THE recent cold weather resulted in high levels of air pollution in Letterkenny over the last two weeks.
Graphs published by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from the monitoring station on the High Road show spikes of particulate matter (PM2.5) ten times above the level recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
On December 15 levels of PM2.5 in Letterkenny reached 262 micrograms per cubic metre, way above the WHO’s recommended 25 micrograms per cubic metre in a 24-hour period.
Similarly on that date levels of the pollutant PM10 reached 265 micrograms per cubic metre, five times higher than the WHO recommends.
In Letterkenny sulphur dioxide levels on that date were also way up – five times the WHO limits.
Donegal County Council has said they are aware of the spike in sulphur dioxide and particulate levels over the past ten to twelve days in particular.
“These spikes are attributed to the burning of solid fuels and the increasing frequency of them is reflective of the current cold weather conditions, which lead more people turning to solid fuels for home heating,” a spokesperson told the Donegal News.
“The topography of the Letterkenny urban area is also a key factor with temperature inversion effects caused by the very low temperatures and calm conditions giving rise to increased particulate levels as a consequence of impaired dispersion. Letterkenny has been a low smoke zone for a number of years but these air monitoring spikes have been noted previously at this time of year when the weather is cold and calm. The Council have engaged extensively with homeowners and coal merchants over the years when Letterkenny was the only Low Smoke Zone in the County but it is clear that some non-compliant products are still being used in some cases.
“The recent introduction of the Solid Fuel Regulations on the 1st November has brought in new standards for all solid fuels meaning that the most polluting solid fuels should be off the market and all solid fuels on the market must meet the new standards. The new regulations will have implications for the entire county with regard to the type of solid fuels being marketed and used and effectively make the whole of Donegal a Low Smoke Zone.”
The Council has been working with the Air Quality section of the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications on the “Clean Air Campaign” to promote the key messages from the new Solid Fuel Regulations.
“To that end, extensive engagement has already taken place with coal retailers across the county and ongoing work involves (a) surveillance of mobile retailers, some of whom are operating on a cross-border basis, (b) a media campaign aimed at the householder and coal merchants, (c) sampling & testing of coal products to determine their compliance with the regulations, and (d) longer term SO2 monitoring to identify areas within a locality where elevated levels may be found, requiring further focused homeowner engagement,” the spokesperson added.
A surge in pollution levels is concerning especially for people with asthma and other respiratory and cardiovascular conditions. According to the EPA, poor air quality leads to 1,300 deaths per year in Ireland.
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