A study revealed that over 250,000 British babies are born in toxic areas every year. That’s about one every two minutes.
Experts warn that pollution is increasing the risk of developing potentially fatal health conditions.
Asthma UK and the British Lung Foundation described their findings as a ‘national shame’ and called for urgent action to tackle the problem.
The charities’ researchers examined the air quality around hospitals and midwifery units, as well as births in each area in 2019, according to their 2019 research.
Nearly a quarter of all hospitals in England were found in areas where PM2.5 levels exceeded World Health Organisation guidelines.
This includes 71 maternity units, where an estimated 183.979 babies are born each and every year – almost three out of ten newborns.
PM2.5 is a major component of vehicles and industry. It has been linked with premature death, heart and lung problems, and even premature death.
Analysis revealed that more than 250,000 children were born to areas where PM2.5 levels were higher than the WHO guidelines of 10 for that year.
However, the WHO has lowered its limits to 5 in September. Researchers estimated that 600,000 babies would be born in the UK each and every year in areas above this threshold.
Researchers from charities Asthma UK and the British Lung Foundation examined air quality around hospitals and midwifery units along with births in each area in 2019
Almost a third of hospitals in England were in areas where levels of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) — one of the most problematic pollutants — exceeded World Health Organisation guidelines, researchers found. The graph shows PM2.5 levels in the UK since 2009, when records were started. It is shown in purple and by roads in red.
The risk of several conditions such as heart attack, stroke, and diabetes increases due to air pollution
Julia Kovaliova, 37 (pictured with her baby Maya), is a full-time financial manager from Manchester. Manchester has some of most polluted roads and one of highest rates of childhood asthma hospitalizations in the country.
Evidence suggests that air pollution can cause damage to every organ of the body. It can also stunt the growth and development of the lungs. Children are therefore more susceptible than adults.
Mother of 11-year old polluting asthma sufferer is ‘terrified” that her other children will develop the condition
A mother-of-3 is afraid that two of her three children will develop pollutant-induced asthma. Her oldest child has the condition.
Julia Kovaliova, 37 years old, is a part-time finance manager in Manchester. Manchester has some the most polluted roads and one of the highest rates for childhood asthma hospital admissions.
She has three children, Maksim (11 years old) with pollution-induced asthma, Mark (5 years), and Maya (1 year). She is afraid Mark and Maya will develop asthma like their brother.
She said, “Maksim was six years when he suffered his first asthma attack. It seemed that it had come out of nowhere.”
‘He’d had a cough and a bit of a cold and one minute he was running around and the next he was complaining he couldn’t catch his breath.
‘I had to rush him to hospital and he was diagnosed with asthma.
‘We live in an area which was supposed to be family-friendly, yet it is a near a busy main road where traffic is constantly whizzing by and there is not much green space.
‘Maksim’s asthma is always worse when the roads are busy and I am convinced it is triggered by air pollution.
‘When we are away from home, such as on holiday or visiting family in Lithuania where there is much less traffic, his breathing problems miraculously disappear.
‘It is terrifying that air pollution can make children so ill and I worry that Maksim’s asthma will get steadily worse.
‘I am really concerned that Maya will develop asthma like her brother – she was breathing in dirty air while she was in the womb and now is breathing in toxic air as a small, innocent baby.
‘But we can’t afford to move somewhere less polluted.
‘I am campaigning to stamp out air pollution, and with a group of other parents, I stopped the council building a car park near my son’s school but it is time now for the Government to step up and really make a difference.’
The lungs and brains can also be damaged by air pollution while babies are still in their wombs. New evidence suggests that pregnant women who are exposed to toxic air are more likely than others to give birth prematurely or have a low birth weight.
Toxic air is also believed to cause 36,000 premature deaths each year in the UK.
The Newham Council in London was the top local authority for having the highest levels of air pollution, followed by Waltham Forest and the City of London.
Birmingham, which has one of the highest birth rates in the country is second after London.
But it isn’t just large cities affected, with leafy St Albans and Windsor and Eton also recording dangerously high levels air pollution, with more than 1,500 babies exposed in each area.
The findings come ahead of next week’s UN Climate Change conference (COP26).
Sarah Woolnough, Chief Executive of Asthma UK and the British Lung Foundation, said: ‘It is a national shame that a quarter of a million babies are born breathing toxic air every year.
‘How can it be acceptable that the first breath a baby takes could be so dirty it could seriously affect their long-term health?
‘Every child deserves the best start in life and our Government needs to act now to cut air pollution levels and do their duty to protect future generations from this invisible threat.
‘The UK Government must blaze a trail, not just at COP26 but beyond, to bring in bold new clean air laws and set ambitious targets to clean up the air by 2030.
‘If people are encouraged to swap their car for cleaner modes of transport and Government invests in more cycle routes, more frequent bus routes and if local councils expand clean air zones, there is hope that we can tackle air pollution and all enjoy cleaner air.
‘But we can’t press for change alone.
‘We need people to share their stories of how air pollution affects them and support our campaign to put pressure on the Government to urgently tackle air pollution.’
Air pollution is most severe for those with low incomes. They are more likely to have a car and drive long distances than the rest of the population.
A new analysis has also shown that pollution levels in the vicinity of maternity units are highest among the most deprived areas.
The charities ask the Government to make improving air quality a central part of its levelling-up agenda. They want to ensure that people have access to clean air no matter where they are born or live.
Andy Ratcliffe, executive director of programmes at campaign group Impact on Urban Health, said: ‘Where a baby happens to be born determines whether, from its very first breath, it will be exposed to toxic levels of poisonous air.
‘This new report shows that pollution levels around maternity units are highest in areas of social deprivation. This is a clear example of inequality in action.
‘COP26 is a crucial moment for the Government’s levelling up agenda.
