Air pollution nanoparticles linked to brain cancer for first time
New research has
linked air pollution nanoparticles to brain cancer for the first time. The ultra-fine
particles (UFPs) are produced by fuel burning, particularly in diesel vehicles,
and higher exposures significantly increase people’s chances of getting the
deadly cancer. Previous work has shown that nanoparticles can get into the
brain and that they can carry carcinogenic chemicals.
Brain cancers are
rare, and the scientists have calculated that an increase in pollution exposure
roughly equivalent to moving from a quiet city street to a busy one leads to
one extra case of brain cancer for every 100,000 people exposed.
“Environmental risks
like air pollution are not large in magnitude – their importance comes because
everyone in the population is exposed,” said Scott Weichenthal, at McGill
University in Canada, who led the study. “So when you multiply these small
risks by lots of people, all of sudden there can be lots of cases. In a large
city, it could be a meaningful number, particularly given the fact that these
tumours are often fatal.”...
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/nov/13/air-pollution-particles-linked-to-brain-cancer-in-new-research