100% of Lyon schools have achieved pollution limits, study reveals
On the choked at school. The study that the Breathe associationunveiled exclusively at 20 minutes, this Tuesday, is alarming. From 2015 to 2019, its scientists examined pollution levels near schools in Auvergne Rhône-Alpes, comparing them to the new WHO recommendations of September 2021.
An online map allows you to click on the establishment of your choice and find out the rate of three major pollutants (PM10, PM2.5 and NO2).
It appears that 100% of establishments in Lyon, Chambéry, Grenoble and Annecy comply with the thresholds recommended by the WHO. “We expected such results, because we know that in France the levels of pollution are not good”, indicates Tony Renucci, director of Respire, a citizen association created in 2011, which has become a benchmark player in terms of air pollution. .
Children are the most vulnerable to pollution
“With the lowering of the WHO recommendations, last September, to one divided by four the threshold limit for nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and by two the limit threshold for fine particles, it was therefore obvious that we was going to have bad results,” he explains. “But it’s not just a matter of mathematics, it’s a matter of public health, and if they were lowered, it’s because it’s there is an urgent need to act,” he adds.
For its study, Respirez analyzed the reduced air of schools, not that of the interior. These data are therefore valid for everyone, but Tony Renucci reminds us that if children are targeted, it is because they are “the most vulnerable to air pollution”. Unicef indicates that in France, three out of four children breathe toxic air, and worldwide, this concerns nine out of ten children”. NO2 represents “an accumulated risk factor for serious respiratory diseases in children”, while “PM2.5 is the most toxic pollutant, it penetrates then deep into the lungs passes into the bloodstream to reach all organs” , says the study.
Efforts to be continued in terms of mobility
In Lyon itself, “concentrations are improving on each pollutant on average”. But make no mistake about it: on the NO2, 47 establishments went from a “very worrying air” to a “bad air”. The association notes that if “the overall trend in PM10 concentrations is improving sharply between 2015 and 2019”, thanks to the efforts of communities, “NO2 pollution levels remain above WHO recommendations”. As for PM2.5 concentration levels, they are “improving” but “remain above WHO recommendations”.
With its study, Respire calls on communities to continue their efforts: “We know that the first source of air pollution in France is road traffic, in particular nitrogen dioxide”, recalls Tony Renucci. “We must therefore reduce this, by promoting urban development, pedestrianization, soft mobility, public transport…”
To clean up schools, the association recommends the use of CO2 sensors and air purifiers. “A recent parliamentary report also goes in this direction, concluded the director of Respire. We must take advantage of this type of study to test existing systems in real conditions, which would be effective, and perhaps encourage the government to commit resources. Equipping schools with CO2 sensors would cost the State 20 million euros. This is small compared to the cost that a generation affected by respiratory diseases would generate.