Air

Air pollution has reduced considerably since the early 1990s but there is still more to be done to reduce the effects of air pollution on health.

The Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) leads on developing policies to reduce levels of air pollution. The health-based Defra Air Quality Strategy  [external link] for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland contains objectives for the major air pollutants expressed as a maximum ambient concentration to be met within a specified timescale. The Strategy also describes the relevant European and UK legislation on air pollutants

The Air Pollution Unit of CHaPD has an important role in advising the Department of Health (DH) and Defra on the effects of air pollutants on health.  This is done in several ways.

The Air Pollution Unit runs the Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollutants (COMEAP) [external link] on behalf of DH. COMEAP provides expert assessment of the evidence on the effect of different air pollutants on health and recommends concentration-response functions to relate changes in levels of air pollutants to changes in effects on health. 

• COMEAP report Review of the UK Air Quality Index. The Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollutants (COMEAP) on 22 June 2011 published its report Review of the UK Air Quality Index  [external link]. The Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) asked COMEAP to review the UK Air Quality Index and this report makes recommendations for a revision of the index. The proposals take into account the requirements of the public for readily accessible information, the results of new research and a number of other relevant developments both in the regulation of air pollution (such as new EU Target and Limit Values) and in the presentation of air quality information.
• COMEAP report: The Mortality Effects of Long-Term Exposure to Particulate Air Pollution in the United Kingdom. The Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollutants (COMEAP) on 21 December 2010 published its report Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollutants  [external link], which is a follow up to the 2009 COMEAP report.
  This report uses the risk coefficient determined by the Committee in 2009 to calculate the increase in life years across the population following pollution reductions. It also calculates the burden to health currently carried by the population as a result of air pollution. The report describes, in detail, not only the approaches used to answer the questions, but also the limitations of the interpretations that can be put on the results.
• COMEAP statement: Does Outdoor Air Pollution Cause Asthma?  The Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollutants (COMEAP) published  its statement on the question 'Does Outdoor Air Pollution Cause Asthma?' on 25 November 2010 [external link]. The statement, with its supporting papers, considers the suggestion that exposure to outdoor air pollutants might be a primary cause of asthma. COMEAP, in an earlier report, published in 1995, concluded that exposure to outdoor air pollutants may play a part in triggering asthma attacks in people who already have the condition.
  The statement updates this earlier work and also looks at whether air pollution contributes to the development of asthma in people who have previously not suffered from the disease. It concludes that it is unlikely that exposure to outdoor air pollutants causes asthma in the general population.
  However, it is possible that in a small group of those who suffer from asthma, who also live near busy roads, exposure to traffic generated air pollutants, largely from trucks, may have played a small part in causing their disease.
• COMEAP report: Long-Term Exposure to Air Pollution: Effect on Mortality The Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollutants (COMEAP) published in June 2009 its report on Long-term exposure to air pollution: effect on mortality [external link]. A draft version of this report was released for comment on 17 July 2007.
  COMEAP is an Advisory Committee of independent experts that provides advice to Government Departments and Agencies on all matters concerning the potential toxicity and effects upon health of air pollutants. The Health Protection Agency provides the Secretariat role for COMEAP.

The Air Pollution Unit advises the Government’s Interdepartmental Group on Costs and Benefits [external link] on using these concentration-response functions to quantify the health benefits of policies to reduce air pollution. These benefits are then compared with the costs of the policies. This information is important in choosing which policies to recommend in the Air Quality Strategy.

The Air Pollution Unit has assisted the independent Expert Panel on Air Quality Standards (EPAQS) in setting the air quality standards used to derive the objectives in the Air Quality Strategy. Limit values (concentrations of chemicals that should not be exceeded in air) in EU Directives are now incorporated into the Air Quality Strategy. These limit values are based on WHO air quality guidelines [external link]. Members of the Air Pollution Unit advise WHO on air pollution and health as independent experts.

The Air Pollution Unit also provides advice on indoor air quality and has an important role in communicating the serious risks of carbon monoxide poisoning to the public and to health professionals.

• Information on carbon monoxide
• COMEAP has also published Guidance on the Effects on Health of Indoor Air Pollutants  [external link]

The HPA’s Health Protection Units and Local and Regional Services provide advice on local issues relating to air quality and health, seeking guidance from the Air Pollution Unit of CRCE as required.