Letter: Secret polluters

Sir: Richard Cormack (letter, 10 February) should focus his concern north of the border. The real scandal is not The Independent's headline, which treated pollution figures for England and Wales as applying to the whole of Britain, but that similar information on emissions from factories cannot be made available to those living in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

People throughout the UK should have the right to know about who is releasing pollution into their area and what the potential health impacts might be. Currently, accessing most pollution information in Scotland is complicated, time consuming and expensive. In some cases the figures are either not available or not even collected. Easy public access to environmental information is key if we are to have environmental justice in Scotland. Friends of the Earth Scotland supports the aims of Matthew Taylor MP's Community Right to Know Bill, which would make such information more easily available to the public. We will be seeking similar if not stronger powers from the new Scottish Parliament.

Dr RICHARD DIXON

Head of Research

Friends of the Earth Scotland

Edinburgh