Sheffield leads the way on air pollution monitoring

Air pollution is once more becoming a very serious issue in the UK. We expect to see some action about air quality in London, after new London Mayor Sadiq Khan made election campaign promises to improve matters as soon as he reached office. Just a few days after his election, he visited a Tower Hamlets school which had had to stop its pupils going out into the playground on three recent occasions – because of poor air quality readings.

However, this month it is Sheffield leading the way in what is a UK-wide problem. The universities of Sheffield, Leeds and York have come together to plant up a small plot in Sheffield Botanical Gardens with plants that are particularly sensitive to ozone pollution. They were assisted on a practical level by 20 local school children, who threw themselves into raking, levelling the soil and the actual planting.

Dr Maria Val Martin and her information board.

They aim to demonstrate the levels of pollution and the effect it can have on food crops and decorative plants too. “Air pollution is invisible,” said Dr Maria Val Martin (who was obviously not looking at London’s summer smogs at the time!), “but the plants and pigments will show up its effects.”

Lettuce, wheat, snap beans and clover have been planted so far, and coneflower and milkweed will be added in the coming months. Scientists expect the plants’ leaves to discolour if pollution levels are high. An information board will explain to visitors how the plants are absorbing the harmful pollution and will make parallels with the chemicals that humans will be exposed to at the same time.

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