Diesel engines are posing a serious threat to public health

Mar 1 2005

Air particles emitted mainly by diesel engines are posing a serious threat to public health, warn respiratory physiotherapists in a new report published by the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (CSP).

Experts at the World Health Organisation (WHO) believe there is NO SAFE limit for exposure to the pollutant, known scientifically as PM10, yet the CSP's analysis reveals high levels across the UK. Across the nation as a whole there are an average of 23.3 micrograms of the pollutant per cubic metre (m3) of air.

The Marylebone Road in London came out worst in the study, with 43 micrograms/m3, followed by Camden, also in London, with 32.

London is not the only area affected. Other parts of the UK recorded high levels of PM10. Of the top ten hotspots, five are outside of the capital. Port Talbot in Wales notched up a reading of 31 micrograms/m3, a road in Bury, Lancashire recorded 30, while monitoring points in Bradford's town centre and at the kerbside in Glasgow both came in with average levels of 27 micrograms/m3 over 2004.

The CSP gathered information from 58 automatic monitoring points around the UK. Results are set out on p2 and are available from the official Defra Air Quality Archive. Figures are available for other monitoring points in the UK for periods of less than a year. These can be obtained from the Defra Air Quality Archive.

Exposure to this pollutant can cause coughing, wheezing and shortness of breath. The health consequences for those who suffer from lung diseases, such as asthma, chronic bronchitis and emphysema can be far more serious, say respiratory physios (1).

Tokyo has responded to WHO concerns by considering banning vehicles with certain types of engines in built up areas and calling on car manufacturers to ensure diesel engines become cleaner. The CSP wants the UK to follow suit.

CSP Chair of Council, Grahame Pope said 'Respiratory physios are dealing with patients being harmed by this pollutant. The CSP wants action.

• The UK government should accept the WHO position that there is no safe exposure limit.
• Diesel engine manufacturers should produce engines with zero emissions of PM10.
• Local authorities should follow the Japanese example by banning these vehicles from built up areas.'

Responding to the CSP call for a pledge -

Ken Livingstone, Mayor of London said: 'I am delighted that the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy is highlighting the problem of air pollution and thoroughly support their campaign. London has long-suffered the worst air quality in the country, with air pollution estimated to cause 1,600 premature deaths every year.

'I am proud that London is leading the way in trialling zero emission fuel cell buses and we have recently announced strict new emissions standards for London's 20,000 black cabs. By the end of this mayoral term we will declare the whole of Greater London a Low Emission Zone, banning the most polluting lorries, coaches and buses from the capital. London will be the only major city in the world to have taken such a radical step to tackle air pollution.'

Unit of Measurement
A measure of concentration in terms of mass per unit volume. A concentration of 1 ?g/m3 means that one cubic metre of air contains one microgram (millionth of a gram) of pollutant

Data

Air pollutant concentrations: Automatic Monitoring data

PM10 particulate matter annual mean: 2004

Source: Air Quality Archive

Annual mean 2004 ?g/m3

Average 23.3
Highest site value 43
Lowest site value 8

London Marylebone Road 43
Camden Kerbside 35
Port Talbot 31
Bury Roadside 30
Bradford Centre 27
Glasgow Kerbside 27
London A3 Roadside 27
London Hillingdon 27
Stockton-on-Tees Yarm 27
London Bloomsbury 26
London Harlington 26
Cardiff Centre 25
Haringey Roadside 25
Manchester Piccadilly 25
Southampton Centre 25
Thurrock 25
Blackpool 24
Bristol Centre 24
Liverpool Speke 24
London Bexley 24
London N. Kensington 24
London Eltham 23
Nottingham Centre 23
Redcar 23
Stockport Shaw Heath 23
Birmingham Centre 22
Canterbury 22
Hull Freetown 22
Leeds Centre 22
London Brent 22
Norwich Centre 22
Plymouth Centre 22
Sheffield Centre 22
Belfast Centre 21
Leamington Spa 21
Leicester Centre 21
Middlesbrough 21
Rochester 21
Salford Eccles 21
Derry 20
Wolverhampton Centre 20
Aberdeen 19
Bolton 19
Edinburgh St Leonards 19
Harwell 19
Northampton 19
Portsmouth 19
Stoke-on-Trent Centre 19
Wirral Tranmere 19
Cwmbran 18
Preston 18
Southend-on-Sea 18
Newcastle Centre 17
Coventry Memorial Park 16
Grangemouth 16
Reading New Town 16
Lough Navar 10
Belfast Clara St 8
Birmingham East n/a
Birmingham Tyburn n/a
Glasgow Centre n/a
Narberth n/a
Scunthorpe n/a
Scunthorpe Town n/a
Swansea n/a
Wigan Centre n/a
Wigan Leigh n/a