Forum Topic

Horn Lane Pollution HIGHest London @ 6 WITH roadworks finished AND wind not a factor!

So, the Parade roadworks have ceased several days ago AND the wind is North Westerly, which means the wind direction is AWAY from the Monitoring Equipment, NOT even ON to the Monitoring Equipment FROM the Horn Lane Industrial Estate - and Horn Lane is STILL the most polluted site in London today, as per usual.Please, COMPLAIN folks, you and your children's health is being treated with contempt here.Wednesday 22 May 2013, 15:00 - 16:00 BSThttp://www.ealingair.org.uk/AirQuality/LatestReadings.aspx

Rosco White ● 4864d22 Comments

It's gone 11pm and still 6/10.Well, at least now the ball is rolling, hopefully to get rid of this disgusting industrial site or, curb it's pollution, but, with this useless Labour council and its even more useless Labour councillors (Acton Central & East Acton) one shouldn't hold their breath.  If the council and EA dished out the fines every time there is a breach, the polluters may just go away and, let us breath cleaner air.  Don't blame traffic flow, it's the industrial site who are the criminal polluters.

Nikki Howard ● 4864d

Was anything said about the site without a valid planning permission?Is the Council going to take enforcement action against the company concerned?

Dee Cook ● 4864d

I am not defending the industrial site, it is dirty and polluting - but if the pollution is bad when it is not working, there must be another source - possibly the diesel trains on the GWR and those in the sidings at Acton Main Line. Until the line is fully electrified, there will always be pollution from the trains as well as the industrial site. So, do we campaign for electrification of the Great Western Mainline too?

Amanda Knights ● 4864d

The pollution is sometimes bad in the evenings, but that might be down to slow dissipation/low or no wind, and of course rail engine fumes as you suggest Amanda.However, checking the monitor readings of the past 8 years the PM10 pollution levels ALWAYS shoot up when the Horn Lane Industrial Estate starts work, and diminishes when they finish.Call me old fashioned, but I think there's a pattern here!!??

Rosco White ● 4864d

Agree with you Rosco. Did you by any chance go to the Acton centrl Ward forum last night. I wondered if our current councilors were given the opportunity to comment in public?

Maire Lowe ● 4864d

I was at WARA (West Acton Residents Association) last night Maire, and this was discussed for about 25 minutes.Cllr Kate Crawford (LAB - East Acton) was in attendance and the message is being received loud & clear by Ealing Council. The pollution is the "responsibility" of course of both the Acton Central and the East Acton Ward Councillors, so we should have six of them "on side".Cllr Phil Taylor (CON - Northfields) also attended and this is a cross party problem which needs mutual working together to fix - once and for all.Ultimately, the Horn Lane Industrial Estate has to GO, it needs to be re-zoned, and put to far better use as befits a "flagship" CrossRail station, the last one before Paddington, in the middle of a dense residential area.This Administration now has the chance to DO something, so we shall see. I outlined the problem/s as:-1/ Immediately sort out and agree demarcation on who is responsible for what, regarding the "overlap" between Ealing Council and The Environment Agency - they keep blaming each other/passing the buck like school children. 2/ Once 1 is sorted, immediate, relentless ENFORCEMENT, to the letter, of the existing Rules & Regulations.It's as simple as that.Don't ask me why residents have to spell all this out and waste time, money & effort over several years - on something that The Authorities should ensure happens "automatically" in the background, to perform their Duty Of Care and protect all out health.Orange FIVE on Thursday 23 May 2013, 12:00 - 13:00 BSThttp://www.ealingair.org.uk/AirQuality/LatestReadings.aspx?SiteCode=EA8&SiteName=Ealing%20-%20Horn%20Lane

Rosco White ● 4864d

Thanks for the update Rosco. I am attending the CARA (Creffield Road residents Assocation AGM tonight and expect to have it discussed there also. The situation must not be handed back to the Environment agency for more 'monitoring'

Maire Lowe ● 4863d

My experience and opinion is that The Environment Agency are weak, gutless, and ineffective, interested only in monitoring & gathering data, with the occasional token gesture of their watered down version of "enforcement".Ealing Council are the lesser of two evils, however may be more inclined to act because the problem is more on their "patch", so to speak.The manner in which this PM10 pollution problem has been consistently ignored for so long is scandalous.Of course, no-one will be fired over it, more likely promoted, in our warped Government of today.

Rosco White ● 4863d

On the actonw3.com website Cllr Mahfouz has responded to criticisms that the council is not doing enough to clean up Horn Lane.  He uses council officers’ somewhat misleading bar chart to argue that “PM10 levels have dropped quite considerably in recent years”.  Once you strip out the distraction of what happened some years ago you are left with an essentially flat picture that says that Horn Lane has been hovering around the annual limit value for the protection of human health laid down in EU directive 1999/30/EC of 40ug/m3 for PM10s.  Cllr Mahfouz seems to think that this an OK place to be.  It isn’t.  Cllr Mahfouz is unwise to be so complacent about this issue.  When his boss Cllr Bell had these figures brought to his attention he had the good sense to at least promise to take action.  Last Tuesday when the council invited West Acton Residents Association (WARA) to meet with officers and Cllr Bell, he suggested that he would contact Chris Smith, chairman of the Environment Agency, who was his boss in a previous life.  By Thursday, at the Overview and Scrutiny meeting called by the Conservative opposition on the council, this promise had developed into an “Air Quality Summit for Horn Lane”.  Cllr Mahfouz was at that meeting and would have heard the committee ask that both local councillors and representatives of residents associations be invited to take part.  This is potentially a good result for residents, although they will be sceptical as previous meetings with the Environment Agency at Parliament arranged by local MP Angie Bray did not produce obvious progress.  The opposition has successfully used the mechanisms of the council to raise this issue up the administration’s agenda.  Cllr Bell seems to be listening.  Cllr Mahfouz not so much.

