Heathrow third runway could triple the amount of deaths from pollution

The air pollution generated from the planes at Heathrow airport is already a huge source of premature deaths in the area.

However, the number of these mortalities is set to treble by 2030 if a new runway is built.

The study, which is set to be released next year, concludes that even if the airport does not expand, increased numbers of flights from Heathrow will lead to a more than doubling in the number of deaths from pollution.

Owing to its location, Heathrow is already a huge danger. "The main issue with Heathrow is it's essentially in the middle of a major population centre," says Prof Steven Barrett, director of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology laboratory for aviation and the environment and senior author of the study.

More than simply affecting the very nearby area, the study has shown that air pollution generated from Heathrow affects the whole of London.

"Because of the prevailing winds in the UK, emissions tend to get blown over the whole of London. An airport in the Thames estuary is well away from any major conurbation, and the prevailing winds would carry pollution out over the English Channel and North Sea," Prof Barnett says.

As many people are already opposed to the expansion of Heathrow airport, the study is bound to be used as further ammunition to their campaigns.

However, Heathrow officials could argue that air pollution from airports is actually far less than that from roads.

A Heathrow spokesperson told The Guardian: "Aviation is a far smaller contributor to air pollution than road traffic, however we are already taking significant steps to tackle the problem."

The individual goes on to explain that they subsidise local transport so that people can travel to and from the airport for free without adding to air pollution from their own car.

What effects these findings will have on the government is yet to be seen, but it is thought that the results will be discussed by the London assembly's health and environment committee which meets next week.