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Wolverhampton - the increase in death rates in the smoky part of the city A survey of the death statistics in the years 1999 to 2001 in Wolverhampton shows an increase in the death rate for both respiratory and circulatory mortality in the area of Wolverhampton where coal and wood burning is allowed compared to the rest of Wolverhampton. There were 17 additional respiratory deaths and 32 additional circulatory deaths each year. The percentage increases correspond very closely to the percentage decreases that occurred in Dublin after a ban on coal sales was introduced. In Dublin, there were 116 fewer respiratory deaths and 243 fewer circulatory deaths corresponding to percentage decreases of 15.5 and 10.3 respectively. The difference in numbers between Wolverhampton and Dublin is due to the size of affected population. There were also, in a similar period, about 23 additional low birthweight babies each year in the smoky area of Wolverhampton, about one fifth more than the percentage rate for the area of Wolverhampton where smoky fuel is not allowed. An exacerbating factor is that much of the smoky part of Wolverhampton is high density and inner city featuring a lot of victorian terraced housing which is very small and close together. Consequently, individual chimneys are close to breathing zones providing opportunity for high personal exposure to pollutants and a high chimney density in an area produces high local ambient pollution levels. Readers, please note that the figures quoted are based upon simple calculations with no proper statistical analysis. |