Friday, April 11, 2014

Jonathan Harker: Failure to tackle air pollution kills over 25,000 per year

Too bad our Harker can't get the facts straight when it comes to air quality

By Jonathan Harker | Bike BIZ (UK) -- With the evidence stacking up, will a new official public health report prompt the government to put serious cash behind cycling?

Air pollution has been making the headlines recently, but this week's report from the government's own Public Health England (PHE) has linked long-term exposure to pollution to a shocking 25,000 deaths, in 2010.

With the health benefits of cycling in reducing obesity and the burden on the NHS already well covered, this is yet another reason for improving cycling conditions. So expect a few billion to be dedicated to cycle lanes, cycle traffic lights, etc, in the near future. Probably.

Location is one of the deciding factors in the likelihood of air pollution killing you. The report said: "Central estimates of the fraction of mortality attributable to long-term exposure to current levels of anthropogenic (human-made) particulate air pollution range from around 2.5 per cent in some local authorities in rural areas of Scotland and Northern Ireland and between 3 and 5 per cent in Wales, to over 8 per cent in some London boroughs." [Continue reading ...]

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