Request ID: FOI-2984-2223 Date published: 06 March 2023
You asked
Can you inform me of the data source used to claim that 4000 Londoners died in 2019 due to the impacts of toxic
air, as stated in the Majors study dated 25 January 2021. Also please supply the same total Londoners death data from toxic air for 2020, 2021 and 2022.
We answered
TfL Ref: FOI-2984-2223 Thank you for your request received by Transport for London (TfL) on 13th February 2023 asking for information about deaths caused by air pollution in London. Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act and our information access policy. Specifically you asked: “Can you inform me of the data source used to claim that 4000 Londoners died in 2019 due to the impacts of toxic air, as stated in the Majors study dated 25 January 2021. Also please supply the same total Londoners death data from toxic air for 2020, 2021 and 2022.” I can confirm that we hold some of the information you require. The statistic relating to 4,000 deaths is taken from the following report: https://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/london_health_burden_of_current_air_pollution_and_future_health_benefits_of_mayoral_air_quality_policies_january2020.pdf
The report was commissioned by City Hall and undertaken by Imperial College, and the figure you cite is based on the report finding that, ‘...in 2019, in Greater London, the equivalent of between 3,600 to 4,100 deaths were estimated to be attributable to air pollution, considering that health effects exist even at very low levels. This calculation is for deaths from all causes including respiratory, lung cancer and cardiovascular deaths’. The report goes into detail as to how the statistic was calculated.
The forecast number of deaths that would be prevented by London-wide ULEZ is set out in Chapter 6.2 of the ULEZ Integrated Impact Assessment (IIA) that can be found here: https://haveyoursay.tfl.gov.uk/15619/widgets/58629/documents/34537 You may also be interested in the Air Quality Health Impact Assessment (AQHIA) which can be found in Appendix A of the IIA. If this is not the information you are looking for, or if you are unable to access it for any reason, please do not hesitate to contact me. Please see the attached information sheet for details of your right to appeal as well as information on copyright and what to do if you would like to re-use any of the information we have disclosed. Yours sincerely, David Wells FOI Case Officer FOI Case Management Team General Counsel Transport for London
