Tag Archives: Ennis air quality

CLARE County Council carries out regular checks on retailers of solid fuels to ensure they comply with regulations surrounding the selling of smoky fuels, a spokesperson for the council has said. Responding to concerns highlighted about the quality of air in Ennis, Clare County Council stated, “At present, Ireland has an established network of stations to monitor air quality which are configured to meet the requirements of the European Union CAFE (Clean Air For Europe) Directive. “The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is the designated competent authority for the implementation of all Irish and European Union (EU) ambient air quality legislation. “The EPA is also the specified monitoring and reporting body under this legislation. The EPA manages and co-ordinates current ambient air monitoring activities in co-operation with local authorities and other state bodies, complying with strict sampling and reporting requirements. “Currently there is 1 No. CAFE Air Monitoring site situated in Ennis in the former Ennis Town Council complex in Drumbiggle. “The …

POOR air quality events in Ennis are driving trolley numbers up at Limerick’s A&E an Ennis councillor has said. Councillor Johnny Flynn called for “urgent action” to be taken on what he describes as a “human health and environmental hazard”. Councillor Flynn was speaking at the monthly meeting of the Ennis Municipal District where he renewed calls for a Clean Air Strategy for the county capital in the wake of “concerning ongoing poor air quality results for Ennis from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)”. He said he has become “frustrated” with the ongoing issue. Councillor Flynn pointed out that Ennis and Clare rely on the only Level 3 hospital in the region for 24 hour A&E in Limerick, and outlined that studies have shown that poor air quality has a “huge impact” on hospital admissions. The councillor welcomed plans to install a number of new sulphur dioxide monitors in Ennis. However, he insisted that more is needed, “so people can …

ELEVATED particulate matter levels from domestic home heating systems during cold weather, as experienced in Ennis earlier this month, “is a cause of concern”, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The agency said it is working with Clare County Council “to better understand the causes of poor air quality in Ennis”. The Clare Champion contacted the EPA for comment after concerns were raised about the town’s air quality following the detection of a spike in air pollution levels on the night of January 16. Particulate matter (PM) are minute particles of dust, soot and smoke and the daily limit for PM10 is 50 ug/m3. PM10 of 485.38ug/m3 and PM2.5 of 467.58ug/m3 was recorded in Ennis, January 16, at 7pm, along with sulphur dioxide measuring 67.22ug/m3. On the same day, China’s notoriously smoggy capital city Beijing experienced moderate to good levels of air pollution. According to the EPA the daily average PM10 at the Ennis monitoring station for  January 16, …