AQN Magazine - Issue 11 - November 2021 by Spacehouse

Issue 11

November 2021

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Air Quality News talks to Felicity Aston MBE An eruption of air pollution

A CHILD’S RIGHT TO BREATHE

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Editorial Comment and Contacts

Welcome to Air Quality News magazine Contacts

November has been extremely busy for us here at Air Quality News. Earlier this month myself and my colleague Chloe Coules were reporting live from COP26 in Glasgow. It was great to be part of such a monumental event and to scrutinise the pledges and promises made. The COP conference has highlighted once again the importance of addressing climate change and air pollution together. The Clean Air Fund has explored this very issue in greater detail on page 16.

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 magazine has also been published to coincide with the National Air Quality News Conference. Following on from a successful conference in Manchester in September, it is great to continue to bring experts, policy makers and green sector leaders together to keep elevating the conversation. This magazine focuses strongly on the topic of human rights. We have long-known that environmental pollution and the climate crisis are linked to human rights. However, until recently this was not formally recognised. In October, the United Nations Human Rights Council passed a ‘landmark’ resolution recognising our fundamental right to a healthy and sustainable environment. Considering this, I have spoken to Human Rights Lawyer Irmina Kotiuk to understand what this means for air pollution practically. Elsewhere in the magazine, my colleague Chloe Coules has worked with Global Action Plan on their campaign to have clean air recognised in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Children are especially vulnerable to the impacts of air pollution, with around 93% of the world’s children breathing in air that is so polluted it puts their health and development at serious risk. Chloe investigates why we need international recognition of the impact of air pollution on children and what changing human rights law could achieve. Following on from the COP26 conference it feels very timely to be reporting on such urgent issues. We can no longer separate the issues of human rights and environmental pollution, as stated by Irmina Kotiuk: ‘The link between human rights and the environment is very tightly linked, ultimately all human rights depend on a healthy biosphere and a safe climate.’ We hope to continue these discussions at the National Air Quality News Conference, thank you once again to our fantastic line-up of speakers for shedding light on the urgency of these issues. Enjoy the edition, and, as ever, thank you to the team for pulling together another great magazine.

Pippa Neill, editor. Tel: 07922 420984 pippa@airqualitynews.com

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: Page 24-26 Feature: Air pollution is linked to childhood pneumonia An eruption of air pollution Page 14-15: Advertorial

Page 16-18: Feature

Page 20-22: Feature

Page 10-12 Feature: A child’s right to breathe: the case for legal protections against air pollution

Page 28-30 The Big Interview: Felicity Aston, MBE, Arctic scientist, author and expedition leader.

Page 24-26: International

Page 28-30: The Big Interview

Page 32-33: Local Government News

Page 16-18 Feature: Bringing together action on air pollution & climate change

Page 32-33 Local Government: New World Health Organization Guidelines time to act

Page 36-37: Local Government Interview

Page 38-39: Legal

Page 40: Marketplace

Page 20-22 Feature: Page 38-39 Legal: Rethinking retrofit: how to secure a low-carbon How data can help with air quality future without sacrificing air quality management

Thanks to our contributors: Clean Air Fund, London Borough of Camden, Bosch UK, and Felicity Aston MBE

Partners

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News

in brief EVs at COP26 hampered by lack of charging points Electric vehicles (EVs) at COP26 could be powered by external combustion generators due to a lack of available charging points, according to AFC Energy. The company has said that the UK has missed an opportunity to showcase our climate credentials to the global community. The UK is projected to have over 23 million EVs by 2030; amounting to the equivalent electricity usage of powering every UK household for two months. However, AFC has warned that insufficient investment in appropriate EV infrastructure could lead to power shortages across the grid and continue to exacerbate the UK’s reliance on polluting generators. New project will raise investment to install 280 EV charge points EZ-Charge is raising finance to install 280 electric vehicle (EV) charging points in public car parks across Oxfordshire. The money will be used to: • Develop the Oxfordshire Park & Charge project in local authority car parks, facilitating over 2,800 EVs from year 1. • Accelerate the adoption of EVs • Share their expertise and technology • Continue to develop state of the art charging technology, creating jobs and economic benefits for Oxfordshire. Infrastructure works will begin on November 1st 2021 with all charge points live by the end of February 2022. New software will improve the energy efficiency of EVs Thanks to £400,000 worth of funding from Innovate UK, Hypermile and Spark EV technology will develop their Co-pilot software solution. The software uses computer vision and artificial intelligence to assess when it is best suited for the vehicle to coast – using no energy – and when to maximise the percentage of breaking. The software will also use Spark EV’s range prediction technology to analyse real-world variables such as traffic, weather and driver behaviour to provide accurate data on how far the vehicle can travel before needing to be recharged. 6

Leeds outlines plans for a future where you ‘don’t need a car’ Following on from £380m worth of infrastructure improvements, Leeds City Council has set out further plans to transform transport over the next 10 years.

he aim of the Connecting Leeds Transport Strategy is to create a city where you don’t need a car, and where everyone has access to affordable, low carbon and healthy transport choices. The new plans involve: • Reducing CO2 emissions from transport by 43% by 2030 • Reducing car mileage by 30% and increasing bus usage by 130% • Completing the first phase of investment in public transport • Understanding how travel patterns have changed during the Covid-19 pandemic • Reviewing policies on road space reallocation • Working alongside the Mayor and West Yorkshire Combined Authority to secure more government funding • Continuing with travel

behaviour initiatives The majority of public consultation responses endorsed the approach, from over 1,700 responses, 70% agreed with the levels of ambition and vision. The feedback also found that more needs to be done to reduce transport carbon emissions, but promisingly 58% of replies said they are willing to change to a lower carbon mode. Leeds City Council Leader Cllr James Lewis, said: ‘This

transport strategy will enable Leeds to retain its role as a local, regional, and national transport hub and prepare the city for the arrival of high-speed rail. ‘We will continue to work and support the newly elected Mayor, alongside our joint efforts to transform the bus network. Maximising the transport investment, our approach will ensure benefits are distributed across the city and wider city region.

Living near an oil or gas well increases air pollution exposure Researchers at Stanford University analysed local air quality measurements at 38,000 wells that were being drilled and 90,000 wells in production between 2006 and 2019.

hey found that all of the wells were emitting toxic levels of particulate matter (PM2.5), carbon monoxide, nitrous oxide, ozone and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). When a new well is being

drilled, PM2.5 increases by 2ug/ m3 about a mile away from the site. The research also revealed that ozone was present up to 2.5 miles from the wells. With at least two million Californians living within one

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mile of an active oil or gas well, the researchers have highlighted that this is a serious cause for concern. Senior study author Marshall Burke said: ‘It’s really hard to show air quality impacts of an activity like oil and gas production at a population scale, but that’s the scale we need to be able to infer health impacts. ‘While it’s not necessarily surprising that drilling and operating oil and gas wells emit air pollutants, knowing the magnitude of the effect improves our broader understanding of who is exposed to what and how to intervene to improve health outcomes.’

News

European policy lags behind truckmakers on CO2 emission The European Union is failing to set adequate emission reduction targets for truckmakers, a new study shows.

ccording to the study, which was published by the campaign group Transport & Environment (T&E), improvements in fuel efficiency mean trucks can already achieve the EU’s 2025 CO2 reduction target while producing just a few zero-emission vehicles. The study reveals that most truckmakers have made voluntary commitments for electric sales which go beyond what the EU requires. According to public announcements, these voluntary

commitments would take the market to around 7% zeroemission vehicles in 2025 and 43% in 2030 - higher than the 2% needed in 2025 to meet existing voluntary targets. These voluntary announcements show that the EU can set a realistic - but more ambitious – target of at least 30% zero-emission trucks by 2028, says T&E. Average CO2 emissions for new long-haul trucks were higher in larger western European countries such as France, Germany and the United Kingdom, while smaller countries

such as Bulgaria, Estonia, Portugal and Slovakia performed significantly better. Poland’s long-haul truck emissions, for example, are 3.5% below the EU average while Germany’s are 2.2% above. Lucien Mathieu, acting freight director at T&E, said: ‘Truckmakers are going green quicker than policymakers, which is absurd. However, this is not the case of the free-market doing its job, but rather policymakers failing to do theirs. Truckmakers are clearly able to decarbonise quicker. It’s time to make them.

Children from poorer backgrounds more likely to develop persistent asthma Children experiencing social disadvantage in their first few years of life have a greatly increased risk of asthma persisting into adulthood, a study has found.

he study, published in the journal Thorax by University of Liverpool and Imperial College London researchers, looked at the early life circumstances of thousands of UK children and their risk for persistent asthma as teenagers, using data from almost 7,500 children born in the UK between 2000-2002. Comparing the relative impacts of a range of early life circumstances on asthma risk (such as birth weight, parental smoking, quality of housing and neighbourhood), their analysis

found that being born into disadvantaged circumstances increased the likelihood of developing persistent asthma by 70%, with almost two-thirds (59%) of the risk attributable to early life exposures; before the children reached three years old. The researchers say their findings highlight how social and economic factors are driving persistent asthma among the most disadvantaged children in the UK. They add that while the condition is manageable,

persistent asthma is still responsible for preventable hospitalisations and deaths, and that the UK has among the worst death rates for asthma in Europe. ‘We know that children from poorer backgrounds, who live in disadvantaged circumstances, tend to have a much higher risk of developing asthma, but they also have more asthma attacks, hospitalisations and are more likely to die from asthma,’' said Sonia Saxena, professor of primary care within Imperial’s School of Public Health.

