Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
air quality in Harringay
Anyone have any idea what (if any) air quality monitoring is done in these parts? I suspect at the weekends when the traffic is bad it probably isn't sensible to go for a jog along Green Lanes. A report in The Times makes the link between traffic fumes and ill health: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/science/article3389896.ece
Maybe if we could prove that the air quality around here was really bad, they might do something about the traffic!
Maybe if we could prove that the air quality around here was really bad, they might do something about the traffic!
Tags for Forum Posts: air quality, pollution
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by matt on
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Here's the London Air Quality Network website;
http://www.londonair.org.uk/london/asp/news.asp?NewsId=News26
There appear to be only two monitoring sites in Haringey.
1. Outside the Town Hall (Tottenham)
2. Inside Priory Park (!), by bowling green pavilion. See attached photo
See: Haringey Montoring stations
Islington on the other hand has quite a few. - Attachments:
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monitoring station.jpg, 21 KB
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Permalink Reply by Liz on
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I agree Adam. I am very concerned about air quality. The volume of traffic at weekend if incredible and I am sure it cannot do the very young or the very old much good.
Some questions in no particular order: How many children are asthmatic in Harringay? How many elderly people are treated for breathing problems especially in summer? Who is responsible for monitoring this kind of pollution and its effects on the health of Harringay citizens? If no one, how do we get that process started?
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Permalink Reply by PeterPiper on
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Hello Adam, I remember looking for the monitoring station in Priory Park at the time of the PI into the concrete factory, - I couldn't find it, but perhaps someone with more knowledge about these things could confirm it's existence.
At the time of the PI, there were many submissions about air quality in & around Harringay, none of it good, and there are statistics available to state that the rate of asthma here is above average. I'm not sure where the stats are, but I'll check the report to see if I can find some of the references.
I think a monitoring station would be a great idea on GL, but I think the results would really throw the guardians.
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Permalink Reply by John McMullan on
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I thought the link between air quality and asthma had been discredited? Certainly incidences of it in New Zealand are pretty high and they think they have very clean air... Scientists even thought it might be a genetic thing at some point because it affected North America, the UK, Australia and New Zealand the worst. Personally... those people all eat the same things too...
I think linking asthma to air quality is tenuous. Human beings are pretty hardy really. Is it not enough on it's own that we live and breathe muck and this is not right? I can smell the fumes from cars in my back yard when there is a traffic jam out the front. Quite disgusting really.
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London's air is a lot cleaner than coal burning days but then we also live a lot longer now. You are right John about the diet link. Probably to do with high dairy intake.
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Permalink Reply by Hugh on
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Did you take a look at my Monday posting Released Today - London State of the Environment Report which as a link to the report. There is a section in there about air quality.
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Not sure that I was suggesting asthma was causedby poor air quality, it is probably an inherited condition but those city children unfortunate enough to be born with this condition can suffer worse attacks because of pollution. Similarly with the elderly they are often fine in colder weather but when the summer comes the combination of heat and pollution make breathing difficult (my grandmother simply stays in through the summer, she dreads it and she doesn't live anywhere near green lanes...!)
On a different tack, the Green lanes Strategy Group wrote an undertaking to monitor pollution in their original action plan, perhaps they have some figures for us?
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Sorry, I was just replying to Peter's comment about Asthma. I don't want us to say "the pollution is bad and it's giving us all asthma" when they'll just turn around and say "no it's not, go away". I've been convinced for a while that it's dietary but then again, I am nuts.
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I'm not altogether sure I wrote that asthma is caused by poor air quality either, but it was after midnight when I wrote the post. I don't think there is a definitive cause for asthma, it can be many things from genetic/hereditary to diet or even poor housing.
What is known however is that poor air quality DOES trigger asthma attacks, which is when it get serious for the sufferer, I can tell you, because my 3 yr. old has infrequent attacks, one of which led to an emergency admission at the Homerton. It ain't pretty. Neither my wife nor I suffer from it, he has a very low dairy intake, what can I say?
Particulate matter (PM10 & smaller) and nitrous oxides, produced by the infernal combustion engine plus high levels of ozone, are all culprits
The whole borough of Haringey has been designated an Air Quality Management Area since 2001. The action plan is only 30 pages long.
There's plenty of evidence on the web, so I won't bore you with research, but just point out a couple of sites if I may... - Attachments:
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They're not boring, that's really interesting. Especially the east/west divide.
When I was young my neighbour's sister (I guess she was my neighbour too but boys needed to stick together) suffered from three asthma attacks that led to trips to the hospital, one of which nearly claimed her life. All three occurred when I was there for a sleepover. By the third and worst, no more sleepovers were allowed. We lived in suburban New Zealand. The nearest traffic jam was 15 miles away. I loved it on the rare occasion when I could see a plane in the sky. Lots of my friends at school had inhalers.
Sulphur dioxide is used as a preservative in foods. You're not allowed to use it on meat but generally junk food and lager/white wine/dried fruit use it. I developed an allergy to "beer" in 2001 which the doctor told me was sulphates. Symptoms? I would spend the entire weekend after my boozy Friday night out with workmates, sneezing. By Saturday night I just wanted to die. I had to stop drinking beer/soft drinks, eating junk food, and my most treasured food products of all, the trinity... bacon/sausages/pizza were off the menu.
The air around here can be disgusting on some days. It's like walking around in sewerage if you think about it. I think it's the same in east Haringey as it is in west Haringey though.
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Permalink Reply by Anette on
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Liz, you're right, pollution does not help asthma. I know, I've got it. And it's not caused by pollution, but poor air quality can certainly make life a bit wheezier for sufferers.
Just thought I'd clarify. :)
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Permalink Reply by Ruth on
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I have been running round here for years. Its not great some days but the earlier you go the better to avoid the worst traffic. Sunday mornings best before 9! nice and quiet out there. Staying inside the parks (Finsbury and Clissold) also better than sticking to the road is my advice.
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