Harvard’s T.H. Chan
School of Public Health
recently published a study
claiming that a tiny increase
in long-term exposure
to fine particulate matter
( PM 2.5 )
—just one microgram
per cubic meter—
us claimed to increase
the risk of dying from
COVID-10 by 8%.
The study’s findings
would be alarming,
if they were true.
Pollutants,
including PM 2.5,
have been
linked to higher
incidences of
respiratory
diseases,
which
increase
the risk of
dying from
COVID-19.
But the study is flawed:
It uses county-wide data
that doesn’t adjust for
individual health
differences.
Nor do they
count deaths
after April 22,
when COVID-19
fatalities increased.
And the COVID-19
death rate
is just a rough
estimate.
Carleton University’s
Paul Villeneuve and
McGill University’s
Mark Goldberg said:
"When we looked closely
at the research, we saw
so many shortcomings
that we were
not convinced
of the results."
The Harvard stidy states:
“We found that an increase
of only 1 μg/m3 in PM2.5
is associated with an
8% increase in the
COVID-19 death rate
[reduced from 15%]
(95% confidence
interval [CI]:
2%, 15%)."
Data to support
the study do not exist.
The numbers for PM2.5
are largely guessed,
from a combinations
of satellite measurements,
Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD),
unverified transport models,
and some ground-based
observations.
The PM 2.5 concentration
in the air in Wuhan, China,
where the virus is thought
to have started, is roughly
10 times as high as
it is in the U.S..
But we have no idea
what actual Wuhan deaths
were, because China lied
about the numbers.
U.S. PM 2.5 levels have fallen
40% since 2000 as power plants
and cars have become more
efficient, and coal has been
replaced with cleaner-burning
natural gas.
The Environmental
Protection Agency
says that 35 micrograms
of PM 2.5 is unhealthy
for sensitive groups.
Fewer than 10 U.S. counties
don’t meet the EPA’s PM 2.5
national standard.
But leftists are still pressing
the EPA to tighten PM 2.5 limits
-- a back door to restricting
CO2 emissions from power plants
( the Supreme Court blocked
the Obama EPA from doing that
in 2015 ).