Living near a busy road could stunt a child’s lung growth by up to 14 per cent, warn scientists

Living within 50 metres of a busy road can increase a person’s risk of cancer by 10 per cent and restrict a child’s lung growth, scientists have warned.

Research from King’s College London shows that cutting air pollution by one-fifth in Manchester would reduce the city’s number of lung cancer cases by 5.6 per cent.

The report also shows an increased risk of cardiac arrest, heart disease, stroke, lung cancer, bronchitis as well as reduced lung function in children if you live near a major road.

Other increased risks include bronchitic symptoms in children with asthma. If pollution was reduced by one-fifth, there would be 85 fewer cases of children with bronchitic symptoms every year in Manchester.

The findings have been published by King’s College London and a coalition of 15 health and environment Non-Governmental Organisations, including ClientEarth, the British Lung Foundation and the UK Health Alliance on Climate Change which represents 650,000 health professionals in the NHS.

Before the election next week, the group behind the report is calling for all political parties to commit to reducing pollution levels immediately.

The group said it fears that without a clear deadline and timetable, many more people will die and face debilitating health conditions.

The group are also calling for the introduction of a national network of clean air zones across the UK.

They cited London’s Ultra Low Emission Zone as a good example since it has reduced nitrogen dioxide levels by 29 per cent since it was introduced earlier this year.

Andrea Lee, clean air campaigns manager at ClientEarth, said: “Toxic air puts an unfair burden on people’s lives. The good news is that solutions are available. The UK’s first clean air zone in London is already having an impact. But much more needs to be done to help people across the country move to cleaner forms of transport.

“To better protect people’s health, the next UK Government also needs to raise the bar by making a binding commitment to meet stricter WHO guidelines by 2030. If politicians were not already convinced by the abundant evidence that air pollution seriously harms our health, could this new research be the tipping point?”

Dr Heather Walton, senior lecturer in environmental health at King’s College London, said: “This is the first time that health impact calculations for such a wide range of health conditions and cities have been included in one report.

“While previous calculations have concentrated on deaths, life-expectancy and broad types of hospital admissions, our report includes symptoms that affect a larger number of people such as chest infections (‘acute bronchitis’) in children and effects on specific groups of people such as asthmatics.

“The project has worked throughout to ensure a strong link between publicly understandable statements and their scientific basis.”

Alice Richardson, Local Democracy Reporter