Category Archives: Health
Tunnel Cleaning Train delayed until 2017 or later
Posted on Posted onDelays blamed on need to ensure ‘asbestos containing material’ across 98% of network is ‘removed or encapsulated’ and other reasons ‘Tube dust’ concentrations range between 700 micrograms per cubic metre (ug/m3) and 960 ug/m3 at worst stations. Levels may be … Continue reading
Air pollution revealed at Mayor’s 187 Air Quality Focus Areas for first time
Posted on Posted onInformation obtained using powerful European access to environmental information laws despite obstruction by Defra. Mayor continues to hide more precise information by making it inaccessible to anyone without access to complex and expensive computer software Every London borough is listed … Continue reading
Boris takes backward steps on his own ULEZ
Posted on Posted onMayor announces plans for £10 daily charge for pre-Euro 6 diesel vehicles entering the central congestion charging area from 2020 after previously planning a ban Simon Birkett, Founder and Director of Clean Air in London, said: “Boris is backtracking on … Continue reading
First ever rankings of Top 10 death rates for every London borough
Posted on Posted onLondon Health Commission urged to consider separately exposures, health impacts and outcomes. Prevention is better than cure and protection is not just about treating the unwell Clean Air in London commissioned the Office for National Statistics to rank the top … Continue reading
Stop hiding air pollution and ban diesel exhaust in two stages to 2020 as coal was banned 60 years ago
Posted on Posted onUltra low emission zone: Diesel exhaust is the problem; and banning it is the solution Transport for London is expected to propose the Euro 6 standard for diesel and the Euro 4 standard for petrol for the Central Congestion Charging … Continue reading
Latest national and local death rates for air pollution
Posted on Posted onHillingdon tops ‘National list of shame’ for increase in deaths attributable to air pollution (PM2.5). Gateshead tops ‘National list of fame’ with the death rate falling by 0.72% to 4.18% Death rate worsened in 15 of 33 boroughs in London … Continue reading
Response to ‘Call for Evidence – Review of the Clean Air Act’
Posted on Posted onCall for Evidence excludes the Government’s views or proposed policy options and has not considered the feasibility of implementing selected stakeholders’ views for ‘improving’ the Act Clean Air Act must be updated for modern fuels and technologies and enforced, together with other air pollution … Continue reading
It’s official: Outdoor air pollution causes lung cancer
Posted on Posted onWorld Health Organisation classifies outdoor air pollution and particulate matter as carcinogenic to humans The specialised cancer agency of the World Health Organisation, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), announced today that it has classified outdoor air pollution as carcinogenic … Continue reading
Defra did cover-up smog warnings and would scrap local monitoring
Posted on Posted onGovernment covered-up three legally-required smog warnings in the fortnight after launching a consultation proposing the scrapping of local monitoring by others In two incidents, the Government: says another monitoring network is ‘separate’; and blames [sudden and] ‘worst case’ instrument malfunction/vandalism/power … Continue reading
Government ‘cover-ups’ or legal breaches during consultation to scrap monitoring
Posted on Posted onGovernment’s four proposals to scrap or reduce Local Air Quality Management are unacceptable Government ‘covered-up’ and/or breached its legal duty to issue two separate ‘Information alerts’ to warn the public of smog just days after proposing to scrap local air … Continue reading
Carcinogenic diesel exhaust disclosed for every significant road in London
Posted on Posted onClean Air in London used powerful European access to environmental information laws to obtain 1.5 million pieces of data from the Mayor of London. Thousands of pages published Top three worst roads in 2012 were A406 (North Circular), A282 (Dartford … Continue reading
Launch of Clean Air in Cities app and Birkett Index
Posted on Posted on‘World first’: Launch of Clean Air in Cities IndexTM (or Birkett IndexTM) and App to report the health impact on the population of long-term exposure to air pollution Over 100 MPs responded to a survey for ‘Clean Air in London’ … Continue reading
‘Tube dust’: broken promises, ‘blind eye turned’ and duty breached
Posted on Posted onPromises broken about informing the public about ‘tube dust’ Mayor of London ‘turning a blind eye’ to repeated warnings from scientists and others of the dangers of airborne particles including in underground rail systems Mayor of London breaching ‘General transport duty’ … Continue reading
‘Free market’ anarchists lobbying EU Environment Ministers to weaken health protections
Posted on Posted on‘Year of Air’ in 2013 Government is expected to lobby for weaker public health protections at an informal meeting of EU Environment Ministers in Dublin next Monday and Tuesday Instead, we must hammer harmful emissions against the anvil of air … Continue reading
Investigation into Government’s failure to control carcinogenic diesel exhaust
Posted on Posted onGovernment has sought to blame European engine emission standards for oxides of nitrogen (NOx) for its failure to comply with nitrogen dioxide (NO2) limit values as part of its lobbying, with the Mayor of London, to weaken NO2 laws Investigation … Continue reading