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PM2.5 Air Particle Monitoring

​Help Salisbury Improve its Air Quality by joining our citizen scientist PM2.5 Particle Monitoring Project

Air pollution poses the biggest environmental risk to public health, and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) is the air pollutant which causes the most serious harm. PM2.5 also contributes to global dimming and the climate emergency. Currently Salisbury does not monitor for PM2.5 pollutants. This project has been set up to raise local awareness of this pollutant and develop a community of citizen scientists in and around Salisbury that use sensors to monitor the values of PM2.5. These sensors report to the International Sensor Community website where everyone has access to see what the current local PM2.5 air quality values are for their area. This information will allow the vulnerable to decide if it safe to go outside and provide valuable information to local groups and authorities in understanding if methods to reduce this pollutant are effective.

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Find out if the current air quality in Salisbury is good by clicking here

This project has been awarded £495.53 from Salisbury Area Board to purchase monitors.

Project Update

The project has been running since December 2020 and is currently a small group of interested individuals with 7 sensors in four locations. The World Health Organisation (WHO) have reduced the recommended annual exposure limit to that of 5𝛍g/m3 This is very difficult for many countries to reach and is likely to be viewed as a target to be worked towards over the next few years. The UK is currently reviewing its annual exposure limit and is likely to bring in lower limit guidelines and tougher legislation. This is expected to be published sometime in the Autumn. It is anticipated that the UK annual exposure limit will be set at 10𝛍g/m3. This project will help Salisbury City Council (SCC) and Wiltshire County Council (WCC) understand the extent of the air quality for this pollutant. They are aware of the STC project and are broadly supportive of the initiative and with the project lead, are investigating ways to help and collaborate. The project also collaborates with a similar project run by Sustainable Calne.

The Future

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(image reproduced from the sensor community website)

In order to reach our goal of monitoring the whole of Salisbury, we need more sensors in more locations. We will continue to work alongside SCC and gain further interest from schools with a view to adding more local sensors and enhancing children’s awareness whilst giving them a real-life application of the skills they are learning. This will all help but we need local Salisbury citizens to get involved in the project especially those who might live in pollution hotspots.

Kits can be purchased from the sensor community.

Are you willing to get involved and to run one of these sensors outside your home? If so contact sensorsalnorth12@virginmedia.com

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