It’s being reported air quality guidelines were breached in Tralee last week.
Data from the EPA, which was studied by scientists in UCC, shows guideline limits were breached consistently last week in a number of towns and cities around the country.
Air pollution causes 1, 300 premature deaths in the Republic each year, according to the Environmental Protection Agency and in its State of the Environment 2020 report, which was published last week.
Additionally, its Air Quality Report, published in October, warns of serious health implications from fine particulate matter in air.
Today’s Irish Times reports that scientists at University College Cork, led by Professor John Wenger, studied recent EPA data.
This showed guideline limits were breached consistently last week in a number of areas, including Tralee, Ennis, Cork City, Macroom and Enniscorthy.
According to Professor Wenger, certain weather conditions - such as a lack of wind - combined with geographical features like surrounding hills, can cause smoke from fossil fuels to remain in place, resulting in serious air pollution.
From September 1st, Killarney became the second Kerry town to be designated a smoke-free zone, following Tralee’s designation over 20 years ago.
