49 UK towns where it’s dangerous to breathe

NEARLY 50 UK towns and cities are breaching levels of the most dangerous form of pollution, the World Health Organisation has found.

The WHO study looked at fine particle air pollution known as PM2.5 – invisible to the human eye but highly toxic to our lungs.

It found that 49 towns and cities in the UK levels of fine particle air pollution above recommended limits.

These microscopic particles are damaging because they penetrate deep into the lungs – and also cause heart disease and cancer. There are no safe levels of exposure.

Major sources of air pollution from particulate matter include the inefficient use of energy by households, industry, the agriculture and transport sectors, and coal-fired power plants.

The WHO report highlighted larger cities such as London, Manchester and Nottingham as breaching standards, as well as smaller towns including Prestonpans, near Edinburgh.

The most polluted place in the survey was Port Talbot in Wales.

Professor Gavin Shaddick, from the University of Exeter, led the international team that estimates that around seven million people a year worldwide die from pollution each year. He said air pollution ‘presents a major risk to health worldwide’.

Jenny Bates, of Friends of the Earth, said the study ‘demonstrates the need for further research, for us to properly understand and improve the state of air pollution across the UK’.