Clean Air Increases Average Life Expectancy

Efforts to clean up the air are paying off. Since Congress passed the revised Clean Air Act in 1970, giving the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) the authority to set and enforce national standards for cleaner air, the nation’s air quality has improved significantly. Standards have been set to protect people from the dangers of carbon monoxide and particulates as well as other pollutants and have led to the use of such devices as catalytic converters on cars and scrubbers in factories.

During the last two decades, the improvement in air quality has increased the U.S. average life expectancy by almost five months. This information comes from a federally funded landmark study that is the first to prove that breathing cleaner air leads to living longer lives.

The research revealed that the average American's life span has increased by about three years over the period of time between 1978 and 2001. The average life expectancy has risen to the age of 77 with about 4.8 months of the increase being attributed to breathing cleaner air.

Researchers from both Brigham Young University and Harvard School of Public Health conducted the new study and the report was published in the New England Journal of Medicine. The study was funded in part by the EPA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In a statement, the EPA acknowledged that these types of studies provide critical information for helping the agency set standards on particulates.

Pollutants contained in the air have been long established as being associated with health issues. Particulates such as dust and soot as well as a variety of chemicals are emitted from diesel-powered vehicles, steel mills, coal-fired power plants power plants and factories. These particulates become embedded in the lungs, and increase the risk of serious health issues such as lung disease, heart attacks and strokes.

Through the use of government data, the researchers analyzed levels of particulate pollution found in 51 cities across the U.S. during the last 23 years. The fluctuations in the pollution levels were compared to changes in life expectancies that were estimated by using census data and death records. Results were adjusted to allow for other factors affecting life expectancy, such as income and education levels, migration and smoking habits. Levels of particulates decreased by an average of one-third in the cities studied while Americans enjoyed an average life span that was 2.72 years longer.

According to study lead author, C. Arden Pope III, a Brigham Young epidemiologist, “We saw that communities that had larger reductions in air pollution on average had larger increases in life expectancies.” The most improvements to air quality were seen in Pittsburgh, PA and Buffalo, NY, where life spans were increased by approximately 10 months. Among cities that had increases about five months were Indianapolis and St. Louis and even Los Angeles.

In 2008, government researchers reported that the life expectancy in the U.S. has now exceeded 78 years. The increase is attributed to a reduction in death rates for conditions such as heart disease, cancer, accidents and diabetes. In all, there have been decreases in the mortality rates for nine of the 15 leading causes of death. In addition, the EPA’s data shows that there has been a decrease of 11 percent nationally in particulate levels since 2000.