Air quality in Oxford, England

I'll use this thread to keep a history of my activities and research into the dire pollution problem in Oxford. I am starting this slightly after the event and want to capture everything, so first an update:

1. Here are the banding targets for different airbourne pollutants.
2. Tried to use the DEFRA wiki but to no avail (email'd support email address, but no reply)
   
3. I have read up on pollution and respiratory diseases and rather satisfyingly the DEFRA web site does not avoid the issue but states that pollutants like NOx and Ozone (O3) do worsen diseases like asthma. I have found medical research articles that state that these and other pollutants may actually cause the onset of these and other diseases. But there is obviously nonesense like this flying about.
   
4. Finally I have surfed and downloaded the PDF nightmare that is government websites and found a report that provides the direction and summary of the situation in Oxford in the 'A Breathe of Fresh Air (ironic name)' report.
5. I have written to the people who maintain the Oxford airwatch website:

In response to your queries, in turn:-

1) We are aware of this, it is being dealt with, following changes to the site structures.

2) Yellow dots are passive monitors (diffusion tubes) giving an average result over a month; green dots are automated monitoring stations providing continuous hourly data.

3) We are listed on pages linked to the DEFRA website, but under Midlands, not the South East

http://www.stanger.co.uk/siteinfo/

http://www.stanger.co.uk/siteinfo/MonitoringSite.asp?ID=77

4) http://www.airquality.co.uk/archive/standards.php#band

the above link gives you explanation of the banding system

5) We think it's unrealistic to publish long documents as anything other than pdf. With respect it's nothing to do with keeping material hidden, but everything to do with keeping the web pages manageable.

I hope these brief comments are helpful, if you have any other questions please do not hesitate to come back to me,

best wishes

deleted contact details

---

---

Posted At: 18 August 2006 19:27
Posted To: feedback@oxford.gov.uk
Conversation: hello
Subject: hello

just using your web site and i have the following:

1. the last link on your general information page is broken
2. i wanted to get data for a recording station that is close to where I work but don't seem to be able to (one of the yellow dots on your map). i generally do not understand the difference between the green and yellow dots. how many recording stations are there in oxford, 3 or nearly 100?
3. i also do not understand why on the DEFRA site Oxford is not sited as a city where recording is being done and forecasts are available. according to your own 2005 report it seems oxford should be as it appears to have pollution levels well above the average (in all 5 categories) and seems to be on a par with marylebone high street in london - very bad news!
4. lastly could you point me towards a document that shows me how DEFRA arrived at the bandings and so decided what levels are save. i am particuarly concerned that targets are being set based on mean rather than peak or maximum levels since this would seem to have more medical significance (the body tends to work on chemical triggers or switches rather than mean levels).
5. your web site would be a lot easier to use if you published directly to the web i.e. using HTML or wiki markup rather than PDFs. HTML is more accessible, easier to search, easier to cite sections. PDFs generally come across as a medium people want to hide data inside of and discourage readership and analysis.

I am sorry to be so succinct here and please don't see this as discouraging because i think your service is a giant step in the right direction. i am chasing this because I think an aweful lot more needs to happen though.

6. Finally I have written to my local MP using the writetothem.com website:

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

                                      Sunday 20 August 2006

Dear Evan Harris,

I am writing with many years of frustration at Oxford's seeming
inability to deal with its severe air quality problem. I like many
millions of people am an asthmatic and suffer greatly when the
pollution levels are high. Before coming to Oxford I had my condition
pretty much under control but over the last three years the summer
months have been hell with me being on the border of being admitted to
hospital and having to take steroid pills.

According to the central government's own statements NOx and Ozone are
major contributors to respiratory diseases along with the three
pollutants that are supposed to be under control as sanctioned by
DEFRA.

I have spent a considerable amount of time researching what Oxford is
doing (or supposed to have done) to improve air quality and I am
extremely disappointed. From my readings then I think there are a
number of failures that need addressing and this is where I would like
your support:

1. Targets must be adhered to and if they are exceeded the responsible
bodies must pay. It is the buses that the councillors reports say are
causing the problems. The bus companies must be set emission targets
and they should pay if they exceed them.

2. Ensure the costs to the NHS are being factored into the
calculations. It may well be cheaper to have a diesel powered bus fleet
and to allow tourist buses to not install exhaust technologies BUT the
knock on effect is greater costs to the NHS in the form of time with
GPs, hospital beds and drugs. (This is not mentioning the economic
argument that surrounds loss of productivity in the workplace caused by
illness).

3. Ensure the ethical argument is made. The government's primary role
is to protect its citizens. It is not acceptable to support an economic
framework that puts transport to shopping streets in the centre of town
above the health of what is not even a minority (MILLIONS of people
suffer from respiratory problems that are worsened by pollution AND
there is even evidence that pollution CAUSES disease).

4. Promote MUCH greater clarity in communications as to what our local
government is doing. It is not acceptable to just throw PDF documents
of minutes and reports onto an already confusing website. All the
general public like myself cares about are the statements that show the
services they can expect to receive. In this case it means the
decisions that have been made written in a form that we can measure if
they have been achieved. To my reading the only measurable targets that
have been set have been (1) to encourage shared ticketing between bus
companies (2) to encourage adoption of exhaust technologies on all
buses and taxis. Unfortunately I could not find any evidence that these
objectives set in 2004 have been met.

What I suggest is the local government adopts a Wiki and forum approach
in much the same way that central government has begun to do:

http://wiki.defra.gov.uk/Environmental%20Contract%20pages

This is well established technology, easy to install and maintain,
free, and well accepted by millions of the general public. It also
allows the public to comment more easily than they currently can.

Like many people this is an enormously important issue for me. Policies
towards environmental sustainability are ones that I measure a
political party by as they are not only the most important but also
demonstrate a political party's ability to show innovation and
leadership of the form that is admirable (rather than say Tony Blair's
war mongering).

Thank you for your time and I look forward to reading your response in
the near future.

Yours sincerely,

(deleted my details)

5d702165f6ee8624c0c2/60e7ecd654d5cdd13e14
(Signed with an electronic signature in accordance with subsection 7(3)
of the Electronic Communications Act 2000.)

So lets see where I get to...