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 5 February 2019 to Question 213203 on Incinerators: Air Pollution, if he will publish the results of the developing work referred to in paragraph 15 of the paper, The Impact on Health of Emissions to Air from Municipal Waste Incinerators, published in September 2009.

Paragraph 15 of the report ‘The Impact on Health of Emissions to Air from Municipal Waste Incinerators’ refers to ultrafine particles. The report can be viewed at the following link:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/384592/The_impact_on_health_emissions_to_air_from_municipal_waste_incinerators.pdf

Since this report, the reviews by the Health Effects Institute and World Health Organization of the effects of different components of air pollution, including ultrafine particles (PM_0.1), concluded that there is currently limited evidence on the effects on health of ultrafine particles. These reviews can be viewed at the following links:

https://www.healtheffects.org/publication/understanding-health-effects-ambient-ultrafine-particles

http://www.euro.who.int/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/193108/REVIHAAP-Final-technical-report-final-version.pdf?ua=1

Recent assessments have been undertaken of the health effects of long-term exposure to the air pollution mixture in the United Kingdom. This work estimated that long-term exposure to the man-made air pollution mixture in the UK has an annual effect equivalent to 28,000 to 36,000 deaths. This was based on studies reporting associations of mortality risk with fine particulate matter (PM_2.5), which includes PM_0.1, and nitrogen dioxide (NO₂). These documents can be viewed at the following links:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nitrogen-dioxide-effects-on-mortality

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nitrogen-dioxide-effects-on-mortality