Outdoor air pollution is responsible for 8.8m early deaths a year – higher even than the figure for smoking. It means that humans are losing three years of their lives on average, German researchers have found. Here in Britain the figure is 1.5 years.
The study measured PM2.5 – atmospheric particulate matter (PM) that has a diameter of less than 2.5 micrometers, which is so small they can only be detected with an electron microscope. Fine particles can come from motorised vehicles, residential wood burning, volcanic eruptions and dust storms. They are so light they remain airborne for longer which increases the chances of us inhaling them – and they are so small, they can enter our circulatory system.
It is estimated estimated that for every 10 micrograms per cubic meter (μg/m3) increase in fine particulate air pollution, there is an associated 4, 6 and 8 per cent increased risk of all-cause, cardiopulmonary and lung cancer mortality, respectively.
Win your own air pollution monitor
This rechargeable air pollution monitor measures PM2.5 in real time and is small enough to be carried while walking or cycling. When the green light is on, the air quality is good. The orange light indicates mild air pollution and red warns of heavier air pollution. Remember that risk to health from air pollution is calculated on the basis of average values over a 24-hour period. In other words, a high reading on the personal pollution monitor need not be a cause of immediate concern but it will be a valuable indicator of local air quality.
To be in with a chance of winning the air pollution monitor, simply leave us a comment at the bottom of this page.
The ethical choice
The ETA was established in 1990 as an ethical provider of green, reliable travel services. 30 years on, we continue to offer cycle insurance, travel insurance, breakdown cover and home insurance while putting concern for the environment at the heart of all we do.
Steve
Innovative prize! I would be very interested to give one a go, fingers crossed.
Gillian
I’m a Headteacher of a Primary school. I can see the interesting teaching potential of this device and would love to win it for the school please.
Gillian
What an educational and fun tool!
Nice one again ETA. 👍🏿
Craig
Edwards Deming said: “you can’t manage what you can’t measure.” Therefore, I would hope that a monitor like this enabling people to easily measure air quality, would eventually drive improvement. Let’s hope!
Luis
Hi cycle with my 7 year old and 3 year old to school and nursery, and I have to go to and through Bristol city centre. I would love to have one of this and explore the effect of taking smaller roads vs faster ones.
Joe
Great idea!
Raf
This will be great to see how my children are affected when they ride on my bike to nursery!
Gary Moon
I work with adults with learning disabilities & one of the projects we’re running this year is to do with the environment our impact on it this is part of an idea that crosses over to the staff as well through promoting ideas of sustainable transport & decreasing the use of motor vehicles to get work whether through car sharing, bike or public transport & demonstrating pollution levels within our area sounds like a fantastic way of highlighting the importance of this matter
Vic Kearley
The pollution solution to a bad air day!
Ema
Wonder where it is going to be green in London!
Andy
This will be great for measuring air pollution in my area and campaigning for more cycling facilities.
Ben Young
I would Lomé to win this to find out the background pollution of my local area. It would probably make for alarming reading!
Anna Mahoney
I would be fascinated to find out what the pollution level is inside our car.
Sharon
My local Sustrans officer has a similar device. We were hoping to get hold of a second one to run some real time comparison experiments on a typical route to school using different modes of transport. I would love to be able to run these with my classes and school cycle club.
Lawrence
This is a prize worth winning. I would love to find out how polluted my daily cycle to work is?
Bryn Jones
I’m 85 years old and had a very serious lung infection some years ago.
I need to know when it is safe to go out.
David Gray
This would have been useful for my recent trip to Delhi!
Steve K
My partner has respiratory issues – so one of these would be very interesting!
Hugh
This is a really useful device! Many people would benefit from knowing just how polluted the air is in their neighbourhood and then use this information.
Pat Richardson
Brilliant idea, just what I need as I live on a busy road, with several schools in a small area. Including a newly build nursery school.
I have had arguments with my housing etc regarding the fumes and the burning in the back of my throat and I’m in my 70s. So what is it doing to the children
Their answer. PROVE this road is different than any other?
Maybe with this I could
Robert
What about LENDING it to people?
I’d like to get a measure of air quality where I normally cycle.
But I can’t see myself using indefinitely — after a couple of weeks, I reckon I’d know (more or less) what the answer would be. At which point I wouldn’t bother taking taking with me — at least until something triggered me to think about it again.. SO why not set up a system that would let someone else have it…
Just a thought…
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Peter Clark
I can’t compete with the very valid reasons others have for wanting this. I just want one so I can can see how bad it is when I cycle into London
Geoff Dabbs
I have asthma and my wife has bronchiectasis. This sounds like just the thing for us to use to avoid ‘bad air days’.
