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A leading engineering organisation has called for more research to be done on the effects of commuters breathing in dust on the London Underground.

The Institution of Mechanical Engineers called for "urgent action" to tackle the capital's "dangerous" levels of air pollution, including blackspots on the Tube network.

Commuters on the Bakerloo and Victoria lines were found to be at greatest risk of exposure to "airborne respirable dust".

The report said that although all platforms analysed were below the long-term workplace limit, "the impact and level of poor air quality is not well understood" and suggested more work be done to understand its effects.

Specifically, it calls for the introduction of a national monitoring system to record all types of pollution, financial incentives for "cleaner" technologies, and the total electrification of rail links between the UK's major cities.

Tests on the District, Jubilee, Piccadilly, Victoria Bakerloo, Central, Northern, Circle and Hammersmith & City lines found they were all below the technical workplace exposure limit of 4mg/m3 for respirable dust.

TfL acknowledged the results nonetheless "raised concerns" and said it is now working with COMEAP (the Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollutants) to minimise health implications for workers and passengers.

The Institute's report also claims the capital's commuters face the greatest exposure to dangerous pollution during rush hour - with concentrations of pollutants anywhere between 13 and 43 per cent higher than the early afternoon and evening.

It also found that Paddington station is in breach of European limits of nitrogen oxide (NOx).

A comprehensive study of British air pollution, the report calls for an update to the 1956 Clean Air Act, introduced in response to the Great Smog, to combat modern day emissions.

It says that although road transportation accounts for the vast majority of pollution, the Underground's electric trains still promote the spread of dangerous air pollutants, largely due to a lack of ventilation.

The lowest pollution readings were found on trains on the District, Hammersmith & City and Circle lines.

Philippa Oldham, lead author of the report, said: “London is currently ranked as 15th out of 36 major global cities in terms of overall air quality, lagging behind other European cities such as Berlin and Vienna.

"The capital needs to prioritise this issue and create a modern Clean Air Act that takes a holistic approach; it must not just target individual sectors, but encourage everyone to play a role in reducing emissions.”

The report recommends the Government and rail industry work together to "develop incentives for cleaner technologies" and conduct trials to "understand the impact on the individual of exposure to pollutants".

Research recently published in The Lancet Planetary Health claimed air quality alerts used in London by Sadiq Khan were "inadequate" in protecting public health.

It said tackling filthy air was best addressed by enforceable laws on cleaner fuel and emissions and by targeting polluting industries rather than leaving people to protect themselves.

A spokesperson for the Mayor of London said: “The Mayor is doing everything in his power to clean up London’s toxic air, including getting the dirtiest vehicles off our roads, cleaning up our buses and investing record sums in tackling air quality.

"He has instructed TFL to deliver a new Underground air quality programme using deep cleaning and enhanced monitoring. Trials at over 40 of the worst stations and tunnels resulted in pollution levels falling by up to 40 per cent on days when deep cleaning was used.

"This scheme is part of a package of wider measures TfL is rolling out to help ensure Tube staff and passengers on the Underground breathe the cleanest air possible.

“However to tackle this problem once and for all the Government need to wake up to the scale of the toxic air pollution health crisis and deliver greater funding for London and a new Clean Air Act that is fit for purpose.”

Experts claimed that while such alerts could be responsible for a 25 per cent reduction in asthma-related A&E admissions, there was little evidence they reduced admissions for cardiovascular disease, or deaths from cardiovascular or respiratory disease.

On the report's findings about the dangerous levels of NOx at Paddington, a Network Rail spokesman said: "Network Rail is working hard to improve the environment for both passengers and staff at its stations, including London Paddington.

"Electrification of the Great Western main line from Paddington to Bristol and Cardiff is well on its way with the route out to Didcot now complete and local services already switched to this greener mode of transport."

Responding to calls for its involvement in developing new incentives, a Government spokeswoman said: “Air pollution has improved significantly since 2010, but we recognise there is more to do which is why we have put in place a £3.5billion plan to improve air quality and reduce harmful emissions.

"We will also end the sale of conventional new diesel and petrol cars and vans by 2040, and this year we will publish a comprehensive clean air strategy which will set out further steps to tackle air pollution.”

Jill Collis, Director of Health, Safety and Environment for London Underground, told the Standard: “We are committed to doing everything we can to make sure our staff and customers breathe the cleanest air possible when using the Tube and that’s why we recently launched a new Underground air quality programme to ensure dust and particles are kept to an absolute minimum.

"We closely monitor pollution levels on the Tube and, through a wide range of measures, ensure that particle levels are well within Health & Safety Executive guidelines.

"We also keep these measures under regular review to ensure they are in line with latest research."