<
https://www.positive.news/environment/londons-ulez-linked-to-healthier-lung-growth-in-children/>
"When London introduced its ultra-low emission zone (Ulez) in April 2019, the
aim was to cut traffic pollution and protect the health of the people breathing
it. For years, evidence of its impact has largely come from roadside monitors,
exhaust emissions and changing vehicle numbers. Seven years on, researchers are
increasingly able to measure something more tangible: what cleaner air appears
to be doing to people’s bodies.
The latest findings come from a five-year study involving more than 3,400
primary school children in London and Luton. Researchers led by Queen Mary
University of London recruited children aged six to nine from schools within or
bordering the original central London Ulez and compared them with children in
Luton, a similar urban area without a comparable clean-air zone.
The children underwent annual lung-function tests between 2018 and 2022,
allowing scientists to compare how their lungs developed before and after Ulez
was introduced.
Before the scheme came into force, the London children had lower lung capacity
than those in Luton and were exposed to higher levels of nitrogen dioxide
(NO₂), a harmful pollutant strongly associated with vehicle exhausts. After
2019, however, NO₂ levels fell faster in London while the children’s lungs grew
more rapidly.
One key measure was FEV₁, the amount of air a person can forcibly breathe out
in one second after taking a deep breath. At the beginning of the study,
average FEV₁ was around 38ml lower among the London children. Over the
following four years, annual growth was around 10ml greater than among children
in Luton and, by the end of the study, the difference had effectively
disappeared.
A second measure, forced vital capacity (FVC), also improved faster among
London children, although that gap had not completely closed."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
