North Carolina study finds lung disease mortality rates fell sharply after state passed 2002 air quality law Girls play on a soccer field near a complex operated by Duke Energy in Wilmington, N.C., on Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2014. Randall Hill / AP Regulations designed to reduce air pollution in North Carolina have led not just to cleaner air but to fewer deaths from lung diseases, according to a new study report released Monday . Researchers at Duke University reviewed 17 years of state air quality data and death records, and found a distinct correlation between the start of stricter pollution rules in 2002 and a marked decline in the number of people perishing from emphysema, asthma and pneumonia. The report was published in the International Journal of COPD. The evidence pointing to the consequences of air pollution rules likely applies globally, the study’s head author said, adding that it […]