Forum Topic

Horn Lane Pollution HIGHEST in London @ BLACK NINE out of 10 :-

Only TWO other sites in the entirety of London are not Green and they are relatively much lower at "6" and "5".EVERYWHERE else in the whole of London is only on Green 2s and 3s  *** COMPLAIN please Folks ***Thursday 18 April 2013, 09:00 - 10:00 BSThttp://www.ealingair.org.uk/AirQuality/LatestReadings.aspx

Rosco White ● 4899d54 Comments

Thursday 18 April 2013, 10:00 - 11:00 - BSThttp://www.ealingair.org.uk/AirQuality/LatestReadings.aspx

Rosco White ● 4899d

Could this be because of the airborne particles released as they demolish the NEC building on Victoria Road?

Paul Scullion ● 4899d

Very much doubt it as it is to far away from the monitoring station on Horn Lane.  We are talking PM 10 levels, coming from the industrial site.Theses high levels are playing havoc with my breathing. Tuesday Black 10Wednesday Orange 6Thursday Black 10I can only tolerate levels Orange 4 or less.

Nikki Howard ● 4899d

Paul, Rosco asked me to post this.Doubt it, the wind is SW, so blowing AWAY from the Monitor, however, being SW, the wind is blowing FROM the Estate straight ON to the Monitor.Copy of my letter to Boris Johnson.Thu, 18 Apr 2013 at 15:0215:02Message starredFROM N HOWARD TO 2 recipientsHorn Lane pollution levelsShow DetailsFrom        N HOWARDTo        mayor@london.gov.ukCC        angie.bray.mp@parliament.ukFromNicola Howarde-mail:  nikkihoward1@btinternet.comDear BorisAs you may, or may not be aware, there are serious pollution issues concerning the Horn Lane Industrial Site, located next to Acton Main Line overground station.  The site is a known source of PM 10 pollution.  The site consists of a cement batching plant (expanded without planning permission) a waste transfer plant, who in the past have been subject to legal proceedings, and a scrap metal site.  All this within a residential area.We the local residents are continuously subjected to high levels of pollution, which are having serious health effects on the respiratory system, such as, asthma and COPD.We have constantly asked Ealing Council and our local councillors for Acton Central and East Acton, along with the leader of the council, Cllr Julian Bell, to deal with the problem.  At every turn, the Council and councillors have remained mute.  The only person who has been active on the subject is Angie Bray MP, who has been very active on behalf of residents.  She has always responded to our concerns, unlike the Council, councillors and the EA.  A monitoring site has been in place for at least eight years, and, still no action has been taken to resolve the pollution issue..  The Council claim that the levels are falling year on year but, this clearly is not the case.  The levels so far this week are, Tuesday Black 10/10, Wednesday Orange 6/10 and today, Thursday Black 10/10..  These levels are unacceptable and, urgent action is required to tackle the problem.  These levels are well above the EU permitted limits.I trust that you will give this matter your attention and, apply pressure to Ealing Council and the EA to resolve this pollution issue with the utmost expediency.I remainYours sincerelyNicola Howard.

Nikki Howard ● 4899d

Acknowledgement from Bojo's office    From: nikkihoward1@btinternet.com    To: mayor@london.gov.uk    Subject: Horn Lane pollution levelsThank you for your interest in the work of the Mayor and the Greater London Authority, we are keen to answer your query as quickly and fully as possible. As you will appreciate, the Mayor receives a very large amount of correspondence but he is committed to responding to your query within 20 working days. Further information on our service standards, and where exceptions may be applied, is available on our website at: http://www.london.gov.uk/contact-us/service-standards Where appropriate we may refer queries to the relevant Greater London Authority (GLA) functional body for them to reply, for example Transport related queries will be passed on to Transport for London (TfL). Thank you for taking the time to write to the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson. Yours truly Public Liaison Unit

Nikki Howard ● 4899d

One other London site @ Orange 6 and the REST of London is only Green 2s & 3sThursday 18 April 2013, 19:00 - 20:00 - BSThttp://www.ealingair.org.uk/AirQuality/LatestReadings.aspx

