Swindon Green Party has discovered that an estimated 109 people a year are killed by human-made air pollution in Swindon.
The ‘Clean Air in Cities’ app, which draws on data from Defra and Public Health England, shows that on average, 6% of all deaths in Swindon in a year are attributable to human-made fine particulate matter – a higher average than across both the south-west and England more generally.
Data from Imperial College London also show that even Canal Walk, a pedestrianised road in Swindon town centre, has ‘significant air pollution’ and is currently breaking three World Health Organization (WHO) limits on air pollution: PM2.5, which can cause asthma, jeopardise lung functions, and promote cancer; PM10, which can cause wheezing, bronchitis, and reduce lung development; and nitrogen dioxide, which contributes to the development of asthma and other respiratory issues.
Green Parish Councillor Bradley Williams said: “These statistics lay bare the horrifying impact that air pollution is having on the people of Swindon, causing long-term health problems and death. If even a pedestrianised street such as Canal Walk is breaking WHO limits on air pollution, how dangerous must it be to walk next to busy roads full of traffic?
“Swindon Borough Council needs to start taking air pollution and public health seriously and set out a detailed strategy for improving air quality to tackle this emergency.
“We’re also calling on the council to endorse Ella’s Law, which would establish a right to clean air and bring air quality up to minimum WHO standards. The law is named after the late Ella Adoo Kissi Debrah, who was a nine-year-old child who became the first person in England to have air pollution named as a cause of death by a coroner.
“Swindon’s air pollution levels are similar to those in Lewisham, where Ella lived, on at least two measures – the council needs to take action right now to address this issue here in Swindon before more lives like Ella’s are unnecessarily lost.”
In response to these claims Councillor Keith Williams said: “The Public Health Outcomes Framework suggests that air pollution could be a contributor to 6% of premature deaths in Swindon.
“Swindon is focused on two pollutants; Fine Particulate Matter (PM2.5) and Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2). These are the two pollutants with the highest health impacts for our residents.
“On Nitrogen Dioxide: We have had an Air Quality Management Area (AQMA) in place since 2018 for a 280m stretch of Kingshill Road.
“Air Quality within the AQMA has improved markedly since declaration, but we remain committed to pursuing all measures in our subsequent Air Quality Action Plan, and to improving the air quality still further. The most impactful measure of a ban on most heavy vehicles using the road is progressing well, and we expect to be able to put this in place in 2023.
“In so doing we aim to remove up to 12% of NO2emissions from the road.
“On Fine Particulate Matter: We have begun an investigation into the level of solid fuel burning in Swindon.
“Domestic combustion is thought to contribute around 30% to local PM2.5 emissions nationally, and the work we are doing will inform whether smoke control measures are appropriate for Swindon in the future.
“Domestic combustion was historically assumed to be very low due to Swindon’s urban nature and good connection to the natural gas grid, but there has been a recent trend for the installation of log and other fuel burners which may be slowing the downward path of PM2.5 emissions.
“The Council’s Be The Change campaign, although primarily targeted at climate change, will also have important benefits for pollution levels. Fossil fuel energy use, in whatever form, is the principal driver of pollution levels.
“Reducing fossil fuel use, either directly or indirectly, is and will be key to meeting the above WHO guidelines over time.”
