Air Pollution: Health Hazards

(asked on 3rd June 2019) - View Source

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of the cost of air pollution-related illness to the NHS.


Answered by
Seema Kennedy Portrait
Seema Kennedy
This question was answered on 11th June 2019

Public Health England (PHE) estimated the potential health burden and costs to the National Health Service and social care system arising due to diseases related to air pollution. Between 2017 and 2025, the total cost to the NHS and social care of air pollution in England is estimated to be £1.60 billion for fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) combined (£1.54 billion for PM2.5 and £60.81 million for NO2) where there is robust evidence for an association between exposure and disease. Where there is less robust evidence for an association, then the estimate is increased to an overall total of £2.81 billion for PM2.5 and £2.75 billion for NO2 in England between 2017 and 2025. The PHE estimation of costs to the NHS and social care due to the health impacts of air pollution report and tool can be viewed at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/air-pollution-a-tool-to-estimate-healthcare-costs

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