Air Quality

Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 2:10 pm on 27 November 2018.

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Photo of Jenny Rathbone Jenny Rathbone Labour 2:10, 27 November 2018

Leader of the house, I'm sure you'll be aware that this is a very important matter that relates to the concerns of my colleague for Newport West, which is that pollution and congestion are very, very serious matters when it comes to public health. You may be aware that there was a report last month, published by the English public health organisation, about the effects of long-term exposure on cardiovascular morbidity i.e. it's killing more of us than it needs to. And although a lot of concern has been expressed about the levels of nitrogen oxides in the environment, I think it's really important we consider particulates in combination with them, because it's particulates that are the most damaging, because they penetrate the very smallest ventricles, and particularly the impact on children. So, I'd be very grateful if you could tell me what consideration, if any, the Government has so far given to adopting the WHO limits, which are obviously considerably better than the European Union's limits.