Five Shropshire areas named in air pollution findings

Five areas of Shropshire have been highlighted as the worst in the county for air pollution.

Shrewsbury town centre, Heathgates in Shrewsbury, Bayston Hill, Oswestry and Bridgnorth have all been identified by Shropshire Council as having 'unacceptable' levels of pollutants resulting in poor air quality. The levels of pollutants such as nitrogen dioxide are so high that they are 'likely' to exceed European standards.

This is according to a document handed out to the public as part of Shropshire Council's World Environmental Health Day, held at Shirehall in Shrewsbury yesterday.

"Where the air quality is identified as unacceptable, further detailed monitoring is undertaken and currently there are five locations in Shrewsbury, Oswestry, Bridgnorth and Bayston Hill where air pollutants are monitored using continuous real-time analysers to provide hourly data," it says.

"Where the air quality is likely to exceed European standards the council declares Air Quality Management Areas and develops action plans to improve air quality. There are currently five such areas in Shropshire in Shrewsbury town centre, Bayston Hill, Heathgates, Oswestry and Bridgnorth."

The report added that if poor air quality was left unchecked, it could lead to serious health problems and was potentially fatal for those exposed to it.

It adds: "Air pollution has been linked to asthma, chronic bronchitis, heart and circulatory disease, and cancer. It is estimated that air pollution causes around 35,000 early deaths per year in the UK, reduces life expectancy on average by up to eight months and costs between £8 and 20 billion."

More details of the effects of the issue on the county will soon be made public, after the Air Quality Progress Report 2009/10 for Shropshire is presented to the council's cabinet.

Councillor Steve Charmley, Shropshire Council's cabinet member with responsibility for environmental health, said: "Air pollution is a problem indoors and outdoors, with causes ranging from the traffic on our roads to second-hand smoke from tobacco products.

"Extensive work takes place in Shropshire to monitor air quality and protect people from air pollution, including running air quality management areas, monitoring stations, using measuring equipment in town centres and measuring emissions from vehicles."

By Chris Burn