The following is taken from David Drew's column from this week's SNJ (Wed 16).

There can be nothing more important than the air we breathe, and I have long been concerned about improving air quality.

Air pollution contributes to about 40,000 early deaths a year in the UK.

The government published its Clean Air Strategy on Monday with promises to reduce emissions from Particulate Matter (PM).

These fine particles are a major health worry as they can penetrate the lungs and enter the bloodstream. The government has already acknowledged the risk posed by diesel engines.

But the government’s pledges in its new strategy are vague.

As well as being a member of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Air Quality, I have been working with experts who are concerned about the monitoring of emissions from waste incinerators which is of vital importance here in Stroud as work on the Javelin Park incinerator nears completion.

Last summer, UKWIN published a report that showed the PM released from 36 incinerators in 2017 was equivalent to the emissions from more than a quarter of a million 40-tonne lorries travelling 75,000 miles a year.

We found that the very smallest particles were not being adequately monitored and called for far more rigorous systems to be put in place.

The Environment Agency has taken heed of some of the findings and now requires incinerators to monitor a greater range of PM. But this still does not include the smallest of these particles, thought to be the most dangerous because of their ability to enter our bloodstream through gasification.

As science advances, so must our regulatory systems, to take a more precautionary approach.

Burning waste is bad for our pockets and the planet. We must not let it also wreak an unacceptable toll on our health.