Agenda item

The Director of Public Health submitted a report concerning air quality and health in Sheffield, which informed the Board about air quality as a public health priority and drew attention to the level of air pollution in the City, particularly with respect to nitrogen dioxide (NO2) gas and PM10 fine dust particles. In presenting the report, Dr Jeremy Wight, the Director of Public Health, provided an update concerning progress towards achieving a reduction in pollutants; a measurable improvement in air quality; and a reduction in mortality attributable to air quality.

The Board asked questions and discussed issues raised in the report, as summarised below:

There was a problem in terms of linking action to reducing air pollution as it was not certain how effective any one action or a set of interventions would be, for example the introduction of low emission zones. At present, this made judgements difficult and therefore, metrics had to be developed to enable explicit action based on firm evidence.

There was a lot of evidence to say that poor air quality leads to increased mortality and there was an association for respiratory and cardiovascular causes of death. However, the evidence regarding the impact of interventions was not strong.

Resolved: that the Board:

1.    Receives and notes the report of the Director of Public Health now submitted concerning Air Quality and Health in Sheffield;

2.    Supports the ongoing investment in the work relating to air quality;

3.    Supports the Director of Public Health in further work to assess (a) the likely impact of the implementation of the Air Quality Action Plan (AQAP) on air pollution and (b) the impact of any reduction in air pollution on health; and

4.    Requests that a further report concerning air quality be submitted to the Board, which includes an update on the review and refresh of the AQAP in 2015.