UK air pollution causes 50,000 early deaths a year, say MPs | Environment | guardian.co.uk

UK air pollution causes 50,000 early deaths a year, say MPs | Environment | guardian.co.uk

UK air pollution causes 50,000 early deaths a year, say MPs

Minute particles from burning fuel can shorten lives by up to nine years, according to the environment audit committee

In pollution hotspots such as London, air particles could be cutting vulnerable people's lives short by nine years, says the committee. Photograph: Oli Scarff/Getty Images

Fifty-thousand people a year may be dying prematurely because of air pollution, a influential committee of MPs has reported after a six-month investigation.

According to the environment audit committee, minute sooty particles, emitted largely from the burning of diesel and other fuels and inhaled deeply into the lungs, shortens lives by seven to eight months. In pollution hotspots like areas of central London and other cities, the particles could be cutting vulnerable people's lives short by as much as nine years.