Based on the Mayor’s modelling, London Green Party Assembly Member Jenny Jones has calculated that 1321km or 45% of London’s main road network will still experience illegal and harmful levels of Nitrogen Dioxide (N02) in 2020. Jenny will be questioning the Mayor of London about the effectiveness of his air quality measures on Wednesday 11th September. London’s road network was meant to comply with EU legal limits for N02 in 2010. Diesel vehicles are estimated to be responsible for 95% of vehicle derived N02 in London. Jenny Jones today launched her webpage ‘how polluted is my road in 2020’ http://www.howpollutedismyroad.org.uk/2020.php
Scientific research indicates that long term exposure to N02 can affect lung function and increase asthma symptoms.
Examples of what this means in a selection of boroughs outside of central London in 2020:
– 403 bus stops in Barnet will be on roads that will still exceed NO2 legal limits
– 55 schools in Wandsworth will still be within 150m of a main road exceeding NO2 legal limits
– 42km of main road in Redbridge will still exceed NO2 legal limits
“I will ask Boris Johnson for a guarantee [at 11th Sept Mayors Question Time] that his policies will clean the air for the Barnet commuters waiting at bus stops, the children in Wandsworth schools and the residents living along main roads in Redbridge by 2020?
“Boris Johnson and the Government’s dithering on tackling air pollution meant we missed meeting legal limits on the harmful to human health emission Nitrogen Dioxide in 2010, and will still be over the limits a decade later.”