MP checks air quality on local roads on Clean Air Day
Fleur Anderson MP measuring pollution locally
Fleur Anderson, MP for Putney, took to the streets for Clean Air Day which took place this Thursday (16 June), to measure the presence of pollution on some of the busiest local streets.
She was using an ultra-fine particle counter lent to her by Imperial College London Environmental Research Group.
She says her findings were interesting, showing a similarly high presence of ultra-fine particles on Upper Richmond Road outside Putney Leisure Centre, on Lower Richmond Road, and on three points down Putney High Street.
The readings in all three locations fluctuated between 13,000 and 25,000 ufp per cm3, with some noticeable spikes of up over 100,000 for short periods.
Ms Anderson, MP for Putney, said, "It was amazing to take the ultra-fine particle counter out for the day. I was able to see the instant impact of some buses and the noticeable spikes that came from idling vehicles.
"We've made some progress on Putney High Street recently, with the introduction of many green buses, but we still have a long way to go, and we need to see robust action now for the sake of our health and the health of our children.
"Since becoming an MP, I have been calling for a new Clean Air Act to tackle this problem that is so important to the people of Putney, Southfields and Roehampton."
Ultra-fine particles are thought to have particularly aggressive health implications, with evidence pointing towards a connection with lung cancer and cardiopulmonary disease.
The local MP wants to see the Government adopt WHO air quality targets and strive to achieve them by 2030, with green buses on every route.
She added, "I also want to see more safe cycle routes and more school streets. We need to encourage more people to cycle, and we do that by making it safer.
"There's also another thing the Government could do to improve our air quality in Putney overnight, and that is to reopen Hammersmith Bridge and stop all of this extra traffic diverting through our already congested streets.
“I want to thank the Imperial College London Environmental Research Group for lending me the ultra-fine particle counter. It was incredibly eye-opening."
Like Reading Articles Like This? Help Us Produce More This site remains committed to providing local community news and public interest journalism. Articles such as the one above are integral to what we do. We aim to feature as much as possible on local societies, charities based in the area, fundraising efforts by residents, community-based initiatives and even helping people find missing pets. We've always done that and won't be changing, in fact we'd like to do more. However, the readership that these stories generates is often below that needed to cover the cost of producing them. Our financial resources are limited and the local media environment is intensely competitive so there is a constraint on what we can do. We are therefore asking our readers to consider offering financial support to these efforts. Any money given will help support community and public interest news and the expansion of our coverage in this area. A suggested monthly payment is £8 but we would be grateful for any amount for instance if you think this site offers the equivalent value of a subscription to a daily printed newspaper you may wish to consider £20 per month. If neither of these amounts is suitable for you then contact info@neighbournet.com and we can set up an alternative. All payments are made through a secure web site. One-off donations are also appreciated. Choose The Amount You Wish To Contribute. If you do support us in this way we'd be interested to hear what kind of articles you would like to see more of on the site – send your suggestions to the editor. For businesses we offer the chance to be a corporate sponsor of community content on the site. For £30 plus VAT per month you will be the designated sponsor of at least one article a month with your logo appearing if supplied. If there is a specific community group or initiative you'd like to support we can make sure your sponsorship is featured on related content for a one off payment of £50 plus VAT. All payments are made through a secure web site. |
June 17, 2022
