Pollution and Health
Understanding and reducing the harm from pollution on the health of humans and the environment by redesigning business models and processes to reduce air, ocean, and land pollution, support health, and build more resilient and equitable economies.
Pollution causes an estimated 9 million premature deaths each year, linked to fossil fuel burning, vehicle emissions, lead exposure, contaminated water, coal-fired power plants, wildfire smoke, and more. Its health impacts are extensive, including respiratory and cardiovascular disease, neurotoxicity, cognitive impairment, and cancer. Pollutive industrial practices and inadequate regulations disproportionately create risks for marginalized populations.
Stanford researchers strive to understand and mitigate the consequences of pollution on frontline communities and the broader environment by redesigning key elements of pollutive industries, fostering more resilient and equitable economies while protecting health and preventing disease.
Pollution and Health research highlights:
- Stanford’s Luby Lab advances strategies that address the human health and climate consequences of air pollution. Projects vary from new innovations that reduce black carbon emissions from South Asian brick kilns to optimizing windows to improve household ventilation in Dhaka slums.
- Stanford’s LaBeaud Lab advances research on plastic pollution that serves as a vector for arboviral viruses and increased transmission, creating initiatives to measure trash with drones and collect trash for profit to reduce vector breeding sites in Kenya.
- Stanford research is shedding light on the direct impact of wildfires on human health through air and soil pollution. Research conducted by the Burke Lab reveals that wildfire smoke has negated or even reversed progress towards healthier air in 35 states, effectively wiping out a quarter of the air quality improvements achieved over the past two decades. Additionally, research from Scott Fendorf and Human and Planetary Health postdoctoral fellow Alandra Lopez demonstrates that wildfires can convert a naturally occurring element in soils into chromium 6, a carcinogenic metal that can become airborne.
The Center for Human and Planetary Health convenes a Plastics and Health Working Group. If you are interested in starting or joining a working group, please contact HPH Managing Director Allison Phillips: ap10@stanford.edu.
Related News
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An ambitious initiative is tackling the pervasive issue of lead contamination, which exerts a heavy toll on global health. Researchers aim to identify major sources of lead exposure and develop affordable detection methods in communities worldwide.
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Gas and propane stoves emit substantial amounts of nitrogen dioxide, a pollutant linked to higher risks of asthma, heart and lung disease, and other conditions. A Stanford-led study finds switching from a gas to electric stove would cut nitrogen dioxide exposure across the U.S. by over one half, reducing the risk of asthma.