Rosco White ● 4898d

PM 10 levels = BLACK 10

Nikki Howard ● 4898d

KEY:RED:    Nitric OxideBLACK:  Nitrogen DioxideBLUE:  Oxides of NitrogenBLACK:  PM 10

Nikki Howard ● 4898d

CorrectionMAGENTA:  PM 10

Nikki Howard ● 4898d

Thursday 18 April 2013, 21:00 - 22:00 - BST

Rosco White ● 4898d

Midnight to 0100 Friday 19 AprilStill Black 10

Nikki Howard ● 4898d

So, WHY is ALL of London only "Green" whilst Horn Lane is the ONLY site in London above Green 3 ????And there are some mightily filthy sites elsewhere in London - but they're all "Green" !!??Except Horn Lane.Friday 19 April 2013, 11:00 - 12:00 BSThttp://www.ealingair.org.uk/AirQuality/LatestReadings.aspx

Rosco White ● 4898d

1800 - 1900 BST Horn Lane.Orange 6, everywhere else green 2 or no reading.

Nikki Howard ● 4897d

Nikki Howard ● 4897d

Watch The Authorities spring into robust action, protecting your health by identifying culprits and enforcing with heavy fines.Dream on .........................................

Rosco White ● 4897d

Dispute heavy fines, I would settle for total closure.What we need is a public meeting, with Angie on our side, and, definitely with the press present.  Let's ambush the cretinous  muppets, (EA, Julian Bell, and the 6 councillors) with questions they won't like.  No forewarning of questions. (Oh dear, Kate will have to, talk to me, that will get her going into a rant.)  Two back to back hospital admissions does not sit well.  My GP phoned me this morning asking, what I thought triggered the relapse.  I had to be honest, and said, pollution, and gave the PM 10 readings for each relapse.  3rd April and 10th April. 

Nikki Howard ● 4897d

Complain to European Commission as well:http://ec.europa.eu/environment/legal/law/press_en.htmhttp://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-11-285_en.htm?locale=en

Rupert Picken ● 4897d

And this Tuesday the Council's Cabinet considers a report to bid for £400K to reduce pollution in the borough but does not mention Horn Lane. They want about £100K to develop their air quality strategy (fat lot of good that will do), with the rest of the money to be spent in places with lower pollution levels than Horn Lane. And to top all that, whilst paying lip service to improving air quality, the Council wants the industrial site retained for its current use - you couldn't make it up.

Vlod Barchuk ● 4895d

you couldn't make it up. The loony Labour council have.I'm waiting to see what responses I get from Angie Bray, Jeremy Hunt and Bojo.

Nikki Howard ● 4895d

Monday 22 April 2013, 17:00 - 18:00 BSTBLACK 10 again.

Nikki Howard ● 4894d

Nikki Howard ● 4894d

And a very strong smell of burning plastics/rubber in Goldsmith Avenue

Dee Cook ● 4894d

Tuesday 23 April 2013, 13:00 - 14:00 BST  Another BLACK 10

Nikki Howard ● 4894d

http://www.ealingair.org.uk/AirQuality/LatestReadings.aspx?SiteCode=EA8&SiteName=Ealing%20-%20Horn%20Lane

Rosco White ● 4893d

I attended cabinet tonight on behalf of Acton residents to raise the excessive PM10 airborne pollution levels around Horn Lane arising out of the industrial sites around Acton Mainline station.  This area suffers from hugely raised PM10 levels and locals are anxious about potential respiratory problems as a result.  The picture (generated from Ealing councils own monitoring data) shows that PM10 levels are hugely elevated above those measured on Western Avenue (in blue) and the Hanger Lane Gyratory system (in black).  It is clear that Horn Lane is different from Ealing's busiest roads.  During weekdays PM10 levels shoot up to 6 times the level of really polluted areas.  Tonight the cabinet discussed a report that proposes to spend £5K of the London Mayor's Mayor’s Air Quality Fund doing scenario development for air quality action planning on Horn Lane (whatever that is?).  After eight years of monitoring it would be nice if the council had a clue as to where the excessive PM10 levels were coming from.Tonight at cabinet the Labour administration agreed that Horn Lane was an outlier in terms of PM10 levels but no-one seemed to want to take up the challenge of owning the problem. Council Leader Julian Bell stated he lived in the area but didn't want to own it.  Cllr Mahfouz has cabinet responsibility but didn't want to make any commitments - I asked him three times.  Cllr Patricia Walker, an Acton Central councillor, thanked me for doing her casework but was similarly unwilling to push herself forward. 

