Special backpacks to monitor air pollution

SOME 250 children in London will carry special backpacks on their journeys to school to monitor air quality exposure, it was announced on Tuesday.

Primary school pupils up to the age of 11 will carry special backpacks fitted with state-of-the-art air quality sensors to help monitor the levels of toxic air young Londoners are exposed to in a new scheme launched by the capital’s mayor Sadiq Khan.

Weighing just over 1kg, the sensors fit into lightweight bags and measure particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide levels.

The children will use the backpacks like a normal bag as the monitor takes up one pocket, leaving plenty of room for school equipment, allowing the monitors to record pollutant levels on each child’s journey to school and throughout the school day, including during their lessons.

The data from this will allow scientists from King’s College London to analyse at which point of their journey to school, or which part of their school day, children are exposed to the most pollution. They will also be able to compare the exposure of children who have similar journeys but take different routes and travel modes and then make recommendations as to how children can reduce exposure in future.

A City Hall spokesperson said: “The wearable sensors are the latest stage of the Breathe London project to create the most comprehensive air quality monitoring network of its kind in the world.”

Khan said: “It remains a shameful fact that London’s toxic air is harming the lung growth and health of our young children, and we are determined to do everything in our power to protect them.” |