Due to exposure to particulate matter the average Fleming will live in poorer health for an extra 13 months according to a study by Statistics Flanders. This makes Flanders one of the unhealthiest regions in Europe. Industry and traffic, but also wood-burning stoves and ammonia from agriculture are responsible for these high concentrations of particulate matter.
Fleming loses 13 months of healthy life due to exposure to particulate matter
Colin Clapson
Published:
Statistics Flanders calculated that in 2023 some 132 healthy life years per 10,000 person-years were lost as a result of particulate matter. Converted to an average life expectancy of 83.2 years, this means that every Fleming loses about 13 healthy months in a lifetime.
Almost 98 per cent of the total health impact of particulate matter is caused by long-term exposure to PM2.5 particles, dust particles with a diameter smaller than 2.5 micrometres. This impact on health manifests itself mainly through premature deaths, but doctors are also seeing an increased number of patients with asthma, diabetes and high blood pressure.
The good news is that the situation in Flanders is improving: the number of healthy life years lost due to exposure to particulate matter decreased between 2005 and 2023. In 2018, the impact of particulate matter remained almost constant, before falling again in 2019 and 2020. Reduced emissions of air pollutants may explain this declining trend
Pollution from industry, traffic and stoves
Yet Flanders is still one of the unhealthiest regions in Europe. And there are several explanations for this. "There are big industrial players, traffic also remains a big emitter," explains professor of bioengineering Roeland Samson (UAntwerpen). Ammonia, which is emitted by agriculture and forms particulate matter through chemical reactions, also remains an important culprit, according to Prof Samson.
"Indoor stoves used to heat buildings emit huge amounts," Professor Samson adds. "That is a very large and dangerous source of particulate matter, especially the older types. They not only cause very high emissions, but also high indoor particulate concentrations."