Ireland's State of the Environment Report 2024

374 Chapter 14: Environment, Health and Wellbeing Topic Box 14.2  Unequal exposure and impacts There are marked differences in the vulnerability of certain cohorts of society to environmental hazards – individuals who are already in poor health, as well as young and elderly people, are vulnerable cohorts of society that tend to be more adversely impacted than the general population. Research using data from the Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing has demonstrated that long-term low-level exposure to PM 2.5 is associated with poorer mental health in older people in Ireland (Lyons et al ., 2024). Groups disadvantaged in terms of socio-economic status, such as those on lower incomes or who are unemployed, are also disproportionally more affected by environmental hazards because of factors such as poorer housing conditions or living in areas with high volumes of road traffic. An analysis of the differences in exposure to certain air pollutants (ETC/ACM, 2018; EEA, 2019a) found that regions characterised by lower socio-economic status (e.g. lower levels of education) tended to have higher levels of PM 2.5 and PM 10 (particulate matter with a diameter of less than 10 micrometres) air pollution (Figure 14.4). Figure 14.4  Difference in exposure to particulate matter (PM 2.5 and PM 10 mean pollution) in European regions, classified according to the proportion of people without higher education in the population (2013–2014) ˜ PM 10 ˜ PM 2.5 Lower Proportion of people with higher education Higher Particulate matter (ug/m3) 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 Source: Adapted from ETC/ACM, 2018 Children are particularly vulnerable to air pollution. Their higher breathing rate and lower physical height means that they can be more directly susceptible to air pollution from traffic exhausts. Moreover, their bodies, organs and immune systems are still developing (see Chapter 2 for more details). It is estimated that air pollution causes over 1200 deaths in those under the age of 18 every year in European Environment Agency (EEA) member and collaborating countries (EEA, 2023d). Recent research funded by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) demonstrated a strong positive association between PM 2.5 levels and prescribing rates of drugs used to treat asthma and chronic obstructive airway disease, particularly in young children (aged 0–4 years) (Ó Domhnaill et al ., 2023). The implementation of policy measures may not benefit all members of society evenly. There is a need to assess and understand inequalities in exposure levels, as well as inequalities in impact, at a more granular scale so we can focus measures appropriately and, importantly, track changes over time.