Lambeth sites join London air monitoring network

Air monitoring sites in Brixton, Vauxhall and Streatham have been added to the London Air Quality Network

Air monitoring sites in the London borough of Lambeth have been added to the London Air Quality Network (LAQN).

Lambeth’s three monitoring sites at Brixton High Street, Vauxhall and Streatham Green have been added to the network, enabling visitors to view hourly levels of particulate matter PM10 in the area.

The London borough of Lambeth has rejoined the London Air Quality Network

All three sites are currently (as of Monday June 17) measuring PM10 levels within the ‘low’ banding, according to the LAQN website. The LAQN of monitoring sites across the capital is run by King’s College London’s Environmental Research Group on behalf of the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).

However, in 2010 the kerbside site on Brixton High Street recorded the highest nitrogen dioxide annual mean levels on the network of 173 micrograms per cubic metre — higher even than Putney High Street, which has this year recorded some of the highest levels of the pollutant in the capital (see airqualitynews.com story).

Exceedences

The Brixton High Street site also saw 2,563 breaches of the hourly threshold of 200 micrograms per cubic metre.

In addition, the particulate matter monitor at Vauxhall was one of only two stations on the network to exceed the PM10 annual mean of 40 micrograms per cubic metre in 2010. It also recorded 80 breaches of the daily threshold of 50 micrograms per cubic metre.

All three sites were reviewed as part of the 2011 ‘Strategic review of air quality monitoring in London’ report, commissioned by the Greater London Authority (GLA).

A statement on the London Air website said: “We are very pleased to welcome the London borough of Lambeth back to the London Air Quality Network. These important sites are now available for residents of Lambeth and Londoners across London Air’s range of air quality dissemination platforms.”

Information, reports and hourly air pollution updates at all the sites are available on the londonair.org.uk website.