9-Year-Old Girl Dies Due to Air Pollution [First Case]

A nine-year-old girl has died due to air pollution that aggravated her severe asthma. She is the first-ever person to have listed this as the cause of death.

In February 2013, Ella Kissi-Debrah died after air pollution has triggered her asthma, based on the British Lung Foundation. Her death reason for her death certificate indicates that she died because of excessive pollution from the air that she breathes.

Too much air pollution

The Guardian reported the statement made by a coroner in London, Philip Barlow. On Wednesday, Barlow said in an inquest that Kissi-Debrah died of asthma after she got exposed to so much air pollution.

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The Coroner said that there was too much nitrogen dioxide in the air where the girl had lived. He noted that the amount of particulate matter in the air had exceeded the World Health Organization guidelines. Kissi-Debrah used to live in one of the busiest roads in London, Lewisham, near the South Circular.

The girl got exposed too much

Barlow told the outlet that the nine-year-old's whole life had been too close to highly polluted roads. He noted that because of that fact, he concluded that the child was exposed to too much PM and nitrogen dioxide.

According to BBC, Barlow said to the officials that apart from failing to reduce the nitrogen dioxide levels, giving incomplete information to Kissi-Debrah's mom could have possibly added to the cause of her daughter's death.

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At the inquest, officials have known that the child had suffered multiple seizures; other than that, they also heard that within three years before her death, Kissi-Debrah got admitted to the hospital 27 times.

A coughing fit had started it all

Rosamund Kissi-Debrah, the child's mother, explained how it started during the hearing. She said that they first brought her daughter to the hospital in 2010. Due to a coughing fit, Kissi-Debrah got admitted. The "BBC" reported what Rosamund has noted about her daughter's cause of death. The mom believes that people should know that her daughter was barely breathing when they rushed her to the hospital.

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According to Sky News, a previous inquest in 2014 concluded that the cause of death of Kissi-Debrah was acute respiratory failure. New evidence proved that air pollution had added to the girl's severe asthma.

Sadiq Khan, the London mayor, tweeted that there was a "landmark moment" to the new ruling. He stated that that day is a turning point, especially that toxic air pollution has been a public health crisis.

He also noted that Ministers and the previous Mayor must learn from the Coroner's ruling because they have acted too slowly in the past. Khan also said that they must tackle the public health crisis more in London and the rest of the country.