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in briefin brief BAME communities are more likely to live in areas with toxic air Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities in London are more likely to live in areas with toxic air, new data reveals. In light of this data, Sadiq Khan has launched a new Breathe London community programme to reduce this pollution. Sadiq Khan, said: ‘We know toxic air pollution in London stunts the growth of children’s lungs and worsens chronic illnesses, such as asthma. Now our new research confirms that those exposed to the worst air pollution are more likely to be Londoners living in deprived areas and Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities.’ Air pollution linked to increased mortality Researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health found that each 1g/ m3 increase in annual particulate matter (PM2.5) concentrations increased the absolute annual risk of death by 0.073%. Each 1 ppb increase in annual nitrogen dioxide (NO2) concentrations increased the annual risk of death by 0.003%, and each 1 ppb increase in summer ozone (O3) concentrations increased the annual risk of death by 0.081% These increases translated to approximately 11,540 deaths attributable to PM2.5, 1,176 deaths attributable to NO2, and 15,115 deaths attributable to O3 per year for each unit increase in pollution concentrations New air quality alert system launched in Northern Ireland Northern Ireland has announced changes to the Air Pollution Alert Protocol to improve public awareness during periods of high air pollution. Changes will include the use of social media to disseminate information about high levels of air pollution to the public, health professionals and those in high-risk groups. Edwin Poots, Northern Ireland’s Environment Minister said: ‘Interest in the quality of the air we breathe has grown massively over recent years, and the improvement of this alert system allows people with underlying health issues, such as heart and lung conditions or asthma, to get more localised information when they need it.’ 7

News

in brief UK’s first ever EV battery recycling facility to open in Sheffield RSBruce have launched the UK’s first-ever lithium-ion battery recycling service. According to the University of Warwick, it is expected that from 2035 every new passenger car sold across the country will be electric and will have a lithium-ion battery, and it is predicted that by 2040, 339,000 tonnes of these batteries will reach end of life. Recognising the potential this offers to UK based recycling specialists, RSBruce has invested in new equipment to offer whole life cycle lithium-ion battery recycling services completely in-house. Air pollution linked to lower exam results Exposure to air pollution is linked to lower cognitive performance, according to a new study published by the University of Chicago. The researchers analysed data on ozone (O3) and particulate matter (PM2.5) pollution and a data set of students’ scores to examine the impact of air pollution on academic performance. The findings suggest that an increase of 10mg/m3 of particulate matter on the day of the examination decreases students scores by 8%. Consistent with previous studies, the authors also found evidence that the effect of air pollution on exam performance appears to affect males more adversely than females. Wales to introduce air quality speed cameras A series of speed cameras will be introduced in Wales in a bid to reduce air pollution. Unlike the majority of speed cameras that are located in areas with a high number of serious collisions, these new cameras will be located in areas that have poor air quality and will aim to smooth traffic flow in order to reduce emissions. In 2018, the Welsh government introduced a series of 50mph speed limits on some of the most polluted roads, this helped to reduce pollution by up to 47%. The Welsh Government is looking to maximise these benefits by enforcing the limits using Jenoptik SPECS average speed cameras. 8

Air pollution is linked to childhood pneumonia Air pollution is associated with 2 million additional pneumonia cases in children under 5 in South Asia, according to a new study led by Stanford University.

he researchers analysed data on particulate matter (PM2.5) pollution alongside community health surveillance data in Dhaka, Bangladesh. They found that pneumonia incidence among children under 5 increased by 3.2% for every 10µg/m3 increase in PM2.5 pollution. The mean PM2.5 level in Dhaka was on average over three times higher than the World Health Organization standard. The researchers have therefore suggested that the association between air pollution and child pneumonia suggests that air pollution is a major contributor to the leading cause of child death in Bangladesh and across South Asia. These findings are also approximately double that of

prior estimates of pneumonia hospitalisations associated with increased PM2.5. The researchers have said that the difference from previous findings may reflect the young age of the study population most children in the study were two or younger. Allison Sherris, a postdoctoral research fellow in Earth System Science at Stanford’s School of Earth,

Energy & Environmental Sciences said: ‘Everybody wants to protect kids’ health. Now, we have evidence of a clear health benefit to children from reducing ambient PM2.5 emissions in Dhaka. ‘Specifying the impact of industry-generated air pollution on child health provides compelling evidence to support interventions to reduce pollution.’

Mayor of London prioritises active travel and urban greening New guidance sets out the Mayor of London’s vision for a sustainable future, ensuring developments in the capital are greener, more energy-efficient and prioritise space for walkers, cyclists, and public transport.

he regulations include ‘Be Seen Energy Monitoring’, which requires monitoring and reporting of the actual operational energy performance of buildings forming part of major developments for at least five years post-construction, creating a better understanding of ‘real world’ energy use rather than predictions during the design stage. The Mayor has also introduced ‘Urban Greening Factor’ guidance, which sets out how new developments should calculate their urban greening score, encouraging the inclusion of natural vegetation such as woodland or intensive green roofs in development plans, as well as rain gardens and flower-

rich planting. The plans also include new guidance on sustainable transport, walking and cycling, ensuring enough space is dedicated to sustainable travel when building new developments, such as creating new walking routes and improving the cycle network.

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The new guidance forms a material consideration when it comes to planning decisions and developing planning documents, such as a borough’s Local Plan. The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: ‘I’m committed to making London a zero-carbon city by 2030 and delivering a brighter future for London – one that’s greener, fairer and more prosperous for everyone. That’s why I’ve developed these new pieces of guidance, building on the ambitious targets in my London Plan, that will ensure new developments in London prioritise urban greening and make space for sustainable transport like walking, cycling and public transport.

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Feature

A child’s right to breathe: the case for legal protections against air pollution As Global Action Plan prepares to take a white paper to the UN calling for clean air to be recognised as a right of the child, Chloe Coules investigates why we need international recognition of the impact of air pollution on children and what changing human rights law could achieve.

‘I

am a lucky mum,’ explains Jemima Hartshorn, founder of Mums for Lungs, ‘To date, my children do not have any visible symptoms from the high air pollution they are exposed to everyday just by living in London. ‘But I worry about them and lie awake at night, wondering whether their lungs will be stunted or if they are going to develop asthma, cancer or diabetes – which are all illnesses strongly linked to air pollution.’ Like Jemima, parents across the world are constantly confronted with the risks that air pollution poses for their children, and many of them are not so fortunate to have avoided its impact. Every day around 93% of the world’s children breathe in air that is so polluted it puts their health and development at serious risk, according to WHO. The unique vulnerability of children is leading

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campaigners to call for global recognition of the health crisis faced by current and future generations and the intrinsic human right to breathe safe air. Global Action Plan is fighting to get the right to clean air recognised as part of the UN’s Convention on the Rights of the Child. Désirée Abrahams, senior business manager at Global Action Plan, explains: ‘The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child was agreed in 1989, so it was a long time ago when the world was a very different place. ‘Even though Article 24 specifically discusses health, the policymakers who were drafting the Convention had not explicitly thought about air pollution, and so we need specific words in order for there to be responsibilities and duties placed on governments and the private sector to protect children from air pollution.’ Global Action Plan is visiting schools in Beijing,

Feature

Delhi, London and Los Angeles as part of the ‘Freedom to Breathe’ campaign. They hope to gather the support of 20,000 children to strengthen their call to the UN to acknowledge children’s right to clean air. Hannah Battram, who is responsible for the Freedom to Breathe campaign, says: ‘The first step is to really make sure that children understand what the issues are and how it’s relevant to their health and wellbeing, but most importantly empowering them to be agents of change, and allowing them to raise their voices to make those changes to ensure they have a secure future.’ As more and more parents and children call for change to protect children from the threat of air pollution, Air Quality News discovers why children need special protections and what amending the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child could achieve.

more so than it does for adults because of their size and their bodies, and because their immune systems are weaker because they are still developing. ‘That can be right through from unborn babies to children of all ages, and those health implications have consequences for the rest of their lives, particularly around their physical health but also their development, which affects their ability to learn and has wider knock-on effects in terms of prosperity and their future life chances.’ Children are also exposed to more air pollution than adults because they have a faster breathing rate per unit of body weight, and they are more likely to breathe through their mouths.

