The biological effects of coarse and fine particulate matter
- University of Edinburgh Medical School, UK
- Correspondence to: Prof. K Donaldson, ELEGI Colt Laboaratory, Wilkie Building, University of Edinburgh Medical School, Teviot Place, Edinburgh EH8 9AG, UK; ken.donaldson{at}ed.ac.uk
A new chapter in the long history of the toxicology of air pollution particles
December 2002 saw a 50th anniversary that marks one of the great milestones in environmental medicine. On 4 December 1952 London was enveloped in a thick fog. An anticyclone then caused a temperature inversion that trapped air pollution from millions of domestic coal fires and the fog grew daily into a choking smog that settled over London. Over the days of 4–9 December visibility was reduced to a few yards at midday and pedestrians collected a layer of oily soot on their clothes and skin. About 4000 deaths were attributed to the smog but there is now evidence that the number of deaths may have reached 12 000. As a direct consequence of “The Great London Smog” the government began to put together legislation, culminating in the Clean Air Acts, which introduced smokeless zones. From this beginning we can track the successful improvement in UK air pollution that has culminated in the relatively clean and clear skies that most of us enjoy today.
“In many cities in the world air pollution is still very high”
However, the effects of air pollution can still be detected. There are many cities in the world where air pollution is still very high, such as Mexico City, Los Angeles, and Beijing. Improved computer programs and the ability to study enormous populations also allows very small effects in populations to …
