Poor air quality in UK linked to 200,000 premature deaths

Poor air quality in the UK has been linked to the premature deaths of 200,000 people, a report has suggested.

Yesterday (December 21st 2010), the Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollutants (COMEAP) - an advisory group for the Department of Health - released research which revealed that long-term exposure to air pollution can cause early deaths.

The report suggested that pollutants may have triggered the annual premature loss of 29,000 people in the UK, but long-term exposure could have impacted the life expectancy of up to 200,000.

It also found that particulate matter accounted for the loss of 340,000 years of life every year.

Professor Jon Ayres, chairman of the COMEAP, said that poor air quality has a direct impact on life expectancy.

"The report clearly shows that particulate air pollution continues to have a significant effect on health in the UK and, importantly, that reducing concentrations of this pollutant would lead to significant gains for public health," he said.

These findings come despite the Independent reporting earlier this month that data from AirNow, CITEAIR and the American Embassy in Beijing showed London to have a 'good' standard of air quality, which was not 'unhealthy'.

Posted by Joseph Hutton