Air quality research in Waltham Forest

Tender description

BRIEF FOR RESEARCH STUDY REGARDING PM2.5 AIR POLLUTION IN WALTHAM FOREST Like may urban areas, Waltham Forest experiences high levels of air pollution, in particular nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and particulate matter (PM). The Council designated the whole borough as an Air Quality Management Area in 2001 because of breaches of the air quality objectives for NO2 and PM10. In 2018, the Council installed its first PM2.5 monitor because of the concern about fine particulate matter; this is located at our background automatic monitoring station in Leyton. The evidence about the particular harm caused by PM2.5 and even smaller particles has continued to grow and in 2021, the Council followed the Mayor of London’s lead in committing to achieve, what was at the time, the World Health Organisation’s guideline level of 10 µg/m3 by 2030. The recent Clean Air Fund / Imperial College report ‘The Pathway to Clean Air in the UK’ and the supporting Technical Report are invaluable in understanding the issues relevant to fine particulate pollution and how this can be tackled with the aim of meeting the 10 µg/m3 limit by 2030. The Council is in the process of developing a new air quality action to continue the progress that has been made in reducing air pollution in the borough. This action plan will have a particular focus on tackling fine particulate matter. We have ideas as to actions that we can take but we want to ensure that we understand the sources of PM2.5 in Waltham Forest and target the action that we take on the significant local sources and those that can have the most significant beneficial impact. We are seeking a report that is effectively a supplementary report to the Pathway to Clean Air report, focussing on the Waltham Forest to help us better understand the Waltham Forest perspective on this subject. The report should include: • Quantifying the specific sources of PM2.5, PM10 and PM2.5 that affect Waltham Forest • Undertake modelling of expected levels of PM and NO2 in 2030 if no further measures were taken • Identify measures that could accelerate air quality improvement • Model expected air quality improvements of different scenarios that the Council could reasonably undertake if these were to be implemented • Report on predicted health benefits of different scenarios that the Council could undertake scenarios were • Although the focus of this work is on tackling fine particulate matter, any associated benefits in reducing NO2 and PM10 levels should be reported