‘Alarming discrepancies’ in the monitoring of air pollution outside schools

There are ‘alarming discrepancies’ in the monitoring of air pollution outside schools by local authorities, according to the British Lung Foundation (BLF).

A series of freedom of information (FoI) requests were sent to Britain’s 433 local authorities and, of the 322 that replied, only 140 said they placed pollution monitors within 10 metres of school grounds.

The methods used for monitoring air quality were also found to vary hugely, with some using simple diffusion tubes to measure only NO2 gas, while others monitored for different-sized particles called PM10s and 2.5s.

In response to the findings, the BLF has called for the guidance on monitoring air quality to be revised.

A BLF spokesperson said: “The guidance on monitoring that Defra gives local authorities needs to be revised and strengthened. Parents should be able to tell what their children are breathing, especially if they have conditions like asthma.”

Defending local authorities track record on monitoring air pollution, and LGA spokesperson said: "Councils follow guidelines on monitoring air pollution which are laid down by central government. These are to take a risk-based approach – monitoring those locations where members of the public might be regularly exposed. As well as schools this could also include residential properties, hospitals and care homes – depending on which area is at greatest risk. Many schools are actually some distance from busy roads and therefore unlikely to have high air pollution levels.

"The real issue is that councils need more powers to switch their focus from simply monitoring to devising solutions to tackle poor air quality. This needs to be supported by government policy at a national level."