Busting the sea air myth: air quality monitoring at Dorset and BCP schools

Abstract

The “Clean Air Schools Project” is a campaign run by the charity Walk Wheel Cycle Trust (formerly Sustrans) in partnership with BCP Council (Bournemouth, Christchurch & Poole) and has been funded by Public Health Dorset (PHD) and DEFRA to teach children and their families about air pollution, what causes it and how it can be reduced.

Air pollution has a significant effect on public health, and children are particularly vulnerable to air pollution because their airways are smaller and still developing. They also breathe more rapidly than adults, meaning they take in more polluted air in proportion to their body weight. As children typically spend a quarter of their waking hours at school, air quality in and around schools has a significant impact on their health and development.

Since the Clean Air Schools Project launched in 2022, a frequently encountered public misconception was that Dorset’s coastal setting and sea breezes reduce air pollution, leaving little cause for concern.

To challenge this, BCP and Dorset Councils monitored air quality outside local schools. Data analysis by the University of Southampton, funded by the Southampton Sustainability and Resilience Institute, revealed that pollution levels remain a significant issue – despite the coastal location.

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Identifiers

ORCID for Chun Kee Tham: orcid.org/0009-0004-3275-7793

ORCID for Christina Vanderwel: orcid.org/0000-0002-5114-8377

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