Pollution is the world's biggest killer

A new study has found that pollution is now the world's biggest killer. One in six
deaths worldwide is because of pollution. This is 16 per cent of all global deaths.
Most of these deaths were from non-infectious diseases caused by pollution.
These include heart disease, lung cancer and stroke. The study was published in
the medical journal 'The Lancet'. Researchers said most pollution-related deaths
occurred in poorer countries. About 92 per cent of these deaths were in low-
income nations, especially countries where there is a lot of economic development,
such as India and China. Bangladesh and Somalia were the worst affected
countries. Brunei and Sweden had the lowest numbers of pollution-related deaths.

La contaminación es la principal causa de muerte del mundo

Un nuevo estudio ha descubierto que la contaminación es ahora la principal causa
de muerte en el mundo. Una de cada seis muertes en todo el mundo se debe a la
contaminación. Este es el 16 por ciento de todas las muertes mundiales. La
mayoría de estas muertes se debieron a enfermedades no infecciosas causadas
por la contaminación. Estos incluyen enfermedades cardíacas, cáncer de pulmón y
accidentes cerebrovasculares. El estudio fue publicado en la revista médica 'The
Lancet'. Los investigadores dijeron que la mayoría de las muertes relacionadas
con la contaminación ocurrieron en países más pobres. Alrededor del 92 por
ciento de estas muertes se produjeron en países de bajos ingresos, especialmente
países donde hay mucho desarrollo económico, como India y China. Bangladesh y
Somalia fueron los países más afectados. Brunei y Suecia tuvieron el menor
número de muertes relacionadas con la contaminación.

Study co-author Karti Sandilya said: "Pollution, poverty, poor health, and social
injustice are deeply intertwined." He added: "Pollution threatens fundamental
human rights, such as the right to life, health, wellbeing, and safe work." He said air
pollution was the biggest killer. Air pollution led to 6.5 million premature deaths.
The second biggest killer was water pollution, which caused 1.8 million deaths. The
next largest killer was pollution in the workplace, which was linked to 800,000
worldwide deaths. Scientist Dr Penny Woods said: "Air pollution is reaching crisis
point." She said the people who pollution hit the hardest are those with breathing
and lung problems, children and the elderly.

Sources: bbc.com / usatoday.com / sciencenews.org

El coautor del estudio, Karti Sandilya, dijo: "La contaminación, la pobreza, la mala
salud y la injusticia social están profundamente entrelazadas". Añadió: "La
contaminación amenaza los derechos humanos fundamentales, como el derecho a
la vida, la salud, el bienestar y el trabajo seguro". Dijo que la contaminación del
aire era la principal causa de muerte. La contaminación del aire provocó 6,5
millones de muertes prematuras. La segunda causa de muerte más importante fue
la contaminación del agua, que provocó 1,8 millones de muertes. La siguiente
causa de muerte fue la contaminación en el lugar de trabajo, que estuvo
relacionada con 800.000 muertes en todo el mundo. La científica Dra. Penny
Woods dijo: "La contaminación del aire está llegando a un punto crítico". Dijo que
las personas más afectadas por la contaminación son las que tienen problemas
respiratorios y pulmonares, los niños y los ancianos.

True / False

a) One in six deaths worldwide is because of pollution. T / F

b) Most deaths from pollution were because of infectious diseases. T / F

c) Most pollution-related deaths were in richer countries. T / F

d) Bangladesh and Sweden have the lowest pollution-related death rates. T / F

e) A researcher said pollution and social injustice are strongly linked. T / F

f) The researcher said pollution threatens human rights. T / F

g) Water pollution was the biggest killer. T / F

h) A scientist said pollution is so bad it is reaching crisis point. T / F

Comprehension questions POLLUTION

1. How many deaths worldwide are caused by pollution?

1,8 MILLIONS

2. What kind of cancer was mentioned?

LUNG
3. What percent of pollution-related deaths were in low-income nations?

92 PERCENT

4. What were the worst-affected countries?

Bangladesh y Somalia
5. What were the least-affected countries?

SOCIAL INJUSTICE
6. What kind of injustice is mentioned in the article?

THE AIR POLLUTION

7. What kind of pollution was the biggest killer?

1.8 MILLIONS

8. How many people did water pollution kill?

WATER POLLUTION
9. What kind of pollution killed 800,000 people?

THE AIR POLLUTION

10. What kind of point did a scientist say air pollution is reaching?

CRITICAL POINT

Discussion – Questions
a) Why is pollution called a silent killer?

During an intervention before the Human Rights Council, the special rapporteur on
human rights and the environment, on Monday described air pollution as a "silent
killer" and stressed that it does not receive adequate attention "since these deaths
are not so tragic such as those caused by disasters or epidemics ”.

Faced with this scourge, David R. Boyd, highlighted that pollution is a preventable
problem and urged States to “comply with their legal obligations to guarantee clean
air”, a basic condition for the enjoyment of the right to life, health , water and
sanitation, adequate housing and a healthy environment.

Boyd indicated that the latter right is legally recognized by 155 States "and that it
should be recognized worldwide."

The special rapporteur highlighted the ubiquity of atmospheric pollutants caused

mainly by the burning of fossil fuels for the production of electricity, transport,
heating, industrial activity or poor waste management.

b) How can pollution affect human rights?

Poor air quality, the accumulation of garbage, transport vehicles without regulation
of polluting emissions, etc ..., are a handful of factors by which pollution reduces
the quality of life and this violates human rights. This has been resolved by the
National Human Rights Commission. contamination cdmx national commission for
human rights 1

Pollutant fuel emissions affect air quality. (Photo: File)

The CNDH issued General Recommendation 32, addressed to federal institutions

in charge of the environment, authorities of the state and municipal governments to
address human rights violations to health caused by urban air pollution.

c) What causes air and water pollution?

d) What kind of pollution is there in the workplace?
 e) What is 'crisis point'?

Crisis management, administration or management is the process by which an

organization faces a major event that could cause harm to the organization, its
stakeholders, or the general public. The crisis management study was born with
the large-scale industrial and environmental disasters of the 1980s.12 It is
considered to be the most important process in public relations.2

Three elements are common to a crisis: (a) a threat to the organization, (b) the
element of surprise, and (c) a short decision time.3 Venette argues that “the crisis
is a transformation process where the old system can no longer be maintained. ”4
Therefore, the fourth characteristic is the need for change. If the change is not
necessary, the event could be described rather as a failure or incident.

Unlike risk management, which involves evaluating potential threats and finding the
best ways to avoid those threats, crisis management involves dealing with threats
before, during, and after they have occurred. It is a discipline within the broader
context of management, which consists of the skills and techniques required to
identify, assess, understand and endure a serious situation, especially from the
first moment it occurs to the point where recovery procedures b

f) Do international agreements on pollution work?