France’s air pollution causes 48 000 deaths a year

Air pollution in France is responsible for 48 000 deaths a year, the country’s new public health agency has said.

Figures from Santé Publique France showed the effects of pollution from fine particles, mainly from vehicle exhausts.1 Researchers estimated levels of fine particulate matter in 36 219 communities in France and looked at the effect on life expectancy. The agency was created in April this year from a merger of France’s three national public health bodies focusing on public health surveillance, emergencies, and …