Now you can test the air that you breathe
AN environmental pressure group has invited Runcorn and Widnes residents to take part in an experiment to measure air pollution.
Friends Of The Earth (FOE) said it hopes its public-participation science project will become the biggest scheme of its kind.
Eco-minded inhabitants in Halton can take part by ordering clean air kits to test the environment where they live.
The packs also include tips on avoiding air pollution and on how to support efforts to boost air quality.
The organisation said a YouGov survey had shown that one in 10 UK residents thinks their air quality is bad despite 61% saying they were concerned about pollution.
A FOE spokeswoman said air pollution is linked to heart disease, lung cancer, worsening asthma and poor lung development in children.
She said it leads to approximately 40,000 premature deaths in the UK each year.
FOE said 38 out of the UK’s 43 air quality zones are breaching legal limits for air pollution.
The group said the clean air kit results will help to build a picture of the situation across the UK and are part of a national investigation being run with King’s College London.
Internet users can also view a map on FOE’s website and search by postcode to find results in their neighbourhood.
So far, two results for Run- ● corn showed nitrogen dioxide levels of 29.6 and 27.9 micrograms per cubic metre (μg/m3), lower than the EU limits of 200 μg/m3 for a one-hour average and 40 μg/m3 for a one-year average.
One figure available for Frodsham was recorded as 14.8 μg/m3.
Oliver Hayes, FOE air pollution campaigner, said: “Our clean air kits help people to find out about the air quality in the places they care about most – on the street where they live, where they work, where their children go to school and at the heart of their communities.”
Dr Ben Barratt, a senior air quality scientist at King’s College London, says: “FOE’s clean air kits are a valuable tool in enabling people to discover what air pollution is like ● in places that matter to them.
“If enough people take part, the data they gather could shed new light on the reality of pollution at a local level throughout the country.”