AQN Magazine - Issue 10 - Sept 2021

Issue 10

September 2021

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Air Quality News talks to the European Space Agency Air pollution and the growing mental health crisis

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Editorial Comment and Contacts

Welcome to Air Quality News magazine Contacts Publisher: David Harrison d.harrison@spacehouse.co.uk 01625 614 000 Group Editor: Pippa Neill pippa@airqualitynews.com 01625 666 396 Business Development Manager: Jason Coward jason@spacehouse.co.uk 07889 212414 Finance Manager: Jenny Leach jenny@spacehouse.co.uk 01625 614 000 Administration: Jenny Odgen admin@spacehouse.co.uk 01625 614 000 Subscriptions: Andrew Harrison subscriptions@airqualitynews.com 01625 614 000 Published 6 times a year Annual Subscription - £19.95 +VAT

Air Quality News - published by Spacehouse Ltd, Pierce House, Pierce Street, Macclesfield. SK11 6EX. Tel: 01625 614 000

This month’s magazine coincides with the Northern Air Quality News Conference, our first in-person event since 2019. We’re excited to be back meeting people in person again and back sharing ideas in the office.

In this month’s magazine, I had the pleasure of speaking to Dr Ben Veihelmann, atmospheric scientist at the European Space Agency. It is a fascinating interview all about his vital work using satellite data to measure air pollution from space. It’s easy to think of air pollution as a local issue, but as Ben mentions, air pollution knows no borders. Over the past 18 months we’ve seen air pollution plummet as the world went into lockdown, and then watched it skyrocket again as wildfires blanketed many countries in a thick smog. There has been a lot of volatility in the air quality world and assessing the situation from above has never been more important.

Elsewhere in the magazine, we have collaborated with EarthSense to investigate the true environmental and social impact of the UK’s growing warehouse facilities. There has been a 32% increase in the overall number of warehousing units since 2015, and with the Covid-19 pandemic exacerbating the trend towards online shopping, this figure shows no sign of slowing down. We assessed the personal air pollution exposure at Magna Park, Europe’s largest warehouse centre. The argument in favour of this monumental growth is that it will bring jobs and wealth to an area. However, as these jobs are often precarious and underpaid, we have questioned whether this is really a fair argument.

Chloe Coules has also explored the relationship between air pollution and mental health. The impact that air pollution has on our physical health is well documented and is something that we report on frequently at Air Quality News. However, the impact on our mental wellbeing is less understood. In this article, Chloe explores the shocking ways that air pollution can impact our memory, cognition and mental wellbeing.

I have also explored the connection between air pollution and the climate crisis. It is easy to isolate these as two separate issues, but as with most environmental concerns they are two sides of the same coin. In this article I have explored how the climate crisis may make air pollution worse, but also how climate change mitigation can help to reduce air pollution.

To everyone reading the magazine at the conference, welcome back - we hope you enjoy our fantastic line-up of speakers - and to everyone reading at home, we hope you enjoy another great issue!

All rights reserved. Reproduction, in whole or part without written permission is strictly prohibited.

Pippa Neill, editor.

Printed on FSC certified paper stock, using vegetable oil inks.

Fulfilment and distribution using 100% recycled envelopes.

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Contents

Features Contents Page 6-8: News

Page 10-12: Feature

Page 6-8 News: New project will address EV inequality

Page 18-20 Feature: Exclusive: The dark side of our online shopping obsession

Page 13: Advertorial

Page 14-16: Feature

Page 18-19-20: Feature

Page 22-24: Feature Page 10-12 Feature: Hidden harms: the impacts of air pollution on the mind

Page 22-24 Feature: The domino effect, air pollution and climate change

Page 26-27: The Big Interview

Page 29: Local Government

Page 30-31: Advertorial

Page 32-33: Legal Page 14-16 Feature: E10 petrol, is it worth it?

Page 26-27 The Big Interview: Dr Ben Veihelmann, European Space Agency

Page 32-33 Legal: People’s chance to go to court for their right to clean air

Page 34: Marketplace

Thanks to our contributors: Chloe Coules, Joanne Roney OBE and Katie Nield.

Partners

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News

in brief New rapid EV hub in Somerset Working in partnership with North Somerset Council, Yunex Traffic has installed two 50kW rapid charging units serving four parking bays.

Situated close to Portishead Marina in Somerset, the hub is part of four that are being delivered across the region.

The chargers will form part of Revive, the dedicated charging network for the West of England.

The rapid chargers will typically enable drivers to charge their vehicles within 30-60 minutes.

Cllr Bridget Petty, North Somerset Council’s executive member for climate emergency and engagement, said: ‘The new rapid charging hub near Portishead Marina, along with the growing Revive network, is a positive move towards our vision of a greener transport system which is kinder to the environment.’

Data scientists to address issues associated with EV rollout Ordnance Survey (OS) is inviting developers and data scientists to take part in the programme which will take place online from 6 -7 October.

The programme will focus on four key challenges: •H ow to level up EV infrastructure planning for local government in remote communities • What is the demand for charge points for electric vehicle fleets and where do they need to be developed •H ow can geospatial data contribute to changing behaviours among nonEV owners •O pen innovation – what other sustainable concepts can be created using geospatial data Longer lorries could help to cut emissions, says Department for Transport This announcement follows a nineyear trial of the longer-semi trailers (LSTs) – which can be up to 15.65 metres in length.

According to the Department for Transport, the trial saw a reduction in the number of lorries making journeys across the country, with an average 8% reduction in miles and a 6.3% reduction in pollution.

Overall it is estimated that the full rollout of LSTs could remove up to 1 in 8 freight journeys.

The Department for Transport will now consider these results but have said that these vehicles could be rolled out ‘sometime in 2022.’

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New project will address EV inequality A new project will address electric vehicle (EV) inequality in the London Borough of Lambeth.

EV

ownership is increasing year on year, with registrations up 117% in 2021 compared to last year.

However, the uptake has exposed various inequalities, with those living in urban centres, high-rise flats and council estates significantly less likely to have access to a private driveway, making it difficult to install home charging solutions.

As a result, households which have access to a driveway make up 80% of EV owners.

With approximately onethird of residents in Lambeth living on estates managed by the council, the council has partnered with Connected Kerb to improve EV charging infrastructure across the borough.

The project includes 22 on-street EV chargers across 11 council estates in the Borough, with the aim to provide easy access to public charging, even for those without off-street parking.

This forms part of the council’s wider strategy to work with multiple charge point operators to install more than

200 charge points by 2022, with the aim of ensuring that every household with no off-street parking is within a 5-minute walk of their nearest public charge point.

The council hope that this will act as a blueprint that can be adopted at scale across other boroughs, councils and cities across the UK.

The UK car tax system punishes low mileage drivers The current car tax system punishes low income and low mileage drivers, according to a new report published by the University of Manchester and By Miles.

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he research shows that even though lower-income drivers complete 40% fewer miles, these drivers pay 212% more per mile than wealthier drivers in car tax. This is because car tax is still charged at a flat rate.

Based on these findings, the authors are calling on the

government to adopt a usagebased tax system that charges and taxes motorists for the miles they actually drive and rewards those who drive less.

James Blackham, CEO of By Miles, said: ‘Lowerincome drivers in the UK face a triple-lock of hardship at the hands of our current car tax system. Despite driving shorter

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distances, less often and being priced out of more efficient vehicles, these households are being used to subsidise the driving behaviours of much wealthier households.

‘It’s not controversial to suggest that those who use the roads the most should shoulder more of the burden when it comes to paying for them.

‘We urge the Government to adopt a fairer approach to lower mileage drivers, charging and taxing motorists for the miles they actually drive and rewarding those who drive less.

We believe a new model would not only save most drivers money but also encourage and reward people to reduce emissions – however we choose to travel.’

News

Exposure to wildfire smoke is linked to premature birth Exposure to wildfire smoke during pregnancy increases preterm birth risk, according to researchers at Stanford University.

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he researchers analysed satellite data of smoke plumes and paired this with estimates of ground-level particulate matter (PM2.5) pollution.

They found that every additional day of smoke exposure during pregnancy raised the risk of preterm birth, regardless of race, ethnicity or income.

They found that a full week of exposure translated to a 3.4% greater risk relative to another exposed to no wildfire smoke.

Exposure to intense smoke in the second trimester – between 14 and 26 weeks of pregnancy – had the strongest impact.

The researchers have said that one possible explanation for this link is that the pollution may trigger an inflammatory

response, which then sets the delivery in motion.

With premature births costing the U.S healthcare system an estimated $25 billion per year, the researchers have highlighted that even modest reductions in preterm birth risk could yield ‘enormous societal benefits.’

Lead author of the study, Sam

Heft-Neal, said: ‘In the future, we expect to see more frequent and intense exposure to wildfire smoke throughout the west due to a confluence of factors, including climate change, a century of fire suppression and construction of more homes along the fire-prone fringes of forests, shrublands and grasslands.’

Royal Mail to trial new pollution-reducing tyres Royal Mail has announced plans to trial new tyres that are designed to reduce pollution.