How does air pollution affect children? The effects of air pollution on children are wide-ranging and severe, starting before a child is even born. Exposure to air pollution during pregnancy is linked to higher rates of premature birth and low birth weight, as well as problems with cognitive development, which have a knock-on effect on a child’s future educational achievement and ability to learn, socialise and play. Exposure to air pollution during infancy also significantly increases the risk of death during the first year of life. As a child grows, so too does the impacts of air pollution on their health and wellbeing. It is well documented that there is a strong link between air pollution exposure in childhood and the development of respiratory illnesses, such as pneumonia, bronchitis and asthma. This can be extremely dangerous, with almost one million children dying from pneumonia alone each year, and more than half of these cases directly linked to air pollution. Aside from the obvious implications for a child’s health, the development of respiratory diseases can also have wider social impacts, with a study published in Environment Health highlighting that these respiratory conditions can lead to higher incidences of hospitalisation and doctors’ visits, reducing the affected children’s school attendance and normal participation in physical activities. Exposure to air pollution can also affect how well a child learns, with a report by Global Action Plan finding that air pollution exposure at school can hamper a child’s cognitive function, including working memory, which will have a direct impact on how well a child performs at school and beyond. Why are children especially vulnerable? Children are much more vulnerable to the effects of air pollution than adults because they are still developing. Hannah Battram, senior manager at Global Action Plan, explains: ‘Nine out of ten children around the world are breathing air that is unsafe and that has a fundamental impact on their physical health and development, much

This vulnerability is worsened by activities and behaviours that children across the world take part in every day. Désirée Abrahams explains: ‘Children have unique behaviours and activities that place them in greater harm. For example, if you imagine a baby or a toddler in a pram, and you imagine where that pram is in relation to a car exhaust, that gives you a good indication of their unique vulnerability and that’s why we are specifically calling for this children’s right.’ Researchers at Columbia University found that young children are exposed to high levels of air pollution as they play, walk and are transported around in prams and pushchairs, because particulate matter (PM2.5) is prevalent in higher concentrations at ground level arising from dust or car fumes. These dangers are even greater in the home, with a range of indoor air pollution sources found in houses that can affect children, including smoking, damp, cooking, burning fossil fuels and wood, dust, chemicals from building materials and furnishings, aerosol sprays and cleaning products. These sources of air pollution are linked to a range of childhood health problems, including asthma, wheezing, conjunctivitis, dermatitis and eczema.

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Feature

The impact of air pollution on children is also worsened by existing inequalities. The WHO recognises indoor air pollution as one of the most insidious killers in many of the poorest areas of the developing world, and children do not escape its threat. Children in low-income countries are often exposed to dangerous air pollution from cooking on open fires, which especially effects infants because of their closeness with their primary caregiver. In these situations, young girls also face the greatest exposure and health impact, as they are more likely to engage in household chores according to UNICEF research. What is being done about it? Global Action Plan’s campaign joins a growing movement calling for air pollution to be considered a human rights issue, which has led to some crucial changes in international law already. In September, WHO tightened its air quality guidelines for the first time since 2005, providing clear evidence of the damage air pollution inflicts on human health at even lower concentrations than previously understood. The United Nations Human Rights Council also passed a resolution recognising access to a healthy and sustainable environment as a universal human right earlier this month, 12

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marking the first time that a UN body has recognised the link between human rights and the environment. However, according to ClientEarth’s human rights lawyer Irmina Kotiuk, adding express provision of the right of the child to clean air to human rights law would be a very positive step forward and a powerful tool in creating lasting change. She explains that if the campaign was successful, states would not only have to report on the protection of children’s health but also directly on air pollution, putting a clear spotlight on the issue. She also notes that the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child is currently at its most receptive to considering the effects of environmental issues on children’s rights, so it is the perfect time to push for global change to recognise the child’s right to clean air. Sara Alsén, Blueair Chief Purpose Officer, concludes: ‘The passing of the recent human rights resolution on a right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment is a huge win for people globally. However, the resolution doesn't go far enough. A specific child's right to clean air must be stipulated as children's health and development is most impacted by exposure to poor air quality. Breathing clean air is vital to help children realise their full potential and live long healthy lives and this right must be acknowledged by the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.’

Feature

AQMesh now supplied and supported direct in the UK AQMesh is now being supplied and supported directly in the UK, as a positive step towards providing fast, direct manufacturer support. The UK-based manufacturer has already been supporting global users directly since the product first launched ten years ago and is now extending that same support to UK customers. AQMesh is designed, developed, manufactured and fully supported from its Stratford-upon-Avon factory and office. The small sensor air quality monitoring system has been proven throughout the globe, including extensively across the UK, in a wide range of real-world environments and conditions. The team at AQMesh have experience supporting numerous air quality networks, including the ground-breaking Breathe London pilot. In addition to demonstrable performance, the product comes with a free 5 year manufacturer’s warranty – and is the first small sensor system to offer one. The warranty underpins years of proven

product quality in terms of the hardware itself as well as longevity in the field and long-term baseline stability. Short and long-term rental options have always been offered to all AQMesh customers in addition to purchasing pods and these are now available for UK users direct from the manufacturer. Customers can benefit from AQMesh’s highly experienced and fast-responding technical support and customer service teams, as well as remote diagnostics, remote upgrades and onsite support when required. Users can also access their data services direct from the bespoke AQMeshData.net secure cloud server through either a secure web application offering dynamic data visualisation, API integration or as a completely free-ofcharge download option allowing a data file to be emailed at a regular schedule. Amanda Billingsley, Managing Director for Environmental Instruments Ltd, the company which manufactures

AQMesh, comments “We are proud to have been partners with Air Monitors for so many years and to have jointly achieved the huge growth in use of small sensor systems in the UK. We and ACOEM UK agree that now is the moment to make a positive change, formally ending ACOEM UK’s exclusive distribution of AQMesh and offering our products and services direct to the UK market. We are looking forward to having more direct contact with our users and being able to support their applications, learning more and responding to requirements.” ACOEM UK will still be supplying AQMesh on a non-exclusive basis, providing support and services to existing users. This ensures no interruption to the services of all our customers, who will continue to receive our excellent customer service levels. For more information please contact us at info@aqmesh.com or visit our website www.aqmesh.com

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Advertorial

Alphasense celebrates 25 years of sensor technology development Alphasense, the UK-based manufacturer of gas detection sensors, is celebrating its 25th anniversary in October 2021.

riginally founded by Scientist and Entrepreneur Paul Gotley OBE in 1996, the company started life in small premises in Great Dunmow, Essex. Paul’s daughter, Andrea Gotley, soon took over day-to-day business operations with her father overseeing proceedings in his role as Chairman. A series of astute joint ventures and key research links with British universities enabled Alphasense to develop new technologies and sensor products that opened the door to opportunities in air quality and gas safety markets. Today, Alphasense operates from a purpose-built manufacturing facility in Great Notley, Essex. The company is profitable, with an annual turnover in excess of £20m, largely due to the operational efficiency and global business development established over the last decade or so. The Alphasense product range still includes the company’s bestselling gas safety Oxygen and PPM toxic sensors but is now complemented by a suite of PPB sensors allied with Optical

Particle Counters and Photo Ionisation Detectors for air quality applications. Research and Development is led by Technical Director, Ronan Baron, whose passion for environmental air quality monitoring fuels much of the product innovation and technical strategy at Alphasense. One such air quality innovation project recently led to the launch of two new VOC electrochemical sensors, strengthening the company’s growing air quality product range and offering a lower-maintenance air quality sensor option at an affordable price. Commercially focused innovation is just one of the reasons customers choose to work with Alphasense. Sensor performance and reliability are key focuses for the Operations team, whose ‘LEAN manufacturing’ approach prioritises efficiency without compromising quality. The ‘LEAN’ methodology allows the team to manufacture and stock a comprehensive range of sensor products. Customer orders are dispatched quickly to a global customer base by an in-house fulfilment team.

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The Alphasense Technical Support team is always on hand to assist with further product support, offering a consultative service when customers enquire about a new product idea or adaptation to an existing product. The company’s growth strategy revolves around three core pillars: science, sales, and manufacturing. The fusion of these three elements will remain a foundation that current Alphasense CEO, Peter Saxton, who Andrea Gotley brought in to oversee and implement her succession plan, believes is key to the company’s continued success. A recent recruitment drive is further evidence of Saxton’s confidence in the long-term success of Alphasense. As well as bringing onboard new members of the Sales & Marketing team to help service and grow the company’s global sales territories, the Technical team has also invested in several new in-house scientists who each bring their own specialist knowledge and expertise to the table. Alphasense is a business very much looking to the future but with an appreciation of its past. Twentyfive years after Paul Gotley started the company, his daughter Andrea has total confidence that her father’s dedication to high-quality sensor products and excellent customer service is in safe hands. With public awareness of air quality issues at an all-time high, Alphasense is well-placed to continue supporting its customers by designing and manufacturing high-performance gas and air quality sensors that improve living conditions for communities worldwide and, ultimately, save lives. To find out more about Alphasense and the company’s range of gas detection and air quality sensors, visit alphasense.com or email sensors@alphasense.com

Celebrating 25 years of market-leading sensor technology

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Feature

Bringing together action on air pollution The Clean Air Fund explains why we must bring together action on air pollution and climate change.

he ‘cobra effect’ is a concept dating to when British colonial rulers in India attempted to find a solution but instead made an existing problem worse. This is the trap governments face today by not addressing the interconnected problems of climate change and air pollution together. Concerns about the growing number of cobras in Delhi led the government to offer a reward for every dead snake. This was successful to start with but backfired when entrepreneurial citizens started to breed cobras for the financial incentives they offered. When the government ended the bounty, breeders set these now worthless snakes free. The upshot: the cobra population increased rather than decreased. The ‘cobra effect’ is reminiscent of the switch from petrol to diesel vehicles, incentivised by governments in pursuit of targets agreed at Kyoto in 1997. The move was aimed at reducing CO2 emissions. Regardless if this was achieved, it is indisputable that the measures resulted in increased nitrogen oxides (NOx), air pollutants that are toxic for humans. A

