Air pollution in New Ross can be ‘dangerously high’
AIR quality in parts of Wexford town and particularly in New Ross has deteriorated significantly since the onset of cold weather, with pollution at times reaching dangerously high levels.
Bituminous or smoky coal, which is banned in Wexford town, is the main culprit, with the EPA saying people are putting their health, that of their families and the elderly at risk by purchasing and burning smokey coal.
The results of air quality tests from November 1 to 7 carried out by Wexford County Council’s Environment Section showed that air quality in New Ross was particularly bad during the evening and at night from about 4 p.m. until 11 p.m., with the concentration of red line PM10 particulates breaching the 50ug/m3 limit for a number of hours, particularly on the evening of November 3.
Wexford Town is a smokeless fuel zone and less people burn bituminous coal, but the good air quality limit was breached three times during that week. There is no such fuel ban in place in New Ross.
Brendan Cooney, Senior Executive Scientist in the county council’s environment section, said that this was resulting in a cloud of smog which was hanging over parts of New Ross, which would be injurious to the health of elderly people and those with asthma.
Mr Cooney said he had been talking to a local woman who told him the smog in New Ross was so bad on November 3, that she took her children inside to escape the pollution because it wasn’t safe for them to be out.
And he said PM10 levels in New Ross at night can be far worse than you would find in cities including Dublin or London, due to the burning of smoky coal in the town, banned in the British capital decades ago to reduce dangerous levels of smog.
EPA data published last week, revealed that 1,200 people were dying every year in Ireland due to air pollution.
‘People think they are being smart by going out of town to buy coal, but they are causing harm,’ said Mr Cooney, adding that the elderly and people suffering from asthma were most at risk.
‘People are dying younger than they should in areas where PM10 levels are highest.’
Wexford is the first county in Ireland to provide live data on air quality, the information sent to London via the Cloud before being sent back to the county council website where it can be viewed by anyone who wants to check on pollution levels.
Pollution levels in Enniscorthy are high, but the town is not so far connected to the data stream, although both it and Gorey are due to go live by the end of the year.
Live air quality data from the two towns can be seen at: http://www.wexford.ie/wex/ Departments/Environment/AirandNoise/ AirMonitoring/ Further data on air quality and public health can be read on the Environmental Protection Agency’s website at http://www.epa.ie/air/quality/index/