Labour calls for government action on air pollution

Government has done too little and too late in regards to the quality of air, Labour MP Leo Brincat said.

"Although the government has carried out studies on the quality of air and even pledged to centre its new environmental policy around this issue, results obtained so far show otherwise," Brincat said.

The MP pointed out that experts in the field agree that the government has done too little and too late.

While noting that the Malta Environment and Planning Authority (Mepa) and government experts are more than capable of carrying out their job properly, Brincat urged the government to be more pro-active in regards to this controversial matter, especially in the light of recently published studies in the US.

He said theses studies show that "fine particles, invisible to the eye cause lung and heart damage and it has also been proven that they cause brain damage."

Brincat said: "Considering the amount of fine particles produced by power plants and cars, two problematic sectors for our country, no administration can afford to ignore the situation when the threats are so serious and dangerous."