Environmental Pollution

The Centre for Environmental Health and Sustainability was established in 2018, and is led by Professor Anna Hansell, a leading environmental epidemiologist, formerly of Imperial College, London, who works with both UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and Government.

While it is without doubt that climate change is the number one challenge to the planet, few are aware that a close second, and associated with many of the issues of climate change, is ubiquitous trace pollutants found throughout our everyday environments. There is growing evidence that with such widespread pollution, be that the air we breathe or the food we eat, microplastics as well as other pollutants previously thought to be harmless, may indeed be acting as a catalyst in so many worrying health trends, such as cancers, brain disease, fertility, and a long list of other conditions. The World Health Organisation estimates that unhealthy environments account for up to a quarter of global deaths each year.

The seminar will also focus on the surprisingly adverse effect of atmospheric pollution on performance in the workplace.

Initially sponsored by Bob Woods MBE, the Centre for Environmental Health and Sustainability was the first such centre in the UK. Anna is building a team, the focus of which is to understand this most important but complex area of health in order to establish cause and effect. We are immensely proud that the University of Leicester has very recently been ranked second throughout the UK for clinical research excellence, of which the Centre plays its part.

We are confident that the morning will provide important and thought-provoking insights into how the incidence of the many and varied conditions referred to above may ultimately be curbed, to better protect our families, our populations, and the environment.

We very much hope you will be able to join us for what we believe will be an enlightening and fascinating morning.