In a legal first, Philip Barlow ruled in December last year that poor air quality from vehicle emissions made a “material contribution” to the death of Ella Adoo-Kissi-Debrah in 2013. — Reuters picLONDON, April 21 — Britain should introduce legally-binding air pollution targets based on World Health Organisation guidelines, the coroner in the inquest of a nine-year-old who died after a severe asthma attack said today.
Britain’s current limits are “far higher” than WHO guidelines and their implementation “would reduce the number of deaths from air pollution in the UK”, he added. The schoolgirl died of acute respiratory failure in February 2013 after a serious asthma attack. She had been taken to hospital nearly 30 times in the previous three years with breathing difficulties.