TOXIC exhaust fumes are polluting city streets across Scotland in breach of legal safety limits that should have been met eight years ago, according to a new analysis by environmentalists.
Nitrogen dioxide and tiny sooty particles from cars, lorries and buses along busy roads in Glasgow are increasing the risks of cancer, heart attacks and strokes, experts say.
Air pollution is blamed for over 2,500 early deaths every year in Scotland and is estimated to cost the Scottish economy over £1.1 billion annually.
But local authorities and the Scottish Government say they have plans to tackle the problem.
READ MORE: Air quality inquiry launched after three Glasgow streets named among the UK’s worst for pollution
The government’s pollution monitoring data for 2017 has been analysed by Friends of the Earth Scotland - you can read the full breakdown in our sister publication, the Sunday Herald.
The worst polluted road was Hope Street in Glasgow, where average levels of nitrogen dioxide in the air were 45 per cent higher that the legal limit of 40 micrograms per cubic metre.
Dumbarton Road and Clarence Drive in Glasgow were also badly polluted.
The limit for nitrogen dioxide was set by the European Union and should have been met at the start of 2010. The limit for tiny particles known as PM10s is a Scottish statutory standard that should have been met by the end of 2010.
The Scottish Government has promised to launch a low emission zone to curb pollution in Glasgow this year, followed by three more in Edinburgh, Dundee and Aberdeen by 2020.
READ MORE: Air quality inquiry launched after three Glasgow streets named among the UK’s worst for pollution
Glasgow City Council accepted that air pollution was a significant public health concern. Creating the first low emission zone will “drastically improve air quality”, stressed sustainability convener, councillor Anna Richardson.
“We don’t dispute Glasgow’s air quality needs to significantly improve – and quickly – and we are addressing this.”
Scotland’s ten most polluted streets 2017
street / nitrogen dioxide (micrograms per cubic metre) / particles (PM10 micrograms per cubic metre)
Hope Street, Glasgow / 58 / no data
St John’s Road, Edinburgh / 50 / 12
Dumbarton Road, Glasgow / 43 / 19
Seagate, Dundee / 43 / 16
Lochee Road, Dundee / 42 / 18
Queensferry Road, Edinburgh / 41 / 23
Salamander Street, Edinburgh / 24 / 23
Atholl Street, Perth / 38 / 21
Clarence Drive, Glasgow / no data / 19
Glasgow Road, Edinburgh / 25 / 19
The safety limit for nitrogen dioxide is 40 micrograms per cubic metre, and for particles 18 micrograms per cubic metre. Both limits were meant to have been met in 2010.
Source: Friends of the Earth Scotland and www.scottishairquality.co.uk
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