1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:06,000 Air pollution has been a major preoccupation in Europe for decades. 2 00:00:06,000 --> 00:00:11,000 The European Union attacked the problem by establishing minimum air quality norms, 3 00:00:11,000 --> 00:00:14,000 and significant progress has been made. 4 00:00:14,000 --> 00:00:18,000 The impact of the main atmospheric pollutants has been globally reduced, 5 00:00:18,000 --> 00:00:23,000 and phenomena such as acid rain and ozone peaks have come down considerably. 6 00:00:23,000 --> 00:00:29,000 However, the environment and health of Europeans is still adversely affected by air pollution. 7 00:00:30,000 --> 00:00:34,000 Our analysis shows that in the year 2020, 8 00:00:34,000 --> 00:00:42,000 air pollution and ground-level ozone will still cause about 300,000 premature deaths in Europe. 9 00:00:45,000 --> 00:00:50,000 Air pollution can take very different forms from one geographic zone to the other. 10 00:00:50,000 --> 00:00:53,000 Acidification problems are more prevalent in the north of Europe, 11 00:00:53,000 --> 00:00:57,000 while phenomena linked to the ozone are more critical in the south. 12 00:00:57,000 --> 00:01:00,000 The eutrophization of fresh water and the forest floor, 13 00:01:00,000 --> 00:01:03,000 due to emissions of ammonia and nitrous oxides, 14 00:01:03,000 --> 00:01:08,000 is however a general tendency, as is the presence of particles in the air. 15 00:01:08,000 --> 00:01:10,000 The latter affect human health, 16 00:01:10,000 --> 00:01:15,000 and constitute a major problem in the densely populated cities and regions of Europe. 17 00:01:16,000 --> 00:01:20,000 Based on these observations, the European Commission has developed a new strategy, 18 00:01:20,000 --> 00:01:25,000 whose objective is to further reduce the negative impact of air pollution on health and the environment 19 00:01:25,000 --> 00:01:27,000 between now and 2020. 20 00:01:29,000 --> 00:01:33,000 The fight against atmospheric particles, whose harmful effects are well known today, 21 00:01:33,000 --> 00:01:35,000 is at the core of this new strategy. 22 00:01:39,000 --> 00:01:42,000 The town of Dunkirk is located in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais, 23 00:01:42,000 --> 00:01:44,000 France's fourth largest economic region. 24 00:01:44,000 --> 00:01:50,000 Here, intense traffic and industrial activity expose the region's 210,000 inhabitants 25 00:01:50,000 --> 00:01:52,000 to a high degree of pollution. 26 00:01:52,000 --> 00:01:55,000 The number of polluted sites represents more than 13% 27 00:01:55,000 --> 00:01:57,000 of all the sites that have been measured in France. 28 00:01:57,000 --> 00:02:01,000 Dust, soots and exhaust gases from clouds of toxic particles, 29 00:02:01,000 --> 00:02:03,000 which spread into the atmosphere. 30 00:02:06,000 --> 00:02:08,000 Because air pollution knows no frontiers, 31 00:02:08,000 --> 00:02:12,000 since 2003, the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region has been cooperating 32 00:02:12,000 --> 00:02:14,000 with the southeast of the United Kingdom 33 00:02:14,000 --> 00:02:17,000 in a research program supported by the European Commission. 34 00:02:17,000 --> 00:02:21,000 The subject, find particles which are the most dangerous for our health. 35 00:02:23,000 --> 00:02:26,000 Thanks to the industrial competition 36 00:02:26,000 --> 00:02:34,000 and the competition of different European and national institutions, 37 00:02:34,000 --> 00:02:36,000 and according to the regulations, 38 00:02:36,000 --> 00:02:39,000 we have managed to reduce the large particles. 