A map made up of data supplied by locals around Cork city shows where the air pollution blackspots are.
The Clean Air Together Project saw 700 people measure Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) levels at different locations around Cork continously over four weeks in October 2022, and the results have today been published.
The project was spearheaded by Ireland's Environmental Protection Agency and Environmental Education Unit of An Taisce.
The report says the levels were higher in areas exposed to traffic.
It says: "When zooming out on the map you can see a trend emerging: higher results represented as orange and yellow dots are mostly present in the city centre and along some of the major roads around Cork city.
"Moving outwards to the suburbs and away from major roads, the measurements drop to lower levels of NO2 (light blue). Finally, most of the lowest results (dark blue dots) can be found further away on the outer suburbs of Cork city."
Overall around 58 percent of the areas sampled had consistently low levels of NO2, while around 35 percent had some and the remaining seven percent of the sample area (seen in yellow and orange on the map) reported high levels.
The highest NO2 levels were found by national roads:
- Lower Glanmire Road and MacCurtain street (N8)
- Commons Road, Leitrim Street and Carroll’s Quay (N20)
- South Link Road (N27)
An interactive map where you can zoom in on sections is available at this link here.
They added: "The results also suggest that the greater the distance between a dwelling and a busy road the lower the NO2 levels.
"NO2 quickly reduces with distance, for example a long front garden or living on an upper floor of an apartment building can offer some protection against NO2 pollution. This finding is important as Cork City continues to grow and change."
Being exposed to NO2 can be bad for peoples' health, and it's linked to respiratory effects like airway inflammation.
Research from Trinity College showed that people over 50 living in Ireland are more likely to have asthma if they live in areas with high NO2.
You can read the full findings here.
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