Aberdeen streets rated some of the most polluted in Scotland

Cyclists in Aberdeen find themselves pedalling through some of the most polluted streets in Scotland, according to a report by an environmental pressure group.

The figures, as reported by the Aberdeen Press and Journal, rank Market Street and Wellington Street as the worst of 19 streets in Scotland, with King Street and Union Street also appearing in the list.

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Wellington Street, Market Street and Union Street also broke the European legal limit for nitrogen dioxide levels, which has led Emilia Hanna, a campaigner for Friends of the Earth Scotland, to call on the Scottish Government to reduce traffic pollution.

“Air pollution is responsibly for more than 2,000 deaths in Scotland each year, and costs the NHS here up to £2 billion annually,” she told the paper. “The time has come for our polluted air to be treated as the public health crisis it really is.

“We need the Scottish Government to cut traffic levels and clean up vehicle emission standards.”

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Aberdeen City councillor Ross Grant added: “We do know about the shameful levels of pollution in the city, and we are absolutely doing something about it.

“The city has invested heavily into promoting public transport, especially with the new hydrogen buses that will be rolling out across the city at the end of January.”

The report claims that 2,094 deaths in Scotland were due to airborne pollutants each year, compared to 1,100 deaths attributed to alcohol and 172 in road traffic accidents.

Source: Aberdeen Press and Journal