Air pollution: what about the workers?

As each year passes the need to address the risks caused by climate breakdown becomes more urgent. In the case of air pollution, the existing cocktail of toxic substances is now made worse by the impacts of climate risks like extreme heat.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has identified air pollution as the greatest environmental risk to health in the UK. Despite this, the standards to protect workers from these dangers are totally inadequate. 

2026 is the TUC Year of Climate Action. We need a campaign that highlights the dangerous levels of pollutants in many workplaces, the poor occupational exposure limits and the lack of enforcement of even these inadequate standards.

One opportunity to voice these concerns is via the Environmental Audit Committee Inquiry on ‘Air Pollution in England’. The Trade Union Clean Air Network (TUCAN) has published a submission to the inquiry, TUCAN Campaigns – Greener Jobs Alliance, which explains these double standards.

Graham Peterson: "The Government is failing to place sufficient duties on businesses to reduce their air pollution."

In summary, our main points are:

• Public and occupational health – the focus of air pollution research and policy development has been on public health, particularly vulnerable groups like children. While this is vital, it has been done at the expense of largely ignoring the impact on workers. Workers are a particularly vulnerable group, but you would not think so if you delve through local, regional and national climate resilience and air pollution policies. This is true even despite the fact that many workers are at greater risk – exposed to more dangerous substances, higher pollution levels and for longer periods of time. Worker protection is barely mentioned, if at all. When it is, the standards are not fit for purpose. The HSE Workplace Exposure Limits (WELs) set limits for particulate matter (PM2.5) that are hopelessly out of date. How is it that a worker can be exposed to over 250 times the levels of PM2.5 (if we consider HSE’s WEL for respirable dust, which includes PM2.5, and is set at 4,000 µg/m³ over an eight-hour time-weighted average), compared to a member of the public in an outdoor setting (the WHO standard for PM2.5 exposure in ambient, or outdoor air, is 15 µg/m³ for a 24-hour exposure)? When compared to the WHO 5 µg/m³ annual exposure standard for ambient air, the difference is even more stark – the HSE standard is 800 times more than the WHO one.
  
  
• Outdoor and indoor air – there has been far less research and policy development on indoor air quality. This is not just the view of TUCAN; it is borne out by the Chief Medical Officer’s 2022 Report on Air Pollution, which stated: “While there has been extensive consideration of, and effective plans for, many aspects of outdoor air pollution, the air we breathe indoors has not been considered as widely. As outdoor pollution has decreased, and is set to decrease further, the relative importance of indoor air pollution increases.” (Page 188). Given that people can spend up to 90 per cent of their time indoors, this takes on even more importance. In the case of workers, this can often mean high exposures in poorly ventilated workplaces.
  
  
• Individual and corporate responsibilities – the Government is failing to place sufficient duties on businesses. Most air pollution is directly or indirectly linked to economic activity. A study of the latest Defra statistics shows that industrial and commercial direct emissions from industry/energy sectors account for significant levels of the main pollutants – particulate matter (PM 2.5 and 10), ammonia, nitrogen dioxide (NO2), volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and sulphur dioxide (SO2). Once you include the indirect emissions from the other sectors – for example, road transport and people travelling to work – it is considerably higher. More than two thirds of the six air pollutants identified in the Defra statistics are directly or indirectly work-related. Yet the emphasis in air pollution policy continues to be on individual behaviour with limited references to new business obligations.

TUCAN is puishing for amendments to health and safety legislation to place a duty on employers to conduct air pollution and climate risk assessments

Let’s have some air pollution action 

TUCAN is seeking to forge a campaign that includes:

• Implementation of the WHO Global Air Quality Guidelines by 2030 
• Support for the Clean Air (Human Rights) Bill, a Private Members’ Bill currently being considered in Parliament 
• Amendments to health and safety legislation to place a duty on employers to conduct air pollution and climate risk assessments. These assessments should be conducted in conjunction with workers and recognised trade unions
• Amendments to occupational exposure standards to bring them in line with outdoor public health standards
• Provision of the necessary funding and powers for the statutory bodies to monitor and enforce improved air pollution standards.

Examples of good practice

TUCAN works with the Healthy Air Coalition to make the case for change. We also work with local and regional authorities to support air quality initiatives. For example, in London we are working with the Greater London Authority to include air pollution risk assessments in the Mayor’s Good Work Standard for employers. We are working with Imperial College and local authorities to support the monitoring of exposure levels of outdoor workers like traffic wardens and refuse collection staff.

In the London Borough of Wandsworth, TUCAN identified very high levels of pollution in the indoor markets in Tooting. Working with the council’s air quality team, the levels of PM2.5 were more than halved in one of the markets because of interventions with the market owners and stall holders. Exposure levels are still too high, but this case study illustrates that significant improvements are possible.

TUCAN provides resources for unions to take up the issue of air pollution in their workplaces and communities. Please get in touch using the form on the website if you want further information:
greenerjobsalliance.co.uk/air-pollution

Graham Petersen is a founding member of TUCAN. It was set up in 2019 and 15 national trade unions, as well as other organisations, have endorsed its Clean Air Charter.

Graham has written a range of climate change publications for the TUC and for his own trade union – the University and College Union (UCU). He was previously the UCU’s environment co-ordinator. He has also represented Education International, the global union federation of over 30 million workers in the education sector, at UN climate and air quality events.