A 9-year-old girl in the UK who died after an asthma attack is believed to be the first person in the world to be listed as the cause of death due to air pollution.
Exposure to “excessive air pollution” played a “significant” role in the 2013 death of Ella Kisi-Debra, a state official found in a landmark ruling on Wednesday.
“Air pollution was a significant contributing factor to both the inclusion and deterioration of his asthma,” coroner Philip Barlow said after a two-week hearing. “
He said that three years before Ella’s death, she was exposed to levels of nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter, which exceeded the World Health Organization’s guidelines.
Barlow added that “the main source of her contact was traffic emissions.”
Ella lived close to a busy trip to Levisham in south-east London, often crowded with heavy traffic.
Prior to his death, he was hospitalized about 30 times with shortness of breath.
The landmark ruling puts a strain on Britain’s traffic and clears the city’s air.
Under EU law, the annual average concentration level of nitrogen dioxide cannot exceed 40 micrograms per cubic meter of air – a target Britain has missed for a decade.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan called the coroner’s conclusion a “landmark moment”.
Ella’s mother Rosemond agreed.
“Today was a landmark case. The year-long fight has recognized air pollution on Ella’s death certificate,” she tweeted.
“Hopefully this will mean that more children’s lives can be saved.”
With post wire
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