Abstract

Study objective: The 1995 UK Environment Act required local authorities to review air quality and, where UK National Air Quality Strategy objectives (except ozone) are likely to be exceeded in 2005, to declare local air quality management areas and prepare action plans. This study modelled the impacts on health of reductions from current levels of PM₁₀ to these objectives.

Design: The framework for conducting quantified health impact assessment assessed causality, then, if appropriate, examined the shape and magnitude of the exposure-response relations. The study modelled declines in pollution to achieve the objectives, then modelled the numbers of deaths and admissions affected if air pollution declined from existing levels to meet the objectives, using routine data.

Setting: Westminster, central London.

Main results: Attaining the 2004 PM₁₀ 24 hour objective in Westminster results in 1–21 lives no longer shortened in one year (annual deaths 1363). Reducing exceedences from 35 to seven almost doubles the estimates. The 2009 objective for the annual mean requires a substantial reduction in PM₁₀, which would delay 8–20 deaths. About 20 respiratory and 14–20 circulatory admissions would be affected and around 5% of emergency hospital attendances for asthma by attaining the lower annual mean target. The effects of long term exposure to particulates may be an order of magnitude higher: models predict about 24 deaths are delayed by reaching the 2004 annual target (40 μg/m³_{[gravimetric]}) and a hundred deaths by reducing annual mean PM₁₀ to 20 μg/m³_{[gravimetric]}.

Conclusions: Modelling can be used to estimate the potential health impacts of air quality management programmes.