Long-Term
Exposure to Air Pollution: Effect on Mortality
Invitation for comment |
The Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollutants (COMEAP)
announces the publication of its report 'Long-term Exposure to Air Pollution:
Effect on Mortality' for comment.
In 2001, COMEAP published a report
on the long-term effects of particulate air pollution on mortality. Since then,
the evidence base regarding the effects of long-term exposure to air pollutants
on health has strengthened. The current draft report summarises this new evidence
and puts forward quantitative estimates of the impact of the effects of long-term
exposure to particulate pollution on mortality for application in the UK. The
report suggests that air pollution has a greater effect on mortality in the UK
than previously thought, with a 10 µg m-3 increase in fine particles being
associated with a 6% increase in risk of death from all-causes. The evidence for
the effects of long-term exposure to sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, carbon
monoxide and ozone on mortality is also discussed but is felt to be weaker than
that regarding particles.
Long-Term Exposure to Air
Pollution: Effect on Mortality  Readers
are invited to comment on the following:
- The scope of the report.
- Any error or omission detected in this draft report.
- The
reasoning leading to the conclusions.
- Any additional evidence that
might be relevant.
COMEAP is supported in its work by a secretariat
provided by the Health Protection Agency (HPA). Those wishing to comment are invited
to write to:
Miss Inga Mills
Health Protection Agency
Chemicals
Hazards and Poisons Division
Chilton
Didcot
Oxon
OX11 0RQ
inga.mills@hpa.org.uk
All comments should be received by 28 August 2007. Further
background informationEffect on Health of Long-Term Exposure to Ozone
The Effect on Health of Long-Term Exposure to Ozone, a chapter from the
forthcoming draft COMEAP report entitled Ozone in the UK: Health Implications,
has been placed on the COMEAP website in advance of publication of the full report
on ozone, as it contains a detailed discussion of the evidence on the effects
of long-term exposure to ozone on mortality. It thus provides useful background
to the draft COMEAP report for which comments are being sought here.
The
Effect on Health of Long-Term Exposure to Ozone :
Comments on this chapter are not being sought at this stage, but will be
welcome when the full report on ozone is published for comment at a later date.
Air Quality Strategy
The UK Government and the devolved
administrations will publish on the 17th July 2007 the latest Air Quality Strategy
for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. This identifies potential new
national policy measures which modelling suggests could give further health benefits
and move closer towards meeting the strategy's objectives. The advice from COMEAP
on long-term exposure to air pollution and mortality was used in calculating these
health benefits.
Further details can be found by accessing the air
quality page on the DEFRA website at www.defra.gov.uk/environment/airquality/index.htm
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