Phil Taylor ● 4893d

I take it the Crawfords were reluctant too.  Well, we know who to get rid of, at the next council elections.Council Leader Julian Bell stated he lived in the area but didn't want to own it...the area or the pollution?Cllr Mahfouz has cabinet responsibility but didn't want to make any commitments...just pass the buck.PATHETIC.

Nikki Howard ● 4893d

I've not read the whole thread, so maybe this has been covered, but what about the EU limits for PM10s?  Have they been breached? If so, worth a mention to the council and taking it down that route?Details here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Particulates

Sarah Harris ● 4893d

Constantly in breach of EU limits.Check out the front page.

Nikki Howard ● 4893d

Sarah There are two targets for PM10. The first is that the annual average concentration of PM10 should not exceed 40 micrograms per cubic metre (ug/m3 for short). The figures for Horn Lane over the last few years seem to offer some hope:2010 – 42 ug/m32011 – 362012 – 342013 (to date) – 39The problem is the way this is measured. A reading of PM10 levels is taken every 15 minutes, day or night. As the industrial facilities in Horn Lane only operate 5½ days a week (Saturday mornings 7-1 as well as weekdays), most of the time readings are very low, thereby pushing the average down. You’ll see from the graphs on this thread the large spikes of PM10, which coincide with when these premises are in use.The other target for PM10 is that concentrations should not average more than 50 ug/m3 for 35 days in any year.  This is better as non working days are ignored but it still means an average is taken to include the majority of the day when the industrial site is closed. Here is performance against the 35 day target:2010 – 93 days2011 – 612012 – 532013 (to date) – 24A few of us, with Angie Bray, have been nagging the Environment Agency over the last two years to take action and it has had some effect on PM10 levels. As PM10 levels are higher in the summer (the cold and wet suppress dust levels), the figures for 2013 to date are very worrying given they reflect three months of bad weather.One would think Julian Bell might have some concern for this family’s health as he lives in the area. Bassam Mahfouz’s uselessness (see the street cleaning contract) is well known.

Vlod Barchuk ● 4893d

I think we can take it as read ("red"!) that all Six Ward Councillors (East Acton & Acton Central), plus their Leadership (inc. Mr Bell). are going to do......... NOTHING.They have had OVER TWO years to robustly act on this.So much for Labour's pseudo-"Green" credentials.Now, there is new works on the Parade which no doubt currently adds to the high readings, BUT, the readings are still sky high late into the evenings, when the pavement/roadworks have long since ceased.Also, look at Phil Taylor's Pollution Graph more closely, the two much lower squiggly graphs are for Hanger Lane Gyratory and the Western Avenue readings - compared to  Horn Lane these two notoriously traffic congested roads are enjoying positively fresh country air.

Rosco White ● 4893d

The latest air pollution index values recorded on:- Thursday 25 April 2013, 16:00 - 17:00 BSThttp://www.ealingair.org.uk/AirQuality/LatestReadings.aspx

Rosco White ● 4891d

Thanks Rosco, don't I know it.  I'd get less pollution from smoking, or sucking in exhaust fumes.

Nikki Howard ● 4891d

Vlod, do you know where the Horn Lane measurements are taken? Are they at the roadside, or somewhere on the industrial site?I had thought they were on the site, and so part of the campaign should be to have roadside readings, as you can't really compare roadside reading with an industrial zone reading.

Pete Grist ● 4890d

It's on Horn Lane

Nikki Howard ● 4890d

Thanks. The question then, is which is more important, fixing pollution or political point scoring? When did the pollution start to get worse? Vlod & Phil will perhaps be able to outline what action the council could take now or have taken in the past?

