The Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollutants (COMEAP) has today published
its assessment of the effects on mortality of long-term exposure to air pollution in the
UK.
Using 2008 data and some simplifying assumptions, the burden of human-made
particulate matter (measured as PM2.5) on the mortality of the UK population, was
estimated as a loss of 340,000 years of life in 2008. This loss of life is an effect
equivalent to 29,000 deaths.
However, the Committee considers it very unlikely that this
represents the number of individuals affected. Instead it speculates that air pollution,
acting together with other factors, may have made some smaller contribution to the
earlier deaths of up to 200,000 people. If this number were affected, the average loss of
life due to air pollution would have been less than 2 years each, though the actual
amount would vary between individuals. The burden can also be represented as a loss
of life expectancy from birth of 6 months (as an average across all births).
The report also predicts that if the annual average concentration of particulate matter
(measured as PM2.5) were to be reduced by 1 microgram per cubic metre, there would
be an increase in life expectancy from birth of about 20 days. In addition, 4 million years
of life would be gained over the next 100 years by people living in the UK. If it were
possible to remove all human-made particulate matter, the predicted gain would be
36.5 million life years over the same time period, and an increase in life expectancy
from birth of 6 months.
A copy of the report can be found on the Committee’s new website using the link below.
Item date 21/12/2010
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