Give children clean air around their schools

Sir, – Many thanks to Joanne Hunt for her article, “Poor air quality has serious health implications – how clean is your area?” (September 15th).

Importantly this drew attention to the fact that children, due to their size, are closer to car exhaust pipes and therefore at greater risk of suffering negative effects from air pollution.

I would add to the list of concerns cited regarding lung and heart development. Unicef has presented research that highlights the dangers of air pollution exposure for child brain development. European studies have found differential development of memory in children, linked to the level of traffic around their schools. Forget homework – give children clean air around their schools to help them learn. – Yours, etc,

Dr AOIBHE KIERAN,