Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollutants

COMEAP advises the government on all matters concerning the health effects of air pollutants.

Role of the group

COMEAP provides independent advice to government departments and agencies on how air pollution impacts on health. Its members come from a range of specialist fields such as air quality science, atmospheric chemistry, toxicology, physiology, epidemiology, statistics, paediatrics and cardiology. There is also a lay member, who helps ensure that the general public can access and understand the committee’s work.

COMEAP current work programme (PDF, 431KB, 2 pages)

Terms of reference

At the request of the Department of Health to:

  • advise the UK health departments on the effects on health of both outdoor and indoor air pollutants on the basis of data currently available

  • assess the need for further research

  • liaise as necessary with other government bodies to assess the effects of exposure and associated risks to human health

Code of practice

COMEAP code of practice (PDF, 71.9KB, 9 pages)

Membership

Current members are:

  • Professor Frank J Kelly, Chair (Chair in Environmental Health, King’s College London)
  • Dr Richard Atkinson (Reader in Epidemiology, St George’s University of London)
  • Professor Alan R Boobis (Professor of Toxicology, Imperial College London)
  • Dr Nicola Carslaw (Reader in Environmental Science, University of York)
  • Ms Ruth Chambers (Lay member)
  • Professor Jonathan Grigg (Professor of Paediatric Respiratory and Environmental Medicine, Barts and the London School of Medicine, Queen Mary University of London, Consultant Paediatrician, Royal London Hospital)
  • Professor Roy Harrison (Queen Elizabeth II Birmingham Centenary Professor of Environmental Health, University of Birmingham)
  • Dr Mike Holland (Freelance consultant in economic assessment of environmental policies)
  • Professor Debbie Jarvis (Professor of Public Health, National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London)
  • Dr Mark Miller (Senior Research Fellow, University of Edinburgh)
  • Professor Gavin Shaddick (Professor of Data Science and Statistics, University of Exeter)
  • Mr John Stedman (Air Quality Analysis and Policy Support Knowledge Leader, Ricardo Energy and Environment)
  • Dr Heather Walton (Senior Lecturer in Environmental Health, King’s College London)
  • Professor Paul Wilkinson (Professor of Environmental Epidemiology, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine)

Register of members' interests 2018 (PDF, 235KB, 5 pages)

Minutes

Read minutes for COMEAP meetings

Read agendas for COMEAP meetings

Minutes from previous meetings are held on the National Archives website.

Open meetings

COMEAP holds open meetings to increase the visibility and transparency of its work. To attend a meeting as an observer, you will need to send an COMEAP open meeting application form (MS Word Document, 57.4KB) to the secretariat and follow the COMEAP code of conduct for observers (PDF, 20.7KB, 2 pages) .

Forthcoming meetings

  • Tuesday 5 March 2019
  • Tuesday 4 June 2019
  • Wednesday 13 November 2019

Read COMEAP discussion papers

Publications

COMEAP reports.

Previous publications are held on the National Archives website.

Contact

Contact COMEAP through the secretariat at Public Health England (PHE)

Email: air.pollution@phe.gov.uk

In any correspondence, please reference the COMEAP website.

COMEAP Secretariat
Public Health England
Centre for Radiation, Chemical and Environmental Hazards
Chilton
Oxon
OX11 0RQ

Contents