Air pollution ruling

[MichaelW2]

Coroner has put air pollution as cause of death on a young girl who died from asthma in 2013.
https://www.theguardian.com/environ...-air-pollution-coroner-rules-in-landmark-case

The mother , a teacher, claimed :
"The mother of a nine-year-old girl who died after an acute asthma attack said she would have moved house immediately had she been told of the link between air pollution and her daughter’s condition."

I dont understand how anyone with an interest in lung disease could remain in such ignorance in the age of google. Mainstream media has been talking about this topic for decades.

 

[mjr]

That sounds rather like blaming the mother to avoid blaming successive governments for letting residential areas drown in fug.

Will government appeal, comply or rearrange some deckchairs on the Titanic?

 

[the snail]

I'm not sure if the government can appeal a coroner's verdict. There doesn't appear to be any way to hold anyone to account. The council says it's not their fault - they were living by the S. Circular, so Highways responsibility?
Despite decades of experience/research this seems to be a fairly invisible problem - supposedly many thousands killed off by pollution, but this is the first time air pollution has been recorded as a cause of death, so the connection isn't made. If these deaths were reported regularly in the news, there would be more outrage.

 

[mjr]

I'm not sure if the government can appeal a coroner's verdict. There doesn't appear to be any way to hold anyone to account. The council says it's not their fault - they were living by the S. Circular, so Highways responsibility?

Highways are mostly the responsibility of the borough councils in London, but I expect the S Circular is one of the TfL Roads Network, so the Mayor of London's responsibility.

But this is part of the problem with pollution not being taken seriously: it's a borough/district council responsibility, but most of them don't control any Highways (that's mostly a county council responsibility) and the rest only control the smaller roads. Mayors and Highways England are responsible for the most polluting roads, but they currently have no general pollution-cutting duty themselves and if a borough ever tries to hold them accountable, they can just go "well, if you don't want our road improved in your area, we'll go spend on another borough" - and even just the fear of that seems to be enough to make borough councils not rock boats.

Despite decades of experience/research this seems to be a fairly invisible problem - supposedly many thousands killed off by pollution, but this is the first time air pollution has been recorded as a cause of death, so the connection isn't made. If these deaths were reported regularly in the news, there would be more outrage.

Amen

 

[raleighnut]

This has been going on for decades, Boris faced fines from the EU and did nothing for years.

https://www.mayorwatch.co.uk/london-exceeds-air-pollution-targets/

 

[Ajax Bay]

And what has been done in the last 4 years since the current mayor's election in 2016?
Here's the Greenpeace sponsored report from 2016, with recommendations. Useful '60 Second Summary' which starts:
"London is breaking legal and WHO limits for NO2, and WHO limits for particulate matter. Under the existing policy regime the capital is not expected to reach compliance with the legal limits on NO2 until 2025 or beyond. No level of air pollution exposure is safe.
"Most air pollution in London is caused by road transport, of which diesel vehicles are the most polluting, emitting about 40 per cent of the capital’s total NOX emissions and a similar proportion for PM10."

 

[mjr]

Air pollution is a matter delegated to boroughs, which also get income from operating municipal car parks which tend to be in the centres of congested towns and cities. It's a lethal conflict of interest.

Not sure what the mayor's excuse is.

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

Highways are mostly the responsibility of the borough councils in London, but I expect the S Circular is one of the TfL Roads Network, so the Mayor of London's responsibility.

But this is part of the problem with pollution not being taken seriously: it's a borough/district council responsibility, but most of them don't control any Highways (that's mostly a county council responsibility) and the rest only control the smaller roads. Mayors and Highways England are responsible for the most polluting roads, but they currently have no general pollution-cutting duty themselves and if a borough ever tries to hold them accountable, they can just go "well, if you don't want our road improved in your area, we'll go spend on another borough" - and even just the fear of that seems to be enough to make borough councils not rock boats.


Amen

Yes, it's a TfL route. All the major cross-borough routes are.

 

[ColinJ]

It was a tragic death and I'm glad that this ruling has finally been made.

I too was rather surprised that the poor girl's mum hadn't made the connection with air pollution. Hopefully her campaign and this ruling will pile the pressure on councils and government to tackle the issue.

I usually avoid cycling in heavy traffic but our local valley roads have been snarled up for a couple of weeks now due to roadworks so I have (literally!) had a taste of what many people have to put up with most of the time. Even after 10 minutes of exposure to the fumes my lungs, nose and throat have been complaining. Bloody awful! Let's get electric vehicles on the road ASAP. And lots more people on foot or bicycles instead, of course.