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Carnival dismisses report on dangerous air quality on cruises
Carnival Corp has strongly refuted the latest claims of dangerous air quality on cruise ships after a new damning study was published.
A new report by a Johns Hopkins University researcher claims air quality onboard cruise ships is as bad as the most smog-choked cities around the world.
"Concentrations of particulate matter on the decks of these ships are comparable to concentrations measured in polluted cities, including Beijing and Santiago," the report said.
Particulate matter can contain ‘toxic’ properties, claimed Dr. Ryan David Kennedy at the Bloomberg School of Public Health at the John Hopkins University.
He went undercover on four Carnival ships to test air quality levels over a period of two years.
The ships monitored were Carnival Liberty, Holland America’s MS Amsterdam, Carnival Freedom, and Emerald Princess.
Although the particle count per cubic centimeter varied widely, the highest levels of pollution was consistently found in the stern.
"If I was there with my family, I would not want them to hang out in the stern of the ship," Kennedy said.
"People who are predisposed with cardiovascular or pulmonary conditions are at greater risk. It’s dangerous. It’s not a healthy thing for us to be exposed to."
The study was compiled for the environmental organisation Stand.earth.
Carnival rejected the findings as misleading.
"We have installed advanced air quality systems on nearly 80 percent of our global fleet in close coordination with the EPA, so these systems are environmentally friendly," said spokesman Roger Frizzell.
"We test the air quality of our ships and they meet or exceed every requirement."
TravelMole Editorial Team
Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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