Pollution and Health

Chief Medical Officer Professor Dame Sally Davies said major industries should take more responsibility for the pollution they cause.

Air pollution is implicated in millions of deaths a year, and cities in Germany and Italy have recently announced bans of diesel vehicles to bring the crisis under control.

“We all know the environmental impacts of pollution—but what is less recognised is the impact on health,” says Professor Davies. “With factors like air, light, and noise – the public is exposed to a daily cocktail of pollutants. Some of these can be linked to chronic conditions like heart disease and asthma. This increases the risk for some of the most vulnerable members of our society and places a huge burden on our health service. More research is needed to understand how less studied chemical pollutants interact and affect our health, the report says, as well as the long-term risks of our increasingly noisy and light polluted environments."