Doncaster installs air quality information system

A system to keep members of the public informed about the air pollution levels in their locality has been installed by Doncaster Borough Council. Believed to be the first of its type in the country, the scheme is part of the authority's Air Quality Management plan, which is designed to give the public better access to data on all aspects of air pollution.


The installation, designed, supplied and installed by Casella ETi in conjunction with Doncaster’s Environment Health Department, revolves round Casella ETi’s Enview 2000 software and features a freestanding public display system in a kiosk in the main entrance to the Borough’s Council House.

As well as being a powerful tool to record and analyse data from air quality stations, the Enview 2000 system has the ability to transmit data in real time to public display screens – the attribute that interested the Doncaster authority, with its five monitoring stations across the borough. As a result, the system has been programmed to take readings from the stations at 12-hour intervals and pass information through an automatic link within the council’s internal network to Casella ETi’s Enview 2000 computer.

Information is then forwarded to a large flat video screen housed in a robust aluminium kiosk. The Doncaster authority chose to configure the system with one central main screen depicting the locations of each of the monitoring stations, combined with a single graph for all five stations displaying local levels of NOx and PM10 particulates over the previous 24 hours, together with individual screens for each station.

The system automatically scrolls from site to site with close up digital maps and a corresponding digital picture of the site and its pollution levels.
Casella ETi’s Cameron Stathers says: “This is the first time a local authority has used the ETi2000 system in this manner, and we believe Doncaster is the first local authority to present air quality information to the public in such a way.”
However, he added that the Tyne and West Pollution Group is shortly to use Enview 2000 technology to launch a dedicated website containing pollution information from across the wide area it covers which will be available to anybody who cares to log on.

Paul Hart, Executive Director of Neighbourhood Services, comments: “At Doncaster Council we are always ready to try out new initiatives to keep our communities involved and informed about our local services. This system is helping us to remain at the forefront of environmental work and we are pleased to be partnering Casella ETi in this evolving field.”

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