Signal Air pollution named the greatest UK environmental public health threat

Summary

The report records that in 2020 Public Health England named air pollution as the biggest environmental public health threat in the UK. It uses this as support for the view that chronic exposure to pollution is a major risk factor for disease. Pollutants can build up in the body through long exposure even when doses are low. Urban nitrogen dioxide and particulate levels in the UK have dropped since the 1990s, but legal limits are still sometimes exceeded and ozone has recently increased. Young children, older adults and people with underlying conditions are the most vulnerable to pollution. Looking ahead, the report expects ambient air pollution could raise rates of non-communicable disease and place a heavy burden on older people's health.