A 9-year-old girl in the UK who died after an asthma attack is believed to have been the first person in the world to have air pollution as a cause of death.
Exposure to “excessive air pollution” played a “significant” role in the death of Ella Kissi-Debrah, a forensic investigator who was found Wednesday in a historic ruling.
“Air pollution was a major factor that contributed to both the induction and exacerbation of asthma,” forensic scientist Philip Barlow said after a two-week hearing.
She said that in the three years prior to Ella’s death, she was exposed to levels of nitrogen dioxide and particles that exceeded World Health Organization guidelines.
Barlow added that “the main source of his exposure was traffic emissions.”
She lived near a busy Lewisham road in south-east London, which is often blocked by heavy traffic.
Before she died, she had been taken to the hospital almost 30 times with respiratory problems.
The decisive decision could force Britain to tighten traffic and clean up the city’s air.
Under European Union law, the average annual level of nitrogen dioxide concentration cannot exceed 40 micrograms per cubic meter of air, a target that Britain has lost for a decade.
The mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, described the coroner’s conclusion as an “emblematic moment”.
Ella’s mother, Rosamund, agreed.
“Today was an iconic case, a 7-year fight has caused air pollution to be recognized on Ella’s death certificate,” he tweeted.
“We hope this means saving the lives of many more children.”
With publishing cables