1st Edition

Air Pollution and Health in Rapidly Developing Countries

Edited By Gordon McGranahan, Frank Murray Copyright 2003
    256 Pages
    by Routledge

    256 Pages
    by Routledge

    In developing countries the price of rapid growth is all too often noxious airborne pollution, which annually contributes to a disturbing number of avoidable deaths. In recent decades, however, there has been considerable progress in the epidemiology of air pollution, significant changes in international air pollution guidelines, and the emergence of more systematic approaches to air pollution control. While many of these advances have originated in affluent countries, there have been major developments in other parts of the world. In this book, a distinguished cast of leading researchers in both the scientific and policy dimensions of air pollution and health have synthesized the recent developments in the field and their relevance for public health in developing countries. The authors review studies from a wide range of Asian, African and Latin American countries and contrast the findings with those from Europe and North America. They also describe various tools and systems for air pollution management and emphasize approaches that can be used when data is scarce. With a clear focus on the scientific and technical aspects of air pollution and health, this book is essential reading for pollution and health policy-makers, researchers and others concerned with air pollution and health in developing countries.

    Introduction: Air Pollution and Health in Developing Countries - The Context * Health-damaging Air Pollution: A Matter of Scale * Air Pollution and Health - Studies in the Americas and Europe * Air Pollution and Health in Developing Countries: A Review of Epidemiological Evidence * Local Ambient Air Quality Management * Rapid Assessment of Air pollution and Health: Making Optimal use of Data for Policy - and Decision-making * A Systematic Approach to Air Quality Management: Examples for the URBAIR Cities * Indoor Air pollution * Vehicle Emissions and Health in Developing Countries * Air Quality in Hong Kong and the Impact of Pollution on Health 1988-1997 * Air Pollution and its Impacts on Health in Santiago, Chile * Air Quality and Health in Greater Johannesburg * Index

    Biography

    Gordon MaGranahan is Director of the Human Settlements Programme at the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), London, UK. He has advised numerous international agencies on urban environmental issues and his publications include The Citizens at Risk: From Urban Sanitation to Sustainable Cities (Earthscan, 2001). Frank Murray is Associate Professor in Environmental Systems in the School of Environmental Science, Murdoch University, Australia. He publishes widely in the fields of policy, management and the impacts of air pollution, was an editor of the World Health Organization (WHO) Global Air Quality Guidelines and serves as a consultant to numerous international organizations, including WHO and the United Nations Environment Programme.

    'This really interesting book covers each aspect of air pollution in surprising detail for a volume of such modest size.' Intermediate Technology Development Group 'The work largely succeeds in setting forth the case for additional controls on urban air pollution in developing countries. Recommended [for] graduate students through professionals.' Choice 'essential reading for pollution and health policy-makers, researchers and others concerned with air pollution and health in developing countries' Science of Science