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more recent example of problem-solving which sets climateharming emissions against health-harming emissions, is the shift from fossil fuels to higher blends of biofuels (>15%) which can, in the end, increase emissions of NOx and volatile organic compounds (VOC). The resulting higher uptake of biomass to replace natural gas and promote renewable energy has led to an increase in VOC, solid PM, and carbon monoxide (CO) decreasing urban air quality. A new briefing paper, “Joined-up action on air pollution and climate change”, argues that governments need to pursue a much more integrated approach. Instead of tackling the complex issues of air pollution and climate change in parallel or at cross purposes, the Clean Air Fund argues that by adopting a more coordinated approach at every level, governments can save money, save lives, and cut carbon use. Multiplier effect As well as avoiding the ‘cobra effect’, the Clean Air Fund outlines how a joined-up approach can produce a kind of

Feature

catalyse the action needed to limit warming to 1.5°C • F aster results on reducing both global warming and air pollution. The benefits from cleaner air appear much sooner than from reduced greenhouse gases, providing tangible results that build popular support. Actions such as shifting to electric vehicles or shutting down coal plants have important long-term climate mitigation benefits while delivering immediate and more visible clean air benefits. By reducing black carbon, a component of PM2.5 (fine particulate matter) and a short-lived climate pollutant (SLCP) that warms the planet, these actions benefit both global temperatures and human health. • Fairer and more equitable outcomes. The quality of the air we breathe echoes the deep inequities in the world, and the poor in all countries are hardest hit. Death rates from air pollution are four times higher in low and lowermiddle income countries than high income countries. And within these, the poor and vulnerable suffer the most. Low and lower-middle income countries have a PM2.5 concentration that is 2.5 times higher on average than in high income countries. Equity can be promoted by prioritising climate action that targets air quality improvements for disadvantaged groups, especially in the world’s cities. The improved health and economic outcomes can in turn enhance the resilience of populations and social infrastructure, for example health systems, to climate change. Early adopters

& climate change multiplier effect. Climate solutions that also deliver cleaner air offer a cheaper, faster and fairer way to achieve climate goals. Air pollution’s silent pandemic is causing 7 million premature deaths each year—action now can save many lives while accelerating climate change mitigation. In addition, there is significant potential for countries to deliver effective and inclusive air quality and climate solutions to create healthier, more resilient, and sustainable recovery pathways after covid-19. Harnessing the synergies between clean air and climate action could achieve: • Cheaper, higher-return climate actions thanks to air quality benefits. Currently, many climate policymaking processes do not account for the savings on health and other co-benefits of cleaner air. By including the co-benefits of air quality in cost-benefit analyses, measures that have a negative cost deliver 50% greater CO2e emissions reductions (24 gigatonnes as opposed to 16 gigatonnes a year). Capturing these benefits could accelerate progress in improving air quality and help

There are already bright spots of good, joined-up practice with cities, countries and international organisations pursuing more coherent strategies in recent years. The Clean Air Cities Declaration launched by C40 in 2019 with 35 city signatories, highlights the interconnectedness of air pollution with the climate challenge and the need for cities to integrate pollution-reducing actions into climate action plans. Chile, Ghana, Mexico and Mongolia have explicitly adapted their climate change strategies to incorporate air quality goals-with programming that tackled both agendas together, and extensive coordination between relevant stakeholders. In 2020, Mexico stepped up its commitment to tackling both climate change and air pollution with its new National Strategy to Reduce Short-Lived Climate Pollutants, which would reduce black carbon emissions by 53% in 2030, exceeding the target identified in their Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) in the Paris Agreement. It would also reduce total greenhouse gas emissions by 9% by 2030 primarily through methane emission reductions. Ghana has also recognised the strategic importance of acting on air pollution and climate together. In 2020, it became the first country to include air pollution, in the form of black carbon, in their National Greenhouse Gas Inventory submitted to the UNFCCC. And in 2018, Ghana published a National Action Plan to Mitigate SLCPs which identifies measures to both improve air quality mitigate against climate change. The European Union’s EC4MACS collaboration provides

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Feature

a useful model of joined-up analysis to support effective policy making. The EC4MACS toolkit helps to quantify the co-benefits of tackling air pollutants and greenhouse gases so member countries can prioritize their emission control strategy. The model compares the level of emissions and other outcomes with that from existing regulations to inform the gap with the policy target set out by the EU. It is estimated that by adopting all feasible technologies to control both greenhouse gases and air pollution, the health benefits COST-BENEFIT ANALYSIS OF THE EU INCORPORATING AIR QUALITY AS A CLIMATE PRIORITY, ESTIMATION FOR 2030

generated could range from €25–157 billion per year compared to maintenance costs of €28-40 billion per year. The EC4MACS has contributed to the policy proposal for the EU Energy and Climate Package, Roadmap for moving to a low-carbon economy in 2050. As the EC4MACS example shows, capturing the cobenefits of air quality in cost-benefit analyses can support better decision making and higher returns. 18

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Proposals for policy makers The Clean Air Fund has added its voice to the growing call for a halt to new public investment in high carbon emitting and air polluting fossil fuels. Governments should fund a just transition to clean air solutions. That includes increasing support to low- and middle-income countries and focusing funding on the communities that need it most. Other recommendations from the briefing paper include: • creating a new Global Air Quality Convention, where global targets informed by WHO ambient air pollution guidelines can be agreed and reported against, shared regional approaches that cross geographical boundaries can be established, and global institutional mechanisms can be strengthened. • developing national mechanisms to support cross-sectoral coordination to embed health considerations and co-benefits across adaptation, mitigation, and sustainable development policy and programmes. For example, at a national government level, new cross-departmental Air Quality Units could be created with responsibilities and powers across health, climate, energy, waste, agriculture and transport policy. • improving policy coherence and indicator alignment across international climate, and sustainable development frameworks to better understand the linked challenges in an integrated manner and capture multiple benefits that may arise. Improvements in tracking and reporting on spending and results provide data and evidence for costs and benefits of an integrated approach to emission control actions. By building collaborative approaches that span siloes, borders and boundaries, governments may find they do not need to choose between harming health or harming the planet but can make progress on both.

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Indoor

Rethinking retrofit: how to secure a low-carbon future without sacrificing air quality Insulating the UK’s housing stock is a crucial component of the nation’s net zero ambitions, but we risk doing more damage to the environment and the air we breathe unless we rethink how we retrofit, discovers Chloe Coules.

etrofitting the 29 million existing homes in the UK plays a significant role in the government’s plans to achieve net zero by 2050, with energy use in homes accounting for around 14% of UK greenhouse gas emissions according to the Committee on Climate Change. The benefits of retrofitting are indisputable - better insulation means that we need to use less energy to heat our homes, helping to cut our carbon emissions and electricity bills. However, there is concern from indoor air quality experts that the way we are insulating our houses is causing more damage to the environment and risks leaving residents exposed to

dangerous pollutants. Architect and environmental consultant, Tom Woolley, explains that there is an assumption within the construction sector that you can use any insulation any way you like without incurring risk, but he argues that leaves homeowners in a disastrous situation. He is concerned by the recent waves of protests calling for mass insulation in the UK without stipulating what kind of materials should be used: ‘You cannot just call for buildings to be insulated, you have to say they have to be insulated properly, otherwise you could be making the situation worse.’ But why can insulation be bad news for our indoor environments, and how can we reach net zero without putting

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our health in danger? Hazardous homes Synthetic insulation is the most common product used to improve a home’s energy efficiency in the UK, but it can be a dangerous source of hazardous emissions. Most people know the risks of asbestos, a type of insulation that is now illegal in Europe and still leads to 13 deaths in the UK every day, but what they don’t know is that most of the market-leading synthetic insulations can also pose serious risks for our health. Mineral and glass fibre insulation, commonly known as glass wool,

Indoor

contains fibres, adhesives, resins and additives that can reduce indoor air quality when released, leading to a range of health issues including irritation of the eyes, nose and throat, rash and itchiness, stomach irritation, worsening of asthma, bronchitis and even cancer. Polyurethane spray foam insulation, which is widely used in the UK, has led to serious health complaints including respiratory and breathing issues, skin irritation and neurological issues in the US. Most foam insulations are also synthesised using hazardous chemicals, which have a negative impact on the environment and air during manufacture, use and disposal. They contain a range of chemicals that can emit volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and carcinogens, such as petrochemicals, solvents and flame retardants. Through the combination of chemicals found in synthetic insulation and increased airtightness created during installation, retrofitting can therefore lead to an increase in the level of VOCs in the indoor environment. Researchers at the University of Exeter found an increase in reported asthma problems when houses had been renovated to make them more energy efficient, which they concluded was most likely due to an increase in VOCs. This is supported by other studies that have found VOC emissions on indoor air quality tests when there is no other possible source other than synthetic insulation. This is concerning as VOCs are one of the biggest hazards to indoor air quality, leading to a range of health issues including irritation, headaches, dizziness, loss of coordination, nausea and visual disorders, and allergic reactions including asthma during acute exposure, as well as damage to vital organs after chronic exposure, even causing cancer in some cases. No breathing room Builders often assume that making a house as airtight as possible is the best way to make it energy efficient, but this can cause a range of issues, including higher radon levels and overheating. Various studies have linked

retrofitting with increases in radon levels, for example researchers studying over 3000 houses in France concluded that thermal retrofit could increase the indoor radon concentration significantly. A study in Belgium also found radon levels of 750 Bg/m3 in a passive house in a low radon risk area, this is dangerously above the UK’s safe limit of 200 Bg/m3. Radon is a highly dangerous pollutant and is recognised by the World Health Organisation as the second most important cause of lung cancer after smoking, leading to over 1,100 deaths a year from lung cancer.

now where people are coming home and finding their houses incredibly hot inside and finding it really difficult to keep them cool, particularly during really hot weather, and that’s because these lightweight synthetic insulation materials have no thermal mass, so they have no way of preventing overheating or keeping the house cool.’