‘Do we want to be a society where the burden of poisonous air is disproportionately borne by those whose health is most susceptible – children, older people, people with heart and lung conditions and those in lower income communities?
‘Or do we want to make sure every parent can be confident their baby has equal access to safe air and a healthy life, right from the very first breath?’
After her first-born child developed asthma as a result of poor air quality, a mother-of-3 shared her concerns about Manchester’s pollution levels.
Julia Kovaliova, 37 years old, is a part-time finance manager in Manchester. Manchester has some the most polluted roads and one of the highest rates for childhood asthma hospital admissions.
She has three children, Maksim (11 years old) with pollution-induced asthma, Mark (5 years), and Maya (1 year). She is afraid Mark and Maya will develop asthma like their brother.
Ms Kovaliova said: ‘We live in an area which was supposed to be family-friendly, yet it is a near a busy main road where traffic is constantly whizzing by and there is not much green space.
‘Maksim’s asthma is always worse when the roads are busy and I am convinced it is triggered by air pollution.
‘It is terrifying that air pollution can make children so ill and I worry that Maksim’s asthma will get steadily worse.
‘I am really concerned that Maya will develop asthma like her brother – she was breathing in dirty air while she was in the womb and now is breathing in toxic air as a small, innocent baby.
‘But we can’t afford to move somewhere less polluted.’
WHAT HAS POLLUTION HEALTH AND BODIES IMPACTED ON OUR HEALTH?
CAUSES CHILDREN TO HAVE LOW IQ: University of California, San Francisco researchers found that children whose mothers live in polluted areas have IQs up to seven points lower that those whose homes are cleaner.
CAUSE CHILDREN TO HADER POOR MEMORY: Researchers at the Barcelona Institute for Global Health found boys exposed to greater levels of PM2.5 in the womb performed worse on memory tests by the time they are 10.
DELAY THE DEVELOPMENT IN CHILDRENResearchers at Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health found that youngster who live less than a third of a mile from busy roads are twice as likely score lower in communication skills tests in infancy. They also had poorer hand-eye coordination.
MAKE CHILDREN ANGIERUniversity of Cincinnati scientists believe that pollution can alter the brain’s structure, making children more anxious. The study of 14 children found that those who were exposed to more pollution had higher anxiety rates.
CUT YOUR CHILD’S LIFE VERY QUICK:According to a report released by the University of British Columbia and the US-based Health Effects Institute in April 2019, children born today will lose almost two years of life due to air pollution. UNICEF demanded that action be taken in response to the study.
RISE A CHILD’S FEAR OF AUTISM Researchers at Monash University in Australia discovered youngsters living in highly polluted parts of Shanghai have a 86 per cent greater chance of developing ASD. Dr Yuming Guo, the lead author of the study, stated that young children’s brains are more susceptible to environmental toxicities.
ASTHMA IN CHILDRENA major study by George Washington University found that four million children in the world suffer from asthma every year. Experts disagree on the cause of asthma. However, exposure to pollution as a child increases the risk of lung damage.
MAKE CHILDREN FEATUniversity of Southern California experts have found that 10-year-olds who were born in polluted areas are on average 2.2lbs (1kg) heavier than those who were raised in cleaner air. Scientists believe that nitrogen dioxide pollution could affect children’s ability to burn fat.
LEAVE WOMEN INFERTILE EASIER: In May 2019, scientists at the University of Modena in Italy claimed that they believed Just like smoking, pollution accelerates the ageing process in women. They found that almost two-thirds (33%) of women with a low’reserve of eggs’ regularly inhaled toxic fumes.
RAISE THE RISK A MISCARRIAGE: University of Utah scientists found in January that pregnant women are 16 per cent more likely to suffer the heartbreak of a miscarriage if they live in areas of high pollution.
RISE THE RISK OF BREAST CANNEAL: Scientists at the University of Stirling found six women working at the same bridge next to a busy road in the US got breast cancer within three years of each other. According to the study, there was a 1 in 10,000 chance that the cases were accidental. It suggested chemicals in the traffic fumes caused the cancer by shutting down the BRCA genes, which try to stop tumours growing.
DAMAGE A MAN’S SPERMBrazilian scientists from the University of Sao Paulo discovered that mice who were exposed to toxic air had lower sperm counts and a worse quality than those who inhaled clean air since birth.
MAKE MEN LESs Likely to Get Sexily ArousedScientists at Guangzhou Medical University found that rats exposed in China to air pollution were unable to sexually stimulated. Scientists believe it may also affect men, as inhaling poisonous particles may trigger inflammation in blood vessels and starve the genitals of oxygen – affecting men’s ability to become sexually aroused.
MAKE MEN LESSER ELIGIBLE TO HAVE ERECTILE DYSFUNCTION: Men who live on main roads are more likely to have difficulty getting an erection due to exposure to pollution, a Guangzhou University in China study suggested in February. Tests on rats revealed that toxic fumes decreased blood flow to the prostate, which could lead to erectile dysfunction.
RAISE THE RISK OF PSYCHOSIS: King’s College London scientists discovered that toxic air can cause intense paranoia, hearing voices and extreme paranoia in young people. They stated that it was an urgent health priority to find out how pollution could lead to psychosis.
MAKE YOU DEPRESSEDResearchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology found that the more polluted the atmosphere, the worse we are. Their study was based in part on the analysis of social media users in China and the average daily concentration of PM2.5 and weather data where they reside.
DEMENTIA CAUSES: Air pollution could be responsible for 60,000 cases of dementia in the UK, researchers from King’s College London and St George’s, University of London, calculated last September. Tiny pollutants breathed deep into the lungs and enter the blood stream, where they may travel into the brain and cause inflammation – a problem which may trigger dementia.
