Air pollution 'leads to 13,000 premature deaths in Britain'

Air quality in Britain could be the cause of 13,000 premature deaths, according to a MIT report, which also casts doubt over the claim that most of the country's air pollution comes from continental Europe.

A major study from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has found that air pollution is prematurely killing 13,000 people a year in Britain. The major causes of these deaths are thought to be pollution from cars and lorries, which are responsible for 7,000 deaths. The Aviation industry is thought  to be the cause of 2,000 premature deaths, and power plants 1,700 premature deaths.

MIT also highlighted that Caroline Spelman may have been wrong to point the finger at continental Europe for causing British pollution woes, with the study finding that about 60 per cent of the polluted air breathed by Britons comes from domestic sources.

The report stated: "One-third of premature mortalities in the UK caused by combustion emissions are due to emissions from other EU member states, and UK combustion emissions cause one third again as many early deaths in the rest of the EU as they do in the UK."

It also revealed where the most deaths were geographically, with Greater London, Greater Manchester and West Midlands being at the top of the list.

Posted by Joseph Hutton