EU DGR findings
      • EU Environment Impact Assessments
      • EU financial sanctions
      • EU Fitness Check
      • EU infraction
      • EU infringement UK
      • EU legal processes
      • EU lessons
      • EU media releases
      • EU NECD emissions
      • EU NECD 2016/2284/EU
      • EU NECD revision
      • EU new AQ Directive 2022
      • EU reporting
      • EU TTIP
      • M4 bus lane
      • Planning resources
      • UK National Emissions Ceilings Regulations 2018
    • Links - Policy
      • Breathe Life 2030
      • Chief Airgonomics Officer website
      • CityAir
      • Defra media releases
      • DPF removal
      • Diesel emission standards
      • Diesel exhaust 2007
      • Diesel exhaust 2011
      • Diesel - history
      • Emissions Analytics EQUA Index
      • Engineering Cleaner Air
      • European Environment Agency
      • Fumifugium
      • GEO6
      • GEO7
      • Gothenburg 2020
      • Healthy Air Campaign 'asks'
      • Late lessons 1
      • Late lessons 2
      • LEZs in Europe
      • PX 2015
      • PX 2016
      • SDG scorecards
      • Shipping
      • 10 climate measures
      • What will climate change look like in your area?
      • WHO SLCP measures
  • About
  • Contact
  • Register

It’s official: Outdoor air pollution causes lung cancer

Posted by Simon Birkett on 17 October 2013
Apps, Health, News
Download pdf

World Health Organisation classifies outdoor air pollution and particulate matter as carcinogenic to humans

The specialised cancer agency of the World Health Organisation, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), announced today that it has classified outdoor air pollution as carcinogenic to humans (Group 1).  Only 111 agents have previously been classified in Group 1.

http://www.iarc.fr/en/media-centre/iarcnews/pdf/pr221_E.pdf

After thoroughly reviewing the latest available scientific literature, the world’s leading experts convened by the IARC Monographs Programme concluded that there is sufficient evidence that exposure to outdoor air pollution causes lung cancer (Group 1).  They also noted a positive association with an increased risk of bladder cancer.  IARC also said that outdoor air pollution is the most widespread environmental carcinogen.

Particulate matter, a major component of outdoor air pollution, was evaluated separately and was also classified as carcinogenic to humans (Group 1).

The IARC evaluation showed an increasing risk of lung cancer with increasing levels of exposure to particulate matter and air pollution.  Although the composition of air pollution and levels of exposure can vary dramatically between locations, the conclusions of the Working Group apply to all regions of the world.

Quotes

Simon Birkett, Founder and Director of Clean Air in London, said:

“This is the biggest public health news for a generation.  No-one can ignore this.

“Declaring ‘particulate matter’ as carcinogenic to humans would have been big news but declaring the whole cloud of air pollution as carcinogenic is a ‘paradigm shift’ in the truest sense.  Both forms of pollution have been placed in the top rank of most carcinogenic agents known to humankind.

“Until now, scientists have only linked exposures to individual gases, particles or sources of air pollution (e.g. asbestos, diesel exhaust or tobacco smoke) to individual health outcomes like cancer or cardiovascular disease.  Declaring outdoor air pollution as carcinogenic means we are no longer fighting a single particle or molecule at a time.

“Today’s news will send a seismic shockwave through the media and public awareness and put intense pressure on policy makers and legislators to take action and warn the public with advice for people on protecting themselves and reducing pollution for themselves and others.   We may even see the first ‘class actions’.

“The Mayor says road transport is responsible for some 80% of particulate matter emissions in London.  As his biggest single power and responsibility is in transport, he must act – and act across the board – to reduce these emissions.  It is no longer enough for him to say he’ll fit filters to buses to tackle diesel exhaust or start worrying about nitrogen dioxide molecules and tyre and brakewear.

“We need to tackle a global problem globally.  No single particle, technology or level of Government can fix this problem alone.  Everyone must contribute at a local, regional, national, European and global level.  From today, we need to work together at all levels of society on all sources, pollutants and exposures to air pollution to tackle a global and all-encompassing problem.

“Congratulations to the World Health Organisation and the International Agency for Research on Cancer for pulling this evidence together and thank you for warning us.”

ENDS

Notes

1.  IARC media release

http://www.iarc.fr/en/media-centre/iarcnews/pdf/pr221_E.pdf

2.  IARC website

http://www.iarc.fr/

3.  IARC monographs

http://monographs.iarc.fr/ENG/Preamble/index.php

http://monographs.iarc.fr/ENG/Classification/

http://monographs.iarc.fr/ENG/Classification/Table4.pdf

4.  Sources of particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10) in London

https://cleanair.london/wp-content/uploads/CAL-258-MAQS_Sources-of-PM.pdf

5.  Wikipedia re carcinogen

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carcinogen

6.  Other
NCIN
http://www.ncin.org.uk/cancer_information_tools/eatlas/pct/atlas.html?select=Eav&indicator=i0
All news articles

Share this post

Share this article on Facebook Share this article on Twitter Share this article on LinkedIn
Tweets by CleanAirLondon

Calendar

  1. Anniversary (1955): Coke Prices (Increase)

    January 31, 2023

  2. Anniversary (2013): Tragic death of Ella Roberta Adoo Kissi-Debrah

    February 15, 2023

  3. Anniversary (1956): Atmospheric Pollution – Medical Research

    March 5, 2023

View all events

Categories

  • Apps5
  • Clean Air Act8
  • COP261
  • Great Smog1
  • Guides17
  • Health96
  • Hot topics18
  • Indoor20
  • Legal125
  • News264
  • Olympics23
  • Presentations17
  • Solutions91
  • Sources49
Clean Air in London is a company limited by guarantee, registered in England and Wales, with company number 7413769 and registered office Thames House, Mere Park, Dedmere Road, Marlow, Buckinghamshire, SL7 1PB
Privacy policy Terms of use

Favourites

  • ClientEarth
  • Healthy Air Campaign
  • Keep the city out
  • London Air Quality Network
  • Take a Breath
© 2023 Clean Air in London Registered company number 7413769
Allow us to send you notifications about news posts?
× No Thanks
This site uses cookies: Find out more.