Latest scientific report on the adverse effects of vehicle emissions on the health of young children is timely in Croydon, writes our environment correspondent, PAUL LUSHION
ULEZ – the Ultra-Low Emissions Zone – improves the health of children.
That’s according to a study published by The Lancet Public Health, which showed that children’s lungs grew bigger and stronger after polluting vehicles were restricted from entering London by ULEZ.
Clean air: in findings that should surprise no one, improved air quality leads to improved health in children
The expansion of ULEZ into Croydon and the rest outer London was vehemently opposed by Croydon’s failed Mayor, Jason Perry, together with local Tory MP Chris Philp and thousands of their gammon supporters.
The new study has been published as Mayor Perry is gearing up for his “Motorists’ Forum”, where he is likely to promise removing pollution-reducing 20mph zones and even reviewing School Streets in Croydon.
Petty Perry’s pandering to the far-right and the motoring lobby must now contend with significant scientific evidence.
Scientific proof: Prof Chris Griffiths, who led the study
“Traffic pollution in cities damages children’s health and development,” said Chris Griffiths, a professor of primary care at the University of Oxford and Queen Mary University of London, and the study’s joint senior author.
Previous research found that by the age of eight or nine, children from the most polluted areas had 5% to 10% less lung capacity than their peers elsewhere.
Scientists said that this was the result of exposure to nitrogen dioxide, and created increased risk of developing respiratory diseases as adults, such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, cardiovascular and metabolic disease, and premature death.
For this most recent study, the scientists monitored the lung health of more than 3,400 children aged between six and nine, from 2018 to 2022. Children from 84 primary schools in London and Luton took part in the research, with Luton used as a comparison because it has a similar mix of traffic pollution but did not have a clean air zone.
Researchers examined how changes in air quality affected children’s lung development after ULEZ was introduced by Mayor of London Sadiq Khan in 2019. Before the scheme came into force, initial measurements showed children in London had significantly smaller lung capacity than those in Luton.
But over the five-year study, researchers found lung growth among children in London accelerated, with their lung size and health becoming comparable with children in Luton.
The researchers said the improvement in children’s lung growth was strongly linked to improvements in air quality following the introduction of ULEZ.
Praise: Inside Croydon’s coverage of MP Philp and Mayor Perry’s reckless opposition to ULEZ was seen widely
Health charities say that the research is “hard evidence” that low emission zones can help reverse the damage caused by air pollution to children’s lungs.
Professor Griffiths said: “We provide the strongest evidence yet on how these harms can be prevented. Ambitious clean-air zones should be considered a priority for cities globally with traffic-related air pollution.”
In 2023, ahead of the last London Mayoral elections, Perry and Philp were both members of a Facebook group, “Stop the ULEZ expansion to Croydon”, which celebrated and encouraged acts of vandalism to ULEZ cameras and infrastructure, costing Londoners hundreds of thousands of pounds.
Philip was the Tory government’s policing minister at the time. Perry was the vandal-supporting Facebook group’s administrator. Neither have ever faced any consequences for their parts in the widespread acts of ULEZ vandalism.
Read more: Perry should apologise for anti-ULEZ Facebook group says MP
Read more: Mayor Perry’s ‘Motorists’ Charter’ to deliver more accidents, higher car insurance and even put children’s safety at risk
Read more: Perry’s cycle lane sabotage looks to cost Croydon another £7m
Read more: School street scheme scrapped on road next to Mayor’s home
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