LONDON, England (Reuters) — A London-based designer has developed pollution-busting face masks to protect children from the English capital city’s toxic air.
Doodle Masks come in colourful designs, including Disney film themes, designed to attract children, and are sold for £7.50 ($9.41 USD) each online.
“The face mask is important because you want to protect your children from taking the pollution into their lungs and affecting them, especially as my son could develop asthma in the future, having me as an asthmatic. So anything to prevent pollution and try to reduce them is the minimum you can do,” said Selma Abadi, whose six-year-old son Yousif wears a mask on his walk to school.
Yousif’s message for UK Prime Minister Theresa May was a plea for cleaner air.
“I should say we should stop everyone from throwing rubbish on the floor and get lots of electric cars so we don’t make that bad air pollution,” Yousif said.
Nearly 9,500 Londoners die prematurely every year as a result of long-term exposure to air pollution, according to a 2015 study by researchers at King’s College London.
Tiaan Trahms says his cotton ‘Doodle Masks’ act as a barrier to a substantial amount of airborne particles, in particular the deadly, microscopic PM2.5 particles that belch out of car exhausts. PM2.5 particles are up to just 10 micrometers in diameter and can get into people’s lungs, potentially causing serious health problems.
“I did a lot of research into cotton, the types of cotton, the inter-twinned cotton, different layers of cotton and how many you really have to have together for it to do something and the way my masks are made with the two separated layers of cotton and the way that the fabric is woven is actually scientifically proven to reduce between 40 to 60 percent of these particle intakes,” Trahms said.
“As adults it affects us but not as heavily as children and the main reason for that is because their lung development isn’t to the point where it’s fully developed like an adult so they are affected almost 60 or 70 percent worse,” said Trahms.
Last year Britain’s High Court ruled that UK government measures to combat air pollution were failing to comply with European Union rules on nitrogen dioxide limits.
Later this year a new charge on the oldest and most polluting vehicles comes into force in an attempt to improve air quality.
The 10-pound ($12.43) daily tax will apply to diesel and petrol vehicles typically registered before 2006 which do not meet the so-called “Euro 4” 2005 European directive to regulate vehicle emissions.