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s the UK electrifies its transport fleet, researchers have raised concerns about tyre dust pollution. According to one study, air pollution from car tyres can be up to 1,000 times worse for health than from exhaust.

In a bid to tackle this, Royal Mail is collaborating with Transport for London and ENSO to trial new tyres which claim to produce less particulate matter (PM2.5) pollution than normal tyres.

According to ENSO, the tyres can also increase electric vehicle range by up to 11%.

Throughout the six-nine month trial, 15 electric vans at the West London Delivery Office, near Wembley, will be fitted with the new tyres.

The tyres will be monitored

and weighed every six weeks to measure their wear rate and to estimate the reduction in PM2.5 pollution.

The checks will also ensure that the tyres are wearing properly and there are no health, safety or vehicle wear and tear issues. If the trial is successful, the results may inform future purchasing decisions across Royal Mail’s fleet.

James Baker, chief engineer

and fleet director at Royal Mail said: ‘As a company, we are committed to making changes to our operations that reduce our environmental impact.

‘The trial and potential wide-scale introduction of more efficient and environmentally friendly tyres enables us to help achieve this, while allowing us to continue to deliver letters and parcels safely, efficiently and responsibly.’

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in briefin brief Energy supplier launches new EV tariff The new OVO tariff is the only green energy plan that brings customers separate rates for their car and home.

By splitting the EV charging costs from home electricity charges, customers will be credited back for the amount of electricity saved via EV smart charging every month.

According to OVO Energy, customers using the tariff could power their EV for just £100 across the year.

Drivers will also have access to Kaluza’s intelligent software, which uses AI algorithms to automatically optimise their car to charge during times of low energy demand when emissions and prices are also low.

Nottingham to receive nine new wireless electric taxis Wireless electric vehicle (EV) charging occurs when a compatible vehicle is stationary over a wireless induction pad which can be built into the roads surfaces.

Five plug-in hybrid LEVC TX taxis and four electric Nissan Dynamo taxis will promote the wireless charging network with branding that says: ‘This electric taxi will charge wirelessly.’

The taxis will be available on Nottingham’s streets for hail by the general public and will capture data including journey distances and battery level.

Posters inside the taxis will help inform passengers how wireless charging works and the benefits of charging wirelessly.

98% of state schools in London exceed PM2.5 limits According to new research, children in London are four times more likely to go to school in an area where air pollution exceeds World Health Organisation (WHO) limits.

The analysis also shows that in 2019, before the pandemic: • More than 1.2 million children in London attended schools in areas that exceed WHO limits for particulate matter (PM2.5).

• 98% of state primary and secondary schools in London are located in areas that exceed WHO limits, compared to 24% outside of London • On average, PM2.5 concentrations were a third (33%) higher at schools in London than in the rest of England.

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in brief Wildfire smoke may have caused an extra 19,700 Covid cases in the US The researchers built a statistical model in order to quantify the extent to which wildfire smoke may have contributed to excess Covid-19 cases and deaths in California, Oregon and Washington.

They looked at the connection between county and daily-level data on PM2.5, wildfire days from satellite data and the number of Covid-19 cases and deaths.

They found that from August 15 to October 15, 2020, when fire activity was greatest, daily levels of PM2.5 were significantly higher than usual, with a median of 31.2 µg/m3.

Air quality in Harrogate has improved, says the council While monitoring results have been steadily improving for a number of years, this is the first time that all four air quality management areas have seen nitrogen dioxide (NO2) pollution reduced to below the objectives set by the government.

The council has highlighted that they have taken various measures to improve air quality, including a trial of low-cost sensors in the air quality management zones, the introduction of a car club in Harrogate town centre, and they have also been working on the implementation of the Ultra-Low Emission Strategy.

New hydrogen fire engine research study begins The project will see hydrogen fuel engineering firm ULEMCo partner with Oxfordshire County Council’s Fire and Rescue Service.

The eight-month research project will involve creating a detailed model of the hydrogen energy requirement.

This will include the energy needed to pump water for a minimum of four hours, as well as the optimal range for such a vehicle.

The test process will gather realworld data based on the performance of a fuel cell over the course of the project.

ULEMCo will then design the hydrogen fuel cell electric powertrain for the vehicle, with the goal being a full specification and detailed engineered design for a prototype vehicle.

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Edinburgh cycle hire scheme to come to an end Council Leaders’ have expressed disappointment at the end of Edinburgh’s cycle hire scheme.

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he scheme was first introduced under the commitment to operate it with no public funding, however, according to council leaders Serco has now said that they will not continue the scheme on that basis The scheme will therefore cease operation on September 17 when the current contract comes to an end.

The council has said they are currently investigating alternative options to replace the scheme.

Council Leader Adam McVey said: ‘We are very disappointed that Serco has opted to walk away from the

popular shared bike hire scheme in Edinburgh.

‘We recognise that the bike hire scheme has helped more people get access to bikes, enjoying the benefits of fast, reliable, healthier journeys

around town. The withdrawal of Serco will come as a frustrating shock to many regular users of the bike hire scheme.

‘It sends absolutely the wrong message at a time when so many of us are deeply concerned about the climate emergency and what we can each do to combat the effects of human activity. Choosing to travel by bike is one of the easiest changes many of us can make.

‘We’re now working on a replacement bike hire scheme for the Capital. We are actively pursuing options to ensure that a replacement scheme is in place as quickly as possible.

Government launches long awaited hydrogen strategy The UK government has launched the first-ever Hydrogen Strategy.

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he plan outlines how the government will work with industry to meet its ambition of 5GW of low-carbon hydrogen production capacity by 2030 – this could replace gas in powering around 3 million UK homes each year as well as powering transport and some industry.

The government’s approach is based on the UK’s previous offshore wind strategy. One of the main tools used by the government to support offshore wind was the Contracts for Difference (CfD) scheme. This incentivises investment in renewable energy by providing developers with direct protection from volatile wholesale prices and protects consumers from paying increased support costs when electricity prices are high.

According to the government, a UK-wide hydrogen economy could be worth £900m and create over 9,000 high-quality jobs by 2030.

The report also states that a hydrogen economy could deliver emissions savings equivalent to the carbon captured by 700 million trees by 2032.

Other measures included in the strategy are: •S upporting multiple technologies including ‘green’ electrolytic and ‘blue’ carbon captureenabled hydrogen production •C ollaborating with industry to develop a UK standard for low carbon hydrogen •U ndertaking a review to

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support the development of the necessary network and storage infrastructure to underpin a thriving hydrogen sector • Working with industry to assess the safety, technical feasibility, and cost-effectiveness of mixing 20% hydrogen into the existing gas supply • Launching a hydrogen sector development action plan in early 2022 setting out how the government will support companies to secure supply chain opportunities, skills and jobs in hydrogen

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Feature

Hidden harms: the impacts of air polluti Air Quality News reporter Chloe Coules investigates growing concern around the effects that air pollution can have on our brains and wellbeing, from mental health to memory.

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esearchers have known for decades that high levels of air pollution can have a negative impact on respiratory and cardiovascular health, accounting for around 28,000 to 36,000 early deaths a year in the UK according to Public Health England.

However, the effects of air pollution on the mind are less well understood, and researchers have only recently started to discover the vast range of impacts that air pollution can have on the brain.

‘Air pollution is not something we immediately think of when asked about the factors that increase a person’s risk of having problems with their mental health. However, there is a growing body of evidence that suggests that air pollution does make people more likely to experience mental health difficulties,’ says Dr David Crepaz-Keay, head of applied learning at the Mental Health Foundation.

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‘We also know that physical and mental health are very closely connected, so it is likely that something known to harm people’s bodies – air pollution – also harms their minds,’ A recent study published in the journal JAMA Open Network, found that exposure to air pollution in childhood and adolescence is linked to an increased risk of mental illness in adult life.

The study monitored adolescents across several decades, measuring their exposure to nitrogen oxides (NOx) and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) in the home between the ages of 10-18 years, and then assessed their mental health once they reached 18.

Although air pollution was found to be a weaker risk factor than other more obvious risks to mental health on an individual level, such as family history, they concluded that

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likely to have depression as the result of air pollution, while women are more likely to develop anxiety. Worryingly, he has noticed that the impacts of the pandemic on our mental health and the amount of time we spend inside may be worsening this issue.

‘There’s a whole range of effects from poor air quality – things that range from simple irritation or a headache, all the way up to major depression and suicide – there really is a lot of evidence all along that spectrum, and I think people have noticed it more since they have been spending time indoors, and the stress of the pandemic itself has been compounding these things so there’s kind of an intersection of mental health issues right now,’ he says.

Air pollution and memory

ion on the mind air pollution exposure is widespread across the world and is therefore likely to be a significant contributor to the global mental health crisis.

The mechanisms through which air pollution harms mental health are similar to the ways in which it harms physical health, according to Matthew Johnson, professor of atmospheric chemistry at the University of Copenhagen and co-founder and chief science officer at Air Labs.

He explains that air pollution leads to inflammation of the central nervous system, in the same way that it causes inflammation of the lungs, which impacts upon people’s mental functioning, and it also degrades the health of the nervous system due to its toxicity, which can lead to the development of mental health issues.

