Nine years ago, this newspaper announced the launch of a think tank report, part IV of which was a detailed review of the scientific evidence of harm to health from traffic pollution. Copies of this report were distributed to key government departments.

In 2013 the Royal College of Physicians published a comprehensive report on the lifelong impact of pollution on health. This report re-emphasised the serious impact that air pollution exerts on health through cancer, stroke, heart disease, lung disease and even dementia – at a high cost to the victims of pollution, their families and health services. The report also drew attention to the threat from air pollution to the developing foetus and growing children.

An entire section in the June 17 issue of the British Medical Journal was devoted to air pollution and “why doctors must act now”.

The simple truth is that our heavy traffic and dense urbanisation are a lethal combination and we face a serious pollution problem. Arguments that air pollution does not occur in small islands like Malta are invalid. The data from our air-quality monitoring stations cannot be relied upon; they are not representative of the true situation in Malta’s narrow traffic-congested roads. Street pollution in ‘hot spots’ like Fgura, Ħamrun and St Julian’s clearly exceed EU limits. Most of our vehicle fleet is diesel-driven and contributes heavily to street-level pollution with dangerous particulates and nitrogen oxides.

As things now stand, Malta’s traffic pollution can only become more intense. The increase in road traffic has become unstoppable as a result of remaining stuck in an outdated 1950s traffic time warp, with high priority allocated to (private) motor vehicle traffic flow. We continue to ignore up-to-date road design concepts and modern transport philosophies.

Most shameful of all, persistent neglect has downgraded public transport to the shambles it is today. The end result is universal car-dependency that now threatens health. We have been reduced to a backward country where healthy mobility as walking, using public transport or a bicycle have been perversely discouraged by successive administrations.

If our pollution problem is not faced now, children and our young generation will have lifespans shortened

Though the effects of pollution may not yet be apparent, action is needed today to offset future ill-health. In the case of cancer, which occurs after a latent period, it can be reasonably predicted that we have yet to see an excess of cancer cases in our present adult and young generations in coming years.

The prospects are even more worrying in regard to silent transmission of ‘environmental heritage’ by pregnant mothers to their children who will face greater risk of disease later in life. Malta has one of the highest rates of childhood asthma in the world and this is clear evidence that something is wrong.

It is incomprehensible how, faced with such overwhelming evidence of potential harm from pollution, our Health Department, our doctors and our health workers remain passive and display numb acceptance of ‘the way things are’.

The problem might seem insuperable but the time for putting on the brakes has arrived. Suggested strategies for averting what is now referred to as a “public health emergency” in the UK – as found in the British Medical Journal issue of June 17 – are set out in the following paragraph. This should provide food for thought for our new transport minister and, maybe, serve as a starting point:

“Give more space to people who want to walk. Make it easier for more people to walk and cycle as part of their daily routine. Encourage drivers to walk or cycle, particularly on short journeys. Introduce pedestrian-only areas in town and city centres. Make cycling or walking the default choice for short trips. Aim at getting people to walk or cycle for at least 20 minutes every day. Install cycle networks. Put significant investment into cycling schemes in the years ahead.

“Encourage the use of public transport, if necessary by subsidising fares. Reduce congestion by imposing suitable speed limits and fewer speed bumps. Raise parking fees for high-polluting vehicles. Identify and fine highly polluting vehicles at the roadside.

“All single-decker buses in central London to have zero emissions by 2020.Phase out diesel taxis. All new taxis licensed in London must run with zero emissions.

“Ultimately ban all diesel powered vehicles from urban areas, combine this with a diesel scrappage scheme. Incentivise the introduction of ultra-low emission vehicles. Raise vehicle tax on diesel vehicles, raise tax on diesel fuel.”

Section VI of a 2016 Today Public Policy Institute think tank report, The Environmental Dimension of Malta’s ill-Health and action to prevent Obesity, Diabetes, Cardiovascular Disease and Dementia, which covers the health aspects of transport, is also recommended reading.

Children are more susceptible than adults to harm from traffic pollution. Children who live on or near congested roads are at particular risk of harm from pollution. But the harm may not appear until later in life. The most pressing reasons for action are, therefore, the long-term health risks for Malta’s children and present young generation.

If our pollution problem is not faced now, children and our young generation will carry the baggage of having grown up in polluted surroundings into adult life and have lifespans shortened as a result of increased susceptibility to heart and lung disease.

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