TOXIC TRANSPORT
POLLUTION:
A SILENT KILLER
Cleaning up toxic air pollution in corporate fleets
Clean air is a basic human right, yet every year an estimated 11,105 Australians die of preventable diseases caused by toxic traffic pollution. That's 10 times more than the number of people killed in car accidents.
Health professionals across Australia are calling for cleaner, safer transport to protect communities. It is essential that corporate decision-makers join governments in leading the way to clean air and safe cities by demonstrating their commitment to cleaning up transport pollution.
Corporate cars and trucks account for a outsized proportion of exhaust pollution in urban communities, with diesel pollution on the rise from trucks, vans and utes. But companies can become part of the solution by making a commitment to switch to electric vehicles.
3 key reasons why it’s time to ditch diesel and electrify corporate fleets:
Businesses are responsible for their climate pollution.
Despite making up only 4% of vehicles on the roads, trucks are responsible for 38% of transport emissions. Urban delivery trucks can be electrified and powered with renewable electricity now.
Companies including IKEA and Woolworths have already pledged to make the switch to electrify 100% of their delivery vehicles by 2030.
Doctors say there is no safe limit for toxic air pollution.
Diesel engines for light vehicles emit around 50-80 times more toxic particles than petrol vehicles, and for heavy vehicles emit around 100-200 times more.
Furthermore, the soot from exhaust combustion is made up of microscopic particles which are 5 times more toxic than those produced by other sources.
Electric vehicles are cleaner and healthier for all
Toxic particulates (PM2.5) from combustion engines can enter the bloodstream through your lungs and cause major health impacts including stroke, respiratory disease, lung cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular disease.
The Cancer Council links diesel engine exhaust and lung and bladder cancer. It also notes that diesel is the second most common workplace carcinogen Australian workers are exposed to.
The
Solution
We’re asking businesses to clean up their cars by committing to the following targets:
1.
Electrify all new cars added to the fleet from 2025 and set a target for 100% of passenger cars by 2030.
2.
Commit to zero emissions trucking by 2040, starting with a transition to electric for short distance and delivery trucks by 2030.
3.
Get supply chains on board with the commitments by adding them to tenders and contracts by 2024.
Health experts say: ACT NOW
Australian health organisations are calling for cleaner air and safer transport infrastructure.
The following research is an excerpt from Clearing the air: transport decarbonisation and our health published by experts from the Climate and Health Alliance in September 2023 and reproduced with permission.
Health and climate benefits of cleaning up tailpipe emissions
The world is undergoing an accelerating transition to electric vehicles (EVs). Other alternative fuels such as hydrogen fuel cells are also being explored for some uses.
The International Energy Agency has described the global transition to electric vehicles as a "sea change" and a "driving force" which will avoid the need for 5 million barrels of oil a day by 2030 (IEA, 2023) An electric vehicle generates no tailpipe emissions – neither greenhouse gas emissions nor air pollutants like PM2.5, nitrogen dioxide and ground-level ozone.
As such, replacing internal combustion engines vehicles with electric vehicles is a win-win solution for tackling climate change via decarbonisation and improving health via reduced air pollution (Pan et al. 2023). Non-tailpipe related air pollution remains an issue with EVs.
Electric vehicles are much quieter than ICE vehicles, which is also beneficial when considering the health impacts of noise pollution. However, silent cars can be dangerous to those with vision impairment.
Unlike America, Europe and parts of Asia, Australia does not currently require electric vehicles to generate sound. The Australian Government is deciding whether to make it mandatory for electric vehicles to be fitted with an Acoustic Vehicle Alerting System (AVAS) to make it easier for pedestrians to detect them.
Vision Australia asserts that "if mandated, the AVAS could save lives and avoid thousands of injuries" (2023). The Australasian College of Road Safety estimates that AVAS in Australia "could potentially prevent over 3,400 crashes by 2050" (Lawrence et al. 2020)
Health impacts of Australia’s transport system
As is, our transport system creates an array of negative health impacts, driven by:
- Air pollution produced by vehicles, either from burning fuel or from mechanical abrasion
- High car dependency leading to physical inactivity, road trauma and noise pollution
Negative health impacts from our transport system include injury and chronic diseases, including cardiac arrests, asthma, respiratory disease, strokes, diabetes, lung cancer, adverse birth outcomes, impaired cognitive development in children and accelerated cognitive decline in elderly people.
Air pollution
The cars and trucks on Australian roads are a major source of air pollution. Vehicles produce air pollution in two ways:
- Tailpipe emissions: When ICE vehicles burn petrol or diesel fuel, they release tailpipe emissions comprising a range of harmful air pollutants, including nitrogen dioxide, sulphur dioxide, volatile organic compounds, and fine particulate matter (PM2.5).