According to Matthew Johnson, how this manifests can vary due to a range of factors, for example men are more

As well as impacting upon our mental health, air pollution can have a dangerous impact on our memory, in some cases even leading to the onset of Alzheimer’s disease.

Dementia and Alzheimer’s disease is the leading cause of death in the UK, accounting for 12.4% of all deaths registered in 2019. This problem is predicted to get much worse, with the World Health Organisation estimating that the global number of deaths from the condition will increase by over 40% between 2015 and 2030.

A recent study, published by the American Academy of Neurology, found older women living in areas with high levels of air pollution may be more likely to develop dementia.

The researchers examined hundreds of women who did not have dementia at the start of the study and found that for each 3 mg/m3 increase in PM2.5 exposure, there was a greater extent of brain shrinkage over five years, which was equivalent to a 24% increase in risk of Alzheimer’s disease, even after adjusting for a range of risk factors. Worryingly, the study found that air pollution still caused shrinkage of the brain in women exposed to levels lower than those considered safe by the US Environmental Protection Agency.

In addition, researchers at the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have found that long-term exposure to PM2.5 and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) is associated with a higher risk of dementia, with heart disease and heart failure found to enhance the link between air pollution and dementia.

Although the researchers could not draw conclusions on why this occurs, they hypothesised that ultrafine particles may reach the brain via circulation and induce systemic inflammation, damaging the blood-brain barrier.

A global study published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s also found that people are more likely to develop dementia if they are exposed to PM2.5 and NOx over a long period of time. The research suggested that this may occur by increasing levels of inflammation in the human body, or by increasing the risk of having a stroke, as people are fifty times more likely to develop dementia in the year after a major stroke.

A study published in BMJ Open found that living in one of the areas of London with the highest levels of NO2 pollution was associated with a 40% higher risk of dementia than living in one of the least polluted parts of the city.

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Air pollution and cognition

What can be done?

The inflammation that air pollution can cause in the body not only increases the risk of mental health issues and memory loss, but it also can hamper our cognition and decision making.

A study by researchers at the IZA Institute of Labor Economics measured the indoor air quality at chess tournaments in Germany and used a chess engine to evaluate how optimal each player's moves were. They found that higher levels of air pollution impacted upon the players’ strategic decision making, especially under time pressure and stress.

According to one of the researchers, Steffen Künn, this effect on cognition is triggered by air pollution levels that you would see in any urban area or city in Europe and occurs within a few hours of exposure.

‘You go to work, going through rush hour with your bike, you inhale all the pollutants, your cognition will be impaired in the next few hours. This is the conclusion from our study,’ he tells Air Quality News. The researchers found that different types of pollution have different levels of impact on cognition, with CO2 only significantly affecting decision making when the players were under time stress, while PM10 had a much greater effect regardless of time pressure.

Emerging research shows a clear link between air pollution and negative impacts on the brain, ranging from issues with mental health and memory to hampered cognition. However, the good news is that the research consensus suggests that limiting air pollution exposure can prevent or limit the effects that air pollution has on the mind.

Matthew Johnson advises that people be aware of their surroundings and take action to prevent exposure to air pollution if they are concerned about its impacts on their mental wellbeing.

He suggests that people identify specific sources of pollution that they encounter on a daily basis, such as poor ventilation when cooking, second-hand smoke, or rush hour congestion, and take measures to reduce the impact of the sources of air pollution, which could be as simple as opening windows or investing in personal air filters for the car or home.

However, the burden of mitigating the effects of air pollution cannot rest solely on the individual, and the only way to halt the rising impact of air pollution on the mind is to create lasting global change to tackle pollution at its source.

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Advertorial

The Future of Sustainable Last Mile Delivery

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he landscape of transport in London is changing. As one walks around, we see growing numbers of both commuting bikes and electric cargo bikes travelling through the city, with the beautifully diverse cargo bike brandings adding colour and vibrancy to the streets. It is catching on that cycling is the most efficient, sustainable and cost-effective way to move goods and passengers around a congested city centre. Even motorists themselves are becoming frustrated as they watch cyclists repeatedly beat them on journey times whilst they sit stuck in endless traffic.

Many forward-thinking companies have realised the benefits of cargo bike deliveries and are opting for this method to transport their goods. A recent study showed that electric cargo bikes deliver around 60% faster than vans in city centres, with the bikes dropping off 10 parcels an hour, and vans only 6.

In addition to this, cargo bike delivery avoids parking restrictions, and has the added benefit that the bikes are cheaper to buy, insure and repair than vans.

Ecofleet mindful delivery was founded in 2019, a sustainable mindful delivery service operating in London using electric cargo bikes. The ethos centres around affordable, competitive, first class and professional delivery service while reducing air pollution as a replacement to diesel vans and lorries.

Being very technology focused, all bikes will soon have IoT sensors and cameras installed to further enhance efficiency and quality of service.

This is in an exciting time for electric cargo bike deliveries as the urgency to cut carbon emissions rises. The latest report from the UN’s International Panel on Climate Change has consolidated the link between human activity and global warming and warned that even with rapid emission cuts, global temperatures are likely to rise until at least 2050.

In London, poor air quality is the major way in which we see the impacts of human activity on the environment.

Toxic air leads to around 40,000 deaths

in the UK annually, with 9,000 of these deaths occurring in London alone.

As more than 50% of air pollution is caused by road vehicles, one can be optimistic that the use of electric cargo bikes will continue to grow over the next few years. With 4 million parcels being delivered daily in London, and an expected growth in urban last mile delivery of 78% by 2030, it is crucial that this industry becomes zero-emission to avert further destruction of our planet.

The rising acceptance of this sustainable mode of transport has been supported by the mayor of London and the government’s dedication to creating new cycle infrastructure. Since May 2016, 260 kilometres of high-quality

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cycle routes have been established in London, massively aiding the transition from van to cargo bike deliveries.

This increase in feasibility, alongside the recent Energy Savings Trust grant announced for purchasing eCargo bikes, provides an exciting opportunity for new companies to enter the industry and create their own cargo bike fleet.

Any small difference that we can make towards eliminating pollution and congestion is worthwhile and will have a positive impact on the quality of life for all UK citizens.

For more information on ecofleet we invite readers to contact us through the website www.ecofleet.co.uk 13

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E10 petrol, is it worth it?

From September 1st 2021, E10 petrol became readily available at all UK petrol stations as part of the government’s plan to ‘build back greener.’ Pippa Neill investigates the true environmental benefits of this roll out.

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p until the start of this month, the standard petrol grade in the UK was E5, meaning the petrol contains around 5% ethanol. Ethanol is a biofuel, meaning unlike fossil fuels it is produced from the fermentation of crops such as sugar or wheat and so inevitably it has a substantially lower carbon footprint. In a bid to capitalize on the carbon savings that come from using biofuels and in order to comply with the 2008 Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation, the government has now increased the standard petrolgrade to contain 10% ethanol - known as E10 petrol.

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Andy Eastlake, chief executive officer at Zemo Partnership, the organisation who have worked with the government on the ongoing E10 marketing campaign explains: ‘Over the years, the focus when it comes to the decarbonisation of transport has been on the technology of the vehicles. But another piece of the jigsaw is looking to see whether we can decarbonise the fuel.’

According to the government, the introduction of E10 could cut carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 350,000 tonnes every single year, equivalent to the annual CO2 uptake of a forest the size of the Isle of Wight.

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Climate concerns However, various environmental groups have expressed concerns around these claims. Greg Archer, UK director of campaign group Transport & Environment (T&E) tells Air Quality News: ‘The problem with ethanol is how are these biofuels produced in the first place?

‘For example, wheat that would otherwise have been going to the wheat market is now being used for biofuels, and that means that somebody elsewhere is going to have to grow that wheat. ‘Ethanol also needs an awful lot of land to produce a

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very small amount of fuel and so you have this problem of indirect land use change.

‘We also know that to tackle our climate problems we are going to have to do a lot of reforestation, so increasing the amount of crops used for fuel is in effect taking up land that could otherwise be used for far more constructive purposes.’

However, according to Andy Eastlake, under the Renewable Transport Fuels Obligation not only does the government assess the greenhouse gas impact of the biofuels, but they also assess the indirect land use change impact.

‘The UK bioethanol market is very robust,’ he explains.

‘In the UK we have a very transparent way of looking at biofuels and what we’re doing at Zemo is trying to encourage fuel companies to use the highest quality biofuels, meaning those that have the highest greenhouse gas savings and are of the best credibility.

‘There are some very significant bioethanol plants here in the UK and so there is also a jobs and growth agenda, the more biofuels we can produce in the UK the better.’

However, Andy Eastlake highlights that with over 19 million petrol and diesel vehicles still on the road, we are still a long way off a fully electrified fleet and so there continues to be a place for intermediate solutions.

‘Even though E10 will result in a relatively small carbon reduction per vehicle, if you times that by 19 million vehicles, then that is equivalent to taking 350,000 vehicles off the road,’ he explains.

Compatibility

‘This is not a replacement for electrification, this is a way of reducing the carbon impact on the way to an electrified fleet. We believe that whatever vehicles are on the road should be running on the lowest carbon version of the fuel that they are compatible with.’

explains: ‘We took all the consumer information available and tried to derive an answer of whether or not you or I would be willing to put E10 in that vehicle.

