Oxfordshire County Council to monitor school air quality

Oxfordshire County Council has extended its commitment to improving air quality across the county’s school estate with the addition of six new air quality monitors.

This new installation brings the total number of active Zephyr air quality monitors in use at schools across Oxfordshire to 17. 

The monitors will be deployed across the region, powered by solar or mains as appropriate, at sites of Manor Primary School in Didcot and Dragon School/Wychwood School, St Mary and St John Primary School Pegasus Primary School and Bayards Hill Primary School in Oxford. 

This helps Oxfordshire County Council to monitor and improve the air quality around local schools, driving strategies to improve safety at peak times and encourage a healthier lifestyle.

The real-time monitor takes measurements of ambient air pollutants including nitrogen dioxide, nitrogen oxide, ozone, and particulate matter.

The data is fed back to a web application where it can be analysed and downloaded to track short and long-term pollution patterns, allowing the Council to see how successful the scheme is and if there are any areas that require further improvements.

Rosie Rowe, head of Healthy Place Shaping at Oxfordshire County Council said: “Since deploying the initial fleet of Zephyr air quality monitors from EarthSense and seeing the results, we’ve been interested in sourcing more sensors to be deployed at other school sites across the county. 

"This now enables us to monitor air quality fluctuations in specific areas where public health interventions are taking place, such as encouraging parents to walk or cycle with their children to school rather than drive, and much more.”