3 November 2011 – Keith Taylor, the Green MEP for Hampshire and the South East, will visit Portsmouth today, Thursday 3 November, to urge Portsmouth City Council to take more action on air pollution. He will also meet with local cyclists who are concerned about the impact of high levels of air pollution on their health.
Keith will be meeting with members of the Portsmouth Cycle Forum and distributing a public information leaflet, ‘Air Pollution: The Invisible Killer’, which he has produced to raise awareness of air pollution and its damaging health impacts.
The leaflet explains how air pollution is created, how widespread the problem is, how it affects our health and how pollution can be reduced. Keith will also be calling on local people to write to Portsmouth City Council to ask them to do more to tackle this invisible public health crisis.
Earlier in the day Keith will be meeting with Redouan Sadak, Environmental Protection Officer at Portsmouth City Council to raise his concerns that between 2009 and 2010 levels of harmful Nitrogen Dioxode increased at 62% of the monitored locations across the city and that annual mean levels were in excess of the National Air Quality Objectives, set by government to protect our health.
Keith said: “The right to breathe clean air is fundamental. Yet thousands of lives in Portsmouth and across the South East are being shortened because air is heavily polluted in many places, mostly by traffic. Government data shows that air pollution contributes to over 200,000 premature deaths every year in the UK. This is an invisible public health crisis which urgently needs to be tackled.”
“I’m pleased to be joining cyclists in Portsmouth today to highlight the growing levels of air pollution in the city. In my meeting with the city council I will be calling on them to take action in response to Portsmouth Cycle Forum’s call for more investment in public transport and support from the council which encourages people to walk and cycle more. Only by making it easier for people to be less dependent on their cars will we start to improve the air around us and make our cities more healthy and pleasant places to live and work.”
Local cyclist and Chairman of the Portsmouth Cycle Forum John Holland said “I cycle every day in Portsmouth and along with many others we are witnessing increased traffic in the city. It is disappointing to hear that Portsmouth is not complying with legislation and is exceeding levels set for air pollution. This is a concern for local cyclists and pedestrians alike. It is not always possible to avoid areas of heavy traffic and I can often taste and feel the pollution from vehicles.”
He continued: “The Portsmouth Cycle Forum calls for a reduction of vehicles on the road. We would like to see an adequate budget to improve cycling infrastructure and better public transport to encourage alternative travel. This is not only for the benefit of the planet but also for the health of all those breathing Portsmouth’s air.”
Later in the day Keith will meet with members of Portsmouth Climate Action Network and will give at talk to the Politics Society at St John’s College in Southsea.
ENDS
Notes to Editors
Air Pollution: The Invisible Killer can be downloaded at http://www.keithtaylormep.org.uk/air-pollution/
