New research that might see you paying more attention to the air we all breathe in has been published via the ‘The New England Journal of Medicine’.
The research showed that extended exposure to ground level ozone gases substantially raises the risk of death from breathing complications. In fact, the risk is more than 30% larger in the metro areas that have the highest levels of ozone gases when compared to the places with the lowest concentrations of ozone gases.
It followed 450,000 subjects across 96 metropolitan regions for a duration of 18 years. During this time, Riverside California had the highest daily average concentrations, whilst, at the other end of the scale, the San Francisco had the lowest.
Most often, urban centers in the northeast part of the country had lesser concentrations than western states like California. Los Angeles was shown to have a 43% greater risk, while Washington DC came in at 27% and New York at 25%.
A good way to lower the risk is to your outdoors jobs and chores in the early morning hours, or later on in the day so as to be out of the way for the hottest, sunniest part of the day, particularly should you be living in a warmer climate. Having your windows unopened when ozone levels are highest is also a good idea.
In general, educate yourself about the world you live in. Give serious consideration to limiting the amount of time that you’re exposed to a gas that experts are increasingly finding to be dangerous. This research on itself isn’t conclusive but it gives a pretty clear indication that danger surrounds us.
If you, or someone you love, suffer from respiratory problems, you might want to find out the ozone levels in the area in which they or you reside. Even though it might appear drastic to move to another area, it could literally result in prolonging their or your life.