Air Pollution Survey in Penarth

Friends of the Earth Pollution survey comes to Cogan

FoE Penarth activists, Anne Greagsby and Max Wallis pointing to the pollution testing tube attached to the telegraph pole, now taken down at the end of the 4 weeks exposure.

Local FoE activists collecting the pollution tube, after its 4-weeks exposure in Cogan, at the roadside by the Windsor Rd bus stop.  Queuing cars, buses and lorries make this a pollution hotspot. Too many diesel vehicles.  

Anne Greagsby is the Plaid Cymru Candidate for St Augustines ward. Vote Plaid if you want green policies with action 

Friends of the Earth have a nationwide initiative using NO2 (nitrogen dioxide) scientific diffusion tubes, supplied by Gradco and analysed in their labs.

The Barry & Vale FoE group have put up tubes in Dinas Powys and Barry, as well as this site.  Windsor Road, Cogan is a designated AQMA, where the Council has to monitor specially and come up with an ‘action plan’.  The Council has moved its special monitor from the Andrew Road corner to a box adjacent to the pedestrian crossing (second picture), where pollution levels appeared to be lower in 2014-15**, but by law they have to choose a site where public exposure to pollution is highest.** Vale of lamorgan Council: 2016 Air Quality Progress Report

  ** Vale of Glamorgan Council: 2016 Air Quality Progress Report    and here 

The automatic pollution monitor used to be at the Andrew Road corner.  Its high readings near or exceeding the NO2 limit (40 ug/m3) led to the decision to declare the Air Quality Management Area.  This area was drawn to include all the Cogan housing on Windsor Road, a few diffusion tube monitors showing high levels up the terrace too.  

The automatic monitor has read lower than co-located diffusion tubes in both 2014 and 2015, since it was moved from Andrew Road corner.  So there must be a question, is it sampling the air properly?.  

Results vary from year to year, largely die to weather conditions; the regulations require the worst weather conditions to be covered, so finding that 2014 and 2015 were low does not allow the VoG to revoke the AQMA and abandon their (non-existent) action plan.

The shops at the old Docks station (tubes at 'Marine scene') show readings of 40 or more .from 2011-2014, generally higher than the Andrew Road corner. The VoG report declined to extend the AQMA to include the shops and the corner businesses, as they said the general public is not exposed for long.

Now, however, the Council officers are recommending approval of new housing (44 social housing units), despite the probability of unlawful pollution levels.

The Air Quality assessment predicts air pollution will be no problem, on a model that predicts substantially lower NO2 levels by 2018.  The modelling is nonsensical

1. uses winds measured at Rhoose, far stronger and different directions from at Cogan
2. uses background levels scaled from Fonmon, instead of Cardiff area urban levels
3. assumes flowing traffic, not the stopping and starting vehicles up to the Terra Firma Way and Barons Court roundabouts. 
4. models the situation as a 'street canyon', which does not explain the highest levels being measured at the'Marine Scene' shops and Andrew Rd corner.  

The VoG measured lower NO2 levels in 2014, 2015, which they attribute to changed traffic light timings at Barons Court that reduced the vehicle queuing on Windsor Road.  Expected increases in traffic will worsen the queuing so move back towards previous excessive levels. The AQ modelling ignores this likely change.

The modelling cannot be considered fit-for-purpose.  A precautionary approach has to lay weight on the closest measurement sites (Marine Scene), assume that high NO2 emissions due to cheat-devices on diesel cars will not be corrected for some years, and assume that elevated emissions due to traffic congestion will worsen.      

'Final warning' for UK over breaches of air pollution standards

# gets far too low predictions so 'adjusts' with a fudge-factor of  3