Dear Annette Haworth,
We are delighted to notice the funding from Friends of the University.
Every year in the UK, it is estimated that up to 36,000 early deaths are linked to exposure to polluted air. The low air quality at Whiteknights not only affects students and staff at the university but also local residents. We are applying for the funds to purchase four Airly sensors (https://airly.org/en/pricing/airly-sensors/) to measure the air quality at Bus Stop, Car Park 1a, Library, and Atmospheric Observatory on Whiteknights Campus. All air quality data will be free to access by the public.
The cost for the four sensors is £2156.00.
Please find attached our one-page proposal for more details.
If you need any further information, please let us know. We look forward to hearing your decision in due course.
Best regards,
Dr Hong Yang, Associate Professor in Environmental Science
Pok Lim Lai, BSc + MSc Environmental Science (Integrated) Year 2 student
The following received on a request from AEH for further info on air quality
Thank you very much for your interest in our application. My students and I have manually collected some air samples at five sites on Whiteknights Campus last November. We measured three most important greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide) in the laboratory. The results show the concentrations of carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide on the Whiteknights campus were 40%, 32%, and 28% higher than the global averages. You can find attached our data. Another detail I mentioned in the proposal is the increase in ozone pollution even during the lockdown period. Some air pollutants have declined thanks to less transport, but ozone levels continue to increase during the lockdown periods. This has been widely reported in the UK. For example, please find the BBC report as follows: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-52113695 We think the Whiteknights campus has a similar air pollution problem. Lifting lockdown will certainly further increase air pollution from vehicles on Whiteknights campus. In this proposal, we would like to apply for the funds to purchase sensors that can automatically measure particulate matter, nitrogen dioxide, and ozone. We believe that such open access air quality information will be valuable for university students, staff and the local residents. Thanks again for your interest; we appreciate your consideration of our proposal. Best wishes, Hong YANG ———————————————————– Dr Hong YANG Associate Professor in Environmental Science Department of Geography and Environmental Science Russell Building University of Reading Whiteknights Reading RG6 6AB, UK Email: h.yang4@reading.ac.uk Office: 0044(0)1183787750 ResearchGate Google Scholar Student meetings can be booked here From: The Friends UoR