National Issues
Brownfield Sites, Contaminated Land, and Flytipping
Brownfield sites are areas of land that have previously been developed, some of which are contaminated. This contamination usually occurs from past industrial, mining and waste disposal activities.
A recent estimate by the Environment Agency suggests there could be up to 300,000 hectares of land in the UK affected by industrial or natural contamination, and contamination in between 5000 and 20,000 sites may have a detrimental effect on human health or the environment in England and Wales. Once contaminated, it can become very difficult to repair the land, and pollutants may enter surface or groundwater or affect air quality.
Contaminated land has a major impact on our environment. As well as being detrimental to health, contaminated land also limits the area of land available for growing crops, generating energy, and for buildings and transport networks. However, there is a growing pressure to restore contaminated sites so that they can be used for future developments. The government have stated that 60% of all new houses should be built on brownfield sites to relieve pressure on greenfield land.
Flytipping is a growing problem in England and Wales. Flytipping is described as the illegal deposit of any waste onto land (i.e. waste dumped on sites without a licence for waste). The Environment Agency estimate that there are approximately 50,000 incidents of flytipping each year, costing councils, the Environment Agency and private landowners an estimated £100-£150 million to clean up.
Flytipping has a major impact on the environment as uncontrolled waste disposal can present a hazard to human health (for example leakage from drums of toxic waste can contaminate water courses and soils). Fly-tipped materials look unsightly and often have associations with crime, fear of crime and antisocial behaviour.
In addition to being antisocial and unsightly, flytipping attracts vermin, can be hazardous or pose a fire risk, and is potentially damaging to the environment.
Air Pollution
Air pollution levels have improved in recent years, and the average number of days failing to meet air quality standards has decreased. However, there are still dangerous pollutants in our atmosphere. Defra estimate that upto 24,000 people die prematurely each year in the UK, and many thousands more require hospital treatment due to the effects of air pollution, with the most vulnerable in society being at risk. Air pollution also poses significant risk to natural habitats, with over half of all sensitive ecosystems being at risk of damage.
Air quality tends to be worse in heavily congested inner city areas and can lead to a poorer quality of life and increased social deprivation. It can also cause damage to buildings and materials.
Air pollution has reduced in the last decade, with the number of serious pollution incidents falling over the past few years. This is due to a combination of tighter emission standards on industrial processes, cleaner fuels and new technologies.
However, there are still a number of pollutants that are currently released in high enough quantities to cause problems to human health in the UK including:
Benzene, Carbon Monoxide, Lead, Nitrogen Monoxide and Dioxide, Sulphur Dioxide. These are released from a range of sources including road transport, power generation and industry.
Nitrogen Oxides are causing particular concern, and road transport accounts for the majority of emissons. Nitrogen Oxides react with other air pollutants to form smog both in Winter and Summer, exacerbate respiratory conditions, and contribute to the formation of acid rain.
Water
Ensuring access to affordable and good quality water is important issue. Although there have been large improvements in drinking water quality over the past few years, there are still some problems that need to be addressed.
- Levels of lead in drinking water are high in some areas. Lead is a poison and can have harmful effects on children and pregnant women. Lead arises in drinking water from lead connections to water mains and from domestic plumbing. Older houses (pre-1970) are usually at greater risk.
- Chemical fertilisers and pesticide pollution is important in rural areas, as run-off from farming can reach surface and groundwaters, and nearby rivers and streams. This can have potential impacts on human health, for example nitrogen pollution is known to cause an inability for newborn babies to uptake oxygen (known as ‘blue baby syndrome’).
- Increasing water rates over the next 10 years, means that ensuring everyone has access to good quality water could soon become an issue.
Environmental Equity
Environmental equity refers to the right of everyone to be able to live in a healthy environment, with access to sufficient environmental resources for a healthy life. However, many deprived areas of the UK do not have access to these. Research on environmental equity in the UK has shown that there is a strong link between environmental impacts and areas of deprivation (for example, there are higher levels of industrial pollution in the most deprived wards).
Fuel Poverty is a major environmental equity issue. This is where a household cannot afford to keep warm. Fuel poverty will detrementally affect a persons quality of life, reducing their physical health and mental well-being. The main cause of fuel poverty is a combination of poor energy efficiency in homes and low incomes. In 2004, there were thought to be about 2 million households living in fuel poverty in the UK, with 1.5 million of those classified as being vulnerable. Due the substantial increases in fuel prices over the last few years, more people are at risk of falling into fuel poverty.
Food poverty is also an important issue, whereby parts of the population cannot afford healthy food, especially where fuel and rent take priority. The situation is exacerbated by the lack of access to shops selling healthy food, as small, local shops are closing down because they cannot compete with out-of-town supermarkets. These are less accessable to people in poorer communities as they are less likely to have transport options.
Another aspect of environmental equity is access to green spaces . Open spaces support biodiversity and can be an important eucational resource. They are a strong contributor to human mental and physical health and wellbeing, as we all need to be able to have access to natural, pleasant environments, and have areas for recreation. Green spaces can also make a contribution to tourism initiatives and can mitigate environmental pollution (such as trees absorbing CO 2).