Pollution from diesels linked to 4,500 early births in UK

AIR pollution may be helping to cause more than 4,500 premature births a year in this country.

British scientists who analysed worldwide data from 2010 linked pollution to 2.7million premature births – almost one in five.

They suggest that in the UK it could have caused up to 4,578 premature births – prompting renewed concerns after hundreds of senior doctors warned only this week of a major health emergency unless high-polluting diesel cars are taken off the roads.

Traffic and industrial fumes are thought to cause women to go into labour early by triggering inflammation of the womb and placenta.

The researchers found that, in 2010, about 18 per cent of all pre-term births were associated with outdoor exposure to particles known as PM2.5. These are pumped out in large numbers by diesel vehicles, and are especially harmful to human health as they can penetrate deep inside the lungs.

Ownership of diesel cars has more than trebled in the past 15 years, driven by Government tax incentives that identified their engines as ‘greener’ because they emit less carbon dioxide.

But there is growing evidence about the harmful health effects of nitrogen dioxide and the tiny particles of soot they also emit.

In December, NHS watchdog Nice warned that air pollution now contributes towards 5 per cent of all deaths in England.

On Wednesday the EU issued Britain with a ‘final warning’ over illegal levels of fumes and toxins blighting cities. Brussels officials said they would refer the UK to the European Court of Justice unless pollution levels are cut significantly within two months.

London is now planning an ‘emission zone’ that diesel drivers would have to pay to enter, and other cities are set to follow suit. Diesel drivers in Westminster may also soon have to pay 50 per cent more for on-street parking, and London mayor Sadiq Khan this week proposed a £3,500 scrappage scheme for some diesel vehicles.

The study, led by the University of York and published in the journal Environment International, con- cludes that efforts to cut premature births should focus on the air women breathe.

Co-author Dr Johan Kuylenstierna, deputy director of Stockholm Environment Institute at the University of York, said: ‘In the UK, PM2.5 matter comes from a variety of sources, such as traffic, the transport industry, agriculture, the burning of fossil fuels and woodburning stoves.

‘Air pollution is still a significant problem compared against other causes of ill health, and we have not solved it, although it is much worse living in India or Beijing.’

In Britain, one in nine babies every year are born prematurely, needing specialist hospital care. That is 80,000 babies delivered before 37 weeks of pregnancy. It is the biggest cause of newborn death. There are many reasons why a baby is born prematurely, including the mother’s age, as well as if she is expecting multiple children or suffers an infection.

In this country, the scientists believe between 922 and 4,578 pre- mature births in 2010 could have been linked to pollution.

It follows concerning reports that smog helps to kill 40,000 people in Britain every year.

Lead author Chris Malley, from the University of York, said: ‘This study highlights that air pollution may not just harm people who are breathing the air directly, it may also seriously affect a baby in its mother’s womb.

‘Pre-term births associated with this exposure not only contribute to infant mortality, but can have life-long health effects in survivors.’

The largest contribution to global PM2.5-associated pre-term births was from South Asia and East Asia, which together suffered about 75 per cent of the world total.

India alone accounted for about one million of the total 2.7million global estimate, and China for about another 500,000.

Western sub-Saharan Africa and the North Africa and Middle East region also had particularly high numbers, with exposures in these regions having a large contribution from desert dust.

Women in many countries are at added risk from high levels of indoor pollution where they use solid fuels to cook inside.

The study concludes: ‘ Efforts aimed at reducing the frequency of pre-term births should consider reduction of maternal exposure to PM2.5.’

‘Seriously affect a baby in the womb’