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Towns exceeding legal pollution limits - is your town on the list?

by hawkinspeter
Wed, May 02, 2018 08:15
9

The BBC have a list of the most polluted towns across the UK: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-43964341

Here in Bristol we're on the limit, but these days I really notice exhaust fumes compared to 10 years ago - is that my over-active imagination or are we all slowly choking on particulates?

If you're new please join in and if you have questions pop them below and the forum regulars will answer as best we can.

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srchar | 6 years ago
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Not sure about the data used to compile this report. "London" is massive, and the bits I ride through feel like they have air quality that is worse than at any time since I moved here.  It really gets to my throat nowadays - I've got a permanent tickle/mild cough that goes away whenever I have a few days off work or a few days on the train.

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Simon E | 6 years ago
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Recorded pollution figures depend on, well, the recording. The approaches to Shrewsbury town centre are poor. Last year the NO2 limits were being exceeded in two places by up to 50% (probably the only two places they bother to take measurements). I was also told that the council hasn't been publishing the numbers since November, and they don't appear to record particulate levels, so that must mean there's zero pollution. Wahey, problem sorted! wink

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Sniffer | 6 years ago
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This is one type of pollution.  You will get a different list on NOx for example.  I work in a Area Quality Management Area (AQMA).  The town is not on this list, but it is SOx the AQMA was created to monitor / control.

You have the big city trafic on the list and hotspots like Port Talbot where there is an industrial impact.

Prestonpans surprised me.  Anybody know why it is so bad?  Previously it had a coal fired power station close by (Cockenzie), but that closed a few years back.  There is the A1 close by, but no worse there than other stretches I would have thought.

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OldRidgeback replied to Sniffer | 6 years ago
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Sniffer wrote:

This is one type of pollution.  You will get a different list on NOx for example.  I work in a Area Quality Management Area (AQMA).  The town is not on this list, but it is SOx the AQMA was created to monitor / control.

You have the big city trafic on the list and hotspots like Port Talbot where there is an industrial impact.

Prestonpans surprised me.  Anybody know why it is so bad?  Previously it had a coal fired power station close by (Cockenzie), but that closed a few years back.  There is the A1 close by, but no worse there than other stretches I would have thought.

 

Interesting that Prestonpans (the pans) has such a bad record. Yes the coal-fired station at Cockenzie would've been a prime polluter in the past. But why now? Well, I suppose the cement works at Dunbar could be a factor, if the wind blows from the east.

Edinburgh used to be terrible in the 70s and 80s, with the SAI plant at Leith being a prime cause. Producing fertiliser it regularly released some very unpleasant pollutants. My brother still remembers the day he parked his car at the foot of Leith Walk and when he came out to get it in the morning, the paint had turned from gloss to matt, along with all the other cars in the street.

It's interesting too that Gillingham is worse than London.

Having been to Port Talbot a few times for work, it doesn't surprise me in the least that it comes out worst given the local industries.

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hawkinspeter | 6 years ago
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I was surprised at the list, I thought London would be way at the top, but Port Talbot takes that dubious honour. Never been to Port Talbot, but a day in London is enough to turn your snot black.

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Kendalred replied to hawkinspeter | 6 years ago
2 likes

hawkinspeter wrote:

I was surprised at the list, I thought London would be way at the top, but Port Talbot takes that dubious honour. Never been to Port Talbot, but a day in London is enough to turn your snot black.

Ha! that was one of the first things we noticed moving from London to South Cumbria - no more black bogies!

So my rides are now here in South Cumbria - one of the lowest level for these particular toxins. (Now how do I get a emoticon for smugness...)

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efail replied to Kendalred | 6 years ago
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KendalRed wrote:

hawkinspeter wrote:

I was surprised at the list, I thought London would be way at the top, but Port Talbot takes that dubious honour. Never been to Port Talbot, but a day in London is enough to turn your snot black.

Ha! that was one of the first things we noticed moving from London to South Cumbria - no more black bogies!

So my rides are now here in South Cumbria - one of the lowest level for these particular toxins. (Now how do I get a emoticon for smugness...)

I live in Carlisle, North Cumbria. I can't see how we are on the list as the wind never stops blowing. I would like to know where they stood to take the samples so I can avoid it.

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Rich_cb | 6 years ago
1 like

For 5.5 very long years I had to commute through Port Talbot.

If it was a still day you could literally taste the pollution. It was absolutely grim.

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hawkinspeter | 6 years ago
1 like

I just spotted that London has drastically improved from 17 down to 11. That's very encouraging as it shows that we can clean up our air if we really want to (or alternatively it shows that the measurements aren't accurate or have been politicised).

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