Pete Grist ● 4890d

Also a quote from Angie: I am not making a partisan point, because both main parties have run the council and neither have managed to get to grips with the problem. It will always be difficult when two separate authorities are responsible for different units at the same place and when it is necessary to prove that an individual site is at fault. The situation is just too confusing. See http://www.theyworkforyou.com/whall/?id=2010-12-15a.291.0

Pete Grist ● 4890d

Peter,My sense is that residents are unhappy right now because the pollution is bad at a time of year when it is unexpected, it is worse than it has been recently and the council (both councillors and officers) seems to be unengaged.  Officers keep repeating that things will get better when GWR electrification rolls out in 2019.  This enrages people obviously.  In the short term the answer has to be monitoring and enforcement of the businesses around the goods yard, dust suppressing measures and some work on the emissions of the vehicles that service the site.  I know that some of this has been done but what the council cannot show is a detailed understanding of the sources of this pollution and an action plan for bringing the levels down.  It might also help if we could get TfL to move to hybrid buses on the routes through Horn Lane.  This week at cabinet a report was discussed which initially failed to mention Horn Lane at all in spite of it being the stand out pollution black spot in the Borough and one of the worst sites in all of London.  On Monday officers issued a list of 20 sites on which £100K of the Mayor's money would be spent doing "scenario development".  By my maths that is £5K for some planning at Horn Lane.  The council has been measuring excessive pollution at Horn Lane for eight years now.  You might have thought that it was beyond "scenario development".  This is a regulatory issue.  When I had a function business the council (not Ealing) forbade me from making a noise that my neighbours could hear at their property boundaries.  I lived in fear of neighbour's complaints and made sure I complied.  The same should be true of the Horn Lane goods yard frankly and it is the council's job to get these businesses to comply.  The data shows that Horn Lane is markedly different from other busy traffic areas.  We are talking about a long running regulatory failure and unmanaged industrial pollution. 

Phil Taylor ● 4890d

PeteIn answer to how the question of when pollution started to get worse, statistics are only available as far back as 2005. The number of days when PM10 levels has exceeded a daily average of 50 ug/m3 is as follows:2005 – 2052006 – 1822007 – 1082008 – 962009 – 732010 – 962011 – 612012 – 53The last (and only) time there was a prosecution regarding management of the site was in 2006, which looks like it had the effect of making the situation dismal rather than diabolical.Improvements since 2011 may reflect the Environment Agency getting tougher and reducing the volume of waste than can be managed at the site.I’m quite happy to be political if it gets things done or brings out the failure of others to get things done. Here are two things the Council could do:When bidding for £400K from the London Mayor for measures to reduce pollution say what you’re going to do about the site with the highest pollution levels in your borough, rather than not evening mentioning the site in your report and don’t bang on about roads (eg. A40) over which you have no control.Use your planning framework to designate this area as suitable for residential development, something that will look sensible as Crossrail becomes a more pressing reality. Recognise that the current site is too small to have a waste transfer site operating within a fully enclosed shed (which is the only way to properly control dust levels from this type of business). However the Council has abandoned this idea and is looking to retain and develop the current site as part of its current framework.

Vlod Barchuk ● 4890d

In other words, boll***s to the health of residents.

Nikki Howard ● 4889d

For what its worth, the "scenario development" "will be based on extensive NO2 data sets collected during the Defra remote sensing project." (Appendix B of the Council Report).A draft version of the Defra remote sensing project has appeared at http://www.businessgreen.com/digital_assets/6583/KCL_Defra_RSD_report_Draft_120413_%284%29.pdfand is solely concerned with the real world vehicle emissions measured at four London sites (two in the City of London and two in Ealing). It presents a disturbing picture that most things that have been tried to reduce diesel emission problems are not working as anticipated and cars, buses and taxis have all got issues. I doubt whether the "refining of the specification of future Low Emission Zones" to include banning diesel vehicles from Ealing is really feasible - it probably needs a London-wide or national focus. But then it doesn't seem likely that London or national political leaders want to touch the hot potato.I would agree that it seems crazy not to give a mention to Horn Lane in the Ealing plan and discussion. I also think that in regulation and enforcement terms, the Environment Agency should be having its feet held up to the fire rather than the Council. Has anyone tried more recent public embarrassment of them by probing for more information on their dealings with the regulated businesses on the site ?Can we ask for the monthly reports and exception reports under Freedom of Information ?

