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Civil Aviation Bill

moved Amendment No. 30:"Page 9, line 34, at end insert ““and of persons living in the vicinity of aerodromes in respect of any aerodrome-related operations which may have an effect on their health””" The noble Baroness said: Clause 7 is a commendable addition to the Bill. I applaud the fact that the Secretary of State should have extended his duties relating to civil aviation to include measures for safeguarding the health of people onboard aircraft. However, I am concerned that this provision falls a bit short of what is required and that there should be similar concern for the health of those people who live in the vicinity of aerodromes. The amendment is intended to address this problem and to probe the Minister on the health and environmental implications for people who live in the vicinity of aerodromes. Once more the two central elements of concern are the detrimental implications of noise and of air pollution. The World Health Organisation has expressed concern about the effects of aviation noise on a person’s health. In particular, it has suggested that long-term exposure to aviation noise levels averaging out between 65 and 70 decibels can prove detrimental to health. This is given even greater significance when one considers that the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology estimates that:"““Aircraft noise already has the potential to affect the quality of life of at least half a million people living in the UK””," who live close to airports. At Second Reading I pointed out that that it has also been estimated that in the not-too-distant future nowhere within the United Kingdom will not be subject to aircraft noise. The number of people affected is therefore going to grow significantly as airports are expanded and extended. The Government’s own figures are that there will be 500 million air passengers by 2030 and proposals for future runways at major airports, such as Stansted and Heathrow, together with expected growth at regional airports, will result in an enormous increase in the number of people affected. Air pollution has a similarly devastating impact on people’s health. Aircraft are responsible, as we discussed at our last sitting, for 3 per cent of EU carbon emissions. In the vicinity of airports, the high volume of ground traffic further exacerbates air pollution from aircraft emissions. It is estimated that air pollution is responsible for 24,000 premature deaths in the United Kingdom every year. A study of the health impacts of airports, commissioned by the Dutch government and published in 1999, concluded,"““that there is sufficient evidence that episodes of air pollution with levels observed within an airport operations system cause short-term effects like an increased mortality rate and an increased frequency of hospital admissions due to acute respiratory and cardiovascular morbidity. A decrease in pulmonary function is also one of the acute effects for which the committee considers there to be sufficient evidence.””" Research continues into the health implications for people living in the vicinity of airports. Emission problems are increasingly indicated in respiratory diseases, birth defects and cancer. Exposure to noise and sleep disturbances are responsible for increased blood pressure and hypertension. It has been suggested that people do not necessarily have to live in the vicinity of airports or to buy houses there. Sometimes, it is not possible to do anything different. We have a responsibility to ensure that the Secretary of State’s powers are extended to ensuring that people can live a reasonably healthy life even if it is not the most desirable one. I beg to move.