The poor air quality in Mexico city has caused for a plethora of different issues in area. The most noticeable impact is the devastating degrading of the health of Mexico city's citizens. There are also some collateral economic impacts in Mexico city due to the air pollution.
impacts on health
First off, the primary hazardous pollutants in the air in Mexico city are Pm10 and Pm2.5 (particle matter). To a lesser extent, ozone, sulfur, and several other chemicals take part in the pollution too. Exposure to these substances can cause bronchitis, pneumonia, lung cancer, and can induce severe asthma attacks. due to their microscopic size. They are so small that they are able to penetrate the respiratory tract, and are therefore able to cause a variety of respiratory issues.
Figure 3.1: table showing the increase in risk of adverse health effects on different age groups, due to excessive exposure to pm2.5 and other pollutants. |
This figure shows that the air problem affects people of all ages, from kids as young as 14 year old, to seniors. It is also shown to cause several different health issues, such and cardiovascular diseases, lung cancers, and so on. There is also information on economical and social impacts which will be analysed in a section further down this page.
Generally, an increase in pm2.5 and/or an increase in pm10 is associated with an increase in relative risk of mortality or respiratory/cardiovascular disease. In the 1900's, a survey of several towns in the United States over about half a century showed an increase in the relative risk involved relative to the amount of pm2.5 in the air. Now more than 100 000 deaths per annum are attributed to the effects of atmospheric pollution.
Generally, an increase in pm2.5 and/or an increase in pm10 is associated with an increase in relative risk of mortality or respiratory/cardiovascular disease. In the 1900's, a survey of several towns in the United States over about half a century showed an increase in the relative risk involved relative to the amount of pm2.5 in the air. Now more than 100 000 deaths per annum are attributed to the effects of atmospheric pollution.
Legend: P= Portage, WI; T = Topeka, KS; W = Watertown, MA; L = St. Louis, MO; H = Harriman, TN; S = Steubenville, OH. The non-bold letter shows the towns in the period 1974-1989, and the bold letter shows the town in the period 1990-1998
Note: riesgo relativo translates to "relative risk"
Figure 3.2: a table showing the information surveyed by the six cities' study. This is a map that shows the risk of pm 2.5 on the health of people shown through the example of 6 American cities. This graph clearly shows that an increase in pm 2.5 per cubic metre is associated with a relative increase in the risk of disease or mortality. This is just in general to solidify the fact that increased risk of cardiovascular and respiratory problems is associated with an increase in pm2.5 concentration. The higher the concentration of Pm 2.5 the higher the relative risk.
Source: http://centromariomolina.org/english/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Oportunidades-calidad-del-aire-y-salud-para-ZMVM-final_LeonoraRojas_eng.pdf
economic impacts
While health is the most prominent impact of the poor air quality in Mexico city, economical and social impacts are also caused as a sort of collateral damage. On days with poor air quality, work absenteeism in Mexico city increases by about 5%, primarily due to the inability or unwillingness to go out and breathe in the poor air. There are also days with restricted activity in companies due the poor air. This reduces productivity in the companies by 7.5%. When this information is thought about in proportion to the prodigious population of Mexico city, which numbers 8.851 million, it is clear that the air quality takes an extremely heavy toll on the economy of Mexico city.