14 DAY TRIAL // Several investigations carried out over the years have revealed that people who breathe in toxic fumes released by traffic have higher chances of getting cancer.
Still, many assume that it takes a lot of traffic fumes to affect one's lungs to such an extent that they become cancerous.
A new study reveals that, contrary to popular opinion, even low-level exposure to traffic-induced air pollution is enough to up lung cancer risk. Daily Mail reports that, all things considered, not all forms of air pollution harm a person's lungs beyond repair even when exposure is kept at low levels.
Specialists claim that fine particulate matter is what people should fear the most. This form of air pollution is mainly produced by diesel exhausts and affects people living in urban areas first and foremost.
Researchers explain that, whenever small sooty particles work their way into a person's lungs, the body fails to get rid of all of them. Some get lodged into the tissues that they encounter, and can eventually trigger the onset of cancer.
The European Union has already set air quality standards intended to protect people by limiting the amounts of fine particulate matter that they are exposed to.
However, this does not mean that those living in areas where such standards are respected shouldn't worry about the effect of air pollution on their health.
“We found no threshold below which there was no risk,” Dr. Ole Raaschou-Nielsen stressed.
The scientists suspect that, as some point in the not so distant future, the medical community will no longer settle for simply saying that there is a link between air pollution and cancer, and will agree to list poor air quality as a cause of said medical condition.
“At this stage, we might have to add air pollution, even at current concentrations, to the list of causes of lung cancer and recognise that air pollution has large effects on public health,” Dr. Takashi Yorifuji argued.
A detailed account of this investigation and its findings is made available to the public in a recent issue of the journal The Lancet Oncology.