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Please switch your engine off!
Stortington’s pollution is harmful to our health - everyone can help
by switching engines off when stationary.
By Georgia Brown & Jack Walker
It may be no secret that Storrington has previously
been exposed as having the worst air quality and
highest levels of pollution in the South East, with data
suggesting that the quality of air has previously plum-
meted to rates even worse than London.
The high levels of traffic congestion through Storring-
ton High Street and surrounding areas contribute to
the remarkable levels of harmful emissions released
into the air from car engines. Often at a gridlock,
peak time traffic queues through our narrow high
street contribute @ worrying level of harmful pollut-
ants into the air on a daily basis. Almost a decade on
from the first Air Quality Action Pian implemented by
Horsham District Council (HDC) to bring long-term
benefits to people in the village, it seems that it is,
now time for the community to acknowledge the pol-
lution crisis to help the council tackle the issue.
The graph below shows a comparison in levels of n-
trogen oxides (NOx) as nitrogen dioxide (NO2) across
the last decade. NOx is released into the atmosphere
when fuels, such as petrol, are burned. High levels of
such emissions can inflame the airways in our lungs.
causing serious health problems. In Britain alone,
known NO2 emissions have been estimated to kill
sills ce
4 ‘Storrington Roadside
(0170772010 -0110772019
+1000
ugm-3
Set SS
| Source: Air Quality England www.airqualityengland.co.uk
23,500 people every year, according to aerosol sci-
‘ence professor lan Colbeck of the University of Essex.
The concentration of air pollutant is measured in
micrograms per cubic meter of air (ugm-3). The Euro-
pean Commission environmental department con-
sider exposure to any level of air pollutant over 200
gm-3 for over an hour to be harmful to our health.
Levels of air pollutant over 10 years recorded in Stor-
rington Roadside are presented in the below graph,
depicting a scary reality regarding the pollutants in
the atmosphere in Storrington.
What can pollution do to our health?
Air pollution can cause serious health problems.
‘Around 1 in 10 cases of lung cancer in the UK are
caused by air pollution and, according to the World
Health Organisation, high levels of pollutants in Euro-
pean cities can lower life
expectancy by anywhere
between 2 to 24 months.
Air pollution can have
especially negative ef-
Recommended | fects on vulnerable popu-
safe level of air | ‘ation groups like the
pollutant elderly and children. The
British Lung Foundation
says that young children
can develop asthma from
| breathing in polluted air
and can even be at a
higher risk of getting lung
cancer when they get
older. Older citizens are
already predisposed to
respiratory conditions and
| breathing in excessive
NO2 may cause further
health problems for them.
2018's Air Quality Man-
agement Annual Status Report from Horsham District
Council revealed that Storrington’s air quality still
needs to be improved. Since 2016, a slight decrease
in NOx levels was observed, but the levels still ex:
ceeded: objectives in Manleys Hill and School Hill
West Street and High Street were both within 10% of
01-01-19‘the objective. The highest hourly average concentra-
tion levels of NO2 (above 40yg/m3) were recorded in
Peak traffic times on Monday and Tuesday mornings
when people may be driving to work or school, All the
traffic that congests Stortington's roads releases
harmful pollutants throughout our town,
What can be done?
With all these facts considered, despite HDC’s efforts,
It could be said that we need to do something to com.
bat air pollution as a community.
HDC have implemented Action Plans over the years to
tackle the crisis, including:
+ A Traffic Regulation Order to prohibit waiting, load-
ing and unloading on North Street (at the Junction
with the High Street) is being implemented immi-
nently and the Parish Council will be urging HDC to.
enforce these resttictions vigorously.
+A Traffic Regulation Order to prohibit lorry move-
ments into and out of School Hill at the junction
with Manleys Hill is also being implemented with
advisory signs already in place.
+ There is stil the possibility of two bypasses on the
‘27 from Worthing and Arundel to give cars and
lorries an alternative route in order to reduce con-
gestion through Storrington and surrounding towns.
Highways England are planning on starting the con.
struction of the Arundel bypass by 2022 which will
follow the preferred route to be announced in
2020. They have also looked into improvements
between Worthing and Lancing.
‘+ Changes to the crossings on the High Street have
been considered in order to improve traffic flow,
The authorities can only do so much to tackle the
high levels of pollution in Storrington and surrounding
areas. What is important, is that everyone recognises
the threat high levels of emissions have to our health,
and acts accordingly to improve the local air quality,
{It’s not just the through traffic
‘When walking through Storrington, it is not uncom:
mon to see people leaving their vehicles running
whilst stationary. You can see this when observing
People stopping at cash points, shopping at Waitrose
and even outside Storrington Primary School, when
the jeopardy caused from toxic fumes into’ young
lungs is at its highest.
Switch off and save
Turning off your car's engine while stationary will not
only help the environment, but will also save money
‘and petrol. According to research conducted by Vehi
Cle Lab, on average, an idling car wastes 1/7 to 1/5
of a gallon (0.6 - 0.9 litres) of petrol every hour. With
petrol being about £1.28 per litre, every hour of idling
could cost up to £4.45. Drivers turning off and re~
starting their car when stationary in traffic for more
than 10 seconds actually uses less fuel than when
their car is left running. In modern cars, starting the
engine uses nowhere near as much fuel as older cars
that would need a gush of fuel to start the erigine.
Local issues 17
The best way to improve our air quality is to come
together and make changes to reduce our carbon
footprint and save the environment. With pollution
levels that have been higher than London's, it is es-
sential that we take action and make a change for
the better.
To tackle this issue, Sussex Local will be pushing
councils and others to campaign for switching off
engines when stationary to help contribute to cleaner
air in our local area. Everyone can help by:
+ Turning off engines when sitting in traffic.
+ Making sure engines are turned off when your car is
parked, even when loading.
++ Sharing lifts at busy times such as the school run or
work commute to limit traffic,
‘+ Wherever possible, using public transport, cycling or
Just walking.
Every individual action can make a dent - let's see
what we can do together.
Georgia Brown has started her second year Joural-
sm Masters course. Jack Walker is in his A level year
after which he aims to pursue a career in journalism,
Editor's Note
We work and live in Storrington with our two young
children, one of whom has mild asthma, so you could
say we live and breathe this issue daily,
The issue came to a head a couple of months ago for
Us when someone told us they had seen a powerful
‘SUV with two exhausts belching out fumes into the
faces of people walking up the slope into the
Waitrose car park. There was no sign of the driver,
but the passenger inside advised that the driver had
gone shopping in Waitrose! On another occasion re-
ently, | personally witnessed from our office window
8 car idling for no less than 20 minutes whilst the
driver stood outside it using his phone. itis also not
uncommon to see stationary cars with engines run-
ning and drivers sitting in them near Storrington Pri
mary school.
‘As Georgia and Jack were with us in the Summer for
a period, | asked them to research and write this arti
le. | think they did a good job and hope you agree. All
feedback would be welcome to info@sussexiocal.net
ac