Environmental health issues must be added to provincial government agendas

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N.B. wellness agenda must address environmental hazards: council

Last Updated: Monday, January 21, 2008 | 3:14 PM ET

CBC News

http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2008/01/21/council-report.html

Environmental health issues must be added to the provincial government's

wellness agenda, says the Conservation Council of New Brunswick.

According to a health report released by the environmental advocacy organization

on Monday, between 300 and 700 New Brunswickers die every year as a result of

illnesses caused by pollution, pesticides or contamination of food and water.

The council used research conducted by two Canadian scientists to compile the

numbers contained in the New Brunswick report.

The research by Boyd, an environmental lawyer and professor at Simon

Fraser University, and Genuis, a medical professor at the University of

Alberta, is the first of its kind to provide estimates on the environmental

burden of disease.

By using an environmental risk factor analysis method developed by the World

Health Organization, in conjunction with data collected from Canadian public

health institutions and statistics on mortality, the co-authors determined that

nationwide between 10,000 and 25,000 people die from environmental factors

annually.

The cost to the health system in treating those illnesses over the same period

is estimated at between $92 million and $251 million between 1999 and 2003,

according to the study.

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The numbers contained in the New Brunswick report were reached by using the

analysis laid out by Boyd and Genuis and were later reviewed by the two

scientists.

While chronic diseases have multiple causes, researchers are finding that

hazards, like indoor and outdoor air pollution and exposure to pesticides and

toxic substances, play an increasingly significant role in the incidence of

disease, Inka Milewski, conservation council spokeswoman, said.

" There are factors, environmental factors, that are the responsibility of

governments, " Milewski said.

According to the conservation council report, there is growing evidence of the

links between environmental hazards and health problems such as respiratory

failure and certain cancers, including non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Between 7.5 and 15 per cent of cardiovascular disease is a result of

environmental factors, according to the report. That figure stands at 10 to 30

per cent for respiratory diseases and five to 15 per cent for cancer.

The report said that between 1,500 and 3,700 deaths in the province between 1999

and 2003 were likely rooted in environmental factors. The conservation council

estimates that the illnesses have cost the provincial health system between $20

million and $50 million over that period.

" This recent report providing an estimate of the environmental burden of disease

in New Brunswick is a testament to the extent of illness that may be precluded

by timely and appropriate action, " said Genuis, a professor at the University of

Alberta.

Implementing policies that regulate air pollution and pesticide use is the

responsibility of government, Mikewski said.

'Out of your control'

" They are out of my control. They are out of your control, " she said. " How much

air pollution you breathe in is not something I have much I can do about. Being

exposed to pesticide drift from my neighbour's lawn is not something I can do

much about. "

New Brunswick's wellness plan focuses on changes individuals can make to improve

their health but sidesteps things the government should be doing to improve the

health of its citizens, Mikewski said.

The council wants the province to increase pollution prevention measures, ban

cosmetic use of pesticides and foster public awareness about the role

environmental factors can play in wellness.

As there is increasing discussion in medical and scientific communities about

the emerging evidence of the true impacts of environmental toxins on wellness,

it is important for governments to examine new policy, Genuis said.

The conservation council will make its case on Wednesday to the provincial

legislature committee on wellness.

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