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Projects

STFC Air Quality Network

The Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) Air Quality Network+ (SAQN+) is a multidisciplinary community of experts, researchers, policy makers and businesses aiming to make the best use of STFC research, capabilities and facilities to address air quality challenges.

Investigating the impact of London’s Ultra Low Emission Zone

We will evaluate the impact of a large scale traffic emission reduction intervention, the Ultra Low Emission Zone. The ULEZ is a non-NHS intervention. Its goal is to improve population health. It is the major component of London’s Air Quality Improvement Programme.

Pathways to equitable health cities

The London Hub for Urban Health, Sustainability and Equity brings together two London-coordinated Our Planet Our Health urban health projects to create the world’s foremost transdisciplinary research hub on the health of most of the world’s population.

Understanding UK Airborne microplastics pollution

Microscopic plastic debris, known as microplastics, are a complex class of particulate pollutants. They originate from degraded plastic litter and human activity, such as washing synthetic clothes or driving with synthetic tyres, and are ubiquitous across habitats worldwide

Health and economic costs and benefits of a zero carbon UK

Reducing carbon emissions has the potential to reduce air pollution levels with associated health and economic benefits to the UK population. These benefits, balanced against the costs, might provide the justification needed to increase the acceptance amongst policy makers and the public to achieve both climate change and air pollution targets.

Apex: An air pollution exposure model

Poor air quality is a public health crisis, with approximately 40,000 deaths per year attributable to outdoor air pollution and costing the UK £20 billion per year in illness, deaths, health service and business costs. Apex is an air pollution exposure model to integrate protection of vulnerable groups into the UK Clean Air Programme.

Integrated Research Observation System for Clean Air (OCSA)

A multidisciplinary research activity, combining state-of-the-science atmospheric observations, laboratory studies,new data processing tools and integrated scientific synthesis to deliver new understanding of urban air pollution.

Component-Specific Air Pollutant Drivers of Disease

Component-Specific Air Pollutant Drivers of Disease risk in early to midlife: a pathway approach (DREaM)

CAPPA: Children's Air Pollution Profiles in Africa

The ACACIA study is run by a group of researchers based across Africa and the UK who are working together to understand and improve the health of young people with asthma in Africa. Numbers of young people with asthma have been rising dramatically in many African countries over the last two decades, especially in urban areas.

UKRI SPF Clean Air Programme - Clean Air Champions

Air pollution has long been known to damage health and the environment, with recent research adding considerably to the knowledge base on how this occurs and why. However air pollution can be thought of as a wicked problem where no single solution will create the desired reductions necessary to meet targets based on health set by the WHO. The Clean Air Champion (s) roles are to drive forward new research into air pollution in relation to adverse health and effects on the wider environment.

Mitigating adverse health effects

Atmospheric particulate pollution has been linked to a broad spectrum of adverse health effects including respiratory problems, cardiovascular diseases, cancer and dementia. These effects depend not only on physical, but also on chemical properties of airborne particulate matter (PM) though to date it has proven difficult to disentangle the relative contribution of PM constituents to the reported population-level health effects.

Using Wastewater to Assess Near Real-Time Population Exposures

In this multi-faceted portfolio of funded projects, we assess the value of using municipal wastewater to measure consumption of and exposure to illicit drugs, pharmaceuticals, pesticides, and a large array of other potentially toxic chemical substances. Our goal is to assess their potential impacts on public health of whole cities daily, both nationally and internationally.

Impact of the Environment and Pollution on Cognitive Health

The built environment can play a key role in influencing health behaviours and prevention of obesity and non-communicable diseases, it is important to investigate the potential impact of the built environment on cognitive health in older people and further consider other related environmental characteristics.

MELONS

Atmospheric particulate pollution has been linked to a broad spectrum of adverse health effects including respiratory problems, cardiovascular diseases, cancer and dementia.

Public Health Impacts of UK's Clean Air Zones

Air pollution is the greatest environmental threat to health in the UK.

PRECISE-DYAD

PRECISE-DYAD will expand and extend the PRECISE study (PREgnancy Care Integrating translational Science, Everywhere) of deeply-phenotyped maternal-fetal/new-born dyads to provide insights into the life course of health and disease.

AERIAL

The impact of maternal exposure to air pollution on placental function and foetal brain development using modelling and personalised monitoring.

The WellHome Study

The West London Healthy Home and Environment Study (WellHome) is a collaborative effort between three experienced teams from the MRC Centre for Environment and Health at Imperial College London, the Asthma UK Centre for Applied Research at Queen Mary University of London and the Centre for Climate Change & Social Transformations at Cardiff University.

Perceptions of air pollution, health and COVID in White City

This study will investigate the extent marginalised communities, such as ethnic minorities and those from low socioeconomic backgrounds, perceive a relationship between indoor/outdoor air pollution and its associated adverse health effects and how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted this relationship.

Maximising the impact of the Breathe London Network

The Breathe London network was relaunched in early 2021. The Mayor of London’s funding will be used to install and manage the initial network of 130 sensor nodes, establish robust QA/QC and correction procedures, and create the enhanced LAQN web pages and tools.

Microplastic Exposure and Human Health

Microplastics (MP) are ubiquitous environmental contaminants. Whilst traditionally recognised as a marine issue, evidence is growing to reveal a network of complex environmental MP pathways, resulting in the contamination of water, food, air and dust and ultimately, human exposure via ingestion and/or inhalation.

Dust Sampling Research Study

In January 2019 COMEAP published a report into the potential for adverse health effects
from travel on London Underground.

Hazard Identification Platform to Define the Health Impacts

Over the last decade our understanding of the impact of air pollution on both short- and long-term population health has advanced considerably, with increased appreciation of impacts below current regulatory limits and beyond the cardiopulmonary systems, particularly upon the brain in relation to poor mental health and dementia risk. However, there are still major gaps in our understanding of the most harmful components within the air we breathe and the mechanisms by which they induce adverse effects.

NIHR HPRU in Environmental Exposures and Health

This HPRU brings together our expertise in air quality measurement and modelling, exposure assessment, conducting large-scale epidemiological studies, biomarkers and disease mechanisms and chemical toxicology of fibres and particles to produce the scientific evidence needed to support the effective protection of the population from these environmental hazards.

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London Air Quality Network

Clean Air Hub
Sources of information

NExAir

Air Quality Network
Networks of Excellence

Transition to Zero Pollution

Zero Pollution
Initiative