Did pollution kill Ella?
The Story
The Times
3.9 • 1.6K Ratings
🗓️ 7 December 2020
⏱️ 28 minutes
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Summary
Today, Rosamund Adoo-Kissi-Debrah will speak at a High Court inquest into the death of her daughter Ella who died following an asthma attack in 2013. She believes it was the high levels of pollution that caused her daughters death. If the coroner rules that air pollution directly caused Ella's death, she would become the first person in the UK and possibly the world to have that listed on her death certificate.
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Guests:
Rosamund Adoo-Kissi-Debrah, Ella’s mother.
Ben Webster, Times Environment editor.
Charlie Parker, Times trainee reporter.
Host: Manveen Rana.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Ella Kisei Deborah was just nine when she died in February 2013. |
| 0:08.0 | For three years she'd been suffering from breathing problems which was so serious she'd had to be |
| 0:14.6 | hospitalized 28 times. |
| 0:18.2 | What started off as a cold ended up blowing up into one of the worst cases of asthma ever recorded. |
| 0:25.6 | But could the asthma attack that killed Ella have been caused by pollution? |
| 0:30.2 | A report by scientists in 2018 uncovered an alarming link. |
| 0:36.0 | Ella could become the first person to have air pollution mentioned as a contributory factor on her death certificate. |
| 0:43.0 | This week, after years of waiting, a new inquest is being held to consider the evidence. |
| 0:50.0 | This is stories of our times from The Times and the Sunday Times. |
| 0:54.7 | I'm Manvin Rana. |
| 0:56.8 | Today, did pollution kill Ella? |
| 1:01.0 | We look at the story behind the Times Clean Air campaign and the inquest which could make history. Research shows that air pollution can damage every organ in the body. |
| 1:19.0 | Ben Webster is the Times Environment Editor. |
| 1:22.0 | He's been looking into the estimated 40,000 deaths |
| 1:26.7 | linked to air pollution in the UK every year. He says pollution is linked to cancer, asthma, stroke and heart disease, diabetes, obesity, dementia, low birth weight, it even reduces intelligence by damaging our cognitive performance. |
| 1:49.0 | Ben started looking into air pollution because of one little girl, Ella Kissy Deborah. |
| 1:56.4 | She was a nine-year-old girl who lived in London with her two sisters and her mother Rosamond. |
| 2:00.9 | I've seen pictures of her. She has this beautiful big smile. She |
| 2:05.0 | looks like a healthy happy child. And what's also important to know is that she |
| 2:11.3 | lived with her family beside a very busy main road. |
| 2:15.0 | Ben has met Ella's mother, Rosamund a number of times. |
| 2:19.0 | Earlier this year, before the inquest began, I went to meet Rosamond too and you'll hear from her |
... |
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