Air pollution detected in the embryo
This is the worrying result of a study by a Scottish and Belgian university. Traces of pollutants from the outside world were found not only in the placenta, but also in the developing foetus.
That unborn babies are also at least indirectly exposed to air pollution has been known for some time. In 2018, nano-pollutant particles were discovered in placentas for the first time, and it was already clear earlier that air pollution can have a negative impact on pregnancy, as well as on foetal development and growth. Now, however, a study shows that soot particles from exhaust fumes, for example, not only end up in the placenta, but probably also directly in the bodies of the foetuses.
Researchers from Aberdeen University in Scotland and Hasselt University in Belgium examined the tissue of 36 aborted foetuses - aged between seven and 20 weeks - and found soot particles in the organs of all of them. Thousands of soot particles reached the embryo via the bloodstream and the placenta. And this although the study was carried out with non-smoking mothers from places in Scotland and Belgium with low air pollution. The quantities of soot measured in the mother and in the baby are proportional to each other.
A worrying result, as the scientists themselves admit in a scientific journal. For it not only confirms the enormous and profound effects of environmental pollution on human health, but also illustrates the influence of pollutants on the most vulnerable phase of embryonic and foetal growth.
Ultimately, it is at this early stage that organs are first formed. It is not yet possible to say with certainty how nanopollutants specifically influence the development of these organs, but the researchers suspect that they can have harmful consequences for the lungs, liver and brain. The risk of premature birth or stillbirth also increases considerably if the mother inhales significant amounts of polluting particles during pregnancy. Lifelong health effects for the babies cannot be ruled out at present, even on the basis of the studies. What is certain, however, is that more research is needed - to investigate the correlation between air pollution and potential health damage in newborns.
In any case, the scope of the consequences of air pollution on human life can no longer be denied - from newly formed embryos to senior citizens with breathing difficulties. Where possible, all pollutant emissions, such as soot, but also carbon dioxide, should be regulated. This means that not only traffic, where already existing environmental zones are a first step to reduce emissions, has to be regulated. Many other sectors, such as industry or agriculture, also contribute to the problem of atmospheric pollution. Therefore, not only should the rules of the environmental zones be tightened and adapted to the prescribed values of the WHO - even the abolition and delay of the introduction of environmental zones would have fatal effects - but also stricter and more comprehensive emission regulations in all sectors could, for example, have a double-sided positive effect: A clean world, with health-safe living conditions.