Gary Haq: Long road to clean air as silent killer takes toll

Today, air pollution has become a silent killer. It affects the health, well-being and life chances of hundreds of men, women and children. The main culprit is fine particles that are unnoticeable to the human eye but damaging to our health and remain in the lungs for days. Industry is responsible for 36 per cent of these fine particles, followed by road transport, which is responsible for 18 per cent.

Since the majority of industrial sources are now far away from city centres this means road transport is a major contributor to urban air pollution.

A recent study by the House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee claims that poor air quality in British cities is responsible for up to 50,000 premature deaths – apparently more than passive smoking, road accidents or obesity. On average, poor air quality reduces the life expectancy of the average Briton by up to seven to eight months. Air pollution and asthma may even increase the risk of suicide. A recent study published in the American Journal of Psychiatry found a nine per cent increase in suicide associated with fine particle pollution. This risk increases to 20 per cent in those people suffering from heart disease. Another study found that those suffering from asthma, which can be made worse by air pollution, were twice as likely to commit suicide as those without the condition.

The UK, Cyprus, Estonia, Germany, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden have been warned by the European Commission they could face court action if excessive levels of health-damaging fine particles continue to breach EU limits. A study for the Yorkshire Post in March found serious air quality problems in urban areas across the region, with dozens of locations from small market towns to large metropolitan cities breaching acceptable levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO2), the main pollutant found in vehicle exhaust fumes. Levels of polluting emissions were particularly high in Bradford, York and at High Muffles on the North York Moors.

Not only is air pollution affecting human health, it is causing significant damage to our natural environment. Ground-level ozone is formed when vehicle exhaust gases undergo a chemical reaction in the presence of sunlight. High levels of ground-level ozone are generally observed during hot and sunny weather and are higher at a distance away from busy traffic areas in rural suburbs. It has been discovered that ground-level ozone can cause crop damage and reduce crop yields.

The House of Commons' environmental audit committee claims that the Government has failed to give enough priority to air quality. The estimated costs of poor air quality used to inform policy are outdated. The costs used do not give sufficient attention to known health effects, treatment costs and environmental damage caused by air pollution. In addition, they do not take into account the EU fines incurred for failing to meet EU air quality standards.

Awareness of air quality is a key challenge. The environmental audit committee highlights that many Government departments do not seem to fully understand how their policies might

affect urban air quality nor do they have an appreciation

of the associated health, environmental and economics costs. It calls for local authorities to do more to tackle poor air quality and recommend that they be given more support to develop local air quality strategies.

With climate change grabbing the attention of politicians, media and the public it is not surprising that local air pollution has become a lower priority.

Congested and polluted roads have replaced the dark satanic mills as defining features of the modern urban landscape. Transport has become one of the fastest growing sources of greenhouse gases, responsible for about 24 per cent of the UK's domestic carbon dioxide emissions, the majority of which come from road transport. Tackling transport pollution has the added benefit of addressing both poor air quality and

climate change at the same time.

It is clear that we will have to address our love affair with the car if we want to improve the air we breathe on the streets of our towns and cities. This means providing transport alternatives which are attractive, cheap, reliable, comfortable and safe.

To breathe clean air is a basic human right. Like Wordsworth, we should all be appalled at poor air quality and that air pollution today continues to be a silent killer.