Air monitoring data 'can be confusing for public'

An air-monitoring specialist has suggested that current data modelling practice can make it difficult for the public to understand pollution.

Ricardo-AEA technical lead for air quality monitoring Brian Stacey told the Air Quality and Emissions Show 2013 that modelling can lead to misunderstanding of the data, Air Quality News reported.

Speaking on behalf of Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs at the two-day conference in Telford, Shropshire, Mr Stacey's explained there was a great variation in reliability between measured air quality and modelling to identify certain pollutants.

Air quality monitoring uses real readings from designated sites. However, modelling then uses this data to  predict concentrations of certain chemicals in the air or levels of pollution in regions that do not have monitoring equipment.

Inaccuracy rates in modelled data can be as high as 25 per cent, Mr Stacey revealed. This compares to actual readings from air monitoring sites, where accuracy was around 90 or 95 per cent.

He explained: "A lot of the problem is how the public perceives the monitoring data. There can be up to a 25% uncertainty limit with modelling, which can cause problems with public understanding."

Modelling is not routinely used in other European countries such as France or Germany, which only use measured data. However, it is used in the UK to attempt to build a wider picture of pollution.

Mr Stacey said he felt this was "very helpful" but more needs to be done to ensure members of the public understand the variability in results.

He continued: "The data we collect is very good and it feeds into the process well. But the challenge is always how do we present that to the public?

"If you use the modelling to say nitrogen dioxide is at a certain concentration somewhere, the public will read that and take it as an absolute, whereas there is always going to be a greater level of uncertainty with modelling."

UK cities are currently looking at ways to reduce air pollution, as the European Union plans to issue fines to cities that do not meet emissions targets by 2015.

Posted by Lauren Steadman