Exposure to outdoor air pollution raises death risk 20%

Pollution from a busy road increases the risk of death for people living nearby. Picture: Eamonn Farrell/RollingNews.ie

Improperly ventilated wood or kerosene stove burning, or living near a busy road, dramatically increase the risk of death, a major international study on air pollution has found.

Researchers at New York University's Grossman School of Medicine and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai found that exposure to above-average levels of outdoor air pollution increased risk of death by 20%, and risk of death from cardiovascular disease by 17%.