Diseases caused by environmental hazards are preventable but only if local governments intervene.
Credit: Nation of Change

From cities choked with smog to rural villages with contaminated waterways, people around the world face threats of disease from their environment that too often result in premature death.

Roughly 12.6 million people died in 2012 owing to working or living in an unhealthy environment, according to report released Tuesday by the World Health Organization. That figure accounts for nearly a quarter of all deaths across the globe. (emphasis added)

Air and water pollution, along with exposure to chemicals and radiation, contribute to more than 100 life-threatening diseases and injuries. The overall number of deaths has not increased since WHO’s last report, released in 2002; that’s because increased access to clean water, mosquito nets, and immunization, the number of deaths from transmissible diseases such as malaria and diarrhea have declined. However, deaths caused by conditions exacerbated by air pollution—including stroke, heart disease, […]