Campaigners have estimated that air pollution has led to the deaths of 59 people in Kingston in 2013 and that a further nine will die by the end of the year.
Clean Air in London have produced an app which works out roughly how many people in each borough have been killed by toxic particles in the air.
Simon Birkett, the group’s director, said: “A month after the World Health Organisation declared outdoor air pollution carcinogenic to humans, people in Kingston should be urging the council to demand more action from Boris Johnson.”
The council have said that responsibility for air pollution rests with Boris Johnson.
Jenny Jones, Green Party London Assembly member, said: “The Mayor needs to be tackling air pollution in the suburbs as well as inner London. He needs to focus on reducing traffic by lowering fares and improving public transport, walking and cycling.”
The Government has estimated that 29,000 people a year in England die from air pollution.
As a killer it is therefore second only to smoking which causes 80,000 deaths a year and higher than alcoholism (18,000), obesity (9,000) and traffic accidents (1,500).
A survey of MPs in 2011, found that they consistently underestimated the impact of air pollution by ranking it as the least dangerous of these factors.
Public Health England attributed 6.7% of Kingston’s deaths in 2011 to air pollution, which is higher in Kingston than the English average but relatively low for London.
The app can be downloaded here: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/clean-air-in-cities-index/id646281816?mt=8
Image courtesy of Rex/Simon Wright
