Islington Greens to Hold Public Meeting on Harmful Air Pollution

Islington Green Party is inviting people to attend a special public meeting on Wednesday 22nd February to discuss Islington’s recent and continuing high levels of air pollution.

The meeting will take place in committee room 4 at Islington Town Hall from 7pm and attendees will hear from experts such as UCL’s Professor Andreas Sella, environmental campaigners such as Rod Gongrrijp who have been conducting their own ‘citizen science’ projects to check pollution levels across the borough as well as Community Nurse Ciara Murphy who will discuss the harm our air is having on our health.

People will also be asked to provide their own evidence of the impact of pollution on their lives and the harm it can cause in their neighbourhoods and give ideas and  opinions on how pollution levels can be reduced. The borough’s air pollution has recently been so high that the London Mayor has issued health warnings.

Ideas that may include closing roads to traffic outside our schools during drop-off and pick-up times to they can become ‘School Play Streets’; converting buses to diesel-free vehicles; and properly enforcing the borough’s anti-idling policy.

Citizen Science projects have recently uncovered that the TfL closure of Holloway Road and diversion onto Tufnell Park Road has dramatically worsened air pollution.
Comparing the results with citizen science measurements taken by Tufnell Park Parents in 2013, there is a significant rise in pollution (see table).

The Islington Green Party measurements show that the air pollution on Tufnell Park Road varied between 134% and 193% of EU limits, exposing residents to increased health risks. 

Local resident and Green campaigner Rod Gonggrijp said: “Islington Green Party’s measurements show that the air we breathe on Tufnell Park Road has been massively over the EU safe exposure limit of 40 µg/m³. Traffic is the main culprit. The council must enable people to use alternatives to driving such as walking, cycling and also public transport.”

Green Party London Assembly Member Caroline Russell said:  “This recent project shows the power of citizen science.  Residents checking the pollution levels for themselves are collaborating to create an ever increasing body of data. This allows us to learn about changes in the levels of pollution that we are exposed to as we travel to work, school or the shops. These results show that the council must introduce an explicit goal to cut traffic on Islington’s roads in order to reduce the exposure of people who live and work here.”

 

The recent results from Tufnell Park Road:

The EU uses a concentration of 40 NO² µg/m³ as the legal limit.