Life spans 'boosted' by better air quality

The air quality of some US cities has improved so much within the last few decades that it has added an average of five months to peoples' lives, new research suggests.

A study conducted by Brigham Young University and the Harvard School of Public Health compared locations with improved air quality with life expectancy figures and found that people were living 2.72 years longer by the year 2000 than they were in 1980.

It also found that where the biggest improvements had occurred, people were living up to ten months longer than before.

A researcher involved in the study Dr Arden Pope, said: "We find that we're getting a substantial return on our investments in improving our air quality."

He added that cleaner air "improves our environment" as well as public health.

Elsewhere, a study conducted by Brunel University, the Universities of Exeter and Reading and the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology in the UK recently found a link between male infertility and water pollution.