1. Air quality, health and learning
Public Forum for Education, 24th June 2015
Air quality, health and learning
Sara Ahern
Research Fellow, Bradford Institute for Health Research
@dr_sara_ahern
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2. Air pollution in Bradford
Clean Air Acts
great improvements in air quality
Great London smog 1952, 4,000 deaths
Led to Clean Air Acts of 1956 and 1968
Vast improvements in Air Quality
1980s significant increases in vehicles
1990s occurrence of summertime and wintertime photochemical smogs
1995 Environment Act required a NAQS which would set standards for common air pollutants

3. Air pollution in Bradford
air pollution much less visible
But…
still some of the poorest air quality in the country
has a negative impact on our health
huge increase in number of vehicles on roads in 1980s
© Copyright Ruth Sharville and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence

4. Sources of air pollution
Nitrogen Oxides (NOx)
Particulate Matter (PM10 and PM2.5)
Ozone (O3)
Sulphur Dioxide (SO2)
Carbon Monoxide (CO)
When we talk about air pollution we are talking about a number of different pollutants including gases and particulates
There are also a number of sources for these pollutants including:
Industry - from power stations and factories etc
Domestic - such as wood burners
But the most significant source is transport, with diesel engines one of the biggest culprits

5. Air pollution and health
children and older people are particularly vulnerable
as well as people with breathing or heart problems
linked to:
heart disease and coronary events
COPD
stroke
certain cancers
asthma
low birth weight babies
neurodevelopmental issues
poor cognition
Nitrogen Dioxide, Sulphur Dioxide, Ozone
These gases irritate the airways of the lungs, increasing the symptoms of those suffering from lung diseases
Particles
Fine particles can be carried deep into the lungs where they can cause inflammation and a worsening of heart and lung diseases
Carbon Monoxide
This gas prevents the uptake of oxygen by the blood. This can lead to a significant reduction in the supply of oxygen to the heart, particularly in people suffering from heart disease
In fact it is estimated that air pollution in the UK reduces life expectancy by 6 months and accounts for deaths per year

6. Air pollution and inequalities
We can also see inequalities in how people are effected by air pollution and there is a tendency for the most deprived communities to experience the poorest air quality.
This is demonstrated perfectly when we look at these two maps of Bradford.
most deprived
least deprived
High levels of NO2
Low levels of NO2
Adapted from Bradford Low Emissions Strategy 2012 (Page 15)

7. Air pollution and low birth weight
ESCAPE Project
One of the first research projects relating to air quality that BiB was involved in was the ESCAPE project.
This was a really important study which identified a link between air pollution levels and low birth weight and was published in the Lancet at the end of 2013

8. ESCAPE Project
The study pooled data from 14 cohort studies across 12 EU countries, including BiB and involved nearly 75,000 mothers
The study looked at air pollution concentrations at mothers home addresses during pregnancy in order to estimate exposure
For every increase of 5 micrograms/m3 of PM2.5, risk of low birth weight increased by nearly 20%
The risk was also increased even where levels were estimated to be within current EU safe limit values
While the vast majority of low birth weight children have normal outcomes, as a group they generally have higher rates of illnesses, and neurodevelopmental problems

9. Impact on learning Direct effects Indirect effects
poorer working memory
poorer motor skills
smaller improvement in cognitive development
Indirect effects
low birth weight - associated with higher rates of illness and neurodevelopmental problems
school attendance - lost days as a result of illness
Air pollution impacts on children’s learning in a number of way both directly and indirectly
Studies have shown that children attending schools with high levels of traffic related pollution have poorer performance in tests of working memory and gross motor skills and show a smaller improvement in cognitive development when compared with children at schools with cleaner air
There are also more indirect effects from the associated health consequences
Low birth weight children have a higher rate of illness and are more at risk of neurodevelopmental problems
Missed school days because of illness will undoubtedly impact on children’s learning

10. So what is BiB doing? HELIX Project www.projecthelix.eu
One thing BiB is doing is trying to better understand exposure and its impact
We have been involved in the HELIX project.
Another European study which looks to explore the effects of a broad range of environmental exposures, including air pollution, on the health of mothers and children.
Data from a subcohort of 231 BiB children has been collected and pooled with other cohorts from other countries as part of this study.

11. So what is BiB doing? HELIX Project www.projecthelix.eu
In addition the BiB Community Team have just finished collecting data from 28 children for the HELIX panel study to investigate individual exposure in more detail.
This included children carrying personal air pollution monitors in back packs which they had with them for 24 hours, and having a stationary monitor placed at their home during the same period.
You can see these monitors on the stall during the market place part of this evening.

12. So what is BiB doing? Playground Project
BiB are currently working with Green Lane on the development of their playgrounds
We are doing a small study to look at what improvements can be made to the playground to promote physical activity and social development
Crossley Hall have kindly agreed to act as our control school
As part of this study we are also measuring air pollution in the playgrounds to establish if there are any issues that might need to be addressed

13. So what is BiB doing?
BiB are also currently involved in an innovative research project which involves collaboration with all 5 WY local authorities, the combined authority and Public Health England.
This is a Defra funded project which looks to develop strategies to improve air quality and health in our region by focusing on behaviour change.
There are two parts to the project:
The first looks at reducing car use and promoting active travel for school journeys
The second looks at how policy development and implementation can be influenced to promote better air quality

14. Air quality and active travel
What influences parents’ choice of transport for school journeys?
What barriers exist to walking or cycling to school?
What makes it easier to walk or cycle to school?
How can we increase active travel and reduce exposure?
This first part of the project aims to find out:
What influences parents choice of transport for school journeys?
What barriers exist to walking or cycling to school?
What makes it easier to walk or cycle to school?
How can we increase active travel and reduce exposure?

15. Air quality and active travel
5 primary schools in West Yorkshire (2 in Bradford)
Aim to recruit and interview ~ 40 parents
Mix of:
~10 interviews with head teachers and parent involvement workers
Progress:
15 parents recruited and 10 parent interviews completed
Primary schools
Congested / AQM areas
Areas of high deprivation
Lapage Primary & Newby Primary, Bradford
Sandal Castle Community Primary, Wakefield
Rawson Junior, Infant and Nursery School, Halifax
Boothroyd Primary, Dewsbury 15

16. “there are too many cars parked along the road”
What we’ve heard so far…
“there are too many cars parked along the road”
From parents: From schools:
“If it was closer I’d be more likely to walk. It’s too far, my child gets tired.”
“there is too much traffic”
“It’s not just our parents, it’s the fact that there’s so many schools in this area”
Parents in Bradford have reported concerns about the safety of their children on the way to and from school because of:
the amount of traffic on the roads
people’s driving on roads around school
parked cars around schools
Distance to schools, having children at more than one school (particularly at secondary schools), and having other young children are also factors parents have reported as issues which make walking difficult.
Schools have also reported that issues are made worse by the number of schools in an area.
So individual schools might not have lots of parents who drive but when there are more than one school on a short stretch of road it becomes a cumulative issue.
“We would be worried about sustainability.”

17. Next steps…. Analysis Collate findings from interviews
Intervention development
Work with stakeholders to develop a programme which will:
encourage active travel
reduce exposure to pollution as far as possible
Feasibility study
Test how acceptable the programme is in practice
Establish how successful the programme is in meeting aims 17