News release

From: The University of Melbourne

University of Melbourne researchers have found that health impacts from heavy vehicle emissions are costing the community more than A$6.2 billion per year.

The discussion paper, titled The Unpriced Burden: Heavy vehicle emissions and the $6.2 billion health cost and co-authored by Dr Clare Walter and Professor Mark Stevenson, assesses the annual taxpayer cost of premature deaths, cardio-respiratory hospital admissions and lung cancer treatment resulting from inhalation of nitrogen oxide (NO_X) emissions produced by trucks on our roads.

The paper has been released in anticipation of the Federal Government’s Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL) reform later this year.

While the proposed policy options ahead of this revision consider the regulatory framework, safety, productivity, and administrative impacts of heavy vehicles, they do not adequately account for the impacts on public health and the associated economic ramifications.

The health impacts of NO₂ inhalation from trucks pose a serious risk to the Australian public and contribute to an already overburdened health system, the paper found.

An analysis of major vehicle markets (including Australia) found heavy vehicles are responsible for a quarter of on-road nitrogen oxide emissions.

Even brief exposures, measured in minutes, can cause inflammation of the respiratory system and may precipitate asthma attacks in susceptible individuals, the authors said.

Exposure during activities such as walking, running, or cycling near major roads can reduce oxygen supply to the heart and activate pathways involved in blood clotting, increasing the risk of heart attacks and strokes.

Exposure to NO₂ is also significantly associated with premature mortality and increased emergency department presentations and hospital admissions for asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, pneumonia, ischaemic heart disease, myocardial infarction, stroke, cardiac arrhythmiasand hypertension.

‘We call on the review panel for the Heavy Vehicle National Law to consider health impacts from truck emissions outlined in our discussion paper. We set out achievable recommendations that will see an enormous return on investment thereby delivering preferred health outcomes,’ said Professor Stevenson.

Children are particularly impacted by heavy vehicle emissions, the paper found, both due to their susceptibility to NOx inhalation and the frequency of schools and childcare centres on major roads.

In a recent case study of a proposed childcare centre in Melbourne’s west, researchers found the concentration of air pollution particles measured at the site exceeded both World Health Organization and Australian guideline levels, resulting in a 28 per cent increase in the risk of childhood asthma incidence – equivalent to being exposed to 8.4 cigarettes per day.

Dr Walter and Professor Stevenson recommend establishing low-emission corridors throughout urban areas, accelerating the transition to low- and zero-emission heavy vehicles including our bus fleets, shifting freight to cleaner modes, and exploring options to route freight away from residential areas, schools, and childcare centres.

___________________________________________________________________________________

Attributable quotes

Spokespeople are available for interview on request and will also be available in person at 8.30am on Monday 23 February at Graduate House, University of Melbourne, 220 Leicester St, Carlton VIC 3053.

Interviews and community case studies are also available on request.

___________________________________________________________________________________

‘Our lungs are highly sensitive to the irritative and carcinogenic effects of truck pollution. There are no safe lower limits to these exposures. It is imperative that we breathe air that is as clean as possible.’

– Associate Professor Louis Irving: Clinical Director Lung Health Research Centre, School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Melbourne; Respiratory Physician, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre; Director of Respiratory and Sleep Medicine and Director of Clinical Training, Royal Melbourne Hospital

___________________________________________________________________________________

‘Toxic air pollution from trucks and buses is harming our kids and draining our economy. As a paediatrician, I'm deeply concerned that nitrogen dioxide and PM2.5 particles belched by trucks are causing Victorian children to suffer from asthma and respiratory illness.

‘Spending time outdoors is one of the great joys of being a child, but for kids who live, play or go to school near a busy road, it can make you sick. Air pollution produced by trucks filling Melbourne's roads has been linked to increased rates of childhood asthma, with children exposed to pollution levels equivalent to smoking more than 8 cigarettes per day – findings sure to shock parents.

‘I'm pleased the Albanese Government has implemented fuel efficiency standards to clean up our roads, after sustained pressure from the crossbench to do so. Now, the government needs to hit the accelerator on truck pollution. Cleaning up heavy transport will be a win for our health, our economy, and our climate.’

– Dr Monique Ryan MP

___________________________________________________________________________________

‘Every child deserves clean air where they learn, play and grow. Families living near busy freight routes can’t simply move their childcare or their homes and they shouldn’t have to carry this burden alone. This new paper confirms what parents and communities have been saying for years: kids are being exposed to dangerous pollution, and we need solutions now.’

– Laura Billings, Senior Campaigner, Parents for Climate

___________________________________________________________________________________

‘We love Yarraville. It's our village. But I shouldn't have to worry about whether the air my kids are breathing at school is making them sick.’

– Jess Marsh, mother of three young kids in Yarraville.

Interviews and community case studies are also available on request.