Dr. Maria Grazia Petronio

National Vice-president of the Association of Doctors for the Environment (ISDE Italia)

“Nitrogen dioxide is especially dangerous for children. In fact, exposure to this gas at an early age negatively affects the development and functional capacity of the lungs, which leads to greater vulnerability throughout life, making children with this developmental deficit more susceptible to the action of other pollutants with which they may come into contact later, such as cigarette smoke or other environmental pollutants. In Italy it is estimated that the anticipated mortality from exposure to environmental nitrogen dioxide values caused 11,158 cases of avoidable mortality in the year 2020”