After the associations Respire and Greenpeace, which deplored at the end of March too high concentrations of nitrogen dioxide near many schools in Paris and Marseille, it is the turn of Unicef to alert France. The United Nations Children’s Fund, in partnership with WWF France, the Climate Action network and the Respire association, is publishing this Thursday, April 4 a alarming report : three in four children are exposed to toxic air daily in the country. The UN organization calls on the public authorities to act ” as quickly as possible “.
“When we say polluted air, we often think of developing countries, thick fog … But in France, three out of four children breathe polluted air, confirms Jodie Soret, in charge of relations with the public authorities of Unicef in a press release. We call for respect for the rights of children, in particular to live in a healthy environment. “,
Children, a population at risk
Because of their still developing organism, young people are more exposed than their parents to air pollution. They breathe at a frequency 1.5 times higher. The quantities of air inhaled, as well as the polluting particles found therein, are thus greater. “Children are also more exposed in their daily activities because they spend more time than adults outdoors because of recess, lunch breaks and extracurricular activities”, underlines the report.
Furthermore, “Their small size brings them closer than adults to exhaust pipes, especially when they are in a stroller or on foot along narrow streets”. Living near highways with high traffic density could be responsible for 15 to 30% of new cases of asthma in toddlers, according to the United Nations Children’s Fund.
What is this invisible evil that endangers the #health of your children? pic.twitter.com/A4QaD0WAAm
– UNICEF France (@UNICEF_france) April 4, 2019
More “ambitious” measures
While the parliament is examining the mobility orientation law and in order to reduce nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and fine particle emissions, Unicef therefore calls on cities to generalize restricted traffic areas “Ambitious”. Places with low emissions, prohibited for polluting vehicles, which should take into account sensitive places (hospitals, schools) and “Not just the hyper-centers”. “There is still time to protect the health of children growing up in the city”, assures the organization. It encourages further development of soft mobility, pricing public transport according to income or regulating traffic around schools.
The UN agency is addressing this issue for the first time in France with the publication of this report. However, the country is already being sued by the European Union for non-compliance, in fourteen agglomerations, with European standards on air pollution. But also, for failure to take appropriate measures to shorten the overrun periods as much as possible. In theory, the country is exposed to a penalty of at least 11 million euros and daily penalties of 240,000 euros until the thresholds are met.
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