Is pollution on the school run making our children sick?

CHILDREN are being put at risk of severe illness because they are exposed to so much air pollution on the school run, research suggests.

A report by Unicef UK today warns that children in British cities are at risk from ‘black carbon’ – the sooty particles that are particularly linked to emissions of diesel cars.

It says primary school children are exposed to 60 per cent of their daily air pollution intake on the school run and while at school, despite accounting for only 40 per cent of their time.

Black carbon is considered the most dangerous component of air pollution, because it penetrates deep into the lungs and bloodstream. Scientists believe exposure during childhood is particularly dangerous because it can affect the development of the lungs, heart and brain.

Professor Jonathan Grigg, a paediatrician at Queen Mary University of London who conducted the Unicef study, said the only way to deal with the issue was to get rid of the older diesel cars. He added: ‘It’s a national problem, and it wouldn’t be dealt with just by closing a road near a school or putting air filters in schools.’