Eastbourne residents take air quality monitoring into their own hands

The Clean Air Eastbourne group is looking for citizen scientists in the Devonshire West area to join its latest project and host an air quality monitor to find out how clean the air we breathe really is.
Members of Clean Air Eastbourne will help build air monitoring stations SUS-180417-121455001Members of Clean Air Eastbourne will help build air monitoring stations SUS-180417-121455001
Members of Clean Air Eastbourne will help build air monitoring stations SUS-180417-121455001

The group says that data from Public Health England shows 61 deaths a year in Eastbourne are linked to poor particulates in the air, and data from the World Health Organisation shows the town exceeds recommended exposure guidelines.

Thanks to funding from the Devonshire West Big Local, 30 air quality monitor kits are being made available to Devonshire West residents and businesses.

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Data gathered from these monitors will be made publicly available on the eastbourneair.com website

The project launches at noon on Saturday April 21 at the in Leaf Hall.

Eastbourne residents are invited to attend to hear more about the project from the Clean Air Eastbourne team and there will be a talk from special guest speaker Dr Kevin Wyche from the University of Brighton - a lecturer in atmospheric science and founding member of the university’s air environment research team.

There will also be a session in the afternoon led by TechResort for those who want to build their own air quality monitor to add to the

Clean Air Eastbourne network.

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Founder of Clean Air Eastbourne Robert Price said, “We already have a number of air quality monitors across Eastbourne, and this project will significantly increase the amount of data we can gather.

“All data gathered is publicly available and will help highlight any pollution hot spots in the area.”

Eastbourne Friends of the Earth co-ordinator Andrew Durling said, “Eastbourne’s tourist strapline is Breathe It In. This project will help find out exactly what we are breathing in. Friends of the Earth’s earlier research identified illegal levels of NOx in the town and this project will help discover if there is also a problem with particulate matter.

“We already know from the few official air quality sensors locally that the Eastbourne area in general has levels of particulate pollution higher than World Health Organisation guidelines. Such levels are known to be harmful to people’s health, especially for young children.”