Tim Henderson ● 4888d

I've had a look at the Mayor's guidance for councils bidding for money from this fund. It highlights areas of London the fund is aimed at, which is unsurprisingly the areas Ealing's bid is based on. You may be right in thinking the Mayor should have Horn Lane as one of the targeted areas, but it is hardly the fault of the Council that it is not.You can see the document at http://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/mayors_air_quality_fund_bidding_guidance.pdf

Pete Grist ● 4888d

Next highest is a Red Seven followed by an Orange Four and then the ENTIRE rest of London is only on Green 2s & 3sMonday 29 April 2013, 19:00 - 20:00 BSThttp://www.ealingair.org.uk/AirQuality/LatestReadings.aspx

Rosco White ● 4887d

at which they are always full of TALK, but of course no real ENFORCEMENT, and plenty of excuses why they can't DO anything. They're as weak as piss, and I believe have gotten far too close to the firms they are supposed to be regulating, and completely forgetting what their purpose is and who and what they're supposed to robustly protect.Gutless Civil Servant pen pushers.

Rosco White ● 4887d

Now that the EU has declared that Britain has breached the EU Rules on pollution maybe our government or even the local council will finally step in and do something about the high levels we experience in Horn Lane!!!I live in hope!

Jean F Fernandez ● 4885d

Hanger Lane Gyratory "1" and Western Avenue "2" - Both Very Low "Green".Thursday 2 May 2013, 16:00 - 17:00 BSThttp://www.ealingair.org.uk/AirQuality/LatestReadings.aspx

Rosco White ● 4884d

Thursday 2 May 2013, 20:00 - 21:00 BST  RED 9Only one more point for the jackpot.

Nikki Howard ● 4884d

PM 10s for 1 May to 2 May

Nikki Howard ● 4883d

The ENTIRE rest of London is only at Green 1s & 2sSaturday 4 May 2013, 09:00 - 10:00 BSThttp://www.ealingair.org.uk/AirQuality/LatestReadings.aspx

Rosco White ● 4883d

http://www.ealingair.org.uk/AirQuality/LatestReadings.aspx

Rosco White ● 4882d

Our ref: DE00000775445 Dear Ms Howard, Thank you for your email of 17 April to Jeremy Hunt about pollution levels.  I have been asked to reply. This is a local issue and you should address your concerns to the Director of Public Health for Ealing.  The contact details are: Director of Public HealthEaling CouncilPerceval House14/16 Uxbridge RoadEaling W5 2HL Tel: 020 8825 6380Advice on incinerators and air pollution can be provided by the Centre for Chemicals Radiation and Environmental Hazards.  As part of the Government’s plans to improve the public health system, the Centre is now part of Public Health England , which is an executive agency of the Department of Health.  The contact details are: Public Health England5th FloorWellington House133-155 Waterloo RoadLondon SE1 8UG Tel: 020 7654 8000Email: pqs@phe.gov.uk With regard to Charing Cross Hospital, a major review of the future of NHS services across North West London, including those provided at the Charing Cross, Hammersmith and Ealing hospitals, has taken place under the heading 'Shaping a Healthier Future'.Reconfiguration of frontline health services is a matter for the local NHS.  This Government has strengthened the process and any proposed changes to clinical services are subject to the following four tests for service change: - support from GP commissioners;- arrangements for public and patient engagement, including local authorities being further strengthened;- greater clarity about the clinical evidence bases underpinning proposals; and- proposals take into account the need to develop and support patient choice. The former London Strategic Health Authority approved the scheme against these tests.  Following full public consultation and independent analysis by IPSOS MORI of the responses received during consultation, the Joint Committee of Primary Care Trusts (JCPCT) met on 19 February to make the final decision on changes to services. The JCPCT voted to proceed with the preferred ‘Option A’, under which there will be five major hospitals in North West London with 24/7 A&E and associated complex care at St Mary’s Paddington, Chelsea and Westminster, West Middlesex, Northwick Park and Hillingdon hospitals. Both Charing Cross and Ealing hospitals will become local hospitals with urgent care centres.  There will also be a further set of specific recommendations concerning Charing Cross hospital and Ealing hospital.  There are no plans to close any hospitals under 'Shaping a Healthier Future'. Yours sincerely, Edward CorbettMinisterial Correspondence and Public EnquiriesDepartment of Health -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Please do not reply to this email. To contact the Department of Health, please visit the 'Contact DH' section on the GOV.UK website, where you can also view our performance against quarterly service targets.

