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Clean air is an essential ingredient of a good quality life. People have a right to expect that the air they breathe will not harm them.
We have come a long way since the smogs of the 1950s and air quality in the UK is generally very good. However, air pollution remains a serious problem in certain areas. Up to 24,000 people die prematurely every year in Britain because of its effects. Many thousands more require hospital treatment. Children and the elderly are particularly vulnerable because of the fragile nature of their lungs.
Some people believe that this is a problem we have solved. It is true that the great pea-souper smogs of the 1950s, which were caused by coal and wood fires in people’s homes and coal-burning power stations, and which led to the deaths of thousands of people in London, are a thing of the past. But a new type of smog has replaced them, in some ways more dangerous because less visible. This is the smog caused by traffic fumes.
The Government’s national Air Quality Strategy was published in July 2007 and sets objectives for the main air pollutants to protect health. |