We must fight for people’s right to breathe clean air

Published: 6 May, 2011

• IT seems extraord­inary that for the second year in a row the topic of air quality has been omitted from the Your A-Z Directory published by Westminster Council.

It appeared in earlier guides and continues to be included in the guides of other London boroughs.

Air quality is not even mentioned in the sections concerned with environmental issues.

Last year we were promised air quality would have its own entry in the directory but this has not happened.

We now know that air pollution exceeds European Union standards. Meanwhile the media continue to warn us of smog alerts. It is also common knowledge that traffic pollutants cause asthma and other respiratory conditions. Smoking is not the only cause of these.

Motorbikes spew forth large quantities of pollution, yet there has never been any serious attempt to limit them or ban them altogether. Exhaust fumes from motorbikes linger in the air long after the rider has sped by. Other road users breathe these in or absorb them through their skin.

Mobile phones are a recent addition to the problem as many motorists leave their engines running while they make or answer calls. Active vehicle engines generate many impurities as well as radiation and noise.

The people’s right to breathe clean air has never before been so threatened.

ANTONY PORTER
Ashmore Road, W3