THURROCK’S air quality has improved by almost half in all but one area, latest figures reveal.
A report on the air quality in the borough shows concentrations of nitrogen dioxide are below Air Quality Strategy (AQS)objectives with just one monitoring station in London Road, Purfleet, exceeding the targets.
The report shows the Purfleet station has consistently exceeded targets for concentrations of the pollutant but is showing a “downward trend”. All other monitoring sites are said to be ten per cent below guidelines and Air Quality Management Areas (AQMA) have on average improved by just over 49 per cent.
Two of the borough’s 18 AQMAs, declared for individual properties along the east side of the M25, have seen nitrogen dioxide concentrations less than half the targets set when they were originally declared and will be removed from the list as a result.
The main air pollutants in Thurrock are nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter. Both arise predominantly from road traffic emissions. The figures show particulate matter concentrations have been stable across a five-year period with no breaches of the target for this pollutant.
The report, which will be discussed by Thurrock’s cleaner, greener, safer overview and scrutiny committee on Wednesday, said: “Air pollution is associated with a number of adverse health impacts. It is recognised as a contributing factor in the onset of heart disease and cancer.
“Additionally, air pollution particularly affects the most vulnerable in society: children, the elderly, and those with existing heart and lung conditions. There is also a strong correlation with equalities issues because areas with poor air quality are disproportionately less affluent.”
It adds: “The findings show that air quality has improved by an average of 49.3 per cent in Thurrock’s AQMAs since their declaration. Over the past five years, nitrogen dioxide levels have steadily decreased.”
Thurrock has one of the highest rates of death from lung cancer in the UK.
In December 2019 the British Heart Foundation said Government data ranked Thurrock one of the most polluted areas in the country. The borough was named the seventh worst town in the country for pollution, with residents breathing in the air that is the equivalent of smoking 138 cigarettes a year.
