No Smoke Without Barbecues
The Grim Reaper
No. 15 in a never-ending series. Winter 1995
As the first winter smog descended on Bristol (appropriately on Halloween night) it was with some nostalgia that I looked back to the balmy days of the long hot summer and the endless barbecues in the graveyard. I've lost count of the number of steaks, burgers, sausages and spare ribs I grilled. Imagine my dismay then, to read that the charcoal smoke from barbecues emits airborne carcinogens known as polycylic aromatic hydrocarbons. What's more, the number of these aggressive little fellows increased when meat was being cooked.
Britain has a long tradition of barbecuing stretching back to pig roasts and witch burning. I for one would be greatly saddened to see this great British tradition abandoned as a result of this scare, but I shall as a precaution be removing my in-car barbecue and returning it to B&Q.
Polycylic aromatic hydrocarbons are not exclusive to barbied burgers. They are also produced in rather huger volumes by cars - especially diesels. It brings a wry grin to my face to learn that diesels which so-called greens bought in large numbers to salve their consciences are now known to be the most dangerous polluters on the road, producing huge amounts of particulates, commonly known as 'smoke' The smallest of these particles,known as PM10's are also thought to be the most dangerous as they are sucked deep into the lungs. To quote The Guardian (no plagiarism here), The immune system thinks they are bacteria and attacks them, causing inflammation which makes asthma and heart problems worse.
So much worse, in fact, that the government now accepts that 10,000 people die from the effects of PM10's each year.
A government committee has been working on determining a safe level for particulates, but had the rug pulled out from under its feet when new research evidence was recently released by the National Society for Clean Air. This showed conclusively that there is no safe level of particulates when they are inhaled into the lungs, and has rung alarm bells in government corridors.
As the diesel scare grows, the Grim Reaper would like to make his New Year predictions. Next year will see a collapse in the sale of barbecues and a stampede by a few guilty greens to trade in their diesels for bicycles. But really, nothing much will change, allowing me to grimly reap my way through 1996.
A happy but not too healthy new year to all my readers.
The Grim Reaper
