JERSEY’S air quality will be put under fresh scrutiny in the coming months as a new Island-wide monitoring system is installed.
Breathe Jersey, a community initiative which is part of non-profit collective Thrive Jersey, is working to install 30 monitors across all 12 parishes.
The Air Quality Monitoring annual report 2022 found that while harmful pollutants were within the limits permitted in the European Union, levels in some town locations exceeded an advised maximum revised by the World Health Organisation in 2021.
UK-based Ricardo Energy and Environment, which conducted the 2022 report, also said that improvements in technology mean that now would be a “good opportunity” to “review and potentially update” the Island’s 2013 Air Quality Strategy.
In a statement, Breathe Jersey said that its new initiative would report on a “near real-time basis air quality results”.
It continued: “The data from the monitoring systems will be available to Islanders and is intended to help influence the community to make positive decisions about their vehicle use.
“The data collected will be validated and made widely available for research purposes to start creating real and long-lasting positive change in Jersey.”
Breathe Jersey said that the fact Beresford Street had exceeded WHO air-quality levels 14 times in one year was “an important reminder of the impact that vehicle use, weather and events have on the quality of air we all breathe”.
The organisation received £71,558 for the project through the government-funded Impact Jersey’s Open Programme grant, a scheme which funds projects that benefit the Island through technology.
Breathe Jersey added: “Breathe Jersey has also partnered with Clarity, who run similar initiatives in over 85 cities around the world. This gives the Island access to an extensive on and off-island network to bring the right people, projects and technology together to bring positive change to Jersey.”
Speaking to the JEP, Environment Minister Steve Luce said he was “working closely” with project leaders, marking a “co-ordinated approach to air quality and reporting”.
He added: “We are pleased to see this new monitoring system, and it is not going to duplicate any locations that we monitor at the moment.
“While air quality is not a major issue for us, we are aware there are some areas where it is not good enough and we need to do more.”
Deputy Luce said his efforts to improve air quality as Environment Minister from 2014 and 2018 had not been as effective as he’d hoped, adding: “It would have been nice to be a bit further forward with that work than we are now.”
He continued: “We have more monitors going out all the time, and we know where the hotspots are, so we are keen to get involved where these are around schools.”
Islanders who wish to find out more can visit: thrive.je/project/breathe-jersey.
So far, the sensors have been installed in these locations:
Underpass
Gloucester Street/Esplanade junction
Mont Millais/College Hill junction
Longueville Road
Elizabeth Terminal
St Martin’s School
Queen’s Road roundabout
Springfield Garage
Victoria Avenue near the Grand Jersey
