Lewisham Council has been scrutinised as acting at a ‘glacial pace’ over the issue of unlawful levels of air pollution in spite of knowing the risks, the Kissi-Debrah inquest has heard.
Ella lived metres from the South Circular Road in Lewisham and died after a severe asthma attack in 2013 after suffering for three years from seizures requiring over 30 admissions to hospital.
Yesterday, Philip Barlow, an assistant coroner for inner south London, opened the hearing at Southwark coroner’s court and took evidence from witnesses including representatives from the council and the mayor of London.
Evidence from diffusion tubes around the borough, which are used to monitor the air and can detect levels of toxic nitrogen dioxide, submitted by David Edwards, head of environmental health at Lewisham council, showed that levels exceeded the legal limit from 2006 to 2014.
‘The tubes closest to Ella’s home were consistently exceeding the relevant limits,’ Barlow highlighted.
When questioned whether Lewisham should have treated this level of air pollution as a public health emergency prior to Ella’s death, Edwards responded: ‘From what I have read of the risks and what the effects were, yes.’
However, Edwards argued that it this decision did not fall down to him, as he was not the council’s director of public health and had no expertise in what constituted a public health emergency. He further disclaimed that the levels of pollution was not caused by Lewisham itself and Transport for London and the government should have been responsible.
This inquest could rule that air pollution cause Ella’s death, which would make her the first person in the UK, and potentially the world, to have this listed on her death certificate.
The issue of air quality is being brought into sharper focus, bringing into light that many parts of the UK still suffer from illegal levels of air pollution.