Brian
Every home should have one.
Paul
As a city cyclist, it would be fascinating to use one of these to measure this aspect of air quality. I like the idea of using it it then passing it on.
Mike Croker
Gasping to win this one!
Peter Chisnall
breathtaking
Guy
Air pollution “increases prevalence of stroke, heart disease, cancer of all kinds, acute and chronic respiratory diseases like asthma, and advese pregnancy outcomes, including premature birth. New research into behavioural and devlopments effects in perhaps even scarier: air pollution has been linked to worse memory, attention, and vocabulary, and to ADHD and autism spectrum disorders. […] Globally one of out six deaths is caused by air pollution.” (‘The Uninhabitable Earth’, David Wallace-Wells). Yikes, I think we all need one…
Chris
Once a fit & healthy cyclist I’m now more prone to chest infections. My charity work brings me into contact with many who have a range of conditions & part of my role is to encourage physical activity. This monitor would be a handy tool to help learn about the impact of good / bad air & making wise choices about where & when to exercise. Like others have said lending / sharing this could benefit many more than one lucky winner. Is that a practical option?
Carol W
Achoo! 🙂
Chris Bromwich
This could also be useful to check the air quality of a site intended to establish an apiary before the hives are moved.
Mike Langley
A breath of fresh, or not!
Jane C
This would be an interesting device to have. Would be handy to know how bad the air is at any given time so I know to take it easy on the bike before my asthma tells me! It might even change how I use my meds.
I’d love to see this used in a medical trial for asthmatics – it could lead to better management plans, save the NHS on drug costs and save patients from the harmful effects of longterm prevention meds which are often steroids.
Pollution is a shocker. In my prime it was the difference between my being able to run 5miles in the countryside or less than 200m in the city.
Euan T
I’d love to show the results to the Headteacher at one of Edinburgh’s new schools where traffic queues outside the school during rush hour, and to pedestrians on Princes Street on a summer’s day when there are as many as 10 buses without auto-stop making slow progress in each direction.
Doro Marden
My local transition towns group has done NO2 monitoring (part of a project that checked outside every school in LB Camden) and would love to add particulate figures . Am also a member of my local XR group which is campaigning on air pollution so it would be well used!
Sundeep
Looks like a valuable piece of equipment for commuting in the streets of Manchester daily.
Alison Coates
2 interesting items I like Car Owner virus! I live beside a motorway feeder so a pollution monitor would be useful.
Tim shepherd
Air monitor will be useful now the wood burning stove season is in full swing
Mike the bike
Would be great to see how it’s readings compare with the wheezing of my lungs when cycling in varied traffic conditions.
Gavin
Something I would be likely to buy… I could then send the results to the hypocrits in Government.
Anthony Rogers
Like others above I would use this at my school. I hope to use a pollution monitor with my A level Geography students in their personal courework investigations.
Chris
It would be useful to compare busy routes and quiet routes.
Dave
I live within 3 miles of the M1 and one mile from a trunk road. Would love a monitor to decide where to cycle, also to check if my woodburner is affecting my neighbours.
David Mayers
We would love one as part of our campaign to reduce air pollution outside and inside our church primary school
Derek Chartres
What a fantastic piece of technology which gives us a visible indication of a type of air pollution which we don’t have individual control over(as we do for smoking now). As a Chemistry teacher in a very large 6th form if I don’t win one I’ll encourage the department to buy one.
Darren C
I wonder how this works as in the article it states that the airborne particles are ” so small they can only be detected with an electron microscope”. I’m puzzled because I don’t see myself as a Smartmi.
I think the readings would scare me off from using my bike, it might start as green but soon turn red!
Craig S-A
Sounds like a great tool to gather important information that may relate to your health and local pollution levels. As I live in an area going through a lot of development this would really help me see if there is any adverse effect on local are pollution.
Lala
Living near a busy road and looking at the black dirt on our windowsills makes me wonder. And would I ever take the tube without a mask again?
Stephen
Never seen anything like this before and have found it very interesting. I think using this in everyday life would be eye opening.
Simon tozer
I’d love to win one of these for my local XR group. I live in Bristol where pollution from cars regularly exceeds EU limits.
Penny Price
I would like to use one of these at the promary school whjhere I am a governor, as their playground is next to a main road