Air pollution levels in Ennis last October reached 42 times higher than what is deemed to be safe.
A review into the causes of poor air quality in Ennis as recorded by the EPA was sought by Cllr Johnny Flynn (FG) who appealed to the Ennis Municipal District to liaise with relevant state agencies and academic bodies with expertise in this area (such as UCC) to prepare an action plan to “protect both our environment and citizens”.
Senior executive officer in the Ennis MD, Leonore O’Neill committed to bringing the matter before the Physical Development Strategic Policy Committee (SPC) “to determine the merits of undertaking a review of community and/or academic led air quality analysis in urban settings in Ireland and the success of any actions arising from same”.
Numerous awareness campaigns on ‘smoky coal’ have been promoted by the environment section of the Council in recent years across all social media outlets and in print, she added. “Under the Air Pollution Act (Marketing, Sale, Distribution and Burning of Specified Fuels) Regulations 2012, the Environment Section has taken appropriate enforcement action on a number of retailers/distributers and the public in relation to breaches of the said regulations”.
Cllr Flynn acknowledged that efforts to flag the issue had been ongoing in local media and through the Council sending letters to coal merchants since he tabled a motion seeking a national ban on the sale and burning of smoky coal in December 2019. He voiced his concern with the environmental impact of the poor air quality, “Ennis is a major town without an A&E, we’re expected to use the A&E in Limerick which is the most overcrowded in the country”.
An increasing incidence of strokes has been observed by the HSE within two days of high air pollution levels in Ennis, he said. “In Ennis we are regularly 12 times higher than world health safety levels”. Flynn believed it was as much as public health issue as an environmental one. People living in the Ennis MD are “more vulnerable to the impact,” he warned.
Stronger conversations need to be held with coal merchants, Cllr Clare Colleran Molloy (FF) maintained. She told the June meeting of the Ennis MD that one lady purchasing smokeless fuel was questioned to see if she was sure she didn’t want smoky coal by a local merchant.
Speaking to The Clare Echo, Cllr Flynn suggested John Sodeau, professor emeritus of chemistry at University College Cork and member of the Centre for Research into Atmospheric Chemistry (CRAC) be asked to speak to the Council.
“According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) the average safe levels of fine particular matter (PM), which are associated with burning of smoky solid fuel of air pollution measured at EPA monitors over a 24 hour period are 10mg per metre. In Ennis to take results for example prior to Covid in 2020 when more people were staying at home, during the cold spell October and November in Ennis fine PM levels were 100mg on 16 occasions and 209mg on five occasions. On October 29, fine PM levels reached 420mg which are 42 times the safe level,” Flynn highlighted.
