MIKE
HEDGES AM CALLS ON WELSH GOVERNMENT TO ADOPT WORLD HEALTH ORGANISATION
GUIDELINES FOR LEVELS OF PM2.5 POLLUTANTS.
Speaking from his Senedd Office, Swansea East
AM, Mike Hedges AM said.. ‘The evidence is growing that airborne particulates
are a significant cause of respiratory problems for people in Wales, and within
my Constituency. Currently, the Welsh Government target is 25mg per cubic
metre; this is too high – Wales should adopt the WHO lower target of 10MG per
Cubic Metre of Air. People are dying and
suffering real respiratory problems because of substances in the air they
breathe. It is time to put people first and make the hard decisions to cut
emissions.
We could consider ultra-low emission zones in
city centres, and we could look at restrictions on activities which give off
high emissions.
We can also put a moratorium in place on the
construction of new waste incinerators which will add to an already polluted
environment’
The call comes as 400
deaths a year were linked to poor air quality in south Wales, according to the
Centre for Cities.
In
Cardiff alone, 131 deaths in 2017 were related to levels of particles in the
air, said the think
tank.
Across Swansea and Neath Port Talbot, the pollution was linked
to 158 deaths, while in Newport there were 113 deaths, Centre for Cities said.
"The deadly levels of polluted air in Wales are entirely
legal. This needs to change," said the Centre for Cities chief executive
Andrew Carter.
"Failure to act now will lead to more deaths in
Wales."
The think tank said transport and burning fossil fuels were
significant contributors to the levels of air pollution - known as particulate
matter (PM).
Cities in south east
England were singled out by the report for the highest levels of pollutants
known as PM2.5, including London, Luton and Slough.
But Swansea and the
surrounding area had the highest levels of PM2.5 for every 10,000 inhabitants -
along with Belfast in Northern Ireland.
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