18 September 2018 - UK Children Exposed to Toxic Air on School Runs and in Classroom
Children are exposed to 60% of their daily pollution limit by the time they get to school
Kate Buck (Metro, 18/09/2018)
Children are being exposed to 60% of their daily air pollution limit by the time they get to school, new research has revealed.
The study, conducted by Unicef UK and the Queen Mary University of London, found that during the school run, thousands of children are exposed to damaging black carbon particles in the air.
These ‘peak periods’, walking to and from school and during break times, are exposing children to more than half the daily pollution limit despite accounting for only 40% of their time each day, Unicef said.
Children at risk on toxic school runs
John Ingham (Express, 18/09/2018)
Millions of children are being exposed to potentially dangerous levels of air pollution on “toxic” school runs, scientists claimed yesterday. Youngsters get 60 per cent of the day’s exposure to particulate matter such as soot while travelling to and from their schools and during the day, they said.
Their exposure is lowest when they are at home.
The particulates – which can be smaller than the width of a human hair – are produced mainly by transport.
'I was horrified that children are breathing air this dirty inside the school'
Matthew Taylor (The Guardian, 18/09/2018)
Headteacher Gwen Lee had not expected the results to be good but had been unprepared for what the air pollution engineer found.
Levels of dangerous particulate pollution exceeded WHO guidelines in every classroom of the school – and two were more than three times over the limit.
“We have long been aware of air pollution as a problem but I was horrified that the children were breathing in air that was this dirty inside the school,” said Lee, headteacher at Christopher Hatton primary school in Holborn, London.
Primary school installs purifiers in every classroom to protect children from London's toxic air
Sophie Williams (Evening Standard, 18/09/2018)
A school in central London has resorted to using air purifiers inside all of its classrooms after pollution levels were found to be at a hazardous level.
Christopher Hatton Primary School in Holborn is located close to several major roads and construction sites leaving children exposed to diesel fumes and dust.
The dust contains harmful PM 2.5 particles that can trigger or worsen respiratory problems such as asthma and bronchitis.