Phil Taylor ● 4863d

PhilThanks for this.  Only five months in to 2013 and already we are going to top 2010. Today's PM 10 level is 6/10, Nitrogen dioxide 1/10.If Councillor Bassam Mafouz expects us to swallow the Bull S*** response on the front page, I suggest that he resigns from politics before he is booted out.  Further, I would say that this administration are only making a token gesture, with no substance. Let's face it, do nothing for three years, then look active before the next local elections, that also goes for our scrounging Acton central/east Acton councillors.  I seem to remember one councillor saying "I was born on Grafton Rd, you know me, vote for me".  Exactly why I didn't vote for you.  The position of a councillor is to represent the ward, not self ego, or choose to remain mute, or run away, on important issues. (Enterprise, CPZ and POLLUTION.)Would our councillors like to come on this forum and challenge my remarks, I doubt it.

Nikki Howard ● 4863d

The other measure on the graph is also very misleading.  If there have been 38 days above 50ug/m3 in 2013 to date then based on this rate we could expect 91 days in the full year!  (38 / 5months) x 12months.

Paul Scullion ● 4863d

Quite so.  I just thought that I would keep my argument simple!

Phil Taylor ● 4862d

I have received the following response :"Enquiry regarding Horn Lane Waste Management siteThank you for your email. You have requested the following information from our Public Register;a) copies of the annual environmental performance reports supplied to the Environment Agency since 1st January 2010 by the licence holder operating the waste management plant on land at 307 Horn Lane, Acton, London W3 0BP (believed to operate under licence EAWML80060)b) copies of any notifications to the EA of breaches of the trigger levels of monitored dust/ particulate matter relating to this site in the period 1st January 2013 to 28th April 2013.Our response is as follows;a) We do not have any copies of the annual environmental performance reports supplied to us since 1st January 2010 by the licence holder operating the waste management plant on land at 307 Horn Lane, Acton, London W3 0BP.We have taken an enforcement decision that this information is not necessary and a burden on the operator as we are already aware of the environmental performance of the site as a result of our regular inspection programme of the site. We intend to remove this permit condition when the Environmental Permit is reviewed in coming years.b) We have provided copies of appendix B notifications recording breaches of the trigger levels for PM10 relating to this site in the period 1st January 2013 to 28th April 2013. The information you have requested is attached to this email in several PDF files. If you do not have a PDF viewer installed on your computer you can download a copy from the following link free of charge - http://get.adobe.com/uk/readerIf I can be of any further help, please contact me."Unfortunately, the pdf files giving the details of the 2013 breaches were not attached - so I have requested them to be sent again.It seems odd in the circumstances for the enforcement team decision to be to reduce the monitoring/reporting requirements !Perhaps I should have asked for information on the scope and regularity of the EA inspection regime.......

Tim Henderson ● 4858d

Another evasive response.  When will the council and EA take responsibility?  Sorry, I forgot they are gutless.We intend to remove this permit condition when the Environmental Permit is reviewed in coming years.How many more years do we have to wait?

Nikki Howard ● 4858d

The Environment Agency have replied back to me with the completed Appendix B forms for reporting breaches of the limits for TSP (total suspended particulates)/PM10 :https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/horn_lane_waste_management_siteUnfortunately the form does not record the extent of the breach (how high the readings were) - only , for most reports, a table of times, wind speeds and wind directions.From the frequency of recurrence and persistence during the day, one suspects that the reported "measures taken to prevent a recurrence of the incident" are not actually sufficient to eliminate the current problems.

Tim Henderson ● 4855d

Hanger Lane & Western Avenue both ONLY at Green 2.And why might that be?Answers on a postcard please to Ealing Borough Council and The Environment Agency.Friday 31 May 2013, 17:00 - 18:00 BSThttp://www.ealingair.org.uk/AirQuality/LatestReadings.aspx

Rosco White ● 4855d

The ENTIRE rest of London is only Green 1s and 2s.Saturday 1 June 2013, 09:00 - 10:00 BSThttp://www.ealingair.org.uk/AirQuality/LatestReadings.aspx

Rosco White ● 4855d

Face it, they don't care. When I spoke at the scrutiny committee a few weeks ago, the little nods and winks between the officer speaking in the subject and Cllr Mafouz slightly turned my stomach, especially their attempts to turn it into a party-political issue. A couple of the councillors from the west of the borough who felt the need to comment even when they clearly knew nothing about the problem made you wonder if these people have any on-off switch.The most ridiculous statement was by that officer claiming it wasn't the most polluted street in London, just the most polluted with a monitoring site,  as if monitoring sites are put up randomly rather than in problem areas. If he is our line of defence against the polluters, we have no chance.

Ron Lewis ● 4850d

Cllr Mafouz slightly turned my stomach,Only slightly!  His whole attitude makes me sick to the core.  Julian Bell is not much better.

Nikki Howard ● 4850d

I believe Cllr. M lives in Grafton Road, so he and his family will be breathing in all this very dangerous air.Does he not care about the health of his family I wonder?And is putting politics before them?

dee cook ● 4849d

I believe Cllr. M lives in Grafton Road, I bloody hope not.  We got rid of of the two we had, both very unpleasant.

Nikki Howard ● 4849d

According to his councillor page, he owns a home in Greenford

Ron Lewis ● 4849d