The World Health Organization has estimated that 7 million people per year suffer a premature death due to some physical malady related to air pollution, such as stroke, heart disease, lung cancer and chronic respiratory diseases. Yet many are unmoved because the number is so large and does not have faces and names associated with it.
In December, a coroner in London ruled that a specific person’s death was directly linked to air pollution and had that written in the death certificate. A 9-year-old girl who suffered a fatal asthma attack became the first person in Great Britain to officially have air pollution listed as a cause of death.
This landmark ruling puts a face and a name on the problem of toxic air pollution which leads to the large global death toll. It is hoped that such associations will lead the public to demand more regulation and resources be put into reduction of air toxic emissions and to be able to monitor progress based on different strategies.
The girl, Ella Adoo-Kissi-Debrah, lived near a major road in London and died in February 2013. She suffered numerous asthmatic seizures and had been taken to the hospital nearly 30 times in less than 3 years. Her mother, unaware of the link between air pollution and asthma, said that if she had known, the family would have moved.
In the ruling, London’s assistant coroner said that air pollution from heavy traffic near her home had significantly exacerbated Ella’s asthma, adding that monitors indicated she had been exposed to levels of NOx and particulates greater than WHO guidelines.
Numerous public health studies demonstrate that polluted air, whether caused by cars and trucks, power plants, or industrial sources, affects billions of people across the world. Studies of recent severe wildfires in California show health effects of air pollution exposure: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/11/26/climate/california-smoke-children-health.html. Other studies show potential development delays of children.
Legal and health experts hailed Wednesday’s ruling as a landmark because it directly linked air pollution to a specific death for the first time ever. London Mayor Sadiq Khan has made air pollution reduction a major goal. In October, his office stated that the number of Londoners living in areas exceeding the legal limit for NOx had fallen over 94% from 2016 to 2019. He stated that Ella’s death engendered a lot of knowledge and support to reduce urban air toxic emissions.
In addition, this could open a new door to lawsuits by pollution victims or their families.
CCES can help your company assess your toxic air pollution rates and – from a technical point of view – whether you comply with local, applicable air pollution rules. CCES experts can recommend cost-effective strategies to reduce emissions to potentially comply and reduce impacts on your workers and the neighboring community. Contact us today at karell@CCESworld.com or at 914-584-6720.