UK 'will fail pollution targets'
September 8, 2004
The UK will fail to meet key objectives on reducing air pollution, resulting in further damage to human health, a leading expert has said.
Professor Mike Pilling said levels of nitrogen dioxide, small particles and ozone were too high for official targets for 2005 and 2010.
Air pollution causes several thousand deaths and hospital admissions each year, mainly in the elderly.
Research results are being presented at the BA Festival of Science in Exeter.
The targets set by the government are closely linked to similar limits set by the European Union (EU). Most big EU cities are also likely to fail to make their targets.
Vehicle emissions
Professor Pilling, of the Air Quality Strategy group, said London was a particular problem.
"London in particular is going to show [excess levels of] nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter," he explained at the British Association's annual meeting.
A key pollutant, nitrogen dioxide, is formed by the action of sunlight on compounds such as nitric oxide, which is emitted directly from petrol and diesel vehicles.
Professor Pilling said that, clearly, a significant contributor to this failure to meet objectives was traffic - but this was not the only contributor.
Particulate matter is the term given to a range of dusty matter - produced by a variety of different processes, both human-produced and natural - which is thought to be harmful to human health.
"We're used to thinking of air quality as a local issue or a regional issue, but it's becoming increasingly clear that it's a global issue," he said.
Professor Pilling explained that pollutants and their precursor molecules are drifting over to the UK from America.
The BBC website has further information.
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