‘There are two main ways that a vehicle can be non-compliant, the first one is if your manufacturer says

Another major concern with the rollout of E10 is the compatibility of certain vehicles. According to research conducted by the RAC Foundation, there are an estimated 600,000 vehicles on the road which are not compatible with E10.

Ivo Wengred, researcher and data manager at the RAC Foundation who helped to conduct this research

Electrification However, with the electrification of road transport well underway, T&E has also expressed concern that these biofuels would be better used elsewhere. For example there is a strong call for the use of biofuels in the aviation and shipping industries where we do not currently have any renewable alternatives to fossil fuels.

‘We simply don’t need biofuels in road vehicles,’ says Greg Archer.

‘The Department for Transport says that we need to save carbon wherever we can and of course there is truth in that. But if the trucking industry becomes focused on supplying highblend biofuels, then they’re not focused on making the switch to zero-emission vehicles, and we need to understand that without this, we will run out of time.

‘The government seems adamant to keep raising the targets for biofuels, but in reality we need more policies to wean cars off combustion engines.’

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no because the engine simply was not designed for this amount of ethanol in the petrol. Or the other way is if you simply cannot get the information from the manufacturer.

‘This might sound strange but there are plenty of manufacturers out there who have either gone bust, or there is just simply no one to call.

‘Putting E10 petrol in a noncompliant vehicle isn’t a death sentence, it’s not going to kill the vehicle immediately, but in the end it can lead to something catastrophic.’

In a bid to prevent situations like this, and to avoid what happened in Germany where the E10 rollout had to be revoked after confusion led the majority of drivers to refuse to buy it, the government has spent £730,000 on a nationwide marketing campaign, with adverts explaining what E10 is and encouraging drivers to check if their vehicle is compliant.

Drivers of non-compliant vehicles 16

will still be able to purchase E5, but at an increased price, with it now coming in the form of ‘super unleaded’ premium fuels.

Even though the compatibility of vehicles is a genuine concern for many drivers, Andy Eastlake explains: ‘In 2010 it became mandatory for every new petrol vehicle to be compatible with E10.

Therefore the biggest area of concern when it comes to compatibility is someone who is using a 20-year old car to get to work, but who cannot afford a new one.

‘However, another piece of the argument is that the cars that aren’t compatible are certainly nowhere near as efficient as a newer car. So if you’re doing a high mileage in an older car, then you should probably be thinking about upgrading it anyway, these kinds of vehicles are not Clean Air Zone compliant, they’re highemissions.’

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Going forward It is clear that for the majority of drivers, the switch to E10 will come at little cost and the roll out does have the potential to deliver some unignorable climate benefits.

But with the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Report warning that without ‘immediate, rapid and large-scale reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, limiting warming to close to 1.5°C or even 2°C will be beyond reach,’ it does beg the question, do we have time for intermediate solutions and would this funding be better spent on improving our electric vehicle infrastructure or encouraging active travel?

As stated by Greg Archer: ‘20 years ago, maybe it would have been fine to develop some intermediate technologies.

But we don’t have time for intermediate solutions anymore. We need net-zero solutions now.’

When we say hyper-local, we mean hyper-local.

AirScape, the highest density air quality network in the world.

For more information, please visit the AirScape pages on www.airlabs.com

Feature

Exclusive: The dark side of our online shopping obsession As we move towards a culture of next-day deliveries, online shopping and free returns, Pippa Neill and Chloe Coules investigate the environmental and social impact of the UK’s evergrowing warehouse infrastructure.

O

ver the past few decades, online shopping has seen exponential growth. According to the Office for National Statistics, 2020 saw a 37% increase in online shopping, over six times that of 2019.

Aided by the Covid-19 pandemic, there has also been growth in the number of next-day deliveries. In a recent report the Retail Technology Review found that 43% of consumers now opt for next-day delivery, with 17% stating they would abandon a brand if they face a long delivery wait.

As companies come under increased pressure to offer faster and more efficient delivery, many e-commerce giants have been forced to expand their facilities. According to Savills, the estate agents who monitor warehouse capacity across the UK, there has been a 32% increase in the overall number of warehousing units since 2015 and a 242% increase in the number of units that are over 1 million square foot.

This growth has led to something called the ‘Golden Triangle’, an area spanning across Northamptonshire, Tamworth and Nottingham where the majority of warehouses are strategically located to allow for 90% of deliveries to be

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completed within four hours. In 2015, the golden triangle was home to 13.4 million square metres of warehouse space. It is now home to 18.5 million.

It comes as no surprise that growth on this scale is going to lead to some environmental issues, from land use change, air pollution and energy use.

In order to look at the air pollution impact, Air Quality News has collaborated with EarthSense to conduct some exclusive research, looking at Magna Park, Lutterworth, Europe’s largest distribution centre located in Leicestershire.

Magna Park is home to the likes of DHL, Asda and Primark and occupies an excess of 8.3 million square feet of logistics space.

Using the EarthSense Zephyr® monitors, air pollution data was captured at four different locations: a loop around Magna Park which was completed three times, and then a route around Lutterworth, Monks Kirby and Bitteswell, three small town / village locations selected to compare against Magna Park.

The data captured by the monitors has been analysed with

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maximum and average concentrations of nitrogen dioxide (NO2), ozone (O3) and particulate matter (PM2.5) identified for each location (Table 1). The highest concentration across each location has been highlighted in green.

NO2 was recorded on each loop of the routes. Each of these peaks can be attributed to a nearby traffic source noted down when the route was being walked. This included a nearby roundabout and the passing of lorries and cars.

Table 1: Maximum and average NO2, O3 and PM2.5 concentrations across all routes

Magna Park loop

Lutterworth Route

Monks Kirby Route

Bitteswell Route

Max NO2

54.45

29.55

11.36

8.782

Average NO2

14.41

12.93

1.84

3.58

Max O3

48.78

32.56

40.68

15.57

Average O3

21.11

26.76

28.11

2.01

Max PM2.5

10.49

4.05

5.53

6.07

Average PM2.5

4.81

3.26

3.27

5.30

The route around Magna Park recorded the highest maximum concentrations of NO2, O3 and PM2.5. Notably this route also had the highest average concentration of NO2, which is to be expected given the high volume of commercial traffic in and around Magna Park.

EarthSense has highlighted that whilst these maximum concentrations aren’t concerning in terms of air quality limits, it does evidence that Magna Park is a clear source of air pollution emissions in this local area.

Analysis has also been carried out to determine exactly when the pollution episodes occurred.

Around Magna Park a number of pollution episodes were recorded by the monitor. Significantly a sharp peak in

Of all the four locations, the route around Magna Park was consistently the most polluted with regard to NO2 concentrations, and it also had the highest recorded measurement of NO2, O3 and PM2.5. This is again unsurprising given the high volume of traffic.

While these findings are significant and highlight that Magna Park is a potential pollution hotspot, it is important to note that this data was collected on a single day and the mobile measurements made by the Zephyr® monitors represent just a snapshot in time.

Air Quality News has contacted Magna Park to comment on our findings, but at the time of going to press they are yet to respond.

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Figure 2: NO2, O3, and PM2.5 concentrations recorded by the Zephyr® on the Magna Park route

PM2.5 (μg m−3)

NO2,O3 (μg m−3)

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0

2021−08−09 09:00:00 2021−08−09 09:30:00 2021−08−09 10:00:00 2021−08−09 10:30:00 2021−08−09 11:00:00 2021−08−09 11:30:00 2021−08−09 12:00:00

Date

NO2

O3

PM2.5

Loop 1

Loop 2

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Loop 3

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Feature

Despite this clear contribution to air pollution, Magna Park has planning permission to expand its warehouse capacity by 60%. This is in line with plans across the region, in a recent Warehousing and Logistics Report, Leicester and Leicestershire Authorities recommended that the council plan for an additional 2.5 million square meters of floor space by 2041.

Cllr David Bill MBE, from Leicestershire County Council, commenting on these plans and our findings, says: ‘These findings are disturbing but not entirely unexpected as there has been a massive growth in warehousing not just in and around Magna Park but all along the A5 area.

‘The move to online shopping accelerated by the pandemic is bringing about this concentration in warehousing and HGV movements, a trend likely to be further exacerbated by a proposed new freight depot just up the road in Burbage.

‘Back in October 2020, Leicestershire County Council

received a report from its director of public health outlining the impact of poor air quality. He told us that a quarter of deaths could be attributed to the factor. In light of these latest findings I will now be asking for a further review. We surely have the right to be able to breathe clean air here in the heart of the country as much as everywhere else.’

Magna Park is just one example of a UK warehouse that distributes goods across the country, but this is not an isolated issue. Recent analysis by the United Kingdom Warehousing Association (UKWA) and Savills found that there are over 1,500 individual warehouse units in the UK, and with the growth of online shopping and next-day delivery, these trends show no sign of slowing down.

Valentine Quino, analyst at think tank Centre for London, tells Air Quality News: ‘We need to think more about our consumption footprint. In many places, air pollution does not happen where consumption happens, and for people living in these areas, near these industrial warehouses where trucks and lorries drive around every day, there is a real fairness question behind it.

