Environmental Pollution & Inquests - What Might the Future Hold?
In December 2020, Southwark Coroner Philip Barlow made legal history when he found that air pollution had made a ‘material contribution’ to the death of a nine-year old child, Ella Kissi Debrah. 4-5 Gray's Inn Square's Ramya Nagesh looks at this case in more depth in his upcoming MBL webinar, covering:
- The background to the Ella Kissi case ,
- A look at the inquest itself and the Coroner's ruling
- The Prevention of Future Deaths Report issued by the Coroner
- The government’s response to that report
- What might the future hold?
The case and subsequent findings become even more relevant in light of a recent research report delivered by Professor Prof Charles Swanton of the Francis Crick Institute and University College London to the European Society for Medical Oncology conference in Paris. Findings in the research outline how fine particulates contained in car fumes “awaken” dormant mutations in lung cells and tip them into a cancerous state. The work helps explain why so many non-smokers develop lung cancer and is a “wake-up call” about the damaging impact of pollution on human health.
