Air Pollution
What would you give up to reduce air pollution? Do you see it as a real problem?
The following is a few years old and after just coming across it again, I realised I hadn't heard anything more about it:
'... it would be useful to remind ourselves that the breach in question is 50 microgram per cubic metre of PM10 particles over a 24 hour period. Clean air would be anything less than 10 microgram. The present air quality standard is 40 microgram /m3 over a year. The difference between clean air and that standard for the whole of the UK is about 90,000 extra deaths a year. Hard to believe that figure, I know but it appears to be correct.
On average people across the UK lose seven to eight months of their lives because of filthy air. But in pollution hotspots, that rises to eight or nine years.
Despite the devastating consequences, the Government is putting very little effort into reducing air pollution compared to its drive to cut smoking, alcohol misuse and obesity, MPs on the Environmental Audit Committee said.
Tim Yeo, the Tory MP and chairman of the committee, said the Government should be ‘ashamed’ of its inaction. ‘Air pollution probably causes more deaths than passive smoking, traffic accidents or obesity, yet it receives very little attention from Government or from the media.’
The UK is also at risk of multimillion-pound fines from Brussels for missing air quality targets, the committee said.
In towns and cities, 70 per cent of pollution was caused by transport, which linked to the most health problems.
During the 2003 heat wave, 21 to 38 per cent of excess deaths were attributed to air pollution.
Health costs of pollution are estimated to be up to £20.2 billion, the same as the fall out from alcohol, while Britain faces a £30 million fine from the EU for failing to meet air-quality standards,
Wheat yields in the south of England had been depleted by up to 15 per cent, highlighting the costs to agriculture and wildlife from air pollution.
While overall emissions from transport had come down from a decade ago, progress on reducing transport pollution further had stalled.
MPs called for more research on the impact of particulates related to tyres and brakes hitting the road surface.'
What do you think is the reason for the inaction of successive governments to rectify this?