Stop building schools, hospitals and care homes near air pol

[Grandlarousse]

Stop building schools, hospitals and care homes near air pollution blackspots, say MPs

A ban on building schools, hospitals and care homes near air pollution blackspots must be introduced to help cut thousands of deaths connected to the “invisible killer” of traffic fumes, MPs say today.

More than 1,000 existing schools must also be fitted with air filtration systems in classrooms to protect pupils from car exhaust fumes, a parliamentary report has recommended.

With air pollution thought to contribute to 29,000 deaths a year in the UK, the Environmental Audit Committee warns that young people are at risk of lung damage as a result of the nitrogen dioxide that is a by-product of motor engines. It has been suggested that the toxin could also increase infant mortality.

“Well over 1,000 schools around the country are 150 metres away from major roads,” said Labour MP Joan Walley, who chairs the committee. “Protecting children and vulnerable people in the worst affected areas must be made a priority by Government and local authorities.

“Ministers must pluck up the political courage to take the politically unpopular decisions necessary to get the most polluting vehicles off the road and encourage more people to walk, cycle or take public transport.” The MPs criticise the Government for failing to act on earlier warnings their committee has issued about the dangers from air pollution and say a generation is at risk of having its health “seriously impaired” as a result.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/educa ... 09317.html

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/ampp3d/don ... ng-4767265