Is Scotland Becoming More Polluted?

A new report released by Friends of the Earth (FoE) Scotland has indicated pollution levels across the small nation have risen over the past 12 months. According to the environmental organisation, the number of zones where pollution regularly exceeds the legal limit has risen by five from last year to 38.

The Scottish government has responded by stating its commitment to tackling air pollution and reiterating its intention to implement the nation’s first low emission zone (LEZ) was in place by 2018.

A “pollution health crisis”

FoE first predicted that Scottish streets would break legal limits as imposed by the EU back in 2014. However, despite their repeated warnings, the situation has deteriorated rather than improved.

“For people living in an official pollution zone or near traffic-choked streets, breathing in toxic air is an inescapable fact of life. It should not be this way, we have the right to breathe clean air just as we have the right to drink clean water,” claimed FoE campaigner Emilia Hanna. “The Scottish government and local authorities are not tackling this public health crisis with the seriousness and urgency required.”

Hanna went on to point out the success that other nations around Europe has had with tackling their own air quality issues. “In Seville, pollution levels were cut in half via the introduction of 80km (50 miles) of segregated cycle routes,” she remarked. “In London, the mayor has promised to introduce an ultra-low emission zone (ULEZ) a year ahead of schedule as well as taxing polluting cars via a T-charge. In Paris, the mayor has just announced plans to cut the number of polluting cars in half.”

A problem both urban and rural

Unsurprisingly, the worst affected areas of the country remain in the big cities, with Glasgow home to the most polluted thoroughfare (Hope Street) and Edinburgh home to the biggest number of offending zones (six).

However, there are still worrying levels of pollution in smaller towns as well, with places like Linlithgow and Musselburgh also showing excessive amounts of contaminants in the air over a prolonged period of time. The biggest shock in the new report is the news that Crieff, a small market town of just 7,368 people in Perth and Kinross-shire, suffers from levels of particulate matter 2.5 (PM2.5) above the recommended safe level as designated by the EU.

The five new additions to the list were Linlithgow and Newton in West Lothian, Renfrew and Johnstone and Renfrewshire and Salamander Street in Edinburgh – which actually ranked third on the list for areas with the highest PM2.5 concentrations.

SNPs committed to pollution abatement

Scotland has long prided itself on its environmental policies, having been the first UK nation to launch a pollution alert system back in 2012. The SNP government is determined that the nation’s green reputation won’t be compromised by the new figures over the coming months and years.

“Our work on air pollution also includes a range of transport initiatives which are already in place, for example creating one of the most comprehensive electric vehicle charging networks in Europe with more than 1,200 charging bays, an interest free loan scheme to support low emission vehicle ownership, and a £14.5 million Green Bus Fund, which has seen the introduction of 300 low emission buses to the Scottish fleet,” said a spokeswoman for the government.

“In addition, our Cleaner Air for Scotland strategy sets out an ambitious programme of action to promote air quality. Scotland is the first country in Europe to adopt in legislation the WHO guideline value for particulate matter 2.5 - a pollutant of special concern for human health.”