A team of researchers led by James Milner from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine concluded that: ‘Unless specific remediation is used, reducing the ventilation of dwellings will improve energy efficiency only at the expense of population wide adverse impact on indoor exposure to radon and risk of lung cancer.’ Tom Woolley also explains that using synthetic insulation to increase energy efficiency and airtightness can lead to problems with overheating: ‘One of the problems which affects indoor air quality, particularly in the South of England, is overheating. There’s a lot of literature about this

Tom Woolley explains that modern methods of building can place occupants at greater exposure to air pollution: ‘In the past, insulation, even if it was pretty horrible, hazardous stuff, was generally contained within two leaves of masonry within the cavity, and the emissions from that would not be significant. But these days, most buildings are timber frame construction, and the insulation is on the inside, so therefore any potential emissions from the insulation are considerably higher than they would have been in the past.’ He adds that insulation is often only separated from the indoor environment by a sheet of plasterboard,

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Building badly The negative impact of insulating materials on indoor air quality can be made worse by poor installation, exposing people to unnecessary risks and more air quality issues.

Indoor

which chemical emissions can easily pass through, and actually contains a number of hazardous chemicals itself which are emitted into the air. Poor installation can also lead to severe damp and mould issues, which are endemic in many buildings in the UK, with over two thirds of people complaining about condensation or mould problems in their homes according to a survey commissioned by the Energy Saving Trust. Mould exposure is linked to respiratory issues such as an increase in asthma and respiratory infections, with children especially at risk. Cavity wall insulation is especially problematic for damp and mould, with 3 million houses in England claimed to be affected by badly installed cavity wall insulation, leading to the issue being debated in parliament in 2014. Tom Wooley explains that a lot of synthetic insulations are not able to cope with dampness, so you get condensation and damp building up within the framework of buildings, 22

making the insulation wet and mouldy. Despite this, Tom expresses concern that we are moving from one bad insulation solution to another without considering the risks and better ways of retrofitting: ‘There are massive failures and problems with cavity wall insulation, so they started doing external wall insulation and that’s been a disaster, so now they are moving more and more towards internal wall insulation using chemical insulation, and that is potentially even worse because it traps the interstitial condensation and that builds up into mould growth, which very often you can’t see because it’s behind the insulation.’ Natural solutions The good news is that natural insulation alternatives are available, and they come with a range of benefits that synthetic insulation cannot provide. Tom Woolley highlights the role that natural insulation solutions, such as

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sheep wool and hempcrete, can play in addressing the climate emergency: ‘If we want to save the planet, we have to reduce pollution and CO2 emissions. The production of petrochemical and synthetic insulation materials uses a lot of energy, so that’s bad for the planet quite apart from being bad for our health, whereas if you are using low impact materials, they don’t give off any energy in production, so they’re much better. Remarkably, some of the natural insulation materials are even much more thermally efficient than the synthetic insulations.’ Natural insulation materials do not release hazardous emissions, and they may also help to improve air quality, with materials like sheep wool able to absorb formaldehyde. They are also often hygroscopic, which means they can manage moisture and humidity in buildings, reducing the risk of mould growth and its associated health effects, and they have greater thermal mass so are able to keep buildings cool and prevent overheating. Tom Wooley also believes that local solutions are the key to deliver safe and effective retrofitting, providing a more holistic and individualised approach to insulating a home. An example of this is People Powered Retrofit, a householder-led approach to domestic energy efficiency retrofit in Greater Manchester run by Carbon Co-op. Lewis Sharman, a retrofit adviser at People Powered Retrofit, explains that the organisation always ensures that clients understand the health implications of different materials choices so they can make informed choices, advocating for natural solutions and proper ventilation to reduce the impact of retrofitting on air quality. However, he says that more needs to be done in central government to develop a nationwide retrofit programme, especially in the wake of the new heat pump grants, which could see energy prices soar for homeowners unless houses are sufficiently retrofitted: ‘The government should be doing more to promote retrofit as a whole, but especially retrofitting properly which would include having a suitable ventilation strategy & measures installed alongside other work.’

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International

An eruption of air pollution Pippa Neill explores the impact that volcanic eruptions are having on our atmosphere.

f the past 18 months haven’t already been enough to handle, late last month, La Palma, Spain experienced its first volcanic eruption in over 50 years. The eruption of the Cumbre Vieja volcano, which began late September, has so far seen the forced evacuation of over 6,000 residents and the destruction of 1,300 homes and buildings. The eruption itself isn’t particularly surprising, at any one time there are around 40 active volcanoes and for billions of years, geological processes like volcanic eruptions have controlled the atmosphere and the state of our climate. However, what is different about this specific eruption is its close proximity to the general population of La Palma. When we see pictures of the Cumbre Vieja eruption, or other eruptions of a similar magnitude, we

Agency: ‘Generally speaking, the lava itself is not really an issue, it’s the gas pollution emitted from the volcano that is by far the biggest safety concern for everyone in the area.’

see ash covered skies and rivers of lava flooding the land. However, according to Sævar Helgi Bragason, an expert in air quality and climate for the Icelandic Environment

volcano emitted 12,000 tonnes of SO2 per day, this is three times more than all European industries combined. In another study led by Dr Schmidt in collaboration with the University

Health impacts Volcanoes emit a cocktail of chemicals, but one pollutant that is a major cause for concern is sulphur dioxide (SO2). Like with other more commonly known pollutants, SO2 is associated with a wide range of health impacts, from respiratory issues such as asthma and bronchitis to cardiovascular and lung disease. Dr Anja Schmidt, an expert in the impact that volcanic eruptions have on air quality at the University of Cambridge analysed the air pollution impact of the 2014 Bárðarbunga eruption in Iceland and found that the

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of Iceland, the researchers found that at the time of the eruption, incidents of respiratory disease rose by a quarter and the incidence of asthma medication dispensing increased by a fifth.

International

‘This is the first study to convincingly show that there is a direct link between respiratory health and the presence of volcanic pollution,’ Dr Schmidt tells Air Quality News. The Cumbre Vieja eruption in La Palma is still ongoing and the complete air pollution picture is yet to be fully understood, however recent satellite images published by the European Space Agency revealed that SO2 emissions from the eruption were moving over the Atlantic Ocean towards Central America. As the molten lava from the Cumbre Vieja eruption has flowed into the ocean, Spanish authorities have warned of the potential health impacts from exposure to ‘laze’ pollution. Laze occurs when hot molten lava comes into contact with ocean water, forcing the water to evaporate and creating magnesium salts that mix with the steam. According to the U.S Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

(CDC), breathing in laze pollution may damage the lungs. This damage is caused by the dangerously corrosive hydrogen chloride, which is a product of the laze. Hydrogen chloride creates an accumulation of fluid in the lungs, referred to as pulmonary edema, which results in fatigue, chest pain, and coughing. In severe cases, laze can be fatal to both humans and marine life. The heat from the volcanic lava can boil fish in the ocean and leave them floating on the surface of the water. Preparation While there is nothing that can be done to reduce or prevent the pollution from volcanic activity, a lot can be done to prepare in order to minimise the health impacts when a volcanic eruption inevitably occurs. As a country known for its volcanic activity, the Icelandic Government now has specific devices in place

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to measure volcanic pollution, this information is then sent to a live feed which warns the general public if any spikes in air pollution do occur. However, it is not just the countries that are home to these volcanoes that need to prepare. During the 2014 eruption, researchers found that pollutants were being transported more than 3,000 kilometres from Iceland. Following on from this, Dr Schmidt has been working with the UK Government to update the National Risk Register. This means that similar to acts of terrorism, heatwaves or pandemics, the UK now has a plan in place to deal with the potential pollution impact from volcanic eruptions overseas. As part of this preparation, the Met Office now has a UK-wide light detection and ranging (LIDAR) network, which uses satellite information to provide data on ashcloud and volcanic pollution. 25

International

‘Countries are well aware of the potential impacts of volcanic pollution on human health and so there is no excuse not to prepare,’ says Dr Schmidt. ‘I think governments are doing as good a job as they can at the moment to communicate with the public, but really it’s about education, it's about telling the public about the impact that air pollution can have on their health and informing them of the precautionary measures that they need to take.’ However, Sævar expressed concern that while the governments do know the extent of the health impacts, the public is still largely unaware. ‘I think that people tend to look away or turn a blind eye,’ says Sævar, ‘The information is out there, but because the pollution normally only lasts a day or two the public don’t think they are in grave danger and so they choose not to think about it. But what they don’t know is that just because this pollution isn’t causing them any serious harm right now it could still lead to health complications further down the line.’ 26

