Clean air for a good start: children are the future of the planet

Aires nuevos para la primera infancia: los niños son el futuro del planeta

Abstract

In early childhood, air pollution leads to an increased risk of disease, premature death, and development of disruptions. Fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) is considered the classical pollutant of major concern. However, in Brazil, fine particulate monitoring is still limited and restricted to a few cities. Particularly, in the city of Rio de Janeiro, only one automatic station obtains PM_2.5 concentrations and publishes the air quality indexes daily. This study is part of the project “Clean air for a good start” managed by the Horizon Citizen Foundation, with the goal of obtaining evidence to set a plan to reduce children exposition to air pollution. Data is shared on a global web platform. Results showed that PM_2.5 levels are high when compared with WHO guidelines and coordinated actions would be needed to decrease emissions of primary pollutants and secondary aerosol’s precursors.

Keywords:
Childhood health; fine particulate matter; low-cost monitoring; cooperative network; air pollution and health