Nikki Howard ● 4879d

"It might also help if we could get TfL to move to hybrid buses on the routes through Horn Lane.  "The 266 has fairly new buses (meeting Euro 5 standards at least), the 260 somewhat older, but bus particulate emissions generally in London are really not that big a problem compared with other sources, see this Mayoral answer for instance.http://mqt.london.gov.uk/mqt/public/question.do?id=45619

Thomas Barry ● 4879d

Correct, buses and "traffic" are clearly NOT the major causes of the Horn Lane pollution.I repeat, overlay the graphs of PM10 Particulates readings from Hanger Lane, Western Avenue and Horn Lane.Horn Lane is head & shoulders higher than HL & WA, so it's DEFINITELY not the traffic causing the PM10 pollution.Now, there IS a dirty and filthy Industrial Estate adjacent....

Rosco White ● 4879d

It is indeed interesting to compare the list of the "Air Quality Focus Areas" listed in the Transport for London document of bidding guidance for the Air Quality Fund with the list given as Appendix 3 that accompanied the Ealing Cabinet meeting papers (Item 18 athttp://www.ealing.gov.uk/meetings/meeting/279/cabinet)Horn Lane tops the list of the 20 Ealing sites (although that is probably accidental) whereas the TfL report only mentions 5 Ealing Focus areas - (Acton A40/Gypsy Corner, Hanger Lane Gyratory, Perivale A40, Ealing Broadway/Haven Green, Acton High St) all of which are probably dominated by traffic contributions. Does the TfL mindset preclude industrial pollution from consideration ?The guidance for qualifying criteria for the bid includePolitical leadership - pledge to take significant actionTaking Action -"Taking decisive action to address air pollution, especially where human exposure and vulnerability.. is highest."Using the planning system - Examples include..."Additional enforcement of construction and demolition guidance, with regular checks on medium and high risk building sites."I can't see that Horn Lane should be excluded from these.Unfortunately another criterion was missed earlier in the same Cabinet meeting :Integrating air quality into the public health systemExamples include:• Including air quality in the borough’s Health and Wellbeing Strategy, including measures to promote adaptation amongst vulnerable groups.The Cabinet discussed the Ealing Wellbeing Strategy but air quality barely gets a mention in the document!

Tim Henderson ● 4872d

In time for tonight's meeting, Londonair announces :http://www.londonair.org.uk/london/asp/news.asp?NewsId=HornLanePM10&StartIndex=1"On Wednesday 15th May 2013, the monitoring site on Horn Lane, Acton became the first location in London to breach the National Air Quality Strategy (NAQS) Objective for PM10 for the year. The NAQS objective allows a daily mean PM10 concentration of 50 ug m-3 on not more than 35 days per year. Provisional measurements indicate that PM10 on Horn Lane has been above this threshold for 36 days during 2013.The Horn Lane monitoring site is located close to a regulated waste management site and other industries that add to the PM10 concentrations in the area. Horn Lane itself is a residential street with many houses and flats located close to the road.Previous studies conducted around Horn Lane have demonstrated that particles from local industry affect the surrounding area. It is also possible that local street works have added to the PM10 burden in the area. Evidence from work around other waste management sites in London, and research undertaken in the US, suggest that elevated PM10 concentrations may extend up to 1 km along haulage routes from these types of facilities, although concentrations at 1 km will be very much less than those close to the monitoring site. The pollution measured at the Horn Lane monitoring site does not reflect pollution over Ealing or London as a whole, but it is very important with respect to exposure of local residents. Over recent years, PM10 concentrations have improved at the Horn Lane monitoring site; the 50 ug m-3 threshold was exceeded on 205 days in 2005 and this decreased to 53 days in 2012.Note: Although the UK NAQS objective for PM10 reflects the EU Limit Value there are differences in the way that they are assessed. Assessment of whether a city or region breaches the EU Limit Value is made in the UK by DEFRA using air pollution measurements in combination with modelling. Other factors including particles from natural sources, such as sea salt particles, are also included in the EU Limit Value assessment.Item date 16/05/2013"

Tim Henderson ● 4870d