A quantitative analysis of the air quality of Birkenhead Park

Abstract

The primary aim of the study was to explore the levels of Particulate Matter 2.5 within the area of Birkenhead Park and the impacts to health. To enact this, a methodology was developed to carry out an air survey of the park. This involved surveying three separate routes: external, outer and internal, with a Dylos air monitor and the Strava mobile app simultaneously, in order to create an annotated map to determine levels of PM 2.5 within the park. The results of the air survey presented unexpected findings, which revealed that the Internal route of the park had the highest mean concentration of PM 2.5 at 6.92μm3. The external and outer routes measured at 6.27μm3 and 6.37μm3 respectively. PM 2.5 concentrations measured in this study did not differentiate greatly from previous measurements of the area, from a nearby AURN monitor. The study methods were shown to be a novel concept in comparison to other studies investigating air quality, which often collect data from a singular point over a long period. The intricate aspect of the air survey routes in this study allows results to clearly highlight any areas of lower air quality within the air survey area, which would allow more informed actions to remedy areas of concern. Recommendations based upon this study revolve around enhancing the mitigation of PM 2.5. Examples of such recommendations include: improving the durability of road surfaces around urban green spaces to lessen the amount of particle resuspension, introducing a border of coniferous trees to provide a natural barrier from PM 2.5 and improving the durability of certain vehicle parts such as brakes and tyres which can produce PM 2.5 through typical use.