Toxic air pollution hits record levels
Peter Yeung
April 15 2017, 12:01am, The Times
A road near Caerphilly in Wales had the second highest recording of nitrogen dioxide
Demands for a crackdown on diesel vehicles have intensified after a Times investigation found a rise in the number of communities blighted by toxic air.
A study of 146 government-run monitoring stations shows 26 are recording nitrogen dioxide levels that breach European Union legislation and World Health Organisation guidelines.
This is the highest number in breach of guidelines in the past decade, according to figures from the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs.
It comes as the government is preparing to publish its plans to improve air quality. The High Court ruled last year that the current plan was inadequate — ordering a replacement to be produced by April 24.
Levels of nitrogen dioxide, which is linked to breathing problems, are supposed to be kept below 40 micrograms per cubic metre of air (g/m³). However, a station on Marylebone Road in London recorded the highest average this year and also last year, with 82g/m³, according to Defra’s Automatic Urban and Rural Monitoring Network.
Hafod-yr-Ynys Road in Caerphilly, Wales, which passes through the valley town of Crumlin, had the second highest recording of 81g/m³. Five of the ten worst spots were in London and others were in Glasgow, Stoke-on-Trent and Belfast. Diesel cars are among the leading producers of nitrogen dioxide, prompting demands for a crackdown.
Sadiq Khan, the London mayor, has already said he will bring in a fee of up to £24 a day for polluting vehicles including the congestion charge. The government may be considering similar measures as part of its clean air plan.
Jonathan Grigg, professor of paediatric respiratory and environmental medicine at Queen Mary University of London, and founding member of Doctors Against Diesel, said there was “overwhelming proof” of the harm caused by air pollution, pointing to its links with cancer, asthma, heart disease, dementia and stunting lung-growth in children.
“Diesel fleets should be removed from the roads as soon as possible,” he said. “Exposure over a very long time has an insidious effect. It suppresses the lung growth of children, it’s involved in the onset of asthma, a decline in lung function as you age, and there’s emerging evidence of it causing cognitive problems and also reduced growth of foetuses.
“Targeting diesel cars is a very easy way to reduce emissions. At the moment, it’s still relatively advantageous to drive a diesel vehicle — there’s not enough disincentive.”
Some 40,000 deaths are “attributable” to air pollution each year in the UK, according to a study published last year by the Royal College of Physicians.
Health hazard
Pollution figures projected from previously recorded UK figures
In 2017, so far 11,453 people have died air pollution-related deaths
Source: Defra, Public Health England
An analysis of London Air Quality Network data by The Times reveals 400 instances where the hourly mean of nitrogen dioxide exceeded 200g/m³, which the World Health Organisation classifies as “toxic”, from the start of 2017 until the end of March.
A spokeswoman for Defra said: “Improving air quality is a priority for this government and we are determined to cut harmful emissions. Our plans have always followed the best available evidence — we have been clear that we are ready to update them if necessary.”
ANALYSIS
There are 40,000 deaths per year attributable to exposure to outdoor air pollution, according to an oft-repeated figure.
However, that doesn’t mean there are 40,000 deaths each year with “pollution” cited as the cause of death. Air pollution tends to do damage by making existing illnesses worse so it is a calculation to make it easier to compare with other things that harm people’s health.
The 40,000 figure was first calculated for a report by the Royal College of Physicians and the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, released in February 2016.
There is generally agreed to be a 6 per cent increase in annual mortality risk per 10 microgrammes of PM2.5 (particulates less than 2.5 micrometres) per cubic metre.
WHAT CAN BE DONE TO CLEAN UP?
Pay-per-pollute
Sadiq Khan, the London mayor, this month announced that owners of diesel cars more than two years old will have to pay up to £24 a day to drive in central London. A separate system proposed by a vehicle-tracking firm would penalise drivers who produce higher levels of pollution.
Ban diesel vehicles
Paris, Madrid, Athens and Mexico City plan to prohibit diesel vehicles by 2025. Paris has banned diesel vehicles registered before 1997.
Evacuate hotspots
Cornwall council is considering compulsory purchase powers to relocate families from hotspots.
Clean-air zones
Clean Air Zones are planned in Birmingham, Leeds, Nottingham and Southampton by 2020.
Remove speed bumps
Researchers at Imperial College London found that 98 per cent more nitrogen dioxide and 64 per cent more carbon dioxide is produced by bumps.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/news/toxic-air-pollution-hits-record-levels-d3fl56xng
