Lancaster deploy new sensors and launch air quality portal

Lancaster City Council has deployed 14 new sensors, funded by part of an Air Quality Grant from DEFRA, to help tackle air pollution in the city.

Lancaster already has an existing automatic monitoring station and continually monitors air quality, but the new sensors will expand on the current programme and will show residents where air pollution peaks are occurring, enabling them to make informed choices when socialising, exercising outdoors or commuting by bicycle.

Air Quality specialists EarthSense provided the Zephyr air quality monitors along with a publicly available portal on MyAir to view real-time air quality data, a their high-resolution MappAir air pollution model.

The Council will be using the Zephyr network to monitor the outdoor concentrations of key pollutants, with a particular emphasis on PM2.5 and PM10.

Air quality data collected will provide insights into pollution hot-spots, time-based trends and pollution peaks, that will support the council to drive initiatives throughout the community.

The council will also further its understanding of the local impact of solid fuel burning pollution using EarthSense’s solutions, and promote a solid-fuel awareness and behaviour change campaign to inform solid fuel-appliance users and the community of its impact; in an effort to raise awareness and reduce pollution from burning.

As part of the project, EarthSense developed a high-resolution air pollution digital model using its MappAir modelling suite to provide near-real time and up to three days forecast of modelled PM2.5 and NO2 pollution for the Council to provide insights into the main sources of pollution using the latest dispersion modelling techniques. This provides the council with insights into wood-burning smoke pollution across the localised area within Lancaster, Morecambe and the surrounding areas.

Change across the community will be encouraged at potential pollution hot spots, such as idling outside schools. The Council aims to improve the knowledge of pollution and encourage behaviour change using the MyAir public portal, which will be available to schools and the community to access daily and forecast air quality data.

Lancaster City Council councillor Joanne Ainscough, member with responsibility for Environmental Services, said: ‘The quality of the air in the Lancaster district is extremely important to us. While we continually monitor air pollution levels, we also assess ways where we can make improvements.

‘Air Quality is improving, but the launch of the new monitors will continue to contribute to our understanding, guide future actions to tackle air pollution, and contribute to the Annual Status Report for Air Quality.

‘We are also pleased to launch our public portal, which we hope will help our residents participate in keeping the air cleaner and reducing personal exposure to pollution.’

Greg Lewis, Chief Sales and Marketing Officer at EarthSense, added: ‘By deploying our Zephyr monitors across the district, the City Council and its residents can monitor air quality levels via the EarthSense online portal. This will help people to identify levels of air pollution in their local communities and will provide further evidence for the Council’s Air Quality Action Plan.’