After many months of asking by Deputy Fergus O’Dowd the Environmental Protection Agency has finally installed an Air Quality Monitor in Drogheda.
Welcoming the development Deputy O’Dowd said “The EPA confirmed to me that the new Tier 2 FIDAS monitoring unit was installed at the Newton Cross Cemetery on the Termonfeckin Road on Wednesday, April 21.
The communications systems will be installed in the coming days and the monitoring site will ‘go live’ on the EPA website (www.airquality.ie) very shortly thereafter.
“This unit will provide particulate matter concentrations – both PM10 and PM2.5 in real-time, updated hourly on our website and also providing information on the Air Quality Index for Health (with associated health advice) for the Drogheda area.
“PM2.5 is the most important pollutant in Ireland from a health perspective as it is estimated to cause 1,300 premature deaths in Ireland annually.
“I have been liaising with the EPA since early last year pressing for the unit to be installed as soon as is possible in order for the largest town in Ireland to have instant and accurate information on its air quality at any given moment.
“This particular unit does not measure odour control and on that I will be meeting with Irish Water in the first week of May to discuss the ongoing malodour in the town and the recent intervention and direction laid down to them by the EPA.”
