Home

What We are About

Our website is dedicated to improving air and water quality to reduce unfavorable heath outcomes from environmental insults which bombard us daily exposing us to a wide variety of natural and man made toxins, allergens and biological pathogens.

In the spring of 2023, record wild fires in Canada have resulted in the poorest air quality in decades. The Canadian wildfires have burned for weeks, with record heat and drought prompted by climate change creating ripe conditions for longer-lasting, more intense wildfire activity, research has shown.

Additionally the recent COVID-19 crisis has brought renewed attention to the role that poor quality air plays in increasing the infection rate for the deadly pandemic virus.

But this is only the latest in a ongoing and increasingly acute awareness of the threats to health from poor quality air and water.  We cite a number of important studies with current research findings on the effects of poor quality air and water in the following areas:

  • Increased incidences of respiratory infections
  • Increased incidences of serious allergies and asthmatic conditions
  • Effects on learning capacity when school age children are exposed ot poor quality air
  • Long term effects including a variety of cancers and possibly dementia.
  • Increased susceptibility to biologic pathogens.

News You Can Use

Updated summaries of relevant research studies.

Dec 16,2020

Air pollution a cause of UK girl’s death, finds global landmark ruling

Ella Kissi-Debrah died aged nine as a result of asthma that was worsened by exposure to excessive air pollution, the coroner found.

Where was this?  In some third world country?  China?  No London, England.

12/16/2020 –

Full story at https://www.cnn.com/2020/12/16/uk/air-pollution-death-ella-kissi-debrah-uk-gbr-intl/index.html

Harvard Study Air Pollution and Neurological Damage

Personal Near Death Experience

Over the years I have noticed every time I went to Europe, mostly London and Paris, I got sick a lot.  Always respiratory infections…sinuses infections, hacking coughs, even virus induced laryngitis, with symptoms including excessive phlegm, fatigue. Sometimes there are fevers but always a hacking cough  When I consulted a  doctor while traveling, they usually check to see if it is serious but typically end up diagnosing allergies and give you a generic antihistamine.
The results were rarely satisfactory. I noticed that the longer I stayed the sicker I got.  When I returned to the U.S. I gradually got better but not quickly.

That reminded me of similar health problems I experienced when I first relocated to the Washington D.C. area in the seventies.  I got sinus infections from time to time and noticed that the skies tended to be orangish in the afternoon and it wasn’t flu season.  I concluded that this was due to air pollution issues associated with stagnant air mostly in the summers.  An ear, nose and throat doctor took some nasal swabs and always found bacteria in the cultures.  Antibiotics were  prescribed and seemed to “cure” it.  Until the next heavily polluted period. The doctor never informed me about what might be causing these infections in the first place. Probably because he did not know.
The air quality in the DC region improved in the eighties and nineties and I stopped having frequent respiratory infections.

In 2016 my trip to London and Paris was in early December and the weather conditions were cold and rainy.    I also slept with the windows open each night assuming I was getting fresh air. I got sicker and sicker. When I left Europe the coughing was so constant and severe I thought I was in danger of dying. The other plane passengers were also very concerned as they should  have been.
After I returned I checked the readings on air pollution in London and Paris and was astounded at how high they were. I also found a reference to the fact that the air pollution in London and Paris is the worst in Europe.
I put two and two together.  Toxic air was creating such inflammation in air passages that every virus or bacteria  I encountered with infectious capability was able  to flourish producing all the debilitating effects…fevers, coughing, fatigue, sore throats, etc.  And sure enough when I disembarked off the plane next to the ocean in San Diego and inhaled clean, moist warm air flowing in from the pacific I experienced an immediate reduction in throat  and nasal irritation.

According to allergists and throat specialists “Sinusitis is an inflammation of the sinuses. It is often caused by bacterial (germ) infection. Sometimes, viruses and fungi (molds) cause it.” What they don’t tell you is what  causes bacteria and virus/mold to sometimes infect individuals and produce the debilitating effects…fevers, coughing, fatigue, sore throats, etc.  One theory that I have reviewed and herein expand on is that  excess mucus moves much more slowly than normal mucus activity so that bacteria are not swept along to the stomach where they are rendered  harmless.1 And here is where the science is less clear. It appears that bacteria and  viruses either cause or flourish in excess stagnant mucus which in turn produces  excessive irritation in the throat and nasal air passages…the famous “post nasal drip” irritation is one such symptom.   How does air pollution factor in? Apparently toxic air produces inflammation and the standard response to that is to produce histamine related mucus. Hence the excess mucus buildup  and apparently hospitable culture for bacteria and  viruses to flourish.  This conclusion is derived from inductive reasoning. There may be science  to back this up.  If so please let  me know. )

“The proof is  always in the pudding” to reduce science to a simplistic aphorism. And in fact numerous studies have noted direct relationships to reductions in respiratory  and related  infections with the reduction in air pollution as an important  2018 NIH study summarizes. 2

One more observation. My recent trip to  London was in the summer, a  very  hot summer for London and air pollution levels were   high.  I  wore a mask during the day when walking about.  It was so hot I had to keep the windows open to sleep at night as there was no air conditioning.. I had brought along a CPAP mask with a filter to “clean” all the air  I inhaled at night.
I never felt sick the entire trip…the first time I can recall  having such a healthy experience traveling  in Europe.

In addition when  I drive around LA on highly polluted days, I rarely feel the irritation and congestion associated with high levels of air pollution as I have in the past. I have installed a very effective hepa auto cabin filter and my dash mounted air quality monitor confirms that the air quality in the vehicle is usually at “healthy” levels.   These applications and devices are more specifically discussed at above links on this page.

  1. http://sitn.hms.harvard.edu/flash/2018/mucus-keeps-us-healthy/.
  2. Evidence has also been demonstrated in the Swiss Study on Air Pollution and Lung Diseases in Adults (SAPALIDIA) that assessed lung diseases in adults in eight communities in 1991 and again in 2002—a period when the annual average PM10 concentration decreased by 5–6 µg/m3. This reduction in particle levels was associated with attenuation in the annual rate of decline of lung function (Downs et al. 2007). Using the same cohort, Schindler et al. (2009) reported that fewer reports of regular cough, chronic cough or phlegm, and wheezing and breathlessness could also be attributed to the observed decrease in PM10. In a separate Swiss investigation following children from nine Swiss communities between 1992 and 2001, declining concentrations in ambient PM10 was associated with improved respiratory health (reduced incidence of chronic cough, bronchitis, common cold, nocturnal dry cough and conjunctivitis symptoms; Bayer-Oglesby et al. 2005). The results suggest that health improvements can be expected to appear almost immediately and can be seen following almost any decrease in the concentration of PM (for example, the observed beneficial effects in respiratory health of the Swiss children occurred following relatively small changes of rather moderate air pollution levels) enormously strengthens the argument for optimal air quality management. (complete study at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4516868/)