Tunnel vision: £2.5k to keep an eye on air quality

Wednesday 19 July 2017

The results are in - a specialist survey, costing £2,500, has revealed that the air quality in the tunnel during rush hour is “poor”.

While that might not come as a surprise to anyone at all, this new survey does at least put a number on it - apparently, traffic fumes are about four times worse in the Tunnel than in a busy town street.

Environmental Health, part of the Department of the Environment, commissioned Ricardo-AEA to test air pollutants in the tunnel during peak times for commuters.

Ricardo-AEA were testing for nitrogen oxides (NO2) and particulate pollution (PM10), which are both found in vehicle emissions.

Pictured: The report took air samples from both the tunnel and the alternative route at Snow Hill (Google Earth).

But help is, quite literally, at hand: the report's authors recommend that in order to reduce exposure to poor air quality drivers should close their windows and shut off their air vents, as well as turning off the engine when stationary - cyclists and pedestrians should apparently just move more quickly to get out of the Tunnel as soon as possible. 

Environmental Health plan to work with the Department for Infrastructure to review signage at the tunnel to make commuters fully aware of its “poor” air quality.

Pictured: Air quality report finds that cyclists are exposed to the most exposed to air pollution in the tunnel (ppb stands for parts per billion and ug/m3 stands for micrograms per cubic meter of air).

There are also plans for further “specialist monitoring” surveys.

To read the full report on the tunnel’s air quality, click here.