‘We already know that air pollution doesn’t impact everyone equally, and we know that some of the most polluted areas are often in areas where income levels are the lowest.

‘We also need to consider the planning in terms of where jobs are located. When logistic hubs, business parks or enterprise zones are located on the outskirts of a city it creates car dependency. We really need to question the environmental impact of displacing jobs outside of cities because it has a real impact on how we travel.’

It is clear that as we move to a world of online shopping, and as our expectations of next-day deliveries increase, more and more retailers will have to expand their warehouse space to keep up with the competitive market, but at what cost? As stated by Valentine Quino: ‘The question we need to ask is: who is impacted, who is polluting and who is paying the price at the end.’

By Pippa Neill

THE SOCIAL IMPACTS OF WAREHOUSING - CHLOE COULES Alongside the environmental damage that warehousing can cause, there are issues around the social and economic impacts of this growing practise.

The introduction of jobs to a community is often cited as a benefit of building new warehouses, but there is debate around the quality of these jobs and their economic value for the community.

Speaking to Air Quality News, Akilah Jardine, researcher at the University of Nottingham Rights Lab, explains that warehouse staff face a range of poor working conditions, including feeling disposable and insecure in their employment, lacking flexibility in hours, feeling unable to complain about conditions due to poor relationships with management, and experiencing ‘immense’ pressure to meet quotas.

In her study, warehouse staff also reported health and safety issues, frequent injuries, long hours, and insufficient pay.

Even though building a warehouse creates jobs, there is research that suggests that this does not economically benefit the local area.

A report from the Economic Policy Institute found that when Amazon opens a new fulfilment centre in America, the host county gains around 30% more warehousing and storage jobs, but this does not lead to any new overall jobs, as the increase in jobs is offset by job losses in other industries.

The Institute explains that this is important as the local government spends lots of money and resources to attract warehousing jobs, but the expected economic benefit is often not seen.

This leads us to question the value of warehousing for a local community, given the costs to the environment, and the wider social impacts.

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National Air Quality Conference 10th November 2021 - Lords Cricket Ground, London

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The National Air Quality News Conference explores some of the issues and the possible solutions to the increasing levels of toxic air in our communities, the challenges and opportunities of Clean Air Zones and Indoor Air Pollution.

The conference agenda includes presentations from many sector leading specialists including: • • • • • • •

The University of Southampton, Professor Stephen Holgate Environmental Defence Fund, Elizabeth Fonesca, Senior Air Quality Manager Mums for Lungs, Jemima Hartshorn, Founder of campaign group London Councils, (TBC) Antarctic scientist, author, speaker and expedition leader, Felicity Aston MBE (TBC) A spokesperson from the Building Engineering and Services Association (TBC) Discussion Panel – Audience Q&A with 5 experts from the sector.

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*this is an outline of the agenda for the day and is subject to change before the event.

www.airqualitynews.com/our-conferences/

For exhibitor and sponsorship information, please contact Jason on 07889 212414 or jason@spacehouse.co.uk

Feature

The domino effect, air pollution and Air pollution and climate change are intrinsically linked. In this month’s magazine, editor Pippa Neill explores how.

T

he climate crisis and air pollution are two of the biggest threats facing humankind, but like with most things, it would be foolish to address these as two separate issues.

Across the world, air pollution is responsible for an estimated 7 million premature deaths every single year and according to research conducted by Greenpeace Southeast Asia, pollution from burning coal, oil and gas is responsible for 4.5 million of these.

However, the relationship between air pollution and the climate crisis doesn’t end here. In fact, increasingly academics are starting to understand how climate change mitigation can help to reduce air pollution and how clean air measures can help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

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Short-lived climate pollutants When talking about greenhouse gases, it would be easy to think that our only concern is carbon dioxide (CO2). However, as the name suggests there are many other less-discussed but equally dangerous gases, which when grouped together are known as short-lived climate pollutants.

Black carbon, a pollutant produced largely by household burning or diesel vehicles, is one of these pollutants that is a growing cause for concern.

Like other commonly known air pollutants, black carbon is dangerous to our health, but it also has a global warming potential up to 1,500 times greater than CO2.

Dr James Allan, expert in black carbon at the University of Manchester explains: ‘Black carbon is very short-

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lived in the atmosphere meaning it only sticks around for a few days.

However, where it does have an effect it can be really profound because it has a really high climate warming potential in terms of watts per square meter.

‘There is also some evidence to suggest that gram for gram, black carbon is worse for human health than particulate matter (PM2.5) pollution.’

Inhalation of black carbon is associated with cardiovascular disease, cancer and birth defects. In India alone it is responsible for over 400,000 premature deaths every single year.

Alongside its health impacts, black carbon is also known to interact and disturb certain weather patterns. Dr James Allan explains: ‘Research also seems to suggest that black carbon may be impacting specific regions

Feature

climate change more than others and that this may even be affecting local weather patterns and contributing to localised climate events.

‘For example, there is some evidence to suggest that black carbon may be perturbing the Indian and East African monsoons.

This is because the black carbon is heating a specific part of the atmosphere which can then have various knock on effects, for example, it can make it difficult for clouds to form.

‘Clouds are very good at reflecting the sun’s light back into space, so if you have fewer or thinner clouds, then this has an even bigger warming effect on Earth because it means you then get more of the sun’s radiation.

‘Eventually, the black carbon will get rained or snowed out, and if it

lands on ice or snow it can make the ice darker, meaning it absorbs more sunlight and therefore will melt faster.’

With clear climate and public health benefits, the case for reducing black carbon has never been stronger.

Yet despite this, the UK and many other countries across the world have no legal limit restricting the amount of black carbon that can be emitted.

According to the United Nations Climate and Clean Air Coalition, the implementation of control measures could reduce global black carbon emissions by as much as 80%, helping to limit global warming in line with the Paris Agreement and potentially saving thousands of lives.

Another short-lived climate pollutant that has mutual public health and climate impacts is methane.

Methane comes from a variety of

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anthropogenic sources such as food waste, agricultural activities, coal mining, oil and gas systems and combustion and similarly to black carbon, methane is much more potent than carbon dioxide, with a warming potential up to 86 times greater than CO2.

In 2019, the oil and gas industry was responsible for an estimated 82 Mega tonnes of methane emissions, with the majority of these emissions coming from leaks.

Dr Aiden Farrow, air quality scientist at the Greenpeace Research Laboratories tells Air Quality News: ‘A lot of people are touting methane as a slightly cleaner greenhouse gas but it actually has a lot of problems associated with it.

‘Methane is dangerous to public health because it goes on to produce other pollutants like ozone, but it is also a really important climate forcing gas.

‘The recent IPCC report highlighted that by controlling methane we can have a relatively quick impact on the climate situation, and at the same time, we can have relatively fast turnaround improvements to our health.

‘Methane is something we really need to be on top of, it needs to make its way to the top of the climate conversation so we aren’t just focused on CO2.’

According to the Climate and Clean Air Coalition, because methane is a key ingredient in the formation of ground-level ozone, a pollutant known to attack all bio-tissues including the lungs and skin, reducing methane leaks could prevent 260,000 premature deaths and 775, 000 asthma-related hospital visits annually.

However, even if we were to slash ozone pollution overnight, scientists have expressed concern that it will continue to get worse as the climate warms. Professor James Lee from the University of York, explains: ‘We are more likely to get high levels of ozone when we have periods of high pressure, which generally comes with heatwaves.

‘This means that as the climate warms, we will likely have more intense ozone pollution, which will lead the climate to warm, and so on.’

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Feature

Climate change Ozone is not the only pollutant that may get worse as the planet warms.

At the time of writing this article, uncontrollable fires are burning in Greece, Turkey, the U.S and Canada, with many countries recording the worst fires on record.

It is now impossible to ignore the connection between climate change and wildfires, with numerous studies highlighting that warmer and drier conditions alongside increased drought is boosting the wildfire risk.

Wildfires of the magnitude seen today are responsible for excess greenhouse gas emissions, with forest burning producing around three times more CO2 than the forest absorbs.

The smoke produced from wildfires is also a major health hazard, globally wildfire smoke has been estimated to 24

cause over 339,000 premature deaths a year. However, the long-term health impacts are still poorly understood.

According to one study, wildfire smoke may have caused an extra 19,700 Covid cases in the US. Dr Aiden Farrow explains: ‘In the latest IPCC report the headline message was that forest fires and wildfires will become more common in all of the places where humans live.

‘I think there is a real reason to be concerned and without action it is only going to get worse. Wildfire smoke is an increasing health concern not just for public health officials but also for ordinary citizens.’

The future Despite the clear and necessary benefits of reducing air pollution, there are some concerns that any

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immediate reductions could lead to a spike in temperatures. Certain climate pollutants, including particulate matter (PM2.5) can have a cooling effect by reflecting solar energy away from the Earth, known as global dimming.

However, despite these concerns, Dr Farrow highlights that this is not reason enough to prolong or prevent remediative action, he says: ‘Overall, action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is going to improve air quality.

