Introduction
The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Report on Irish Air Quality 2019 stated that 1,300 deaths per year were due to poor air quality. In addition, estimates indicate that air pollution has health-related costs in Ireland of over €2 billion per year; including the loss of 382,000 workdays per year [12]. The Air Quality in Europe 2020 Report [8] estimates of the health impacts of exposure to air pollution indicate that, in 2018, long-term exposure to PM 2.5 in Europe (including 41 countries) was responsible for approximately 417,000 premature deaths. Of these, around 379,000 were in the EU-28. It is estimated that in the EU-28 (now 27) countries, exposure to NO 2 and O 3 concentrations on the population has resulted in approximately 54,000 and 19,400 premature deaths per year, respectively (note: this study was conducted prior to the UK exist from the European Union). These health impacts result in direct economic costs and are estimated by the WHO to be in the region of US$1.6 trillion in Europe, and for Ireland around 1.3% of GDP or US$2.5bn per year. 1.5.2 Air Pollution and COVID-19 The SARS-CoV-2 virus (commonly referred to as COVID-19) has caused the deaths of over 4 million people across the world; including over 5,000 Irish citizens. It has also had a devastating effect on the global economy; causing businesses to shut down and depriving millions of people of their livelihoods. Scientists have been investigating the underlying causes of this viral growth in a bid to determine why certain areas have been hit harder than others. There is growing evidence of a strong link between air pollution levels and Covid-19 infection rates. Recent research [13] has investigated the effect that air pollution has on the causes of obstructive lung diseases though damage caused to airway cilia (hair-like protrusions that move microbes and debris up and out of the airways). The researchers highlighted the important role that these airway cilia have in protecting the lungs from harmful emissions. These airway cilia and secretory cells constitute the first line of defence for lungs against diseases. The airway cilia are essential to protect the lungs from diseases caused by environmental pollutants (e.g. NO, NO 2 , SO 2 , and O 3 ). Secretory cells produce gel-forming mucins to entrap inhaled particles and airway cilia help transport them out of the lung. Research published in 2020 has also questioned whether atmospheric pollution could be considered a co-factor in the extremely high level of death rates due to COVID-19 in northern Italy. The research [14] focused on the Lombardy and Emilia Romagna regions of the country; two areas that were hit hardest by the virus. These regions are one of Europe’s most polluted areas as a consequence of geography, urban and industrial emissions. The researchers concluded that prolonged exposure to air pollution leads to a chronic inflammatory stimulus, even in the young and healthy. The research report concluded that the higher prevalence and lethality of a virus such as COVID-19 may be explained by the population living in areas experiencing chronic exposure to air pollution, thus causing the cilia and upper airways defences to have been weakened [14]. Researchers from the University of Birmingham and the University of Bern also found “compelling evidence” of a link between air quality and the rate of virus uptake. The research indicated that an increase in PM 2.5 concentrations (more than 100 times thinner than a human hair) of 1 μ g/m 3 is associated with up to 21% more deaths attributable to Covid-19 coupled with a sizeable increase in hospital admissions [15]. 1.6 Economic Impacts Recent work by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) [16] suggests that increases in air pollution cause substantial reductions in economic activity. The dataset combines satellite- based measures of PM 2.5 concentrations (the pollutant with the largest estimated impacts on mortality and health outcomes, used as an indicator of general exposure to air pollution by the WHO) with statistics on gross domestic product for all regions across the European Union between 2000 and 2015. The results show that air pollution adversely affects economic activity substantially. The mean particulate matter concentration in the sample period was 15 μ g/m 3 . The research found that a 1 μ g/m 3 increase in the average annual concentration of PM 2.5 causes a short-run reduction in economic activity, as measured by real gross domestic product (GDP) per capita, of between 0.5% and 1.5%. This implies that a 10% reduction in PM 2.5 average concentration across Europe would increase European GDP by approximately €100 - 200 billion. On a per capita basis, this works out at €200 - 400 per person per year.
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