Air pollution may be largely invisible however; pollutant gases and particulates can harm human health and the environment.
Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) is the principal pollutant near Edinburgh Airport, arising from the combustion of fuel from motor vehicles and aircraft, heating and power-generation and other industrial processes.
Every three years we commission six-month air quality monitoring surveys to assesses the impact on air quality from aircraft and vehicle emissions from the airport and surrounding area. The studies assessed the NO2 concentrations using diffusion tubes. Single diffusion tube samplers for NO2 are exposed at approximately monthly intervals at selected airside and non-airside locations. The locations were chosen to reflect a variety of potential NO2 concentration-situations, including local sources and more general background areas around Edinburgh Airport.
The most recent study shows a general trend of decreasing NO2 concentrations, in line with monitoring sites in the city of Edinburgh. The study concluded that the objective targets were not likely to have been breached at any of the monitoring locations.
For more information read our Air Quality Report here