Climate impacts Alongside the pollutants that are emitted from volcanic eruptions, volcanoes are also a source of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. According to a study published in 2019, volcanic activity is estimated to be responsible for around 280 - 360 million tonnes of CO2 per year. This might sound like a lot, but to put this into perspective humans emit around 36 billion tonnes of CO2 per year. According to Sævar, humans take around three days to release the same amount of CO2 as every volcano on earth. ‘An eruption in Iceland earlier this year emitted about 10,000 tonnes of CO2 per day,’ he explains. ‘This eruption would need to continue at this level for two to three years just to equal the amount of CO2 released by humans in one year.’ Volcanoes can also actually help to mitigate the impacts of industrial emissions by having a cooling impact on the planet. ‘If the ash from the volcano is blown into the surface of the stratosphere it can

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act as a mirror, radiating the sun's rays back into space,’ explains Sævar. The most famous example of this is with the eruption of the Pinatubo volcano in the Philippines in 1991. According to some estimates, the eruption decreased world temperatures by about 1°C over the two years following the eruption. Looking forward Although there is no doubt that volcanic eruptions are a serious source of air pollution, Sævar has been quick to point out that any spike is usually very short-lived. ‘Fortunately for us, volcanic eruptions are usually not very long lasting, they usually erupt for only a few weeks or months. So in the end they do stop emitting all these pollutants,’ he tells Air Quality News. ‘Volcanic eruptions are part of nature, we have no control over them, but what we do have control over is industrial pollution and so our focus must be on strengthening regulation to reduce the pollution and emissions from man-made sources.’

air quality engineering

Precision air quality monitors for measurement of particulates (PM 1 , PM 2.5 , PM 10 ) and gases (CO, CO 2 , H 2 S, NO, NO 2 , O 3 , SO 2 , VOCs) southcoastscience.com

The Big Interview

Felicity Aston, MBE, Arctic scientist, author and expedition leader. Pippa Neill talks to Felicity Aston, MBE, Arctic scientist, author and expedition leader.

Early next year Felicity will be leading the B.I.G North Pole expedition, where an all female-team will be skiing the last degree of latitude to the North Pole to collect data on black carbon and microplastic pollution. Spacehouse, the publishers of Air Quality News and Environment Journal are sponsoring this expedition. Felicity’s polar career began in early 2000 when she was straight out of University and got her first job with the British Antarctic Survey as a meteorologist. ‘My role was to maintain the climate and ozone monitoring,’ explains Felicity. ‘It was a long contract, I was there for two and a half years and when I returned back to the UK my first instinct was that I needed to visit the other polar regions.’ It was then that Felicity started organising her own expeditions. ‘I realised that no British women’s team had ever crossed the Greenland Ice Sheet before. I have always wanted to challenge the stereotypical view of what a polar explorer is so I set out to do just that.’ Felicity continues to challenge the status quo and in the upcoming B.I.G North Pole expedition she will be leading five women who have never stepped foot in the polar regions before. ‘When I look back on some of those early expeditions it leaves me breathless to think about how naive I was. But rather than seeing my mistakes as failures and finding them demoralising, they had the opposite effect. I found them to be a real motivator and it pushed me to do more expeditions and put these lessons into practice.’ 28

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"You don’t have to be a scientist to see these changes, you don’t even need to go to the polar regions, you can just as clearly see the impact of climate change outside your own front door." Since her first expedition over 20 years ago, a lot has changed in the polar regions. According to the latest IPCC Report, Arctic surface air temperature has increased by more than double the global average, with feedback loops from loss of sea ice and snow cover contributing to amplified warning. ‘I was recently in Greenland and we were taking photographs in an area that I’d visited exactly 24 years before. It was amazing to have this quarter of a century view but it was no surprise to anyone to see that the amount of snow and ice was shockingly different. ‘You don’t have to be a scientist to see these changes, you don’t even need to go to the polar regions, you can just as clearly see the impact of climate change outside your own front door.’ It was this realisation that motivated Felicity to undertake the B.I.G North Pole Expedition, one of her toughest challenges yet. ‘Training is pretty much a full time job,’ says Felicity. ‘There’s the physical training where we need to build up intrinsic strength. There’s the skills training, learning how to use the stove, how to load the sledge and how to put up a tent when you’re really tired. But most importantly there is also the mental training. We are a team that is a product of the pandemic and so developing cohesion as a team as

The Big Interview

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The Big Interview

well as the mental resilience and strength to cope in these extreme situations, where temperatures can be as low as -40°C, is vital to the success of this expedition.’ Alongside the physical challenge of completing this epic journey, the team will also be collecting data samples on microplastic and black carbon pollution. ‘Unlike most expeditions where the weight of your load gets lighter every day, because of the data we are collecting the sledges will get heavier and heavier. We’ve put a cap of 80 kilogrammes on our sledge, which is huge when you consider that some of our members weigh 56 kilogrammes.’ When Felicity returns from the expedition she will be analysing the microplastic samples as part of a PhD that she has designed with the National Oceanography Centre in Southampton. ‘The main way to understand changes in these regions is through models, but these models are only as good as the data you put in. So getting even quite simple data from this part of the world is vital and there is a real sense of urgency around this because our access to this part of the world is rapidly dwindling.’ Felicity and the team hope to complete the expedition in 7 - 14 days and although this might sound like a very short time period, according to Felicity it’s this fact that makes the expedition so difficult.

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"As soon as we step foot on the ice it’s like a giant stopwatch has been started." ‘As soon as we step foot on the ice it’s like a giant stopwatch has been started,’ explains Felicity. ‘We are really up against the clock because the general movement of the sea ice means we are constantly moving closer to an area called the Negative Drift. This is where the ice is moving us away from the North Pole faster than we can move forward, it’s like trying to walk up an escalator the wrong way. ‘The whole time that we’re on the ice we can never really relax, we have this finite period to complete everything that needs to be done and it's that mind bending intensity that makes this journey so challenging.’ As the world meets in Glasgow for COP26, the team will be on a glacier in Iceland to undertake their training. ‘This feels like a very pinnacle moment. As the world gathers to discuss the solutions to the climate crisis we will be in Iceland learning how to collect this essential data. There is a real sense of urgency to both our expedition and to COP26, time is running out and we urgently need to protect these precious regions.’

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Local Government News

New World Health Organization Guidelines - time to act Councillor Adam Harrison, cabinet member for a sustainable Camden, reflects on what the new World Health Organisation (WHO) air quality guidelines mean for air pollution in the borough.

he World Health Organization (WHO) recently published its updated Global Air Quality Guidelines to help inform action to protect human health. The WHO Guidelines are recommended limits for airborne pollutants which take account of the damage that poor air quality can do to health. The Guidelines were revised to reflect the ever-mounting evidence showing the serious impact upon our health resulting from exposure to air pollution, and the WHO has encouraged all countries to work

towards the new recommended levels and for decision-makers to use the Guidelines as a tool to steer their legislation and policies. The previous WHO Guidelines from 2005 were already much stricter for fine particulate matter (PM2.5) than the UK legal limits for this type of pollution (10µg/m3 compared to 25µg/m3), and the new WHO Guidelines are even tighter, at 5µg/m3 as an annual mean limit. The new Guidelines also represent a huge reduction in annual mean NO2 compared to the UK legal limit; 10µg/ m3 compared to 40µg/m3 permitted

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by current legislation. The WHO estimates that 80% of global deaths relating to PM2.5 could be avoided if current air pollution levels were reduced to the new Guideline level. A 2020 analysis by CBI Economics estimated that achieving even the former WHO standards would avoid 17,000 premature deaths from respiratory diseases each year in the UK, while bringing an economic benefit of £1.6bn annually. With the preeminent global voice on air quality and health calling for the adoption of ambitious new

Local Government News

air pollution limits, and the world’s attention focused on the UK this November for COP26, we now have an incredible opportunity to show global leadership in committing to the health of current and future generations by writing the new WHO Guidelines into law in the UK, including as a minimum a commitment to achieving the former WHO Guideline of 10µg/ m3 by 2030. Achieving the new WHO Guidelines will be enormously challenging – comparable to the challenge of meeting net-zero carbon – but at this critical stage there is neither the time nor the justification for a lack of ambition. With each day that passes the need for a decisive and collective international response becomes increasingly and perilously overdue. Indeed, many of the actions that we must take collectively and individually to avert a climate crisis are the same steps that will help to drive down air pollution and the intolerable cost the air quality health crisis places on our wellbeing and the economy. At the same time, the impact of climate change upon air quality will be significant. Longer pollen seasons, worsened ground-level ozone pollution, and particulate pollution incidents from wildfire smoke will pose a serious risk for respiratory health. Clearly, we must view the climate and air quality health crises in tandem and set our ambitions accordingly.

by requiring greater collaboration with other public authorities. However, years after its introduction and despite good progress in the House of Lords, which saw peers voting to include a WHO amendment, the Bill appears to have hit yet another delay just before its scheduled return to the House of Commons. When the Bill does return to the Commons, we will need MPs to hear a loud and unified call for them to vote in favour of the WHO amendment. This is just the starting point, but it is a crucial first step. Further work is needed to ensure that the additional responsibility placed upon local authorities to clean up our air is matched with commensurate funding and the powers to tackle pollution sources which are not currently within our control or are regulated with

Guidelines as legally-binding air quality limits for the UK. This must not become a politicised matter: air pollution does not respect constituency boundaries and we can all suffer its effects upon our health regardless of the way we vote.

outdated or ineffective legislation. To this end I implore fellow politicians from across the political spectrum, along with businesses, other organisations and the wider public, to call upon the Government and MPs to support the inclusion of the WHO

about the health risks from pollution exposure both outdoors and inside buildings; and by raising awareness of the significant and avoidable impact of activities like wood-burning, bonfires and vehicle engine idling on urban air quality and health.

