Three mums tell their story
Three parents have kindly shared their thoughts and experiences of air pollution, from very different standpoints.
Fiona Dowson is mother of two and a cyclist. She and thinks the government aren’t doing enough to directly tackle air pollution.
Fran Evans lives in an Air Quality Management Area – where legal limits are being breached and yet she feels nothing is being done. If anything, decisions are being made which will increase the traffic through her small village.
Nicola Baird lives in Islington and her daughter lives with asthma. She is particularly aware of the problem and the fact that poorer areas suffer from worse air pollution.
photo by:
außerirdische sind gesund
Thanks for sharing my own and Nell’s thoughts on asthma and air pollution. Nicola http://homemadekids.wordpress.com/2013/01/17/whys-there-so-much-asthma
Do the graphs of children’s exposure to pollution shown here:
http://www.londonair.org.uk/london/asp/news.asp?newsId=PublicExposure
help in understanding the timing of some asthma attacks?Although black carbon is used as a marker, both other gaseous and particulate pollution will be highly correlated to it.Please remember that that the inflammatory reactions predisposing to extra sensitivity last for up to 7 hours after the school journey peaks.
Earlier this week there was an international symposium in Brussels for the European Year of Air (2013). It has produced a report on evidence obtained between its last report,2005, and the intervening 8 years:
http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-13-72_en.htm?locale=en
http://www.euro.who.int/en/what-we-do/health-topics/environment-and-health/air-quality/publications/2013/review-of-evidence-on-health-aspects-of-air-pollution-revihaap
I urge any biologically literate scientists in your group to read it and provide a quick summary for everyone. Mine would be “EVERYTHING IS MUCH MORE DAMAGING OVER MUCH SHORTER PERIODS THAN PREVIOUSLY THOUGHT…WE HAVE BEEN COMPLACENT”,
actually they didn’t say the last bit,because they were under the lobbying influence of the diesel engine manufacturers, and it would make them look bad !
Hi Dr.S.Prokop
Thanks for your comments – I’m not sure how the info collected by Kings relates to the timing of asthma attacks, but as concerns the REVIHAP report your summary isn’t far wrong – it certainly shows that the evidence is getting stronger and supports the need for stronger policy on air quality. Still, in the face of this evidence, and recent research on the effect on birth weight, the UK government are going in the opposite direction, as I mention here https://www.healthyair.org.uk/air-pollution-linked-with-low-birth-weight/
We will try to produce a more detailed analysis of the REVIHAP report pulling out the most important elements.
Thanks for your interest
Maria