June 7^th is Clean Air Day in Canada. But the fact is that the average adult breathes 15,000 to 20,000 litres of dirty air on a daily basis.

Not a lot of thought is given to what is in the air -- unless you happen to be Dr. Mark Goldberg, that is.

"When you're breathing urban air," says Dr. Goldberg, an associate professor in the Department of Medicine at McGill University, "you're breathing a toxic soup."

Air pollution is made up of harmful gases and elements that are produced by vehicles, homes, power plants, smelters, burning wood, and other industries. Besides the threat to the environment, air pollution also represents a serious threat to human health. Health research has established clear links between air pollution and the development of lung cancer and cardiovascular disease.

As an environmental and occupational epidemiologist, Dr. Goldberg is involved in a number of studies concerning the negative effects of air pollution on human health.

Currently, Dr. Goldberg is evaluating the effects of air pollution on Montreal residents. With the help of 130 'passive monitors' installed on telephone poles across Montreal, he is collecting air quality data. These highly sensitive monitors can measure levels of nitrogen dioxide (which is generated primarily from internal combustion, especially by automobiles and trucks) and volatile organic compounds (which include everything from paints to cleaning fluids to benzene).

"From there you can actually make a map," says Dr. Goldberg, "and then, taking into account traffic and other things, you can predict the levels of pollution on any street."

This will also help determine whether, over time, lung cancer and other types of cancer can be linked to people who live in specific locations of Montreal that have higher than expected levels of air pollution.

In another study involving 30 participants, Dr .Goldberg recently discovered that people who suffer from congestive heart failure have lower levels of oxygen in their bloodstream. These low levels might be due to air pollution and weather conditions. The discovery could be used as an early indicator of poor health that would prevent hospitalization or death.

"Air pollution is a substantial problem that needs to be addressed," says Dr. Mark Bisby, Vice President of CIHR's Research Portfolio. "By establishing a link between air pollution and cardiovascular disease, Dr. Goldberg has clearly demonstrated the dangers of various toxic emissions that exist in the air that we breathe."

"More and more we are realizing the serious health consequences of exposure to air pollution," says Kenneth Maybee, Vice President of Canadian Lung Association, Environment Issues. "Research by scientists such as Dr. Goldberg makes it evident that we need to take more urgent action to improve air quality in Canada."

In the future, Dr. Goldberg will continue studying the effects of air pollution on vulnerable populations, including the elderly and people of lower socioeconomic status. He would also like find out whether air pollution plays a role as a trigger for irregular heartbeats. This research could prove to be most useful for both cardiologists and environmentalists.

Given that June 7^th is Clean Air Day, Dr. Goldberg hopes that these kinds federal government initiatives will raise awareness among people of the environmental and health concerns related to air pollution.

"It doesn't matter who you are, it doesn't matter how much money you have, air pollution is an issue," Dr. Goldberg insists.

Additional information:

Air pollution at its worst
Other CIHR-funded health researchers who are working in the field of air pollution

Useful links:

Clean Air Day: http://www.ec.gc.ca/cleanair-airpur/Home-WS8C3F7D55-1_En.htm or http://142.166.52.142/ 
CIHR's Institute of Circulatory and Respiratory Health
Canadian Lung Assocation
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Next Month in the July Research Profile: Caprion Pharmaceuticals, Neuromed, and Viron Therapeutics. Each company has roots in CIHR-funded research - and has also found recent success in raising capital to support continued development of made-in-Canada biotechnology innovations. Check out July's web profile to find out how CIHR's commercialization and innovation strategy is working to support the growth of these and other similar companies.