Special Report: Rainham Residents Begin Checking Air Quality Near Launders Lane-Just What Are PM2.5 Levels And Are High Levels Impacting Residents?

Invisible particles, toxic fumes and a summer of suffocating conditions — Rainham residents say enough is enough.

Residents living near Launders Lane in Rainham have taken matters into their own hands, using PM2.5 readers to check the quality of the air around their homes. Just last week, a low-level fog was spotted drifting across Spring Farm, accompanied by a stench so strong that neighbours described it as “taking their breath away”.

Residents have been out clocking PM 2.5 readings across different parts of the area around Launders Lane and on the site itself. One resident who wished to remain anonymous, took to checking levels from a distance to gradually getting closer and closer where levels next to the smoke itself, went off the chart as expected.

As residents fear for their health, PM 2.5 readers are being taken on their journeys to check the smokey air as they encounter it.

Catherine, a member of the Launders Lane Steering Group, told the Havering Daily: “Since my hospital stay we haven’t been able to have windows open, despite paying for fly screens earlier in the year. We have to run fans 24/7. Living like this is a constant worry. After inhaling toxic fumes and nearly losing my life once, I fear it could happen again.

“This morning I walked into the kitchen and, even with all windows shut, the acrid smell hit me and triggered a coughing fit. It’s totally unacceptable.”

But Just What Are PM2.5 Particles?

PM2.5 refers to particulate matter measuring 2.5 micrometres or smaller — about 30 times narrower than a human hair. These tiny, invisible particles are dangerous precisely because they can penetrate deep into the lungs and even enter the bloodstream, causing lasting harm.

Sources include:

• Vehicle exhausts and industrial emissions
• Wood-burning stoves, bonfires and wildfires
• Indoor sources such as cooking, smoking, candles and heating appliances

Both the World Health Organization and UK Government stress there is no safe dose of PM2.5 exposure. Long-term inhalation increases the risk of asthma, bronchitis, heart disease, and premature death.

A Community in Crisis

For many Rainham residents, the problem is not just physical health but mental well-being. Messages shared with campaigners reveal people with COPD and other conditions struggling to breathe, while others admit the situation is pushing them towards depression.

Catherine added: “So far, despite living like a prisoner, I’ve managed not to get depressed. But I do get very down and wonder how long I can keep this up.”

This comes in the wake of Clear the Air in Havering’s successful judicial review, which ruled that Havering Council unlawfully and prematurely designated the vast illegal landfills on Launders Lane. Yet despite this victory, residents say they’ve endured “another summer of hell” with no updates from the council.

Ruth Kettle-Firsby, a campaigner for Clear The Air Havering, now insist that Havering Council must apply the Contaminated Land Statutory Guidance lawfully when reconsidering the designation. Anything less, they warn, will leave families trapped in these conditions yet again.

As one furious resident summed up: “We are angry, exhausted, and sick of being ignored. We deserve clean air — it’s a basic human right.”

Decisions are being made and meetings held without the knowledge of residents living under these conditions. It is these residents who are on the frontline and experience the everyday challenges of living next to this landfill. Yet it is these same people who are in the words of a resident, “kept in the dark like mushrooms”, and frequently not invited to meetings or decisions being made that impact their futures.

Landowner Responsibility

Campaigners stress that although Havering Council has a statutory duty to assess the site under contaminated land laws, the ultimate responsibility lies with the landowner to resolve the problem.

The fight for clean air continues…………

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