Schools to monitor Oxford air pollution
Oxford city council asks schools to test air quality using AirSensa equipment.
Schoolchildren in Oxford have the opportunity to test the air quality around their school, as part of a city council initiative.
Six schools will be given air quality measuring equipment, along with technical support, and education programme to tie it in with pupils’ studies.
Oxford city council is encouraging monitoring of air pollution at schools in the city
Participating schools will be using testing equipment provided by technology firm AirSensa. The equipment takes continuous readings of key air pollutants (including NO2 and PM2.5) and atmospheric conditions, then sends the data back to unique software platform (STORRM Cloud).
Councillor John Tanner, executive board member for a clean and green Oxford, said: “Getting the kids in school to measure our air quality is a sure-fire way of getting their parents behind cleaner air for Oxford too.
“Everyone from the youngest to the oldest must play their part to make Oxford’s air even cleaner. Everyday decisions have a real impact on air quality — cycling and walking instead of jumping into the car can really help reduce air pollution.”
InitiativeÂ
The city council has written to head teachers inviting them to take part in the initiative.
In a bid to improve air quality in the city the authority set up a low emission zone 2014, which puts a stricter focus on air pollution emissions.
This week, airqualitynews.com reported that the city council is looking to find locations for around 100 on-street electric car charge points by 2019 (see airqualitynews.com story).