image credit: Ed Brown
We are calling for a calm, evidence-based discussion on the issue of air pollution within Eastbourne, free from the recent emotive, knee-jerk reactions to the publication of the World Health Organisation (WHO) report on air pollution levels in some UK towns and cities.—Eastbourne & District Friends of the Earth, 23 May 2016
We should not be surprised that air pollution exists in Eastbourne, as air pollution in the UK constitutes a public health emergency, with 40,000 people dying prematurely from it every year, a figure second only to that for deaths from lung cancer.
The UK has been in breach of the EU legal limits on air pollution for many years, and the EU limits are themselves much higher than the limits recommended by WHO.
The single biggest source of local pollution from particulate matter (PM2.5 & PM10), which the WHO report focusses on, is diesel exhaust fumes from local traffic.
Diesel vehicles are a much larger proportion of local traffic than in years past as successive governments have encouraged the adoption of such vehicles, which have now been shown to emit far more pollutants in the real world than the official vehicle tests indicate.
There is no safe level of particulate matter, so whatever the actual level of PM2.5 and PM10 in Eastbourne, some level of ill-health and premature death will be the result. Indeed, Public Health England have published a report which says that there are about 61 deaths a year in Eastbourne from particulate air pollution, and the young and elderly, as well as those with heart and lung problems, are especially at risk from the ill-effects of such pollution.
Andy Durling, Co-ordinator of Eastbourne & District Friends of the Earth, says:
“We call upon local politicians and business leaders in Eastbourne to work together to show real leadership on the issue of local air pollution.
There are many practical measures that can be taken to reduce particulate air pollution, such as introducing Clean Air Zones to reduce the amount of diesel traffic that enters those areas of the town most at risk from such pollution, especially near schools. Reducing the level of traffic in the town by making life much easier for cyclists and walkers, as well as encouraging the use of public transport and facilitating the fastest possible introduction of electric cars, vans, buses and taxis will all help to reduce traffic pollution.
Some good work has already been done, but so much more could – and should – be done. All this, together with a push for a rapid scaling-up of renewable energy generation throughout the town, would help make Eastbourne a leader in the transition to the clean energy, zero carbon society that will ensure a safe, healthy, and prosperous future for us all.
We are arranging urgent talks with Eastbourne Borough Council to talk about air pollution in general and the WHO report in particular, as there seems to be considerable confusion amongst some about exactly what the WHO report says and what it means. What it does not mean is that Eastbourne’s air pollution is uniquely bad. Most UK towns and cities have an air pollution problem. Eastbourne’s air could be cleaner and safer than it is at the moment, and the better the air quality in our town, the better everyone’s health and well-being will be.
Then Eastbourne will be an even better place to visit, work, and live in than it already is.”
notes
The original WHO report on air pollution is here: http://www.who.int/phe/health_topics/outdoorair/databases/cities/en/
The report by Public Health England on local mortality associated with particulate air pollution is here: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/332854/PHE_CRCE_010.pdf
More about the public health crisis caused by air pollution is here: www.healthyair.org.uk
Friends of the Earth has useful information about air pollution at: https://www.foe.co.uk/page/uk-air-pollution
