Shocking statistics have revealed air pollution is to blame for more than 100 deaths in just one year in Wandsworth.

A new report by Public Health England has revealed the devastating consequences air pollution can have with 116 people estimated to have died, due to low air quality, in 2010 alone.

It is thought that 7.3 per cent of deaths in the borough of those aged over 25 could be caused by a combination of nitrogen-dioxide, sulphur-dioxide and other air-pollutants.

An astonishing 1,331 years are thought to have been cut off the lives of Wandsworth residents because of inhaling air pollution.

However, the study focuses on exposure over many years rather than short-term bursts like the Sahara sand smog which engulfed the borough two weeks ago.

The news comes after our front page last week which revealed more people were dying of a collection of lung diseases, known as COPD, in Wandsworth than the national average.

An estimated 4,000 people remain undiagnosed with potentially fatal conditions.

Your Local Guardian:

We questioned whether the high statistics were related to pollution

Although smoking is identified as the main cause of COPD, links have recently been made to the effects of air pollution.

MPs are set to launch a new inquiry into London’s air quality.

The Commons Environmental Audit Committee will investigate why the Government has not put more effort into improving air quality since 2010 when a report was published on air pollution.


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