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News release: New report: Unmasked – the true story of the air you’re breathing

news release

Citizen Science investigation reveals at least 7 Greater Manchester MPs face pollution problem as people take to the streets to demand Clean Air Everywhere

A new report – Unmasked: the true story of the air you’re breathing – suggests that dirty air is a problem in far more places than the government has admitted, as Friends of the Earth reveals the initial findings of their citizen science air pollution experiment. [1]

    • High NO2 concentrations were found  in 181 Westminster constituencies, including 7 in Greater Manchester
  • High NO2 concentrations were found in 133 local authorities, 26 more than government documents highlight
  • The report also identified a shocking 13 NO2 hotspots currently entirely neglected by local and national government

The initial Citizen Science findings highlight that seven of the Greater Manchester parliamentary constituencies have high NO2 concentrations. These include: Manchester Central (Lucy Powell), Manchester Gorton (Afzal Khan), Manchester Withington (Jeff Smith), Worsley and Eccles South (Barbara Keeley), Cheadle (Mary Robinson), Denton and Reddish (Andrew Gwynne) and Makerfield (Yvonne Fovargue). (Not all GM constituencies have yet been monitored) [2]

During the General Election in June, Manchester Friends of the Earth asked all Greater Manchester parliamentary candidates their views on Air Quality and 94% of the candidates who responded supported the introduction of a new Clean Air Act fit for the 21st Century. [3]

Catherine Thomson, Manchester Friends of the Earth air pollution campaigner, said:

“Our citizen scientists have shown that if the government won’t step up to the plate on air quality, ordinary people will. But even so, it’s shocking that these early results suggest the government is underplaying the true extent of pollution in the UK.

“We urge our newly-elected Greater Manchester MPs – at least 7 of whom appear to have high levels of pollution in their constituencies – to work with ministers over the coming weeks to ensure the government’s final Air Quality Plan is fit for purpose.

“The government has acknowledged that Clean Air Zones are the best way to deal with this public health crisis, which is why they must stop playing politics with our health and urgently introduce them everywhere with illegal levels of air pollution.”

Friends of the Earth’s ground breaking citizen science air pollution experiment involved thousands of people across the UK testing the quality of the air where they live. The initial results suggest that dirty air is a problem in more places than the government has outlined in its draft Air Quality Plan; including 13 neglected areas which are not currently identified as having a pollution problem by either their local authority or the national government. The charity found that air pollution is not just in the obvious spots, it’s a hyper-local, nationwide problem covering every region of the UK.

Friends of the Earth has released the initial findings of their citizen science project in the middle of the charity’s clean air week of action, as people take to the streets to demand “Clean Air Everywhere”.

Running from 24 June to 2 July, people are creating their own symbolic “Clean Air Zones” across the country to demand that the government puts in place the measures needed to tackle dirty air in its final Air Quality Plan due at the end of July. The government’s draft Air Quality Plan, published during the election campaign in May, was branded “woefully inadequate” by Friends of the Earth.

The environmental charity is calling on the government to fund and mandate Clean Air Zones – areas in which the most polluting vehicles are charged to enter – in all the locations predicted to have illegal levels of air pollution beyond next year; and for Theresa May to provide a safety net for drivers by introducing a comprehensive diesel scrappage scheme funded by a ‘diesel-gate levy’ on manufacturers.

ENDS

Contact: Pete Abel, Manchester Friends of the Earth, Mobile: 07951 642858

Notes to editor:

1. Air pollution monitoring tubes show NO2 levels for the period the tubes were in place (usually 2 weeks). We classed ‘high’ NO2 levels as results above 40 μgm-3, which if they were recorded across a whole year, would be higher than the World Health Organisation guidelines – and above the level set for the EU legal limit.

Unmasked: the true story of the air you’re breathing
2. The 181 Westminster constituencies with high levels of NO2.

  1. See #GE2017: Greater Manchester survey finds cross-party support on environment – but no Conservatives respond.
  1. Friends of the Earth’s plan for Clean Air Everywhere sets out what should be in the government’s Air Quality Plan.
  1. Friends of the Earth briefing responding to the content of the government’s Draft Air Quality Plan.
  1. To find a Clean Air Everywhere event near you.
  1. You can order a Clean Air Kit and measure the pollution where you are by visiting: foe.co.uk/clean-air

8. Manchester Friends of the Earth is an award-winning environmental campaign group, raising awareness and lobbying for policy changes at a local, regional, national and international level. The group consists entirely of volunteers, and its campaigns are funded by membership fees and individual donations.

Up-to-date information is available on the group’s website: www.manchesterfoe.org.uk. Manchester Friends of the Earth is a Licensed Local Group of Friends of the Earth, England, Wales and Northern Ireland. www.foe.co.uk

 

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