"Geograph/Chris LL", "CC BY-SA 2.0"
News that 5.5 million people are killed each year by air pollution comes after last year’s car manufacturer emission scandals. It is now clear that the air we breathe is badly tainted. Tainted with particulate matter that gets into our blood causing heart attacks, strokes and other diseases, leading to the early death of 29,000 people each year in the UK. Tainted by nitrous oxides that add a further 23,500 people to the death toll, bringing the known total to 52,500 people killed through air pollution: the equivalent of a 9/11 attack in the UK every three weeks. But our air is also tainted with corruption, ambivalence and a lack of political will.
The fixing of emissions tests by VW that has meant the 1.2m of their cars in the UK are pumping out more pollution than expected. Other car makers are being added to the list, with the Guardian so far identifying 11 of our main brands emitting far more emissions in real life than in testing. The prosecution of these companies must start early and it should be at least a charge of corporate manslaughter.
