FIFTY HACKNEY residents of came to the Lower Clapton Health Centre on May 24 to hear about the impact of the M1l Link on health in the borough.
Patrick Field, for Hackney Alliance Against the M11 Link, explained how this road would decant traffic into the borough, increasing an already high level of pollution.
Des Walters, manager of air quality for Hackney council, has been working for years to get Hackney its own system for monitoring air pollution and has finally managed to introduce techniques for measuring the main pollutants - carbon dioxide, oxides of nitrogen and ozone.
Limits exceeded The statutory safe limits for these gases are frequently exceeded, but this is not shown in the government's figures, so Hackney needs its own monitoring programme.
The predicted future increase* Socialist in the number of cars will result in increased emissions which cannot possibly be compensated for by reducing the level of emission per vehicle. This underlines the importance of reducing the number of private vehicles and organizing efficient public transport.
A spokesperson for the City and East London Health Authority, Ann Mackie (a consultant in Public Health), came armed with extensive statistics on the relation between pollution and health, with special reference to asthma.
Frustrated, Gene Feder, one of the doctors who staff the Health Centre, thought that further information was superfluous. Doctors are becoming frustrated at having to treat more and more children with asthma. (Dr Feder himself has an asthmatic child).
They know the part that air pollution plays and they see that the government, through its road-building policy, is exacerbating the problem. The M11 Link is unacceptable.
A lot of discussion was generated by the speakers' presentations. All those present were keen on joining in action to preNow health professionals are lending strength to the anti-M11 protests BEI SIL