Study: Air pollution causes 2,780 deaths per year in Mass.

BOSTON - Air Pollution kills 2,780 people each year in Massachusetts, according to a new study released Sunday night.

The Boston College study also found that pollution is impacting the cognitive function of children across the state. Researchers estimated fetal and early life exposure are responsible for 2 IQ points per child.

The study said fossil fuel-burning vehicles and power plants are to blame.

Low-income communities have been hit the hardest hit, but disease and IQ loss occur in every community in Massachusetts.

"The highest air pollution rates are in Middlesex county," said in Massachusetts – not just statewide," said lead author Boston College Professor of Biology Dr. Philip J. Landrigan, director of the college's Global Observatory on Planetary Health. "That probably reflects the fact that an awful lot of big highways go through there - 128, 495, 93. Mass Pike. This is everybody's problem. Pollution travels across political boundaries."  

Read: Town-by-Town breakdown

Landrigan noted that Massachusetts meets clean air guidelines and the pollution levels in the state are below current Environmental Protection Agency standards.

"Clearly, current EPA air pollution standards are not adequately protecting public health," Landrigan said.  

Of the 2,780 deaths attributable to air pollution in Massachusetts in 2019, 2,185 were due to lung cancer, 1,677 to heart disease, 343 to chronic lung disease and 200 to stroke. Air pollution was also deemed responsible for 15,386 cases of pediatric asthma and 308 instances of low birth weight.

Of the 2,780 deaths attributable to air pollution in Massachusetts in 2019, at least 2,185 were due to lung cancer 1,677 to heart disease, 343 to chronic lung disease, and 200 to stroke.

The study also broke out the deaths by city and town, which is a first for the state.

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