Executive Summary
By Joe Hendry
In the past few years
there have been
many
news headlines about compelling studies on the health effects of air
pollution.
The headlines, along with personal experiences, prompted the Toronto
Hoof
and Cycle Courier Coalition to investigate the new evidence on
pollution
as it pertains to bicycle couriers. Our findings are summarized the
report “Choking
us to death: The Air Pollution Crisis
and
Its Effect on Bicycle Couriers.”
What the evidence
reveals is that
Toronto’s
air is not safe for bike messengers and the outdoor space of our city
is
a dangerous work place. Studies show there is no safe level of smog.
Couriers
spend all day outside working. Clean air is fuel for our engines. Smog
not only makes it more difficult for us to work but it also has drastic
long-term consequences for our health. Smog has been shown to cause
irritations
in the lungs such as coughing and wheezing and breathing discomfort. It
also aggravates lung infections, reduces the capacity of the lungs and
promotes premature aging of the lungs. Air pollution is
responsible
for the large increase in asthma in recent years. It is also related to
diseases such as bronchitis and pneumonia. Smog results in over 1400
hospital
admissions annually in Ontario and it even leads to cancer and death.
According to the
Ministry of
Environment
and the Ontario Medical Association smog is responsible for at least
1800
deaths in the province every year and it may be as high as 6000 deaths.
The OMA has gone as far as declaring smog a public health crisis in the
province.
Convincing evidence
also points to a
need
for tougher pollution standards. The current allowable levels of ozone
and particulate matter are disturbingly high. Studies show that the
ozone
guideline is set at more than five times the limit needed to protect
our
health. The guideline for particulate matter is twice as high. New
studies
prove that diesel exhaust causes cancer but none of our governments
have
enacted new standards for diesel or diesel powered vehicles.
Although two out of
three Torontonians
believe their health has already been affected by pollution and in fact
respiratory problems rank as their biggest health concern, governments
have yet to act. The provincial government has drastically cut
environmental
spending and withdrew all funding for public transit. Under the Harris
government Ontario has become a polluters’ haven. Regulations necessary
to ensure our health have been dismantled and the province has even
been
accused of breaking its own pollution laws. There is overwhelming
evidence
that the government of Ontario’s record on air pollution is reckless
and
negligent. In fact our government’s policies have exacerbated the
pollution
problem rather than confronted it. The province has made it easier for
the two worst sources of pollution to increase. Its policies toward
coal-fired
power plants and motor vehicles have directly influenced the health
crisis
and increased the deficit. The Harris government ruined the
much-delayed
Drive Clean program, as it was found to be ineffectual and not much
more
than propaganda for an election campaign.
The city of Toronto’s
recent record on
transportation is also deepening the crisis. The fare hike for public
transit
and the continued subsidy for motor vehicles will result in more smog
and
more health consequences for children, the elderly and bike couriers.
Toronto’s
failure to address Air Quality Advisory days and vehicles that spew
diesel
exhaust will have serious health implications for bike messengers
including
cancer and death.
The THC3 is calling
for specific
pollution
exposure studies on bike couriers. We fear that even the new
recommended
pollution guidelines and standards will not be stringent enough to
protect
couriers. And we suspect there are many as yet undiscovered health
risks
attributable to pollution for bicycle messengers. It is imperative that
individuals facing this level of health risk must be given as much
information
as possible.
The Toronto Hoof and Cycle Courier
Coalition
will not allow its members to be the regions’ canaries in the coal
mine.
Couriers are the most environmental friendly and energy efficient
sector
of society yet we are exposed to the greatest environmental health
risks.
At a minimum Ontario must implement the recommendations made by the
province’s
23,000 doctors. Failure to act will result in our determination to be
compensated
through the courts. Messengers whose health has been affected and
families
of messengers who pass on will be encouraged to bring action against
the
major parties responsible for the unsafe level of contaminants in the
air
and the governments that permitted them.
Choking
us to
death:
The Air Pollution Crisis and Its Effect on Bicycle Couriers
TORONTO BIKE MESSENGER ASSOCIATION (TOBMA)
(formerly Toronto Hoof & Cycle Courier Coalition)
May 1999
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