Air Pollution Contributes to Higher COVID-19 Deaths in Some States

By M.G. Alison. Sep 12 2020, 10:34 AM EDT

Air Pollution Contributes to Higher COVID-19 Deaths in Some U.S. States — Air pollution according to a new study from ProPublica and SUNY could make COVID-19 deadlier to people who are constantly exposed to it. Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Air pollution could make COVID-19 deadlier to people who are constantly exposed to it, according to a new study from ProPublica and SUNY.

The peer-reviewed study showed that hazardous air pollutants (HAPs), a specific type of industrial emission, can make COVID-19 more severe in people exposed to it regularly.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency describes HAPs as chemicals suspected of causing serious health problems and cancers. Under the Clean Air Act, industrial facilities that emit HAPs will be regulated.

The study, which was published in the Environmental Research Letters journal on Friday, also found that air pollution levels are correlated with the COVID-19 deaths based on an analysis done from 3,100 counties.

According to a report on the Insider, this link between air pollution and COVID-19 was evident in the rural counties of Louisiana and highly populated communities in New York City.

It can also explain why there is a higher number of COVID-19 related deaths in industrial communities, notably those in Louisiana with West Baton Rouge Parish ranked as being in the top 3 percent of all U.S. counties.

Of the 189,000 deaths in the U.S., more than 4,900 were from Louisiana. University of British Columbia's public health professor, Dr. Michael Brauer, said the link between respiratory infections and air pollution is backed by significant evidence.

According to Brauer, an infection is more likely to become severe if a person is exposed to a viral or bacterial infection and, at the same time, exposed to air pollution.

Aside from that, the permanent effects that air pollution can have on a person's health will also make the COVID-19 symptoms severe in a person even if they are no longer exposed to polluted air.

As an example, Natural Resources Defense Council's Science Center's environmental health scientists, Vijay Limaye, said even though there was a decline in air pollutants in New York due to the lockdown during spring, this did little to protect the residents as they have been long exposed to the polluted air in the city.

Limaye noted that air pollution affects a person's lungs, hearts, and brains, and it can sometimes be irreversible. Some of those damages can still persist even when they are no longer exposed to the polluted air.

According to a report on The Conversation, long term exposure to pollutants can reduce the lung's function, leading to respiratory illness.

It can also trigger a persistent inflammatory response even among the young and increases the risk of infection, especially in viruses that target the respiratory tract.

Another concern among scientists is if air pollution could also cause the transmission of COVID-19. However, experts said that this link needs to be explored thoroughly, and more research will be needed, according to an article on Earth.org.