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Air Pollution Kills – It Is Time To Breathe Clean Air Says British Safety Council

According to a recent Government report 36,000 deaths a year are caused by air pollution, yet outdoor workers who are breathing in this pollution are being totally forgotten by the HSE and our Government!

Now a CLEAN AIR CAMPAIGN promoted by the British Safety Council has been launched – ‘Time to Breathe’. Workers and the public in general have a right to clean air and continue to be ignored by a Government who sit idly by as the country’s  pollution crisis deepens, and we fail to meet the EU  targets we have signed up to.

In addition and as part of the campaign a mobile phone app has been developed which can help you to determine the level of pollutants you are breathing in each day.

The following is taken from the campaign’s website:

Time to Breathe Campaign calls on employers, policy-makers and regulators to start taking seriously the risk of ambient air pollution to the health of outdoor workers. If you care about the health of outdoor workers, Time to Breathe is the campaign for you.

Our free pollution app Canairy*, built in partnership with King’s College, London, will help outdoor workers reduce their exposure to air pollution.

Time to Breathe’s White paper explores the evidence and assesses what actions the Government, employers and stakeholders should take to minimise the health impacts of pollution on outdoor workers.

The campaign is providing visual materials to encourage people to stop, think and act to reduce air pollution exposure.

Together we can all cut-through the inertia that is putting lives at risk.

Outdoor workers in their thousands include street cleaners, refuse workers, traffic police, cycle couriers, construction workers, maintenance workers, newspaper sellers, gardeners, teachers or security guards working on busy roads. As a group, they help us cross the road, guard our children, fill potholes, deliver our food and ensure we have clean water, electricity, WiFi or cycle lanes.

Time to Breathe is calling for:

• Everyone to reduce their pollution footprint. Let’s use clean energy, cycle and walk more
• Employers to take ambient air pollution seriously and protect their outdoor workers from the worst levels of toxic air
• Workers and trades unions to raise this issue with their employers and show the evidence about the risks. See Unite’s Diesel Exhaust Emissions Register
• The Government to start collecting data on how many outdoor workers there are and where they work. So we can better protect this vulnerable group
• Government to ensure we have detailed pollution and health data (including on hospital admissions) in all cities and towns up and down the UK
• Those authorities that oversee the protection of workers, our health and the environment must collect evidence and act together for the benefit of vulnerable groups like outdoor workers
• Support of the campaign by Rosamund Kissi-Debrah to find out how her daughter Ella died.

There are also several videos available about the new pollution App on the website and the YouTube channel set up by King's College London whiuch can be seen via the BSC website.

The infromation provided by the App is aimed at helping employers plan their work and help avoid the worst pooluted areas. However, it remains to be seen whether or not employers care enough, especially in the contruction and road works industries.

You can get involved and apply also for the free Canairy App from the campaign website by clicking on the pic above.

* Hazards advises that the Canairy App only works in London.

Source: British Safety Council / Green Liberal Democrats Twitter feed

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