Statement of the DZL on Air Pollutants: 8 Facts

The German Center for Lung Research (DZL), one of the six German Centers for Health Research (DZG), follows the current discussion on the health risk posed by air pollutants with great concern. Using the occasion of the DZL Annual Meeting in Mannheim, the DZL notes the following with regard to its position:

1. The currently much discussed nitrogen dioxide limit value of 40 micrograms per cubic meter of air is mostly based on epidemiological studies. To get a better understanding: Epidemiology is a well-established scientific discipline, which has as one of its essential objectives to identify long-term risks of environmental and lifestyle factors for the population and assess their significance. It uses large observation numbers, various observation situations, and complex mathematical models, supported by toxicological studies, to differentiate between causal links and the coincidental concurrence of events.
2. Numerous questions can only be answered with methods of epidemiology, since nobody would expose people to pollutants for years or even decades in a “controlled trial”. For instance, the insight that smoking is harmful to human health, which is no longer questioned by anyone, results from epidemiological studies.
3. In scientific terms, there is no doubt that the exposure to air pollutants represents a health hazard to the population, not only regarding airway and lung diseases but also in terms of cardiovascular disorders.
4. However, no methods are available allowing a physician to determine in a patient with lung disease to what extent the components of air pollution have contributed to developing the disease.
5. Selected experts from various specialties periodically assess the current state of knowledge in an international committee of the World Health Organization (WHO). The guideline values for the different air pollutants recommended by the WHO on these grounds aim to minimize the health risk for the population as far as possible. The scientific expertise of the international top-class assessment committee established at the WHO is beyond question.
6. For nitrogen dioxide, which is also an indicator of further components of air pollution, this guideline value is currently 40 micrograms per cubic meter of air. Such values must be within reasonable bounds even for highly sensitive individuals (incl. children, elderly people, and patients with lung and heart disease), since nobody can escape from the 24/7 inhalation of ambient air. The DZL has not received any new reliable findings that would currently suggest the upward revision of this guideline value.
7. The limit value applicable in Germany is based on the WHO guideline recommendations but also takes into account additional factors, such as technical feasibility. Furthermore, it is a political decision what measures are taken to what extent and in what order to counter the regional exceedance of limit values. It goes without saying that the proportionality of means must be kept in mind.
8. In the current discussion on nitrogen oxide, scientifically populist statements have experienced drastic media upvaluation. The “traditional” response pattern of providing science, the population, and decision-makers with well-considered and balanced opinions in selected publication organs has clearly been left by the wayside. It will be necessary to reflect on how the affected scientific organizations can be better prepared to respond to this phenomenon, as political decisions should be made based on sound scientific evidence.

Prof. Dr. Werner Seeger (Chairman and Spokesman)
On behalf of the Board of the German Center for Lung Research (DZL)

Contact:

Deutsches Zentrum für Lungenforschung (DZL) e. V.
Geschäftsstelle
Aulweg 130
D-35394 Gießen
Phone: +49 641 99 46721
Email: contact@dzl.de

Further Information

Source: idw (in German)

The German Center for Lung Research (Deutsches Zentrum für Lungenforschung, DZL) is an association of 29 leading university and non-university institutions dedicated to pulmonary research. The DZL coordinates and conducts basic scientific, disease-oriented, and patient-centered research meeting the highest international standards. The aim is to translate basic scientific knowledge into new clinical approaches to improving patient care as quickly and efficiently as possible.