{"id":311,"date":"2017-11-02T09:54:34","date_gmt":"2017-11-02T09:54:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.plymouth.ac.uk\/sustainableearth\/?p=311"},"modified":"2017-11-02T09:54:34","modified_gmt":"2017-11-02T09:54:34","slug":"book-review-an-air-that-kills","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.plymouth.ac.uk\/sustainableearth\/book-review-an-air-that-kills\/","title":{"rendered":"Book review: An Air That Kills"},"content":{"rendered":"

Alan Ramage<\/strong>
\nOn behalf of Plymouth Green Book Club<\/p>\n

\n

At the invitation of Professor Iain Stewart, I am opening this blog on behalf of Plymouth Green Book Club, which read Dr John Rieuwerts’s book \u201cAn Air That Kills\u201d earlier this year. It is an important contribution to the public\u2019s understanding of an issue which has rightly gained a high profile in Britain\u2019s media.<\/p>\n

Dr John Rieuwerts<\/a> lectures at the University of Plymouth and has very kindly agreed to contribute to the blog. This will ensure that questions and statements will be responded to with the full depth of Dr Rieuwerts\u2019s extensive knowledge of the subject and current research.<\/p>\n

Chapter 1<\/h4>\n

An Air That Kills\u201d opens with a chapter titled \u201cA Breath of Fresh Air\u201d and states emphatically that air pollution is an invisible killer, which is far more severe than most people realise and the main sources are all around us. The British government\u2019s Advisory Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollution states that the average reduction in the life expectancy of a British citizen caused by unavoidable exposure to air pollution \u201cis larger than that of several other established mortality risks\u201d, including car accidents and passive smoking.<\/p>\n

Chapter 2<\/h3>\n

The second chapter, \u201cAir and Smoke, a Foggy History\u201d is a salutary reminder of the grim reality of Victorian Britain when, In industrial areas, the well-off sited their house to the west of their wealth-making enterprises, while the poorer people\u2019s homes were downwind of the prevailing south-westerlies. Coincidence? We are reminded of London\u2019s \u201cGreat Smog\u201d of December 1952 when thousands of Londoners of all ages died during the smog and subsequently a further 8,000 from fatalities that were originally attributed to influenza. This and previous smogs led to the Clean Air Act of 1956 and subsequent acts empowering local authorities to designate smoke control areas, more commonly referred to as smokeless zones.<\/p>\n

Chapter 3<\/h3>\n

The third chapter explains the various forms of air pollution and their effects. With the offshoring of the source of much of Britain\u2019s manufactured goods to Newly Industrialised Countries, road vehicles are the main source of today\u2019s air pollution, which is all the more insidious for being largely invisible but nevertheless toxic. At the moment EU legislation sets limits for some pollutants, while others remain as only having target values.<\/p>\n

PM ( particulate matter) 10 and PM 2.5 particles are invisible to the eye. The latter can travel to the tiny sacs in the lungs where oxygen is transferred into the bloodstream, leading, in time, to a range of pulmonary and cardiovascular diseases e.g. emphysema, bronchitis, stroke and heart attack. There is also a link with lung cancer. Long term exposure to nitrogen dioxide, produced wherever fossil fuels are burned, can severely inflame the airways causing breathing difficulties. Over periods longer than a year, research tentatively suggests an association with certain concentrations leading to a reduction in the growth of lung function in children. Ground-level ozone interacts with other pollutants such as nitrogen dioxide to create a photochemical smog in sunny weather. A consequence is severe inflammation to the lining of lungs with reduced lung function. Long term exposure scars the lungs.<\/p>\n

Chapter 4<\/h3>\n

The fourth chapter, \u201cThe Scale of the Problem\u201d opens with a quote from Simon Upton of the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development): “the number of lives cut short by air pollution is already terrible and the potential rise in the next few decades is terrifying.\u201d<\/p>\n

Locations exposing inhabitants, workers and regular visitors to particular risk are congested urban areas, industrial areas and main roads. An unexpected inclusion is rural main roads and rural areas. Dr Rieuwerts explains later in the book that rural area pollution is partly a consequence of synthetic urea fertilisers, which are widely used, producing ammonia, which combines with oxides of nitrogen and sulphur from urban and industrial areas and forms fine PMs, significantly decreasing air quality. The most vulnerable in all these areas are the very young, frail, elderly people and those of any age who already have cardiovascular and respiratory conditions such as asthma, bronchitis and emphysema.<\/p>\n

Chapter 5<\/h3>\n

Chapter five is titled \u201cCurrent Challenges\u201d. It explains the limitations of the current monitoring of the AURN ( Automatic Urban and Rural Network ) and LAQM ( Local Air Quality Management ). This chapter makes specific reference to pollution in Plymouth. Drawing upon the contents of this chapter a submission has been sent to Environment Plymouth by Plymouth Green Book Club in response to the request made to Environment Plymouth and other organisations by Plymouth City Council as part of its Budget Scrutiny Consultation. This submission is at the end of the blog.<\/p>\n

The Supreme Court has ruled in favour of Client Earth, a non-profit organisation of lawyers, which has launched legal challenges against the UK government, claiming it had not considered or put in place all practical measures to ensure compliance with E.U. air quality standards.<\/p>\n

Dr Rieuwerts states that local air quality management is an admirable system with air quality officers across the country working hard to to figure out the best ways to reduce air pollution in their local areas. However, the actions they identify generally require resources and support from central government. Traffic congestion is typically the source of the worst problems but local authorities do not have the means to reduce the sheer amount of traffic on Britain\u2019s roads; it requires broader solutions that can only come from central government. It is at this point I feel impelled to make a personal observation. I have visited several cities in England where there are several Park and Ride sites around each place. Plymouth has its existing and planned Deep Lane P&R sites. I would like to see a feasibility study done in association with Cornwall and Devon to see if more could be done through additional P&R sites to reduce traffic flows into the city\u2019s arterial routes and its very congested city centre. I do wonder about the air quality at Prince Rock Primary School with busy roads passing by each side. Has this been monitored for all relevant pollutants?<\/p>\n

Chapter 6<\/h3>\n

Chapter six, \u201cClearing the Air\u201d, recommends two key approaches, which require central government support and co-ordination, underpinned by national policies.<\/p>\n