Eruption may hurt people with breathing problems: WHO
GENEVA
(Reuters) - The Icelandic volcanic eruption that has paralyzed air traffic in much of Europe could also harm people with breathing problems, the World Health Organization said on Friday.The United Nations health agency has not yet ascertained the heath risks from this specific eruption, but once the clouds settle they could be dangerous, spokesman Daniel Epstein said.
"Any particulate matter that is deposited, breathed into the lungs is dangerous to people so we are concerned about that but we don't have details yet," he told a briefing.
"This is very dangerous to health because these particles when inhaled can reach the peripheral regions of the bronchioles and lungs and can cause problems especially for people with asthma or respiratory problems," he said.
A Scottish expert on respiratory disease said ash falling on Britain was unlikely to do much harm as a very high exposure to the low-toxicity dust was needed to have much effect on people.
"There is a massive diluting effect in the atmosphere as it gets dispersed by wind which means the amount reaching land is very small," Ken Donaldson, professor of respiratory toxicology at the University of Edinburgh, told Reuters.
Epstein said he understood the cloud from the volcano was still suspended high in the atmosphere and particles had not begun to settle on earth.
Once that happens the health risk would increase and people with asthma or other respiratory problems should stay indoors or wear protective masks if they have to go out, as in any other case of airborne pollution, he said.
Donaldson agreed that people with existing lung disease should stay indoors if there was a measurable change in particle levels. The eruption that began on Wednesday from a volcano under an Icelandic glacier has created chaos in European air travel not seen since the September 11 attacks nine years ago.
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE63F3H620100416
Air pollution, both indoors and outdoors, is a major environmental health problem affecting everyone in developed and developing countries alike. The 2005 WHO Air quality guidelines (AQGs) are designed to offer global guidance on reducing the health impacts of air pollution. The guidelines first produced in 19871 and updated in 19972 had a European scope. The new (2005) guidelines apply worldwide and are based on expert evaluation of current scientific evidence. They recommend revised limits for the concentration of selected air pollutants: particulate matter (PM), ozone (O3), nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and sulfur dioxide (SO2), applicable across all WHO regions.
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs313/en/
