More than 20,000 people a year may be dying prematurely as a result of air pollution, according to a new Government report.

A committee of top medical experts has investigated the short-term impact of traffic fumes and power stations on the atmosphere.

The study found that a similar number of people are being admitted to hospital suffering from the effects of pollution.

Ministers said that the findings of the committee justified the importance that the Government has attached to tackling air pollution.

Sir Kenneth Calman said the Government was taking the findings "very seriously indeed"

The Government's Chief Medical Officer, Sir Kenneth Calman, said he did not want the report to alarm the public.

"The people most likely to be affected by air pollution are those who are already vulnerable - the frail and those who are very ill," he said.

Sir Kenneth said air pollution in the UK was unlikely to have short-term effects on healthy individuals.

"At the moment we are not sure how big a public health problem this represents. Before we can assess this, we need to establish the extent to which these deaths and hospital admissions are advanced," he said.

The people who are most likely to be affected are those who are already ill

The Environment Minister, Michael Meacher, said that the report offered "major lessons to be learned" for transport.

"We have taken that on board with the emphasis we are placing on the integrated transport strategy which is to get people to be more discretionary.

"We are not expecting people to sell up their cars, but use them less. One eighth of all journeys are less than one kilometre," he said.

Mr Meacher said he was determined to press ahead "as quickly as possible" with the implementation of National Air Quality Strategy. The minister said he would encourage local councils to use their powers to check kerb side pollution levels and impose road closures if necessary.

Ways of curbing traffic growth are expected to be outlined in an Integrated Transport White Paper due out in the spring.

The Health Secretary, Frank Dobson, said the Government was determined to stop children smoking as part of its clean-air strategy. He said ministers would shortly be publishing a White Paper on ways of tackling the problem.

Local councils can test roadside pollution levels

The report examined the effects of a range of toxins found in diesel and petrol fumes.

Sulphur dioxide and ozone are the two chief pollutants that irritate the bronchial tubes and can damage the delicate lung tissue.

Air pollution expert, Professor Stephen Holgate, said that the report was "a great step forward" but that more research needed to be done.

Professor Holgate says air pollution has the greatest effect on people who already have diseased lungs (1'41")

The professor said tiny particles known as PM10s are also found in diesel fumes. These have been shown to cause cancer when used in high quantities in animal experiments.

The nature of air pollution has changed considerably from the 1950s and 1960s when large smogs were caused mostly by coal burning. Now liquid fuels are the main problem.
 

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