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EARTHDATE: April 24, 2011

Official News page 3


LONDON SMOG ALERT

by Freya

It was the health advice that some people have been craving for years - avoid outdoor exercise. The UK Government said there could be potentially dangerous levels of air pollution, brought on by the enduring warm and still conditions. And not just high amounts of ozone but toxic particles known as PM10s were reaching levels that broke EU regulations and it was being compared to the Great Smog of 1952. The Director of Clean Air in London said 75% of air pollution episodes have occurred when pollutants have been blown in from Europe - blame it on the French!

The alert came just as the UK was sliding into a gloriously warm and sunny four day Easter holiday weekend (a rare occurrence here).

So the Environment Department (DEFRA) has issued smog alerts and advice. To vulnerable people. (Does this mean only people who breathe air, all others may please ignore?)

I tuned in to the national radio BBC news and the local LBC news broadcasts to see if I could get some actual details about this advice.

An advocate for Asthma UK Adviceline advised staying inside and keeping windows shut. Right, because inside air comes from an entirely different source in some green and pleasant land.

Then a spokesperson for DEFRA offered practical advice for Londoners. He said that surgical masks were useless against the smog (1 house point for DEFRA) and suggested that people avoid the main streets and instead use the back streets and alleyways to get around. (Because they get different air than around the corner, right? Not!) He suggested that vulnerable people like those with asthma avoid breathing as much as possible.

The presenter (sarcastically) concluded, "So if you stop breathing altogether that seems to alleviate the risk of adverse effects from the pollution."

And the DEFRA chap blithely agreed, "As much as possible, yes."


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