‘However, the end goal has to be that we stop producing and using fossil fuels and we need to do that as fast as possible.

Every time we’re extracting, transporting and burning fossil fuels we’re losing pollutants into the atmosphere and we are coming one step closer to catastrophic climate impacts.’

• 163,000 page views • 131,000 visits • 113,000 unique visitors To advertise and reach this dedicated audience please contact; Jason Coward / jason@spacehouse.co.uk / 07889 212414

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25

The Big Interview

Dr Ben Veihelmann, European Space Agency Air Quality News talks to Ben Veihelmann, atmospheric scientist at the European Space Agency (ESA).

Ben Veilhelmann is a lead scientist at ESA supporting the development of the Copernicus satellite missions Sentinel-4 and Sentinel-5. Copernicus is the European’s Earth Observation programme, which looks at our planet in order to provide information services on a range of themes, including ocean, land, climate and atmosphere.

The Sentinel-5 Precursor is the first Copernicus satellite dedicated to providing atmospheric composition observations and is a collaborative project between the ESA and the Netherlands Space Office, costing around €220m from design to launch.

‘Such satellite missions are usually set up in a multinational context,’ says Ben, ‘it is much more efficient to join forces.’

On board the Sentinel-5 Precursor satellite is the Tropospheric Monitoring Instrument known as TROPOMI. This instrument looks specifically at the troposphere, the part of the atmosphere that is directly relevant to the air we breathe. The TROPOMI instrument launched in 2017 and has since orbited the Earth 20,000 times, travelling at a speed of 7.5 kilometres per second, and observing the composition of our atmosphere with daily global coverage.

‘My role is to overlook the development process of such satellites and run the necessary scientific developments,’ says Ben. The TROPOMI instrument measures, amongst others, nitrogen dioxide, ozone, methane, and carbon monoxide.

This data allows scientists to assess trends and spatial patterns in air pollution on a local and global scale.

‘While the emissions of air pollution can be local, the 26

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pollutants can travel quite far, this means that air pollution is by no means a local problem.

‘Air pollution crosses borders at will. If you look at pollution levels on a country scale, the question that immediately pops up is, which part of the pollution is our responsibility and which part is the responsibility of someone else?

‘The satellites cover entire continents and give us a synoptic view; they can capture events that are simply not captured by local monitoring stations.’

Using satellite data to look at global air pollution patterns has never been more important. Over the past two years, international lockdowns and massive wildfires globally have caused significant volatility in air quality.

"If you look at pollution levels on a country scale, the question that immediately pops up is, which part of the pollution is our responsibility and which part is the responsibility of someone else?"

‘The Covid-19 pandemic was inadvertently an Earth system experiment,’ says Ben. ‘If I asked the entire global industry to switch off their engines for a month for the sake of studying the Earth system, they would never agree. But this is exactly what happened.

‘This data is helping us to improve our quantitative understanding of the link between emissions and pollution levels.

‘The European Union recognises that air pollution is a

The Big Interview

large-scale problem that affects everybody and that having clean air to breathe is an essential need.’

The EU has issued directives that set air pollution limits and national emission ceilings. The data from the atmospheric Sentinels is used to monitor weather pollution levels and emissions are in line with these directives. This data can support policy makers so they can assess the effectiveness of air pollution reduction measures, but another important goal is to support local air quality services.

‘For example we have the airText service which informs

affects the Earth’s radiation balance via the light absorption by ozone and by the changes in cloud properties. Ozone is a key player for air quality because it attacks all bio-tissues including the lungs and skin, but it also attacks plant tissue, meaning it reduces the growth of plants and affects their uptake of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2).’

citizens in London and Riga about the current and forecasted air quality,’ explains Ben. ‘Such information can be vital for people with respiratory conditions who can decide to stay inside if the air quality is bad on a specific day. Air quality services are emerging, similar to the weather forecasting services that are established across the world.’

The data collected by the satellites is also used to look at how these air pollutants interact with the climate.

‘The topics of air quality and climate change are interrelated,’ says Ben. ‘If you look at nitrogen dioxide (NO2) for example, this is one of the main drivers of air pollution because it is toxic in itself and it controls the production of ozone, particulate matter and smog.

‘At the same time, NO2 is relevant to climate: it indirectly

However, the research on ozone doesn’t end with the ozone pollution itself. The ESA scientists are also dedicated to monitoring the ozone hole, which was discovered in 1985 and has since become a centre of research in the atmospheric world.

The long-term data series from the ozone monitoring satellites indicates that the ozone depletion has significantly slowed down or even come to a halt.

This trend is largely due to the success of the Montreal Protocol which banned the use of ozone depleting substances.

‘In a world where climate problems are accelerating and it seems that the targets we have previously set are not achievable anymore, I think it is really important to highlight that coordinated action can move things in the right direction and that there is always room for maneuver.’

"The European Union recognises that air pollution is a large-scale problem that affects everybody and that having clean air to breathe is an essential need.

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27

Local Government

Manchester's journey to clean air

By Joanne Roney OBE, Chief Executive of Manchester City Council

T Joanne Roney OBE, Chief Executive of Manchester City Council

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he Covid-19 pandemic made 2020 an extraordinary year in many respects. Most of its impacts we want to move on from and ensure we never repeat.

But for Manchester, and Greater Manchester, 2020 was also the first year since an array of automatic sensors were first installed across the city region that there were no incidences of legal nitrogen dioxide limits being exceeded.

We have been on an improving trend, but this further decline in pollution levels – associated of course with the steep reduction in traffic brought about by lockdowns and instructions to work from home – was an inspiring reminder of the opportunities we have and how quickly our air quality can improve.

There is no doubt that it needs to: Not because we’ve been legally mandated to ensure compliance by

2024 but because it’s the right thing to do. Air pollution contributes to the deaths of an estimated 1,100 people a year in Greater Manchester – hundreds of them here in the city of Manchester.

There’s also a proven correlation between the least affluent areas and the areas with the worst air quality which means it’s another aspect of the inequality we are determined to tackle.

Manchester is also committed to the goal of becoming zero carbon by 2038, playing its full part in the global battle to limit the effects of climate change. We know from listening to Manchester residents, particularly young people, that this agenda matters deeply to them. But we can’t achieve this without cutting emissions. We also know that as we continue to deliver actions to improve air quality, these will support the wider decarbonisation of our transport system.

We don’t want 2020 to be a one off

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– we have a clear vision to deliver this sort of improved air quality for our residents every year.

We are taking significant steps towards that, both through Greater Manchester-wide co-operation and through a range of actions within our own city borders.

Greater Manchester has a wellestablished reputation for working together and it makes enormous sense for Manchester City Council and the other nine local authorities to cooperate – via Transport for Greater Manchester – to bring forward a single co-ordinated clean air plan for the city region.

Each council has now approved plans for a Greater Manchester-wide Clean Air Zone – the largest such zone outside London – which will operate 24/7 and charge non-compliant vehicles.

The intention is that this will come

Local Government

into operation from May 2022 for non-compliant buses, HGVs, and for hackney cabs and private hire vehicles licensed outside Greater Manchester.

From June 2023 it will also encompass vans, minibuses and coaches and Greater Manchester-licensed taxis.

The Clean Air Zone is not intended to be punitive. The ultimate goal is that everyone has a compliant vehicle and no one is charged. We secured £120m in government funding to help businesses upgrade to cleaner, compliant vehicles. This funding will be available from November.

We want to make it as easy and attractive as possible for people to choose the most sustainable travel options.

Also at a Greater Manchester level, we’re bringing forward an Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Strategy which aims to make us a beacon city region by 2030 where residents, businesses and visitors who choose to travel by car or van know they can do so with confidence that they can recharge their vehicles easily and conveniently.

This principle - making it easier to make the most environmentallyfriendly travel choices - also underpins the City Centre Transport Strategy, developed jointly with neighbouring Salford. The plan will see 90% of morning peak trips into the centre made on foot, by cycle or on public transport by 2040.

Actions to support this - and encourage sustainable travel across the city - are well advanced. There has been substantial investment in the Metrolink light rail system and significant improvements are on the way for our buses.

We already have a number of bus corridors in place to make it quicker and easier for buses to bring more people into and out of the city centre, and more are in the pipeline.

Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, with our full support, has announced that buses will be brought under local control – making Greater Manchester the first city region outside London to operate a fully franchised and locally accountable bus system.

By 2025 we can look forward to a fully integrated local transport system.

Substantial investment in active travel schemes is also taking place,

with more than £30m currently going into key schemes in Manchester and more in the pipeline. These projects include the Chorlton cycleway, Wythenshawe active travel scheme, Levenshulme and Burnage active neighbourhoods (prioritising pedestrians and cyclists over cars) and the well-received scheme to make more space for walkers, cyclings and public transport in part of the city centre’s Northern Quarter.

Consultation has recently concluded on plans for Deansgate.

We’re looking at other innovative schemes such as creating a mobility hub in Ancoats, on the fringes of the city centre, where an electric car club, EV charging points and e-cargobikes will be co-located.

of our schools close to major roads, where planting schemes designed to filter out pollutants are being trialled.

This complements the £1m Tree Action MCR programme to improve tree cover across the city.

