New Isle of Man air monitoring trial at schools and care homes

Diffusion tubes have been installed on lampposts at each location

Air pollution monitoring has been stepped up to target areas like schools and care homes, the Isle of Man government has said.

A two-year trial by the Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture (Defa) will gather air quality data in 60 locations.

Defa member Michelle Haywood said monitoring would focus on areas where "health risks are going to be greater".

The data would help guide how air pollution was tackled, she said.

Tube-shaped devices have been placed at each of the sites to monitor pollutants such as nitrogen and sulphur dioxide, as well as particulates in the air.

Results taken from the trial will be published each month and charted against UK and EU air quality standards.

Air pollution

Defa has already been measuring air quality at 19 sites where traffic levels are high in and around the island's capital, Douglas, and nearby Braddan since 2003.

Dr Haywood said the expanded monitoring would deliberately seek to measure areas such as schools and care facilities.

She said: "We know that old people and young people are much more vulnerable to lung damage, and the consequences of air pollution."

Once the trial was complete, Defa would use the results to inform ways of tackling pollution problem areas by managing traffic flows, Dr Haywood said.

But any response would not include creating low emissions zones, as the scale of air pollution on the island was "just not the same as the UK", she added.

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