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Air monitoring

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WQ.433/2019

WRITTEN QUESTION TO THE MINISTER FOR THE ENVIRONMENT BY DEPUTY R.J. WARD OF ST. HELIER

ANSWER TO BE TABLED ON TUESDAY 22nd OCTOBER 2019

Question

Further to the answers to Written Question 282/2019 and Oral Question 203/2019, will the Minister confirm the date when there will be real-time air-monitoring in place around the Island's schools and a network of working sensors around the Island; and will he also confirm where, and how, the resulting information will be accessible by interest groups and the wider public?

Answer

I can confirm that nineteen real time air quality monitors have been distributed to schools and educational establishments. Twelve of these are now transmitting real-time data. The data is being processed and the monitors are going through a process of calibration through machine learning and comparison with existing equipment. The network across the Island now totals twenty-six monitors. Environmental Health in partnership with Digital Jersey and AirSensa are continuing to expand the network every week.

It is intended that the data will be made available to members of the public through apps on different platforms, through screens within public places and on the web.

Additional information is included in the appendix.

Real time air quality monitor fitted at a primary school The underside of the box and inside the box

 

Air Quality Monitoring 2019

What is Air Quality?

The World Health Organisation  defines an Air Quality index as a combination of five air pollutants, they are:

Ozone O3 gas

Nitrogen dioxide NO2 gas

PM2.5 particles

PM10 particles

o  Sulphur dioxide SO2 gas

The first four pollutants are measured using the air quality sensors installed at your location. Sulphur dioxide (SO2) levels have fallen significantly in western Europe since the introduction of low-sulphur solid and liquid fuels and is no longer widely monitored. Temperature and humidity are  measured  for  calibration  and  error  correction.

Ozone  NOx

Particulate intake

Temperature & humidity

1cm

How  is the data

accessed?

The device contains a 3G modem which sends the sensor data over the internet to a cloud service where verification and aggregation occurs.

Where are the results?

The initial results will be analysed closely for accuracy and reliability. Following the analysis period, the data will be published via the Gov.je website and the Digital Jersey data platform at data.digital.je (estimated mid-October).