Local action Meanwhile, we continue to do all we can with the resources available to us to reduce air pollution and pollution exposure in Camden: by working in partnership with businesses, communities and schools to support local action; by providing clean power supplies for canal boaters, ice cream vendors and electric vehicles; by improving cycling, walking and sustainable travel infrastructure; by working with hospitals and NHS partners to increase public knowledge

The Environment Bill Our departure from the European Union was touted as an opportunity to set more ambitious environmental standards for the UK. Although it was possible to do this before Brexit, it would still be of benefit to everyone if the Government pledged to go further than the historical EU-derived air pollution limits by adopting the new WHO Guidelines. The Environment Bill is the tool for doing this. The Bill, which promises to ‘deliver cleaner air for all by requiring the government to set targets on air quality’ will introduce new environmental targets, as well redefining the framework for local authority action to improve air quality

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Using Air Quality Data to Identify & Evidence the Success of Decarbonisation Strategies

ravelling is inevitable for people around the world, be it arriving at work in the car, cycling to school or getting the bus into town, yet some modes of transport are creating an unsafe environment for us to live in. Transport is the largest contributor to UK domestic greenhouse gases, responsible for 27% of emissions in 2019. Although the pandemic helped towards a temporary break in transport related air pollution, the UK Government have claimed that the number of cars on the road appear to be returning to pre-pandemic levels. In addition, there has been an increase in single occupancy journeys which has led to more vehicles being on the road, due to fears around using public transport increasing the risk of getting COVID-19. Response to the impact of polluting vehicles is critical for environmental and human health. We’ve seen the Decarbonisation Plan released as a road map to Net Zero by 2050. This roadmap includes targets such as the ban on petrol and diesel car sales in the UK by 2030, and a £2 billion investment into walking and cycling schemes. The plan will be one of the focuses for the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference, also known as COP26, the world’s last chance to limit the consequences of climate change. As a result of the summit and the UK’s decarbonisation plan, we should start to see changes implemented across the world which will help us work towards cleaner and safer air. Understanding the impact of pollution and finding successful decarbonisation strategies that are effective at reducing emissions can seem a difficult and somewhat overwhelming task. Air quality expert, EarthSense is a leading provider of real-time air quality monitoring and modelling services, delivering insight into ambient air pollution through a range of data sources and software analytics. This can be used to identify pollution trends and sources, helping local authorities and cities to inform decarbonisation strategies as well as evidencing their success in working towards Net Zero targets. The first step is to identify baseline air quality levels and potential sources of pollution with real-time monitoring. Using the EarthSense Zephyr® monitor, units can be deployed as standalone or as a network by installing them on to street infrastructure, like traffic lights and lighting columns. The Zephyr® can also be used as a mobile measuring device on cars or bikes thanks to its internal Li-Ion battery providing up to four days use on a single charge. Calibrated air quality data can be integrated via an API to an existing system or accessed via EarthSense’s MyAir® web application, where measured data can be viewed, analysed, and downloaded. This data enables the likes of transport managers, smart city integrators and environmental health officers to gain an understanding of how their towns and cities live and

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breathe, as well as highlighting highly polluting hotspot areas, industries, and behaviours. Various interventions can then be trialled to identify the most effective methods of reducing pollution and improving air quality. To mitigate the consequences of areas where pollution exposure is deemed harmful to human health, air quality data can be used to collate valuable information about the success of decarbonisation strategies. Zephyr® measurements can be used to identify pollutant concentrations throughout trialling targeted initiatives and then compared against baseline data once the trial period is over. In addition, EarthSense’s air quality model, MappAir® provides clear and concise visualisations of how air pollution disperses across towns and cities, highlighting hotspot areas and identifying likely pollution sources giving added context to measured air quality concentrations. The scenario planning capability of MappAir® can provide insight into how a range of responses to a given activity within a road network will affect tailpipe emissions and pollution dispersion, for example, understanding the impacts of implementing a Clean Air Zone (CAZ) or running a fully electric bus fleet. The ability to accurately forecast the impact of interventions is crucial in identifying the most effective response plan or strategy and implementing it in a real-life scenario. Once these initiatives have been modelled, they can be implemented and trialled during a test period and resulting data compared against baseline levels to understand how well they contributed to a reduction in air pollution. Pollution modelling can also be used to highlight the causes of elevated levels at hotspot areas so that strategies at the location of the source can be introduced, such as road closures or alternative traffic light sequencing. EarthSense’s MappAir® model can be integrated with third party systems such as traffic and transport models to understand how congestion and resulting tailpipe emissions are affecting the local area and individuals’ pollution exposure. Such information can be used to display messages through variable messaging signs (VMS), providing motorists with targeted messaging to encourage behavioural changes to divert them away from pollution heavy areas. The need for reliable and accurate air quality data to support the road to Net Zero is absolutely vital for ensuring a safe environment. If we want to reduce the impact of climate change on human livelihoods, air quality data could be the deciding factor in better understanding whether the plans that local and central Governments are putting in place in the short term are truly going to have a positive environmental impact in the long term. Never has there been a more important time to create a safer, healthier, and cleaner place to live and breathe.

Before No scenario planning or intervention to improve congestion and air quality.

Scenario Planning with Air Quality Modelling Integrate air quality data using MappAir® to model various scenarios and assess their potential impact on air quality. Make informed and timely decisions and react to scenarios to mitigate congestion and air pollution in towns and cities.

After Scenario planning during project NEVFMA to re-route traffic and issue timed road closures resulting in cleaner air and less congested roads.

www.earthsense.co.uk

Local Government Interview

How data can help with air quality ma Ian Barber, How data can revolutionise air quality management

rixton, London is an easy place to imagine, it has a tube station, lots of buses, plenty of taxis and more delivery vans than ever before. Brixton also marks the end of the Victoria Line and so its tube station is the hub of the area. It’s outside of here, on Brixton Road, where pedestrian footfall is the highest. Where pedestrians and road traffic are present together the topic of localised air quality management becomes very important. While it sounds like a bleak picture, Brixton isn’t particularly better or worse than most London boroughs when it comes to air quality. We mention it here because Brixton

is where Transport for London (TfL) has worked with Bosch to understand how air quality on Brixton high street changes minute by minute and day by day. ‘We wanted to create a trial based on the hypothesis that localised air quality can be improved through advanced traffic management,’ explains Ian Larbey, Bosch UK Air Quality Lead. ‘We worked with TfL over a 20-month period concluding at the beginning of this year and it enabled TfL to try new technologies and products. The project gave us valuable experience of working with city authorities and the local borough.’ Brixton was chosen as the location

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because it’s one of TfL’s air quality focus areas. ‘We supplied 17 of our advanced air quality sensors,’ says Ian. ‘But this project went much further than that. Data was key here and we really ramped up our ability to combine existing data and interpret it in a useful way. ‘Our joint project teams analysed the local vehicle fleet which was key to understanding the traffic flow behaviour and resultant traffic emission contribution along the A23 and surrounding roads. We utilised our Air Quality Dispersion Model that considered the weather conditions, 3D building layout and topology to develop a simulated air quality map.’

Local Government Interview

anagement Bosch was therefore able to help TfL measure the air quality in Brixton minute-by-minute and the causes of peaks and troughs could be tied accurately to traffic, vehicle and environment data. ‘We used anonymised number plate recognition to define the emission class of the vehicles and powertrain mix of the overall fleet, whether it’s vehicles being powered by petrol, diesel, hybrid or fully electric,’ says Ian. ‘This was complemented by other data available through TfL including loop counters that are already installed in the road. ‘Data analysis allowed us to intelligently tune the traffic control within the area to enable improvement

in traffic flow, which in turn reduced emissions and thus improved the local air quality.’ Understanding the influence of the wind was also an important aspect to the project. Windy conditions increase the speed and direction of dispersion. The Bosch air quality boxes measured the air for a range of pollutants including nitrogen dioxide (NO2),

closure associated with construction or events. Bosch’s advanced IT infrastructure and skills meant the sharing of these results was straightforward. The Brixton project was a success. Some of the data was startling in its clarity. A reduction of NOx on Brixton Road averaging 6% was recorded, but it was closer to 20% before the

and ozone (O3), as well as particulate matter (PM2.5). As with many things in 2020, the first Covid-19 lockdown had an impact on the results. However, the lockdown period wasn’t included in the data analysis. After the first lockdown the local authorities changed a bus lane into a pedestrian lane so that there was a greater distance between people walking along the high street. This also had an impact on the project and increased NOx in the area. What’s clever about this project is that Bosch was able to explain to TfL how the data had been impacted by weather, the lane closure, different vehicles and how traffic lights and traffic flow impacted the air quality. This methodology equips partners with a tool that can be used for advanced network air quality simulation or within Intelligent Traffic Control Systems where changes in AQ may be susceptible to weather conditions, peak travel time or road

lane closure influenced the results. Traffic speed increased from 8.7mph to 10.6mph. ‘Further projects can be done to enhance our understanding of how air quality changes depending on a variety of different factors,’ says Lionel Vancon, Bosch’s Air Quality Product Manager in Europe. ‘Anything is possible with this technology such as analysing other emissions sources like trains, housing and other background factors. This trial in Brixton had a range of very positive outcomes. We conclusively reduced emissions. What’s really great is the traffic light signalling strategy will continue to be used in Brixton to improve traffic flows and air quality. ‘The lessons that we’ve learnt will be used to inform TfL’s future traffic management plans. The project can be scaled up or down to provide similar analysis with a great level of reliability in any other location and we’re really excited to deploy this further within the UK and beyond.’

