Ireland's State of the Environment Report 2024

367 Chapter 14: Environment, Health and Wellbeing Environment, Health and Wellbeing 1. Introduction Our health is affected by our surrounding environment in many and complex ways. Our most basic needs are clean air, clean water and food, and safe shelter. The quality of each one of these needs is directly influenced by the quality of our environment. It follows that preventing damage and pollution to the environment helps to protect our health and wellbeing, allowing us to live longer and healthier lives. We have made some notable strides both in Ireland and elsewhere in addressing environmental and health issues, which are resulting in improved health and wellbeing among our population. The positive impact resulting from the introduction of the ‘smoky coal ban’ in Dublin in 1990 is a good example of the tangible impact that regulation of solid fuels and subsequent reductions in pollution levels can have on people’s health. Research has shown that the introduction of the ban has resulted in approximately 350 fewer deaths per year, reducing cardiovascular, cerebrovascular and respiratory mortality in the general population (Clancy et al ., 2002). Since its introduction in Dublin, the ban was subsequently extended to other cities and towns in Ireland, with a nationwide restriction on the sale of smoky fuels in Ireland introduced in 2022. An analysis of the effect of the phased extension of smoky coal bans to towns in Ireland found that there are now fewer diagnoses of respiratory disease among older people than there were before the bans were implemented (Lyons et al ., 2023). Every day we are subject to various environmental exposures – those that can help us and those that can harm us. Engagement with our green and blue spaces and exposure to our natural environment can generally have a protective effect on our health – improving mental health, reducing stress, improving physical activity and reducing premature mortality. Harmful environmental exposures include air pollution from burning solid fuels and from traffic, excessive noise from transport, exposure to the radioactive gas radon, consumption of poor-quality drinking water, and exposure to hazardous chemicals from various sources. The impact that these environmental risks, both individually and in combination, have on our health is substantial, with one in ten premature deaths in Europe linked to environmental pollution (EEA, 2023a). Data have shown that over 18% of premature cardiovascular deaths are caused by certain environmental risks (EEA, 2023b) with over 10% of premature cancer deaths attributable to certain environmental carcinogens (EEA, 2022). Further compounding this, the risks and impacts associated with harmful environmental exposure are also unequally distributed across society, giving rise to unequal and unjust health outcomes for different population groups such as vulnerable members of society (children, older people) and those with more disadvantaged socioeconomic status (EEA, 2019a) (Topic Box 4.1). The positive news is that we can do something about it. The harmful environmental exposures causing health impacts and premature deaths are modifiable and within our power to change. By tackling issues such as air and water pollution, radon, chemical exposure and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, we can take tangible steps to improve and protect our health. Primary prevention is the greatest tool we have in protecting the health of our population and that of the environment. Proactive prevention measures, through regulation and policy as well as through individual action by all members of society making changes to how they live, can help to deliver a safer, healthier place to live now and in the future. Indeed, one of the six priority objectives of the Eighth Environment Action Programme to 2030 (Decision (EU) 2022/591) is to pursue zero pollution to protect the health and wellbeing of humans, animals and ecosystems from environment-related risks, exposures and negative impacts. This chapter discusses current evidence and policy in relation to the various types of environmental exposure positively or negatively impacting our health and identifies measures that must be taken to protect our environment and improve the health and wellbeing of all people living in Ireland.