Today (18th June) is Clean Air Day and to mark the occasion Asthma + Lung UK Scotland and Asthma + Lung UK Northern Ireland have publish research which highlights the public’s concern over air quality.
In particular, polling conducted across the two countries has revealed widespread public concern about air pollution near schools, prompting calls for stricter measures to protect children from toxic air.
In Scotland, a survey of 1,000 people found that three out of five respondents (61.2%) are concerned about air quality at schools, with only 9% saying they were not concerned at all . Nearly four out of five (78.7%) said vehicles idling outside school gates should be banned, and almost two-thirds (64.9%) would like to see air pollution monitors introduced outside schools .
The charity is urging the Scottish Government to include these measures in the next Cleaner Air for Scotland strategy, due to be published by the end of this year. It is also echoing a call from the Royal College of Physicians Edinburgh for a pilot project to place air pollution monitors outside schools, after research showed that across five Scottish cities, over 60% of schools were more than one kilometre from the nearest air quality monitor .
In Northern Ireland, separate polling of 1,000 people found that nearly seven out of ten (69.5%) respondents are concerned about air quality at schools, while almost six out of ten (59.9%) expressed concern about air quality in their local area . The survey also showed that 67.9% agreed that a Clean Air Strategy would help improve air quality in Northern Ireland.
Joseph Carter, Head of Asthma + Lung UK Northern Ireland and Chair of Healthy Air Northern Ireland said: ‘Lung health in Northern Ireland is one of the worst in Europe and the fact that Belfast has some of the highest levels of toxic air should be a major concern for the Executive.
‘Action is urgently needed to tackle air pollution and lower the levels of nitrogen dioxide, to align with World Health Organization guidelines and help protect people’s lungs.
‘Northern Ireland needs to urgently follow other UK nations and develop a Clean Air Strategy, to provide clear targets to help improve air quality.
‘This would include a new, fully funded clean air fund that would provide targeted funding for councils to invest in monitoring, enforcement to reduce car idling near schools and initiatives that would help to tackle toxic air. Our polling shows that this is what the majority of people in Northern Ireland want to see happen.’
The charity has welcomed the recent launch of a public consultation by the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs on draft regulations to tighten annual average particulate matter limits in Northern Ireland. The proposed standards would match Scotland’s 2028 target and are more ambitious than those in England and Wales .
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