Pollution:ultrafine particles from airplanes are a danger for 1.6 million Italians

At least 1.6 million Italian citizens would be exposed to ultrafine particles deriving from aviation (UFP).We are talking about the inhabitants who live in a radius of 20 km from the two busiest airports in the country:Rome Fiumicino and Milan Malpensa.This was made known by research carried out by the organisation Transport & Environment.The analysis examined the two Italian airports with the highest traffic volumes and quantified the citizens involved: 700,000 Romans and over 900,000 Milanese.Exposure to ultrafine particles, the smallest component of particulate matter, is linked to the development of serious, long-term health conditions, including respiratory problems, cardiovascular effects, cancer and complications during pregnancy.

The Transport & Environment study was published on Tuesday 25 June and finds that “thousands of cases of hypertension, diabetes and dementia across Europe could be linked to the tiny particles emitted by planes“.According to research by the environmentalist organisation, the over one and a half million Italians who live near the two large hubs of the Fiumicino and Malpensa airports are part of the around 52 million European citizens who live near the continent's 32 busiest airports, exposed to the same emissions.As stated in the press release of the same organization, according to the unpublished analysis, "exposure to ultrafine particles could be associated with approximately 280,000 cases of hypertension, 330,000 cases of diabetes and 18,000 cases of dementia in Europe".Only in Italy is there talk of "over 7,000 cases of hypertension and the same number of diabetes and more than 200 cases of dementia.”The people most at risk, among other things, would be the poorest and most vulnerable, because, underlines the study, "in many cities, there is a correlation between those who live near an airport (typically peripheral areas or outside the urban fabric of the city ) and the lowest incomes".

One of the major problems that is highlighted by Transport & Environment is the lack of containment laws of emissions of ultrafine particles, and therefore the absence of the necessary "regulations on concentration thresholds" in the air.Furthermore, according to the environmental association, reducing UFP emissions is not only urgent, but also possible, for example through "the use of better quality fuels” which would allow us to “reduce emissions of this pollutant by up to 70%”;another solution would be the use of cleaner technologies and zero-emission aircraft.

In general, the problem of air pollution and air corruption results urgently throughout the European community.Specifically, in Italy the situation reaches a state of particular gravity in the Po Valley area, whose air is the most unbreathable in Europe;Furthermore, according to one study, 58 Italian provinces they would have exceeded pollution levels set by the World Health Organization.In this regard, the European Union has recently opened an infringement procedure against Rome, noting that in 2022 in Italy there were "twenty-four zones" that exceeded the daily pollution concentration limit values, while one zone exceeded the annual limits.

[by Dario Lucisano]