近日，環(huán)境健康專家經(jīng)過大量調(diào)查后發(fā)現(xiàn)，2015年，全球有900萬人因污染而早逝，約占當年全球死亡人數(shù)的16%，其中大部分人死于空氣污染。

這項研究發(fā)表于醫(yī)學期刊《柳葉刀》雜志上。該研究由40余名國際健康與環(huán)境專家共同主筆，其數(shù)據(jù)主要來自全球疾病負擔數(shù)據(jù)庫。該數(shù)據(jù)庫主要追蹤全球的人口趨勢，并分析各大疾病的致死率及其原因。為了分析有多少人死于污染相關因素，該研究分析了空氣污染（如汽油、木柴、煤炭等物體燃燒導致的污染）、水污染（如不合格的下水設施導致的污染）以及生產(chǎn)污染（如員工暴露在煤炭、石棉等有毒物或致癌物環(huán)境中）等因素導致的影響。

研究結(jié)果顯示，2015年，全球約有650萬人的死亡與空氣污染有關，180萬人的死亡與水污染有關，近100萬人的死亡與生產(chǎn)污染有關。心臟病、癌癥等與污染有關的疾病導致的死亡人數(shù)要比艾滋病、肺結(jié)核、瘧疾加起來還要多三倍以上。

研究人員還發(fā)現(xiàn)，在由于污染而死亡的人口中，有92%來自中低收入國家。然而美國因空氣污染而死亡的人口也不在少數(shù)。在2015年，美國有超過15.5萬人死于污染相關因素。

該報告的主筆、國際性非營利機構(gòu)“純凈地球”（Pure Earth）的理事長理查德·福勒表示：“在我童年上學期間，我們都很擔心污染問題。后來西方對污染問題的擔憂漸漸弱化了，我們開始更加關心氣候變化等問題。但是國際上對污染問題的關心還是遠遠不夠的。”

研究人員指出，他們采用的數(shù)據(jù)有可能尚未真實反映問題的嚴重性，也沒有全面反映出污染造成的所有疾病。比如研究人員并沒有考慮其它一些污染物對人類健康和過早死亡的影響，如部分能干擾內(nèi)分泌的物質(zhì)以及防火劑、農(nóng)藥的污染等等。福勒還表示，現(xiàn)有的數(shù)據(jù)在質(zhì)量和數(shù)量上也不足以充分反映這些問題。

污染致死率最高的國家，往往是那些經(jīng)濟發(fā)展較快的國家。該研究的作者們指出，空氣污染和水污染都是工業(yè)化初期國家的常見病，但發(fā)展經(jīng)濟并不意味著一定要以污染水平的大幅提升為代價。福勒表示：“很多人都有這樣的心態(tài)，覺得污染和工作是魚和熊掌不能兼得，經(jīng)濟只有發(fā)展到一定水平了，才能去解決污染問題。然而只要有了管理得當?shù)奈廴局卫碛媱潱粌H能建立健康的經(jīng)濟，也有助于一國的長期增長。”

一般來說，貧困地區(qū)人口更容易成為污染的受害者，因為他們更容易暴露在居住地或工作地附近的有毒化學物中。

研究人員認為，這一點也并非是無法避免的。比如包括美國在內(nèi)的一些中高收入國家已經(jīng)通過法律法規(guī)手段來治理空氣和水污染。“現(xiàn)在他們的空氣和水變干凈了，兒童的血鉛濃度下降了90%以上，他們的河流也不會再著火了，一些重點有害垃圾場也得到了處理，這些中高收入國家的大多數(shù)城市的污染水平都下降了，宜居程度也相應提升了。”

該研究報告也推薦了一些治理方案，比如將污染問題上升為國內(nèi)國際的優(yōu)先要務；劃撥資金用于控制污染；建立污染監(jiān)察機制；建立多部門合作機制；將控制污染納入國家非傳染性疾病控制戰(zhàn)略；針對污染和控污進行更多研究調(diào)查，等等。

福勒表示：“我希望那些著眼于經(jīng)濟發(fā)展的決策者能夠更加關心污染問題，也希望這份研究能為他們敲響警鐘。” （財富中文網(wǎng)）

譯者：賈政景

本文原載于Time.com

In one of the most extensive reports of its kind, environmental health experts have estimated that nine million premature deaths worldwide—16% of all deaths—were linked to pollution in 2015, with the majority of deaths coming from air pollution.

The new study, published in the journal The Lancet and written by more than 40 international health and environmental experts, uses data from the the Global Burden of Disease, an international study that examines trends across populations and estimates mortality from major diseases and their causes. To estimate the number of people who died from pollution-related causes, i t looked at the effects of air pollution, or air contaminated with things like gases and the burning of wood, charcoal and coal; water pollution, which includes contamination by things like unhygienic sanitation; and workplace pollution, where employees are exposed to toxins and carcinogens like coal or asbestos.

Air pollution was linked to 6.5 million deaths in 2015, water pollution was linked to 1.8 million deaths and workplace pollution was linked to nearly one million deaths. Deaths from pollution-linked diseases, like heart disease and cancer, were three times higher than deaths from AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria combined, the researchers found.

The authors also found that 92% of pollution-related deaths happen in low- and middle-income countries. But air pollution is also killing people in the United States. More than 155,000 U.S. deaths in 2015 were related to pollution, the researchers found.

“When I was a kid in school, we were all worried about pollution,” says report leader Richard Fuller, president of Pure Earth, an international nonprofit devoted to pollution cleanup. “Then I think it dropped off the radar for us in the West, and we’ve been worried more about climate change and other things. But overseas, they haven’t looked at this issue much at all.”

The researchers note that their data are likely underestimates and do not reflect the entire burden of disease from pollution. For instance, the researchers didn’t look at other contaminants, like the effects of endocrine disruptors, flame retardants and pesticides on human health and early deaths. Fuller says there isn’t data of high enough quality or quantity on those health issues.

The countries that bear the greatest burden of disease from pollution are also those that are rapidly expanding economically. The authors note that both water and air pollution can be more common in countries in the early stages of industrial development, but that significant increases in pollution do not need to be the norm. “The mindset of a lot of people is that it’s either pollution or jobs, and you have to let an economy go through this stage of being dirty until you can clean it up later,” says Fuller. “But the idea that there is a tradeoff is not borne out by the reality and facts. Well-managed pollution mitigation programs can create a healthy economy and longterm growth.”

The effects of pollution tend to disproportionally affect poor populations, since they tend to be more exposed to toxic chemicals in air and water at sources near their homes or at work.

This, too, is not inevitable, the report authors argue. Several high- and middle-income countries, including the U.S., have put in place legislation and regulation for cleaner air and water. “Their air and water are now cleaner, the blood lead concentrations of their children have decreased by more than 90%, their rivers no longer catch fire, their worst hazardous waste sites have been remediated, and many of their cities are less polluted and more livable,” the authors write.

The report offers recommendations, including making pollution a priority both nationally and internationally, mobilizing funding dedicated to pollution control, establishing monitoring systems, building multi-sector partnerships to tackle the issue, integrating pollution mitigation into non-communicable disease combatting strategies and conducting more research into pollution and pollution control.

“I hope that the people who are looking to set agendas for development are paying some attention,” says Fuller. “I hope they have a wake-up call.”

This article originally appeared on Time.com