Children and air pollution: understanding the problem
Protecting children’s health is frequently cited as a key objective in major policies on climate and the environment such as the zero pollution action plan (European Commission, 2020). Though most children across EEA member
countries are healthy (Eurostat, 2019; WHO, 2023), there are reasons for concern regarding environmental risks to their health. Children and adolescents are more susceptible than adults to most adverse environmental factors; in some cases they may be more exposed than adults too (Valent et al., 2004); and they can do little to change the situation or protect themselves. That is especially true for air pollution, the largest environmental risk for children in Europe.
There are many factors that make children and adolescents especially vulnerable to air pollution. Children’s breathing rates are higher than those of adults and they also take in more air per kilogram of body weight. Because of their lower physical height, they breathe air closer to the ground where some pollutants, especially from traffic exhausts, are emitted and become concentrated. Their acquired dose of pollution is also elevated since they breathe faster and are often more physically active (Osborne et al., 2021). Moreover, children inhale a larger fraction of air through their mouths than adults. Due to this increased oral breathing, pollution penetrates deep into the lower respiratory tract, which is more permeable (US EPA, 2019). Children’s bodies and organs, including their lungs, are also still in development (Chen et al., 2015), which further increases risk. Furthermore, children’s developing immune systems are weaker than those of adults, strengthening the effects of pollution (WHO, 2018). Figure 1 illustrates key characteristics of children’s and adolescents’ vulnerability and exposure to air pollution.
Air pollution is the contamination of indoor or outdoor air by any agent that modifies its natural characteristics.
It comes from both natural and, particularly, man-made sources, which include everything from road traffic and residential heating exhausts, through to factory chimney stacks and a wide variety of other sources (EEA, 2022a, 2022c).
Air pollution affects urban and rural areas, and comes in many forms, from ambient air particles, ozone and nitrogen oxides, to second-hand smoke (SHS), smoke from the burning of biomass in households, mould spores, mites and allergens, and toxic chemicals like formaldehyde (Trasande et al., 2016; Carreras et al., 2019; Rojas-Rueda et al., 2019; WHO, 2022).
Some of the aforementioned pollutants and sources are more frequent or found at higher concentrations indoors.
They are the subject of ongoing research at the EEA and findings will be summarised in forthcoming publications. Boxes 1 and 2 in this briefing provide some highlights on indoor air pollutants.
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