Investment in green spaces and public realm – the lungs of the city – is also continuing apace. Manchester’s first new city centre park for more than 100 years is taking shape at Mayfield and a 46 hectare City River Park will follow at the heart of the huge new Victoria North development. Further public spaces such as a new memorial garden commemorating the 2017 Manchester Arena terror attack and an expanded and improved Albert Square are also on the way.

Traffic levels have rebounded

Work is also going on at a community level, for example with schools, to support sustainable travel choices. Autumn will see the launch across the city region of a cycle hire scheme to improve access to pedal power.

As well as reducing the sources of pollution, we are also piloting schemes to minimise its effects, such as the Protecting Playgrounds project at four

since Covid-19 restrictions began to be eased and as something like prepandemic normality returns it remains to be seen whether 2020’s air quality improvements can be replicated this year. But the foundations are in place, and the actions being taken both locally and regionally, for Manchester to continue to deliver improvements – supporting the health, liveability and prosperity of the city and beyond.

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Advertorial

Hammersmith and Fulham are alre densest air quality sensor netw The council will have deployed an air quality network of 500 sensors by the end of the year

H

ammersmith and Fulham (H&F) council are trailblazing a world first.

While other projects have focussed solely on restricting traffic to improve air quality, in the last year H&F has implemented green initiatives and improved the health of their residents using hyper-local air quality data. Integrating air quality monitoring network with H&F’s traffic data they have been able to make informed decisions and been a leading example in air pollution reduction.

The initial deployment of Vortex Air Quality Monitoring (AQM) sensors is currently the densest deployment and the largest MESH network in a city environment in the world. The success of the initial deployment of 51 sensors has only reinforced the council’s conviction in their approach. By the end of the year, 500 sensors will be implemented across the borough to measure multiple particulates and gases, creating a world first.

The network of 500 sensors will provide 160 times more spatial resolution at 80 sensors per square mile The data has already been used to highlight areas to reduce traffic, congestion and identify pollution hotspots and non-traffic contributions to air pollution.

Hammersmith and Fulham faced a climate emergency Hammersmith were one of the first boroughs to declare a climate emergency in 2019, pledging to tackle air pollution and tackle traffic congestion. The council have a clear ambition of becoming the greenest borough in Britain alongside their carbon net zero target of 2030. South Fulham streets were being used as a thorough fare with 80% of traffic originating out of the borough. A previous attempt at controlling this through a Low Traffic Neighbourhood (LTN) had been poorly

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received and a new approach was needed., H&F are now leading the way in air quality monitoring after partnering with British Cleantech company Vortex IoT for an innovative solution.

The previous and common approach of blanket measures, such as streets closed off with planters did not work, what was needed was more and better data to support and help design appropriate interventions. Current available air quality data consisted of 2 Air Quality Monitoring Stations (AQMS), the nearest being 2 miles away and 7 NO2 diffusion tubes in immediate area. H&F wanted a greater understanding of air quality in the area and needed a greater density of streetlevel deployed air quality monitors to identify local inputs and impacts.

That level of detail within the area, combined with other data sources such as traffic, would allow H&F to make environmental interventions that had measurable impact.

The air quality roadmap Hammersmith and Fulham worked with Vortex to implement an air quality monitoring network that provides continuous, real-time data, at street level, to inform policy changes and reduce traffic congestion. By deploying devices at a hyper local level of 52 in a ½ square mile area, H&F were able to identify previously unknown pollution hotspots, understand different contributory factors, such as central heating and have an unprecedented understanding of the levels of pollution at different times.

The cutting-edge technology used for the air quality network enabled H&F to combine air quality data with the latest technology from Advanced Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras. Using ANPR technology enables roads to be kept fully open for residents while discouraging out-of-borough drivers using them as

airqualitynews.com

a cut-through. H&F have, however, gone a step further and combined this ANPR technology, smart camera data, local traffic monitoring counter data and GPS data with their new hyper local Air Quality data to give rich data insights. The advantage of the Vortex network is that data is communicated over a secure, private area network, or MESH, removing the need for SIM based sensors and allowing 3rd party sensors and data such as traffic to be connected to and transmitted over the same single network, future proofing the communications.

This model of deployment is fully replicable elsewhere. For the first time, a council has been able to deploy a hyper local network, giving unprecedented insights, and when joined up with real-time traffic data enable intelligent interventions to be deployed. The street level detail obtained from the hyperlocal deployment ensures the council could capture the nuances of how traffic movement impacts on the air quality as well as how air pollution mitigation measures perform.

John Galsworthy, Assistant Director, Parking at H&F said: “The desired outcome was to see the subtle changes in local pollution relating to the changes in traffic behaviour.

Traditional pollution monitors are too expensive to install in the density required to see the changes. As the density required was around every 4 lamp columns, edge processing on a mesh network was key to keep the data sent back to base at the minimum.”

Hammersmith and Fulham worked with Vortex to develop a data monitoring and reporting portal that displays air quality information matched with traffic data. Everything the council does is informed by up-to-date data and is a leading example in how to use hyper-local air quality data to reduce air pollution.

John Galsworthy continued: “This technology linked with ANPR

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eady benefitting from the worlds work, and it’s only getting bigger cameras has meant there is now an affordable solution to understanding the changes in air pollution when traffic schemes are introduced. We have mainly had to rely on the perception of residents for feedback, now the data will demonstrate how well a traffic measure has performed.”

been removed from the area to the east of Wandsworth Bridge Road, enabling residents to take control of their local streets from out-of-borough motorists.

The Air Quality technology and why Hammersmith and Fulham need 500 of them

The AI powered sensors are maintenance free and can be updated & calibrated remotely, meaning that Hammersmith and Fulham have been able to distribute their on-site resources elsewhere.

Embracing cutting edge technology to make huge strides towards becoming the greenest borough in Britain Key for Hammersmith and Fulham has been the ability to understand the sources of pollution entering the borough as well as pollution generated within the borough. This knowledge has enabled them to make informed decisions based on real-world evidence and assess the impact of those decisions.

So far, the current findings based off of the initial air quality installation show that some of the major variables affecting air quality are traffic, weather, construction sites, central heating, to name a few. Traditional and currently statutory air quality stations and diffusion tubes could not provide this granular information to ensure interventions are implemented in the correct location, the hyper-local deployment supports these statutory measures by giving data at a temporal and spatial level that was not previously possible.

The combination of air quality technologies with traffic technologies, overlaid with other data sources has allowed H&F to develop dynamic traffic policies in real-time and move away from a ‘broad brush’ approach. Before the project was deployed, Cllr Wesley Harcourt, Cabinet for Environment, said this of the councils plans: “H&F was one of the first boroughs in the country to declare a climate emergency and this trailblazing air quality monitoring project will inform further initiatives to reduce traffic, congestion and pollution.”

Indeed, following the introduction of this first scheme, 170,000 vehicles have

The Air Quality Monitoring devices that are attached to lamp columns across South Fulham, will now cover the entire borough by the end of the year, numbering 500. As part of H & F’s mission to become the greenest borough in the UK, and after seeing the success of phase 1 of the project the council has recognized the real need for boroughwide, street-level accurate air quality data.

The borough’s installation will become the densest and largest scale concentration of air quality monitors anywhere in the world. Powered by an ultra-low power cognitive wireless mesh network, Vortex’s smart city offering will be used to empower further policy initiatives that have measurable impact on the lives of residents.

airqualitynews.com

“

We are delighted to see the success that H&F have had with this pioneering project. This approach, driven by innovative technologies, has been a world leading example in addressing air pollution within urban areas. H&F’s adoption of hyper local air quality monitoring as a source of data to shape policy, inform carbon reduction and environmental initiatives, and integrate with traffic management will prove to be a ‘new normal’ blueprint for local authorities.

Adrian Sutton, CEO of Vortex

”

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Legal

People’s chance to go to court for their right to clean air

By Katie Nield, clean air lawyer at environmental law charity ClientEarth

A

ir pollution is the largest environmental risk to human health in the UK and across the world.

From asthma to cardiovascular disease to cancer, research into the harm air pollution causes is unequivocal: it wrecks people’s lives, health and wellbeing.

Yet those that suffer the most from air pollution haven’t yet had the chance to get justice in a court of law. ClientEarth is working with law firm Hausfeld to change that.

Katie Nield, clean air lawyer at environmental law charity ClientEarth

The power of the law Despite a growing understanding of the air pollution crisis, those in power have been slow to provide the solutions necessary to protect people. That is true not only with regard to air pollution but environmental problems more broadly.

In recent years, in a bid to push for change, people from all corners of the world have been taking to the courts and using the law to hold governments and big business to account over the harm they are knowingly causing or enabling.

For climate change alone, the number of related cases worldwide has more than doubled in the past six years.

Air pollution is not new to the courts EU and UK laws already put legal limits on the level of harmful pollutants in air around us. These limits provide citizens with a degree of protection – where they are exceeded, people and organisations have the right to go before national courts to demand that action is taken to reduce it.

