A Greater London Branch Event
Wednesday 3 September
Venue: WSP Offices 70 Chancery Lane London WC2A 1AF
(Nearest Tube stn, Chancery Lane)
Time 6.00 for 6.30 start
Subject: Traffic & Air Pollution Emissions, exposure and health followed by exploring sustainable solutions
Presenters: Prof. Frank J. Kelly, Dr. Ana Grossinho & P.Speirs
Emissions, exposure and health
Presented by Prof. Frank J. Kelly (Environmental Research Group, King’s College London.)
Urbanisation and dependence on motorised transport has increased population exposure to toxic air pollutants for which there is increasing evidence for adverse health effects. Near-road pollution is a complex mixture of particle and gas phase components that are influenced by both exhaust and non-exhaust vehicle emissions, resuspension of road dust, atmospheric processes and photochemical reactions. To achieve more effective traffic management policies and reduce the public health burden, it will be necessary to develop more realistic, flexible and sophisticated approaches to exposure assessment. Important gaps and uncertainties exist in our understanding of health effects of traffic pollution. First, there is an inadequate understanding of patterns of human exposure to traffic and a lack of adequate models with which to evaluate the exposure implications of urban transport and land use policies. Second, the evidence for adverse health effects of traffic pollution is not coherent and there is an incomplete understanding of the relative roles of air pollution and other factors such as noise that are associated with living near a busy road. Third, there is a lack of mechanistic evidence with which to interpret epidemiological evidence. Fourth, there is a lack of exposure response relationships specific to exposure from traffic sources with which to evaluate the health impacts of traffic and transport policies. In this presentation I will overview recent findings on these issues.
Is clean air in our cities in reach? exploring sustainable solutions
Presented by Dr. Ana Grossinho & P.Speirs
In order to understand how future traffic levels, patterns, and fleet trends may impact future ambient air pollution, predictive tools for both traffic and air quality are necessary.
In achieving more effective traffic management policies and a radical reduction in public exposure to health damaging levels of air pollution in densely urbanised areas, the development and application of robust, flexible and sophisticated models, supported by suitable monitoring surveys, in line with bold policy, is key.
Policy makers at both national and local levels often rely on data and approaches from different sources which are not ultimately integrated so to deliver a holistic approach to providing sustainable policies and solutions to high demands for travel and transportation.
This presentation will address how the coupling of traffic modelling approaches that offer a realistic and robust estimate of traffic emissions at a variety of network situations with advanced air pollution dispersion modelling can produce suitable exposure results to underpin policy decisions and sustainable development.
The role of pragmatic mitigation solutions and traffic management procedures is explored in the London context and views produced as a way forward for sustainable win-win solutions.
About the speakers
Professor Frank J Kelly holds the chair in Environmental Health at King's College London, where he is Director of the Environmental Research Group who operate the London Air Quality Network (LAQN).
Prof Kelly leads a substantial research activity which spans all aspects of air pollution research from toxicology to science policy. He is Director of the NIHR Health Protection Research Unit on Environmental Hazards and Deputy Director of the MRC-PHE Centre for Environment & Health. He has led studies of the urban airshed within London including the impact of the introduction of London’s Congestion Charging Zone and Low Emission Zone. He currently leads a longitudinal cohort study examining the impact of urban air pollution and traffic management schemes on the respiratory health of 8-9 year old children attending schools within Tower Hamlets and Hackney. By 2015, this study will be able to evaluate whether the introduction of London’s Low Emission Zone has provided benefits to the health of children living in some of the city’s most deprived areas. Other work examines the toxicity of PM associated metals and quinones, diesel and biodiesel exhaust emissions, wood smoke and the identification of biomarkers of traffic exposure.
Prof Kelly has published over 280 peer-reviewed papers as well as many conference papers and books (as author or editor) on the toxicology and health effects of ozone, nitrogen dioxide and particulate pollution. In addition to his academic work Frank is past President of the European Society for Free Radical Research and past Chairman of the British Association for Lung Research. He is also involved with providing policy support to the WHO on air pollution issues and he is Chairman of COMEAP the Department of Health’s Expert Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollution.
In 2009 and 2011 Prof Kelly appeared before the House of Commons Environmental Audit committee to provide evidence on the health effects of air pollution. The committee’s subsequent report concluded that poor air quality made asthma worse, exacerbated heart disease and respiratory illness and "probably causes more mortality and morbidity than passive smoking, road traffic accidents or obesity.
Dr Ana Grossinho heads up the Air Quality Services in the Southeast at WSP Environment & Energy in London, having 25 years’ experience in management and delivery of all aspects of Air Quality assessment work in the private and public sectors, both in the United Kingdom and overseas markets. She joined the Environmental Planning Air Quality Team in WSP UK in November 2012 as the Technical Director for Air Quality, heading up the UK Air Quality services till March 2014.
Ana is an internationally recognised specialist in the air quality field being an invited expert to the European Commission, DGENV, and the European Environment Agency to provide advice on technical and policy matters. Ana graduated in Environmental Engineering (5 years course) in 1988 at the New University of Lisbon, Science and Technology Faculty, having specialised in environmental impact assessment and air quality.
She studied at Imperial College where she obtained an MSc on Environmental Technology, a PhD on Applied Physics (co-funded by NASA and the University of New Hampshire, USA) and two subsequent post docs at the Small Area Health Statistics Unit, at the Epidemiology and Public Health Department of Imperial College conducting studies relating health outcomes with pollution levels in the UK. In 1999 she received ISEA (International Society of Exposure Assessment) award for the development of the NEAM model (Northampton Exposure Assessment Model) funded by Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) which linked school children exposure to traffic emissions and hospital admission related with asthmatic events.
How to Book a Place for any Event
Members of all branches of CIHT are welcome to attend Greater London events. We also welcome non-members as guests. It is essential to book your place. Some venues may have a limited number of places so please book early to avoid disappointment.
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