The Pioneers statue celebrates the canal builders who founded Ellesmere Port and was cast in bronze by Liverpool artist Stephen Broadbent.
How is air quality monitored?
Residents of the borough may have heard of the Ellesmere Port Air Quality Forum formed in February 2000.
So how is the air quality monitored?
Monitoring Sites
The council currently monitors air quality in the borough at 29 locations. Several different types of monitors are used which measure different key air pollutants.
Mobile Laboratory Units
The Council has two mobile air quality monitoring laboratories. These contain sophisticated monitoring equipment that provide readings at least every 15 minutes throughout the day, which is sent automatically to the council offices. The units can be located anywhere in the borough where needed. Currently one unit is located in Stanney and the other is located at Westminster.
Each laboratory monitors sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide and airborne particulates. Results are sent to the council offices automatically so that up to the minute data can be seen.
OPSIS beam monitors
The Council has two OPSIS beam monitors located in the centre of Ellesmere Port. These hi-tech monitors project a beam of light beams right across the town centre and monitor several pollutants across a wide area every 15 minutes, 24 hours a day. Pollutants monitored include nitrogen dioxide, sulphur dioxide, ozone, benzene and chlorine. In addition the OPSIS beam monitoring site contains an airborne particulates monitor and a meteorological station recording wind speed and direction. All this information is collected continuously and sent automatically to the council offices.
Diffusion Tubes -
These are simple tubes that collect different pollutants from the air for later analysis. They can be set up quickly anywhere in the borough, e.g. near roads where nitrogen dioxide pollution from traffic fumes is suspected. They have been used in the borough since 1990. Tubes are left for a month and then analysed to give a monthly average.
Currently diffusion tubes monitor nitrogen dioxide (NO2) at 20 locations around the borough, further tubes are used to monitor benzene, 1.3-butadiene and sulphur dioxide. The tubes are moved periodically to monitor different parts of the borough.
Four locations are part of a national air quality monitoring campaign organised by the National Environmental Technology Centre.
Sulphur dioxide and smoke bubblers -
Bubblers have been used to monitor sulphur dioxide and smoke pollution in the borough since the 1960's. They collect smoke and sulphur dioxide (SO2) from the air giving a daily average measure of general air pollution. Two bubblers are currently in use located in the centre of Ellesmere Port and Stanlow oil refinery.
The Ellesmere Port bubbler unit wass part of a national smoke and SO2 monitoring network co-ordinated by NETCEN. NETCEN produce network reports annually. (Since 2004 we no longer use the smoke bubblers but continue to operate the mobile laboratories and OPSIS beams to monitor SO2 ).
For further information please contact either:-
The Air Quality Officer Tel: 0151 356 6713
or
The Air Quality Co-ordinator Tel: 0151 356 6631
Fax: 0151 356 6432
E-mail: environmental.protection@epnbc.gov.uk
or write to:
Environmental Protection Unit
Council Offices
4, Civic Way
Ellesmere Port
Cheshire
CH65 0BE
Air Quality Bulletins are designed as a series of regular information leaflets aimed at answering your questions on local air quality in simple understandable language. If you have an air quality question then please ask us and we will answer in a new Bulletin.
This project is part funded by the Epicentre Partnership.
