Rational of the conference
There is clear evidence that at least 3.6 million
premature deaths are caused yearly in the world
by indoor air pollution and a further 3.5 millions
by outdoor pollution. In Europe the yearly toll of
air pollution is 450.000 premature deaths and in
Italy this number amounts to 85.000, particularly
but not exclusively in the Lombardy and Po river
plain. According to the European Ambient Agency
the broad costs of these deleterious effects of air
pollution are in the range of 330-940 billion Euros.
It has been known for many years that the principal
organs affected by air pollution are the lung, the
heart and vessels, leading to a dramatic increase
of respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. More
recent data show that the health burden of air pollution
is much greater and wider. Cancers increase
and weak categories of people (the infant, the
pregnant woman, the oldest old) are particularly
affected, leading to a delayed physical and mental
development in infants, cognitive impairment and
to an array of neurodegenerative diseases. With
this background, the goal of this Seminar is to bring
uptodate knowledge on the effects of air pollution,
with particular emphasis not only on the ailments
traditionally known to be associated with it, but also
on those which became more documented and evident
in the last few years. During the Seminar there
will be also reports on the actions undertaken to
fight and control air pollution, with special emphasis
on critical areas such as China, Eastern Europe
and Lombardy. The strategies of the World Health
Organization will be outlined and the voice of the
lay members of the affected communities listened.