Using that right, ClientEarth has led the charge in a wave of successful legal actions against government failures to clean up the air across the EU since 2011. Our legal charity has won three legal challenges against the UK Government over illegal levels of NO2 across the country. ClientEarth has also defended the right to clean air in German, Czech, Polish, Italian, Belgian and Slovakian courts, forcing governments to develop credible solutions to tackle illegal air pollution.

In the UK, our legal action has resulted in courts ordering ministers to draw up improved air quality plans, which has led to important progress. As part of these new plans Clean Air Zones are now up and running in Bath and Birmingham, with others due in Greater Manchester,

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airqualitynews.com

Bristol, Bradford, Portsmouth, Newcastle, Sheffield and Liverpool.

But these improvements have been a long time coming – some of these Clean Air Zones are due to be put in place 12 years after legal limits should have been met. In the meantime, many people have already suffered irreversible harm as a result of living with toxic air. They deserve justice.

People-led legal action To go to court requires evidence. And proving harm stemming directly from air pollution has traditionally been hard on an individual level – as much of the research measures population-level impacts. In fact, the prospect of linking high pollution levels with an individual person’s health conditions in a court has not been that simple in the past, given tough legal requirements. But as the evidence mounts, this is changing.

In the UK, the groundbreaking inquest into Ella Adoo-

Legal

Kissi-Debrah’s death highlighted that evidence can be strong enough to make the link between air pollution and one individual person’s health issues.

And more and more, we are seeing citizen-led legal actions emerging across Europe. In France, several legal challenges have been launched by individuals from Grenoble, Paris and Montreuil seeking compensation from the state for the harm they have suffered as a result of exposure to illegal and harmful levels of air pollution.

A new kind of legal action With the weight of evidence being stronger now than it has ever been, ClientEarth is now working with law firm Hausfeld to explore a new kind of legal action against the UK Government for failing to ensure everyone living in the UK can breathe safer, cleaner air.

This new case would look to enable people whose health has been impacted by breathing illegally polluted air to be financially compensated for the UK Government’s failure to

act to meet legal limits.

This would provide people with the chance to hold those in power to account for the costs that air pollution has had to their health. It would also put critical pressure on the UK Government to better protect people from the impacts of air pollution going forward, to avoid more of these kinds of claims in the future.

The science has never been clearer about the impact that the air we are breathing is having on our health. With all that we know about the problem and the solutions to it, it is not right that people should be left to suffer the consequences of inaction. It’s time people had the chance to ask the courts to address that injustice.

At this stage, ClientEarth and Hausfeld are looking for people who might be interested in joining the case. If you or someone you know suffer from a disease you think might be linked to air pollution, you can find out about your options on this page: https://www.hausfeld.com/what-we-do/ current-claims/air-pollution-your-right-to-clean-air

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Marketplace Enviro Technology Services

AS Modelling & Data Ltd

GRAMM SmogStop

RHT Industries Limited

Founded in 1983 and now active in over 67 countries with a multimillion pound turnover, ET has evolved over 37 years to become a global provider of air quality and emissions monitoring systems and servicing. The company sell and lease equipment, systems and services covering the monitoring of ambient air quality (AQM), continuous emissions (CEM) and indoor air quality.

ET also supplies cutting-edge analytical equipment for scientific, process and research monitoring including the monitoring of greenhouse and toxic gases.

The company operates out of a custom-designed 1700m2 factory featuring fully air-conditioned calibration and repair laboratories, in-house system manufacturing and dedicated testing and training facilities.

AS Modelling & Data provides dispersion and deposition modelling using the latest version of ADMS for a wide range of clients including farms, the waste water industry, waste management, general manufacturing and Local Authorities. Our team can provide the expertise, modelling, data and reports for odour, ammonia and air quality assessments including detailed modelling of emissions from ammonia scrubbers and innovative ventilation systems.

AS Modelling & Data can also provide meteorological station data and site-specific Numerical Weather Prediction data for any site location in the world, which can be converted for use within ADMS. We can provide data for meteorological parameters on request and data can be provided quickly at affordable prices. stevesmith@asmodata.co.uk

GRAMM is the UK leading specialist in the design, supply & installation of environmental acoustic barriers. We have constructed literally 1,000’s of Km’s of acoustic barriers of all types of materials throughout the UK and Europe.

GRAMM SmogStop Barrier reduces air and noise pollution levels in surrounding neighbourhoods, and takes a two-pronged approach to reducing air pollution from major roads, highways and railways.

The patented aerodynamic design reduces pollution levels by enhancing dispersion. At the same time, a proprietary coating on the barrier actually breaks down the NOx and VOCs that produce smog, transforming them into harmless by-products

We are an indoor environment air treatment manufacturer that brings to market an innovative, sustainable and an environmentally friendly technology.

Developed in cooperation with the world-renowned Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, our NCCO (Nano Confined Catalytic Oxidation) air treatment system is entirely safe and has one of the longest filter lives in our industry.

It is effective in killing bacteria, viruses, removes Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), odours, smoke, PM2.5 particulates, yeasts, and allergens.

Our products are used in a wide range of industries such paint, perfume, air, rail, hotel industries, hospitals, offices and in the home.

T: 01453 733200 www.et.co.uk

T: 01952 462500 www.asmodata.co.uk

T: 01323 872243 www.smogstop.co.uk

T : +44 1565 640 960 www.int.rhtair.com

CarTakeBack

Environmental Monitoring Arcola Energy

CarTakeBack is the UK’s largest network of scrap car recycling centres with over 300 sites across the UK. CarTakeBack provide a scrap vehicle recycling service to the public and businesses including vehicle manufacturers, dealerships, police forces, auction houses as well as local authorities and government bodies.

CarTakeBack recycle vehicles to the highest standard and have a successful history of handling and supporting vehicle scrappage schemes - including government and local authority schemes as well as vehicle manufacturer and dealership lead schemes.

T: 08000 71 71 91 www.CarTakeBack.com info@CarTakeBack.com

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Data Monitoring Systems Ltd are a complete data solutions provider From your single analyser, right through to your complete network, our Data Gateway has the ability to connect to 20 analysers simultaneously. Major analysers, for example, Thermo, Palas, Ecotech, Vaisala, and more may be connected to our Data Gateways with automatic calibrations also being carried out.

Data ratification, and reports may be carried using our Reports package.

Coming soon: ï I ndoor Air Monitoring system measuring: • TVOC, • Particles • CO2 • Temperature • Humidity with display, mobile phone and WiFi connectivity.

Hydrogen fuel cell vehicle engineering, Tier 1 Powertrain supply and hydrogen fuel cell vehicle project delivery.

ïW eb portal for displaying your data. ï Mobile phone application.

Arcola Energy is a leading specialist in hydrogen and fuel cell technologies for energy and transport. We help our customers to develop the right technology, supply-chain, deployment strategy, and after market solutions, avoiding costly mistakes and aiming to delight end-users.

We have a collaborative approach, building long-term partnerships with and between our customers, suppliers and end-users. We focus on products which make a positive contribution to society, delivered with total commitment to quality, safety and compliance.

Our manufacturing, installation and service facility in Liverpool City Region has capacity to supply 1,000s of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles per year.

T: 01382 524916 enquiries@datamonitoring. co.uk www.datamonitoring.co.uk

T: 020 7503 1386 sales@arcolaenergy.com www.arcolaenergy.com

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Em-Monitors (Environmental Monitoring) is a specialist provider and manufacturer of a range of environmental monitoring equipment. We recognise the need to minimise cost by providing accurate and meaningful data remotely to any location in the world.

Our air monitoring systems cover indicative indoor and air quality systems as well as reference system required to report to national standards. Environmental Monitoring also provide workplace monitoring equipment and training, so that you can produce professional reports with confidence.

Environmental Monitoring covers all your environmental monitoring requirements.

T: 01539 727 878 www.airquality-monitoring.co.uk em-monitors.co.uk

NO2

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NEXT GENERATION CLEANTECH Hyper-local Air Pollution Monitoring 03

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• Full end-to-end system • Multiple pollutant gas & particulate matter sensing • Fully automated & continuous monitoring • Web based intuitive user interface with analytical tools • Configurable dashboards & alerts • Self-healing wireless mesh network • Air Quality Monitoring as-a-Service

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CCTV ENFORCEMENT FOR AIR QUALITY AND TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT IMPROVEMENTS Rising Bollards

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THINK TRAFFIC, THINK CCTV, THINK VIDEALERT

• Supports multiple clean air and traffic management applications simultaneously • School Streets and Low Traffic Neighbourhoods • Clean air and low emission zones • Mandatory cycle lanes • Moving traffic contraventions (where legislation permits)

• Widest range of mobile enforcement vehicles including electric cars and motorbikes • Air quality monitoring sensors • Hosted option for rapid deployment • 24x7 remote system monitoring for highest availability

For UK and International enquiries: Videalert Ltd, The Clock House, Paines Lane, Pinner, Middlesex, HA5 3BY, UK

www.videalert.com +44 (0) 20 3931 6556

info@videalert.com

Marston Holdings offers a complete portfolio of integrated transportation and enforcement solutions

Streetscape Design Consultancy

CCTV Enforcement

Civil Parking Enforcement

Road Tolling and Charging

Electric Vehicle Charging

Court Order Recovery