Wandsworth Council have opened a new roadside air quality monitoring site on Tooting High Street. The site will provide continuous, real-time air pollution measurements of nitrogen dioxide and PM10 particulate.

The street cabinet-style monitoring enclosure is located outside TK Maxx at the northern end of Tooting High Street, on this busy major road (A24). Monitoring results from the site will be indicative of conditions experienced by residents of the high street and pedestrians attracted by Broadway and Tooting markets, and various shops.

During 2008-2009, a comprehensive programme of diffusion tube NO2 monitoring indicated that the annual Air Quality Strategy Objective for NO2 of 40 µg/m3 was not achieved at a number of nearby roadside locations. At most of these locations, annual mean NO2 concentrations greater than 60 µg/m3 were measured, leading to concerns of significant public exposure.

A continuous, real-time, roadside monitoring site was located at the junction of Mitcham Road and Rookstone Road in Tooting during 2008-2009. It measured an annual mean NO2 concentration of 49 µg/m3, thus exceeding the NO2 annual objective. Although the incident based NO2 objective was met, these results, combined with the diffusion tube data, warrant further measurements in the area.

The new monitoring site is a welcome addition to the London Air Quality Network, increasing coverage in south-west London. Data is widely available on the London Air website and Apps.

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Item date 23/06/2015