Air pollution is a silent killer. The noxious gases and sooty particles emitted by car, truck and motorcycle exhausts have been linked to a range of diseases. According to a new study, in Malta these pollutants are estimated to cut short the lives of about 576 people each year, more than twice as high as previously thought. The dramatically higher estimates are due to previously unavailable data on the effects of very high levels of fine particulate matter.
Malta’s figures, which compare to previous estimates of between 250 and 270 early deaths annually, are worse than the EU average. Malta experiences 137 early deaths for every 100,000 people, compared to the EU average of 129 per 100,000. Air pollution causes more extra deaths each year than tobacco smoking.
Dirty air kills. Evidence of the health harm of pollution, such as particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide, is mounting. Pollution threatens health from the start of life to the end. It reaches the lungs of unborn babies and stunts children’s lungs. It provokes health ‘crises’ for those in vulnerable health and hastens the death of the frail elderly. The path to asthma, heart disease, strokes, breathing problems and lung cancer is well established. Emerging research suggests that pollution may also contribute to dementia and even obesity by enhancing chronic inflammation.
Six years ago, Labour’s electoral manifesto promised that improvement to air quality would be a top priority. It promised regular monitoring of air quality and the introduction of a transport strategy that would encourage the use of more electric cars. Like many manifesto promises, this is one that has hardly got off the ground. Indeed, matters have become worse.
Public, commercial and private transport are the major causes of air pollution. The pollutants generated by vehicles occur at street level and pose a major public health hazard.
The crux of the problem in curbing air pollution lies in tackling Malta’s ever-growing transport monster. There are no plans to do so. While smoking is avoidable, the scourge of air pollution in Malta is not.
There does not seem to be the political will to do anything about it, as the government’s apparent plans (supported by the Opposition) to spend millions of euros to have tunnel to Gozo and other major road infrastructure projects attest. Prioritising the crying need for a modern mass transport system is urgently needed.
Moreover, there is an armoury of measures that could be taken to clear the air if only there were the political will to do so. There are too many people in this over-populated and overbuilt island who are exposed to pollution levels that breach guidelines set by the World Health Organisation. The aim should be to introduce measures to reduce pollution in specific areas incrementally over time.
Congestion charges in Valletta, for example, could be increased and study the possibility of introducing them in major localities. More pedestrian areas and ‘no-car zones’ near schools to minimise children’s exposure to cars and vans should be introduced.
The subsidies for electric cars, which are cleaner and more efficient than their fuel-guzzling competitors, should be hugely increased to encourage greater market share.
People want to be able to live and breathe clean air again. Belatedly, the government must act. And the Opposition should support it.
This is a Times of Malta print editorial