Localised monitoring has shown some areas with extremely high levels of air pollutants, says the GMB union.

PM10s are noxious particles which irritate the airways and find their way deep down into the lungs causing breathing difficulties even in healthy people. Workers who work on the roadside such as street cleaners, refuse workers, parking staff and others are particularly exposed to such pollutants. GMB is calling for more localised monitoring and for action to further reduce exposures.

John McClean, GMB national health, safety and environment officer said: “This study shows that there are high levels of PM-10s in areas across the UK. Clean air should be a right, not a privilege.

"Road transport is a major cause of air pollution. Exposure is attributed to thousands of deaths and new cases of asthma and bronchitis each year. The World Health Organisation states that there are no safe limits for these particles.

"Government has to ban high polluting vehicles from our city centres. There is a need to look at the final mile delivery from business to business and to consumers in urban areas being reorganized to be done on a zero emission basis.

"More has to be done to force all diesel vehicle manufacturers to fit particulate filters to their vehicles. The mistaken belief that diesel cars are ‘better’ for the environment has to be challenged. Diesel cars emit twenty two times more PM10s that petrol cars do."

He added: "Localised monitoring has shown some areas with extremely high levels of pollutants. So councils should do more monitoring to identify areas and times of day with high levels of pollutants. Doctor’s surgeries should have information on display making vulnerable people aware of these areas so that they can avoid them. Schools should advise parents and children of the routes to and from schools with the lowest levels of pollutants.

Figures from Jan 1 to May 14 are shown below, as reported by Defra.

Site Name	Annual Mean (Hourly measured PM10 µg/m3)
Aberdeen	16
Armagh Roadside	20
Auchencorth Moss	8
Barnstaple A39	18
Belfast Centre	16
Birmingham Tyburn	18
Birmingham Tyburn Roadside	19
Bristol St Paul's	18
Camden Kerbside	20
Cardiff Centre	18
Carlisle Roadside	15
Chatham Roadside	22
Chepstow A48	18
Chesterfield	19
Chesterfield Roadside	21
Derry	18
Eastbourne	21
Edinburgh St Leonards	14
Glasgow Kerbside	25
Grangemouth	12
Harwell	14
Hull Freetown	15
Leamington Spa	16
Leeds Centre	18
Leeds Headingley Kerbside	26
Liverpool Speke	16
London Bloomsbury	21
London Harlington	21
London Marylebone Road	29
London N. Kensington	25
Lough Navar	9
Middlesbrough	18
Narberth	15
Newcastle Centre	14
Newport	17
Norwich Lakenfields	16
Nottingham Centre	21
Oxford St Ebbes	21
Plymouth Centre	19
Port Talbot Margam	29
Portsmouth	23
Reading New Town	16
Rochester Stoke	20
Salford Eccles	18
Saltash Callington Road	18
Sandy Roadside	19
Scunthorpe Town	23
Sheffield Devonshire Green	22
Southampton Centre	22
Southwark A2 Old Kent Road	21
Stanford-le-Hope Roadside	22
Stockton-on-Tees Eaglescliffe	16
Stoke-on-Trent Centre	20
Swansea Roadside	21
Thurrock	20
Warrington	16
York Bootham	14
York Fishergate	20