Implementing the US air quality standard for PM(2.5) worldwide can prevent millions of premature deaths per year

BACKGROUND: Air pollution by fine aerosol particles is among the leading causes of poor health and premature mortality worldwide. The growing awareness of this issue has led several countries to implement air pollution legislation. However, populations in large parts of the world are still exposed to high levels of ambient particulate pollution. The main aim of this work is to evaluate the potential impact of implementing current air quality standards for fine particulate matter (PM(2.5)) in the European Union (EU), United States (US) and other countries where PM(2.5) levels are high. METHODS: We use a high-resolution global atmospheric chemistry model combined with epidemiological concentration response functions to investigate premature mortality attributable to PM(2.5) in adults ≥30 years and children <5 years. We perform sensitivity studies to estimate the reductions in mortality that could be achieved if the PM(2.5) air quality standards of the EU and US and other national standards would be implemented worldwide. RESULTS: We estimate the global premature mortality by PM(2.5) at 3.15 million/year in 2010. China is the leading country with about 1.33 million, followed by India with 575 thousand and Pakistan with 105 thousand per year. For the 28 EU member states we estimate 173 thousand and for the United States 52 thousand premature deaths in 2010. Based on sensitivity analysis, applying worldwide the EU annual mean standard of 25 μg/m(3) for PM(2.5) could reduce global premature mortality due to PM(2.5) exposure by 17 %; while within the EU the effect is negligible. With the 2012 revised US standard of 12 μg/m(3) premature mortality by PM(2.5) could drop by 46 % worldwide; 4 % in the US and 20 % in the EU, 69 % in China, 49 % in India and 36 % in Pakistan. These estimates take into consideration that about 22 % of the global PM(2.5) related mortality cannot be avoided due to the contribution of natural PM(2.5) sources, mainly airborne desert dust and PM(2.5) from wild fires. CONCLUSIONS: Our results reflect the need to adopt stricter limits for annual mean PM(2.5) levels globally, like the US standard of 12 μg/m(3) or an even lower limit to substantially reduce premature mortality in most of the world. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12940-016-0170-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.