On Thursday night almost exactly sixty years on from the Great Smog of 1952, Islington Council heard that the borough’s air quality is no better now than it was then.
In the middle of another smog episode, Islington Greens were there to hear the highly respected Simon Birkett of the Clean Air London campaign give witness evidence to the Regeneration and Employment Review Committee as part of the Council’s Air Quality Scrutiny. Councillors heard the worrying information that Islington is the 6th worst borough in London for health damaging particle pollution. London has the highest levels of poisonous Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) in Europe and pollution in Islington has reached dangerous concentrations.
Air pollution is the second highest cause of premature death in Islington second only to smoking. One hundred Islington residents die prematurely each year as a direct consequence of breathing polluted air. Mr Birkett called on Islington Council to take a lead on the EU Year of Air 2013 and said a sea change of effort is required comparable to that seen after the great smog of 1952.
Highbury campaigner Caroline Russell said, “Given that half of Islington Schools are on roads carrying more than ten thousand vehicles per day with a documented link to a 30% hike in asthma risk, I was surprised and concerned to hear that Islington Council do not know whether children in our schools are breathing polluted air in their classrooms.”
“Islington Green Party are pleased to see that Islington is finally looking seriously at air pollution and its damaging impact on residents’ health. We would however like to see the Council address air pollution specifically in the recently published Islington Health and Well-being strategy from which it is notably absent. “
Local campaigner Caroline Allen said, “It was encouraging to hear from an Islington Council Transport Manager that the Council’s increasingly green vehicle fleet is not only reducing pollution, but also saving the Council money. “
“ Simon Birkett made many excellent suggestions of what the council could do. It is all too easy for councilors to say the traffic causing pollution is coming from outside the borough, but the Council shouldn’t be shirking it’s responsibility to minimise vehicle emissions.”