All I need is the air that I breathe...providing it does not kill me

As the Government comes under fire for failing to tackle pollution, Grace Hammond finds there's something nasty in the air.

The average person takes about 10 million breaths a year, and if those are taken in the UK there's a good chance the air is so dirty that it could be shortening their life.

A report by a committee of MPs estimated that 200,000 people a year are dying prematurely because of poor air quality, which can lead to, or exacerbate, respiratory infections, as well as heart and lung diseases.  It estimates that the lives of those most badly affected by air pollution are being shortened by an average of two years.  In addition to emissions from power stations and vehicle exhausts, including carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides, particles from tyres and brakes are significant source of airborne pollution.  It's not the first time. the impact of failing to tackle air pollution has been questioned.

Experts believe pollution can not only increase the risk of respiratory infection and exacerbate conditions like asthma, but can increase the risk of heart disease through absorption of tiny particles into the blood.

"Essentially, pollution outdoors is probably doing much the same as tobacco smoke indoors,"

explains Professor John Britton an expert in respiratory medicine at the University of Nottingham.  "People often do not know that they have narrowing of the arteries in the heart, and a little bit more clotting on top of that could result in a major event, for example a heart attack."

"Unfortunately there's not a great deal people can do to avoid such emissions.  Masks aren't going to make much difference - the gases will just go around a mask as the particles are so small.  If you're breathing air in, you'll get the particles.  The best way to improve air quality is to cut emissions by using less road transport and cleaner energy."
Yorkshire Post, Thursday 17, November 2011
Reporter: Grace Hammond