Government urged to test air quality in Gibraltar

The progressive Democratic Party of Gibraltar (PDP) has urged the government to take a closer look at air quality in the country.

Following the result of a study released by the Andalucian School of Public Health last week which claimed that benzene levels in the air violate European Union guidelines, the PDP has requested that the government conducts an "independent investigation" into the issue.

This call comes after local environmental group the ESG criticised the findings of the study and claimed that the criteria was not comprehensive enough, Panorama.gi reported.

In a bid to clear confusion, the PDP recommended that the government needs to step in on the issue.

The PDP's environmental spokesperson Dr Gavin Gafan said: "Human exposure to benzene is a global health problem. Benzene has the ability to target multiple organs in the body causing a host of health problems and has been demonstrated to be carcinogenic."

Last week in the UK, pesticide campaigner Georgina Downs won a high court ruling after years of collating information to illustrate that crop spraying in the country's rural areas poses a health risk to those living in close proximity to treated fields.