Environmental factors kill 21,000 yearly in Netherlands: WHO

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Environmental factors kill 21,000 yearly in Netherlands: WHO

About 21,000 people die in the Netherlands every year due to the impact of

environmental factors on health, according to a report by the World Health

Organization (WHO).

The report, published on Wednesday, said that this number could be cut by 14

percent by improving the quality of people's living environment, the Dutch daily

De Volkskrant reported on Thursday.

The Dutch National Institute of Public Health and Environmental Protection

(RIVM) and the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (MNP) had earlier

come to similar conclusions in recent reports.

The report, the WHO's first country-by-country analysis of the impact of

environmental factors on health, compares the situation in different countries.

With 16 years of life lost per 1,000 residents a year due to illnesses induced

by environmental factors, the Netherlands ranks among the countries with the

highest figures in the world, among many other West European countries.

While the best performing country lost 14 years per 1,000 residents, some

developing countries lost as high as 300 years of life.

The WHO uses the term " environment " in the broad sense to include " pollution,

occupational factors, UV radiation, noise, agricultural methods, climate and

ecosystem change, the constructed environment and people's behavior. "

This means that deaths and injuries as a result of road accidents, for example,

are also taken into account.

http://english.people.com.cn/200706/15/eng20070615_384439.html

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