High levels of air pollution found at three Derry locations in a new report

Three locations in County Derry are among the most polluted areas in Northern Ireland, according to new data.

The data comes from the ‘Air Pollution in Northern Ireland 2023’ report published on October 3 by the Department of Agriculture, Environment, and Rural Affairs (DAERA).

It contains summary information on key air quality monitoring results for 2023 and analysis from data collected by automatic monitoring stations across Northern Ireland.

Ozone was measured at Rosemount in Derry, Belfast Centre, and the rural Lough Navar site.

The data found that all three sites exceed the World Health Organisations (WHO) Air Quality Guidelines 2021.

Chemical reactions in the presence of sunlight form this secondary pollutant, which can irritate the eyes and respiratory system.

Levels of ozone (O3) in Northern Ireland do not appear to be decreasing but remain variable year upon year.

Mairead McCormack, Chief Executive of Glenshane Community Development Limited in Dungiven believes the air quality from the DAERA report ‘is concerning’.

Dungiven and Dale Corner’s site within county Derry recorded an exceeding figure of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) throughout 2023 for the WHO Air Quality Guidelines 2021.

Only Ballymena Ballykeel and Rosemount Derry met the WHO guidelines.

Dungiven and Dale’s Corner are above the average annual mean of 10 µg m-3, while Dungiven was the only site that exceeded the hourly limit value of 200 µg m-3, doing it on three occasions.

Mrs McCormack said: “It is concerning to hear Dungiven is experiencing poor air quality despite opening the bypass because the last time John O’Dowd (Minister for Infrastructure) had said nitrogen dioxide levels had dropped to a level below the standard threshold.

“There is still a lot of traffic that passes through the main street of Dungiven. 

While we do welcome traffic through Dungiven as we don’t want to turn into a ghost town, one of the main reasons behind the bypass was to improve air quality in Dungiven. 

“So we are concerned in regards to that, and we would like to see the government taking measures to try and improve that.”

Annual mean NO2 concentrations have generally decreased at most sites over the last five years, though it has not been a steady year-on-year downward trend, as the site at Dale Corner in Derry has increased year upon year since 2020.

Mrs McCormack said: “I believe better education is needed.

“When it comes to Dungiven, ensuring lorries use the bypass, as we are still seeing large vehicles travelling through the main street that should be on the bypass.

“Education though is needed to help people understand how we can help lower air pollution across the country.”

Across Northern Ireland, concentrations of sulphur dioxide (SO2), a pollutant associated with coal and oil combustion, have declined significantly since the 1990s, and a decreasing trend in nitrogen dioxide (NO2) concentrations has been observed at some monitoring sites.

However, there is a growing concern regarding ultra-fine particulate matter (particles with one dimension smaller than 100 nanometres (nm) across) in the UK and the impact of this on health.

The report calls for a continued effort to reduce air pollution from all known sources, together with monitoring to assess progress and to provide sound, science-based input into policy development.

Mrs McCormack said: “The good thing is we have records there, so we know where we are starting from and where we are going. 

“Previously the data was not there because the machine for recording air quality did not work consistently, so it is good to see the data to allow us to tackle this problem.”