The Trade Union Clean Air Network (TUCAN) has submitted evidence to the Environmental Audit Committee’s inquiry into air pollution in England, warning that workers are being exposed to dangerously high levels of air pollution due to outdated standards and a systemic failure to address occupational health risks.
The Network argues that air pollution policy in the UK has focused almost exclusively on public health and outdoor air, at the expense of the millions of people exposed to toxic substances in their workplaces.
The submission highlights a disparity between public and occupational health standards. While the World Health Organisation recommends an annual PM2.5 limit of 5 µg/m³, the Health and Safety Executive’s workplace exposure limit for respirable dust – which includes PM2.5 – is 4,000 µg/m³ over an eight-hour shift.
‘A worker can be exposed to over 250 times the levels of PM2.5 compared to a member of the public in an outdoor setting,’ the submission states. When measured against the WHO guideline, the gap widens to 800 times.
TUCAN cites the Chief Medical Officer’s 2022 report, which noted that while outdoor pollution has received extensive attention, ‘the air we breathe indoors has not been considered as widely.’ Given that people spend up to 90% of their time indoors, and workers often in poorly ventilated spaces, this neglect has serious consequences.
The network challenges the government’s focus on individual behaviour change, pointing to analysis showing that over two-thirds of the six main air pollutants are directly or indirectly work-related – from industrial emissions to commuter travel. Yet policy continues to emphasise personal choices rather than placing binding duties on businesses.
TUCAN calls for amendments to health and safety legislation to require employers to conduct air pollution and climate risk assessments in consultation with workers and trade unions. It also warns that enforcement bodies lack both the resources and the legal standards to act. Funding for local council air quality budgets has been cut from £225 million in 2020 to just £1.5 million in 2025.
The submission notes that responsibility for indoor air quality is split across three departments—Business and Trade, Energy Security and Net Zero, and Environment, Food and Rural Affairs—with no coordinated response. It urges the government to clarify ownership of indoor air policy and ensure that climate adaptation measures address air pollution.
TUCAN’s recommendations include: implementing WHO Air Quality Guidelines by 2030; supporting the Clean Air (Human Rights) Bill; amending health and safety regulations to introduce new employer duties; updating workplace exposure limits to bring them in line with public health standards; and restoring funding for enforcement bodies.
‘Employees in polluted workplaces are a vulnerable group,’ the submission concludes. ‘The ability of this group to demand improvements will be hampered by both a lack of legal duties on their employers and a failure to recognise occupational air pollution as a significant hazard.’
Photo: Garrison Gao
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