After recently recording air quality data across the Vale of Clwyd and attending the launch of the British Heart Foundation’s comprehensive new report on air pollution in the UK, Dr James Davies MP this week called for further action on improving air quality when speaking in the Debate on the Environment Bill in the House of Commons.
Earlier this month, James spent a week with a British Heart Foundation AirSpeck pollution monitor recording air quality data at different locations throughout the constituency.
Although he found daily exposure to fine particulate matter was relatively low at 11 to 43 micrograms of matter per cubic metre, for brief periods in the vicinity of main roads, he recorded levels greater than 10 times the current EU limits we subscribe to, and more than 20 times the World Health Organisation recommended levels.
Speaking in Parliament this week he described the figures as “concerning” and welcomed the fact the Bill contains a commitment to a new legally binding target for levels of fine particulate matter, but called for more to be done.
He said: “I encourage Ministers to go further and consider whether a specific figure should be included in legislation at this point, based on WHO recommendations of an annual mean level of 10 micrograms per cubic metre.
“Up to 36,000 deaths in the UK are linked to air pollution each year, which is known, above all, to contribute to cardiovascular and respiratory disease. Much attention is focused on fine particulate matter - solid and liquid particles from various sources of 2.5 microns or less, which can penetrate deep into lung passageways and enter the bloodstream. It is important to recognise that, although the very worst levels of air pollution are found in our major cities, air pollution affects all parts of the country”.
At the launch of the BHF report, James learned that the average level of PM2.5 in the Vale of Clwyd are 6.45 micrograms/m3, ranking 536 out of 650 constituencies in the UK.
He said:
“I have read with interest the BHF’s new report on the harmful effects air pollution has on our health. While average levels of fine particulate matter within the air in the Vale of Clwyd do not exceed the WHO guideline limits, there are occasions, particularly near to main roads, when levels do potentially pose a risk to health. It is clear that decisive action must be taken in tackling this country-wide public health problem.”
Read the full speech in Hansard: http://bit.ly/3a8VRlK
