The Air Quality 2020 zoom conference held on Friday, 3rd July 2020 at Centre for Factories of the Future, Kenilworth, UK. Professor Dr Reza Ziarati opened proceedings thanking everyone for attendings and the importance of young people.
He then gave an explanation of where we are and what is needed. The following are the summary of the points he presented:
- The choice is stark! Carrying on with what we are doing and destroying the world or taking drastic actions and leaving a better world for our next generations
- Human lungs breathe about 13,000 litres of air a day on a normal pace. Therefore, air quality is a very important factor for human body as Oxygen in the air is mixed with blood in the lungs. Contaminated and harmful air has a direct effect in damaging the respiratory systems and eventually, the whole body.
- The results show the in-depth details of the adverse effects caused by Ozone (O3) and PM2.5 in 2010. The UK contributes to 5.8% of the number of premature deaths associated with Ozone in the EU while for PM2.5 the UK contributes to 7.9% of premature deaths in the EU (RCP* 2016). If similar percentages are true for NOx and PM10, the air quality responsible for some 30% of all premature death in the UK.
- No systematic mapping of pollution hotspot areas and non-existence or inaccurate means of measuring harmful pollutants
- Need to set up of local independent office in each region of the UK including Coventry and Warwickshire, with facilities and a technician to carry out measurements and producing reports in collaborations with the local councils to ensure reliability of data and readings and the adequacy of the measuring devices with a view to put an end to the misrepresentation of actual readings from existing stations and sensor locations.
- It is essential to calibrate at least one of the low cost diffusion tubes used in many cities and towns such as Coventry and Leamington with the readings from the Government air quality monitoring stations such as those in Binley or Allesley. This will lead to more reliable data from the diffusion tubes.
- There is correlation between poor air quality and increasing admission to the hospitals for respiratory illnesses.
- The actual measurements from sensors around some cities including Coventry shows that the data published for NO2 are not valid due to the application of factors such as ‘bias’ and ‘annulising’ and then reducing these figures further by arguing that since these sensors/tubes are further from road then the level pollution must have been less. Studies by C4FF has shown that when sensors/tubes are closer to the roads the levels of pollution are higher and not less and that use of bias and annulisation is invalid and that only against calibration of sensors/tubes against more accurate devices any amendment to actual data should be permitted.
- During the lockdown the level of most pollutants dropped by some 50%. What was concerning therefore was that the measurements, taken from the Government monitoring stations during the lockdown, of NOx, PM10 and PM2.5, exceeded the Government own targets for all three pollutants several times in three occasion by some 30 to 40% for each of the aforementioned pollutants.
Here are the links to Conference video recordings:
Part 1
Part 2