Air Pollution
(asked on 28th January 2019) - View Source
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 15 October 2018 to Question 174612 on Air pollution, what evidence he is using to assess the safe limit for public health of inhalation of PM0.1 and PM1 particles.
The reviews by the Health Effects Institute and World Health Organization of the effects of different components of air pollution, including ultrafine particles (PM0.1), concluded that there is currently limited evidence on the effects on health of ultrafine particles. These reviews are both available to view at the following links:
https://www.healtheffects.org/publication/understanding-health-effects-ambient-ultrafine-particles
Recent assessments have been undertaken of the health effects of long-term exposure to the air pollution mixture in the United Kingdom. This was based on studies reporting associations of mortality risk with fine particulate matter (PM2.5), which includes PM1 and PM0.1, and nitrogen dioxide (NO2). Findings of these assessments are available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nitrogen-dioxide-effects-on-mortality
No separate assessment of the impact of PM1 and PM0.1 components of particulate air pollution has been produced.