This article in Bloomberg News is a good summary of recent research showing new ways fine particulate air pollution (PM2.5) harms our health, especially our brains. We have long known it increases respiratory illnesses, heart disease, and stroke. Now we are discovering it has big effects on our brain function.
Short term spikes in PM2.5 affects how people think: chess players make worse decisions, the stock market has lower returns, and politicians use less complex language.
Long term exposure to PM2.5 is just as bad: it increases the speed of memory decline in aging, and increases risks for dementia, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and stroke. Children exposed to air pollution before birth have reduced cognitive skills later, and children in California who grew up in areas with worse air pollution was worse do worse on math and reading tests.
PM2.5 air pollution increased from 2016 to 2018, partly due to wildfires and partly due to decreased enforcement from the EPA.
EPA is considering new PM2.5 regulations right now. As this article documents, we should be strengthening the standards to keep us all healthier and our brains working better.
Note: this article has links to all the studies it discusses.