39 00:02:39,000 --> 00:02:43,000 However, these large particles do not cause too much difficulty 40 00:02:43,000 --> 00:02:45,000 from a health point of view. 41 00:02:45,000 --> 00:02:48,000 On the other hand, the fine particles, 42 00:02:48,000 --> 00:02:50,000 because of their size and composition, 43 00:02:50,000 --> 00:02:55,000 are likely to penetrate our respiratory system 44 00:02:55,000 --> 00:02:57,000 to the alveoli, 45 00:02:57,000 --> 00:03:01,000 where the exchange with the blood system is perhaps easier 46 00:03:01,000 --> 00:03:07,000 and, consequently, the distribution in the body is much easier. 47 00:03:09,000 --> 00:03:12,000 To identify the particles, they are first collected in dust filters, 48 00:03:12,000 --> 00:03:15,000 placed at strategic points along the main roads 49 00:03:15,000 --> 00:03:18,000 for exhaust fumes from vehicles, especially diesel engines, 50 00:03:18,000 --> 00:03:20,000 and along the coast, 51 00:03:20,000 --> 00:03:23,000 where there is a concentration of industrial sites and port zones, 52 00:03:23,000 --> 00:03:26,000 engendering heavy maritime traffic. 53 00:03:31,000 --> 00:03:35,000 Fine particles are less than 2.5 millionth of a meter in size. 54 00:03:35,000 --> 00:03:38,000 Some are directly emitted into the atmosphere, like microsuits, 55 00:03:38,000 --> 00:03:42,000 produced by combustion in various different industrial processes. 56 00:03:42,000 --> 00:03:46,000 Other particles form in the atmosphere by physical or chemical reaction 57 00:03:46,000 --> 00:03:48,000 between gaseous pollutants 58 00:03:48,000 --> 00:03:52,000 and are composed of sulfates, heavy metals or hydrocarbons. 59 00:03:55,000 --> 00:03:59,000 Laurent Schlimpf, a research scientist, is also a top-level sportsman. 60 00:03:59,000 --> 00:04:02,000 For some time now, he has been participating very physically 61 00:04:02,000 --> 00:04:05,000 in a series of tests carried out by Dr. Tönnink. 62 00:04:05,000 --> 00:04:09,000 During the short and intense period of hyperventilation on the running machine, 63 00:04:09,000 --> 00:04:12,000 the toxins stored in the lungs of the runner are absorbed 64 00:04:12,000 --> 00:04:15,000 as he breathes out into a particle filter placed in the mast. 65 00:04:18,000 --> 00:04:21,000 By evaluating in the laboratory the quantity and composition 66 00:04:21,000 --> 00:04:23,000 of the toxic particles in the lungs, 67 00:04:23,000 --> 00:04:26,000 a correlation can be established, in due proportion, 68 00:04:26,000 --> 00:04:29,000 with the level of intoxication of the population of Dunkirk. 69 00:04:30,000 --> 00:04:34,000 The experiment has already confirmed certain fears on the health front. 70 00:04:39,000 --> 00:04:42,000 We have seen an increase in asthmatic respiratory pathologies, 71 00:04:42,000 --> 00:04:44,000 i.e. bronchial irritation. 72 00:04:44,000 --> 00:04:48,000 I have been doing anesthesia for about 20 years now. 73 00:04:48,000 --> 00:04:53,000 Another factor is the increase in the number of allergic or polyallergic subjects. 74 00:04:55,000 --> 00:04:58,000 These respiratory problems affect the entire population. 75 00:04:58,000 --> 00:05:02,000 But children, because of their metabolism, their small size 76 00:05:02,000 --> 00:05:06,000 and their numerous outdoor activities, are particularly vulnerable. 77 00:05:07,000 --> 00:05:12,000 Research also aims to trace the path of the particles as far as cell level. 78 00:05:12,000 --> 00:05:16,000 On this picture we can see the layers of pollutants on the track here. 79 00:05:16,000 --> 00:05:20,000 Here we see the same pollutants fixed deep into the lungs, 80 00:05:20,000 --> 00:05:22,000 as far as the extremities.