Pollution Tied to 9 Million Deaths Worldwide in 2015

Pollution led to more than 9 million deaths worldwide in 2015, or 1 in 6 deaths that year, a new report reveals. Air pollution, the worst culprit, was linked to 6.5 million heart and lung related deaths. The Lancet Commission on Pollution and Health said.

Water pollution was tied to 1.8 million deaths, mostly from gastrointestinal and parasitic infections. And workplace related pollution and lead pollution also played a role, contributing o 800,000 deaths and 500,000 deaths respectively.

“Pollution is much more than an environmental challenge – it is a profound and pervasive threat that affects many aspects of human health and well-being,” said Dr. Philip Landrigan, co-lead of the commission. “It deserves the full attention of international leaders, civil society, health professionals, and people around the world,” added Landrigan, a professor at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City.

The report is published in the Oct. 20 online issue of The Lancet. Two years in the making, it involved more than 40 international health and environmental authors.

“Our goal is to raise global awareness of the importance of pollution and mobilize the political will needed to tackle it, by providing the most in-depth estimates of pollution and health available,” Landrigan said in a journal news release.