The Guardian reports on a study conducted in Guildford, Surrey, England. Researchers
[...] placed detectors for particulate pollution in prams and made 64 journeys to and from schools in Guildford at drop-off and pick-up times. They found that air pollution spiked at road junctions and by bus stands, and that fine particle pollution was higher in the mornings, when the roads are busiest.
"Fine particles show larger health impacts compared to their larger counterparts and at the young age children are more susceptible to particulate pollution, suggesting a clear need for precautionary measures to limit their exposure during their transport along the busy roadsides," the researchers concluded.
Their work is published in Environmental Pollution (DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2017.02.021).
The Guardian links to a Telegraph article which says that
Of the 51 areas across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland included in the [World Health Organisation's global pollution] database, 40 exceeded the WHO's guideline limits for 'PM2.5', or fine particulate matter, while 10 exceeded the guideline levels for 'PM10', slightly larger particulate pollution.
London, Glasgow, Leeds, Eastbourne, Port Talbot and Scunthorpe were among the worst areas.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by butthurt on Friday March 10 2017, @10:43PM
The quotes around "green" may well be warranted (you ought to have put them around "environmental" as well), as allegedly the government were aware that diesel vehicles were emitting much more pollution than was claimed:
A team of British scientists repeatedly warned the Government that emissions of a deadly pollutant from diesel cars far exceeded official safety levels. The scientists measured emissions from tens of thousands of diesel engine cars as they drove past sensors on roads in tests carried out since 2011.
The studies, funded by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), showed that on average diesel cars emitted four times the legal limit of dangerous NOx gases.
Their findings appear to have been ignored by successive governments which have continued to offer generous tax subsidies to encourage people to buy diesel cars [...]
-- http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/road-and-rail-transport/11893851/VW-scandal-Cover-up-of-British-tests-that-showed-diesel-fume-cheating.html [telegraph.co.uk]