How toxic fumes from ONE diesel car can cost the country £16,000
‘Everyone is at risk’
Pollution from cars and vans causes almost £6 billion of damage to our health each year – with diesel vehicles the worst offenders, research reveals.
A study found the health costs to the nHS and society was worse in the cities, with the cost from an average car in inner london over the vehicle’s 14-year lifetime estimated at £7,700.
And for diesel cars in the heart of the city, the health costs from nitrogen dioxide and tiny particles known as particulate matter or PM2.5 are as high as £16,424, researchers from oxford and Bath universities found.
on average across the country, health costs from air pollution that could be attributed to a typical car running on fossil fuels over a lifetime amount to £1,640, while a van costs £5,107 over its nine years on the road.
Battery-powered electric vehicles are much less harmful because they create no tailpipe emissions, although they still generate polluting particles through tyre and brake wear.
the health damage from emissions from diesel vehicles, which produce far more nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter, is about five times higher than petrol vehicles and 20 times higher than electric vehicles.
if every new car in 2019 was electric, it would save more than £325 million in health costs in the first year, according to environmental charity Global Action Plan, which is organising Clean Air Day on June 21.
And swapping one urban car journey in four for walking or cycling could save more than £1.1 billion, the charity added.
Air pollution is linked to about 40,000 premature deaths a year in the uK, compared to 98,000 attributable to smoking, the report said. About a quarter of the problem is caused by cars and vans, and nearly 90 per cent of the health costs associated with traffic polluuniversity tion is down to diesel vehicles.
Dr Alistair Hunt, from the university of Bath, said: ‘our research illustrates the individual cost that each car and van has on the nHS and wider society.
‘Every time these vehicles are driven, they are having a significant impact on our health.’
Dr Christian Brand, from the of oxford and uK Energy Research Centre, added: ‘Cars and vans are responsible for 10,000 early deaths each year, and diesel vehicles are the main problem.’ Chris large, of Global Action Plan, said: ‘this report clearly illustrates the true cost of air pollution from each petrol and diesel car and van, particularly in inner cities.’
Switching a million cars from diesel to electric would save more than £360 million in health costs from local air pollution, he said.
‘We would look to the Government to use Clean Air Day as a springboard for year-round public engagement through its new clean air strategy,’ Mr large said.
Alison Cook, director of policy at the British lung Foundation, said: ‘We know the health impacts of air pollution, and now the economic case for cleaning up the air we breathe has been laid bare. Dirty air is linked to lung cancer, heart disease and respiratory disease. Everyone is at risk. if this isn’t evidence enough that we need urgent action, the financial cost of air pollution to society should be.’
Martin tett, environment spokesman at the local Government Association, said Government plans to improve air quality had to be underpinned by sufficient funding. He added: ‘it is also important that councils have the powers to further tackle air pollution, particularly with regard to clean air zones as well as expanded road and traffic measures.
‘if we are to truly tackle air pollution, we need Government support to enable us to deliver effective local plans, and robust national action to help the country transition to low- emission vehicles and power generation.’