Three environmental NGOs said today that the government had taken the 'easy way out' on air monitoring by convincing the European Union that almost half of the 52 occasions when Malta exceeded EU limits of particulate matter in our air had were due to "natural causes" like 'dust from the Sahara Desert' and sea spray.
"Such excuses do not impress anyone living with the consequences of our emissions-laden air," the NGOs Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħar, Friends of the Earth and Ramblers’ Association said in a joint statement.
"While the Prime Minister assured the EU that “Malta remains committed to implementing the Air Quality Plan” virtually every bus, heavy vehicle and construction machinery as well as many diesel-fuelled vehicles continue to emit thick, dark fumes with no steps being taken to correct the situation.
"The issue of pollution emitted by vehicles on our roads is hugely important to our health because such emissions are heavily laden with toxic particles and substances which are inhaled by all."
They said that the government was aware of the strong evidence http://www.faa.org.mt/who_on_air_quality that such pollution was responsible for increased cancer rates and premature deaths, mostly from lung and heart disease. Extensive international studies showed that children growing in traffic-polluted environments suffered permanent lung damage and increased rates of asthma attacks - as shown by the rate of hospitalization for asthma in Fgura, the highest in the world.
"There is strong evidence that particulate concentrations are higher in homes on heavy traffic streets. It has also been shown that cancer and premature mortality rates are higher in traffic-congested areas. The fact that exhaust from our buses and other diesel vehicles is mostly emitted in densely built-up areas and often in narrow streets which prevents it from dispersing, should be prompting immediate action, irrespective of what air monitoring stations indicate. Dust from construction activity and particles from the exhaust of excavation machinery are often emitted in congested sites. This also highlights the pressing need to introduce planning policies to curb urban over-development," the NGOs said.
They also said that "outrageously incorrect statements aimed at misleading the public" continue to be made. The most recent was the announcement by the Health Ministry that the cancer rate in the southeast of Malta was "lower than the national average" and the "preposterous" claim that "it did not appear that fly ash had caused an increase in cancer rates" when it was known that cancers may incubate for up to 20 years.
The NGOs said the disparity between the evident pollution in the streets and MEPA's allegedly favourable air quality monitoring results was explained by the fact that the air monitoring stations were placed incorrectly and were not providing data on the real situation – or they were not functioning properly, like the one in Attard.
"The fumes emitted by traffic on our crowded roads are visible to all; credible air quality monitoring can only confirm what the public already knows but what our ministers insist on ignoring: that something is fundamentally wrong and that there is shameless flouting of the law"
The NGOs invited the public to sign a petition against air pollution at http://www.faa.org.mt/air_pollution_petition