Study links flight emissions to health risks
TINY particles emitted by planes are putting millions of people across the UK at risk of serious health conditions, a study has found.
Environmental group Transport & Environment (T&E) said about six million people – around 9% of the UK population – that live within a 20km radius of London Gatwick, Stansted, Heathrow and Manchester airports are being exposed to “ultrafine particles” (UFPS) from aviation.
UFPS are below the size of 100 nanometres in diameter – approximately 1,000 times smaller than a human hair – and can penetrate deeply into the human body, having been found in the blood, brain and even placentas.
In Europe as a whole, 52 million people are affected by the 32 busiest airports, according to findings from the study carried out by Dutch consultancy CE Delft on behalf of T&E which was released today.
Exposure to UFPS can be linked to the development of serious and long-term health conditions, including respiratory problems, cardiovascular effects and pregnancy issues.
Exposure may also be associated with 280,000 cases of high blood pressure, 330,000 cases of diabetes and 18,000 cases of dementia in Europe.
The researchers found people living within a 5km radius of an airport breathe in air that contains, on average, anything from 3,000 to 10,000 ultrafine particles per centimetre cubed emitted by aircraft, the researchers found.
People living in busy city centres are exposed to similar ranges of ultrafine particles – 3,000 to 12,000 particles per centimetre cubed.
The study said using “better quality” jet fuel can reduce UFPS by up to 70% as the amount emitted from planes depends largely on the composition of the fuel.