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UN / AIR POLLUTION CANCER
STORY: UN / AIR POLLUTION CANCER
TRT: 2.35
SOURCE: WHO/ IARC / MEA / UNICEF / WORLD BANK
RESTRICTION: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 17 OCTOBER 2013, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND, 15 OCTOBER 2013 LYON, FRANCE / 15 OCTOBER 2013 LYON, FRANCE / FILE
15 OCTOBER 2013 LYON, FRANCE
1. Various shots, monograph meeting at IARC
17 OCTOBER 2013, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
2. Tilt down, from painting in conference room to meeting
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Kurt Straif, Head of the IARC Monographs Section
“In this more than 40 year history of the monograph programme, there have been more than 950 agents that have been evaluated either once or repeatedly if there is important new evidence, and more than 100 of these have been classified as carcinogenic to humans, this is the highest classification group, meaning that we know that it is causing cancer in humans.”
3. Cutaway, journalist
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Dana Loomis, Deputy Head of the Monographs Section IARC:
“The working group concluded that outdoor air pollution is carcinogenic to humans, which makes this a IARC group 1 carcinogen, also that particulate matter from outdoor air pollution is carcinogenic to humans, also IARC group 1.”
5. Cutaway, presser
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr Dana Loomis, Deputy Head of the Monographs Section IARC:
“In addition to that we have information from studies of cancer mechanisms, that supports that, noting that, exposure to particulate matter is associated with genetic damage, and other effects that are known to be predictor of cancers in humans.”
7. Cutaway, journalist
“Air belongs to everybody. Nobody has private air. So we can’t do very much to change the air we breathe, and we are all responsible for it. And so I think that it is important to make the point that, this really needs collective public health action to solve the problem.”
FILE - MEA – DATE AND LOCATION UNKNOWN
8. Various shots, pollution
FILE – UNICEF – FEBRUARY 2008, CHELYABINSK, RUSSIA
9. Wide shot, factory smokestacks
10. Wide shot, train in front of industrial landscape
FILE – WORLD BANK – SEPTEMBER 2006, VIETNAM
11. Zoom out, power plant
FILE – WORLD BANK – MAY 2008, INDIA
12. Zoom out, power lines to street traffic
FILE – WORLD BANK – 2008, VIETNAM
13. Wide shot, street scene
FILE – WORLD BANK – MAY 2008, INDIA
14. Wide shot, traffic on street
15. Aerial shot, traffic on roads
The specialized cancer agency of the United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) announced today that outdoor air pollution is a leading environmental
cause of cancer deaths.
An evaluation by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) Monographs Programme found there is sufficient evidence that exposure to outdoor air pollution causes lung cancer and increases the risk for bladder cancer.
The IARC said that air pollution is already known to increase risks for a wide range of diseases, such as respiratory and heart diseases. Studies indicate that in recent years exposure levels have increased significantly in some parts of the world, particularly in rapidly industrializing countries with large populations.
The most recent data indicate that 223,000 deaths from lung cancer in 2010 resulted from air pollution.
The IARC Monographs Programme, dubbed the ‘encyclopaedia of carcinogens,’ provides an authoritative source of scientific evidence on cancer-causing substances and exposures. In the past, the Programme evaluated many individual chemicals and specific mixtures that occur in outdoor air pollution.
These included diesel engine exhaust, solvents, metals, and dusts. But this is the first time that experts have classified outdoor air pollution as a cause of cancer.
The main sources of outdoor air pollution are transportation, stationary power generation, industrial and agricultural emissions, and residential heating and cooking. Some air pollutants have natural sources, as well.
The IARC is part of the World Health Organization, but has its own governance structure in order to generate the evidence base for cancer prevention.
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