It's not just the capital's cyclists who are being exposed to dangerously high levels of pollutants; Leeds and Birmingham have also been identified as high-risk cities.
A number of international studies have indicated risks to children whose mothers are exposed to high levels of pollutants at pregnancy, include low birth weight and long-term impacts on intelligence.
High levels of pollutants such as mercury and P.C.B.s have been detected in tissue samples taken from wild olms, whose populations are retreating deeper underground as their habitat continues to be compromised.
In addition, professors at the University of Delaware say they have found high levels of pollutants like mercury, PCB's and pesticides in shallow areas of the river that can contaminate the water if dredging is undertaken, and that the contaminants can pose problems for disposal of the sludge.
Fears are growing that during the Games, beginning in July, athletes, who take in much more air than a sedentary person, will take in high levels of pollutants such as particulates, nitrogen dioxide and ozone, and could suffer pulmonary irritation, chest pain and decreased lung capacity.
Normally, the existence of high levels of pollutants such as ammonia in landfill leachate over a long period of time leads to a motivated algal growth, decreased performance of biological treatment systems, accelerated eutrophication, promoted dissolved oxygen depletion, and increased toxicity of living organisms in water bodies (Aziz et al. 2010).
Therefore, high levels of pollutants may affect reproductive success, as may fractures and deformations of the bacula and, thereby, penis".
