New research released this week has suggested that the advent of catalytic converters in cars has played a part in the average US life expectancy increasing over the past 20 years.

Researchers from Brigham Young University and Harvard School of Public Health conducted a study into air pollution trends, published in today's (22nd January) New England Journal of Medicine.

They found that between 1978 and 2001, the lifespan of the average American increased by around three years to 77, with 4.8 months of the rise being explained by cleaner air in the country.

Catalytic converters, which use PGMs, became popular for cars after Congress decided in 1970 to give the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) the authority to implement national standards in relation to carbon monoxide and other polluting agents.

Commenting on the findings, Dr Joel Kaufman, an expert on environmental health at the University of Washington, told the Associated Press: "It shows that our efforts as a country to control air pollution have been well worth the expense."

The study saw the researchers use official data to examine particulate matter pollution levels in 51 US cities over the past two decades and compare them to life expectancy figures.

The results - which were adjusted to incorporate other factors affecting lifespan - showed that particulate matter fell by 21mg per cubic metre of air to 14mg per cubic metre of air, with Americans living for an additional 2.72 years during the period on average.

Lead author C Arden Pope III, an epidemiologist from Brigham Young, told the news provider: "We saw that communities that had larger reductions in air pollution on average had larger increases in life expectancies."

The EPA added in a statement that the findings would help it set appropriate standards for particulates.



Source:

Cleaner air adds 5 months to US life span (21/01/09)
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5ggonOxJeUkHyC1JiFh-TCbkKEprgD95RQAI80