Why should the air quality in the town of Heusden be improved?

Air quality is very important for our health. You breathe in around 20,000 times a day, but unfortunately the air is not always clean. With each breath, harmful harmful substances enter your lungs.

And as we have reported before: there is too much particulate matter in the air in the town of Heusden. Indoor air quality can also be poor due to high levels of particulate matter caused by the use of fossil fuels. The smaller the particulate matter, the greater the health damage. More on that health damage below.

The main causes of disease and premature death in the Netherlands are smoking (9%), air pollution (4%), obesity (4%), little exercise (2%) and alcohol consumption (1.5%). Different sources contribute to air pollution, and we can only tackle them together. In addition, the rest of the grain material inside cannot be eliminated. It is caused by, among other things, cooking, smoking, burning candles and stoves, and not to mention ventilation with polluted outdoor air.

Insights into the health effects of particulate matter are increasing; particulate matter appears to be much more harmful than previously thought. The World Health Organization (WHO) even calls it ‘the silent killer’: air pollution is invisible, but deadly. Particulate matter enters our body through inhalation. The smaller the particles, the deeper they go into the human body and the more damage they can cause.

Particulate matter affects the quality of life for many; There is a clear link between particulate matter and asthma attacks, shortness of breath and coughing. Children, the elderly and people with respiratory or heart problems are particularly sensitive to grainy material. At very high concentrations of particulate matter in the air, humans also have; diabetes, athletes and people who do heavy outdoor work, suffer from it a lot. Certain material leads to continued suffering and does not negate the social costs.

Particulate matter increases the risk of pneumonia, lung cancer, severe chronic lung diseases (such as asthma and COPD), cerebral hemorrhage and cardiovascular disease. A quarter of heart deaths and nearly a third of lung cancer deaths can be attributed to particulate matter. The GGD estimates that one in six strokes that occur in the Netherlands can be attributed to air pollution. According to pulmonologists, particulate matter shortens the life of Dutch people on average by more than eight months. The National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) estimates the number of people who die prematurely in the Netherlands from the effects of air pollution at 7,000 to 12,000 per year. Converted to Heusden, this means 18 to 31 premature deaths in our city every year! The loss of healthy years of life due to particulate matter costs the Netherlands 10 to 15 billion euros every year.

By maintaining particulate matter concentrations in line with WHO standards, the city of Heusden will contribute to better air quality, a healthier population and a more vibrant environment, which will also bring long-term economic benefits.