- Non-tailpipe emissions: All vehicles produce air pollutants via mechanical abrasion – like the wearing of brakes and tyres, and road dust resuspension. Non-tailpipe emissions largely comprise larger particulate matter (PM10).
Traffic-related air pollution has far-reaching health impacts, placing a significant burden on the healthcare system and affecting productivity (Figure 2). A recent estimate from the University of Melbourne suggests traffic-related air pollution is linked each year to 11,000 premature deaths, 19,000 hospitalisations due to cardiovascular and respiratory disease, and 66,000 asthma cases in Australia (Walter et al. 2023).
There is growing evidence of the impact of air pollution on human cognition. Increased exposure to ambient air pollution is linked to impaired neurodevelopment in children (Morgan et al. 2023; Zou et al. 2023). Exposure to traffic-related air pollution may increase the risk of dementia among people with mild cognitive impairment (Urbano et al. 2023).
Air pollution disproportionately affects certain populations in Australia:
- Babies and children, including before birth
- Older age groups
- Those with pre-existing health conditions
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples
- Lower socioeconomic groups
Babies and children are particularly affected by traffic-related air pollution. Age-stratified Australian studies have revealed respiratory risk estimates in the 0-4 yr age group that are two to threefold higher compared to adults (Walter et al., 2021). Air pollution-related deaths peak among neonatal babies (in the first 27 days of life), often due to lower respiratory infections caused by particulate matter (Health Effects Institute 2021).
Deaths then peak again in the older age groups, as air pollution contributes to lower-respiratory infections as well as non-communicable diseases that develop over time, like ischaemic heart disease, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and lung cancer (Health Effects Institute 2021).
What is particulate matter?
Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) is an air pollutant released in tailpipe emissions. When inhaled, these tiny particles are small enough to reach the bloodstream, causing inflammation. These particles can also bind with circulating volatile organic compounds and heavy metals prior to inhalation, leading to additional toxic substances in the body.
As such, PM2.5 affects almost every organ system, as shown in Figure 3. PM2.5 exposure can lead to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, small blood vessel disease, and can injure the myocardium leading to arrhythmias, atherosclerosis, and stroke (Li et al. 2020; Zhao et al. 2019; Du et al. 2016; Hayes et al. 2020). Chronic exposure to PM2.5 poses the risk of cognitive decline, particularly among low-income groups where there is a higher likelihood of prenatal PM2.5 exposure (Ke et al. 2023).
Particulate matter from non-tailpipe emissions (PM10) is also dangerous to human health, despite being too large to enter the bloodstream. When inhaled, PM10 causes adverse inflammatory and pro-oxidant effects in the lungs and leads to acute responses like asthma and bronchitis (Fussell et al. 2022; Norbäck et al. 2019)
Noise pollution
Road transport also contributes to mental and physical health issues associated with noise pollution. There is little Australian evidence available; however, the European Environment Agency estimates approximately 12,000 premature deaths could be attributed to traffic noise, plus a further 48,000 cases of ischaemic heart disease (EEA 2020).
The links between noise and stress are well established. The brain is always monitoring sounds for signs of danger, even during sleep. As a result, frequent or loud noise can trigger anxiety or stress. With continued exposure to noise pollution, a person’s sensitivity to stress increases (Westman & Walters 1981). In recent decades, traffic noise pollution has been linked to elevated rates of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease (Cantuaria et al. 2021).
This effect could be due to sleep disturbance, stress hormone elevation and hence cardiac issues, inflammation and associated effects on the immune system.
REFERENCES
Cantuaria, M. et al. 2021, Residential exposure to transportation noise in Denmark and incidence of dementia: national cohort study, BMJ, vol. 374, no. n1954.
Du Y., Xu X., Chu M., Guo Y., Wang J. 2016, Air particulate matter and cardiovascular disease: The epidemiological, biomedical and clinical evidence. J. Thorac. Dis. 8, E8–E19.
European Environment Agency (EEA) 2020, Health risks caused by environmental noise in Europe, European Environment Agency. Available from: https://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/health-risks-caused-by-environmental
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Health Effects Institute 2020, State of Global Air 2020, Special Report, Boston, MA: Health Effects Institute.
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Greenpeace Australia Pacific acknowledges and pays respect to Elders past and present, and the Traditional Owners of the lands and waters within our region. We acknowledge the continuation of their cultural, spiritual and educational practices. First Nations peoples are often on the frontline of climate change impacts – with rising sea levels in the Torres Strait and the Pacific, the destruction of sacred Country and diminishing food and water accessibility. The work we do is all about a just, green, sustainable future and we can’t achieve this without Indigenous justice.
All content authorised by Kate Smolski, Greenpeace Australia Pacific, Sydney.
