Edinburgh mobile air pollution exhibit highlights toxic atmosphere

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency and Glasgow Science Centre’s touring installation will be on display at Leith Library.

A mobile air pollution exhibit has gone on display in Edinburgh, drawing attention to the dangers and prevalence of dirty air in the Scottish capital. 

The interactive work was developed by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) and Glasgow Science Centre, and focuses on getting visitors to consider the health of their local environment, and specifically air quality, how this impacts them and their family, and approaches to improving these factors through everyday actions.

The exhibition will run at Leigh Library until the end of August, and involves a bespoke tool allowing visitors to share ideas on cleaning up where they live. Other hands-on elements include a simulation model which shows how different types of transport infrastructure contribute to or alleviate congestion, and in turn contribute to air pollution. Information on various air pollution sources, and how these affect health and wellbeing, is also included.  

‘Reducing air pollution and its associated health impacts is a challenge we should all be mindful of. We all contribute to sources of air pollution through our day-to-day activities and all breathe the same air, so we all have a part to play in improving air quality, no matter how small our actions may seem,’ said Dr Colin Gillespie, SEPA’s Air Modelling Unit Manager.

‘This mobile exhibition highlights how individuals can take steps to help improve the quality of life both for ourselves and our wider communities and the simulation demonstrates the different ways the quality of the air we breathe can be impacted,’ he continued. 

In April, Edinburgh council announced it would begin introducing tariffs for refuelling electric vehicles.