8_01_2013 : Tehran air pollution leaves 4,460 dead

Tehran air pollution leaves 4,460 dead: health official
Jan 6 - Air pollution in Tehran has left 4,460 people dead in a year, an Iranian health official said in reports Sunday, with another sounding the alarm over high dose of carcinogens in domestically-made petrol.
Hassan Aqajani, an adviser to the health minister, made the announcement on state television, and said the Tehran residents died in a year-long period since March 2011.
High air pollution is a constant woe for the eight million residents in Tehran. It forced the city's closure on Saturday, the second time in a month.
"In recent days, the number of patients who have visited Tehran hospitals with heart problems has increased by 30 percent," Aqajani said.
Tehran's pollution is mainly blamed on bumper-to-bumper traffic in a city wedged between two mountains which trap fumes. But major Iranian cities also struggle with pollution on a seasonal basis.

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