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Ian Larbey, Bosch UK Air Quality Lead

Legal

Our right to a healthy environment Earlier this month, the United Nations Human Rights Council passed a resolution recognising access to a healthy and sustainable environment as a universal human right. Editor Pippa Neill explores what this means for the future of air quality.

he idea that environmental pollution may infringe on our human rights is not a new concept. It was first formally introduced in 1972 in the Stockholm Declaration when UN Member States declared that people have a fundamental right to ‘ freedom, equality and adequate conditions of life, in an environment of a quality that permits a life of dignity and well-being.’ Since then, various organisations and governments have been pushing the international community to formally recognise the right to a healthy environment. Last September, over 1,000 civil society organisations wrote to the Human Rights Council demanding urgent action. After decades of hard work, this finally came into fruition on October 5 2021 when UN Member States voted unanimously in favour of this new right (China, India, Japan and Russia abstained from the vote). Following the announcement, David Boyd, the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and Environment, said: ‘Professionally that was probably the most thrilling experience that I ever have had or that I ever will have. It was a massive team victory. It took literally millions of people, and years and years of work to achieve this resolution.’ What does this mean for air pollution? ‘The right to a healthy environment means the right to clean air, the right to a safe climate, to a balanced ecosystem and to healthy and sustainable food. ‘The link between human rights and the environment are very tightly linked and ultimately all human rights depend on a healthy biosphere and a safe climate,’ Irmina Kotiuk, human rights lawyer at ClientEarth tells Air Quality News. With 90% of the global population breathing in polluted air and with air pollution responsible for an estimated 13 deaths per minute worldwide, this resolution has the potential to have huge ramifications for the international community. ‘This means that air pollution is now a human rights issue,’ says Irmina. Practical implications However, the resolution is not legally binding, meaning it cannot influence national or international policies and it

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remains up to individual countries to adopt this right into their constitutions. But Irmina is quick to point out that this should not take away from the significance of this resolution. ‘This resolution sends an important signal to governments around the world,’ she says. In 2010, the UN passed a similar resolution recognising, for the first time, the right to water and sanitation. This was deemed a huge success and since then, this right has been added to constitutions, incorporated into laws and policies, influenced court decisions and sparked greater government action to deliver on the promise. Dr. Maria Neira, the World Health Organization’s (WHO) environment chief, said the resolution is already having important repercussions and a mobilising impact. ‘The next step will be how we translate that on the right to clean air and whether we can push, for instance, for the recognition of WHO’S Global Air Quality Guidelines and the levels of exposure to certain pollutants at a country level. It will also help us to move certain legislation and standards at the national level.’ Importantly, the UK was one of the countries who voted in favour of this resolution. Activists and lawyers hope that

Legal

this support will be reflected with a renewed commitment and sense of urgency to reduce air pollution. Irmina says: ‘We now know that this is a fundamental human right, but we also know that this is a right that has been neglected for decades, so we must now ask the UK government what they will do to fulfil this political statement on a more practical level. ‘This is just one of the building blocks of a whole system of protection needed to enforce our rights to a healthy environment.’ Going forward In recent years, the number of climate-related litigation cases have sky-rocketed and ClientEarth has repeatedly taken the UK government to court over illegal and harmful levels of air pollution. Lawyers hope that this resolution will help more and more people to invoke human rights in their arguments against pollution and climate change. ‘I think it’s essential that we see environmental pollution as something that infringes on our human rights. This framework was established to ensure social justice, prevent discrimination and look after the vulnerable members

of society. The stronger the framework concerning environmental and human rights the closer we are to ensuring environmental justice.’ Going forward, the council resolution includes an invitation to the UN General Assembly to also consider the matter. The Special Rapporteur says he is ‘cautiously optimistic’ that the body will pass a similar resolution within the next year. David Boyd concluded: ‘We need governments to move with a sense of urgency. We are living in a climate, biodiversity and pollution crisis, and also a crisis of these emerging diseases like Covid-19 which have environmental root causes. And so that's why this resolution is critically important because it says to every government in the world ‘you have to put human rights at the centre of climate action, of conservation, of addressing pollution and of preventing future pandemics.’ It has been clear for many decades that air pollution and environmental degradation are a human rights issue, but this resolution represents a groundbreaking shift in the global perspective, as stated by Irmina: ‘We now know that air pollution is a human rights issue, let's just hope that the global community step up to the mark to protect this right.’

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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

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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

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 Indoor 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.

ï Web 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

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Case Study

Hammersmith & Fulham

Hammersmith & Fulham’s Award Winning Traffic Congestion and Pollution Reduction Scheme Partnering with air quality experts Vortex gave the council a detailed view of air pollution which led to targeted environmental action. Result: Improved air quality by 50% and reduced carbon emissions by 1 tonne a day.

Client. Hammersmith & Fulham

Challenge. How to know where to act?

Located in the southwest of London, with over 185,000 residents and several major corporations headquartered in the borough, The London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham (LBHF) is committed to improving air quality for residents through positive sustainability changes, making effective decisions in the right locations and measuring success with accurate data collected from hyper-local, low cost, air quality sensors with street-level accuracy.

Problems caused by high traffic volumes became the largest contributors of air pollution in the borough, compounded by regular use of streets as a thoroughfare for vehicles originating outside the borough. The council wanted a method to measure the results and prove the effectiveness of the restriction zones to residents. Traditional air quality solutions available to Hammersmith & Fulham would not be sufficient in measuring air quality variations at the required frequency and density. LBHF needed spatial and temporal information with sufficient granularity to measure air quality changes at a per-road level, to review traffic interventions and prove their success in reducing pollution with an easy to deploy, affordable and detailed analysis of air quality per street.

LBHF became the first borough to declare a climate emergency in July 2020, pledging to resolve an air pollution and traffic congestion problem and addressing the 80% of congestion attributed to vehicles originating outside the Borough.

Solution. Vortex provided a low-cost air quality monitoring solution that enabled the deployment of a dense network of hyper-local air quality sensors to provide real time air quality data to the council. The sensors are all SIM card free and connected wirelessly through a mesh network that’s driven by artificial intelligence and machine learning configurations. Implementing this technology allows the system to identify and execute calibrations and updates remotely, reducing LBHF’s on-site resource costs.

Vortex’s off the shelf solution provided: Air Quality Monitoring within the council’s budget requirements Street-Level data accuracy of Air Pollution Unprecedented Coverage – World’s densest deployment Detailed analysis of their entire constituency Public access to data on their neighbourhood 5-year guarantee – no maintenance fees required

“

PM2.5

NO2

PM2.5

Highlighting two events

Outcomes: Accurate Data for better informed decisions. VTX Air has identified high pollution transmission points that were previously unknown. As a result, LBHF’s award winning Traffic Congestion and Pollution Reduction Scheme has reduced carbon emissions by 1 tonne a day and improved air quality by 50% for residents. Using the technology, the public have been able to see their air quality through a publicly available portal to better understand the impact that the Scheme is having on their health. The key benefit for LBHF was identifying where the pollution is originating and understanding the sources of pollution that are generated inside the borough. LBHF’s installation will further its dense concentration and become the largest scale air quality monitoring network in Europe with a total of 500 sensors deployed before the end of the year.

We needed a system that allowed us to recognise subtle changes in local pollution relating to traffic behaviour. When searching, we found traditional monitors to be far too expensive to install in the density required to see the changes.” John Galsworthy Director, Parking, London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham.

PM10

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Know your air quality, everywhere. A hyperlocal view of air pollution for targeted interventions

Measure. Monitor. Act. We make reducing air pollution simple. Automated 24/7 monitoring ‘Always up’ self-healing wireless mesh network Web based UI dashboards with analytics Fit & forget - no site visits 5-year guarantee Priced for scalable & high density deployments Sensing-as-a-Service SIM card free

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A I R Q U A L I T Y S O L U T I O N S T H AT DELIVER LONG-TERM BENEFITS

NO2

Clean Air Zones Low Emission Zones Neighbourhood Traffic Schemes School Streets

www.marstonholdings.co.uk/airquality marketing@marstonholdings.co.uk

Marston Holdings provides market-leading technology and services for local authorities to achieve long-term air quality improvements.

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AQN Magazine - Issue 11 - November 2021

Articles inside

The Big Interview

Legal

Local Government

Feature

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News

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