In response to the Government’s Clean Air
Strategy published today Dr Jenifer Baxter, Head of Engineering
at the Institution of Mechanical
Engineers, said:
“This Clean Air Strategy is a missed opportunity to
provide greater clarity on how emissions monitoring equipment and
systems will be developed in order to inform decision-making,
especially for the transport sector where significant reductions
still need to be made.
"For example, electric-diesel bi-mode trains are
mentioned in the strategy as a solution to reduce emissions in
rail. However, we know these trains produce greater emissions
when operating in diesel mode than pure electric trains and are
less powerful when working in diesel mode (8.6 kw/tonne) compared
with electric mode (11.2 kW/tonne).
"This means that we need to examine the evidence
relating to emissions from transport in much more detail before
we decide on the best solutions.
"New monitoring systems are needed to record all
types of pollution including oxides of nitrogen (NOx),
particulate matter (PM) and ultra-fine particles
(UFP).
"This will provide us with a complete picture of our
baseline pollutants, which would enable us to monitor peaks
throughout the day.
"These data will enable prioritisation of investment
schemes to reduce pollutants in an evidence-based
way.
"Our A Breath
of Fresh Air report, released in
January this year, called for a Clean Air Act which would
mandate the monitoring of transport emissions so pollution can be
tackled in a logical way, based on evidence."
